Case Analysis Paper

Jerry Sandusky Penn State University Scandal

Marissa Acosta, Sade Johnson, Manny Ovando, Luis Sepulveda, Brenda Villalobos

Higher Education Administration Leadership Program, California State University, Fresno

HEAL 225

Dr. Marie Harris

December 10, 2022

 Jerry Sandusky Penn State University Scandal

Football has become a massive part of college culture on many campuses across the

United States and American culture. It is embedded in the culture of college towns, especially at

Penn State University (PSU). This culture of integrating American football into students,

families, and communities is apparent at PSU in various ways. Their football program has had

successful undefeated seasons and high graduation rates for their football players (Bar-Lev,

2014). The university also successfully graduated college athlete students, but they also worked

to uplift the community and youth. Football, and sports in general, can have a remarkable impact

on students. For some students, football or another sport is the key or entry to getting a college

degree. Although getting a full-ride or partial college scholarship for student-athlete is an

aspiring goal, neither are sports programs for underprivileged youth. It is clear how integrated

football is within PSU and its surrounding community.

The city in which PSU resides is called State College and nicknamed Happy Valley, but

after a terrible scandal broke out in 2011, it was anything but happy (Bar-Lev, 2014). In the fall

of 2011, Jerry Sandusky, assistant football coach, is charged with 21 felonies for sexually

abusing young boys (Collegian News Staff, 2021). This case is multifaceted because it was not

just about Jerry Sandusky, the abuser, but the folks around him that allowed his abuse to go on

for too long. It is also important to know how this affected the university and the community

because Sandusky founded the Second Mile foundation, which was meant to help at-risk youth

(Bar-Lev, 2014).

Within this case against Jerry Sandusky lies this overarching question of the innocence of

those who worked with Sandusky. The beloved head coach at the time, Joe Paterno, was placed
in a situation where he should have done more legally and morally to prevent the abuse. Joe

allegedly knows about this abuse almost from the beginning. While this broke the news in 2011,

it was not entirely new and started in the early 1970s (Collegian News Staff, 2021). As a leader

within the university and in the community, Joe should have pushed for more decisive action

against Sandusky sooner. According to Carlton (2015), PSU had policies to ensure reporting of

abuse, “but it lacked enforcement structure which ultimately led to leaders being dismissed.” In

our review of the Sandusky case, we look at who was involved, how university leaders and

administrators handled the situation, and what more could have been done.

Background

What is Penn State University? Who is Joe Paterno?

PSU is a public university home to 45,000 students in the college town of State College,

PA (Bar-Lev, 2014). PSU has had the same head football coach for 46 years. From 1966-2011,

Joe Paterno and that town were the same, and college football was everything to this little town

(Bar-Lev, 2014). Joe has the most wins as a football coach in college history, with 409 wins, a

record he still holds today (Bar-Lev, 2014). Mr. Paterno was a leader not only at PSU, but he was

a pillar of light in the community as he had the highest graduation rates of his players who came

to play for him, not PSU.

When Jerry Sandusky started at PSU (1969-1990)

Jerry Sandusky was hired as a PSU football assistant coach under head coach Joe Paterno

in 1969; the following year, Sandusky became the linebacker coach for the football team

(Collegian News Staff, 2021). The earliest settlement with PSU on behalf of the survivors was in

1971 when a survivor reported they were sexually assaulted in a bathroom in 1971 by Sandusky
and was later called and allegedly threatened not to speak up by two gentlemen named Jim and

Joe. In 1976, Joe Paterno was allegedly alerted to Sandusky's actions, but without a good paper

trail, this is all hearsay. Sandusky founded the Second Mile Foundation to support at-risk youth

and their families in Pennsylvania in 1977; this would also be the same year he was promoted to

Defensive Coordinator. Now there is a small gap from 1977 to 1985, but in 1986 PSU had an

undefeated football season thanks to Joe Paterno, and in 1987 two PSU assistant coaches

allegedly witnessed inappropriate or sexual contact between Sandusky and children. In 1988

another sexual assault was witnessed by PSU's assistant coach, and this time the case was

reported directly to the athletic director, but there is no mention of what was done to Jerry said

that is because of this. Jerry Sandusky received national attention and recognition from then-

sitting President George H.W. Bush regarding his Second Mile Foundation being a shining

example of charity in the community.

Retirement and Allegations (1991-2001)

From the PSU settlement with 26 different survivors we know of, between 1998 through

2001, there were five more boys assaulted on the PSU campus (Collegian News Staff, 2021). In

1998 there was an 11-year-old boy assaulted in the showers by Sandusky. The boy's mother

notices he is upset and reports her findings to her local psychiatrist, who refers her to the

University Police and a detective. These events unfold within about a month of each other, and

the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) takes over the case from the private investigator.

However, they also let everyone know they have a conflict of interest because they are affiliated

with the Second Mile organization Jerry Sandusky runs. The DPW appointed an investigator,

and according to the previous investigator Sandusky called the boys a few times and invited

them over to work out. The psychiatrist shared her evaluation with the investigator. The new
investigator spoke with the victim's mother and later told the council that he did not have enough

information and knowledge of the case. It is later said that he was never given the evaluation

done by the psychiatrist. An evaluation done by a counselor concludes there is no concrete

evidence of sexual assault according to his evaluation, and he recommended that Sandusky just

needs to be taught boundaries. Jerry meets with the mother to apologize and let her know that he

often showers with the boys in a non-sexual way. The campus police are there, and University

President, Athletic Director, and Vice President are made aware of the case. However, it is never

added to the crime log, and Human Resources is also never contacted and told of the case. The

district attorney decides not to pursue Sandusky; there is also no record of anyone talking to

Sandusky about the incident. Also, it showed that Joe knew of the incident but was not made

aware of its conclusion. On June 8th of 1998, a month-and-a-half after this case came to light

internally, Jerry retired and was given almost two hundred grand on his way out.

According to Collegian News Staff (2021), in 1999, Sandusky was granted a rank at PSU

that gave him access to the University's facilities even after retirement. In the Fall of 2000, two

different janitors claimed to have seen Sandusky with children in the showers but feared

retaliation. Hence, they only reported to the senior janitor, who decided to do nothing. In

February of 2001, a grad assistant witnesses a sexual nature between a boy and Sandusky; the

grad assistant calls Paterno the following day and reports the incident to Joe Paterno. This is the

first incident where Joe has been made officially aware, and there is a paper trail to follow; PSU

calls the legal counsel to report suspected child abuse. At this point, the Athletic Director, the

Vice President, and the President were fully aware of the situation and all previous situations

regarding Jerry Sandusky; they were in chats together and brought in the University Police

Chief, who asked for files of previous incidents. This led to Jerry not being allowed to bring
children into the locker room. However, the leaders of The Second Mile organization bought a

piece of University property and were allowed to continue their mission on the campus. The

incident was never brought to light by the media and was all handled internally.

The Unraveling of Penn State (2002- Present)

In 2009 Sandusky was banned from attending a local school district because of claims of

sexual assault; at the same time, there is a case building against Sandusky and his alleged

assaults on minors (Collegian News Staff, 2021). In 2010 Sandusky stepped down and retired

from day-to-day events on the board of the Second Mile charity organization he started to help

at-risk youth; later that same year, the grad assistant coach testified as a part of a private grand

jury investigation into Sandusky. At the start of 2011, the Athletic Director, the former Vice

President, and Treasurer gave testimony to the private grand jury about Jerry Sandusky. Finally,

in March of 2011, a former grad student of PSU released an investigation that she had spent

months reporting and researching about victims of Sandusky, bringing national attention; in

November of that same year, Sandusky was arraigned in District Court and charged with 21

felonies.

On November 6, 2011, the vice president and the athletic director stepped down and

faced criminal charges, and their bail was set for $75,000 each. There are currently no charges on

the president, and there would be no such charges for Joe Paterno, who has been the legendary

head coach for the past 46 years (Collegian News Staff, 2021). November 9th, 2011, Joe lets

everyone know we will be retiring and this will be his last year as head coach, but later that day,

Joe and the President are both fired by the board of Trustees. This causes the most prominent

civil disturbance in State College history; students and fans want Joe back. On the 14th of
November, the president of the Second Mile Charity Jerry founded resigned after 28 years in the

role. Later that night, on the NBC special, Jerry admits to showering with the young boys but

denies all charges. He says he is not sexually attracted to young boys, something the charity's

president knew. The former head of the FBI is hired to look into this case, and the PSU Police

announced there is little to no record of sexual assault reported in the early years of his career.

Who to Hold Accountable?

This is a pivotal moment where we can look back and show who was responsible. Were

the janitors responsible for reporting this to higher-ups? Should Joe Paterno have done more than

just let his supervisors know about that situation? Should the administration have played a more

active role in investigating and believing survivors? Should the Second Mile charity organization

help produce evidence that would have shown him showering with minors? We know this could

have been stopped multiple times throughout Jerry’s time at PSU; while the university followed

proper procedures, ethically, there is a moral injustice.

Review of the Leadership Literature

With everything we know about the case so far, we know that Joe Paterno was initially

found to have been following procedure correctly within his role at the university. This,

however, did not dismiss the public opinion from asking if there was more to be done. In

addition, there is still the question of whether it was his moral responsibility to take further

action as a campus leader. In terms of leadership literature, we first looked at an article by

Edward St. John, which covered the responsibilities of higher education professionals and how

they can become actionable. This article discusses the arguments that higher education
professionals should promote fairness, assume responsibility, and use actionable knowledge in

the process (St.John, 2014).

St. John (2014) identifies different forces of marginalization in higher education that

typically affect underrepresented populations. The ones that apply to this case are

institutionalism and corporatization. Institutionalism is a historically established pattern of

behavior reinforced by bureaucratic behavior and, therefore, resistant to change. This comes into

play in the Paterno case, as there was no bureaucratic support to take action against Sandusky at

PSU. Sandusky was continuously allowed to use PSU facilities with little pushback or

consequence from the university administration or leaders (Bar-Lev, 2014). In addition, PSU was

entrusted to host the Second Mile charity, a nonprofit organization for at-risk children. This

organization primarily served boys experiencing poverty and boys of color and put them most at

risk of experiencing abuse at the hands of Jerry Sandusky (Bar-Lev, 2014). He was not

immediately reported to the organization, which may have caused the children working with

Second Mile to be put at continuous risk.

Additionally, corporatization is the system of reporting and accountability that reinforces

rigidities in systems and recurrent patterns of inequity. These can be seen in the bureaucratic

procedure at the university that required Joe Paterno to report to his superiors but not to the

police. In not contacting the proper authorities, Paterno opened himself up to public scrutiny, and

there was no official record of Sandusky’s actions. Ultimately this implicated Paterno and the

other administrators at PSU who were involved in the silencing of Sandusky’s predatory

behavior and abuse.

 The author goes on to identify what he called pillars of moral responsibility, which have

five critical understandings. In this case, we will focus on two of these pillars: that individuals

are responsible for moral centering and action and that post-conventional moral reasoning

involves critical and spiritual reflection on morally problematic situations and testing strategies

that might transform them. These two pillars represent the ideal behavior for moral responsibility

and how an administrator or leader should respond to problematic situations. Instead, Joe Paterno

is in the institutionalist or pre-conventional stage, which means he was simply engaging with the

rules to solve problems and not addressing issues or considering the limitations of rules.

Leadership Theories

The PSU Scandal case serves as an example of what ineffective leadership is. The senior

administrators displayed a “university-first mentality” instead of people first (Klein & Tolson,

2015). According to Kouzes and Posner (2018), the leadership practice model is: Model the

Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the

Heart. Modeling the way requires leaders to be secure in themselves and lead according to those

values. Joe Paterno was a key pillar in the community, and his values were commendable, but he

failed to lead according to those concrete values. Before Michael McQueary reported seeing

Sandusky and the minor in the shower and what he heard, prior allegations started as far back as

1971 (Collegian News Staff, 2021).

According to Carlton (2015), Sandusky created a non-profit organization called the

Second Mile in 1977. This was an organization for at-risk youth, and it was depicted as an

avenue to help change the trajectory of their life. The organization would provide male role

models, group events, and attendance at PSU games. In Happy Valley, football was more than

life; the town was centered around football, and by putting football on a pedestal, leadership
organizational culture aimed to cover up in order to protect its legacy (Klein & Tolson, 2015;

Lucas & Fyke, 2014). For a sexual abuser, Second Mile served as a lucrative grooming ground

(Lucas & Fyke, 2014). Sandusky had unlimited access to at-risk youth, especially boys. These

children may have come from fatherless homes, broken families, poor living conditions, and

poverty. Sandusky's organization provided them access to a privileged life. A life that is very

different from there, but it comes with a cost. This organization was active for 31 years before

the first accusation against Sandusky (Carlton, 2015). That is a long time since no one has seen

anything inappropriate or unethical. It also provided Sandusky with a lot of access to at-risk

youth for unprecedented amounts of time. The PSU scandal reflects that even though Sandusky

was the perpetrator performing the acts, it is detrimental that respected leaders did not do more to

protect the next generation.

PSU created a legacy of outstanding sportsmanship and champions, but for thirty years,

Sandusky abused young boys under Paterno’s leadership. A leader must possess qualities of self-

awareness but must also be socially aware (Kouzes & Posner, 2018). According to Collegian

News Staff (2021), Paterno knew about sexual abuse allegations in 1971 but decided in 2001 to

follow the correct protocols for reporting inappropriate behavior. The time that Paterno found out

about the sexual abuse by Sandusky varies between 1971 to 1976, but it was before the charge

that the scandal unfolded in 2001 (Collegian News Staff, 2021). One year after the alleged

allegation that Sandusky started the Second Mile organization, one could conclude that Sandusky

had to find new grooming grounds due to Paterno being alerted about Sandusky’s crime. Paterno

excelled in football culture but failed to protect future generations and lost the community's trust.

The documents reflect that Paterno knew before the case went national but failed to model the

way. Paterno tainted his legacy by not setting an example when handling the sexual allegation
ethically and morally. These boys were someone’s sons, and they put their trust in Sandusky and

everyone at PSU. The youth and their families were violated, and leadership should have taken

responsibility for the lack of accountability and failed leadership in this scandal.

This scandal shows many factors at play, but one that reflects primarily is classism.

Sandusky, Paterno, Gary Schultz, the Senior Vice President of Finance, Graham Spanier, the

President, and Tim Curley, the Athletic Director, were men in powerful positions. This abuse

continued for so long because the survivors were from impoverished areas. The victims did not

belong to families with economic, social, or educational capital. These young boys could easily

be exploited, and the powerful men would not care. The outcome would be different if they

possessed capital in these areas. Although these men did not halt the investigation, they did not

reprimand Sandusky for his unlawful actions either (Klein & Tolson, 2015). The PSU scandal

demonstrates how institutions will direct their resources to people of value and exploit those

whom they deem invaluable. Ultimately this cover-up failed to challenge the process and

centered around protecting their legacy, and their ethics and morality were blinded by football

culture (Kouzes & Posner, 2018; Lucas & Fyke, 2014). This lack of transparency and minimal

communication with the public created a “culture of silence” (Klein & Tolson, 2015, p. 480).

These men failed to hold themselves accountable to the community's vision; even if they were

unsure, they could have reported it to the Board of Trustees at the recurring meetings. This

would have forced them to be accountable and enable others to act on behalf of the survivors.

Suppose this had been handled with care for the individuals whom a PSU employee, a retired

emeritus status employee with access to PSU grounds, violated that case. PSU officials could

have acknowledged their wrongs and created systems to prevent this from happening again.

Over-communication and transparency could have directed PSU to encourage the community's
heart to rebuild its legacy while reflecting on this tragedy (Kouzes & Posner, 2018; Lucas &

Fyke, 2014). PSU may recover, but the focus should be on whether the victims will recover

because this scandal rendered them discarded and worthless.

Recommendations and Conclusions

Freeh Report, 2011

In 2011, PSU’s Board of Trustees requested the Special Investigations Task Force to

conduct the Freeh Report, which would complete a holistic and comprehensive investigation of

the Sandusky incidents (Mertes, 2021). The report comprised 430 interviews and the analysis of

3.5 million documents which derived findings, recommendations, and proper procedures that

should have been taken or now be taken by PSU. Two main recommendations focused on the

following, create values and ethics centered on a community where everyone is engaged in

placing the needs of children above the needs of adults. The second was to create an

environment where everyone who sees or suspects child abuse will feel empowered to report the

abuse.

Director and founder of Children’s Advocacy Clinic (CAC) in 2006, Lucy Johnston-

Walsh, shared that PSU faculty need to identify ways for youth to come and engage in programs

on campus (Mertes, 2021). Traditionally, campus services are not targeted or thought of towards

young children, but there are many ways kids and first-year students under 18 years old remain

engaged on campus. Through this ideology of providing resources to youth, services for children

such as the CAC has been established to provide a resource where social work students represent

children in the legal system on campus, benefiting the community in academics and accessibility

to services.

Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, 2013

 A dedicated group of PSU Researchers gathered to analyze information and produce

research about child protection. According to Johnston-Walsh, this caused a focus on hiring

faculty specializing in child protection and created more of a research base decision(Mertes,

2021). The university was committed to hiring faculty who could study child maltreatment in

various ways, such as preventing it, treating it, and responding to it. This network leads the work

to take on child maltreatment across five colleges at PSU, including, Health & Human

Development, Education, Liberal Arts, Nursing, and Medicine. With the commitment and work

of these groups, they were awarded $3.5 million (Auman-Bauer, 2020). This federal funding

consisted of a five-year training grant to create the nation’s first training program dedicated to

assisting in combating child maltreatment.

Task Force on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment, 2014

Shortly after the installment of President Eric Barron in 2014, he created the Task Force

on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment to address sexual misconduct at PSU. This task force,

made up of 17 members, was developed to deliver a final report that would provide

recommendations to improve sexual misconduct and violence on the PSU. The report, with more

than 200 pages of resource materials, noted that PSU needs a more robust, much more defined

message surrounding sexual misconduct and a designated office to intake these issues (Powers,

2015). Expanding on this report, the materials acknowledge the importance of the role of

response from PSU employees and the Pennsylvania communities. Another main takeaway from

this report was that the lack of central coordination and unified messaging often resulted in

initiatives competing for awareness, leading to difficulty in communicating the awareness.

Understanding Title IX at Penn State, Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey

In 2017, “Understanding Title IX at PSU” became a requirement for employees to

complete a 35 to 45-minute training. This training focuses on reporting responsibilities, Title IX,

and sex and gender-based misconduct (Mertes, 2021). Also, in 2015 the Sexual Misconduct

Climate Survey was launched. This survey is distributed every three years to gather data on

students’ experiences and attitudes toward sexual harassment and misconduct. The first survey

found that “86.5% of undergraduates told a close friend about their sexual assault, 68.8% of

those undergraduates told a roommate, 2.6% told the campus employee or police, and 3.3%

reported the incident to PSU’s Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response” (Mertes,

2021). Since the first survey, PSU has increased efforts in staffing, education, preventative

measures, and further review of policies.

Conclusion

This campus found itself in great difficulty with the sanctions that its athletic community

faced. As a result, PSU has prioritized campus safety by increasing efforts to educate and report

sexual assault. With football being a big part of their culture, many were blinded to the damage

the victims caused and what it meant to the community. After these incidents came to light, PSU

took great initiative in prioritizing more than football. PSU has worked on efforts such as

research work on combating child maltreatment nationally, establishing a new community that

prioritizes the needs of children, and implementing the idea of empowerment to report abuse.

Despite the incidents with Sandusky, PSU has demonstrated how they continue contributing to

child maltreatment research. Their efforts have demonstrated the importance of prioritizing the

safety of children, being student-centered, and now a leader in combating child maltreatment.
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