Following former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky’s recent guilty verdict for child molestation, the University’s popularity is in disrepair.
The school’s reputation isn’t in the best state at the moment, and they are trying to move on from the matter that tarnished their name.
In the past seven months since Sandusky’s charges have emerged, Penn State has appointed a new president, athletic director and football coach, replacing the three men who served in those roles for almost 80 years combined.
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The NY Times reports some words from the Big Ten’s commissioner. He says:
“I’ve seen a lot in my 30 years, and it’s been as tough of a year for an institution that I can recall.
There are guilty parties and people terribly hurt and a lot of innocent parties that have also been terribly hurt.”
Apparently, this hasn’t put too much of a damper on their popularity amongst new students, since applications have actually risen by 1%.
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The law school was the only portion of the University that suffered the most, applicants falling by 30%.
Penn State trustee, Larry Foster expressed his views on the changes:
“I think that’s it’s been rather surprising and gratifying that the boat hasn’t been rocked that much in terms of continuing to be a strong academic university.”
As for the football team, Bill O’Brien has been hired to help run the department and never had much confidence in Sandusky’s recruiting technique. He says:
“Their talent base is not top-10, maybe not top-20 material.”
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Penn State. We’re glad the school is moving on from the scandal and can hopefully get back to being a top school academically and athletically.
SOURCE: New York Times
