7 day forecast
NCAA sets up task force to oversee $60 million fine at Penn State
Share with others:
Two deans from Penn State University will participate in an NCAA task force created to oversee the distribution of $60 million in fines imposed on the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal.
In all, 10 people have been named to the panel, including Nan Crouter, dean of the college of health and human development at Penn State, and Craig Hillemeier, vice dean for clinical affairs at Penn State College of Medicine.
The NCAA announced the task force members this morning and said that the group will be responsible for distributing the money placed in the endowment by Penn State as part of the sanctions it accepted in July.
The endowment will fund programs to prevent child sexual abuse or assist victims nationwide.
The task force will develop a philosophy establishing how the money will be used, including what programs are eligible, as well as creating grant criteria and investment and spending policies.
It also will choose an independent third party to administer and manage the endowment.
The fine is to be collected in annual payments of $12 million over five years.
According to the NCAA, the money may not be used to fund any programs at Penn State, and the university may not reduce or eliminate any athletics team program to pay the fine.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, has argued that the NCAA should require the money be spent only in Pennsylvania. The organization declined to respond in the news media to Mr. Dermody's request.
Offcials at Penn State and the NCAA said, however, that at least 25 percent of the annual disbursements will benefit Pennsylvania nonprofits.
The other members of the task force include:
* Rita Hartung Cheng, chancellor of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale;
* Brian Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of United Way Worldwide;
* Jane Lowe, team director of Vulnerable Populations Portfolio, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation;
* Harris Pastides, president, University of South Carolina;
* Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
* Pamela Shifman, director, Initiatives for Girls and Women, NoVo Foundation;
* Raymond Torres, vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and executive director of Casey Family Services;
* Tim White, chancellor of University of California, Riverside, who will serve as chairman of the task force.
First Published September 18, 2012 1:14 pm
