Keith Boykin, editor of The Daily Voice and television pundit has been chosen to replace Soledad O'Brien as the keynote speaker for Wednesday's Martin Luther King Jr. Evening Celebration. O'Brien, a correspondent for CNN, has been deployed to Haiti to cover the developing situation in the wake of last week's earthquake.
Boykin has been active in politics for over 20 years, participating in six political campaigns, including President Clinton's successful run in 1992. He later served as a White House aide for Clinton. He is also a frequent television contributor on CNBC and co-hosts My Two Cents on BET J. In addition, he has also written three New York Times best-selling books on the African-American Gay community.
Penn State President Graham Spanier hasn't been here for as long as JoePa has, but he's become such a recognizable part of the University that I have a hard time envisioning Old State without him. Spanier has been University President since 1995 and was a member of the faculty from 1973-1982 before leaving for several administrator positions at other universities across the country.
Yesterday though, the Associated Press ran a story discussing who will succeed Myles Brand as NCAA President. Brand died of pancreatic cancer on September 16. The report names Dr. Spanier as a potential candidate for the NCAA Presidency. One of the main reasons is based on the fact that Dr. Brand had served as a University president before taking over the NCAA (University of Oregon [1989-1994] and Indiana University [1994-2002]). Brand's tenure was marked by a commitment to improving the student-athlete experience by focusing more on academics and education (something Penn State has never had a problem with). Oregon State University President Ed Ray, who is in charge of finding a replacement for Brand, has hinted that his committee is leaning towards a University President.
The report names University of Hartford president Walter Harrison, Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, NCAA executive Bernard Franklin, and Graham Spanier as possible candidates. Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman (a contemporary of Spanier's), Hampton University president William Harvey, Molloy College president Drew Bogner, Widener University president James Harris and Weber State president Ann Millner make ou the rest of the committee in charge of selecting the new president, and are not considered viable candidates themselves.