At last night’s Board of Trustees meeting, Tim Curley was granted administrative leave, stepping down from his position as Penn State’s Athletic Director. In his stead, Graham Spanier appointed Mark Sherburne, a senior administrator in the athletic department.

For the past three years, Sherburne has been Penn State’s Associate Athletic Director for Administration–in the words of his GoPSUSports bio, Sherburne:

oversees the Student-Athlete Services Office and serves as a liaison between Intercollegiate Athletics and Admissions, the Registrar’s office, the Bursar’s Office, the Financial Aid office, the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, International Student Services, Risk Management, Housing and Food Services and Judicial Affairs.

Sherburne works with all 29 of Penn State’s varsity teams to ensure NCAA compliance and is the administrator of Penn State’s Varsity “S” Club and Football Letterman’s Club.

A 21-year employee of the university, Sherburne previous served as Penn State’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services. He worked his way up the athletics food chain from that student-athlete perspective, working initially in academic support. Among Sherburne’s primary responsibilities had been ensuring that Penn State ran a clean program, as he monitored student eligibility and oversaw recruiting visits and student-athlete employment.

The Chair of Penn State’s Athletics Council for Diversity and Inclusion, Sherburne also sits on of the Board of Directors of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

A 1986 graduate of State High, Sherburne played on both the football and baseball teams at Penn State, and was a freshman on the 1986 national championship team. He now has the odd predicament not only of taking over an athletic department rife with strife and controversy, but of being the boss of his former coach.