A number of changes were made today in the Board of Trustees bylaws, charter, and standing orders, many of which we outlined yesterday in this committee report. Most notably, the Penn State president and Pennsylvania governor will no longer have voting seats on the board. 12-year term limits were also instituted, among other structural changes.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released a statement on Penn State’s changes to its governing policy, which were adopted today at the Board of Trustees meeting. Previous auditor general Jack Wagner had called for significant changes in board structure in a report issued six months ago.

Here’s the full statement:

“I am encouraged by actions today by the Penn State Board of Trustees to improve the way they govern the university and move toward greater transparency and openness in their actions. The removal of the governor and the university’s president as voting board members, banning the president from serving as board secretary, instituting a standard quorum threshold and the adoption of improved conflict of interest policies are positive steps.

“However, the board has much more work to do to try to gain back the confidence of the public and the university community. In particular, I hope the board of this large, state-supported institution ceases to resist efforts to bring it under the Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. As I have said many times before – sunlight is the best disinfectant.”