Trustee Karen Peetz, one of the remaining members from the board that fired Joe Paterno in November 2011, will resign on Thursday, Jan. 15, according to a strategically timed Friday night news dump from Penn State.

Peetz cited the “conflicting demands of her business commitments [Peetz is the President of BNY Mellon] and travel with the Board meeting schedule for her decision to step down.” Peetz has been on the board since 2010, serving as chairwoman in 2012. According to a letter sent to the trustees, Peetz will chair Thursday’s Committee on Audit and Risk Meeting as her last act on the board. Chairman Keith Masser selected Ira Lubert, another trustee from the November 2011 board, to fill Peetz’s remaining term, which lasts until June 20, 2016.

This will certainly come as good news to a large bloc of alumni critical of her actions on the board. Peetz infamously said that “by the time someone gets here in 2014, it will be just a distant memory,” regarding the Sandusky scandal. As chairwoman, she led the board that accepted the Freeh Report on the day it was released. Mention of her name — or her attempts to speak — at meetings were often met with laughter or boos from the public in attendance.

“I would like to thank Karen for her outstanding service to the University. While not a long-standing member of the Board, Karen stepped up, at great personal sacrifice, when the University needed strong leadership to lead our Board and our University,” Chairman Keith Masser wrote to the trustees. “She not only oversaw a number of actions that strengthened our institution for the future, but also served as chair of our presidential selection council that brought us Dr. Barron. Her willingness to take on the serious challenges we faced and her guidance in identifying strategic opportunities is noteworthy. We owe Karen a great debt of gratitude for her service and her counsel.”

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