In a field of 18 candidates, Jeff Ballou feels he stands out in this year’s Board of Trustees alumni ballot.

Ballou, now a producer at ABC News in Washington, D.C., graduated from Penn State in 1990 with two degrees in journalism and a minor in African American studies. However, Ballou feels that how he started his Penn State journey, not just what he did after earning his degree in journalism, risk management, and strategic planning is what sets him apart on the ballot.

Ballou began his college career studying at Penn State Greater Allegheny, transferring to the University Park campus two years later. When he landed in State College, Ballou’s college experience took off as he ran for vice president of student government, participated in THON, advocated for mandatory Black and women’s studies, and pushed for an open university budget.

Years later, when Ballou talks about his Board of Trustees campaign, though, he talks about the “soul of Penn State” he first experienced outside of Pittsburgh.

“When I walked in, I was 18 years old, I looked around, and there were people who were more than twice my age, who lost their jobs in industry, who were trying to reinvent themselves,” Ballou said. “The humility that you saw on their faces, the tears that you saw in their eyes, that they were trying to simply figure out how to feed their families and try to fit in with a bunch of 18-year-olds, was inspiring because you saw them work twice as hard and graduate better in many respects, because they had something to fight for.”

With Commonwealth Campuses set to close, Ballou feels it’s his responsibility to advocate for the campuses and the system that developed him early on as a Penn Stater.

“[Starting the university] was supposed to be the promise that Penn State makes, unlike any other university in the commonwealth…to say, look, we’re going to try to create this on-ramp and try to open the door so people can try to build opportunity for themselves,” Ballou said.

“And that was the deal about 170 or so years ago, and as the university, from the Farmers High School to Pennsylvania State University that we all know now, it grew and created these on-ramps and that living sense of promise, part of which was the Commonwealth Campuses.”

Over the years, Ballou said, Penn State has neglected its Commonwealth Campuses and its land-grant mission. The reason for many of the campuses’ struggles isn’t that they’re inherently worse, but rather, the university failed to invest properly in each campus.

Ballou said those issues, while they existed when he was a student, have only gotten worse and are the reason why the university is set to announce the closure of several campuses in the coming weeks.

However, announcements from the administration and infighting within the board are also part of the reason why Ballou felt the need to run. Ballou said poor optics from the board amid public lawsuits and a lack of transparency from President Neeli Bendapudi’s administration have hampered trust from the public, something he said he could win back.

“I spent a career dealing in transparency. I kind of know what I’m talking about. But I also have served on enough nonprofit boards to recognize that there are certain things that need to be held in the realm of discretion,” Ballou said. “So there’s a balance to be struck there, and it’s important to have all those things. Have candidates, or at least in my case, have a candidate who has a proven track record.”

Ballou’s largest issue with the Commonwealth Campus closures isn’t that several campuses are set to close, he said. While he understands that closures may be needed, Ballou expressed that he felt that Bendapudi hadn’t consulted with the proper parties before making her decision.

“What I’m hearing from these very stakeholders, not just from my old campus, lots of across the system, and I say this with all due respect to our university president: she says they’ve been consulting with communities. And it doesn’t take more than a 30-second Google search to find out how many people were not consulted and were blindsided by the president’s announcement,” Ballou said.

“I want them to advocate is simply this: Before you pull the trigger on this giant decision, make sure all the stakeholders are at the table in each and every one of those. They deserve it. They’ve earned it.”

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Editor’s note: Ballou’s interview is one of a multi-part series aiming to feature alumni running for open seats on the Board of Trustees. Onward State does not, and will not, endorse any candidate(s) in this election. Check out our site to read more about the remaining candidates vying for spots on the board throughout this year’s election cycle.