Knight Apparel, a major supplier of college-logo clothing to hundreds of American universities including Penn State, has announced that their new factory in the Dominican Republic pays over three times the country's minimum wage and allows unions, a groundbreaking step in their efforts to promote corporate social responsibility.
Read on to learn more...
It seems like every time we turn on SportsCenter, they're reporting about another school committing some sort of NCAA violation. Several major college athletics programs have been hit with sanctions by the NCAA, but over the years Penn State athletics has stay free of scandal involving violations of NCAA policies. One of the big reasons for that is Penn State President Graham Spanier's commitment to running a clean athletic department. In an interview with BlueWhiteIllustrated.com, he discussed how he goes about keeping Penn State athletics an example for other schools in how their departments should be run.
Read on to find out how he does it...
As reported earlier, the Penn State Board of Trustees has given Graham Spanier a three-year extension on his contract; he will be Penn State president through 2015. When the new contract takes effect July 1, President Spanier will also be receiving a raise on his annual salary from $620,000 to an even $700,000. The increase itself ($80,000) and the new salary are a significant pile of change, but considering Spanier's accomplishments and the advances Penn State has accrued under him, it seems warranted.
The agreement will increase Spanier's tenure to 20 years, making it one of the longest terms for a university president in the country—few extend back beyond the 21st century. In the context of Penn State itself, these 20 years from 1995-2015 will be the second-longest term in Penn State history to George Atherton's 26; Spanier will share his spot on the leaderboard with Ralph Hetzel (1927-1947, and he has a street named after him). We generally don't think of history in our own time; we think it as part of the past. However, here and now, Spanier's reign is a historic one that has shaped and continues to shape the University; a formative period 150 years after its founding.
Read on to learn more about Spanier's career at Penn State so far and what the future holds.
The Spaniers will be living in Schreyer House until at least 2015.
The new contract, agreed upon between the Board of Trustees and Dr. Spanier, amounts to a three-year extension for the man who, according to Penn State Live, has been called "one of the most influential college presidents of our time."
Come 2015, only President George Atherton will have held the position longer.
Read on past the jump to learn more.
The Chronicle of Higher Education had a fascinating feature this morning about what different university presidents think about during commencement. Our very own Graham Basis Spanier shared his thoughts:
At the top of the list is footwear, since we have a number of students who stumble on the stairs to the stage, especially women who lose a high-heel shoe or flip-flop and trip forward. Next on the list is loose bracelets, since one has to beware of those with sharp trinkets that end up between the student's palm and mine. Finally, because I've been a president for a long time and have been inducted as an honorary member of a number of societies, I have to think through the various secret handshakes that may be approaching.
And now we're curious-- what kind of secret handshakes do the societies have? Share it in the comments if you know.
Amid a variety of issues, such as basketball tournament expansion, college football playoffs, and hiring of minority coaches, the NCAA Executive Committee finally selected Mark A. Emmert as the fifth president of the NCAA Tuesday. Emmert, the current president of the University of Washington, will be filling the spot left by the late Myles Brand, who passed away in September of 2009. James L. Ish will continue to hold the interim position until no later than November 1 when Emmert will take over.
When talks to replace the late Brand began, Penn State's president Graham Spanier seemed to be a likely candidate. However, Spanier quickly denied the allegations and will continue his tenure at dear Old State.
Learn more about Emmert after the jump.