Skip to main content
Main content
Events

WATCH: A free panel on how Penn State handles misconduct

by Spotlight PA Staff |

The main campus of Penn State University.
Georgianna Sutherland / For Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, Penn State vowed to never again let such extreme misconduct happen under its watch. The school created a series of offices and positions specifically to ensure it upheld safe practices that protected staff, students, and faculty.

Over a decade later, a Spotlight PA and Centre Daily Times review of that monitoring system revealed it began to unravel shortly after it was created. The newsrooms’ year-long investigation found, among other issues, that Penn State lacks a unified way to track all reported misconduct, and that staff and students fear retaliation if they speak up.

To further examine the issue, Spotlight PA hosted a panel on how the newsrooms reported the story and what the investigation uncovered. Watch it below.

Our panelists were:

  • Wyatt Massey, investigative reporter, Spotlight PA State College

  • Barry Dyller, lawyer specializing in Title IX and civil rights

  • Eugene DePasquale, former Pennsylvania auditor general

» Spotlight PA’s events operate on a “pay-what-you-can” honor system. If you value this public-service event, pay it forward and contribute any amount to Spotlight PA now so we can keep our programming free for everyone: spotlightpa.org/donate.

Get the top news from across Pennsylvania, plus some fun and a puzzle, all in one free daily email newsletter.