Citing “new and continuing business commitments”, U.S. Steel chairman and chief executive officer John Surma declared that he would cease to be a Penn State trustee in June. Yeah, this one was greeted with great shrieks of delight from BoT haters around the country. Why? Primarily because Surma was vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees when the Sandusky scandal broke, and he was the man who effected Joe Paterno’s denouement. To be fair, he was the point man; the actual decision was above his pay grade. Sure, as CEO of U.S. Steel, he could make the decision to fire his head coach, assuming that Big Steel had a football team, but in this case, it was a collaborative decision to fire Paterno. However, even though many agree that it had to be done, the manner in which it was handled was a major factor in fomenting hatred for the BoT in the hearts of alumni.
To refresh your memory, here’s how the firing was done. The BoT enlisted Fran Ganter, then an employee of the Penn State athletic department and formerly assistant head coach and offensive coordinator of the football team, to hand-deliver a message to the Paterno house during the after-dinner hours. The written message was a phone number that Joe was directed to call. When he did, it was Surma who answered and delivered a succinct message to the effect that Paterno was no longer an employee of Penn State University. Classy, eh?
Is it any wonder why alums hate Surma? Well, now, in words last famously uttered by Richard M. Nixon after his defeat by Pat Brown, they won’t have John Surma to kick around anymore. He joins the similarly hated Chairman Karen Peetz in expressing the intention to leave a much maligned (deservedly) Board of Trustees in the past couple of months. Peetz stepped down as Chairman.
About Surma, current Chairman Keith Masser graciously, albeit incorrectly, stated, “Our community owes a significant debt of gratitude to John Surma and his family.” I don’t know which community Masser is talking about, but I owe Surma nothing. He could have handled the whole thing with the class Joe Paterno’s service to the university merited, but he let himself be sucked into the emotional vacuum stoked by the rapidity of events following the Sandusky revelations.
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BigAl says
Yes, I’m sure the “community’s” real farewell notice would have been “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.”
I hope that Surma’s departure starts a trend and the rest of the Hundsfotzen (a Mahantango Valley Dutchman like Masser knows what this means) on the BOT resign when their current term expires.
The Nittany Turkey says
I think that between Peetz and Surma, the trend has gathered momentum. I’m expecting more resignations, but what the hell do I know.
Out with the Hundsfotzen!
—TNT
Joe says
Next thing I want to hear is “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!” He’s as big a douche bag as Surma and maybe even a bit more self-serving.
The Nittany Turkey says
You’re making me nostalgic. Howard Cosell would have been great had he stayed with us long enough to opine on this whole mess via his “Speaking of Sports” radio show. Ahh, the bombast!
I miss ol’ Howie!
—TNT
lawrence says
I just sent a lengthy comment on another subject that said Surma would probably resign…I didn’t know he had already announced this. Peetz, same deal…and Ken Frazier..who needs that creep? These people will all pop up on some other corporate BOD and pulldown $100K/year with those jobs. See what kind of ntegrity Surma has after he says business is taking up too much time…yet he will be activley seeking other high pay/low effort Directorship work…of this you can beassured. PSU needs people like this like they need another scandal. Good riddance…go kiss some other asses John…with a friend like you who needs an enemy?
BigAl says
Those clowns wouldn’t settle for 100K/year. The going rate for S&P corporate boards starts at 250K. And, they’ll probably get that much since they have a proven track record in handling CEO screw-ups. (in Wall Street’s opinion, the alumni’s opinion doesn’t matter.)