While we are all pretty upset about how the Penn State board of Trustees handled the recent scandal, I think it is important to remember that the role of the board is much more than one issue that brought other problems to the forefront. While the catalyst for all that we are currently upset about was definitely the firing of Joe Paterno and the handling of the whole affair (inept at best), the problem runs much deeper. When I look at the make up of the board of trustees (which most of us alums have ignored for years–yes, we are partially to blame for not watching the hen house), I think it was just a matter of time before something catastrophic would occur. Here we are, 2012, with a major legal and public relations blunder on our hands. I believe that only by working on the board’s structure and the policies and procedures that resulted in this mess can we clean up the “closed” hierarchy that currently runs the show. We need more clarity, less “pompous,” and a responsibility to our students, faculty, and alumni that seems to have been lost in the quest to become the “fat cat.” As a member of the board of trustees, I would take the past debacle and work to make sure that Penn State does better by learning from the mistakes–whatever they are–and they go well beyond firing Joe Paterno.