I have been an alumna of Penn State for 52 years. I have frequently spoken out with concerns for the management of this University and I do so again.

No one should be writing about the destruction of WPSU. This venerable institution has provided truthful, unbiased reporting for decades. WPSU is, in fact, the only forum where I can find reporting that I trust outside of specific print media.

The University needs to be administered more efficiently and with an emphasis on the best decisions for a land grant institution and the teachers and students who are studying/researching/working there. Therefore, I demand that WPSU not be sacrificed to the mistaken position that our PSU president and the Board of Trustees are worthy of shutting down dissent – spoken through WPSU – in order to pay Neeli Bendapudi an additional $1 million in salary between now and 2032. Our PSU President has consistently acted as and made decisions akin to those of a corporate CEO not a university President. We must not pay the outsized salary that a corporate CEO expects–and especially to an administrator without the courage to finish and expand our badly needed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center at PSU. Our Administrator has herself acted as a bully.

Our community has respect and support for WPSU and its staff writ large. PSU and its Board of Trustees want to ‘stop dead’ the precious and non-partisan reporting of National Public Radio (NPR) and WPSU/PBS. They pander to bullies.

We will not let this happen. Fund WPSU and sign a contract for administration of this special local public resource to WHYY and pay them the necessary $ 3.4 million per year for 5 years, for a total of $ 17 million.

We need WPSU. Let Neeli Bendapudi go.

NANCY PARKS

Aaronsburg

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom