Friday’s meeting for Penn State's Board of Trustees may be one for the university's history books as the results of its three and half week election to fill three seats ended with an unprecedented number of votes and a record number of candidates.
More than 37,000 on-line alumni ballots were cast between 86 candidates.
University alumni elected Anthony Lubrano, a financial planner from Chester County, Ryan McCombie, a retired Navy SEAL and Adam Taliaferro. He is a former Penn State football player who suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury during a game in 2000.
At Penn State's Hazleton campus, seniors gathered for graduation Friday night.
Commencement speaker Vincent Dandini is an alumnus and said he absolutely cast a vote.
“The alumnI love this university and we want to see it go forward and get over these rough times,” said Dandini. “We know there are rough times ahead and they`re going to last for years.”
Mary Homanko is the president of the Hazleton Chapter of the alumni association.
“Considering the challenging year we faced the alumni came out in force and wanted to vote and show their feeling,” said Homanko.
Penn State continues to heal after being rocked by a child sex abuse scandal last year when assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of molesting boys at campus facilities.
Days later the Board of Trustees abruptly fired legendary coach Joe Paterno, saying he should have done more to stop Sandusky.
Student riots erupted at the school's main campus moments after the decision.
Students still feel the board made the wrong choice.
“What they did to him was pretty wrong, he had one more game left and he would have retired, I mean let the man retire you know?” said graduate Scott Fuller.
“He said he was going to retire after the season and they fired him in the season and everything, the whole cover up, I think people just want change,” said junior Mike Taylor.
As Sandusky awaits trial, at campuses across the state, alumni said they will be there to help the recovery.
“By and large we all love this university and want to see it succeed,” said Dandini. “Penn State is a lot more than a football team.”
The university said the board`s next meeting will be at the campus in Dunmore.
It will be a two day seminar on June 12 and June 13 with events on the 13th open to the public.