Administration

Public comment period at Board meetings to be moved starting in January

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – To better accommodate student needs, encourage broader participation from the University community and have time prior to voting on a matter to consider public input, the public comment period of the Penn State Board of Trustees will now be held Friday morning, rather than at the end of their afternoon meeting. This change will take effect at the January 2015 Board meetings.

For the Jan. 16 meeting of the board, the public comment period will be held from 11:15-11:45 a.m. A viewing room will be made available to anyone in the public wishing to watch in that setting, and the session also will be live streamed online by WPSU.                 

A number of factors prompted the movement of the public comment period to the morning. Several members of the public expressed concern about the public comment occurring after the agenda items had been considered, and in a resolution passed in mid-December by the University Park Undergraduate Association, students also expressed preference for moving public comment opportunities to an earlier time. This timing adjustment, therefore, will allow for public input and comment prior to the afternoon session of the board and allow students wishing to address the board a better sense of timing in order to integrate into their academic commitments for that day.                           

Speakers will still be required to register at least 48 hours in advance of a board meeting and to provide the topic on which they plan to speak, and speakers will still be allotted three minutes each for their presentations.

The public comment period was added to board meetings in July 2012 in response to a call from the community for more opportunities to express views on issues before the board.

Last Updated December 18, 2014