PHILADELPHIA — When Eric J. Barron became president of Pennsylvania State University in 2014, he walked into one of the toughest jobs in higher education at the time.
The university community, including the board of trustees, was bitterly divided over the school's handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal that started in 2011 and led to the ouster of the former president and the legendary football coach Joe Paterno.
Then in 2017, sophomore Tim Piazza died after a booze-fueled fraternity party that led to lengthy legal proceedings and an overhaul of the Greek system. Penn State successfully pushed for an anti-hazing law and opened the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform.
More upheaval came in 2020. Penn State, like other universities, was gripped by the pandemic, with some in the community urging the school to mandate COVID-19 vaccines and keep classes online, while others pushed for in-person classes and vaccine autonomy. While not issuing a mandate, Penn State sought to strike a balance, requiring those without vaccines to submit to rigorous testing.
Barron generally is credited with providing a calming influence, helping to heal the university and adeptly balancing perspectives while keeping the school's mission at the forefront. The university passed the $1 billion research expenditure mark for the first time, and a $2.1 billion fundraising campaign brought in hundreds of millions for scholarships and programs aimed at helping students finish their degrees on time with less debt, including one that targeted students a few credits shy of completion. The university also launched 21 innovation hubs near its campuses, leading to the creation of more than 300 jobs and more than 200 companies, helping more than 7,000 entrepreneurs.
But some wish Barron, a scientist with expertise in atmospheric research who spent 20 years at Penn State as a geosciences professor and dean, would have led with more of a business perspective than an academic one. They wished he had focused more on rankings and national reputation. Penn State ranked 46th in U.S. News & World Report among national universities before Barron arrived. Now, it's 63rd.
At 70, Barron, whose tenure ends in May when Neeli Bendapudi takes over, said the time was right to move on. In a recent 75-minute interview, he talked about challenges and lessons learned.
Q: When you arrived, the university community, including the board of trustees, was deeply divided over the Sandusky scandal. Is it still divided?
A: To some extent. For some people, I don't expect their frustration to ever change. But I do think over the last eight years ... it's much more muted.
Q: How were you able to help heal the community?
A: I used the opportunities I had to tell people the exciting things that were going on at Penn State. This isn't a one-issue university. Nor is the success of this institution dependent on a single person.
Q: Have you been able to bridge a relationship with the Paternos?
A: So, we're cordial, but I don't think I would go much beyond that.
Q: What was your toughest moment as president?
A: It was probably Tim Piazza's death. It seemed so senseless and so avoidable.
Q: How did you develop a relationship with the Piazzas?
A: Two things: I believe our communications were direct. And Penn State did what we said we were going to do, and we're still working at it.
We became the university that is recognized as a national leader in understanding Greek life and in promoting tools that will help us in having Greek life and its positive elements, while trying to minimize the negative. I think [the Piazzas] knew we were very sincere in wanting to make sure we took those steps.
Q: Do you think the Greek system is better today?
A: I do. Some [changes that Penn State implemented] were frustrating to Greek life. Some of them worked well. I think the number [of students rushing] is going up and the grade-point averages of those involved are better. It's far from perfect, but it is improving.
Q: What was it like managing Penn State through the pandemic?
A: [There were] people on two sides either telling you you were going to destroy someone's right to be educated or destroy the economy or ruin people's college experiences they were paying for, and then the other side of it telling you, you were going to kill people and was I ready to take responsibility when someone's family member died because we were still holding classes. That takes a certain amount of thick skin.
I never had real confidence that we were doing the right thing. But at the same time, I couldn't see another viable path. That's not the most comfortable place to be in the world.
Q: How did Penn State do?
A: University Park students are 92% vaccinated now. Faculty and staff is up there at almost the same level. I actually believe this campus became safer than the community.
Q: How difficult was it dealing with the Pennsylvania legislature for more funding?
A: The state unfortunately ranks very poorly, 47th, sometimes 48th [in higher-education funding]. This is a mistake. You end up sending really bright students other places and then they don't come back. We have gotten some increases, but frankly, it needs to be more.
Q: What's one thing you wished you could have done but couldn't get there?
A: Diversity, equity and inclusion is extraordinarily important to the university, to its financial success, to its mission. [While the student body and administration became more diverse], the faculty aren't changing very much. In decades of trying, Penn State hasn't managed to tackle that in a way that we can start talking about with a level of pride. Just the opposite.
Q: Do rankings matter to you?
A: The rankings are such a mixture of factors that I think Penn State has to consciously make a decision: Do we want to be highly ranked, even more highly ranked, or do we want to live our mission? If I wanted to really go with the rankings, I wouldn't have a system of campuses that promote need-based students to get a college degree. I wouldn't be living our mission. I would rather live that.
Q: What advice would you share with an academic leader about to begin a job like yours?
A: There is no doubt that when you realize all of the controversies in this country, a huge amount have a ground zero at universities: race issues, free speech issues. So I think the person has to be looking at the mission and down the road. Otherwise you are going to be torn left and right by constant pressures from outside.
Q: What tore at you?
A: We have more and more people who want to tell us what not to teach and people think it's a left-right issue. It's both sides. It's one of the more painful things, the number of times someone tells me the things that someone shouldn't be allowed to say on campus. Campuses are a place where ideas should find their way into the marketplace and people should discuss them and you hone your ability to understand and go in the right direction.
And masking or vaccinations? Forty-nine percent of the people say you shouldn't require them and 47% or 48% say you must.
I've never seen anything like it.
Q: How demanding is this job?
A: So, in my term as president, my record is 41 evening events in a row without a break. ... On the other hand, it's intensely rewarding. You look at some of these students, like the class I teach [called presidential leadership academy], and you listen to them and how bright they are. I take the problems literally that we are working on and we talk about those.
Q: So what's next for you?
A: It's a mistake for former presidents to hang around and not have the new president have the opportunity to really become established. So we're going to leave town. For a long time, we have had a vacation home in the mountains of North Carolina. So the vacation home will become our permanent home until we figure out what we are going to do next.
Q: But you're not looking for another presidency?
A: No. I'm really worried that all of a sudden there are a lot of things that I won't be able to do or that Molly and I won't be able to share because something happens to one of us. We've been married for 40 years, and I just want to make sure we have that personal time.
I will still want to do things, whether it's a board role or the opportunity to teach. I'm taking up oil painting. That's something I'm enjoying quite a bit.
