Outspoken Penn State trustee sues board, says it has withheld important financial information

One of Penn State’s most outspoken trustees turned to Centre County’s judicial system for help Tuesday, writing in a court filing that he cannot provide oversight because the university’s decision-makers have been unwilling to provide detailed financial information.

The 45-page filing from alumni-elected trustee Barry Fenchak offered a rare glimpse into the back-and-forth between various trustees and university administrators. Emails included in the document revealed conflicts and verbal sparring dating back as far as June 2023.

According to Fenchak’s filing, one trustee told him in response to a request for information about the endowment that “You will never be given that information. That is my decision, and I will make sure you never get it.” Fenchak said he planned to follow up with an email, but the trustee responded by saying “Go ahead, but I won’t get it. I’ve blocked your emails.”

Messages left Wednesday morning with Fenchak and the university were not returned by 4 p.m. Penn State typically does not comment on pending litigation.

Fenchak, according to the investment adviser’s filing, has repeatedly requested information about the university’s $4.6 billion endowment since he was elected to the board in 2022.

After reviewing some of the Penn State’s past IRS filings, Fenchak wrote that he discovered the university’s endowment administrative expenses more than tripled within three years.

But instead of receiving the financial information he asked for, Fenchak wrote that his requests were refused or met with unhelpful aggregate data.

“While no active malfeasance, such as conflicts of interest or other impediments, is alleged, it is notable that any such issues would also be impossible to detect or correct without the requested information,” Fenchak wrote in his filing.

His repeated requests drew a response in May from board Chair Matthew Schuyler and Vice Chair David Kleppinger. The board’s top two leaders described his requests as “unreasonable” and “overly burdensome,” according to a letter Fenchak included in his filing.

“While we welcome all trustees’ efforts to prepare for and meaningfully participate in Board proceedings and fulfill their oversight obligations to the University, your requests go well beyond that,” they wrote.

Private investment funds often request the university to maintain confidentiality, which is why the university responded with aggregate rather than detailed information.

The leaders also wrote that Fenchak is not a member of the Penn State Investment Council, the body charged with providing oversight of the university’s portfolio. Fenchak’s requests, they wrote, were “beyond that which is necessary to discharge your responsibilities as a trustee.”

The case was not assigned to a Centre County judge as of about noon Wednesday. Fenchak asked that he be granted an opportunity to review the documents he requested and that the board be prohibited from withholding similar documents in the future.

Fenchak also wrote that he has been censured by the board, prohibited from membership on board committees and had his board social privileges revoked.

A board of trustees’ committee is scheduled to meet 3 p.m. Thursday on the university’s Altoona campus. The full board is scheduled to meet 1 p.m. Friday. Both can be watched online .