Penn State president to review Freeh's Sandusky report

Pennsylvania State University's president will review the Freeh report on the Jerry Sandusky scandal that concluded former top administrators conspired to cover up child sex-abuse allegations to preserve the university's reputation, the school announced Saturday.

The university said president Eric J. Barron's decision was made "in response to recent calls for an examination." Barron told trustees Friday he would conduct the review, the university said.

E-mails released last week showed regular correspondence between the NCAA and former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who led the Sandusky investigation commissioned and paid for by the university. Critics of Freeh and the league say the documents demonstrate collusion; the NCAA says that it received "periodic status updates" but that the investigation was "completely and entirely independent."

Alumni-backed trustees have long pushed for the board to repudiate the Freeh report. The report's critics want the board to reopen the investigation, potentially rejecting its findings.

"The contents of the report have led to questions by some in the Penn State community. I do not want people to believe that Penn State is hiding something," Barron said in a statement.

"I feel strong about this. For this important reason, and since I was not here during its completion, I will conduct my own review," he said.

Barron was named in February as the university's 18th president. He had been president of Florida State University since 2010.

Last month, the university trustees defeated a resolution to reopen the investigation. That proposal won the support of nine of the 26 board members who voted at a special meeting.

Opponents of the move wanted to wait, citing ongoing criminal proceedings against former administrators on charges including perjury, conspiracy, and other counts. Coupled with pending litigation by some Sandusky victims, they said, much remains unknown about the university's role in the scandal.

Sandusky, a former assistant football coach, is in prison for sexually assaulting boys on and off campus.

The university did not set a timeline for Barron's review of the report and supporting materials.

"There is considerable documentation to analyze," he said in his statement, "but I assured the board I would move with all deliberate speed."