Penn State and the other three “state-related universities” – Pitt, Lincoln and Temple – together are collecting $560 million in state government subsidies this year. Unlike similar institutions in most other states, they function independently and do not have to produce the records required of state government agencies."
“The downside is, you’ve got incredibly powerful institutions, spending tens of millions in government money, with very little opportunity for the taxpayers to exercise oversight,” LoMonte said. “The situation is going to be a real eye-opener for the Legislature, and you’re going to have a gut check as to whether your law still makes sense.”
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/7303944/penn-state-nittany-lions-school-exemptions-pennsylvania-open-records-law-disappear
They are given special status and do not have to be transparent. Mostly PSU is state related because it receives money. That is about the only thing that makes them a public school. So perhaps both sides of this discussion are partially correct?
“Why do so many questions remain about what these institutions knew and when they knew it? In part, it’s because they aren’t required to give many answers beyond what their public relations departments deliver. Penn State and Temple are essentially exempt from Pennsylvania’s public records laws, even though they receive hundreds of millions annually in direct public funding and even though they have done nothing to earn a nearly unrivaled protection from scrutiny.”
“It’s astonishing that after the Sandusky scandal a university lobbyist can look at a legislator in the face and say everything is fine here and there’s no need for transparency,” Frank LoMonte, director of the Student Press Law Center, said. “But that is their position.”
http://deadspin.com/why-are-bad-laws-still-protecting-penn-state-and-temple-1775175207