1. Graham Basil Spanier was born on July 18,1948 and is a South African-born American sociologist and university administrator who became the 16th president of Pennsylvania State University on September 1,1995.
38 Facts About Graham Spanier
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Graham Spanier previously held appointments as professor of human development and family studies; sociology, demography, and family and community medicine.
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Graham Spanier had a one-year post-presidential sabbatical leave following his resignation as president of Penn State in November 2011.
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Graham Spanier served a two-month prison sentence throughout the summer of 2021.
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Graham Spanier has written a book recounting the Penn State scandal from his perspective, the criminal proceedings which followed and his resulting incarceration.
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Graham Spanier is currently a consultant in national and international security, intelligence and risk management.
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Graham Basil Spanier was born to Rosadele Lurie and Fritz Otto Spanier in Cape Town, South Africa and came to Chicago as an infant when his parents immigrated, concerned by parallels they saw between apartheid in South Africa and fascism in Germany.
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Graham Spanier's father had previously escaped Nazi Germany in 1936; much of his father's extended family perished during the Holocaust.
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Graham Spanier's father worked in a nuts, bolts and screws warehouse loading and unloading trucks; his mother worked in a clerical position.
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The family moved to the suburb of Highland Park, where Graham Spanier graduated from Highland Park High School in 1966.
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Graham Spanier's father became postmaster of Highland Park in 1962 and retired from that position in 1975.
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Graham Spanier has revealed that his father was physically violent with all three of his children.
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Graham Spanier attended Iowa State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in three years and continued his education to earn a master's degree.
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Graham Spanier had summer jobs as a radio announcer, news director, pizza maker, bank teller and public relations officer.
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Graham Spanier received numerous honors while a university student for his leadership in student government and campus activities, including the Gold Key of the Cardinal Key Honor Society.
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Graham Spanier created the Penn State World Campus, the Schreyer Honors College, the Presidential Leadership Academy, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, the School of International Affairs, and programs in forensic sciences and security and risk analysis.
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Graham Spanier oversaw the merger with the Dickinson School of Law, creating an accredited and acclaimed two-campus law school.
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Graham Spanier was recognized by the American Institute of Architects for "Outstanding Contribution to the Profession by a Non-Architect" and with the Elizabeth Holtzman Award for his improvements to campus landscaping, master planning, and community relations.
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Graham Spanier hosted "To the Best of My Knowledge," a live call-in program on public television and radio, and "Expert Opinion," a sports topic television program on the Big Ten Network.
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McLaughlin claimed to possess a tape of telephone conversations with university officials, including Graham Spanier, to verify that he had tried twenty years later to inform the university, but he later had to file an affidavit acknowledging that he did not have such tapes.
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On February 25,2014, over the objections of Louis Freeh and his law firm, Graham Spanier was granted a stay in his defamation lawsuit until his criminal case is resolved.
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Graham Spanier seeks a damage judgment against Freeh for defamation, and against the university for breaching terms agreed to upon his resignation in 2011.
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On November 1,2012, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly announced that Graham Spanier had been indicted for grand jury perjury, obstruction of justice, child endangerment, failure to report child abuse and conspiracy in connection with the scandal.
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Pretrial hearings in the case against Graham Spanier began on December 17,2013.
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Attorneys for Graham Spanier, Curley and Schultz asserted this was a violation of attorney-client privilege and their clients' civil rights.
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Graham Spanier was found guilty of one count of endangerment in a split verdict.
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Graham Spanier's attorney indicated they would appeal the guilty verdict.
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On June 2,2017, Graham Spanier was sentenced to two months jail and two months house arrest.
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Additionally, Graham Spanier was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.
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One of Graham Spanier's attorneys said that Graham Spanier would pursue a further appeal.
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On December 1,2020, Graham Spanier's conviction was reinstated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third District.
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On May 27,2021, Graham Spanier was handed an order to begin serving two months at the county jail on July 9, followed by two months of house arrest, for a misdemeanor conviction of endangering the welfare of children.
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Graham Spanier was convicted by a jury in March 2017 but he remained out of jail due to appeals.
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On June 7,2021, Graham Spanier was incarcerated at Centre County Correctional Facility in Bellefonte, PA.
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Graham Spanier's sentence stipulates that he will serve two months of house confinement and complete 200 hours of community service.
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Graham Spanier has published more than 100 scholarly publications, including 10 books.
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Graham Spanier was the founding editor of the Journal of Family Issues, an associate editor of the Journal of Marriage and the Family, and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Marriage and Family Counseling.
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Sandra Graham Spanier is a professor of English and Women's Studies at Penn State and the general editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of Ernest Hemingway.