Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA State College
Penn State Investigative ReporterMassey investigates how Penn State University operates, including its influence in the region and state. The university receives more than $300 million in funding from the state but evades most transparency measures under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. Massey scrutinizes the main University Park campus as well as the university’s 19 additional branch campuses.
A native of rural Wisconsin, Massey previously covered faith and religion for the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Southeast Tennessee.
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Bias and human resources issues were the most common misconduct reports Penn State received in January and February 2024. The data offer the first public look into the ethics office in years. -
Board leadership suggested in a letter to Trustee Anthony Lubrano that the proposal should have been deliberated during a private executive session — a move that would likely have been inconsistent with Pennsylvania’s open meetings law. -
Learn what Pennsylvania education records you can access, how to monitor leaders in your area, and what to do if you believe officials are not following the law. -
The performance-based funding model proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro would tie state support for Penn State, Pitt, Temple, and Lincoln to metrics such as graduation rates or retention. -
A faculty member said Penn State’s promise to better fund existing DEI programs felt like “an attempt to pit people against one another.” -
A trustee proposed naming the field Friday, but withdrew the resolution minutes later after objections from Paterno’s son, Jay Paterno, who said it’s not the time to honor his father. -
The discussions, which come more than 12 years after Paterno’s firing amid the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, might have violated the state’s open meetings law. -
Over the past 17 years, the Pennsylvania legislature has approved either flat or decreased funding, when adjusted for inflation, to the four-state related universities. -
A monthslong funding debate in the Pennsylvania legislature resulted in greater transparency rules for state-related universities and Penn State’s new accountability report. -
The U.S. Department of Education is looking into Penn State's compliance with the Clery Act after a student's questions about campus crime and timely warnings.
