In the 1980s, Penn State was brimming with ambition.

Joe Paterno was in the process of winning two national titles. The campus and the nation were convinced his grand experiment had worked. Interest in the school was up. Those who ran the university decided Penn State could no longer just be another good state school.

Everything had to be bigger. And better.

Penn State wanted to become a world leader in research. It needed to hire the best professors, teach more students, erect buildings and, for the first time, establish a serious endowment.

That transformation required two things: money and contacts.

The people most able to proved those two crucial ingredients just happened to be members of the board of trustees representing business and industry.

As Penn State moved up the national rankings, and a Penn State degree grew more prestigious, those trustees and their allies acquired the dominant voice on the 32-member board.

By the nature of their positions, they have the contacts, the wealth and the connections so that when its necessary to do things they have leverage in many ways, said Ben Novak, a former alumni trustee now attempting to return to the board.

Before Jerry Sandusky, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were arrested in November, few questioned the trustees stewardship, either inside or outside the board room.

Since then, alumni factions have demanded broad-based reform and more influence in decision-making. Eighty-six alumni are campaigning for the three alumni seats up for election this spring, promising to reclaim control of the university.

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Penn State board of trustees has long been led by businesspeople