Joyner, who was at the time a university trustee, was named Penn State's acting athletic director in November 2011 after athletic director
Timothy Curley was placed on
administrative leave following his indictment for
perjury and failing to report possible child abuse in connection with the
Penn State sex abuse scandal. Joyner had no prior experience as an athletic director, and some observers have questioned the propriety of the board of trustees moving one of their own members into a position that reportedly pays an annual salary of $396,000. In a report released in November 2012, the Pennsylvania Auditor General recommended that Penn State should avoid such transfers, stating, "this movement gives rise to reasonable public perceptions of insider influence and conflicting interests, particularly when the movement involves persons at executive levels." Notwithstanding this recommendation, in January 2013 Penn State announced that Joyner had been named permanent AD. Joyner pledged to rehabilitate the athletic department and return to core values as an academic unit, saying, "Now if we've lost some of that luster because of things that have happened, I can tell you that I've never lost that core value, and this athletic department will reflect that core value." ==References==