Penn State seems to be making all the right moves in the wake of the explosive revelations about the alleged sexual misconduct of one of its former football coaches.
On Thursday, the university's new president, Rod Erickson, promised the institution would donate $1.5 million in bowl proceeds to a pair of sex-crime advocacy organizations as well as a complete re-examination of the university's ethics policies.
Ethics would be raised "to a new level so that everyone at the university understands not just the legal thing to do, but the moral thing to do, so that we learn to do the right thing the first time."
Doing the right thing going forward doesn't wipe out of the memory of the mishandling of the Jerry Sandusky issue, but likewise, it should not be dismissed as too late smart.
Penn State's reputation will suffer long-term damage as a result of what appears to have been a culture of placing image above moral obligation.
Keeping in mind that everyone in American is considered innocent until proven guilty, even the possible exoneration of Sandusky would not exonerate those in the administration, from the head football coach on up to the former president, who failed to do the right thing at the time.
Still, we hope that the measures announced by PSU's administration are an indication that Penn State has regained perspective on its role in the lives of those it is trusted to educate and will make sure that its athletic programs are not the tail that wags the dog.