Penn State to hire new abuse prevention faculty

(State College) -- Penn State plans to hire a dozen new faculty members over the next three years, part of what the university says are efforts to become a national leader into child abuse prevention, research and treatment.

The hires will include clinical and research tenure-track faculty in the recently-launched Network for Child Protection and Well-Being.

The creation of the network was part of the university's response to the sweeping scandal triggered by the arrest of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky on child molestation charges in November 2011.

Penn State said it already has at least 400 faculty members with research, teaching and service concentrations on the well-being and development of children and youth.

The number would include faculty at The Center for the Protection of Children at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Dauphin County.