STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State trustee who fired Joe Paterno over the phone is leaving the board.

John Surma was vice chairman of the board of trustees when he told Paterno that he was being ousted as Penn State’s head coach after 46 seasons. Surma delivered the news on Nov. 9, 2011, shortly after the board voted unanimously to fire the Hall of Fame coach in the wake of the child sex-abuse charges against former Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Surma will leave the board when his term ends in June.