A member and former chairman of the Penn State board of trustees has resigned, saying his presence on the board had become "a distraction and an impediment" to the university's efforts to move forward following the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Steve Garban's resignation Thursday night made him the first board member to leave since the crisis engulfed Penn State.

Garban, who had stepped down as board chairman after Sandusky's November arrest but had remained a board member, was harshly criticized over his handling of the Sandusky case. Fellow board members and alumni had called for him to resign.