Dear
Campus Community:
IUP
continues
to be committed to ensuring the safest possible environment for
our employees,
students, and visitors, including minors at our university.
The
State
System Board of Governors recently introduced a new policy
designed to protect
minors on our campuses.
An
IUP committee
has completed a draft policy for the protection of minors that
complies with
the Board of Governors policy. This month, the draft policy will
be reviewed by
representatives of university constituencies, including
represented employees
and appropriate University Senate committees. The University
Senate will take
up the policy at its December 2 meeting. Board of Governors
policy requires
that IUP have a policy in place by December 31, 2014.
In
addition,
Pennsylvania recently enacted legislation that requires us to
examine and
modify our background investigation policy. The new law related
to background investigations
is expansive and includes, for example, the requirement of
background investigations
for our student employees in many circumstances.
Under
IUP’s current
policy, background investigations for new employees are
required. Under the new
law and Board of Governors policy, some current employees may
also be required
to complete background investigations before taking part in
programs in which
minors participate.
There
is no
question that IUP must, and will, comply with state laws and
Board of Governors
policies and that we will maintain our commitment to a safe and
secure campus
for all.
To
say that
it will be challenging to develop and implement this policy is
an
understatement. It will affect the entire university community.
But, we will do
it—and we will do it as a community. I firmly believe that
continuing our
commitment to shared governance will yield the best possible
results: a policy
and procedure that are easily understood, compliant with
applicable laws and
policies, and implemented effectively.
To
that end,
I have asked Cornelius Wooten, vice president for Administration
and Finance,
to appoint a working group to address this initiative. The
working group will
include representation from all of our university
constituencies, including our
represented employees. This group will be charged with
developing a draft background
investigation policy, which I expect will come to the University
Senate for
consideration in February or March.
Thank
you
all for your continued good work on this issue.
Sincerely,
Michael
A. Driscoll
President