UI President Michael J. Hogan has ordered a comprehensive study of university sexual-abuse policies in an effort to “reaffirm our commitment to the safety and well-being of all members of our community and visitors to our campuses.”
The review is expected to lead to mandatory sexual-abuse training for employees and possibly the expansion of background-check requirements for outsiders conducting business or offering programs on any campus.
Hogan discussed the policy at the Dec. 2 UI Board of Trustees meeting on the Springfield campus.
He said the review, which includes forming a universitywide group, is in response to the recent Penn State scandal, where officials are accused of mishandling sexual-abuse complaints lodged over a period of several years.
The three-member group comprises Thomas Bearrows, university general counsel; Maureen Parks, executive director of human resources; and Donna McNeely, executive director of the Office of Ethics. A timetable for their work was not set.
The group is to:
- Communicate with employees the laws and procedures for reporting criminal wrongdoing, which include informing law enforcement and supervisors, as well as making potential reporters aware they are protected from retaliation.
- Compile all relevant federal and state laws, and existing university procedures, to develop an “inventory of potential situations in which background checks may be considered” for non-student activities connected with the university.
- Identify situations meriting “extra attention and oversight,” such as summer youth camps – then provide additional safeguards.
- Determine whether current university procedures are adequate and then initiate mandatory training for employees.
“We’ll report back to the board as this effort goes forward,” Hogan said, noting trustees had contacted him “nearly simultaneously” with similar concerns as reports of the scandal unfolded in the media.
“The university is prepared to prevent situations such as the one that occurred at Penn State and other similar situations that have occurred at other institutions,” he said.
Christopher Kennedy, the chair of the board, said a strong response was needed, not only because of the potential damage to an institution’s reputation and legal liability, but because of “a higher calling.”
“We have an overreaching mandate just to protect kids,” he said. “That ought to be a simple message.”
