While the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a prestigious university well-known for its many accomplishments, the UW Board of Regents has spent a considerable about of time these past few months trying to recover from the various administrative scandals that undoubtedly damaged the school's reputation last year.
Following the revelations that comparative literature professor Lewis Keith Cohen, assistant medical school professor Steven Clark and medical physiology professor Roberto Coronado were on UW payroll as convicted criminals, Regent President David Walsh appointed a special committee to review the disciplinary process, while other regents began to consider other additional measures to improve the UW.
The committee was not only necessary, but also much appreciated for the safety of the campus and the remedy of a horrible process that prevents UW from suspending the pay of employees being investigated by the university. While all employees should be entitled to due process, the committee needed to find a medium between the two, especially considering the circumstances of last year's fiascos.
Over the last few months, the Committee on Faculty and Academic Staff Disciplinary Process designed a new proposal for an expedited procedure to be used in cases of serious criminal misconduct. The Board of Regents unanimously voted the proposal through last Friday and it will be sent to the Legislature for further consideration. Their hope is to prevent situations similar to last year's, which took a considerable amount of time to complete, and thus, a considerable amount of money as well before the termination of the guilty administrators.
In yet another victory for the regents, the board also passed a resolution that requires all UW employees to undergo a criminal background check before being hired. It also stipulates that current employees will be subjected to background checks every four years and it would be implemented with one coordinator per division on campus who would conduct background checks on all potential employees.
Regent Chuck Pruitt, who chairs the Business, Finance and Audit Committee, said the policy helps to ensure a safe community for all students on campus. The lone dissenter for the resolution was Regent Jesus Salas, who said he was worried about costs, oversight and lack of support, especially considering the disagreements between the UW Faculty Senate and the Board of Regents on these matters.
The disagreements between the board and members of the UW Faculty Senate stem from a variety of reasons, but Lawrence Kahan, faculty senator, cites the lack of due process as a main draw back. He said that by limiting the background checks to charges, convictions and pleas that occur after the policy is passed, the distinction between a faculty member's past and present actions can be differentiated.
Despite opposition on some fronts, desperate times call for desperate measures — and times are desperate. According to a state audit last semester, 40 convicted felons were employed across the UW System, including 27 at UW-Madison. Campus towns have enough to worry about in regards to violence without having to worry about its employers as well.
The new proposal and resolution are a little late considering the events of last year, but if it is passed by the Legislature, the plan will prepare UW for future unfortunate occurrences and grant them the ability to do damage control sooner, rather than later. Since this problem did not only happen once, but three times, it was necessary to review and reevaluate the regulations in place to decrease the chances of a professor receiving a salary while expediting the judicial process and endangering others. It is comforting to see that the regents are concerned with the UW community's safety and wellbeing and are actively correcting apparent shortcomings.
Joelle Parks ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and Spanish. She is taking next semester off from The Badger Herald in order to study abroad in Seville, Spain.
