Proposed committee to address Clery compliance
A proposal to form a University Security and Compliance Committee was heard by Faculty Senate Tuesday, but was returned to committees for further revision of membership, which the senate deemed to be too large.
The proposed committee would ensure UI compliance with the Clery Act, which involves reviewing and reporting all reportable campus crime statistics to the U.S. Department of Education, according to Matt Dorschel, Public Safety and Security executive director.
He said the committee would also review and recommend changes to safety procedures and review the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which is UI’s version of a document mandated by the federal government.
“It’s considered a best practice in higher education to have a Clery compliance committee,” Dorschel said. “I think having a broader awareness and participation with a formal committee, like this proposal presents, would enhance our efforts.”
The proposal outlined 16 members to serve on the committee, including Dorschel and representatives from Human Resource Services, the Athletic Department, Staff Affairs, General Counsel, Dean of Students Office, Moscow Police Department, two faculty members, Title IX coordinator, Admissions Office, EHS Fire Safety specialist, Women’s Center, Information Technology Services and a representative from both the undergraduate and graduate student population.
Senators questioned the size of the committee, but not the value.
Michael Murphy, Faculty Senate member from the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, questioned the purpose of the Moscow Police Department having a voting seat.
“They are actually required to help us comply with the Clery Act,” Dorschel said in response to Murphy. “We cannot compile the required statistics without their support … They are a valued member of our security and safety team.”
Faculty Senate members further questioned Dorschel on the number of faculty and students planned to serve on the committee.
“It’s really important to have buy-in from a wide group of people,” said Liz Brandt, Faculty Senate member from the College of Law. “I think the committee might benefit from a couple more students and another faculty member.”
Wendy Couture, Faculty Senate member from UI’s Boise location, recommended having a representative from a non-Moscow UI location. In response, the senate voted to have a staff or faculty member fill such a position.
Senate members also voted to add an additional undergraduate student to the roster.
Although Faculty Senate members added two additional members to the committee, there was a consensus that in its current form, the committee is too large to be effective.
Dorschel said he currently works closely with each department proposed to be represented and would continue to do so if some of them were removed from the committee.
“I think we were trying to balance the need to keep it a workable size committee and also make sure we had the appropriate representation from our faculty and students,” Dorschel said.
James Foster, Faculty Senate member from the College of Science acknowledged Dorschel’s forward thinking, but maintained that the membership should be changed.
“I still think this is far too big of a committee to be effective,” Foster said.
Various senators offered suggestions to which members should be removed from the roster, including Admissions, HR, the Women’s Center and athletics. Alternatives for reducing the committee size were having departments share seats and having a core group of members, and invite others to attend meetings when pertinent.
Foster’s motion to send the proposal back to the committee to reduce the number of members, taking into consideration the amendments made by senate, was approved.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected]