Fourteen pages.
That’s how long it took University of Idaho President Chuck Staben to mention student safety during his 18-page Tuesday’s State of the University address.
Staben effectively meandered through UI’s many accomplishments in the past year, from outreach programs aimed at making attending college easier for high school students to the many research projects UI takes part in across the globe.
However, initiatives like research and community outreach happen at college campuses all of the time. It’s the core of what makes up a university.
What stood out the past year, and what quickly defined Staben’s tenure at the helm of UI, was student safety. The president with just months left in Moscow did not address those needs nearly enough.
Fourteen pages into the transcript of his speech, Staben applauded UI’s rank among the nation’s safest campuses according to Safewise. However, he failed to go into detail why Dean of Students Blaine Eckles is spearheading a new Student Safety and Wellness Task Force — which was announced last spring but has yet to be fully implemented.
While Staben lightly acknowledged the “real challenges in respect to Title IX issues,” he did not address all that had happened in the last year, including the direct violations of Title IX regulations by former Athletics Director Rob Spear.
While he said he wanted to err on the side of caution during his speech, there was no better time for Staben to directly separate himself and his administration from the misdeeds of employees past. There was a chance to start a new chapter, and the chance was carefully danced around until being ultimately forgotten.
Staben was right in calling these issues “complicated.” With Pete Isakson serving as interim athletics director for the remainder of Staben’s time as president, it looks like the UI administration has already begun a change in culture. However, what is not complicated is denouncing the wrongs of the past.
Staben said he did not want to touch on the details of former athletes who were wronged, which would violate their privacy. However, it would have been in his, his staff’s and the students’ best interest for the leader of the university to — in person — declare this kind of behavior simply won’t be allowed at UI, both during his tenure and beyond.
—BH