Spring Break
Professors seek policy clarifications
Concerns rise of delay, theft
BRIAN MINK
Issue date: 1/10/08 Section: News
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Hugh Hudson, chair of the department of history at Georgia State University and executive secretary of the Georgia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, said the policy that went into effect Jan. 1 at the University represents the middle ground in a proposal that initially concerned faculty.
"We worked together harmoniously (with the Board of Regents) to come up with a draft that was then provided for the units" in the University System of Georgia, Hudson said. "The policy that came out offered security to the individual faculty. ... (The regents) recognize that individuals have rights."
Professor John Morrow led faculty efforts early last year to address policy concerns with University System Chancellor Erroll Davis.
"We had reservations about the nature of the fact that a private company would have" employees' criminal records, Morrow said.
Morrow submitted a resolution in February 2007 to the Georgia Conference of the American Association of University Professors outlining several grievances with the policy, including concern that faculty were not consulted in its initial formulation and its scope and procedures were unclear.
Also, the policy put faculty at risk of identity theft or invasion of privacy, which made the hiring process less friendly - especially toward international faculty - and was a disproportionate liability compared to the relatively small benefits, Morrow's resolution read.
University Council appointed a committee to address faculty concerns, and the committee planned to relay its findings to Davis, Morrow said.
Hudson said some of the issues faculty had were rectified by defining what type of information would be obtained about employees and by allowing each college or university within the University System to address employee infractions on a case-by-case basis.
"Ultimately in a university setting we have to make decisions about what (crimes are) germane ... and what are not," he said. "You don't want a policy that is blind to reality."
Hudson said concerns about the policy slowing down the hiring process are well-founded, but the process will speed up once it becomes more routine.
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