Faculty exempt from review
Some university employees not subject to background checks
By Becky Brandenburg
Staff Reporter

Some TCU employees are exempt from the usual background check most employers require, and it is usually the people with the most student contact at the university.

John Weis, director of human resources, said all full-time, temporary and part-time staff are subject to criminal background checks, a review of the applicants’ Social Security number, degrees, references and motor vehicle records — if the position requires driving. Faculty are appointed to their teaching positions by the office for academic affairs and are asked to declare felony convictions at the time of appointment.

Recent exposure of faculty members with felony convictions at two large U.S. universities; Kiah Edwards III of Florida A&M University for rape and Dr. Paul Krueger of Pennsylvania State University for triple murder, as well as security concerns spurred by Sept. 11, reopened the discussion for many universities.

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs William Koehler said TCU will not be making any changes.

Koehler said he could not give a definitive answer to why criminal background checks are not run on faculty at TCU. He said that historically, there is a precedent in academia.

“Some of the answer lies in tradition and some in what our competitors do,” he said. “We think, for faculty, this is the right way to go.”

TCU’s nearest private competitor, Texas Wesleyan University, has the same hiring practice.

“All staff must undergo a criminal background check,” said Norma Ballejo, human resource employee at TWU, “but faculty hires are asked to self-disclose felony convictions on their application.”

Southern Methodist University requires a background check in highly unusual cases where responsibilities extend to driving vehicles, working extensively with children or performing surgical operations, said SMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ross Murfin. Murfin said most private universities do not require criminal background checks and he doesn't expect their hiring practice to change.

Dana Dunn, vice president for academic affairs and interim provost at University of Texas at Arlington, said that they have made significant statewide policy changes in public universities since Sept. 11.

“Faculty supervisory personnel determine the need for a thorough background check based on the level of security and access the new faculty member will have,” Dunn said.

She said that persons working in health care settings, with young children, in security-sensitive areas of research or who have access to large areas of the university are subject to background checks.

Some students, like Shelley Hartman, said it is interesting that more can be found out about the housekeeping staff than about their English teachers.

“I would expect them to,” said Hartman, a junior psychology major. “I am really surprised.”

Robert Patrizi, a senior kinesiology major, said he thinks TCU faculty should have to go through background checks like everyone else.

“I was under the impression that they did,” Patrizi said. “Since other jobs require it, I just assumed TCU did.”