Twelve men responded to questions and concerns posed by African-American women Monday.

About 55 people attended the social gathering in the Bovee University Center Lake Michigan Room to honor African-American women.

“This is women’s day. You just have to be able to answer to them, whatever questions come,” said Travis Foster, Detroit senior.

Hosted by Phi Beta Sigma social fraternity, “Sisters, We’re Sorry” was a discussion of the ways African-American women and men relate to each other.

“This is a celebration of black women. We want to know what we can do to celebrate women on a daily basis,” said Foster, Phi Beta Sigma publicity director.

A show of hands determined almost everyone in the room was raised by single, African-American women.

The audience talked about the women in their lives, who they admire for their strength.

“My mother protected me from negative influences,” said Antoine Safford, Detroit senior. “I just want to thank my mother for being a strong woman.”

Foster said the most influential woman in his life was his grandmother.

“My grandmother raised me; she took care of me my whole life. She was a 65-year-old woman stuck with a 14-year-old brother,” he said. “Tonight is a celebration of women like her.”

Niles junior Lynn Wesby said everyone in the room should be proud of the black women in their lives because they have shaped who the attendees are today.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed of the black women who raised you. Look where you’re at now. You’re in college at Central, a predominantly white university,” she said. “You’re successful because of the women behind you.”

Respect should be something all women get, Wesby said.

“Remember a black woman has a name. My name ain’t baby,” she said. “Find out what’s in her head not what’s on her chest.”

Another topic of discussion was the way African-American men seem to be intimidated by African-American women who make more money or are better educated.

“Men being intimidated by women has to do with how we grew up,” said Detroit senior James Day, Phi Beta Sigma treasurer. “Men have to see that it is OK for women to be successful.”

Safford said dating a successful woman makes it difficult to feel like a man.

“When you have a woman that makes more or equal (money) to you, it’s hard to wine and dine her,” he said.

Wesby offered a woman’s perspective.

“It goes back to the mentality that the male is the head of the household,” she said. “A successful woman can leave any time her needs aren’t being met. You’ve got to work for a woman with higher status.”

She said she enjoyed attending the event and was proud of the fraternity’s work.

Since all the questions were directed at the males in the room, Wesby said it took courage to put on the program.

“It was very well put together; very inspirational,” she said. “There is a lot people could take away from the program.”
]]> http://www.cm-life.com/2001/11/07/phibetasigmafraternityputswomenfirst/feed/ 0 http://www.cm-life.com/2001/10/15/harrisonresignsfromlegalteam/ http://www.cm-life.com/2001/10/15/harrisonresignsfromlegalteam/#comments Mon, 15 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000 Donna GiulianiLIFE Staff Writer http://www.cm-life.com/2001/10/15/harrisonresignsfromlegalteam/ A key member of Central’s legal team is leaving for greener pastures in a
move that may inhibit the Office of Information Technology’s applied research
growth.

After one year at CMU, David Harrison, assistant general council, will work his
last day Oct. 31. He will begin work as the associate vice president for legal
affairs with the University of North Carolina Nov. 15.

“My focus here was intellectual property, research and those affiliated areas,”
Harrison said. “This is what I will be doing over there, but on a much bigger
scale.”

His work with CMU’s IT department helped to pave the way for applied research,
such as the Dendrimer project. Dendritic Nanotechnologies Ltd contracted with
CMU to develop products using pioneering dendrimer technology involving the manmade
molecule.

“A lot of these research opportunities have legal requirements,” said
Robert Berry, IT assistant vice president. “He and I were a good team. He
was very easy to work with, and he did things in a timely fashion.”

Harrison’s departure has the potential to affect IT’s growth in the
applied research area because his replacement will be coming in without prior
personal knowledge of the projects he was working on.

“There is the chance it can slow us down,” Berry said. “A lot of
that is dictated by the opportunities that come to us and his replacement. It
takes a while to replace really good people.

“The baseline has been set in terms of the work he has done. There is basically
a road map he has set down to follow. We just might not run down the road as fast
as possible,” he said.

Harrison represents the university as it develops relationships with outside entities,
said Eileen Jennings, university council.

“We’ll look for someone to continue that kind of portfolio. That kind
of thing is a really high priority with (University President Michael Rao), and
we want to be sure to keep that momentum,” she said.

Harrison’s departure is only a temporary setback to the development of outside
research projects.

“It slows us down a little. It does slow the momentum, but we’ll be
OK, we’ll be fine,” Jennings said. “Part of it is he has worked
so extensively with Bob Berry that they kind of know what each other thinks. So
anyone that comes in will have to build the relationships to make things run smoothly.”

The search for a new assistant general council began this week, Jennings said.

“My goal is to have someone by the first of the year,” she said. “I
don’t think we’ll get anybody before January.”

Aside from going through human resources to find a candidate, CMU is taking advantage
of online technology.

We’ll advertise in a daily Michigan e-journal for lawyers. We’ll also
advertise among Michigan lawyers and among higher education lawyers with the National
Association of College and University Attorneys, which is a list serve, Jennings
said.

“We are advertising in places that are likely to attract a diverse pool of
candidates,” she said.

Harrison’s expertise and time at CMU was spent in intellectual properties
on campus, such as copy write, IT issues and research issues, Jennings said.

“They overlap, but I see them as three issues. Basically someone is going
to have to come in and be trained much the way he was. Experience in some or most
of these areas would be ideal,” she said.

“We were just drowning with work in copy write before he joined us. That
is what he started on and then he graduated into other areas of IT issues. We
want the next person to either already know copy write law or to be a very quick
study,” Jennings said. “While I am terribly sorry to loose him, I think
there are many qualified people out there that will be able to give good service.”

Harrison first began his work with IT in the SmartZone project.

“As we were developing it he was assigned to it and took to it like a duck
to water. He got very involved in the whole process,” Berry said.

His experience with IT issues of applied research led to his acceptance of the
position with the University of North Carolina.

“As my experience at Central Michigan University became more involved with
intellectual property, research and information technology, my interests in the
areas grew beyond what even I expected,” Harrison said. “My work with
the SmartZone and Dendrimer projects revealed that these were areas I wanted to
pursue further, as they provided unmatched personal and professional satisfaction.”

His interests are what led him to accept a position in North Carolina.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me. The University of North Carolina
is basically one of the innovators in research and technology transfer. They are
part of the research triangle,” he said.

The triangle is composed of Duke, the UNC and North Carolina State. His position
will involve all 16 campuses of the university, which totals nearly 163,000 students.

The UNC Board of Governors approved his appointment Friday.

 “I dread leaving CMU because of the people I have gotten to know here.
This is some of the most satisfying work of my life,” Harrison said. “I’ll
be sending everyone a weekly weather report from beautiful Chapel Hill.”

His wife, Canada graduate student Sheryl Grant, their 3-month-old baby, a dog
and a cat will be making the trip as well.
]]> http://www.cm-life.com/2001/10/15/harrisonresignsfromlegalteam/feed/ 0 http://www.cm-life.com/2001/08/01/westfallexcitedaboutnewjob/ http://www.cm-life.com/2001/08/01/westfallexcitedaboutnewjob/#comments Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000 Donna GiulianiLIFE Staff Writer http://www.cm-life.com/2001/08/01/westfallexcitedaboutnewjob/ Jerry Hoffman

The CMU Leadership Institute hired Nathan Westfall for the new position of coordinator
of student leadership development from among 20 applicants.

The new position is in the P&A-3 pay scale, meaning he will make a minimum
of $26,000 per year to a maximum of $59,500 per year, according to the Human Resources
Web site.

“It is a lateral move for him,” said Leadership Institute Director Dyke
Heinze. “He was a P&A-3 in Admissions. The change is that, here, he will
be working with students all the time.”

Westfall’s former work in Admissions as the assistant director did not give
him the exposure to students that he hopes to enjoy in his new job.

“In Admissions, I dealt primarily with prospective students and did a lot
of traveling,” Westfall said. “Here I’ll be dealing with the current
students on campus.”

The new position used to be run by Student Life but was changed on the suggestion
of Dean of Student Bruce Roscoe.

“The change will facilitate a better coordination of leadership programs,”
he said. “We are trying to make it more efficient.”

Westfall’s position will, however, follow the pattern laid down by Student
Life.

“His primary duty will be to create a leadership program that will follow
the initiative of Student Life. His job will be to work with other offices that
have leadership programs such as Residence Life and Minority Student Services,”
Heinze said.

Westfall needs to make sure there is no overlapping or duplication of programs,
which will minimize redundancy, he said.

“(And) he will be running existing programs such as LeaderShape and Connections.”

Westfall was hired based on his professional experience and on how well he interviewed.
Some of the qualities that made him ideal for the job are his enthusiasm, past
initiative and past experience with leadership development, Heinze said.

“He has a vision for where he wants to take student leadership in training
and development on this campus,” he said. “(Westfall) brings an unbelievably
positive attitude, and he has already been a part of leadership initiatives on
this campus.”

Westfall’s personal goals for the position entail the education of student
leaders.

“I’d like to help students understand the resources available to them.
In doing so, I’d like to make sure they know about the resources available
so they can take them back to their organizations and implement them,” Westfall
said.

The skills the Leadership Institute hopes to instill in participants will be valuable
well after the college experience is over.

“We’d like to help with the student’s success here at CMU so, hopefully,
when they graduate they can continue to use some of the tools they’ve learned,”
he said. “We just really hope to make a difference in their lives.”

While Westfall is approaching his new position with a lot of energy and a positive
attitude, the success of the program depends on the students.

“For this to work, there has to be the cooperation and involvement of the
students. The program is intended to benefit the students,” Heinze said.

There are many ways to get involved with the Leadership Institute.

“Just stop in at Powers Hall 130 or give us a call (774-1909),” Westfall
said. “I’ve tried to stay in touch with the student organizations. They
know I’ll be around and available.”

Westfall should be done with his masters degree in educational administration
and community leadership from Central in May 2002. He earned his bachelor’s
degree in business from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.

“I’m very excited, thrilled, overjoyed about my opportunity to work
with United Way,” she said. “I have only been here about a week so I
am just learning my responsibilities.”

Bliss is also looking for ways to improve the Mount Pleasant chapter.

“I would like to further establish a volunteer program in all area schools.
I also want to add to the volunteer opportunities by contacting the nonprofit
agencies for their continued support and getting new volunteer opportunities,”
she said.

Bliss is currently readying for the Day of Caring event Sept. 15.

“It is our next big scheduled event. Agencies submit programs to us. We in
turn come up with the volunteers to complete these projects,” she said.

Executive Director Linda Cooper said she expects big things from Bliss.

“Two of the projects she’ll be concentrating on right away are the September
Day of Caring that kicks off the United Way Campaign and the Festival of Trees
in November,” Cooper said.

She said Bliss is perfectly suited to her new role.

“I think she has a lot of energy, she is very motivated and a team player.
I think she’s going to be a great compliment to our team at United Way,”
Cooper said.

“There will be a lot of challenges in learning a new job, but she is a local
person so she has lots of advantages. We’re really pleased that she’s
joined us and she’ll do a great job for us.”

Bliss is a lifelong resident of Mount Pleasant. Graduating from Sacred Heart Academy,
she went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in commercial recreation and Facilities
Management from Central.

She previously worked as the activity director and volunteer coordinator for Schnepp
Health Care Center out of St. Louis, where her experiences include the organization
and planning of various community and fund raising activities.

“I have a 4-year-old son, Brandon, and I’ve been married for the past
eight years to Gary Bliss. He works for Fabiano Brothers,” Bliss said.

She enjoys almost all outdoor activities, she said.

“I love golfing, hunting, camping, fishing, skiing and shopping. Mount Pleasant
has fabulous golf courses. Believe it or not, my favorite is Riverwood.”

Sen. Leon Stille, R-Spring Lake, questioned the Michigan Treasury about the schools’
tarnished reputations from the false allegations of possible cheating on the annual
Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests.

“About a month ago, the department of treasury announced that 71 schools
had MEAP irregularities in 22 school districts,” said Lynell Shooks, legislative
aid to Stille, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education chair. “Several
schools were wrongly identified.”

Most of the schools accused of cheating are from poor school districts, and all
but one are public schools or academies.

“A consistent and primary predictor of test scores is the socioeconomic situation
of the school districts in which students are located,” said David Kinney,
sociology associate professor whose research is concentrated in the field of sociology
of education.

Good MEAP scores are part of being a competitive school.

“(The accused schools) were all over the state, but a significant number
of them were in Detroit. It might have been just one or two classes within the
building,” Shooks said.

Of the 71 schools accused of cheating on the MEAP, 44 were in Detroit districts
and some were just outside of Detroit. One of the school’s was Spring Lake
Intermediate, a school in Sen. Stille’s district.

In a July 12 letter to Michigan Treasurer Doug Roberts, Stille asked for information
on the 71 accused schools and for information on the follow up investigation.
Among the questions Stille wants the Department of Treasury to answer are:

• What is the status of the 71 investigations, and when will they be concluded?
• What sanctions will be imposed if any improprieties are discovered?
• Will a formal apology be issued to schools cleared of wrongdoing and local
  communities notified?
• What steps will the Treasury Department take to prevent future mishandling
  of information?
• Are there any ethical standards being reviewed that would more clearly
  identify ways to avoid irregularities? and
• Is legislation necessary to implement sensible changes?

The next step is to look at what can be done to repair the reputations of schools
that are not guilty of cheating, he said.

“Hearing that your school cheated on the MEAP damages your credibility, especially
in this time of schools of choice,” Shooks said. “If you have a school
district where 10 parents decide to pull their kids out based on their reputation,
the school looses money, somewhere around $6,500 a kid.”

The damage to a school district’s reputation may not be reversible.

“It certainly is a negative label that may lead to parents pulling their
students out, and this can contribute to a continually weakened district. While
all those kids and parents never actually see that money, it leaves with the kids.
It becomes a cycle,” Kinney said.

Even though the state of Michigan is trying to equalize the funding of the schools
the cycle is often invisible to policy makers.

“I wonder how many of these state legislators have spent any significant
or quality time in an urban school to see how it runs. They may not understand
the challenges faced by students, faculty and administrators.

One of Gary Peer’s tasks as interim director for CEL North was to analyze
the organization and look for ways to make it more streamlined, said Larry Smiley,
CEL associate dean of Academic Services.

“We found we had positions doing the same things so we eliminated the executive
director of national programs, the person that had the oversight over all the
programs outside Michigan,” he said.

CEL also terminated three regional directorships.

“We eliminated the east regional director in Washington in January,”
Smiley said. “Just this month we eliminated the regional director in the
south, which is in Atlanta, and the west regional director which is housed in
Kansas City.”

The terminated positions should not affect the running of the CEL.

“There was some growing concern that we were top heavy. We found we had overlapping
duties. Two different people were doing the same thing,” he said. “This
was not a quick decision. We had been overviewing it for some time. We analyzed
the organizational structure, and we acted on it by eliminating some positions
in the top level of the organization.”

Evart and Dorothy Ardis, brother and sister-in-law of former faculty artist Katherine
Ardis Ux, have donated the money to establish the Katherine Ardis Ux Endowed Award
in Art. It will be annually awarded to a CMU senior majoring in art who intends
to pursue further study in a master’s program or other type of structured
art program.

“We are very pleased for the generous gift of the endowment,” said Mike
Leto, vice president for University Advancement. “This will be a really lasting
tribute to her memory.”

“It is a great thing for the university and we are very pleased to accept
this gift,” he said. “It is so important that we increase our endowment
because it is such a benefit to the students and the university. It provides a
perpetual source of income for student support.”

Aside from the financial benefit of the endowment, Ux left behind many fond memories,
friends and her art.

“She just had the most wonderful mind, and she was the sweetest person you’d
ever want to meet,” said Gail Moore, senior development officer for Planned
and Major Gifts. “We got to be really good friends after her retirement from
Central.”

Teaching was a gift she had and she loved her students, Moore said.

“She kept in contact with so many of her students after their classes with
her ended. She was always receiving so many letters and phone calls from her former
students, and she was just delighted to hear from all of them.”

The gift to Central’s students was just one of the things she had talked
about doing but never got around to finalizing.

“She had a lot of different things she had talked about doing for years,”
she said. “I had met her brother in California and I kept in contact with
him after her death. When he contacted me and said that this was something he
wanted to do with her estate, I was very happy. He said it was because her main
focus for everything she did was the students. He doesn’t really have a connection
to Central except through Katherine.”

Evart Ardis’s purpose is to keep her memory alive at the university where
she taught for more than three decades.

“Katherine taught at Central for many years and was a very accomplished artist,”
he said. “We established this award so that people would remember her contributions
and accomplishments. I think that she would be very pleased to know that this
scholarship will assist art students who wish to continue their education.”

Ux died in 1999 after a hospital stay that began the day before Mother’s Day.

“She was 90 when she got sick and put in the hospital where she later died,”
Moore said. “She had a cold that kept getting worse until it turned into
pneumonia. I certainly miss her. I felt so privileged that I got to know her for
the two years that I did.”

Ux was a member of the CMU art faculty from 1944 until her retirement in 1975.
She was a widely acclaimed artist who was known for her textiles and weavings.

Her artwork has been displayed in galleries throughout the United States, including
the Smithsonian Institution. Her creations have also been featured in numerous
public and private collections including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the St.
Paul Gallery in St. Paul, Minn., the Cooper Union in New York and CMU.

The $100,000 endowment will be used to set up a fund that will pay for scholarships
based on interest collected.

“Our general policy is that the money is invested and never spent, but a
portion of the investment earnings will be spent each year,” Leto said. “After
three years it will produce roughly around 5 percent in interest. It will ultimately
earn $5,000 a year once it gets going, but not this year.”

Traci Guinn is busily trying to fit into her new position while missing her family
and working on a Ph.D.

“I moved to Michigan three years ago without ever having previously visited.
I didn’t know anyone here, and I had no family here that I knew of,”
said Guinn, Minority Student Services interim director.

The Mount Pleasant climate is hard for her to get used to, compared to Memphis,
Tenn.

“I am still adjusting to the snow. It was beautiful the first five minutes
but after that it went downhill. I hadn’t lived in cold weather or snow for
15 years. My driving has become better since I’ve been in Mount Pleasant,
but it is really hard being away from my family,” she said. “My mom
messed up when we were in college and got an 800 number and she never got rid
of it. I talk to my mom pretty much every day.”

Guinn grew up with her father in the military, and she has lived all over the
United States. Her parents, sister, brother and nephew now live in San Antonio,
Texas.

“I keep myself busy because being away from family is extremely hard for
me. Family is first and foremost in my life,” she said. “They are extremely
important to me.”

She is in Michigan because her parents pushed her to be independent.

“My parents grew up in Memphis, Tenn. Like any parents, they said that their
children would be better off than they were. My parents are wonderful teachers
in life. They said, `we’re going to raise you, and then you are going
to go out and succeed.’ I want to show my parents I learned what they
had to teach,” she said.

Guinn is working on her Ph.D. in educational leadership after completing her master’s
in educational administration and community leadership at Central in a year. She
also has an undergraduate degree in business for the University of Memphis in
Tennessee.

“I believe opportunities are placed in our paths for a reason. I started
taking classes in the summer of 1999 and graduated with my master’s in the
summer of 2000,” she said. “Knowing that I always have a home to go
to makes me a stronger person and gives me more will to succeed and do well in
life.”

Mount Pleasant is a change of pace for Guinn, after moving with her family from
major city to major city all over the U.S.

“I like Mount Pleasant, although it is different than what I am used to.
I previously worked at the University of Memphis as a counselor/ recruiter for
about four years.”

Her new position’s responsibilities will benefit from her former experiences
there and from time spent in the MSS.

“I have worked closely with Minority Student Services. It gives me a different
aspect, which I will use with a lot of the students I will be working with. I
moved to admissions because I want to work with the students on a different level,”
she said. “I’m really excited. I look forward to working with the students
more personally in a way that will help them attain the goals they have set for
themselves. I want to help prepare them for their future lives.”

Guinn plans on easing into her role as interim director.

“I think instead of running in and making dramatic changes I want to first
move in and assess what has been done. I don’t want to go in and rock the
boat. I want to study and research what is already there and give my input from
there,” she said. “It is kind of like cooking. It is just seeing what
spices can be added to make the dish better.”

Guinn would, however, like to see more student involvement and leadership in the
department.

“I look forward to students coming into the office more. I want the students
to know that they are always welcome,” she said.

“It has been over 30 days since we’ve had rain,” said Paul Gross,
Michigan State University Extension Office county extension director.

“The crops on the lighter soils are permanently damaged now. Some areas won’t
yield anything. It is not as bad as it has been in past years, but we haven’t
seen a stretch like this for a while,” he said. “It is interesting how
weather goes. It is usually in extremes.”

Unlike recent years, this year has been hard on the farmer’s crops.

“The last couple years have been nearly optimal growing conditions. The frustrating
thing for most growers is that we started out the year with extreme wet, and they
had a hard time getting the crops started. A lot of them drowned, and things didn’t
get started until late. Now we’re in the other extreme,” Gross said.

Rainfall this year, however, falls within the average for Michigan.

It is just not following normal patterns, said Alan Rios, Channel 9 and 10 Weather
Service meteorologist.

“For the year we’re slightly up (on the amount of rainfall) due to
the wet spring. On average, however, it looks like it is a quarter of an inch
below the average precipitation for mid June and July,” Rios said. “This
is because the last two weeks of June were relatively dry with no rain reported.
June 2 was the last time we received a quarter inch or more of rain.”

The lack of rain contributed to the current dry state of affairs in Central Michigan.

“We’ve had several days up in the 90s. It’s been dry and windy,
so that increases the fire hazard. We would need at least up to an inch of rain
to decrease the fire hazard,” Rios said.

The weather system moving into the area should decrease the chance of fire and
bring most of the crops around.

“The latest forecasts are showing widespread rains across the state. It appears
that we should get something out of this, and it will bring some relief,”
Gross said.

“A couple inches of rain is sure going to help. This time of year the crops
take a tremendous amount of water. It could turn things around if we could have
normal rainfall the rest of the summer. (The farmers) might be able to recover
and at least approach average yields.”

Even if most farmer’s fields recover, they will not see the profit they may
have been hoping for.

“Obviously, economically speaking, if you don’t have good yield the
potential for profit is greatly reduced. Commodity prices are historically low
anyway. When you get good yield you can compensate for the low price, but not
with a season as (sporadic) as this,” he said. “We don’t have the
option, like the oil companies do, of just raising the price.”

Most community members will not be significantly affected.

“It will have little or no impact on the general public, other than the inconvenience
of hot weather,” Gross said.

The MSU Extension Office acts as a resource for area farmers because of its accessibility
to the community and the research of the MSU agricultural and natural resources
department.

“We carry the research results into the field in areas like field crop production
and insect control. We use the information that is gained from the research to
improve peoples lives through education. We bring the research onto the farms
and apply it to their daily lives and occupations,” Gross said.

CMU has revised its hiring procedures for senior officers following the recent
controversy surrounding the search for a senior officer for Facilities Management.

University President Michael Rao announced the revisions of the procedures to
the Board of Trustees Thursday. This follows the rescinding of Kifah W. Jayyousi’s
hiring because of controversy surrounding his employment history.

“The Jayyousi search played a major role in the drafting of these hiring
procedures,” said University Spokesperson Mike Silverthorn, Public Relations
and Marketing executive director.

The new search procedures include Internet-based searches, newspaper database
searches and Web site searches of a candidate’s previous employer.

Using these techniques, CM LIFE uncovered more of Jayyousi’s background than
university officials admit they knew. He submitted his résumé Oct.
18, 2000 and was offered the position June 19, eight months later. In an editorial,
CM LIFE questioned the hiring procedures that resulted in the recension of the
job offer.

In its June 27 issue, CM LIFE reported that Jayyousi had been fired from his previous
post on charges including mismanagement. The search committee was unaware of the
details of Jayyousi’s firing, said both Rao and Jonas Cook, interim chief
financial officer and vice president for Finance and Administrative Services.

“CM LIFE did have a role. (They) were helpful in establishing the need. It
was a good idea to do Web searches for the hiring of senior staff,” Silverthorn
said.

Rao said solid information is essential for making good decisions.

“You are always going to have greater strength when you have more information.
The situation that CMU experienced made that clear.”

Central has many high level positions open at any given time.

“In a university of this size, it is not possible for the president to be
individually involved in each search. It is his job is to provide oversight, general
direction, and setting general policy and procedures. He saw a need in this situation
for a policy change in hiring, and that is what prompted it,” he said.

Rao has made changes in policy throughout his presidency at Central.

“My job involves several things. I am constantly reviewing procedures and
processes. As soon as I identify something that is a problem, it is my job to
make recommendations to the Board or change things internally,” Rao said.

“When an area comes up that needs review I will address that more quickly
than things that are on a schedule basis because that says there is a need.”

Because Rao is in the beginning of his service to CMU, he is still working on
examining the procedures of the college, Silverthorn said.

“President Rao has only been here a year, and he hasn’t been here long
enough to identify all the procedures that need to be changed. It came to his
attention that some changes needed to be made in the hiring procedures, and so
he established this procedure,” he said.

The hiring procedures, as announced Thursday, are:

• Selection and training of a committee chair who
  will examine the credentials and background of the
  candidate;
• Targeted questions will be used to verify the
  circumstances under with a candidate was released
  from a former position and any other significant
  information;
• The chair and supervisor of the search committee
  will conduct interviews with three of the five references
  listed by the candidate and a minimum of three “off
  the list” reference checks will be conducted;
• The chair will work with faculty personnel services
  and human resources to continue doing criminal background
  checks in accordance with current policy;
• The chair will work with staff in FPS/HR to do
  thorough Internet-based searches that use all available
  search engines (including but not limited to Netscape,
  Excite, Yahoo, Euroseek, Northern Light, Ask Jeeves,
  Alta Vista, Google, Lycos, Hotbot, GoTo, NBCi, and
  any others available on the market);
• The chair will work with staff in FPS/HR, and
  possibly confidential library staff, to conduct
  newspaper searches through Web sites of papers in
  the candidates current and previous areas of employment
  using key resources, including the search engine
  NEXIS/LEXIS;
• FPS/HR will conduct Web site searches of candidate’s
  previous employer;
• The chair or supervisor will consider traveling
  to the final senior officer candidate’s place
  of current or former employment;
• FPS/HR may contact or hire a firm to do detailed
  background reviews;
• The chair must be confident she or he collected
  information from every source within legal guidelines
  and will be encouraged to employ steps and sources
  beyond this list to gather important information;
• The chair will report all information gathered
  to the position supervisor, committee, hiring official
  and the president as appropriate. If either ethically
  or politically questionable information is uncovered,
  the final decision will be discussed with the president
  or his designee before an offer of employment is
  made.

The guidelines are intended to make the hiring process more efficient and thorough,
Silverthorn said.

“It is in the best interest of the university
to fill positions as quickly as possible but properly.”