2008 Woodie Awards
Background checks required
Criminal investigation leads to checks on all new Board members
James Spung, Managing Editor
Issue date: 11/14/06
Last Updated: 12/26/07
Criminal background checks are now being performed on all new employees and members of the Board of Trustees. Two separate resolutions, one for employees and one for Trustees, were approved last month.
While the policy of background checks on new employees has been in the works for some time, the same policy involving new Trustees was decided in response to former trustee Tom Delanty. He left the Board almost two years ago and is now under criminal investigation, director of human resources Dolores Humiston said.
"The decision [requiring background checks on new trustees] was both routine and a reaction to the issue," said Chuck Boppell, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Delanty was accused of mishandling money entrusted to him by an investor, Boppell said. He added that so far, no charges have been filed, although Delanty's actions are under investigation.
Delanty, who was elected to the Board in 1999, chose not to stand for reelection in April 2005. The Board of Trustees currently has 36 members, and all new trustees are elected by the full board.
Although Delanty's situation has not directly involved Whitworth, the Board was "troubled" by his situation, Boppell said.
"The Board wants to make sure that their members are going to represent the college well," Humiston said.
As a result, criminal background checks are mandatory for new members of the Board. While the Board of Trustees developed this policy themselves, they had little to do with the resolution requiring background checks on faculty.
"I was part of the decision on the background checks on trustees, but the decision [of checks] on faculty comes from the President and his cabinet and is just approved by the Board," Boppell said.
Whitworth's former policy required background checks on all staff, or non-faculty and non-student employees. Checks are run through ADT Business Security and are generally used to confirm a potential employee's educational records or investigate criminal convictions.
While the policy of background checks on new employees has been in the works for some time, the same policy involving new Trustees was decided in response to former trustee Tom Delanty. He left the Board almost two years ago and is now under criminal investigation, director of human resources Dolores Humiston said.
"The decision [requiring background checks on new trustees] was both routine and a reaction to the issue," said Chuck Boppell, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Delanty was accused of mishandling money entrusted to him by an investor, Boppell said. He added that so far, no charges have been filed, although Delanty's actions are under investigation.
Delanty, who was elected to the Board in 1999, chose not to stand for reelection in April 2005. The Board of Trustees currently has 36 members, and all new trustees are elected by the full board.
Although Delanty's situation has not directly involved Whitworth, the Board was "troubled" by his situation, Boppell said.
"The Board wants to make sure that their members are going to represent the college well," Humiston said.
As a result, criminal background checks are mandatory for new members of the Board. While the Board of Trustees developed this policy themselves, they had little to do with the resolution requiring background checks on faculty.
"I was part of the decision on the background checks on trustees, but the decision [of checks] on faculty comes from the President and his cabinet and is just approved by the Board," Boppell said.
Whitworth's former policy required background checks on all staff, or non-faculty and non-student employees. Checks are run through ADT Business Security and are generally used to confirm a potential employee's educational records or investigate criminal convictions.
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