President meets with campus leaders on social media policy

  Tuesday, January 7, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

President Steve Scott had words of reassurance Monday for PSU faculty and staff who may have serious concerns or even fears about a new policy on the use of social media that the Kansas Board of Regents adopted in December.

“The new policy authorizes me to do something,” Scott told representatives of key campus groups at a meeting in Russ Hall. “It puts the burden on me and I think I have a pretty good track record. I want to reassure faculty and staff about my intention to continue to act as I have in the past. They shouldn’t think that a new era has arrived on campus.”

The president and Provost Lynette Olson met with the leaders of the Faculty Senate, the KNEA bargaining unit, the Unclassified Staff Senate and the Classified Staff. Scott said that state and even national reaction to the board’s vote in December prompted the regents to set up a statewide group to study the policy and recommend possible changes. Each campus will have two representatives on the work group, Scott said, of which one will be a member of the faculty and one will represent either unclassified or classified staff.

Scott said he expected the work group to start meeting by the end of January in order to get make recommendations in time for the April meeting of the Board of Regents. He said PSU has been asked to nominate three people for the work group, from which Andy Tompkins, CEO of the Board of Regents, will choose two.

The president said the statewide work group has an important task to complete.

“There will be a lot of eyes on the Board of Regents across the nation on this issue,” Scott said.

He added that it is important for faculty and staff across campus to stay informed.

“The more informed people are, the better off we are,” Scott said.

Scott and Olson concluded by saying that they believed the Board of Regents didn’t intend to harm any of the universities with the new policy.

“They have the best interests of the universities at heart,” Olson said.