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TECHNOLOGY
Policy allows chancellor to regulate social media use
MCKENNA HARFORD news@kansan.com
The Kansas Board of Regents approved an amendment to the policy manual on Dec. 18 that outlines improper use of social media by University of Kansas faculty and staff.
"There was concern around the susceptibility that allows damage to the universities," Breeze Richardson, associate director of communications and government relations, said. "The Regents are hoping that guidance is provided."
The policy change comes after David Guth, a professor of journalism, tweeted a controversial message after the Washington Navy Yard shooting on Sept. 16. The University placed Guth on administrative leave and returned after a little over a month to continue doing administrative duties.
The new changes give the chancellor the right to punish, suspend or terminate
faculty or staff based on improper social media use. "Improper use" is defined as disclosing confidential information, inciting violence or communicating through social media to accomplish an employee's official duties.
Although the Regents designed the policy to regulate faculty and staff social media use by taking into account their right to free speech and their role as employees, many groups have fought against the policy, including the American Association of University Professors and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which say the policy is a threat to academic freedom. Faculty members have also expressed concern and disagreement with the policy.
students' employability in the future.
quite often employ social media," Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, associate professor of aerospace engineering and president of the AAAP Kansas Conference, said. "Given that the policy is still in force, accreditation will be challenged at best as many accreting organizations have
"National rankings will be adversely impacted as our peers across the country will expose their students to the latest topics using the most modern teaching tools, which
"I hope that student and alumni organizations will come to realize what a grave threat this policy is to them and their fortunes and join us in resisting it" Barrett-Gonzalez said.
The Regents said that the
RON BARRETT-GONZALE2
Associate professor of aerospace engineering
"I hope that student and alumni organizations will come to realize what a grave threat this policy is to them and their fortunes and join us in resisting it."
policy is not mandatory to implement; it only gives the University authority to act if necessary. Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little plans to approach the policy in the same manner as other policies, by collaborating with faculty and staff.
"With the working group of faculty and staff looking
statements which insist upon academic freedom."
The challenge to academic freedom could lead to issues with hiring new faculty and staff, as well as keeping current members. Faculty members also expressed concern that the policy will affect their lessons and change classroom curriculum, which could hurt
at revisions to the policy this semester, in the interim if there were to be an applicable situation, the Chancellor would involve faculty and staff governance in establishing a process to evaluate the situation and make recommendations about what actions, if any, should be taken," Jack Martin, director of strategic communications for the Office of Public Affairs, said.
The Regents see the flexibility of the policy as its strength and has created a workgroup to make any necessary amendments. The workgroup will include Charles Epp, professor of public affairs, and Easan Selvan, associate director of Information Technology Services. They also welcome any recommendations for revisions to the policy, which can be submitted to the Governance Committee by April.
Gray-Little has already begun working with the Regents to revise the policy to address
some of the faculty's concerns. With the help of Deanell Reece Tacha, dean of law at Pepperdine University, Gray-Little has set up a dialogue for faculty members on March 25 titled "Data and Democracy: What is Free Speech in the Age of Social Media?" which she hopes will help shape the conversations surrounding the policy.
The world's communications culture is undergoing a dramatic shift in response to new technologies that are inspiring an evolution in human interaction, raising questions that range from etiquette to employment law," Gray-Little said in a memo to faculty and staff. "Given the breadth of this issue, how KU responds to this challenge must involve the full participation of our faculty and of our staff. We look forward to working with you and your elected governance leaders to ensure our university's ideals are upheld."
KBOR POLICY TIMELINE
CAMPUS
English professor's novel selected as next Common Book
EMILY DONOVAN news@kansan.com
Next year's Common Book will hit close to home — literally.
"The Center of Everything," by university professor Laura Moriarty, set in the fictional town of Kerrville, Kan., during the 1980s, has been selected as the 2014-2015 Common Book.
"It's the first time that we've chosen a book that was written by a professor here at KU," said Howard Graham from the Office of First-Year Experience. "That lends itself to the community aspect of the goal in a really unique way."
Incoming first-year and
transfer undergraduate students and faculty will receive a copy, Graham said this builds a community and creates a shared academic experience that helps students transition into college.
The novel, the first fictional Common Book, is a coming-of-age story. It deals with poverty, religion, evolution, role models, family and Reagan-era politics, following the fictional character Evelyn Bucknow from 10 years old until going off to college.
"It's not exactly a high-concept plot," Laura Moriarty said. "The readers who like it tend to like it for the narrator's voice and the characters and the ideas."
The University Daily Kansan:
What should KU students who read "The Center of Everything" take away from it?
Laura Moriarty: I would never want to tell a reader what he or she should take away from my book. But for me, the novel is very much about a girl who, at least when she's young, clings to black-and-white thinking as a survival skill. That kind of thinking does serve her for a while, when her circumstances are pretty desperate. But as she gets older, new experiences encourage her to consider a
Moriarty is an English
professor and received her undergraduate and master's degrees at the University.
SEE BOOK PAGE 9A
Laura Moriarty, a University english professor, shares her book, "The Center of Everything," which has been selected as next year's Common Book. The book is set in the fictional small Kansas town during the 1980s.
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 5A
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Index
CRYPTOQUIPS 5A
OPINION 4A
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 5A
Don't Forget
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
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