Penn State Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is stepping up its efforts to improve safety in the workplace. EHS is taking a structured approach by setting up special partnerships with various Penn State departments. The "Integrated Safety Plan" (ISP) provides departments with a system for identifying and addressing hazards at the local level. The ISP has been designed to be flexible enough to apply to any unit and doesn't rely on a one-size-fits-all mentality. (more)
A new Web page designed to spotlight the warning signs of workplace violence has been released on the Penn State University Police website. Located at http://www.police.psu.edu/workplaceviolence/ online, the page outlines the significance, severity and warning signs of workplace violence. (more)
Despite a few tragic events at a handful of colleges in recent years, serious violence on university campuses is extremely rare, and universities must balance security interests with students' privacy rights and personal freedoms. In this new era, many colleges and universities have revisited the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of student education records. In addition to completing this review, Penn State has developed several educational tools to help faculty and the greater University community understand this law, and better determine when it is appropriate to intercede for the health and safety of Penn State students. (more)
Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University -- Deadly shootings at these and other schools are leading to new and innovative ways to identify students in distress and offer help in times of need. Penn State Public Broadcasting has helped create a new tool for faculty and staff to assist such students. (more)
The premise that higher education is connected in any meaningful way with national security interests might draw skeptical, if not hostile, looks from many Americans, including lots of university faculty, staff and students. But connected we are, and always have been. (more)
Penn College Police will increase off-campus patrols in response to recent crimes in Williamsport, including off-campus burglaries and shootings. Since Dec. 13, burglaries at 14 addresses in the college's immediate area (some affecting off-campus student housing) were reported to Williamsport or Penn College Police. The college police force will double off-campus patrols for the foreseeable future, Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour said. (more)
Starting this Fall 2007 semester, students logging on to eLion will be prompted to enter or update their emergency contact information. "They must either confirm that the existing information is correct or update it before they are allowed to proceed," said Karen Schultz, University Registrar. For years, Penn State has collected emergency contact information from students on a voluntary basis. Staff experts in emergency management at Penn State have recently recommended that the information should be collected from all students on a mandatory basis. (more)
College is a time for many students to be on their own for the first time, have fun and make their own decisions. Too often though, when it comes to having fun, some students can fail to realize that a measure of responsibility is much needed to stay safe and free of trouble. In the past year, more than 850 underage drinking citations and arrests and 200 public drunkenness citations and arrests have been issued by Penn State University Police. (more)
Last year on campus at Penn State, just like at colleges and universities around the nation, individuals were the victims of theft in their residence halls and apartments. Whether its jewelry, computer equipment or other personal valuables, experiencing this loss of property and invasion of your residence can be a distressing experience and a major inconvenience. Students should remember that they can take certain measures to prevent theft from their residences. (more)
This op-ed is reprinted with permission from the April 22 edition of the Harrisburg (Pa.) Sunday Patriot-News.
By Graham B. Spanier
Penn State President
We in the national higher education community feel a kinship with our colleagues in the Virginia Tech family as we mourn the deaths of so many in this terrible tragedy. More than a decade ago Penn State experienced senseless violence on its campus when a troubled young woman unrelated to the institution hid in some bushes with a rifle, killing one student and wounding another. While the scope of the Virginia Tech horror was immense, we nonetheless have some sense of what it is like to cope with such a crisis. But some things have changed in the last decade. Allow me to reflect on two of them. (more)
