Temple forms committee on sexual assault

Among 60 or so universities nationwide under scrutiny for the handling of sexual assault on campus, Temple University on Friday announced the creation of a special committee to look into the school's policies and practices and conduct a campus wide survey.

"Amid heightened national attention to sexual misconduct on college campuses," President Neil D. Theobald said in a campus email, "I want to ensure that Temple is providing the most effective services for the university community, following exemplary procedures for handling reports of sexual assault and related offenses, and promoting ongoing awareness of the university's policies and prevention efforts."

Pennsylvania State University, also under review by the U.S. Department of Education, said it would create a task force on the issue in July.

The education department announced in May that Temple and Penn State were among the colleges under investigation. At the time, Temple declined to say when its review started, citing confidentiality.

"Temple has fully cooperated with the Office of Civil Rights and looks forward to a resolution of the matter," spokesman Ray Betzner said at the time.

The action by Temple is among of a flurry of efforts by colleges around the country, struggling to respond to mounting pressure from students and the federal government over the handling of sexual assault. The University of Pennsylvania recently announced it plans to hire an investigative officer to handle sexual assaults and is reviewing how complaints are handled.

The Temple committee, which held its first meeting on Sept. 15, is chaired by Laura Siminoff, dean of the college of health professions and social work, and report its findings in early 2015 to Theobald.

The committee will review the school's policies and practices and look to make sure the process is fair to all parties, and it will look at policies at other universities for ways to improve, Theobald said. Also, following a recommendation by a White House Task Force on campus sexual assault, the committee will conduct a university-wide survey to "better understand the perceptions of the issue and how it affects the Temple community," Theobald said.

Others on the committee include: Alice J. Hausman, Chair and Professor, Department of Public Health; Bernie Newman, Associate Professor, School of Social Work; Richard Greenstein, Professor, Beasley School of Law; Charles J. Leone, Executive Director, Campus Safety Services; Stephanie Ives, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students; Sherryta Freeman, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Compliance and Student-Athlete Affairs; and Sandra Foehl, Director of Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX Coordinator. Cameron Etezady, Associate University Counsel, will advise the committee, the university said, and Blair Alston and Brittany Lewis, members of the Temple Student Government administration, will serve as student representatives. Others involved with the committee include Nicholas Perugini of the College of Health Professions and Social Work, students Laurie Ann Maurer and Mary Kate Kalinich, and Research Associate Kristin Kopec.