U of M's Kaler suggests policy review to uphold child safety

University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler suggested changes today in the wake of the Penn State child abuse case.

In a speech to the Board of Regents, Kaler said the university put athletics personnel through training in response to the Penn State scandal. He said the training emphasized the need to report abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement immediately.

Kaler announced plans to convene a committee to review the university's policy on child safety. He said he expects the committee will present any changes needed by the end of the academic year.

Kaler also said the university could to a better job of sharing reports about crimes and safety with students and families. He said he wants to publish an annual security report for each campus. Kaler said he is confident Minnesota has a system in place that would have detected early on crimes such as those committed by Jerry Sandusky.

Apart from policies dealing with sexual misconduct, Kaler also gave examples that he said showed the athletic department's diligent reporting of recruiting violations. In one case a student athlete tweeted that a recruit had verbally committed to the university. Kaler said the tweet was removed within hours.

In another example, Kaler said a university coach also violated rules by calling a prospect twice in one week. Kaler said the coach was prohibited from calling the prospect for two weeks. In another instance, according to Kaler, the university "inadvertently paid $9.95 for Internet service during a prospect's campus visit and stay at a hotel." He said they issued the responsible coach a letter of admonishment and required the prospect to give $9.95 to charity.