GW will perform background checks on top faculty candidates next year to screen for sexual offenses and major criminal charges. The proposal for increased oversight came from a faculty-led task force’s study released last fall. Officials gave nearly three dozen recommendations for adding protections for minors and increasing transparency,modeled on the report of the sex abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University. The University is specifically concerned about anything that will raise a safety or security risk with their students, many of whom are minors. That is the overall focus and intent in what we’re doing in pursuing a background check expansion.
