President Coleman's PSU email to the University
An email to the student body just hit my inbox. I realize this is not a super interesting email, but I thought that non-students might like to see what words were chosen. The subject line was "Learning from the Penn State situation" which seems ok.
Mary Sue Coleman [email protected] 4:17 PM (1 minute ago)to StudentsTo the University Community:
We have watched the tragic events at Penn State with shock and sadness.
At Michigan, we are devoted to the highest ethical standards; we expect honesty and integrity from every member of our faculty, staff, and student body. This is a chance to remind one another that a community’s values are lived out in the actions of each of us as individuals.
It is important for us to act immediately in suspected cases of abuse or other crimes, or in a circumstance where you find yourself either a victim or a witness to questionable activity. If this is the case, please take one of the following steps:
--If you require immediate emergency assistance or believe a crime is in progress, dial 9-1-1 to connect you to the police.
--For a non-emergency situation, call the Department of Public Safety at 734-763-1131. DPS professionals can help assess the situation and determine what other notification or action is necessary.
--Information on potential criminal activity also may be reported anonymously by calling the University’s Anonymous Tip Line at 1-800-863-1355.
Or in general, if you believe you have seen wrongdoing in the course of your daily activities on campus, you can report the situation anonymously through the University’s compliance website (http://compliance.umich.edu/report.html).
Taking action might be difficult or uncomfortable or inconvenient. But the alternative – delaying action or taking no action – puts the welfare of others at risk.
Thank you for your continued help in keeping our community safe.
Sincerely,
Mary Sue Coleman
President
November 15th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^
Everyone actually. Faculty and staff got it as well. It seems pretty boilerplate. I'd have loved to see a bit more emotion, as opposed to "If you see something, call the cops". Some kind of commentary on how Michigan does not condone any kind of coverup and the punishment for covering up will be extremely severe.
November 15th, 2011 at 4:29 PM ^
they always BCC (i think?) official emails from the top so i guess you can only see the lists that you were on that it went to.
edit: also, yes. it's very anodyne. interestingly there is an ethics institute at penn state that has also yet to say anything non-anodyne publicly. i'll have an email in to people who i know there shortly.
November 15th, 2011 at 4:50 PM ^
Really you can't see the other people it went to? I can see all the lists she had it farmed out to. Perk of being a programmer I guess.
November 15th, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^
Mine says to "All.Faculty, Students, and.Staff". Whats yours say?
November 15th, 2011 at 8:25 PM ^
Mine says "dude" what does yours say?
November 16th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^
"Sweet", what does mine say?
November 15th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^
but i was looking at it in my gmail inbox, and they've been changing how that stuff displays lately. maybe i'd find more if i looked harder (or looked at my umich email account directly), but if i recall correctly it's pretty common for me not to be able to see who things from that email address went to.
November 15th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^
I think they're going to let the judicial system play out first. Even though his alleged crimes are atrocious, Sandusky is still allowed his fair trial in court. Talking about the Penn State situation as if its a coverup at this point in time would be assuming guilt on the part of Sandusky before his trial.
November 15th, 2011 at 5:47 PM ^
Penn State could have covered up the allegations without being sure they were true.
November 15th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^
Thought it was a good email to send, and worded well for the situation. Not sure getting emotional would have helped anything.
November 15th, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^
She should have said "Go Blue!" at the end of her email
November 15th, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
when I finished reading it. I guess it is just a habit.
November 15th, 2011 at 8:44 PM ^
Even if you work in a large corporation as I do, many things that come from the top down, if you will, are pretty carefully worded and rather boilerplate. This reads like a fairly good reminder for everyone, I think.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
Yeah, I'd bet that email was lawyered up real good. Coming off too strong might, I dunno, be seen as encouraging violations of privacy. Boilerplate stuff is the best CYA materlal.
November 15th, 2011 at 10:08 PM ^
All of the positive things this email accomplished:
- You remind people that the way things look at Penn State is not the way things need to look anywhere else.
- You have a handy reference of all of the various means in which you can take action.
- You cover yourself in terms of required reporter training and documentation
- You look proactive, even if it is comes from a reaction.
- You maintain an even keel (for legal purposes), while still tapping into the raw emotions of the moment.
I've sat through a decade of "mandatory reporter" trainings at the beginning of each school year. They're not fun, they're not great for setting a "Woo, new year" tone for gettiing back to work, but damn if in the last week my mind has not been going back to the exact procedures laid out in those trainings about what I would need to do in a situation that required my reporting.
November 16th, 2011 at 10:32 AM ^
University president that's got things under control.