MSSU uses same thorough background checks for teachers that it uses for president

Judging from today's Joplin Globe article, Missouri Southern State University's background checks for prospective teachers are just as in depth as the one they used for selecting President Bruce Speck:

The revelation comes following the revelation Thursday by the campus newspaper, The Chart, that Norman Katz, who has been hired as a full-time accounting instructor scheduled to begin in January (and who has been working as an adjunct instructor) pleaded guilty to embezzling $129,000 from his former workplace in Canton, Ohio:

But Speck, who declined to comment on anything about Katz specifically, did generally acknowledge to the Globe on Friday that a criminal background check has not been part of the university’s hiring procedures for some time. He said his understanding is that practice — or lack thereof — predated his arrival in January 2008, and he said there have been no explanations yet as to why.


He said he only “recently” became aware of that, although he could not say precisely when.