The following message was emailed to the campus community on September 23, 2020.
Dear Members of the University Community,
As I wrote to the campus community last week, we have begun the Campus Safety Services (CSS) audit under the leadership of Judge LaDoris Cordell (ret.). An important part of the process will include personal feedback from members of the University community that will inform the comprehensive review. This is an opportunity for members of our community to share personal experiences with, insights on, and perspectives of CSS that will add depth and breadth to the assessment process. The personal feedback gathered will complement the information to be gleaned from documentation and organizational records. With your help, the narrative input will be an integral part of the evaluation.
To ensure broad input, Judge Cordell invites you to submit your feedback on the Campus Safety Services Audit Feedback Form. We ask that you provide this feedback no later than Monday, October 19, 2020 so that Judge Cordell has sufficient time to incorporate the input into her report and conduct any necessary follow up. Information submitted on the Campus Safety Services Audit Feedback Form will be gathered for Judge Cordell’s purposes only. As she may wish to follow up with respondents via Zoom interviews, you are invited to provide your contact information on the form.
Thank you for your participation in the audit process, and please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The following message was emailed to the campus community on September 16, 2020.
Dear Santa Clara University Community,
Recently Fr. O’Brien informed the campus community about the launch of an independent audit of Campus Safety Services (August 24) and announced that Judge LaDoris Cordell (Ret.) will be conducting the audit (August 28). As a follow up to those messages, I take this opportunity to provide you with an overview of the work that will be conducted as well as an update on where we are in the process.
The comprehensive review will evaluate past and present practices, policies, and records of Campus Safety Services (CSS). In addition, Judge Cordell will conduct an assessment of CSS’ history, hiring and procedures for CSS officers, as well as job requirements, training, officer demographics, and budget. She will further review the CSS complaint process and policies regarding discipline of CSS officers, and the history of complaints and officer discipline. Judge Cordell will also analyze policies and procedures of security services at comparable academic institutions to determine best practices.
As part of her evaluation, Judge Cordell will receive feedback from members of the SCU community: CSS, staff, faculty, students, and alumni via email communications. She will then determine with whom she will proceed with (Zoom) interviews. Instructions about how to provide feedback to Judge Cordell will be available once the academic quarter has begun.
In terms of where we are in the process, the audit has begun with the collection of a myriad of CSS documents and other materials for Judge Cordell’s review. Based on her review, Judge Cordell will determine whether additional materials are needed. She will then conduct interviews as indicated above.
Once Judge Cordell has reviewed all necessary information and completed all necessary interviews, she will issue her report directly to Fr. O’Brien by December 31, 2020.
I look forward to supporting Judge Cordell in this process. As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,