CU to check background of all hires, promotions
Policy change prompted by knife attack on student
Associated Press
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The University of Colorado plans to make background checks a part of all hires and promotions after a former employee with a criminal history was accused of slashing a student with a knife.
The new policy will probably be in place by Dec. 1, said Gloria Timmons, director of employment services at the university's Boulder campus.
Kenton Astin, 39, was accused of attacking freshman Michael Knorps on the Boulder campus Aug. 27, the first day of classes.
Knorps was hospitalized briefly. Astin had been a temporary worker in the CU food court earlier in the year. In 2001, he was sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo after allegedly stabbing a Longmont man.
Astin faces charges of attempted murder and assault in the attack on Knorps.
Astin is undergoing an evaluation at the mental health institute.
Current university policy requires background checks for applicants seeking security-sensitive positions, such as patient or child-care jobs, or positions with access to drugs, master dormitory keys or confidential data.
Boulder campus Chancellor Bud Peterson announced after Astin's arrest that the background check would be changed.
The University of Colorado System, which oversees all three CU campuses, is also reviewing background-check policies.
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