OSU-A&M Board of Regents will review policy following Penn State child sex abuse scandal

The committee will review policies at each institution and on the systemwide level to make sure those policies would prevent a situation such as the Penn State child sex abuse scandal from taking place at any schools.

The board convened a task force to review policies and procedures at each of the system's five institutions — Connors State College, Langston University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Oklahoma State University. Regent Tucker Link will lead the committee, which will include members of the board and representatives from each campus.

During a meeting Friday, newly installed board Chairman Andy Lester called for the review, saying the board has a duty to maintain oversight of the colleges and universities that fall under the board's authority.

“We have all been reminded of the importance of these duties as we watched the recent events unfold at Penn State University,” Lester said in a statement. “Those tragic and unspeakable events serve as a lucid reminder of how important it is to work cooperatively with our institutions to make certain what happened there does not happen at any of our institutions.”

In other business ...

The board approved OSU officials' bid to hire firms to assist with a number of campus construction projects. The board selected Tulsa-based KSQ Architects to design a new 800- to 900-bed residence hall that would be located on the northwest side of campus.