Report: New Policy Forbids Chicago State Faculty From Talking To Media
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new policy on communication and social media has created a stir at Chicago State University on the city's South Side.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, new rules say the faculty and staff at Chicago State may not talk to the media, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Only authorized media representatives are now allowed to do so.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports
Podcast
Blogs and even Twitter or Facebook posts might have to be approved by the public relations division at the university, the Tribune reported.
The Tribune obtained a copy of the new policy, and said employees who violate it might face termination.
American Association of University Professors director Cary Nelson told the Tribune the policy was "an obscenity and absurdity."
But Chicago State marking and communications director Sabrina Land said in an e-mail to faculty and staff that communication must be handled to safeguard the reputation of the school, the Tribune reported.
Chicago State, at 95th Street and King Drive, has struggled with financial mismanagement over the years, the newspaper reported. A new president, Wayne Watson, was hired in 2009 to clean up the operation.
Last month, CBS 2 and the Better Government Association reported that Watson drew a retirement package of nearly $800,000 when he left the City Colleges of Chicago, plus a $140,000 annual pension, he's also drawing a $250,000 salary at Chicago State University -- all of it on the taxpayers' dime.
The BGA also said Watson is getting a sweet lifetime health plan from the City Colleges.
