ESARC

In October 2016, President Junn established the Executive Strategic Assessment and Response Committee (ESARC) (see charge, membership, and chronology of meetings below for June 2017-September 2018). Since our last report in November 2017, the committee has convened eight times. The committee is charged with providing timely, valuable, and effective consultation, updates, and recommendations on on-campus courses of action in response to several critical campus incidents. Meetings in late summer 2017-fall 2017 focused on one recurrent issue involving free speech and one involving a violent incident on campus. Fortunately, in the spring and fall of 2018, Stanislaus State had limited critical incidents. As a result, the committee has focused on updates regarding campus climate, safety, and diversity.

Stanislaus State continues to see the following positive benefits as a result of the implementation of the ESARC:

1. Clearly signals to the campus leadership a group charged specifically to convene quickly under urgent circumstances to meet, review and consult in order to implement specific campus actions in response to critical incidents.
2. Ensures comprehensive, yet nimble consultation of a wider range of relevant parties to determine next steps, for example, including CSU counsel and consultation in the final decision process.
3. Greater consultation results in more options for courses of action and greater effectiveness.
4. Inclusion of two key faculty (Senate Speaker, ASCSU Rep) asked to serve under confidentiality has built significant trust and greater support from the faculty for future campus actions.
5. Improves campus communication and enhances interactions with media and external groups.
6. Permits the President’s Office to more systematically track, monitor and review past actions in order to reassess, modify as needed, and plan for future actions.
7. Likely will continue to initiate a bi-monthly, or on an as-needed basis, ESARC meeting for future continuity.

In an effort to enable our campus to welcome respectful discourse on the social, economic and environmental issues of our times, while being clear on the matters of the first amendment and academic freedom, the Executive Strategic Assessment and Response Committee (ESARC) will review, discuss, and make recommendations to the President regarding issues related to campus preparedness, review and response by:

1. Reviewing and recommending appropriate course of action regarding campus events and known national/state/regional issues that may spur campus activity;
2. Debriefing and analyzing past campus events and issues; and
3. Reviewing and updating relevant campus policies and procedures.

Composition (n=18) Committee membership includes (but is not limited to):

1. President
2. Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs
3. Vice President for Business and Finance
4. Vice President for Student Affairs
5. Vice President for Strategic Dev, Enrllmnt Mngmt, Innovation
6. Vice President for Advancement
7. Sr. Associate Vice President for HR, Equal Opp, Compliance
8. Sr. Associate Vice President for Comm & Public Affairs
9. Campus CSU Legal Counsel
10. Chief of Police
11. Dean of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
12. Director for Student Leadership & Development
13. Judicial Affairs Officer
14. Dean of Students, Student Affairs
15. Director for Presidential Initiatives
16. Academic Senate Speaker
17. Academic Senate CSU (ASCSU) – Campus Rep
18. Risk Management – Campus Representant