TEXT OF PRESIDENT McCORMICK'S FEBRUARY
24, 2010 RESPONSE TO THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON CHARGE
S-0802, POLICIES ON PARTICIPATION IN BLOOD DRIVES
I am writing in response to the Report and Recommendations on
Charge S-0802, Policies on Participation in Blood Drives, as adopted by
the University Senate on October 23, 2009. The members of the Student
Affairs Committee have my appreciation for their attention to this
issue.
My administration is pleased to accept the Senate's report and
recommendations regarding increased coordination of campus blood
drives. However, I have consulted with our chief Student Affairs
officers and they have convinced me that rather than establish a single
university-wide committee to oversee these effforts, it is more
logistically feasible to have three regional campus-based Blood Drive
Committees (BDCs). By copy of this letter, I am asking each of our
three Health Services Directors to appoint or reappoint a BDC for their
campus. As suggested in the Senate recommendation, the membership of
each BDC should include, but need not be limited to, at least one
Health Services staff member, one Student Affairs staff member, and one
student. All blood drives taking place on campus or sponsored by a
Rutgers organization will be required to register with the appropriate
campus BDC. The BDC will ensure that all Rutgers blood drives adhere to
Food and Drug Administration guidelines, including those related to
incentives for participants and sponsoring organizations. The BDC also
will be responsible for informing the Rutgers community about the
current qualifications and restrictions related to donating blood,
including posting such information online, at all blood drive sites,
and on any blood drive notices or advertisements. In addition, BDC
chairs will maintain contact with local blood banks to ensure their
awareness of and compliance with Rutgers policies.
By copy of this letter, I am asking the chief Student Affairs officer
on each campus to broadly inform the campus community of this change in
blood drive policy and to encourage community cooperation in
implementing it. Rutgers blood drives make significant contributions to
local blood supplies; this increased coordination is intended to
improve the safety of Rutgers-sponsored blood drives, increase
awareness of blood drive qualifications and restrictions, and ensure
that all Rutgers blood drives follow FDA guidelines and Rutgers
policies.
Sincerely yours,
Richard L. McCormick
c: Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Steven Diner, Chancellor-Newark Campus
Wendell Pritchett, Chancellor-Camden Campus
Gregory Blimling, Vice President for Student Affairs
Marcia Brown, Vice Chancellor-Newark Campus
Mary Beth Daisey, Associate Chancellor for Student Life-Camden Campus
Melodee Lasky, Executive Director Rutgers-New Brunswick Health Services
Sandra Samuels, Director of Health Services-Newark Campus
Paul Brown, Health Center Director-Camden Campus