U. examines hiring practices for vendors

Last week's discovery that an employee at the Au Bon Pain in Huntsman Hall is wanted in connection with a Southwest Philadelphia homicide and was previously convicted for attempted murder will coincide with the expanded use of background checks for applicants at Penn Business Services' contracted vendors.

Au Bon Pain employee Keith Devine, 26, is wanted for the murder of Jovonne Stelly and the shooting of four others that occurred on the 5800 block of Pentridge Street on March 25. He was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault in 1999.

Prior to the incident, Business Services was already in the process of reviewing its policies regarding background checks for contracted vendors, Business Services spokeswoman Rhea Lewis said.

But that process has since been accelerated.

Lewis said that, "up to this point," contracted vendors typically followed their own corporation practices concerning the use of background checks. Now, however, Business Services plans to ask all partner vendors to institute them.

"It's something that many of them have, but that's what we are looking to make sure happens," Lewis said.

She added that most vendors, such as Aramark, Barnes and Noble and the Hilton Inn at Penn, already require background checks.

But Au Bon Pain, which previously did not mandate background checks for applicants, will now require them.

"I'm not sure if this is something that ABP already had in the works, but it is something that we determined needed to happen immediately," Lewis said.

The incident will not change Penn's relationship with Au Bon Pain, said Laurie Cousart, director of Business Services' dining division.

"We are satisfied with Au Bon Pain's attention and responsiveness to this matter," she wrote in an e-mail. Cousart added that "the company will continue to operate on Penn's campus."

Lewis said she did not know the status of Devine's employment at Au Bon Pain. He has not shown up for work since the March 25 shooting.

The incident comes as the University reviews its hiring policies regarding background checks following the announcement that the two convicted sex offenders who had been employed by Penn would not longer work for the University.

Real Estate Services spokesman Tony Sorrentino said that, while there is a distinction between University hires and contracted-vendor employees, the incident will be discussed by Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and Provost Ron Daniels as they lead a committee to evaluate the criminal background inquiry process for faculty and students.

"It will become part of the conversation that the Executive Vice President is having with the committee that he's leading to review our current policies and to discuss the issues," Sorrentino said.

Vendor checks:

? The University will now ask all campus vendors to require background checks for potential hires

? Officials had already been looking into changing vendor hiring practices

? The move comes after an Au Bon Pain employee was discovered to be a suspect in a March 25 murder and also had an extensive criminal background

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.