Last semester, an anonymous woman contacted the university and told officials that a convicted sex offender was teaching a physical education course at WSU. The tip was correct. Geoffrey Lee Keller, 26, of Idaho, was convicted of lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16 in 2006 and was teaching American Social Dance. Currently, university policy does not mandate that department managers run background checks before hiring, unless the applicant will be working with children, said Theresa Elliot-Cheslek, interim director of Human Resource Services.

Keller taught at WSU in the spring and fall semesters of 2009 without incident — until WSU officials learned of his criminal history. During the interview process, applicants must disclose criminal history, said Cedric Price, WSU director of physical education activities. Failure to do so can result in termination. Once Price was made aware of the situation, he spoke with Keller. “He said he thought we knew because he thought one of his references told us,” Price said. Price said they terminated Keller for failure to disclose criminal history during the application process. “(The woman) made us aware of something we were unaware of, and we took care of it,” Price said. Price said background checks have not routinely been a part of the interview process. At The Bookie on Monday, students Amanda Porter and Courtney Clark expressed uneasiness with the fact that Keller had been convicted in 2006 and hired in 2009. Porter said she would be uncomfortable not knowing she was being instructed by a sex offender.

"Why didn't they do a background check?" Clark said. "Especially in a PE-type situation."

Phyllis Erdman, interim dean of the College of Education, said they do not normally run background checks unless hiring someone to work with children. “(It’s) not that typical to do a background check on something like that,” she said. “We probably wouldn’t do one for something like that.”