Incoming professors to Penn State already face a background check, but soon applicants to other schools in the commonwealth may have to undergo the same scrutiny.

House Bill 145, introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by State Rep. Matthew Baker, R-Bradford and Tioga, requires universities to "conduct a criminal history background investigation prior to hiring an individual for a full-time faculty or staff position." The bill focuses specifically on felony convictions and convictions involving sex offenses or misappropriation of funds.

"We invest all these hundreds of millions of dollars to our state's system of education," Baker said. "It just seems logical that we at least ... require a criminal background check."

Baker said he originally introduced the bill several years ago, when the hiring of a felon at Penn State sparked public concern.

"You had a professor who had been a previously convicted triple murderer," he said. "This shouldn't be permitted."

Former Penn State Professor Paul Eric Krueger resigned in 2003 after his 1966 conviction for the murder of three fishermen near Corpus Christi, Texas, became public. Since then, Penn State has required a criminal background check and disclosure policy for all prospective professors and staff members.

"I've got to praise and take time to applaud what Penn State has done," Baker said. "They're one of the nation's leaders in providing an example of concern for not just their students, but their faculty and staff."

Blannie Bowen, vice provost for academic affairs, said Penn State's background check policy has proven effective.

Baker dismissed concerns that the proposed legislation would prompt concerns over privacy.

"It is a disclosure requirement," he said. "This legislation only asks for heinous crimes. This is not any breach of privacy ... this is confidential information and is only [collected from] prospective employees."

Bowen said he thought Penn State's policy was reasonable, saying that most jobs today require a background check.

"When I was coaching youth sports, I had to go through three in a year," he said. "Fortunately, I passed them all."

Baker said his original proposal called for investigation into the backgrounds of all current university faculty and staff, which raised opposition from private colleges and universities.

The current bill is a revised proposal, requiring background checks on prospective faculty and staff only.

"This is the least that can be done, and is borne out by safety concerns of my constituents," Baker said. "It enjoys a lot of support."

Baker added that the proposed legislation does not bar universities from hiring professors with felony convictions.

"It gives colleges and universities the authority to hire them regardless of their background," he said. "But don't you think they need to know who they're hiring?" Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said in an e-mail message that Penn State's background check policy proved its worth on one of the very first candidates to fall under its purview.

"It was a couple years ago, but if my memory is correct, [the candidate] claimed to have a doctorate from a college that, upon investigation, he actually did not have," he wrote. "This is a smart thing for Penn State to do."