President Steger to discuss status of April 16 recommendations
Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger and members of the university administration will brief the university community on the current status of the myriad recommendations made in internal and external reports in the aftermath of the April 16 shootings on our campus.
This “town hall” event will be held March 19, 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Squires Student Center Haymarket Theatre.
At Steger’s request, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine appointed an independent review panel with a comprehensive mandate. The governor’s executive order instructed the panel to conduct a thorough and independent review, “including a review of educational laws, policies and institutions, the public safety and health care procedures and responses, and the mental health delivery system. With respect to these areas of review, the panel should focus on what went right, what went wrong, what practices should he considered best practices, and what practices are in need of improvement.”
On May 9, 2007 Steger directed three internal reviews in the wake of the April 16 tragedy on the Virginia Tech campus. He directed the chairs “to look at strengths and weaknesses of our existing systems/infrastructure and how they may be improved or augmented to address emergency situations that might arise in the future.”
The Virginia Tech committees were charged with the following:
The Security Infrastructure Group was charged with examining the university’s existing security systems and recommending changes that would enhance the university’s ability to respond quickly and effectively in situations where the safety of the campus community is jeopardized. This group was also directed to identify strategies that might decrease the probability of such situations occurring, looking at both technological and behavioral aspects.
The Information and Communications Infrastructure Group analyzed and inventoried the communication infrastructure and information systems used during the crisis period, evaluated their performance, and identifies tactics and strategies for improvements.
The Interface Group evaluated the relationships between the university’s student counseling services, academic affairs, judicial affairs, and the legal system. It was charged with examining the existing systems and the interface between them and determining what constraints, legal or otherwise, hamper effective interactions in order to respond to and support at-risk students.
