Sixteen members of the Vanderbilt community will study campus security – especially access to residence halls and other student areas – in response to a dormitory shooting on Sept. 25.
The Chancellor’s Task Force on Campus Safety and Security will be co-chaired by David Williams, vice chancellor for student life and university affairs, and Kate Morgan, a senior who is president of the Student Government Association. Members include students, security experts and administrators.
“This task force will deliberately and quickly submit recommendations on how to keep Vanderbilt’s campus free and open, while taking concrete steps to ensure safety,” Williams said. “We believe fervently in both of these goals.”
One student was shot in the arm, and two others sustained minor injuries in the shooting at Morgan House. All were treated and released at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The attackers were not Vanderbilt students.
Chancellor Gordon Gee has pledged that “the safety of our students, faculty, staff, patients and visitors is our highest priority.” He has asked the task force to deliver preliminary recommendations by mid-November.
Members of the task force in addition to Williams and Morgan are Allan Guyet, chief of police; Nim Chinniah, deputy vice chancellor for administration and academic affairs; Beth Fortune, associate vice chancellor for public affairs; Richard McCarty, dean of the College of Arts and Science; Monica Casper, director of Women’s and Gender Studies; Kyle Southern, president of Interhall; Mark Bandas, associate vice chancellor for residential life; Marilyn Dubree, chief nursing officer of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Jamie Frazier, executive vice president of the Student Government Association and a resident adviser; Frank Dobson, director of the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center; Nicole Falls, senior at Peabody College; Misty Johnson, executive vice president for Interhall; Andy Richter, president of the University Staff Council; and Brett Kelley, a senior in the School of Engineering.
Additional students, faculty, staff and security experts will be recruited for subcommittees and work groups to support the task force. The task force has been instructed to solicit input from the entire Vanderbilt community.
Media contact: Elizabeth Latt, (615) 322-NEWS
Elizabeth.p.latt@vanderbilt.edu