Just weeks before the fall semester is set to begin, Virginia Tech announced the creation of a new office intended to assist in the coordination of efforts to aid the families most directly affected by April 16.
The Office of Recovery and Support will be under the direction of former rector of the Board of Visitors at Radford University and Virginia Tech graduate Jay Poole.
Poole, who served as the vice-president of corporate communications for Atria Group Inc. until recently, will report directly to President Charles Steger.
According to a written statement put out by Steger, "Jay's top responsibility will be to address the needs of the April 16 victims' families, injured students, or students closely connected with the event.”
Poole’s immediate responsibilities will include the assemblage of a team of university staff slated to provide a single point of contact for the families of victims of the April 16 shootings. In addition, Poole will be charged with organizing the “efforts of the dozens of offices throughout campus deal with the aftermath on a daily basis," said Steger.
According to the university, it is hoped that the group will improve the “effectiveness of on-going communications with victims and their families and the broader University community.”
The group will be comprised of representatives from the offices of the President, Student Affairs, the Provost, and University Relations.
Until now, each of the victim’s families has worked with a personal liaison at the university to have questions answered, get updates and receive help. According to Tech, case managers in the new office will deal with a number of families to help meet their emotional, financial and informational needs.
In a press conference Poole iterated that the main priority of the office is to improve communication with the victim’s families.
"Especially with families who have lost the most, we need to be more effective in how we communicate about the things that we are doing here on campus, about the things we are trying to do with them and about the things we are doing to honor those who have been lost.”
Poole’s salary, as well as a budget for the office have not yet been established.
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