Collegiate Times

In a special meeting at Torgersen Hall Sunday afternoon, the Board of Visitors discussed the process by which the recommendations of the various reports concerning the April 16 shootings will be analyzed and implemented.

The board also took the opportunity to express its support for university president Steger who has received much criticism in recent weeks.

"President Steger has been the glue, and the leader that has been an inspiration to us all," said vice-president of University Relations Larry Hincker in an interview after the meeting.

A "policy group," appointed by Steger and directed by senior resource fellow and former chief operating officer Minnis Ridenour, was charged with developing a process by which the university can analyze and enact the recommendations given by six different reports, including Gov. Tim Kaine's review panel report.

The policy group developed an intensely detailed process that prioritizes each of these recommendations. For instance, a recommendation with a "Priority 1" classification should be completed within two months.

The process also allows the administration to easily outline the necessary staffing and funding required to carry out these endeavors.

But with an unexpected increase in enrollment and future budget cuts expected from the state level, additional funding may be hard to come by. 

"As we look at the recommendations it is not only important, it is absolutely essential that they be linked back to our financial management strategies and they be focused in a way that reinforces our long term objectives and strategic plan," Steger said at the meeting.

The university has received $6 million in federal grants from the Dept. of Justice and $960,000 from the Dept. of Education to implement new programs and services that will act as examples to the rest of the nation.

According to Steger, the university has spent $8 million on changes made around campus in response to April 16. One endeavor has been the addition of the VT Alert system which currently has over 17,000 subscribers. According to university officials, this is the most expansive campus alert system in the nation with the closest being the University of Florida system, which 30 percent of the student body subscribes to.

Two million dollars have been spent on the addition of doors that lock from the inside in many classrooms and the removing of hardware on building entrances to prevent chaining such as on April 16.

In addition, a new public awareness program has been implemented which has placed posters in classrooms alerting students and faculty of emergency protocol. The Virginia Tech police have also received additional funding for increased staff and equipment.

There are also plans for a new public safety building which will house police, fire, and EMT services.

The strategic objectives of the university were also discussed at the meeting including the unexpected rise in enrollment.

"The number of students is higher than we expected, and higher than we have funding for," said University Provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs Mark McNamee, "so we have to bring that back into balance."

The current enrollment is over 1,000 students higher than planned for this year.

According to Steger, 400 of these would have been placed on academic suspension for this semester, which was waived after April 16.