This past weekend the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and university officials met to determine how to process recommendations the university has received since the April 16 shootings that paralyzed the Blacksburg campus.
Since Seung-Hui Cho's shooting spree that left 32 students and faculty members dead, Virginia Tech received a total of 380 recommendations about topics ranging from security issues to mental health services, 93 of which came from Governor's Review Panel and 287 of which were filed by the college's three internal review committees, said Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech. Though the recommendations entailed a number of areas for improvement, many of the suggestions overlapped.
"Independent groups have come to the same conclusion," explained Mark McNamee, Virginia Tech provost and vice president for academic affairs.
McNamee said the Board of Visitors -- the governing authority at Virginia Tech -- meets four times a year, adding that Sunday's discussion was a "special meeting."
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and other members of the campus administration also attended the meeting.
Attendees "reviewed the process that the university would go about analyzing the recommendations," Hincker said. In addition to organizing the recommendations, a key part of the meeting was reporting to the Board of Visitorsand "letting them know how the system would work," McNamee said.
In a statement issued by board Rector Jacob Lutz, III, the board also commended Steger at the meeting for his hard work and "leadership in these most difficult times."
To approach the issues referenced in the recommendations, Virginia Tech has formed several committees within the university community.
"We wanted the faculty, staff and students to be involved in this process," McNamee explained.
One committee focuses on what is known as the "human dimension", which includes counseling, mental health services and communication. The other main committee deals with security and infrastructure, examining "what additional measures universities should take," McNamee said.
One of the greatest challenges Virginia Tech faces is securing funding for future projects.
The board is still "assessing the cost" for both short- and long-term efforts, McNamee said, adding that the highest-priority measures, however, have "already been implemented."
Factors such as emergency communications, care team, and threat assessment have been put into place, Hincker said.
McNamee said the implementation of recommendations through the overall Virginia Tech Action Plan is going to be an "ongoing process,"explaining that determining priorities, finding a way to pay for them and getting them in place are some of the school's main goals at this time.
"Things are going to be different from now on," he said.
In his statement, Lutz also noted, "By adopting the Virginia Tech Action Plan ... [the university is] honoring the lives and sacrifices of all who have suffered and advancing the notion of service that is fundamental to Virginia Tech's mission."
McNamee noted that the university continues to move forward even while determining how to improve its security, infrastructure and student services; this year alone, the university has seen a nearly 1,000-person increase in enrollment.
"Despite what happened on April 16th ... people recognize it's an excellent university," McNamee said. "They know it's a strong environment, saw the quality of its students and wanted to be a part of it."
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