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College Officials Gather to Discuss Security

August 14, 2007

By Gary Robertson

About 700 representatives from colleges and universities across the state gathered in Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center yesterday for a campus security conference called by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

John M. Bennett, VCU's senior vice president for finance and administration, set a somber tone for the event in his welcoming remarks.

"On April 16, all of our worlds changed in a way we previously thought unthinkable," Bennett said, alluding to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

Bennett said colleges and universities "have had to rethink everything we do."

Kaine said it was no longer possible to take a purely idyllic view of college campuses.

Colleges have some of the same problems as all communities, and campus security has become an everyday concern, the governor emphasized.

You can't "set it and forget it," Kaine said.

Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president of the University of Virginia, and Charles L. Werner, chief of the Charlottesville Fire Department, talked about cooperation between the university, the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

They said the jurisdictional cooperation ranges from manning concerts and football games at U.Va. to weather emergencies and potentially catastrophic events.

Werner said it is critical that university officials and local and regional authorities know each other as friends well before an emergency throws them together.

"And," he said, "you must park your egos at the door."

Robert C. Dillard, chief of police at the University of Richmond, said a memorandum of understanding is being prepared that will spell out how law-enforcement agencies will respond to colleges in central Virginia.

In giving a quick review of how the state's private colleges are handling security, Dillard said their preparedness varies.

Some private colleges have well-trained police departments, while others have campus security that meets only minimum requirements, he said.

In giving a quick review of how the state's private colleges are handling security, Dillard said their preparedness varies.

Some private colleges have well-trained police departments, while others have campus security that meets only minimum requirements, he said.

Steven Dye, sheriff of Russell County in Southwest Virginia, said he has no belief that his area of the state will be a target for a mass school shooting.

But that hasn't stopped him from planning for one.

"Never fail to prepare for something just because it's never happened before," Dye said.

David A. Sam, president of Germanna Community College, which has campuses in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, said it wasn't clear to him how small colleges would pay for major security enhancements.

He said care must be taken not to incorporate standards that are so high it becomes difficult for some small public and private universities to do business.

Vendors offering alert systems for college campus — from text messaging to cameras — spread out in one corner of the Siegel Center with their displays.

But several panelists during the daylong event said that while technology can help during campus emergencies, it is the quality and training of the responders that can make the difference.

Contact Gary Robertson at (804) 649-6346 or grobertson@timesdispatch.com.