Recap: UCCS Faculty and Staff Virtual Forum

UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet, together with UCCS Police Chief Dewayne McCarver, Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nancy Marchand-Martella, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kathy Kaoudis, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Rame Hanna, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Carlos García, Dean of Students Amanda Allee, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health and Wellness Stephanie Hanenberg, and Executive Director of the Lyda Hill Institute of Human Resilience Charles Benight convened for a Faculty and Staff Virtual Forum on Tuesday, February 20 to share updates as well as answer questions from the faculty and staff community.

To view the Student Virtual Forum recap, please click here.

Chancellor Sobanet

Chancellor Sobanet opened the forum with a few brief sentiments.

“My heart weighs heavy with the loss of Mia Brown, for Sam Knopp, and for Celie Montgomery,” she said. “I am heartbroken and join in grieving with the friends and family who knew and loved them.”

After her statements, Chancellor Sobanet turned the forum over to Police Chief Dewayne McCarver.

Police Chief Dewayne McCarver

Chief McCarver’s update included a summary of the events, from Friday morning when the police department received a shots fired call to how the investigation unfolded to the arrest of the suspect.

Chief McCarver also reiterated that the university’s timeline of communications was subject to the instruction of the Colorado Springs Police Department and that, although it was difficult for everyone at UCCS to not have all of the information right away, this strategy did ultimately result in the arrest of the suspect.

Chief McCarver then turned the forum over to Dean of Students Amanda Allee and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health and Wellness Stephanie Hanenberg.

Dean of Students Amanda Allee and Assistant Vice Chancellor Stephanie Hanenberg

Allee and Hanenberg gave a brief update about resources available to the campus community.

The forum was then turned over to Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nancy Marchand-Martella.

Provost Nancy Marchand-Martella

Marchand-Martella expressed gratitude to the faculty and staff for their support and gave a brief statement.

The forum was then turned over to Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kathy Kaoudis.

Vice Chancellor Kathy Kaoudis

Kaoudis shared more about resources for faculty and staff and encouraged everyone to download the UCCS Safe app.

The forum then transitioned to a question and answer format.

Questions

How can student safety be improved at UCCS?

Do we have a crisis response plan?

What is the campus weapon policy?

How does the Office of the Dean of Students/the CARE team decide how to best support students?

How can faculty and staff address conversations around the suspected perpetrator also being part of the campus community?

Why didn’t some students get a RAVE alert and how do they sign up for them?

Is there financial support from the CU System or other resources for unexpected expenses incurred due to necessary campus closures, and does the tragedy affect the timeline for decisions regarding potential budget cuts?

Will there be opportunities to reflect on how this happened and on areas for improvement in the future?

To view the Student Virtual Forum recap, please click here.

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