Dear Students, Faculty and Staff of Kennesaw State University:

Please join with me as a campus community in expressing our deepest condolences to our colleagues at Virginia Tech. Monday’s events in Blacksburg, Virginia, marked a very dark day in higher education, and in our history as a nation, because of the tragic loss of life that was experienced on the Virginia Tech campus. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of those families who lost loved ones, and to the faculty, staff and students at Virginia Tech as they go through the grieving process and begin to recover from this enormous and horrific tragedy. I am sure I am joined by the rest of our learning community in this sentiment. Like all of you, I was horrified as the details unfolded of the mass shootings. The events that day shocked all of us who learn, work, teach, live or are otherwise engaged on the campuses of colleges and universities in this nation. And while the enormity of this event rests most heavily with those who are formal members of the Virginia Tech community, this tragedy also brought to mind valid concerns for the safety of the Kennesaw State community.

While no campus can absolutely prevent such a tragedy from occurring, I want you to know that all of us who are charged with the safety and security of this campus - from the administration, to the KSU Department of Public Safety, as well as other key staff members - have taken, and are taking, numerous steps to ensure the security and safety of Kennesaw State. On the communications front, we have assessed our present capabilities to communicate rapidly to the KSU campus community to alert you to an emergency situation. Presently, we have that ability via email blasts to faculty, staff and students - as this email demonstrates - and we will use this technology very proactively. Meanwhile, we are focusing on expanding our ability to make sure the entire campus community can be immediately informed of any emergency through additional technologies, such as simultaneous voice mail blasts, a cell phone text-messaging system, and civil-defense-like siren systems, among other approaches. We also have a very strong preventive police presence here on campus, and our officers are well trained to handle crisis situations, such as the “active shooter” event that took place at Virginia Tech. Every one of our 26 sworn police officers annually receive “force-on-force active shooter training.” We are exploring ways to expand urban assault training for our police force. We also stringently enforce the state law which prohibits the possession of weapons on any school, college or university campus. Such preventive measures are aimed both at mitigating such occurrences and being adequately prepared to manage such a crisis if such an unfortunate scenario took place. In addition to these communications and security measures, we began a search several months ago to hire a new assistant vice president for strategic security and safety. On May 1, Mr. Robert Lang, a security expert with extensive experience in both the corporate and higher education sectors, will assume this position. He will report to Vice President for Operations Randy Hinds. This critical position will be charged with oversight of all university functions aimed at ensuring a safe and secure campus climate, from law enforcement to information technology operations.

Please take the time to visit the following web site for an article that further details what we’re doing as a campus to make KSU safer and more secure, and what you can do to help ensure your own safety and that of your peers, colleagues and friends - http://acsdevl.kennesaw.edu/access/story.asp?sto=364. Working together, we can engage in the best practices to increase our emergency preparedness and response in these evolving times. Also, we are strongly supporting two open forums that will be conducted tomorrow by the newly formed Task Force on Interpersonal Violence, which will address issues of concern emanating from the Virginia Tech incidents. The first of these forums will be held at 12:30 p.m. in the Social Sciences Building Auditorium; and, the second will be held at 9 p.m. tomorrow in the Village Center. I do hope that you will be able to take part in one of these gatherings, where important information will be shared regarding campus and personal safety, and expressions of unity with the Virginia Tech community will also be communicated.

Feel free to share any additional thoughts you might have with me on this important issue. Meanwhile, please know that your security and safety are top priorities for the KSU administration, and we are hard at work, redoubling our efforts and attention to these important issues.

Sincerely,
Daniel S. Papp
President

Health Clinic and
Department of Public Safety

Health Clinic
KSU Health Clinic located in house #52 on  Frey Lake Road is open to all registered students to provide primary health care. The clinic is open 60 hours a week during Fall and Spring semesters and 46 hours per week during summer. When the clinic is closed a health care provider is on-call and can be reached by calling the main clinic number at 770-423-6644. Appointments for routine health care needs are required but sick visits are seen on a walk in basis. For information on KSU's Health Clinic click here.

Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety maintains a force of 23 certified public safety officers, whose duties include enforcing laws, preventing crimes, providing security, controlling parking and encouraging safety awareness. Kennesaw State University Department of Public Safety was awarded National CALEA accreditation on March 22, 2003.

The department, which also utilizes public safety patrollers, dispatchers, student patrol and other support personnel, strives to contribute to the academic environment by performing professional law enforcement tasks with a proactive, service-oriented and educational approach. The department also maintains a good relationship with the Kennesaw State community of faculty, staff and students, and encourages communication, including crime reports and suggestions. For more information on the Department of Public safety, visit our website at www.kennesaw.edu/police/frames.html.