LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — UNLV held a staff and faculty meeting Tuesday to discuss safety, security, campus operations, and mental health following the shooting that claimed the lives of three professors on Dec. 6.
The meeting was held inside the Student Union Ballroom and was led by UNLV President Keith Whitfield, Provost Chris Heavey, Vice President of Public Safety Services and Director of University Police Services Southern Command Adam Garcia, Assistant Professor of Economics Bill Robinson, and executive director of UNLV PRACTICE, Dr. Michelle Paul.
During the meeting, Whitfield expressed his gratitude to the faculty and staff who showed "compassion and heroism" during the UNLV shooting.
"It just makes me love this university that much more and all of you," said Dr. Whitfield.
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He added that in the days following the shooting, he spoke with other universities who have also been shaken by shootings on the steps they took to help their community heal and move forward from the tragedy.
"They listened to me and shared their experiences, and I can tell you, it helped me, and I am very, very grateful," said Whitfield. "These conversations and others have helped me as I've created our plan to move forward. I hope everybody understands from my perspective, I am not trying to rush us to get to the 'other side.' We are all going to heal and move from this differently. But we are going to move forward, we cannot move backwards."
In the meeting, it was revealed that there was a small increase in students asking to take online courses due to the shooting.
UNLV Provost Chris Heavey said additional online classes were made available to students to meet the new demand.
"We have adjusted some of our courses to online... a few dozen classes have shifted to online," Heavey said. "What we have been doing is actively talking to the department chairs to work with faculty to make sure that we are responding to student demand."
He adds that the university is also allowing students who have "small" financial holds to register for classes.
"We've removed advising holds and other kinds of hold for small debts that students have in order to allow them to come back to UNLV so they can continue their education," Heavey said.
Armed security officers are currently on campus to patrol the school.
"They are simply there to provide visibility," said Adam Garcia, vice president of Public Safety Services and director of University Police Services. "They will provide escorts and let you into buildings, and other than that, we will continue to handle the law enforcement practices.”
Garcia said that they are also looking to make security enhancements to doors, locks, and cameras. He adds that they are looking to the state and federal government to help fund the changes.
“I met with President Biden, our entire congressional delegation, the governor, and many others to discuss the potential for funding for these security enhancements," Garcia said.
The university will also be offering mental health services to students and staff.
"We are going to spend a lot of time in social support, reconnecting, building healthy connections all over campus," said Dr. Michelle Paul.
