February 15, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI PRESIDENT DONNA E. SHALALA’S STATEMENT ON THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY TRAGEDY

The entire University of Miami community was shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University yesterday.

I have sent condolences to President John G. Peters and the NIU community on behalf of our University family.

UM Police Chief David Rivero has put our security and police on all of our campuses on alert. We have increased our on-duty police patrols on the Coral Gables campus.

The University recently successfully tested our Emergency Notification Network to be able to alert students, faculty, and staff on all campuses of incidents as they happen and instruct them on what actions to take in an emergency.

We want to remind those on our campus of the more than 100 blue-light phones that can be utilized to contact University Police. The medical and Rosenstiel campuses also have emergency procedures.

To report any suspicious activity or emergency on any campus, please call University Police at 305-284-6666.

As always, our counseling center and University chaplains are available for students, including after hours as needed.

Any parents or students with any specific questions are urged to contact the Vice President of Student Affairs’ Office at 305-284-4922.