The postsecondary acts of violence at Virginia Technical University (VT) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) forced Illinois legislators to approve the "Campus Security Enhancement Act" in 2008 (110 ILCS 12/20). The "Act" requires all private and public postsecondary education institutions to develop a Campus Violence…

Across the United States, many communities are concerned with the prevention and response to school violence. To address their concerns, school districts and emergency responders (law enforcement) have increased their use of technological information when planning for and responding to a crisis event. There are many different types of security…

Recent campus crises have highlighted that campus administrators will be judged by three things: What the campus was doing before the crisis, its immediate response during the crisis, and the follow-up after the crisis. Born out of the call by Virginia Tech's Zenobia Hikes for urgent action to stem the tide of societal violence, and the NASPA…

Some regions are prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or earthquakes. Other tragedies, such as fires or acts of violence, can occur just about anywhere. Regardless of the specific type of disaster, schools and universities must be prepared to cope with crises that can disrupt operations, destroy facilities, and displace students and staff.…

On February 14, a former graduate student at Northern Illinois University (NIU) entered a campus building and shot 21 people, wounding five fatally, before he shot and killed himself. This article presents an interview with Cherilyn G. Murer, the Chair of the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees, on the actions taken by the board and the…