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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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April 24, 2007
Lawyer Says Virginia Tech's Immunity to Lawsuits Over Shootings Is Not Absolute
Several families of Virginia Tech students killed or injured in last week’s shooting rampage are considering suing the university, alleging that it was negligent in safeguarding the students, Brent Bryson, a lawyer in Las Vegas, said today.
Mr. Bryson said the families had contacted him, and he is gathering facts about the tragedy. He and another lawyer represented plaintiffs several years ago in a suit against the Appalachian School of Law, where a student gunned down the dean, a professor, and another student in January 2002. The school paid $1-million to the victims and their families to settle the case.
Although Virginia Tech, as a public institution, is generally shielded from such litigation under a concept known as sovereign immunity, Mr. Bryson said such immunity might be surmounted if the plaintiffs could prove “gross negligence” by Virginia Tech.
“This appears to me to be gross negligence,” he said of the university’s response to the gunman and the shootings. —Andrea L. Foster
Posted on Tuesday April 24, 2007 | Permalink |
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