In response to the tragic shooting of professor William Klug on June 1, 2016, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block created the Campus Safety Task Force—a panel that included faculty, administrators, students and staff—to help the campus to better prepare for, and where possible, prevent life-threatening situations that could occur in the future. The Task Force focused on incidents of violence similar to the events of June 1, but also examined other possible emergencies, such as fire, earthquake, flooding and environmental incidents.
Based on Chancellor Block’s charge, the Task Force made a number of recommendations that will help the campus avoid some situations and respond more resiliently to others. In total, the Task Force developed 21 specific recommendations under the following general headings:
- Conduct better—and more frequent—training of faculty, staff and students for life-threatening situations.
- Expand and improve emergency communications protocols and modes.
- Develop and implement protocols for increasing campus security through building additions and improvements.
- Create protocols for disseminating information regarding psychological and financial support in the wake of an emergency.
Each of these recommendations will require sustained efforts to ensure UCLA becomes an even more prepared and resilient campus where all members of the community assume responsibility for their safety and that of others. We have already begun implementation of some recommendations and will begin implementing others over the next few months. We will keep you informed of our plans and our progress.
For more information, please see the complete Report and Recommendation with appendices. Your questions and comments can be directed to Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck at adminvc@ucla.edu.
