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On Monday, UA president Robert Robbins sent out an email addressing the campus security concerns. Robbins said school leaders have begun the work to retain independent external experts in security and threat assessments to begin a comprehensive review of all aspects of campus safety, violence prevention and public safety response.

“As many of you know, over the past two years, we have experienced other tragic incidents, both on campus and off, that have shaken our community and challenged our notion of safety,� Robbins said in the email. “While I take great pride in our ongoing efforts to protect our community, we must ask ourselves if there is more that we and our public safety partners can do.�

The initial report, which will include recommendations, is due to Robbins within 75 days, the email said.

“While the charge to the external experts will include a review of how the University handled threats in advance of the murder of Professor Meixner, it also will encompass the safety and security of our buildings, our threat assessment approach, our UAlert system, and any area of campus security they determine relevant to campus safety,� Robbins said.

On Oct. 5, police said Murad Dervish, 46, entered the John W. Harshbarger Building and shot Professor Thomas Meixner in an office. Meixner was the head of the school’s hydrology department and an expert on desert water issues.

Dervish was found three hours later traveling south on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ 85 toward Mexico, 30 miles south of Gila Bend, court records say. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Public Safety troopers had to use a PIT maneuver in order to stop Dervish. A search of the vehicle led troopers to find a 9mm handgun.

Dervish is facing charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in the Pima County jail.

Dervish had been expelled from the UA in February after he had been the subject of several reports of harassment and threats to staff members working at the Harshbarger Building. As a result, Dervish was barred from being on campus and was in the process of being served an exclusionary order from police.

In February, an email circulated to staff members included Dervish’s photograph and instructions to call 911 if he returned to the building, court records say.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ columnist Tim Steller also reported that Christopher Castro, the associate head of the department, and others had received continuing harassment from Dervish but apparently had little success prompting action.

Robbins in his email also said he is committed to working with the Faculty Senate leadership along with the broader network of faculty and staff to ensure that they review and address concerns raised from colleagues.

At a press conference last week, UAPD police chief Paula Balafas said the UA had seen quite a bit of crime on the outskirts of campus, but it was outside of “what I would describe as our island, which is basically pretty safe.�

Just last month, there was a shooting at an apartment complex near the campus, which left two people injured. Stephanie Corneliuseen’s daughter, who is a junior at the UA and lives at the complex, was woken up by the sound of gunshots that night.

Corneliuseen said the next morning, one of daughter’s roommate’s windows had a bullet hole in it.

“As far as I know and my daughter knows, nothing more has come out of that incident in terms of increasing security,� Corneliuseen said. “I received the obligatory text message for parents from UA stating that a shooting had occurred, and that UA takes security seriously. I do not believe this at all, nor do other parents.�

A UA spokesperson said they fully expect that off-campus safety will be a part of the review. She also said the UA works closely with law enforcement agencies, including ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Police Department, on a wide range of issues and concerns, including issues and matters in the surrounding areas like off-campus crime that have an impact on the University community.

Corneliuseen also said her daughter told her that none of the doors she encountered on campus buildings were locked or automatically locked on the day of the UA shooting last week.

“The shooter had not been apprehended for at least two hours later, and nobody knew where the shooter was,� Corneliuseen said. “These students walked out of their unlocked building, completely oblivious to what was going on, and could have walked right into an active shooting situation.�

When asked about the lack of locked doors, the UA said with the guidance of security experts, the University is examining a range of additional security steps to enhance physical safety in our classrooms and buildings, including controlled access into and within buildings and facilities.

Even though Leila Hudson, the chair of the faculty at the UA and an associate professor of Middle Eastern and North African studies, was not on campus at the time of the shooting, her son and her colleagues were. She said that to the best of her knowledge, the UAlerts that were sent out were vague, did not specify if people should shelter in place and were not specific enough to take into account where people were.

“People in the affected building and right next to it were getting the same, general and vague messaging as people who were 10 or 15 minutes away,� Hudson said.

After speaking with her son and other students, she said there was no lockdown or general shelter in place order; people were just told to stay away from the Harshbarger building.

“People don’t know where the Harshbarger building is,� Hudson said. “I had to look it up, and I’ve been a faculty member here for decades.�

Hudson said some of the students knew what to do thanks to lockdown drills they had learned in high school or elementary school while others just got up and left.

“I sat there talking to my son trying to guide him without any information on whether it would be better to stay in place or leave,� Hudson said.

While Hudson has never received active shooter training, she said other colleges have. A UAPD spokesperson said anyone, including professors and students, can reach out to UAPD and request an active shooter presentation.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a shooting at the UA College of Nursing in which three professors were killed by a failing student, who then took his own life on Oct. 28, 2002.

More recently, a 20-year-old UA sophomore was fatally shot in a campus parking garage on Feb. 20, 2021. Forrest Keys was killed during a confrontation with three people in a car who drove by him late at night. Two 18-year-old men received 30-year prison sentences for the slaying.

Corneliuseen said even after these two previous gun violence incidents, the UA still hasn’t made a change.

“Nothing changed after this either,� Corneliuseen said. “UA’s response seems lackluster and desensitized; an “oh well, these things happen these days approach.�

Hudson hopes the UA provides training for all staff, places protocols and emergency plans in every department and in every building and figure out a way to limit access to buildings.

“There needs to be institutional accountability, and there needs to be sharing of information so that it’s not up to each department,� Hudson said. “It shouldn’t be up to them to try and protect themselves. They are part of a larger institution with many resources that should be able to assist when a local threat emerges.�