Changes might be in store for UF’s approach toward handling campus threats, including increased attention to threatening or troubling behavior from faculty and staff members.
The consulting firm hired to evaluate UF’s mental health and police policies in the wake of the March shooting of a doctoral student by university police released its report Tuesday.
The Richmond, Vt.-based firm, Margolis, Healy and Associates, have spent about six months researching and preparing the report.
The report includes a set of 19 recommendations that mostly addresses the university’s Behavioral Consultation Team.
The BCT is a collaboration between UF officials, such as the Dean of Students and members of the Counseling and Wellness Center, as well as members of the University Police Department to address the assessment of, and intervention with, students in distress.
UF President Bernie Machen said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon he wants to seek input from the entire university community about the recommendations.
“I believe we have found in the past that an open dialogue is helpful,” he said.
Some of the recommendations include requiring involuntary counseling for students of concern, hiring a full-time case manager to ensure threat-management plans are handled appropriately and the creation of a UPD policy statement about the use of force with the mentally ill.
Machen said the university is going to seriously consider all of the recommendations, and after time and input from the university community an action plan will be developed to move forward.
“I will use the report as a framework for the action plan,” he said.
He said the process could take a while, depending on the amount of interest and conversation resulting from the report.
“We’ll try to move it as expeditiously as we can,” he said.
Kofi Adu-Brempong, a geography doctoral student and instructor of an introductory geography course, had been suffering from mental problems before the night of March 2, when officers responded to a report of screaming coming from his Corry Village apartment.
According to police reports, an officer shot Adu-Brempong in the face and hand after he approached officers with a metal rod.
