Crisis Conference Draws Regional Audience

Release Date: 
September 21, 2007

Eugene L. Zdziarski II, PhDWorcester, MA - More than 300 higher education administrators representing some 70 institutions from across New England and New York gathered to explore the moral and legal implications of emergency response plans at "Before, During & After: Managing a Campus Tragedy," a one-day conference hosted by the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

An early morning shooting on the campus of Delaware State University in which two students were injured, one critically, served as a sobering reminder of the timeliness and importance of such a conference. According to conference organizers Dr. Susan Wyckoff, vice president for academic affairs at the Consortium, and Dr. Catherine WoodBrooks, vice president for student affairs at Assumption College and chair of the Consortium Chief Student Affairs Officers Committee, the one-day event was put together in response to the shooting tragedy at Virgina Tech last April.

The morning panel presentation featured commentary from national experts Gary A. Pavela, JD, director of judicial programs, University of Maryland-College Park, Eugene L. Zdziarski II, PhD, dean of students, University of Florida-Gainsesville (pictured above), and David A. Caputo, PhD, president emeritus, Pace University. Five afternoon breakout sessions were presented by the three panelists in addition to Laurance S. Morrison, public relations consultant, and Steven J. Healy, director of public safety at Princeton University. The breakout sessions focused on teaching troubled students, crisis management planning, leadership for presidents in a time of campus disaster, managing the media, and campus safety initiatives.

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