An institutional review investigating the university's actions immediately after the February shooting of Professor Raja Fayad concluded "that the University's immediate reactions of the shooting . . . were appropriate."
It commends the immediate actions of graduate students on the same floor in which the shooting occurred, as well as the quick response of USCPD, USC's Counseling and Human Development Center and USC's Department of Facilities.
However, the review goes on to note that "occasional technical failures in timely and reliable communication" between the university and the USC community may have prolonged fears of an existing threat on campus. Emergency sirens and radio alerts were "not deployed in accordance with university protocols."
Additionally, some of the Carolina Alerts sent out had errors and the university's homepage wasn't updated immediately to inform visitors of the shooting.
"The greatest lessons of February 5 for the USC community are that more participation in emergency-preparedness training is needed at USC and that technological capabilities enabling speed and reliability of emergency notices must be improved," the review reads.
Written by Director of Strategic Planning Professor Cameron Howell, the review makes several recommendations to changes in university policy including:
- Offering better training programs and increasing participation in them — noting that about 10,000 new people arrive on campus every year.
- Assessing and improving emergency notification systems.
- Reviewing the way the university approaches crisis preparedness.
- Evaluating university buildings and coming up with a clear idea how to secure each building the event of an emergency.
While much of the review was focused on the future, it made clear that "the University remains solemnly mindful that this review stems from loss of life. The University community mourns the death of Dr. Fayad, who was a gifted and dedicated teacher and researcher."
See also:
Fayad ceded ownership of house to ex-wife weeks before shooting, new emails suggest
'He made us all better people': Remembering Raja Fayad