Dear students, faculty and staff,

Two horrific shootings this month claimed the lives of college students at Northern Illinois University and Louisiana Technical College. Once again, we are grieving for students killed and wounded while in class. We again offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and we send our best wishes to the wounded for a full recovery.

I would like to remind our students, faculty and staff that if they are having trouble dealing with these or any other difficult issues, our counselors are ready to offer assistance. Also, if you have a friend in need, please let us know. Share your feelings with your friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the campus resources we have available.

At Fairleigh Dickinson University, we work very hard to preserve the safety of our community. We have implemented strong safety measures, including enhanced guard patrols, and we have a comprehensive crisis operations plan. I can assure you that we constantly evaluate and update these safety measures and security procedures.

A key element of our emergence procedures is the FDU Alert system, which we test each semester. The next test will be on Wednesday, February 27, at 3:30 p.m. We hope to never have to use this system for anything remotely similar to these tragedies. But in the event of an emergency, such an alert system could save lives. Therefore, I urge you to update your contact information if you do not receive a test message or if a message does not go to the best number or is not sent in the preferred format. Please review your FDU Alert information at http://www.fdu.edu/alert/.

When tragedy strikes, strong communities often come together. I also believe that strong communities can come together to prevent tragedies. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment. And I know we will continue to care for each other.

Thank you,
Michael Adams