Dear RU community:

I am writing to express my pride and appreciation for your professional response to Thursday night’s events.

The frightening incident that led to the security measures put into effect could have caused chaos for our community. But the calm, collected reaction of everyone involved ensured that the situation was brought to a quick and safe resolution.

So many people deserve praise that I am certain to omit deserving individuals if I try to list them.

Nevertheless, I want to thank RU Police Chief Colleen Roberts and her officers who provided comfort and security to our campus community. I thank all the law enforcement agencies who aided in the thorough building-by-building sweep of the RU campus to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff. And I thank the Radford City Police Department and Police Chief Don Goodman whose vigilant investigation allowed us to quickly determine that the incident was isolated and posed no credible threat to RU nor the broader Radford community.

I want to thank Dr. Dennie Templeton, Todd Branscome and the liaisons to the RU Office of Emergency Preparedness who maintained the vital flow of information to the campus community, parents, alumni, media and the world at large about the events as they unfolded.

I want to thank the university staff -- from administration to residence advisors to facilities management -- who provided the staff resources required for an emergency operation of this size.

And I want to thank the students, faculty and staff who, for their protection, were kept confined during the Shelter in Place order. By calmly -- and in some cases, jovially -- complying with the security measures, authorities were allowed to focus on the work at hand, safely secure the campus, and bring the matter to a speedy resolution.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful spirit shown during the night, and I hope you all enjoy a relaxing and, more importantly, quiet weekend.

Sincerely,

President Kyle