President Glotzbach's message about the Oct. 1, 2014, campus lockdown
To the Skidmore community:
Early this morning, as part of our Skidmore Urgent Notification System, we alerted
the campus to an active search conducted by police for a Level 3 sex offender who
allegedly committed a sexual assault off-campus. We put the campus on lockdown, instructed
students to remain in their rooms, and closed the campus.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., we notified the campus that police had apprehended the
suspect without incident. Shortly thereafter, we notified the campus that classes
would resume. We reopened at 11:15 a.m.
At this time, we know the suspect was sought in connection with incidents that occurred
off-campus and did not include any member of the Skidmore community.
This remains an active investigation. All are asked to stay out of the area of investigation,
which includes the wooded areas around Falstaffs, Wilson Chapel, and North Broadway.
Please contact Campus Safety (518-580-5566) if you notice any items that might be
relevant to the investigation.
I want to acknowledge that the circumstances of an emergency situation can be upsetting.
Please know that the Counseling Center (518-580-5555) and Health Services (518-580-5550)
are available to those in need of support.
We invite the campus community to an open forum in Gannett Auditorium at 5 p.m. today
for an update on the situation and a review of our emergency procedures. The 5 p.m.
Fireside Chat will be rescheduled. Updates on the situation will be posted on the
Skidmore website.
I am pleased that our emergency procedures worked as designed, including our interactions
with local law enforcement agencies. We thank the Saratoga Springs Police Department,
the New York State Police, Saratoga County Sheriff, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation Police, the New York State Forest Rangers, and Skidmore College Campus
Safety for their excellent work in dealing with this situation. We also appreciate
the cooperation of members of the Skidmore community who acted in accordance with
our directives and who provided critical information that led to the apprehension
of the suspect.
Sincerely,
Pg
Philip A. Glotzbach
President
