College returns to normal operations

The College resumes normal operations this morning in wake of Wednesday’s arrest on the campus of a 25-year-old man who has been charged with two counts of felony use of a firearm and two counts of felony kidnapping. Police have completed their search for evidence in the North Woods, where they arrested the man around 8:30 a.m., and all restrictions on access to the woods have been lifted.  

Authorities have been trying to determine why their suspect attempted to hide on the Skidmore campus. As yet, they have no explanation.

Concerned students, faculty and staff members attended an open forum Wednesday afternoon led by President Philip A. Glotzbach, Dean of Students Rochelle Calhoun and Director of Campus Safety Dennis Conway.

Conway detailed a series of events that started early Wednesday morning when — informed by police that they believed the suspect was on or near the campus — Campus Safety implemented a lockdown. That process was started by the College's Emergency Response Group at 7:03 a.m. with a series of transmissions via the Skidmore Urgent Notification System (SUNS) that asked students, and those working on campus to lock themselves in their rooms and announced the closure of the campus and the suspension of all classes and activities.

One of these transmissions provided a detailed description of the suspect, enabling two students to identify and report the sighting to Campus Safety. Police captured the suspect in the vicinity of Wilson Chapel.

Because police still needed to scour the campus for evidence, they asked the Emergency Response Group to keep the campus closed until they could complete their preliminary work. At around 10 a.m., the College reopened and classes started at 11:15 a.m. Police continued to search for evidence in certain areas of the North Woods where they had reason to think the suspect had been, including the areas around Falstaffs, Wilson Chapel and North Broadway. They completed their search Wednesday evening.

"We're pleased that our emergency procedures worked as planned and that the campus community responded appropriately and so helped us deal with this situation," Conway said. As is always the case with this kind of incident, he noted, the College's Emergency Management Team will conduct a thorough review of the College's response with the aim of continually improving its handling of such situations. "Your input is welcome," he said, asking people to contact Campus Safety (518-580-5566).

Rochelle Calhoun, dean of students and vice president for student affairs, reminded students that the Counseling Center (518-580-5555) and Health Services (518-580-5550) are available to provide assistance or support to students 24-hours per day. For after-hours assistance, students may reach the on-call staff by dialing the respective numbers.

Calhoun also said that Residence Life staff will be “reaching out to students as we work our way through this in the days ahead.”

Expanding on the message he sent earlier in the day to the Skidmore community, President Glotzbach said, "The most important statement I can make is that our campus and members of our campus community are safe."

"We understand that this kind of situation can be upsetting," he added. "This is why we are having this meeting, and why I also have reached out to parents to reassure them that their students are safe."