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Abstract: 

In response to the Virginia Tech incident on April 16, 2007, former Cabinet Secretaries Michael Leavitt and Margaret Spellings, and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales submitted the “Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy” ( June 13, 2007). Their initial findings included a recommendation that the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) explore the issue of violence at institutions of higher educations (IHEs). This article, the first of a two-part series, is an abbreviated version of the resulting collaboration: “Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education” by D. Drysdale, W. Modzeleski & A. Simons (Washington, DC: U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). The report offers preliminary findings from a review of 272 incidents of violence that affected IHEs in the United States from 1900 through 2008. The authors addressed fundamental questions regarding where, when, and how these incidents occurred and captured information concerning the offenders and their relationship to the IHEs. When possible, the authors also identified factors that may have motivated or triggered the attacks. Part I covers background information, definitions of the types of institutions included in the study, a description of campus crime, and information about the location of incidents and the relationship between offender and victim.

Keywords: Digest of Education Statistics: 2008; Clery Act;

Affiliations:  1: CSSD Editor; 2: Co-Editor.