‘We are certainly proud of our students’: UVU President speaks on aftermath of Charlie Kirk assassination

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah Valley University (UVU) President Astrid Tuminez spoke on the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination that took place on campus on Sept. 10.

“As you can imagine, it’s been a very complicated, difficult, stressful time,” Tuminez said. “We are certainly proud of our students.”

Tuminez spoke at the Utah System of Higher Education (UHSE) meeting on Thursday. She thanked the board for its support following the school shooting.

Tuminez shared that to care for the students effected by the tragedy, UVU had care stations around campus where students could ask for help and pet live animals, offered mental and trauma recovery services, and had two town halls with faculty and staff.

“You don’t know who you are, and you don’t know what you’re made of, until you face something like this,” Tuminez said.

Commotion to create task force

Jon Cox with the UHSE proposed a motion to direct the commissioner to create a task force to evaluate campus safety at UHSE institutions and make recommendations for system-wide policies and practices.

Board member Garrett Largent seconded the motion.

Geoff Landward, Commissioner of Higher Education, said that following the tragic Sept. 10 event, it is important to protect free expression in higher education.

“For us to respond to the senseless violence on one of our campuses— the only appropriate response is to deepen our commitment to free expression,” Landward said.

The UHSE will continue to evaluate and discuss this topic.