By Catherine Pugh
Special to the AFRO
Morgan State University (MSU) President Dr. David Wilson will convene the Inaugural National Conference on Gun Violence on U.S. College and University Campuses on Feb. 18 and 19 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in downtown Baltimore. Organized in partnership with MSU’s School of Social Work and the Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction, the event aims to tackle the impact of gun violence on campus safety.
“Gun violence has become an unfortunate and growing threat to the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff on college campuses across the nation,” said Dr. Wilson. “We are proud to lead this national dialogue.”
Dr. Willson explained the conference is an opportunity for education leaders, researchers, and policymakers to collaborate on safeguarding institutions against gun violence.
The two-day event includes a panel moderated by Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, CEO and publisher, of the AFRO American Newspapers.
The college presidents that will be in attendance hail from diverse institutions and will discuss how and when they responded or will respond to gun violence, share lessons learned and changes made to enhance campus safety.
Dr. Wilson will participate on this panel addressing the impact of the October 2023 shooting at MSU, which injured five people, including four students from the institution.
Another highlight of the conference will be a conversation with MSU students who experienced the October 2023 gun violence led by MSU Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Kevin Banks.
In a letter to all conference participants, Dr. Wilson wrote, “at Morgan, we do not shy away from difficult conversations.”
“This conference is about more than conversations—it is about using research and expertise to drive real, evidence-based change,” he said.
A December 2023 published survey by Lyss Welding revealed that 65 percent of college students feel school shootings affect their sense of safety, and 63 percent support stricter campus gun policies.
“Assuring our students feel safe on our campuses should be a priority for all our institutions of higher learning,” says Dr. Von Nebbitt, director of the Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction.
Experts from Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit advocacy group against gun violence, say they rely on The Violence Project, another non-profit investigative news organization, to extract data on college and university gun violence and news reports due to the lack of a government database tracking college shootings as collected and stored for K-12 grades.
Both Dr. Anna McPhatter, dean of MSU’s School of Social Work, and Dr. Von Nebbitt see potential in the university hosting a databank tracking gun violence on campuses of higher learning.
“This databank could be used by all institutions and provide research opportunities for our students and faculty,” Dr. Nebbitt remarked.
Dean McPhatter also stressed the importance of mental health services post-violent incidences, stating, “when violence occurs in or around our campuses, it is as important for us to provide the best mental healthcare services as it is to provide a safe physical environment for our academic communities.”
“I am looking forward to the results of those robust and timely discussions,” she said.
Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher will lead a panel of Campus Police Chiefs who respond to campus violence, highlighting new technologies, comprehensive safety approaches and cost. Dr. Nebbitt stressed the need for effective assessment tools that measure and provide timely and accurate data on outcomes.”
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morgan, Dr. Hongtao Yu also commented on the importance of the conference.
“We must fully commit ourselves to end gun violence,” said Dr. Yu. “Please understand a threat to any one of our campuses is a threat to American higher education as a whole.”
“These are just some of the highlights of this Inaugural National Conference On Gun Violence. We will also hear from a number [of] participants that I believe will effect change on college and university campuses nationwide,” said Dr. Nebbitt.
President Wilson has said that “gun violence is not an issue we can afford to address passively.” He believes that the conference “must result in tangible outcomes, including real policies and preventative measures to protect students and academic communities.”
“Our goal at this conference is to create a blueprint that colleges and universities can use to make all campuses safer for generations to come,” he said.
This article has been updated to include the comments of Dr. Von Nebbitt, director of the Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction at Morgan State University; Dr. Anna McPhatter, dean of MSU’s School of Social Work and MSU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Hongtao Yu.