BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors on Sunday heard details about a plan for processing the more than 200 recommendations put forth by a state panel formed by Gov. Tim Kaine and three reviews conducted by university committees in the wake of the April 16 shootings.

The presentation, led by Senior Fellow for Resource Development Minnis Ridenour, did not address the recommendations specifically, but offered a blueprint for how the university would move forward with them.

"We want to make sure we're accountable back to the board, and we're finding a way to address each of the recommendations," Ridenour said.

The recommendations made by the state panel and internal committees range from the general, such as revising the university's emergency response plan, to the specific, such as conducting a mass-casualty training exercise next spring or summer involving faculty, staff, students and local emergency responders.

The process for dealing with them includes the following steps:

n A policy group made up of several top Tech administrators will prioritize recommendations from the state panel that apply specifically to Tech operations and match them with recommendations from the internal review. It will flag recommendations that need to be addressed over the next two months because of health and safety concerns.

n Vice presidents and vice provosts under whose purview the recommendations fall will provide additional information and link each recommendation with fiscal and strategic plans. They'll begin implementing the recommendations and provide monthly updates to the policy group.

n The policy group will share those updates with two special committees made up of faculty, staff and students: a committee on "human dimensions" focusing on mental health systems and services, and a committee on security and infrastructure. These groups will review the updates and submit comments to the policy group.

n The policy group will use that feedback to write a report to the president, who will give quarterly reports to the board of visitors.

n The board's academic and student affairs committees will review items related to mental health systems and services. Building and grounds and finance and audit committees will review items related to security, facilities and infrastructure.

Information gathered at each step in the process will be added to a software management tool that Tech plans to implement this week. The database will hold information about the recommendations, including their origin, priority and costs.

While the process focuses primarily on those recommendations made by the state panel and internal review committees, the university is also reviewing several additional reports conducted by the federal and state government and professional organizations.

Following Ridenour's presentation, board of visitors member James Smith expressed appreciation for the university's "very well-thought out" plan, but called for "passion" along with process.

"This is a situation laden with emotion and sensitivities," he said. "We need to articulate the warmth of this."

In closed session, the board discussed recommendations involving the security of buildings and safety.

angela.manese-lee@roanoke.com 381-3621

greg.esposito@roanoke.com 381-33675