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RICHMOND -- An independent commission formally launched its probe into the Virginia Tech shootings on Thursday, with Gov. Tim Kaine imploring the panel to "proceed with a sense of urgency because Virginians have questions that are urgent."

Kaine asked his handpicked Virginia Tech Incident Review Panel to explore all aspects of the April 16 campus shootings that left 33 people dead, including a gunman who took his own life. The governor said he expects the eight-member panel to produce recommendations before Virginia colleges begin their fall semesters.

"I believe the recommendations you make will have far-reaching impact," Kaine said as he addressed the panel during its first public meeting at the General Assembly Building in Richmond.

The panel on Tuesday also heard from Tech President Charles Steger and received a lengthy police briefing on state laws governing firearms purchases. The panel will hold its next meeting May 21 in Blacksburg, but the specific location of the meeting has not been determined.

The panel's chairman, retired Virginia State Police Superintendent Gerald Massengill, said he would like the group to "take a look at the scene and take a look at the buildings" where the shootings occurred, if possible.

Two more public meetings will occur in the summer. But much of the panel's fact-gathering will be done behind the scenes by TriData Corp., a consulting firm that is providing staff support to the panel. Massengill also said that some sensitive information must be discussed in private.

Kaine asked the panel to gather all the information it can about gunman Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old English major with a history of behavioral problems. Kaine said the panel should determine how Cho was able to obtain the handguns he used in the shootings and whether the mental health system failed by not ensuring that Cho received outpatient treatment following a December 2005 court order.

The interaction of the mental health and court systems will be a key issue for the panel. Former Roanoke County Circuit Judge Diane Strickland said the panel should explore a range of issues, including standards for committing people to mental health facilities and funding for mental health programs.

"During my time on the bench, I was constantly reminded of the paucity of services available in the commonwealth of Virginia," Strickland said.

Kaine also asked the panel to construct a detailed timeline of the shooting incidents in West Ambler Johnston Hall and Norris Hall and to assess the responses of campus officials, law enforcement, emergency medical providers and various state agencies.

Massengill gave police and emergency responders high marks for their efforts based on information he gleaned from a Wednesday briefing with law enforcement officials. Massengill and consultants assisting the panel met privately in Richmond with officers from the Virginia Tech and state police and agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

"I think we know enough about the response now to know that it was a very effective and a very successful response," Massengill said, though he added that the panel won't hesitate to identify areas where improvements can be made.

Some panel members urged caution as they assess the actions of police and university officials, saying they must remember the chaotic circumstances that decisionmakers confronted during the emergency.

"We have to put ourselves in the shoes of those who acted at the time, based on what they knew at the time," said panel member Tom Ridge, the former U.S. secretary for homeland security and a former governor of Pennsylvania.

Steger asked Kaine to appoint such a panel on the day after the shootings and said Thursday that the university welcomes the review.

"Each one of us and each sector of our society that has been touched by this tragedy must welcome the inspection, introspection and the scrutiny of a thorough analysis," Steger said.

Steger said the university has begun its own review and also is assessing campus safety, its telecommunications system and its information-exchange protocols.

"My hope is that we, and every campus throughout the nation, can learn in the months ahead what happened and why, to the extent that rational conclusions can be drawn from irrational violence," Steger said. "We will learn and the world will learn from this."

Kaine told the panel that "we owe it to the victims" to learn as much as possible about the shootings.

"If there is anything redeeming out of this horrible tragedy, it will be that we learn every lesson we can and try to get better."