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Dear UT community,

As you know, the Texas Legislature enacted a new state law (SB 11) that allows licensed permit holders to carry concealed handguns on public college and university campuses beginning Aug. 1, 2016. The law gives a university president certain discretion in establishing rules, regulations and provisions for the campus. The safety of our community is of the utmost importance. I want to make clear my goal is to promote safety and security for all members of the campus and in a way that is fully compliant with the law.

I write today to outline the process for developing such policies for The University of Texas at Austin in coordination with Chancellor William McRaven and The University of Texas System. The UT System Board of Regents has final authority in approving all policies on implementing the campus carry legislation.

I am establishing a campus-wide Working Group to recommend SB 11 implementation policies for me to consider. I am grateful that UT Law Professor Steve Goode has accepted my request to chair the Working Group. The group includes faculty, staff, students, a distinguished alumnus, a parent and university administrators. The full membership is listed below.

The Working Group will seek input from students, staff, faculty and other members of the UT community in the coming months and complete its work of recommending policies to me by late November. The group will be supported by two subcommittees — one focused on safety and security issues, and the other on communication and training — staffed by employees from UT Police Department, Campus Safety and Security, the Office of Legal Affairs, among other campus offices.

As a flagship public university, UT Austin’s ongoing success in education and research is due, in large part, to the healthy and respectful environment we have cultivated to support our mission to transform lives. My goal is to develop a campus carry policy through which we preserve an environment that is worthy of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni and our role as flagship public research university.

I plan to provide regular updates to campus on this issue. In the meantime, I encourage you to look at the resources available online at campuscarry.utexas.edu, including messages from Chancellor McRaven and opportunities to provide your thoughts and ideas to the Working Group.

The Working Group will hold its first meeting shortly, and early in the semester will announce a variety of opportunities for community feedback, including public meetings on campus. We already have in place an online survey where you can share comments and suggestions.

The full Working Group includes:

Chair
Steven Goode, School of Law

Dean’s Representative
Lynn Crismon, Dean, College of Pharmacy

Faculty Representatives
Steven Biegalski, Cockrell School of Engineering
Mechele Dickerson, School of Law
Coleman Hutchison, College of Liberal Arts
Victor Saenz, College of Education
William (Bill) Spelman, LBJ School of Public Affairs

Staff Representatives
Leticia Acosta, McCombs School of Business
Glen Baum, Cockrell School of Engineering
Stacey Bennett, Division of Housing and Food Service

Student Representatives
Rachel Osterloh, President, Senate College of Councils
Xavier Rotnofsky, President, Student Government
Brian Wilkey, President, Graduate Student Assembly

Parent Representative
Sandra Blount, Sugar Land, Texas

Alumni Representative
The Honorable Wallace Jefferson, Distinguished Alumnus of UT Austin, Austin, Texas

Special Collections Representative
Stephen Enniss, Director, Harry Ransom Center

Subcommittee Chairs
Janet Dukerich, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Bob Harkins, Associate Vice President, Campus Safety and Security

Ex-officio Representative
Carlos Martinez, Associate Vice President, Office of the President

Sincerely,

Gregory L. Fenves
President