Campus reacts to student’s death

The Offices of the Dean of Students led a vigorous response to last week’s tragic death of UW–Madison student Brittany Zimmermann, stressing safety, reaching out to the community and leading the remembrance of her life and time at the university.

Zimmermann, a senior in medical microbiology and immunology from Marshfield, Wis., was found slain April 2 in her Doty Street apartment. Madison police are actively investigating but have not yet named a suspect.

“I admire the effort and professionalism of all of the students, faculty and staff who came together to deal with this terrible tragedy,” says Dean of Students Lori Berquam. “In a matter of hours, dozens and dozens of steps had been taken to distribute information, provide counseling and resources and even reach out to UW–Madison parents.”

First word of the incident came directly to Berquam from Madison police during the early afternoon of April 2. While university officials worked to confirm details and verify Zimmermann’s enrollment, UWPD opened an emergency operations center to coordinate safety measures and communications.

Preliminary information that an incident had occurred was posted on UW–Madison’s home page by mid-afternoon, signs were produced for campus buildings, and a mass e-mail to the campus community was sent within minutes of a Madison police news conference.

Simultaneously, UWPD boosted staffing for patrols, and students were urged to walk in groups and use SAFE Transportation Services.

Due to the unsettling nature of the situation, a large amount of internal communication was distributed to campus stakeholders. Direct communication about the incident was done with students from Marshfield, deans, department chairs and student life staff and even campus tour guides.

The university also increased its outreach to parents, producing several parent-focused pieces and, for the first time, sending a message to 4,800 families enrolled in the Parent Program.

“Parents can play an important role in getting students to heed safety measures, use campus resources and process a tragic event,” says Nancy Sandhu, Parent Program coordinator.

Berquam says she was able to learn valuable information from staff of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which recently dealt with a similarly tragic murder of its student body president.

In addition to producing and distributing information, University Communications created a Web site to remember Zimmermann and update the campus on news related to the death.

Berquam, along with the Associated Students of Madison and the Wisconsin Union, helped organize an April 6 candleight vigil, which drew an estimated 200 people. Berquam also led a delegation of students, faculty and staff to Zimmermann’s memorial service in Stratford, Wis.

“We had an opportunity to grieve, an opportunity to remember and honor Brittany for her contribution as a student and really acknowledge that she’s one of us,” she says.