President Michael Williams emailed the letter below about Campus Carry legislation to all teammates on Oct. 20. Please note that a series of forums is scheduled beginning Nov. 2 (details below).
Dear UNTHSC team,
Our university community is preparing to implement and comply with new legislation from the Texas Legislature that allows those with concealed handgun licenses to carry their guns on campus.
This legislation is commonly known as "campus carry."This new law, which takes effect Aug. 1, 2016, includes provisions for some measure of local control, allowing each university to develop policies that take into account the specific safety considerations of its campus.
Through a task force, I will consult with students, faculty and staff to ensure that we fully understand our latitude in developing regulations for carrying concealed handguns on campus.
Part of that consultation includes a survey that will be distributed to each of you in the next week.
We also will have four forums, open to all members of the campus community, where you can offer input and ask questions. Dates and times for those forums are:
- Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. in RES 114
- Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. in MET 124
- Nov. 4 at noon in MET 124
- Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. in RES 100
Our team will use your input to develop a policy and guidelines that meet the law and put the safety of our students, faculty and staff first.
The UNT System Board of Regents is expected to review the draft policy and guidelines for approval or revisions in February 2016. Our team will consult with other campus leaders and police groups across both the state and the UNT System to better understand the additional costs and training associated with this bill.
I also will ask our police department and other teams on campus to provide guidance to our community to help us understand how to personally respond in this new environment.
If you have concerns or questions, please direct them to questions@unthsc.edu.
I assure all of our students and their families, faculty, staff and visitors that we are committed to providing an innovative health and science education in a safe campus community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael R. Williams
Please click here for a summary about Campus Carry.
Please click here for a list of FAQs.
FAQs URL:
http://connections.hsc.unt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/campus-carry-FAQs.pdf.docx