University President Steven Knapp announced Friday morning that a White House National Security official would be the University’s new senior associate vice president for safety and security.
Darrell Darnell is tasked with the “development and management of the Safety and Security Program” for the Foggy Bottom, Mount Vernon and Virginia Science and Technology campuses. Darnell was one of the founding members of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security and was appointed by President Barack Obama last November to his White House post.
The announcement came during the Board of Trustees meeting held in the Elliott School of International Affairs. Darnell gave a short speech after Knapp’s introduction saying he is excited for his new position and is looking forward to working with professors in the School of Engineering after spending time in the Gulf of Mexico trying to stem the oil flow there.
In an interview with The Hatchet, Darnell said he plans on working with students and the “George Washington community” in his new position. He acknowledged that last year’s death of sophomore Laura Treanor may lead him to evaluate University safety policies.
“I’m going to look at all of our policies,” Darnell said, in a response to a question about Treanor and alcohol policies. “But I think education is the key.”
Darnell – who begins on June 7 – said he will spend his first months getting to know students and the University before making changes.
“I think the first thing to do is to get to know the people,” he said. “And then I will assess what the procedures and policies are.”
Darnell said he hopes to have town hall meetings to learn more about what concerns students have. He is taking over during a period when students have been more aware of crime on campus. On Thursday Metropolitan Police Department Commander Matthew Klein said total robberies in Foggy Bottom, part of the Second District, are down but, according to MPD data provided by Klein, as of May 11 the number of unarmed robberies increased by 39 percent this month compared to a year ago.
