I came across an important and well-written piece on www.insidehighered.com titled “When A Student Dies.” It examines how a college or university should handle a student’s death and includes testimony from colleges about how to handle tragedy compassionately and legally. Elizabeth Redden writes:

In the immediate aftermath of a tragedy, the experts agree: The family comes first. Honoring the family’s wishes proves to be absolutely paramount, says Willie H. Marshall, associate provost for student services and dean of students at Texas Southern University. For instance, he says university leaders should know a family’s wishes before deciding whether to send an e-mail about the death to all students, or to take a more targeted approach in alerting various segments of the campus body. “We make contact with the family and so forth. We always like to know the kinds of things that can be done,” Marshall says, adding that, for instance, many families place great value on a posthumously-awarded degree or even something so simple as obtaining a copy of their child’s transcript. “These are mementos.”

She also links to Penn State’s “Student Affairs Guidelines for Reporting Student Deaths.”

Ms. Redden has written a must-read piece. You can read it all here.

For first-time readers, I wrote recently about the mishandling of a recent tragedy at SUNY Oneonta: “SUNY President Mishandles Crisis”: Part I, Part II and Part III. It is encouraging to see that decorum and dignity are on the minds of others.