TUCSON, Arizona — Nearly four months after the murder of a University of Arizona professor, university officials missed red flags about the suspect accused of his death, according to a new 30-page report.

An independent report from the University of Arizona’s Commission on University-Wide Safety said the university had made “clear institutional failures” when it came to its history of faculty and staff safety.

“Institutional reform is needed,” said Dr. Laila Hudson, dean of the University of Arizona.

This report was commissioned by university faculty and was produced after the October 2022 murder of Dr. Thomas Meiksner.

Meixner, dean of the university’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, was shot dead on campus.

Former student Murad Dervish has been charged with first-degree murder in Mexiner’s death.

“The lack of a centralized risk management system and the fragmentation of responsibilities related to the risk of violence have resulted in organizations focusing on legal risks and ignoring the risks of violence,” Hudson said. Stated.

According to the report, Mr. Dervish harassed and threatened members of the department for nearly a year.

Fearing for their safety, some faculty members purchased bulletproof vests, changed offices, moved out of their homes, stored non-lethal weapons on campus, and stowed weapons in their homes, according to the report.

According to reports, on Oct. 5, 2022, Dervish allegedly sought out four members of the department who had previously harassed him but first came across Meixner.

The report also points to a lack of communication to notify faculty and staff in a timely manner about Dervish’s reported harassment while at San Diego State University.

According to a January 2022 report, police at the University of Arizona were aware of an investigation from SDSUPD involving Dervish sending racist and anti-Semitic emails to faculty and staff.

The report also included a timeline of incidents involving Dervish.

In May 2022, the same report said the Pima County Attorney’s Office closed the harassment case against Dervish after the UAPD failed to file a criminal complaint.

In September 2022, less than a month before Mexener’s death, the UAPD filed a second criminal report against Dervish for 20 cases of harassment involving two workers.

According to Meixner’s family, it was not known to prosecutors until after Meixner’s death.

According to reports, the UAPD never notified prosecutors of the urgency of the case, nor did it mention the May 2022 case against Dervish.

The Pinal County Attorney’s Office confirmed the report’s findings in the following statement to 12News:

“The PCAO can confirm that law enforcement made no attempt to connect the two incidents, provide any background, or bring them to our attention with urgency. The September report was mailed as a regular campus misdemeanor and, as is customary practice, the report was queued at the bottom of the COVID backlog for non-arrest misdemeanor cases. means.”

As part of its recommendations, the report calls on universities to resolve trust issues, provide systems to address violence and risk management, reduce paperwork, and develop effective policies to address security concerns. I am asking you to provide a method.

Hudson says Campus and Meixner’s colleagues are still trying to process and understand the tragedy.

She says there’s still a long way to go to resolve communication issues on campus after the tragedy, but encourages more people to see signs of trying to prevent it from happening again.

“We’re just getting started, but I think there are a lot of opportunities to collaborate in different areas of the university,” says Hudson.

A final report from faculty will be released in late spring 2023.

The University of Arizona is now conducting an external investigation into Meixner’s death.

12News reached out to the University of Arizona for comment on the faculty’s report and to receive a timeline for when the report will be completed. So far, no reply.

Murad Dervish’s trial is set to begin in Fall 2023.

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