UW President Mark Emmert's homecoming from India was marred by last week's tragic shooting of Rebecca Griego. Receiving the news while abroad Monday, April 2, he spent most of the night communicating with University officials by phone and e-mail.

Emmert was more fully briefed upon his return to campus April 4, before proceeding to meet with Griego's family Thursday morning at the College of Architecture.

"[The shooting] was just a thoroughly awful thing to have happen," Emmert said.

Emmert and Griego's family released a joint statement at the Sexual Abuse and Relationship Violence Awareness Week's Take Back the Night rally.

"We worked hard with the family, did as much as we could for them and continue to work with them," Emmert said.

The timing of the shooting was not lost on the president, who voiced his hope that it would serve as a catalyst, sparking people "to understand the realities of what is really an epidemic in this country."

Emmert, who said he had some experience with similar tragedies during his previous job at Louisiana State University, noted that efforts this week will shift to the University's handling of the situation.

"We have already been examining all of our processes," Emmert said.

The president also set up a series of debriefings to reflect on "how the University performed," and to ensure that the UW community learns all it can from the situation.

The following day, Friday, April 6, marked a return to normalcy as Emmert met with Medical School Dean, Dr. Paul Ramsey. Usually taking place informally over breakfast or lunch, meeting with deans are commonplace for the president, who uses them "as a vehicle to keep track of what's happening in each of the schools and colleges."

Meetings with Dr. Ramsey are of special importance because he runs the medical center – overseeing two hospitals, the medical school, and research activities – which, financially, comprise at least half of the University.

"We're continuing to meet [to talk about how] we can go forward with this initiative around global health metrics and the global health department," he said.

Monday, Emmert attended a meeting regarding the candidates for the chancellor position at UW Bothell, announced later in the week as Kenyon S. Chan. He later had lunch downtown and met civic leaders for a Community Development Roundtable.

The rest of the week, he participated in similar affairs, including a short briefing on the new HUB design, a conference with the presidential cabinet, and dinner with one of the University's major donors. Wednesday morning, he taped a new edition of Office Hours, a monthly video series in which he talks about UW issues. The most recent episode focused on environmental matters.

The next day, he found time to break from his constant duties as president, meeting for lunch with old friend and teacher Thomas Pressly. Emmert noted that when he first became a faculty member in graduate school, it was "Dr. Pressly and some of his colleagues that came to mind when I thought about 'what is it to be a professor?' "

It's a chance to chat and see how things have gone," Emmert said of their meeting, his voice gaining an air of excitement upon the mention of one of his favorite professors.

Reach reporter Brian Hutchinson at news@thedaily.washington.edu.