Elizabeth A. Hardin oral history interview 3, 2019 December 17

Description

Elizabeth Hardin, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs at UNC Charlotte, discusses the events of April 30, 2019, when a gunman opened fire in a classroom on campus. Ms. Hardin was at an off campus event at the Center City Building at the time of the shooting. As she returned to campus, she recalls seeing hundreds of students situated around the periphery as directed by law enforcement. She was able to arrange for Advent Lutheran Church, located across the street from the University, to open and give the students somewhere to rest. This was followed by a "family reunification area" established in the adjacent Harris Teeter parking lot. Ms. Hardin describes how the crowd of parents kept thinning until there was only one parent left- Brian Parlier, the father of Reed Parlier, one of two students who were killed by the gunman. She discusses the history of crisis communication at UNC Charlotte and gives a lot of credit to Associate Vice Chancellor Gary Stinnett for his work in keeping the families and students informed during and after the events of April 30. Ms. Hardin concludes the interview talking about the long and short term implications of the shooting.