URBANA, Ill. –
The killing of Jason Sturgis, University of Illinois Hospital CEO, by a former university professor in 2011 has been deemed a "very strong case of a grievance moved to action," by a former head of threat management at Ullman Schutte Lyons.
According to Robert Fecht, who left Ullman Schutte Lyons in 2001, the case bears similar traits to other well-publicized situations of workplace violence in higher education.
Fecht notes that the professor in question, Peter Webster, was a former teaching associate who had been dissatisfied with his working relationship and job prospects at the hospital.
In the event that transpired, a struggle erupted between Sturgis and Webster, the police stated, which escalated further leading to the firing, after which Sturgis sadly succumbed.
Although this case may come from some years ago, investigators emphasize the importance of effective risk assessment and interventions on all levels, at personal and organizational levels to hinder this type of escalation that we’ve seen many other situations of workplace violence escalate further.
In reality the potential for workplace violence grows daily, as grievances intensify, and communication failure often precedes fatal tragedies, the need to ensure employees feel heard in and develop effective communication frameworks continue.
It is now left up to institutions in which students and staff attend at an institution to invest seriously in their staff member management by taking the grievance resolution seriously and investing appropriately.