CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WTVR) - The University of Virginia is sending out letters to students, faculty, and loved ones this morning working to help those grieving over the loss of one of their own.
This is after one of their students died in a boating accident Saturday.
WCAV 19 reported that 4th year Casey Schulman, a Foreign Affairs major from Falls Church, died in Dominica.
The boating trip was organized independent of the Semester at Sea Program Schulman participated in.
The University of Virginia released a statement to faculty and students.
To the University community:
I write today to inform you of the loss of one of our students. Casey Schulman, a fourth-year Foreign Affairs major from Falls Church, Va., was killed earlier today in a recreational boating incident in Roseau, Dominica.
I have been in touch with Casey's family and ask that you join us in keeping the family and its friends in our thoughts during this difficult time.
Casey was a participant in the Semester at Sea program. The trip during which the incident occurred was organized independently of the SAS activities. Leadership at the Institute for Shipboard Education and senior voyage administrators have also been in contact with Casey's family, the U.S. Embassy of the Eastern Caribbean and University leadership.
Grief counseling and support services have been made available to all members of the SAS community on a 24-hour basis. A commemorative service is planned aboard the ship tomorrow evening. The ship will depart Dominica tomorrow at 8 p.m. local time as planned and will return to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, Dec. 7.
For any members of the University community, support is available through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) this weekend at 434-972-7004 or by speaking directly with a dean on call by contacting the University Police at 434-924-7166. A dean is on call 24/7, should anyone need assistance.
Patricia Lampkin
Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer
Semester at Sea President Les McCabe also released a statement regarding the death of Schulman.
December 1, 2012
It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the loss of one of our students earlier today. Casey Schulman, a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia, was killed in a recreational boating incident in Roseau, Dominica.
The trip had been organized independently by a group of students and was not a Semester at Sea-sponsored excursion.
The Institute for Shipboard Education and senior voyage administrators are in close contact with Casey’s family, the U.S. Embassy of the Eastern Caribbean, and key officials at the University of Virginia.
Grief counseling and support services have been made available to all members of the community on a 24-hour basis.
A commemorative service is planned aboard the ship tomorrow evening. The ship will depart Dominica tomorrow at 8 pm local time as planned and will return to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Friday, December 7.
We wish to convey our condolences to Casey’s family, her many friends, and those who witnessed the accident. Please join me in keeping the Schulman family in your thoughts at this very difficult time.
-President Les McCabe
A commemorative service will take place later tonight at 8 p.m. The University is offering grief counseling to members of the program.
