UVU's New President Reflects on Grief, Safety and Healing One Year After Kirk's Assassination

A Personal Tragedy, A Presidential Mission

Jon Anderson has been president of Utah Valley University for just four weeks, and as the university marked the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's shooting and death on campus, Anderson found himself seeing the community's grief through a deeply personal lens. His connection to that day goes far beyond his new title. On September 10, 2025, Anderson's wife called him while he was sitting behind the president's desk at PennWest University in Pennsylvania. "She said that they had shot him," Anderson recalled. "I couldn't place what happened. I had two daughters and a son-in-law, ten yards from Charlie Kirk when he was assassinated."

One year ago, conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on Utah Valley University's campus in Orem, Utah. Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a rally, and Tyler Robinson was taken into custody a day later and will face trial for murder in Kirk's death. The assassination sent shockwaves far beyond Utah — and the university has spent the year since grappling with trauma, accountability, and a resolve to do better.

Grief Handled With Care

"The event that happened about a year ago was traumatic for everyone and touched so many people and so many lives," Anderson said. Recognizing that grief doesn't follow a single timeline, the university took deliberate steps to give its community space. UVU gave members of the campus community the option to spend September 10 away from campus, and classes were cancelled — a decision Anderson said reflects the different ways people may want to process the anniversary.

Anderson acknowledged that "some people get over things pretty quickly and are ready to move on," while "other people need time to process it, and some effects of trauma don't immediately manifest themselves." The shooting has also affected individual students' decisions about whether to remain at UVU or continue their education somewhere else. Anderson said the university respects those choices, understanding that healing is not a one-size-fits-all process.

A Campus Transformed by Lessons Learned

Anderson says UVU has reviewed its safety protocols, strengthened relationships with law enforcement agencies, and worked to improve its infrastructure and ability to respond to an emergency. The changes are concrete and campus-wide. Beginning in 2026, UVU has required safety training for all faculty, staff, and students, as well as strengthened connections with external law enforcement agencies should emergent circumstances arise again.

"The processes are more robust than they were a year ago and we believe that we are prepared for an incident should it happen again," Anderson said. "I think it is important for us to have institutional humility and have the ability to acknowledge that we can do better and learn from those things." Anderson also announced that UVU has commissioned an external review set to be released in the coming weeks. The review will outline everything UVU has learned in the year since the shooting and will address what others believe should be done differently — with the hope that those lessons will ensure better preparedness for campuses nationwide.

Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future

Turning Point USA, the group founded by Kirk, held a "Freedom Built to Last" event on September 10, where conservative commentators Glenn Beck and Frank Turek were among those scheduled to speak. Governor Spencer Cox officially declared September 10 "Charlie Kirk Day" in Utah , and tributes poured in from across the political spectrum. After Kirk's death, his widow, Erika Kirk, became the CEO and chairwoman of Turning Point.

For Anderson, the path forward is about refusing to let one devastating moment define an entire institution. "We will work to ensure that that event is a part of our history, and we acknowledge that and we will learn from it, but it will not define our future," he said. "We'll move forward boldly and ambitiously to create an environment that strengthens every student that's a part of campus." With an independent review on the horizon and new safety systems already in place, UVU is making a deliberate case that a university can emerge from tragedy not just intact — but stronger, and more prepared to protect the people who walk its grounds.