To members of the University community,

By now most you have read about last week's arrest of two former student athletes in the death of Jason Cody Wright. Wright's body was found June 23 at MSU's Post Farm west of campus.

The circumstances surrounding Wright's death are extremely concerning, and the two suspects, John LeBrum and Branden Miller, could face the death penalty. More arrests are possible as the criminal investigation continues.

This incident is the most serious one I've encountered in my many years of higher education. It troubles me and I felt a responsibility to communicate with you about this. I have felt a range of emotions in the last several days--sadness, distress, disappointment and disbelief. I suspect that each of you may have experienced many of the same feelings.

The university has and will continue to cooperate fully with local investigators. It appears that this incident was connected to illegal drugs, and I must express how concerned I am about drug use in our communities and the culture it creates. I serve on the Montana Meth Project Task Force, and illegal drug use will continue to be an issue that I will work to combat in our communities and on campus.

While we aren't responsible for the actions of our former students, I do believe that last week's arrests reflect negatively on this institution. In light of this and other drug-related incidents, including the arrest last March of eight freshmen on drug charges, our senior leadership team has decided that it is time to take a fresh look at ourselves.

For one, we need to send a more powerful message that illegal drug use will not be tolerated on our campus. Each of you can help spread that message in your encounters with current and prospective students and their families.

We need to take a look at our policies, procedures and practices in several areas of our campus. Specifically, we are bringing in an outside consultant to look at the athletic recruitment process to make sure we are doing all we can within the requirements of NCAA rules to bring in student athletes who will be successful. Both of the former students arrested last week had left MSU and their teams before completing their degrees. Academics are my No. 1 priority for student athletes, and it does no good for any coach to recruit a student athlete who cannot be successful academically.

I plan to get this review effort underway in the next few months and to have it completed by the end of fall semester. I think Montana State University is a great place to get an education and we will continue to build on our many strengths in the days ahead.

Thank you for your many contributions to this university. Please contact me if you have any comments or suggestions on the approach we are taking to this situation.

Sincerely,

Geoff Gamble
Montana State University

Read a story from Inside Higher Ed on President Gamble's response to the arrests.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/07/05/msu