Overview
- The appointment, announced Monday, installs retired Utah Highway Patrol colonel Michael Rapich to lead Utah Valley University’s campus safety reforms and operations.
- Rapich brings 33 years of law-enforcement experience, including nine years as UHP colonel, and will begin at UVU on Nov. 2 to oversee the university police force and emergency planning.
- UVU commissioned a 158-page independent After-Action Report that found the university had policies in place but failed to translate them into practice for a high-profile outdoor event, citing too few officers, weak coordination with city and county agencies, and confusing campus alerts.
- State higher-education leaders also released a 44-page campus safety task force report and may ask the Utah Legislature to fund a systemwide campus-safety coordinator to help schools implement recommendations.
- UVU says Rapich’s role aims to rebuild trust on campus and strengthen operational ties with local and state law enforcement as legal claims related to the Sept. 10, 2025, killing continue to proceed.