Crosses were set along sidewalk of the Oregon District for those that died. One of the crosses honored Megan Betts, Wright State student | Photo: Sarah Cavender
During the Dec. 5 Board of Trustees committee meeting, board members voted on a resolution to give Megan Betts' family a posthumous degree.
Betts, 22, was one of the nine victims who died during the Aug. 4 Oregon District shooting.
She was a student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences department and was one academic year away from graduating with a bachelor's degree in Earth and Environmental sciences.
“This is a very personal moment for the family who are grieving the loss of a child," said Provost and incoming President Sue Edwards. “Any death is traumatic, but this one was particularly traumatic for only them with the loss of Megan but also the community."
The degree will be presented to the Betts family in a private ceremony among family and members of the department.
A posthumous degree can be submitted from the department to the provost where a student would meet certain criteria.
According to Edwards, the degree submission came from the faculty of the department not long after the vigil Wright State hosted a few days after the mass shooting.
"The department brought this to me very early, they [faculty] felt as though she was an exceptional student and deserved to be honored in this way. It's an acknowledgment of all the work she did. It provides the faculty with an opportunity to recognize her achievements while she was here," said Edwards.
In the resolution, the chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics had recommended Betts.
The board voted unanimously to pass the resolution.
The resolution also states that Betts, “was dedicated to completing her degree and was held in very high regard among faculty in her program.”
