This introductory chapter sets forth three foundations for threat assessment and management: the first foundation is the defining of basic concepts, such as threat assessment and threat management; the second foundation outlines the similarities and differences between threat assessment and violence risk assessment; and the third foundation is a detailed overview of research findings, theoretical avenues, measurement instruments, and developments in practice over the past quarter-century. The goals of the chapter are to introduce professional readers to the young scientific field of threat assessment and management and to clarify and guide seasoned professionals toward greater excellence in their work.

This chapter provides an overview of the development, implementation, and operation of threat assessment and management practices within institutions of higher education. The authors provide a brief summary of the history and development of campus threat management over the past 25 years, noting the contributions of a range of disciplines, research, and informed practice. The chapter delineates the essential elements of a comprehensive threat assessment and management process designed to help campus practitioners to identify, assess, and intervene across the range of potential threats and concerns that may arise. The authors provide an overview of legal duties and issues relevant to threat management, referencing legal principles and cases that have informed standards of practice for the field. Finally, the authors discuss opportunities for advancing the practice of threat management to sustain and enhance the health, safety, and well-being of campus communities.

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The April 16, 2007 mass casualty incident at Virginia Tech had an immediate, significant, and enduring impact on approaches to campus safety in the United States. In the aftermath of the incident, there were numerous campus safety reviews, not only at Virginia Tech, but across the Commonwealth of Virginia, across the nation, and around the world. Those reviews by campus administrations, state and federal government agencies, professional associations, victim advocacy groups, and law enforcement bodies, resulted in hundreds of campus safety recommendations. Many of those recommendations were intended to improve reactive aspects of physical security, emergency preparedness, law enforcement response, and emergency notification. However, several recommendations addressed preventative approaches to enhance campus safety and bolster institutions' capabilities to identify, investigate, assess and manage actual and potential threats of violence to the campus community. This article will summarize the changes in approaches to behavioral threat assessment and management among institutions of higher education in the United States, drawing on the lessons confirmed and learned from the Virginia Tech incident and those that followed through various research efforts.

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