After murder, Riggs GS '82 leads Gettysburg through tragedy

“I am shocked and terribly saddened, as is our entire college community,” Riggs said in an e-mail to The Daily Princetonian. “My heart goes out to the families of both of these students; both families are feeling such tremendous pain.”

Police have charged 21-year-old Kevin Robert Schaeffer in the killing of 19-year-old Emily Rachel Silverstein in an off-campus apartment provided through the college housing office. Officers were called to the apartment at 6:44 a.m. on Thursday morning, and authorities have said they believe Silverstein was killed sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Schaeffer, a native of Oley, Pa., was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime and tampering with physical evidence.

As details emerged throughout the weekend, an autopsy on Friday revealed that Silverstein, a native of Roosevelt, N.J., died of strangulation, blunt-force head injuries and sharp injuries to the neck — likely inflicted with a steak knife — according to an article in The Evening Sun of Haverford, Pa.

After being taken into custody, Schaeffer was transported to the Adams County Prison. He was arraigned and a preliminary hearing should take place sometime this week.

Gettysburg, a private liberal arts school, has 2,600 undergraduates and is located roughly 170 miles southwest of Princeton.

Riggs said it is unclear what kind of long-term impact the tragedy will have on the college community.

“It’s very hard to understand how this could have happened,” she said. “I don’t know that we’ll ever fully understand … We are devastated; it’s difficult for our community to take this in, and we are all hurting.”

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The incident has prompted Gettysburg alumni, members of nearby colleges and members of the local community to express their condolences on the college’s website, Riggs noted.

“The entire campus community at McDaniel College sends our sympathy, thoughts and prayers to our friends and neighbors at Gettysburg College. May you begin to heal,” a poster who self-identified as McDaniel College president Joan Develin Coley said.

Riggs said she believes her college community’s cohesion and sense of togetherness will heal the school, eventually allowing it to deal with the other challenges it is facing.

“The Gettysburg College community truly is just that — a community,” Riggs said. “We know each other; we support each other. I have certainly appreciated that, and our sense of community is what will help us through this tragedy.”

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A native of suburban Philadelphia, Riggs graduated from Gettysburg in 1977 and earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Princeton in 1982.

“I had a tremendous graduate school experience that prepared me well for my life as a faculty member,” she said. “I would also say that my training as a social psychologist has come in handy in many ways, and never more than in my role as president.”

After graduating from Princeton, Riggs returned to her alma mater and rose from professor to department chair and provost before being named interim president in March 2008. She was named the college’s 14th president this past February.

“The opportunity to lead an institution for which I have such great affection and respect is truly an honor and a privilege,” she said.

“[As president] this tragedy is by far the most challenging [thing I have encountered],” she added. “A week ago, I would have said the economic situation has been the biggest challenge; that’s now moved down the list.”