TUCSON, Ariz. — It's been two years since a former University of Arizona grad student shot and killed his professor, Dr. Thomas Meixner.
Now, Kathleen Meixner, the widow of the beloved professor is sharing her work alongside the university to make crucial public safety changes she hopes will be a model across our country.
“We don't want to think anything horrific like this could happen to a loved one,” said Kathleen Meixner.
Tragically Kathleen has been forced to live this reality. Now she is continuing her mission to honor her late husband while advocating for change.
The day we met her in Tucson she was wearing her heart-shaped button with her husband’s name on it. She said it was a gift from the community which she has come to cherish and appreciate through her grieving.
"It's sort of embodies the collection of stories that people shared with us about Tom, which it just kind of shined a beautiful light on his life.” said Kathleen.
Dr. Meixner was a father, a husband, a volunteer and the head of the university's Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences Department. His beautiful light was turned out when a former, expelled student shot and killed him on October 5, 2022.
His family and the community would later learn the shooter had made threats, should not have been able to buy a gun, and should have been more closely monitored.
Katheen said one of the many flaws and missteps they’ve since learned was that different law enforcement departments were not able to easily communicate threats they were receiving, and also didn’t dive deeper into them.
"Tom's murderer had been reported to TPD (Tucson Police Department) with text messages indicating he was planning to kill people. Right. (There was) no seamless way for communicating data between law enforcement agencies,” said Kathleen.
Mission for change
Now Kathleen is part of the mission to address the issue of school safety.
"I really feel a strong sense that Tom wants this for the university. And if in some way, this can protect others at this university or other universities, what a great thing to happen that would come out of this tragedy, even though it's so hard for us,” said Kathleen.
Kathleen said creating a team focused on safety and their communication has already been a major improvement at the university.
"I think the biggest change that has occurred is they now have an integrated team that is communicating on a regular basis,” she said.
After Tom’s murder, the university hired an independent group to evaluate their safety standards before the shooting. The school received 33 recommendations from that report for changes they are working to implement.
In 2023, the school founded an Office of Public Safety. Along with that university leaders, police, and others are meeting frequently, and taking threats seriously.
Kathleen said she supports continued communication improvements among students and staff, streamlined reporting, and also safety trainings which are mandatory.
Kathleen and Tom were married for 25 years. They met on U of A’s campus, and it was a place they both loved so much. Now she continues to hold up his memory by working to protect all those who love it too.
"I feel so strongly that what they've done so far is incredibly impressive. And honestly if this sort of system has been in place beforehand, I think that could have saved Tom. I just really feel that my role right now is cheering them on why they do this to protect other people. I think Tom would want that and so that's why I’m choosing to do,” said Kathleen. “It’s hard. It's hard,” she added.
The man behind the photograph
Kathleen is sharing more about the man so many loved and will always miss.
She said Tom battled cancer three different times and was a fighter.
"He lived his life so fully. And maybe I've considered the suffering he experienced, from dealing with cancer, repeatedly, and the anxiety of that, it reframed his brain a little bit,” said Kathleen.
Kathleen said Tom always wanted to make the most out of each moment with her and their two sons.
He would always write weekly on his calendar to “call a friend”.
“It just reinforced the idea of how important it is to check in with people, be present, and Tom was that kind of guy,” she said.
Honoring Tom's life two years later
Oct. 5 will mark two years since Tom’s death. Kathleen said her husband spent much of his time volunteering and encouraging people to vote.
“I haven’t shared a lot about Tom of his civic engagement, but he was all about getting the vote out. He would make calls and knock on doors,” said Kathleen.
Kathleen said one way we can all honor Tom’s memory is by making sure you are registered to vote for the upcoming November election.
“If you haven’t registered to vote, a way you can honor Tom is by doing that and after you’ve done that, I would say inform yourself about a candidate or an issue,” said Kathleen.
The deadline to register to vote in Arizona is two days after the day Tom was murdered.
Life in prison
Murad Dervish was sentenced to life in prison for Dr. Meixner’s murder in June of 2024 .
Throughout the court process, it was learned that Dervish purchased a gun through a private sale even though he wasn't allowed to have one due to an unrelated protection order.
Kathleen said she hopes in the future she can find a way to advocate for common sense gun laws in Arizona including universal background checks and red flag laws.
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