While Florida State University’s community members gathered for a day of reflection April 17 for the anniversary of the mass shooting that occurred on campus a year ago, the tragic day was also remembered by those afar – including Jeff Binkley.
Binkley – the father of the 2018 Tallahassee hot yoga studio shooting victim Maura Binkley – was in Tallahassee last year when the shooting occurred as he prepared for a “United Against Hate” Maura’s Voice Symposium that was scheduled to take place that same day to promote student safety on campus.
And since the tragedy, Binkley’s ties with the university have strengthened as he’s officially been hired as the new program director of the Maura’s Voice Research Fund on campus. He and his late wife Margaret Binkley co-founded the fund – which is a joint project of the FSU College of Social Work and the Office of the Provost – in 2019 following the hot yoga shooting.
“One of the first things that came to mind and that I couldn’t stop thinking about after the shooting on FSU’s campus was not just the physical elements of safety like locks, but the behavioral side,” Binkley 68, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I wondered how we can better identify people who may be at risk to do these things, and how intervention practices can be advanced.
“Should I have been doing more sooner? What should I do differently? It is obviously deeply personal, and I felt a sense of responsibility as I think we all should at some level.”
Maura and 61-year-old Dr. Nancy Van Vessem died after a gunman with a long history of abusive behavior and hatred against women opened fire in a local yoga studio in 2018.
Two were killed − Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba – and five students were injured by a gunman during the shooting on FSU’s campus last year.
Although Binkley − an Atlanta, Georgia native − was unable to make it to campus Friday for the university’s day of remembrance event, he says he had his own special way of honoring the lives lost and those impacted by the shooting.
In the den of Binkley’s house, a writing desk that belonged to Maura has several objects around it commemorating her, and Binkley added the names of the FSU campus shooting victims to it.
“I just want to make them a part of it too,” Binkley said. “Anytime anyone in this house passes by it, they will remember them as well. It’s all about the recognition and never forgetting what happened.”
Through Binkley’s new role, he will work with the university to advance goals on preventing and reducing violence. He started the new position in February, and although he’s currently working remotely, the possibility of shifting to work in person is still being determined.
In the meantime, he will commute to FSU’s campus as needed, and the role also involves additional travel to build and develop new partnerships. His annual salary as program director is $135,000.
“Jeff has demonstrated a profound commitment to understanding the causes and consequences of violence against women,” FSU Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs James Clark said in a statement sent to the Democrat. “He has developed an important network of academic and NGO (non-governmental organization) leaders dedicated to reducing violence in America.”
“FSU is excited to have him join our team to advance the research agenda that is making important impacts in this area,” he added.
The research fund’s staff includes faculty members, student interns and graduate students, Binkley said. Some of the partnerships already established by the fund are with the Anti-Defamation League – an international organization that works toward protecting civil rights through advocacy, education and monitoring hate groups – and Eradicate Hate, which is a global summit that combats hate-fueled violence.
“The most important thing about it is to expand and deepen relations we’ve already made with researchers and organizations of common cause, and to develop new relationships,” Binkley said. “We want to establish a link between research, policy and action. That’s what we’ve tried to do all along with our work, and there’s always more to be done.
“We can do a lot better,” he added. “This is life and death, so you never slow down in dealing with that and its consequences. It’s a book that never closes, and it’s a song that never ends.”
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Father of hot yoga shooting victim hired by FSU to combat violence
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
