Students returned to Vermont State University on Monday after the unsolved murder of a retired dean near the school last week.
There were no classes at the Castleton campus Thursday because of fall break, when former dean and professor Honoree Fleming, 77, was fatally shot on the Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail.
Fleming died from a gunshot wound to the head, officials said.
State police have said a man described as a person of interest is "armed and dangerous" and asked people in homes and businesses near the trail to go over their security cameras in case they have video of him.
"Honoree was a part of the Castleton family and was beloved by faculty, staff, and students," Vermont State University said in a statement on social media.
"Scores of students benefited from Dr. Fleming’s teachings and research. ... This is an unbelievable tragedy for the Castleton campus and for all of Vermont State University. Honoree will be deeply missed," the statement said.
Fleming lived in Castleton with her husband, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Powers, the school said. Before she arrived at Castleton, Fleming was on the faculty at Trinity College, Middlebury College and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Many students returned to campus Sunday and Monday ahead of the restart of classes Tuesday.
Sophomore Samera Rideout said she had no intention going to the trail where Fleming was killed, about a mile south of campus.
“Well, I know I’m not going that way any time soon,” Rideout told NBC affiliate WPTZ of Plattsburgh.
Junior Josh Peters said he hopes police issue a more detailed description of the person of interest soon, because the description they issued, 5-foot-10 with reddish hair, could fit any number of people.
“It doesn’t really help, because that’s almost like everybody you’d come across, so it is surprising, and it’s really upsetting, too," he said.
Peters is a defensive back on the Spartans football team, which plays at home Saturday.
“However long it takes them to catch them, if he’s still on the loose come Saturday, I don’t know what’s to happen,” he said.
