A faculty member was assaulted in the Southwest Quad courtyard Monday night, according to a Public Safety Alert sent to the campus community Tuesday afternoon.

The professor, who does not live in the Southwest Quad, according to Department of Public Safety Police Agent Donna Shephard, was walking in the inner courtyard at 10:30 p.m. Monday when she was approached by an unknown suspect, who attempted to grab her purse. The professor struggled to hold on to the purse, and the suspect pushed her to the ground and fled without taking the purse after seeing another person approach.

The professor received injuries to her hip, knees and shoulder, but none are life-threatening, according to the Public Safety Alert. The suspect is described as a thin, white male in his twenties, 6-foot-1, with a light beard and wearing dark pants, white shoes and a gray sweatshirt.

This is the first assault with intent to rob to occur on campus this year. Nine simple assaults occurred between January and October 2010, according to DPS crime logs; no suspect has attempted to steal from the victim, however. Shephard said she could not recall the last time a faculty member was assaulted on or off campus. On Feb. 4, 2010, a professor was the victim of an attempted robbery on M Street, but no force was used.

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