ULS Hurricane Gustav Campus Status Update

*Latest information as of 6:30 a.m.

BATON ROUGE – The eight University of Louisiana System campuses are vigilantly monitoring Hurricane Gustav. All have activated their campus emergency action teams. The four South Louisiana universities are making appropriate arrangements to secure the safety of their campus faculty, staff, and students, and the four North Louisiana universities are preparing to support and assist.

“Over the past year, our System universities have been collaborating to improve emergency preparedness efforts. I commend our campus presidents and their staffs for their planning and preparation, as well as their willingness to offer assistance,” said UL System President Randy Moffett. The following are special contact information and the latest status updates by university:

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY, Grambling, Louisiana
www.gram.edu

Grambling State University will be closed until Thursday, September 4 when classes will resume at 8 a.m.  Essential university personnel are expected to report to work.  All residence halls will be opened for on-campus students.

LOUSIANA TECH UNIVERSITY, Ruston, Louisiana
www.latech.edu; http://storm.latech.edu
Since classes at Louisiana Tech are not scheduled to begin until Thursday, September 4, all academic, student and staff functions scheduled for Tuesday, September 2 and Wednesday, September 3 have been cancelled by the order of President Dan Reneau in response to Hurricane Gustav.  All administrative and support offices will also be closed.  Essential university personnel required to be on-campus during the closure will be identified and contacted by their department supervisors.  Fall general registration activities will not take place on Wednesday, September 3.  These activities and fall classes will commence on Thursday, September 4.  No other changes to university schedules have been made at this time.  Students currently in the on-campus residence halls will continue to receive all services during the closure.  The administration will continue to monitor the storm and its potential impact on the campus community.  Gym.

MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY, Lake Charles, Louisiana
1-800-622-3352; www.mcneese.edu/emergency
The McNeese State University campus will be closed at 6 p.m. Sunday and will remain closed to all non-essential, emergency personnel until an all clear is given. Streets to the campus are barricaded and university police are patrolling the campus during the closure. No shelters will be available on the McNeese campus. Students and employees with limited transportation should report to the McNeese Police building at 8 a.m. Sunday to participate in the public evacuation. Calcasieu Parish will provide buses to public shelters outside the danger zone. A mandatory evacuation of the residence halls began late Saturday morning. Computing technology services and several other essential personnel will relocate to Louisiana Tech and resume operations there. On Monday, McNeese employees and students should expect e-mail, Blackboard and Banner to be offline for six or more hours. The McNeese Web page will not be affected and updates will be posted there as they are available. During the mandatory campus closure, only emergency personnel, including university police, will remain on campus. The status of the campus will be re-evaluated after Hurricane Gustav passes and the area is deemed safe. The university will be closed at least through Wednesday and employees and students will be notified of re-opening information through e-mail, the Web page and local media.

NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY, Thibodaux, Louisiana
1-866-709-8927; www.nicholls.edu; http://emergency.nicholls.edu
Nicholls State University is officially closed and the streets surrounding campus have been barricaded. University faculty, staff and students are advised to evacuate to an area out of the storm’s path. On-campus residents as well as university faculty and staff without a means of transportation started evacuation to Louisiana Tech University at 2 p.m. Saturday where they will receive pre-arranged shelter and meals for the duration of their stay. Only emergency personnel, including university police, will remain on campus. Classes are canceled until 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 3. There will be no open shelter on campus.

NORTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY, Natchitoches, Louisiana
318-357-5431 (University Police); www.nsula.edu/hurricane.asp
Northwestern State University will be closed Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Wednesday, Sept. 3 due to Hurricane Gustav. The closure affects all Northwestern State campuses. Essential personnel are expected to report for work. Campus residence halls will remain open. The closure follows the lead of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who issued an executive order suspending classes Sept. 2-3 for school systems in 30 parishes including Natchitoches, Vernon, Caddo, Rapides and Catahoula parishes where Northwestern offers classes. NSU’s Health and Human Performance Building is at full capacity as an emergency evacuation shelter by the American Red Cross.  Students from McNeese State University in Lake Charles and the University of New Orleans are expected to be housed in a vacant dormitory at Northwestern. Efforts are also being made to accommodate emergency response personnel from utility companies in Louisiana and other states who will be dealing with possible power outages in the region.  Access to Northwestern’s Natchitoches campus is limited. Those coming to campus must use the Caspari Street entrance.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY, Hammond, Louisiana
www.selu.edu ; KSLU 90.9 FM
Southeastern Louisiana University has cancelled classes and events and closed its main campus and off-site locations thru Wednesday, Sept. 3. The campus will be shut down at 7 p.m. Sunday night. Only previously-identified essential personnel will be allowed on campus. The university does not operate a “public” shelter. In the event of a campus closure, only students who live on campus and are unable to return home, e.g., international students, will be housed at the University Center.

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE, Lafayette, Louisiana
1-337-482-2222; www.louisiana.edu
The University is encouraging any students who are still on campus to evacuate either on their own if they have transportation, or by buses that DOTD is providing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today from the Clifton Chenier Center. There is a pick-up location near campus to take anyone without transportation to the Center from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will be closed on Tuesday, September 2 and Wednesday, September 3, 2008 due to the threat of Hurricane Gustav.

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT MONROE, Monroe, Louisiana
1-866-698-4887; www.ulm.edu/gustav; Email: emergencyinfo@ulm.edu
To ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff, ULM classes are cancelled Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Wednesday, Sept. 3, due to Hurricane Gustav. Classes will begin Thursday, Sept. 4. ULM recommends that students do not travel Monday or Tuesday.  Residence halls, food services, the activity center and other student services will remain open all week. Executive staff and essential personnel should report to work Tuesday. Supervisors will contact these personnel.  ULM encourages faculty, staff and students to volunteer at any of the local shelters and human services agencies. To volunteer at ULM, visit: www.ulm.edu/gustav  Beginning Monday, Sept. 1, ULM faculty, staff and students who need assistance should call the ULM Gustav Crisis Hotline at (318) 342-7777 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. To listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information, call the ULM Update Line at (318) 342-7821.

Status changes and decisions on class and campus closures may continue to be change. Please utilize the specific university websites and phone numbers for the latest up-to-date information.