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University cancels Monday classes
Bottled water at the local Kroger Grocery Store at Barrack’s Road shopping center was scarce to find.
The University canceled its classes for the third time in 30 years Sunday evening with Hurricane Sandy bringing extreme weather to the state.
“After careful consideration about the storm’s potential impact on the University, I’ve decided to cancel classes on Monday,” University President Teresa Sullivan said in a University-wide email after 10:45 p.m. Sunday evening. “I don’t make this decision lightly, but this is in the best interest of everyone’s safety.”
Late announcements about school closings in Albemarle and the City of Charlottesville affected the decision, University Spokesperson McGregor McCance said.
The University decided late Sunday evening that closings in the local school divisions would be difficult for University staff and faculty whose kids would be at home without care.
No decision has been made about class cancellations for Tuesday, but University officials are set to meet tomorrow to evaluate the situation.
Gov. Bob McDonnell Sunday ordered that state executive branch agencies be closed Monday. But Virginia law allows University presidents to make their own decisions about whether to close buildings in accordance with the governor’s order. University President Teresa Sullivan decided cancelling classes Monday would be the correct thing to do Sunday night, McCance said.
University student services such as libraries and recreational facilities will likely maintain normal hours tomorrow, and the hospital will maintain its operations. All dining facilities except for N2 will remain open.
Student Health will be closed. Sullivan advised students with medical emergencies to go to the University Hospital emergency room.
Student service facilities could close if the weather makes staffing such facilities problematic, McCance said.
“This is a time for students when everyone in the University community recognizes that this could be a bad storm, this is just one of those safety reminders,” McCance said.
Sullivan and the University’s emergency preparedness center recommend that students stay indoors during the weather Monday, which could bring sustained winds of 30 mph, gusts up to 60 mph and one to three inches of rain. The “superstorm” is expected to last upwards of 48 hours, according to a statement released Sunday by the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle County Emergency Communications Center.
The last time class was cancelled was February 2010 when the University shut down because of a snow storm that hit central Virginia.
