Final update on the hurricane
This morning we had our final Crisis Management Team meeting on Hurricane Irma, as its path had shifted well west of campus. We put one last message on our Hurricane Irma page, or you can read it at the end of this post. In terms of Irma impact, it was cloudy this morning and started lightly raining towards midday. The rain comes and goes, but it has never been a downpour.
I also learned of a great act of hurricane-related relief from our Alumni Engagement and Communications and External Relations offices. Homecoming is this coming weekend, and normally we have tons of bottled water with our Homecoming logo on it; the bottled water is available at the Festival on the Quad, tailgate, etc.. This year, all our Homecoming bottled water was sent to Texas to those who need it. Kudos to my colleagues for that kind act.
In other news, it’s Monday, which means we have a new Weekly Message for First-Year families. This one is about how students navigate the academic side of Wake Forest – the classroom and professors. Always an important topic.
Moving to sports, on Wednesday night Wake Forest’s own Chris Paul is going to be here for the Leadership Project. And if you have not read the moving, thoughtful words of another Deac basketball legend, Tim Duncan, following Hurricane Irma, this is well worth your read. Hurricane Hugo is what helped bring Tim to Wake Forest, in its own odd way. He had been a promising swimmer, but Hugo damaged the practice pool and he had to switch sports. So he started playing basketball (way later than most students who end up playing D1 ball) – and the rest is history. Tim is not one to speak out very often, so when he does, his words are typically quite powerful.
So proud of all the Pro Humanitate work that is being done by our Deac family. And we are wishing all our affected Deac families well.
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Wake Forest Parents and Families,
The Crisis Management Team met this morning to discuss Hurricane Irma’s track, and we are fortunate that it has shifted far west of us. Winston-Salem is projected to get some rain and wind today and tomorrow, but no significant impact was predicted by the National Weather Service.
While we are grateful to have limited physical impact from Irma, we are mindful that your students may have been affected by Irma as well as Harvey. Students (as well as faculty and staff) may be experiencing concern for homes, friends, and families in storm-impacted areas, or they may be anxious about not being able to reach their loved ones due to power or cell phone outages.
We want to assure you that there are many resources on campus to help your students should they need support. Students can seek support from any of the following:
— University Counseling Center
— Office of the Dean of Students
In addition, the Office of Academic Advising will encourage faculty to be mindful of students who might be impacted by the hurricanes and refer those students to sources of support if needed.
We continue to extend our thoughts and prayers to those families impacted by Harvey and Irma and hope that you are safe.
With best wishes,
Betsy Chapman ’92, MA ‘94
Executive Director of Family Communications and Volunteer Management