Hurricane Idalia Final Update, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30

Stetson University’s Emergency Management Team and Policy Team met today at 1 p.m. and are issuing a final update to the community. Updates are delivered to your Stetson email, and posted on Stetson Today and Stetson’s Facebook and Instagram pages.    

Update for Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 30  

The outer rainbands from Hurricane Idalia are expected to continue rotating through east Central Florida this afternoon before conditions begin to improve in our area around sunset this evening. Peak winds may be 25 mph to 30 mph with gusts between 40 mph and 50 mph until about 5 p.m. today. 

The DeLand campus fared well during the storm. There was no storm damage reported. Electricity and internet access have been fully restored across campus.  

The DeLand campus will return to normal operations on Thursday morning. Classes will resume for students, and employees should plan to return to work on campus, as usual. We understand that individual circumstances may prevent some students, faculty and staff from returning to classes or work.  

Students 

• Students who are unable to resume classes on Thursday or who need assistance with classes should reach out to their faculty members. 

• Students from the counties that were hardest hit by the storm can reach out to Dean of Students Lynn Schoenberg for support at [email protected].  

• All students should check their email for important information about the deadline to add a course or drop a course without financial penalty. 

• Internet access in residential buildings has been assessed and at this time there are no known outages. Should you experience residential internet issues, please report them to MyResNet. Find out more at the MyResnet webpage. 

Employees 

• While normal operations will resume Thursday morning, there may be employees who need to work remotely or modify their normally scheduled work hours, due to family issues, damage to their homes or other circumstances. In those instances, employees should communicate with their supervisor. We highly encourage supervisors to provide flexibility, as needed. 

• The IT staff has checked the internet access and technology in campus buildings and classrooms, and there are no known issues at this time. Employees who experience issues on Thursday should contact the Help Desk for assistance. 

Stetson’s Emergency Management Team expects this will be the final Hurricane Idalia update.  

Update for Wednesday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m.

Stetson University’s Emergency Management Team and Policy Team met today at 9 a.m. and are issuing an update to the community. Keep up with the latest updates through your Stetson email, on Stetson Today and Stetson’s Facebook and Instagram pages.   

Update for Wednesday, Aug. 30

Duke Energy has restored power to the DeLand campus. A tree limb fell on a power line Tuesday night, knocking out power to many campus buildings. Duke Energy was able to restore electricity this morning. Internet access is being restored and some buildings are experiencing outages. Many employees continue to work from home.

So far, the campus has not experienced any known damage or flooding from Hurricane Idalia. The potential impact of the storm on our region appears to be weakening, but winds in the range of 40 mph are still possible today. 

For the latest information about the storm, please check the National Hurricane Center.   

Classes have been canceled for today. Students should expect to receive additional information about assignments and next steps in their courses from faculty.  

Campus Services / Activities 

• Athletics will resume their normal schedules beginning at 11 a.m. today. 

• The Hollis Center will be open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. The pool is closed. 

• The duPont-Ball Library is closed today and will reopen Thursday for normal hours.  

• The Writing Center also will be closed today, but students can make appointments for Thursday. 

• Academic Success will provide services virtually today to students. 

• Access to campus buildings is by card-swipe only today.  

Dining Services 

• The Lynn Dining Commons will open today for:   

• Brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.   
• Dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.   

• Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.   

• The coffee shop will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight. 

• 2-4-7 is open 24 hours per day.   

Stetson’s Emergency Management Team will meet at 1 p.m. and will issue another update in the afternoon. 

Hurricane Idalia Update, 7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30

Many buildings on the DeLand campus are without power this morning.  

Classes for Wednesday are now cancelled.  Students should expect to receive additional information about assignments and next steps in their courses from faculty. 

Employees are asked to please stay home and work remotely today. Only emergency personnel should report to campus.  

All other employees should communicate with their supervisor about their ability to work today.  We highly encourage supervisors to provide flexibility, as needed.  

Students in residential buildings without power should relocate to the Carlton Union Building (CUB) or the Lynn Business Center (LBC), both of which operate on generators when the power goes out.  Please use extra caution when moving across campus, as weather permits, because there may be downed utilities, major debris, and downed and damaged trees in the area.   

Dining will be available in the CUB. Here is today’s dining schedule (which changed from yesterday’s message given the circumstances): 

• The Lynn Dining Commons will open today for:   

• Brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  

• Dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

• Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

• The Coffee Shop will be open from 5:00 p.m. to midnight.

• 2-4-7 is open 24 hours per day.  

Stetson’s Emergency Management Team will meet this morning at 9 and will issue another update afterward.  

Stetson University’s Emergency Management Team and Policy Team met today at 1 p.m. and are issuing an update to the community. Keep up with the latest updates through your Stetson email, on Stetson Today and Stetson’s Facebook and Instagram pages.  

Update for Tuesday, Aug. 29:  

Although Idalia has been upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, there is little change to the storm’s projected track. The DeLand campus and surrounding community remain under a Tropical Storm Warning. Beginning early Wednesday morning, the area may see sustained winds of 30 mph to 40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph to 60 mph. Scattered power outages are possible, and 3 to 5 inches of rain are expected, which could cause localized flooding.  

For the latest information about the storm, please check the National Hurricane Center.  

Classes  

Classes will shift to a virtual format on Wednesday. Students should expect to receive additional information from their faculty about Wednesday classes. We understand that conditions may prevent some faculty and students from engaging in virtual teaching and learning, and we also understand that some course learning outcomes cannot be met in a virtual environment.   

Residential Buildings  

Residential buildings will remain open and students are encouraged to remain indoors during times of stormy weather. If students move around campus, they should use good judgment and extra caution, weather permitting, to ensure their safety.   

Please be aware that students in the residential buildings may lose electricity, Wi-Fi and cell service during the storm. Police, emergency services and medical assistance may be limited. Resident Assistants and Public Safety suspend response and lockouts at 45 mph winds. Find more tips on Stetson’s Power Outage webpage.  

If residence halls, which use card access, lose power for an extended period of time, students may be asked to relocate to the Carlton Union Building (CUB) or Lynn Business Center (LBC), as weather conditions allow. The CUB and LBC both operate on generators when the power goes out.   

After the storm passes, students should use extreme caution when they are navigating campus because there may be downed utilities, major debris, and downed and damaged trees in the area.  

Campus Services  

Access to campus buildings will be by card-swipe only on Wednesday. In addition, some campus services will adjust their hours, opening a little later, because the effects of the storm are expected to be strongest in the early morning hours.  

Dining:   

• The Lynn Dining Commons will open Wednesday for:  

• Brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  
• Dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

• The Coffee Shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.  

• Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

• Hatter StrEats will be open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.  

• 2-4-7 is open 24 hours per day.  

Other campus services / events:  

• The Hollis Center will be open Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pool will be closed.  

• The duPont-Ball Library will be open as usual with normal services from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.  

• The Student Involvement Fair has been rescheduled to Sept. 6 from 1to 3 p.m.   

Employees
In view of the weather outlook early Wednesday morning, employees are encouraged to communicate with their supervisor if they need to work remotely or need a modification to their normally scheduled work hours. 

We highly encourage supervisors to provide flexibility, as needed. The University will remain open for employees, whether remotely or in-person, to continue providing support for our students, colleagues and the community.   

If the campus loses power and normal operations are disrupted, some employees may be required to physically work on campus during the emergency conditions. Please refer to our emergency pay policy at https://stetsonuniversity.navexone.com/content/dotNet/documents/?docid=542 for any questions.   

Stetson’s Emergency Management Team will meet again Wednesday at 1 p.m. and issue another update later Wednesday afternoon.  

Stetson University’s Emergency Management Team and Policy Team met today at 2 p.m. and are issuing an update to the community. Keep up with the latest updates through your Stetson email, on Stetson Today and Stetson’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

The DeLand campus is expected to begin feeling the impacts of Tropical Storm Idalia on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday. Currently, the DeLand campus and surrounding community are under a Tropical Storm Watch with chances for winds from 39 mph to 73 mph and possible scattered power outages. About 3 to 6 inches of rainfall is expected, which may cause street flooding.

For the latest information about the storm, please check the National Hurricane Center.

Based on current weather projections, the DeLand campus will remain open to students and employees. Stetson has done extensive planning for storm-related events such as this and the safety of our community is always the top priority. 

Classes 

Stetson will shift to a virtual format for classes on Wednesday. Students should expect to receive additional information from their faculty about Wednesday classes. 

We understand that conditions may prevent some faculty and students from engaging in virtual teaching and learning, and we also understand that some course learning outcomes cannot be met in a virtual environment. 

Residential students

At this time, we expect residential buildings and dining to remain open and operational. 

Residential students will receive further communications from Residential Living & Learning. Please monitor your Stetson email.

University Offices / Working Hours

Stetson offices will remain open on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Employees should communicate with their supervisor if they need to work remotely. Each situation is case specific, but supervisor flexibility and discretion are encouraged.

The Emergency Management Team will meet again Tuesday at 1 p.m. and will issue the next update later Tuesday afternoon.

Update for Monday, Aug. 28, 11 a.m.

We are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Idalia and its forecast track. Stetson’s Emergency Management Team will meet this afternoon to assess the potential impacts to the DeLand campus and will send an update to students, faculty and staff via their Stetson email. 

The updates also will be posted on Stetson Today, and Stetson’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Now is the time to review personal emergency plans and prepare to launch them if it becomes necessary. Public Safety’s Hurricane Planning Guide, starting on page 8, provides tips and information to help you prepare.

Keep up with Tropical Storm Idalia updates from the National Hurricane Center.