Today at 5 p.m., we will reopen the university, after being closed for more than two weeks. This is a significant event in our 125-year history, marking just how devastating the effects of Hurricane Helene have been on our community.

We witnessed amazing acts of kindness and humanity during this time. Members of our community rescued others from rising and rapidly moving water. When landslides and downed trees blocked access, those who were able dug and chainsawed their way through to get others to safety. They walked, boated and rode horses and mules to deliver supplies to family, neighbors, friends and strangers.

During the time we were officially closed, more than 1,000 students and a core group of employees remained safely on campus. Many more returned as soon as they could, in person and online. Campus dining, housing, facilities, landscape services, building maintenance, police, emergency management, communications, medics, lineworkers, counselors, financial aid advisors, accountants, payroll, purchasing, health care providers, academic advisors, case managers, library staff, legal advisors, administrative support staff, parking and traffic, gift processors, deans, department chairs, faculty members, coaches, student employees and volunteers, and so many others kept our university running while also managing the turmoil caused in their personal lives.

Thank you for continuing in the face of adversity, for coming to work without the benefit of having had a shower, with muddy shoes and clothing, with children in tow, with tears in your eyes, and for sharing a laugh, a smile, a thank you or a hug with someone who really needed it.

This afternoon, students, faculty and staff will receive an operations update, which will share facilities hours, resources and other important information related to the return to classes on Oct. 16.

Missing two weeks of a semester means our faculty and students have lost 15% of their instructional hours this semester. For some, this is compounded by being displaced from their homes. Many are working on replacing lost homes, vehicles, computers, clothing, children’s toys and more. We’re still working with students, faculty and staff who have been displaced. Many live in neighboring communities, where recovery efforts are taking more time. Some have families who are managing the effects of both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Our Disaster Relief Hub opened on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and remains operational for those in need. As students and employees regain communications and are returning to campus, we are working to help those displaced find housing and to connect people with resources — from FEMA assistance, financial aid and insurance guidance, to counseling and academic advising.

To date, we have distributed more than $1.1 million to members of the university community who are facing hardship because of Helene. The immediate funding we are able to provide to bridge students, faculty and staff to recovery has been donated. The importance of these gifts cannot be overstated. 

While it’s not possible to force lost hours back into a semester, deans and department chairs have been working to ensure students are able to move forward and will remain involved in assisting faculty and students in making adjustments as we continue to learn what they need. This week, Academic Affairs provided faculty with guidance for adapting syllabi and assignments and working with students facing challenges compounded by the aftereffects of the hurricane. How that is done will vary from discipline to discipline and class to class. For lab-intensive courses, student teaching, practicums and supervised trainings required for certifications and accreditation, a lot of individualized adjustments will be needed. Our job of education and student success is the core of our mission — we will do everything we can to meet the learning outcomes of each course this semester, to help our students reach graduation, and to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful.

Local infrastructure continues to improve and we continue coordination with leadership in the Town of Boone and Watauga County. In the past two weeks, power has been restored to 97% of Watauga County residents. Communications have vastly improved as internet and cell service providers continue working to reestablish service to homes and businesses throughout the county. Entire roads have been rebuilt. On campus, restoration and cleanup from flood damage will mean that all but one academic building, Rankin West, will be ready for our community to return to when classes resume. All residence halls remain fully operational. While students were never asked to leave, many chose to do so, and those who live in and are returning to residence halls have been provided logistical information about returning to campus.

Despite the great progress in our area, we are keenly aware that when we reopen the university later today, we won’t be returning to “normal.” For many members of our university community, life won’t be normal for quite some time. 

The scars left on our beloved landscape by Hurricane Helene remind us that the impacts of this storm have left scars on each of us as well. Some are deeper and more visible; others are minor and already healing. In a community of 24,000 people on two campuses and online, whose members live, work and learn in communities that were hard hit and some that were less so, the consequences for each of us have been different, and recovery for each of us will be different.

Facing extreme difficulties together can bring members of a community closer. As we reopen and come back together, I ask that we continue the spirit of overcoming together that got us through the initial hours and days of this crisis, extending grace to one another as we have good and bad days, recognizing that no one is perfect as we endeavor to overcome challenges, and being as flexible as we can in our expectations of one another. Our university and our mountains have a long road of recovery ahead, but we must remember that we have a long,125-year history of perseverance and resilience. We have demonstrated — and we continue to demonstrate in the face of the most difficult of adversities — that we can and will move forward together.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to each of you, and I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Heather Norris
Interim Chancellor