ULM open, classes in session

All faculty and staff should report to work. However, if your residence suffered water damage, please first ensure the safety of your home and your family, and contact your supervisor regarding your situation.

A Message from President Cofer - September 3, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

As previously announced, classes will resume and university offices will reopen tomorrow, Sept. 4. However, if your residence suffered water damage, please first ensure the safety of your home and your family, and contact your supervisor regarding your situation.

Although Gustav did not mirror the mass destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, our state continues to face challenges in the wake of the recent storm. Yesterday, Louisiana was declared a “disaster area,” making federal aid available to those heavily affected by the hurricane.

The majority of our campus buildings suffered little or no damage. However, the Nursing Building suffered major water damage Monday and Tuesday evening. A large portion of the roof was compromised resulting in significant water damage to several offices, classrooms, and labs on the second and third floors. Dr. Richters, Dr. Ryman, and Dr. Gibson are working around-the-clock to re-locate nursing faculty and students. Our Physical Plant and University Police Department are vigilantly ensuring the safety of our campus. Our Emergency Response Team adhered to the university’s emergency plan, and our entire leadership continues to work through this crisis.

This is another challenging time for our state and I am confident that we will prevail. While touring the local shelters, I am overwhelmed by the vast number of our faculty, students, and staff who are volunteering to help those in need. Your humanitarian efforts—combined with your professional expertise—are truly inspiring.

Of particular note are those faculty and students from the College of Health Sciences who are volunteering at the Fant-Ewing Special Needs Shelter, the shelter in the former State Farming Building and the shelter in the Monroe Civic Center. On Sunday, School of Nursing faculty and students began working morning and evening shifts, providing acute care to hurricane evacuees who suffer from serious medical conditions. ULM’s College of Pharmacy faculty and students continue to fill vital prescriptions for the evacuees in the Special Needs Shelter, in addition to working at shelters in Bastrop and Monroe. Our faculty, staff, and students continue to donate essential provisions to the Special Needs Shelter. Volunteers from Delta Sigma Theta, Omega Psi Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, and other organizations are assisting at shelters in Monroe and Shreveport. Marriage and Family Therapy faculty and students, along with Education faculty and students, continue to provide support to evacuees. Many of our student-athletes are also volunteering in the shelters and helping the physical plant on campus.

All of this speaks volumes about you, our faculty and staff, and the kind of compassion you are instilling in our students.

Thank you for your efforts.

Sincerely,

James E. Cofer
President




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Supplies, Volunteers Needed

Hurricane Gustav evacuees, currently housed in the Special Needs Shelter at ULM’s Fant-Ewing Coliseum, need the following items:

• blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and socks (these items do not have to be new)
  
• unopened deodorant, hand lotion, soap, toothpaste, baby powder, and mouth wash
  
• paperback books, coloring books, crayons, and other simple games for children

ULM faculty, staff and students are asked to drop off their donations for Special Needs at Fant-Ewing Coliseum’s main entrance ramp, located on Northeast Drive, and sign their names at the Central Supply Desk before leaving. The Special Needs Shelter is open 24 hours per day.



The former State Farm Building, located at I-20 and U.S. 165 needs the following items:

• blankets, sheets, pillowcases and socks (these items do not have to be new)
  
• volunteers with any kind of medical background.

Assistance is needed with many elderly special needs patients who were turned away from the Special Needs Shelter (Fant-Ewing) due to overcrowding. Primary Healthcare is in charge of these patients, but will return to their normal schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 3, in addition to taking on additional patients at the shelter.



The 2-1-1 Call Center is looking for volunteers. Training sessions will be held at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, at United Way, 1201 Hudson Lane, Monroe, LA. Telephone: (318) 325-3869.



The Red Cross needs volunteers at the Monroe Civic Center, 410 Lea Joyner Memorial Expressway. Register to volunteer at the Conference Hall on the east side.

ULM classes cancelled until Thursday, Sept. 4

ULM’s classes are cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday due to Gustav and will re-open Thursday, Sept. 4.

ULM recommends that students do not travel Monday or Tuesday.

All student services, including food services, will be open for students and staff on campus this week. Campus residence halls will be open and staffed.

Executive staff and essential personnel will report to work Tuesday. Supervisors will contact staff members if they need to report to work.

For further information about Gustav, please click here or the "Emergency.Louisiana.Gov" banner at the top of this page.

A Message from President Cofer - August 31, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

To ensure the safety of our students, the administrative team decided to cancel classes Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Wednesday, Sept. 3, due to Hurricane Gustav. Classes will begin Thursday, Sept. 4. We recommend 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.

During this trying time for our state, we encourage you to volunteer at any of the local shelters and human services agencies. If you would like to volunteer at ULM, please 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.

The ULM community can also e-mail questions or concerns to emergencyinfo@ulm.edu

The administrative team continues to monitor the hurricane, and we will keep you apprised of any developments as they affect ULM.

Sincerely,

James E. Cofer
President




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A Message from President Cofer - August 29, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this week, I asked our Emergency Response Team to convene and plan how to address any potential issues regarding Tropical Storm Gustav. As always, we will refer to our Emergency Response Plan. If necessary, and only if we face an imminent threat to our campus, we will activate FirstCall, our emergency mass notification system that issues alerts via e-mail, text message and telephone. If you have not done so already, I urge you to submit your contact information to FirstCall at this Web site: https://alertregistration.com/ulmonroe/

We also established a permanent ULM Update Line, which is equipped with an outgoing message that will provide callers with updates about any news that could affect our daily operations. The toll-free number is 1-866-698-4887, and the local number is (318) 342-7821. Please also refer to our homepage (www.ulm.edu), where you can find updated information regarding the storm and a link to the National Hurricane Center.

I want to assure all of you that we are closely monitoring this storm. Our administrative team, our police department, and several of our staff members are prepared to respond to the storm as it progresses. If Gustav evolves into a major hurricane and hits the Gulf Coast region early next week, then we might experience heavy rains and high winds that could result in power outages; however, to combat that, we have several back-up power generators on campus. Currently, university business is not affected by the tropical storm. As of today, classes will resume on Tuesday, following the Labor Day holiday on Monday. If enough people are on our campus during the weekend, we will examine additional food service options. I will notify you with updates regarding all of this.

During hurricane season, Monroe is one of the safest places in Louisiana, which is why evacuees may choose to travel to Monroe. This morning, we will transform our Fant-Ewing Coliseum into a Special Needs Shelter, which will be operated by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Social Services and our own Nursing and Pharmacy faculty, staff and students. We will immediately begin accepting evacuees with special medical needs in the Coliseum. As you know, our residence halls are already at full capacity and cannot hold additional people. We have learned of nearby shelters, and we will direct the families of our students, faculty and staff to the following nearby locations: the former State Farm Building, located at Highway 165 and I-20 in Monroe and the Monroe Civic Center, located at 401 Lea Joyner Memorial Expressway.

I will continue to apprise you of information regarding this storm as news develops. As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

James E. Cofer
President




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