Straight Talk from the President - September 12, 2008
Dear Colleagues,
Due to the strong possibility of these hazardous weather conditions on Saturday, ULM’s football game vs. Alabama A&M University will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Malone Stadium tonight, instead of Saturday. The Shrimp Boil on Saturday is cancelled. Gates to Malone Stadium will now open at 6 p.m. and tickets will be sold at all entrances tonight. Classes will resume as scheduled on Monday.
As our state prepares for another hurricane, ULM’s Emergency Response Team continues to meet and review the university’s emergency plan. Our outstanding Atmospheric Science professors, police officers and administrators are constantly monitoring the hurricane. Saturday’s forecast indicates that Hurricane Ike’s track will create unstable conditions in the Monroe area. Winds will increase to 20 mph with gusts as high as 40 mph; Saturday’s forecast also includes thunderstorms and a flash flood watch for Ouachita Parish. North central Louisiana could receive 3-5 inches of rain.
Hurricane patterns can be unpredictable and with this in mind, I encourage you to visit our Web site at www.ulm.edu/ike or call the new ULM Update Line at (318) 342-7821 for any hurricane news as it relates to our university. This Web site will also contain contact information for those of you who wish to assist Hurricane Ike evacuees, as you did so well in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Nursing and Pharmacy volunteers will be contacted by their leadership when needed. 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/
All Hurricane Gustav evacuees left the Special Needs Shelter in Fant-Ewing Coliseum earlier this week, however, the Department of Health and Hospitals, the entity that operates the shelter, remains stationed there. These officials will remain in the coliseum for another day or two in case they need to receive Hurricane Ike evacuees with acute care needs. When DHH assumed control of Fant-Ewing more than a week ago, we moved all of the classes in the coliseum to different locations on campus. No classes will be scheduled in Fant-Ewing until the coliseum is released by DHH and completely and thoroughly cleaned according to the appropriate health care standards.
Once again, I urge you to visit our Web site and call the ULM Update Line. I will continue to keep each you informed regarding Hurricane Ike as it relates to our daily operations.
Sincerely,
James E. Cofer
President