SGU Admissions Dean
09-10-2004, 02:18 AM
The following announcement is in the process of being posted on the University's website:
3:00 AM September 10, 2004
Statement from Chancellor ******
It is now 52 hours since the first phone calls were received after Hurricane Ivan cut its way through Grenada devastating the island with massive damage. It seems ever so much longer than 60 hours. There was great relief at finding through the first and many subsequent phone calls that there were no reported deaths or even bodily injuries of students, faculty or staff.
The hurricane passed and within hours of assimilating the initial good news, I turned my attention to the first questions that students were asking after assuring themselves of the well-being of their friends, family members and classmates: Will my education be interrupted? When will classes commence again? Does the University have the resources to make this happen? Will we be able to leave the island temporarily in the interim?
I attempted to address these concerns along with many others by setting a tentative starting date as early as Monday, September 13th once I had learned that the physical plant appeared to be structurally intact. Over the past two days I have had further input from students and administration in Grenada, and parents from all over the world.
It is of concern to me that in addition to the stable situation on campus, there is the situation of the country of Grenada which has had its infrastructure severely damaged and its supply of basic necessities interrupted. Of the over 350 Grenadian faculty and staff members only a very few have been able to make it to campus to perform their duties and help with the running of the campus. This is not an indication that they don’t care about the students or the University, in fact most of them have been with the University for many years. We have always been gratified and strengthened as an institution by the enthusiasm, ability, and dedication of these SGU community members.
Yesterday morning we were pleased to announce that our University generator was able to be put back into operation, providing the only electrical source in the country at the moment. One of the key University employees, Mr. Roy Campbell, assisted the engineers who were flown in yesterday morning to accomplish this. He left his devastated home to report for duty and help get the campus infrastructure running.
We need to consider the plight of these people and give them time to deal with their personal crises so that they are in a position to get their personal lives somewhat in shape first which will enable them to be able to devote their full energies to the running of the campus.
We are also aware of the reports of looting in many areas of the island and the resulting strain on the resources of the local police force. Security forces from the region have assisted the local police since arriving on the island yesterday, but the looting will most likely continue since people are simply trying to gather the basic necessities of life that are no longer readily available in the country.
Therefore, although I continue to feel that students on our campus are in the safest environment in Grenada at this time, it is clear that our off-campus concerns will make it increasingly more difficult to commence classes as early as next Monday, the date we were originally considering. It is important to lighten the load on the campus resources by facilitating the departure of all students who want to immediately leave Grenada temporarily until conditions improve. I realize of course that some, or even many, students will elect to stay, and we will have the resources to support the smaller number of students.
I talked to the State Department at 12:15 this morning just as they were finishing operations for the night and consulted with a member of the task force committee that is considering a plan for evacuation. Even though they have not yet committed to this, I hope to know soon what their decision is. I am also consulting various airlines that have been unable to commit to flights due to the fact that the airport is officially closed, and the only planes that have landed are cargo planes and planes bringing in security forces from other islands. During the day it became evident that the larger jet carriers will need to have an official opening of the airport before they can commit to send scheduled flights in. All these major airlines were unable to accept our request to charter planes because of the airport status. Therefore, early this evening, I contacted two smaller carriers in the region, LIAT and Caribbean Star, to determine if they could have charter flight availability. I am scheduled to talk with the top executives of both airlines early in the morning and will attempt to commit them to a large number of flights commencing as soon as they are willing and able to fly into Grenada.
If these small carriers are unable to make a commitment, I am considering the possible use of passenger ferries to take students to either St. Vincent, Trinidad, or Barbados where they could meet regularly scheduled flights to home.
I realize that many parents and students are attempting to make their own flight arrangements and I encourage you to do so, since I have had no commitment from any carrier as of yet.
Many students have indicated that they would like to resume classes as soon as possible. As I have stated above, the date of Monday the 13th is no longer a realistic option. Students and administrators I have spoken with all indicate that they would like resume classes within the next two weeks or so in order to allow us to complete the semester in a timely fashion while maintaining academic requirements. This is not unlike the unique situation we experienced in 1983 when students were relocated into classes within two weeks after the intervention.
Therefore, I am setting a target date of Tuesday, September 28th for the resumption of classes. Students will have two options regarding their personal timetable for the continuation of their studies.
1. Commence classes on the target date. Students who change their mind after the resumption of classes, may elect at that time to avail themselves of option #2.
2. Take a leave of absence and commence classes in the January 2005 term, resuming their studies at the point where they left off.
I recognize the hardships and the worry that you and your families are experiencing at this difficult time. I and all members of the faculty and administration share them with you. We shared similar worries and anxieties with those graduates of the classes who were in Grenada 21 years ago. At that time, the future had never been more uncertain to all of us. The students, faculty and administration demonstrated the resourcefulness and dedication necessary to resume classes almost immediately against all seeming odds. The same resourcefulness and dedication is present today in the University community and there is no doubt that the outcome will be as successful.
3:00 AM September 10, 2004
Statement from Chancellor ******
It is now 52 hours since the first phone calls were received after Hurricane Ivan cut its way through Grenada devastating the island with massive damage. It seems ever so much longer than 60 hours. There was great relief at finding through the first and many subsequent phone calls that there were no reported deaths or even bodily injuries of students, faculty or staff.
The hurricane passed and within hours of assimilating the initial good news, I turned my attention to the first questions that students were asking after assuring themselves of the well-being of their friends, family members and classmates: Will my education be interrupted? When will classes commence again? Does the University have the resources to make this happen? Will we be able to leave the island temporarily in the interim?
I attempted to address these concerns along with many others by setting a tentative starting date as early as Monday, September 13th once I had learned that the physical plant appeared to be structurally intact. Over the past two days I have had further input from students and administration in Grenada, and parents from all over the world.
It is of concern to me that in addition to the stable situation on campus, there is the situation of the country of Grenada which has had its infrastructure severely damaged and its supply of basic necessities interrupted. Of the over 350 Grenadian faculty and staff members only a very few have been able to make it to campus to perform their duties and help with the running of the campus. This is not an indication that they don’t care about the students or the University, in fact most of them have been with the University for many years. We have always been gratified and strengthened as an institution by the enthusiasm, ability, and dedication of these SGU community members.
Yesterday morning we were pleased to announce that our University generator was able to be put back into operation, providing the only electrical source in the country at the moment. One of the key University employees, Mr. Roy Campbell, assisted the engineers who were flown in yesterday morning to accomplish this. He left his devastated home to report for duty and help get the campus infrastructure running.
We need to consider the plight of these people and give them time to deal with their personal crises so that they are in a position to get their personal lives somewhat in shape first which will enable them to be able to devote their full energies to the running of the campus.
We are also aware of the reports of looting in many areas of the island and the resulting strain on the resources of the local police force. Security forces from the region have assisted the local police since arriving on the island yesterday, but the looting will most likely continue since people are simply trying to gather the basic necessities of life that are no longer readily available in the country.
Therefore, although I continue to feel that students on our campus are in the safest environment in Grenada at this time, it is clear that our off-campus concerns will make it increasingly more difficult to commence classes as early as next Monday, the date we were originally considering. It is important to lighten the load on the campus resources by facilitating the departure of all students who want to immediately leave Grenada temporarily until conditions improve. I realize of course that some, or even many, students will elect to stay, and we will have the resources to support the smaller number of students.
I talked to the State Department at 12:15 this morning just as they were finishing operations for the night and consulted with a member of the task force committee that is considering a plan for evacuation. Even though they have not yet committed to this, I hope to know soon what their decision is. I am also consulting various airlines that have been unable to commit to flights due to the fact that the airport is officially closed, and the only planes that have landed are cargo planes and planes bringing in security forces from other islands. During the day it became evident that the larger jet carriers will need to have an official opening of the airport before they can commit to send scheduled flights in. All these major airlines were unable to accept our request to charter planes because of the airport status. Therefore, early this evening, I contacted two smaller carriers in the region, LIAT and Caribbean Star, to determine if they could have charter flight availability. I am scheduled to talk with the top executives of both airlines early in the morning and will attempt to commit them to a large number of flights commencing as soon as they are willing and able to fly into Grenada.
If these small carriers are unable to make a commitment, I am considering the possible use of passenger ferries to take students to either St. Vincent, Trinidad, or Barbados where they could meet regularly scheduled flights to home.
I realize that many parents and students are attempting to make their own flight arrangements and I encourage you to do so, since I have had no commitment from any carrier as of yet.
Many students have indicated that they would like to resume classes as soon as possible. As I have stated above, the date of Monday the 13th is no longer a realistic option. Students and administrators I have spoken with all indicate that they would like resume classes within the next two weeks or so in order to allow us to complete the semester in a timely fashion while maintaining academic requirements. This is not unlike the unique situation we experienced in 1983 when students were relocated into classes within two weeks after the intervention.
Therefore, I am setting a target date of Tuesday, September 28th for the resumption of classes. Students will have two options regarding their personal timetable for the continuation of their studies.
1. Commence classes on the target date. Students who change their mind after the resumption of classes, may elect at that time to avail themselves of option #2.
2. Take a leave of absence and commence classes in the January 2005 term, resuming their studies at the point where they left off.
I recognize the hardships and the worry that you and your families are experiencing at this difficult time. I and all members of the faculty and administration share them with you. We shared similar worries and anxieties with those graduates of the classes who were in Grenada 21 years ago. At that time, the future had never been more uncertain to all of us. The students, faculty and administration demonstrated the resourcefulness and dedication necessary to resume classes almost immediately against all seeming odds. The same resourcefulness and dedication is present today in the University community and there is no doubt that the outcome will be as successful.