The first day of spring-March 20-is still weeks away, and most weather forecasters indicate that we’re in for at least a few more instances of inclement weather. Because there’s the potential for treacherous travel, I want to share with you how the university handles severe winter weather situations.The official UC closure policy is identified in the University Board of Trustee’s rules 10-55-01 and 30-16-01 (that can be found at http://www.uc.edu/trustees/).
In summary, President Williams’ authority to announce an emergency closing of UC due to “severe weather, public emergency or other crisis” is delegated to Robert Ambach, Interim Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance. Eugene Ferrara, Associate Vice President and Director of Public Safety, has the responsibility to coordinate information between University entities, local road maintenance crews and law enforcement agencies. He communicates this information to Mr. Ambach with suggestions or recommendations.
It is important to note that regional campus Deans do not have authority to close our campuses independent of UC closure without university approval. For RWC that means that, as Interim Dean, I would communicate my recommendation and rationale to Eugene Ferrara, who would then immediately forward that information to Mr. Ambach for consideration. Upon approval, the announcement of RWC closure is forwarded to local media and other outlets.
If you have questions or concerns about whether RWC or the University is closed, I suggest that you monitor local radio and television stations for announcements of closings. You may prefer to visit the University web site, RWC’s homepage or broadcasters’ web sites.
In those situations when RWC remains open, but specific classes are cancelled, faculty are instructed to notify students via Blackboard email. Or you may call our main phone line at (513) 745-5600 for a listing of individual classes that have been cancelled.
Of course, the choice to travel during bad weather is the individual’s. While the university administration does its best to make informed decisions about closing, we have a two-fold objective: to meet the higher educational needs of our students while ensuring student safety.
Please drive safely and let’s hope for an early spring.