The snow and ice may have melted, but University of Oregon crews continue to remove debris and assess damage following last week’s severe winter weather. The UO received more than three hundred reports of tree damage across its campuses, but thanks to the diligence of employees, the institution maintained essential services and resumed classes and full operations after a brief closure.
Employees from several units worked through the storm and in the days following to ensure minimal disruption to housing and dining services for residential students and to make sure campuses were safely accessible when reopened.
“As a residential university, we maintain operations twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of the weather,” said President Karl Scholz. “In the rare cases in which the weather is so severe that we must cancel classes, as we did last week, there is still plenty of work happening behind the scenes to maintain operations.”
University Housing employees reported to campus to keep dining halls open and residence halls maintenance on schedule. Crews from Campus Planning and Facilities Management worked through the storm and its aftermath to assess damaged landscape, clear walkways of downed tree limbs and ice, and maintain power sources so buildings had electricity and heat.
A cross-functional team led by Safety and Risk Services assessed UO campuses to identify areas of risk and implement mitigation strategies such as issuing alerts and updating the safety map to advise the UO community. UO police officers continued patrols and even pitched in to provide transportation services to employees who could not safely get to work. The Student Recreation Center was staffed so it could be open to the UO community for warm showers and fresh water.
“By reopening, students could resume classes and UO facilities were available to our community members and their families experiencing power and water outages at home,” said Krista Dillon, senior director of operations for Safety and Risk Services and operations lead for the incident management team. “It was a collaborative effort with leaders and employees rallying together to expedite the recovery process.”
Dillon said there are numerous stories of employees working to support students, maintain research facilities and lend a helping hand where needed as many were juggling personal, family and professional responsibilities.
“Last week was a testament to our perseverance and resilience as a community. People recognized needs and stepped up to help at every turn” said Scholz. “Thank you to everyone who played a role along the way.”
An incident management team was activated in accordance with UO emergency operations plan to ensure continuity, deploy resources and implement the reopening plan. Throughout the situation, the UO Alerts website was updated regularly and texts and emails were issued to keep the community apprised. The Eugene campus reopened on Jan. 19 and the Portland campuses reopened on Jan. 22.
Full recovery from last week’s winter storm will take time, but campus is back to regular operations thanks to the hard work of those with essential duties and everyone’s patience and flexibility, Dillon said.
More information about the recent closures is available on the Around the O website. Refer to the UO Alerts website for resources available on the Eugene campus for those still contending with power and water outages among other needs. Employee guidance for periods of inclement weather is available on the HR website.