Jim Richards of the Southern Baptists of Texas visited campus today.  During our Institutional Strategic Planning Committee meeting, he walked in and presented us with a gift for $10,000 to help with hurricane recovery!

Dr. Richards, thank you from the HBU family!  Thank you and the Southern Baptists of Texas for thinking of our needs during this time of recovery and adjustment.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

Hello all,

We have had a challenge with some power outages in the residence halls, but I understand power has again been restored this evening.  That is wonderful news.  Thanks to our students and residential staff for working through a difficult time.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

Since the return of our electric service, the university has experienced selective power outages in some of the residences.  We had our own electricians check the system and have ascertained this is an issue with Centerpoint Energy.  They are aware of the problem and should be working to correct it.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

We had to post this comment from a parent who makes it all worthwhile.

Husky Parent 2012 wrote:

A huge “thank you” to all those involved in what I’m sure was a massive effort to get HBU back up and running so quickly — and making it safe for our children to return.

And another enormous “thank you” to the ones that kept our students safe and fed on campus instead of being their loved ones during such a devistating storm.

Y’all are HBU heros. We can’t say “thank you” enough.

Hugs!!!

I have had a walk around campus today and have been gratified to see classes begin again.

Some of our faculty and many of our administrators have had to change offices or move to trailers because of storm damage.  I am proud of their flexibility and their commitment to serve our students.

Blessedly, the large majority of our classrooms have been unaffected.  Students are coming back to school.

Some parents and students living out of town have been concerned about penalties for absences for classes missed today.  I want to reassure them that we understand these are unusual circumstances and our guiding principle is grace.

We continue to move forward.  Stay tuned to this space for more updates as I have them.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

UPDATE:  We are back in business.  Residential students may return to campus.  Classes begin at 10 a.m. on Monday.  Thank you for your patience.  We are so happy to once again open our doors and get back to the business of higher education.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

We’ve had some good questions and comments from parents.  We’re posting them here so you can see them on the front page:

Ann  – September 21, 2008[Edit]

My daughter is a freshman at HBU. We live in Port Lavaca, 2/12 hours away. The recent posted note on the status of returning to campus is interesting but not helpful. Should she get in her car to return to school? (Saturday’s note was helpful.) Today’s note (Sunday, Sept 21) simply expresses excitement about the return of the internet access, but that “most of the campus is still without power.” It says students can return at 5pm? but nothing about the power being on! Please advise us so that she does not drive to Houston, only to find out that she can not come on to campus! We called every directory number we could to find this information out but to no avail. Please help!

Ann, I’m the site administrator, Hunter Baker. I’m also on the faculty at HBU. My advice is that you keep checking the website (www.hbu.edu). It will let you know the moment we have power and when we can be sure about having class on Monday. I can assure you that your student will not be penalized if she ends up missing any classes because of this disruption.

Husky Parent 2012 – September 21, 2008[Edit]

Thanks so much for keeping us updated. I’m so glad everyone made it through the storm safely.

Will the Baugh Cafeteria be up and running and ready for the kids to return?

Also, if the power is just coming back on, have you had enough time to do inspections for the safe return of the students — including air quality inspections — especially since the dorms and classrooms have been without power for over a week?

I know you’re anxious to get the campus open again (we’re anxious for the kids to go back!) but is it ready? My office was closed for two days after power came back on to properly clean and inspect to ensure it was safe and there was no mold in the air.

Thanks again!!

From site administrator: Husky Parent, I called Dr. Sloan and got answers to your questions. Here’s his response:

First, great comments and questions. Baugh is up and running. The AC is not on, but we have been serving throughout the week and will be serving when we re-open. Power is flickering right now and should be coming back online.  Second, with regard to air quality, we are checking that right now. We have tried to do everything we can to be ready to re-open immediately upon restoring electricity. Safety is our first priority.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

What do you do when school has been canceled because of a hurricane?  Many of our students have chosen to serve with the End Hunger network in Houston.

Huskies help out at End Hunger Network in Houston.

I am proud of our students who have chosen to make good use of this time.

– Robert B. Sloan, Jr.

Friends,

I want to begin by expressing our heartfelt concern for all of those in the Gulf Coast region who are suffering today as a result of Hurricane Ike.  As we see more images from the storm’s destruction we realize more and more how many are suffering in our area.  We know that nothing happens outside the love of Christ, and it is that belief that keeps us strong.  We pray for God’s peace for those who have lost loved ones, homes, pets, and that sense of normalcy that we all take for granted.

At this writing, HBU remains, like many in the Houston area, without full power.  We have not resumed classes for that reason.  We do have a few emergency generators that have allowed for some comforts for the students and staff who remained on campus throughout the storm. However, the lack of power has not slowed our clean-up and recovery efforts.  We are rapidly restoring the campus.

We’ve been blessed with beautiful weather after the storm.  Cool, clear days have made the loss of electricity more bearable and made it much easier for our maintenance crews to work at clearing the campus of debris. We are doing everything necessary to prepare for the immediate return of students as soon as we have power.

All of our residence colleges are in good shape.  Our new buildings, such as the Morris Cultural Arts Center, which provided shelter during the storm, and the Lake House, where many of our students are staying, suffered no damage.  The new University Academic Building is also unaffected.  Damage to our classrooms seems to be limited to a few areas in the Cullen Science and Cullen Nursing areas.  That damage appears to be easily repaired, and we can move classes for a few weeks while those repairs take place.  The Mabee Theater area, in particular the stage, suffered serious water damage but we have the theater in the Cultural Arts Center so our larger gathering place is intact.

The worst hit areas are the M.D. Anderson Student Center and Brown Administrative Complex.  We lost portions of the roof all around the quadrangle.  This week  we have a team of structural engineers and contractors examining the building to give us an assessment of its long-term status. As many of you know, the quadrangle houses a number of student service and administrative offices. We have already relocated our student service offices.

We have gained a great deal of momentum with regard to student services this year in terms of programs, faculty-student ratio, and residential and educational facilities.  We are determined to protect that momentum.  Our standards remain high.

One of our challenges this week has been that our administrative team is working without access to their offices and files.  Today’s wireless technology – cell phones, air cards, laptops – has been invaluable.  Our remote access to our website has allowed us to keep our HBU homepage updated with information.  Our emergency alert system has served us well and has given us the capability to send phone and text message campus updates to our faculty, staff and students on a daily basis.

Our students who remain on campus and have been here since the storm are in good spirits.  There is a definite bond among these young people, built on prayer, friendship and youthful optimism.  They’ve discovered the joys of sleeping outside during a cool night (as one young man said, ‘Outside rocks!’), spending time talking with someone new and making a lifelong friend, and learning how strong their own faith really is. Our student life staff and police department continue to minister to these young people through their steady presence, offering encouragement, smiles, and prayer when most needed.

Aramark Food Service continues to bless us with hot meals served with care and compassion. All of us on campus, including Sue and I, thank them.

I met yesterday with our faculty and staff who were able to get to campus. We prayed together, hugged familiar faces, and shared our stories. There was a peace to that gathering, and a strength that comes from knowing God’s grace and goodness.  We will be ready when our students return to minister to their needs, and to live out the model of Christ living to serve rather to be served.  It’s our model every day.  It’s what makes HBU the wonderful university that it is.

By the way, a friend of the university recently asked whether our signature pillars from the Galveston County Courthouse that survived the great hurricane of 1900 withstood the storm.  They still stand.  As do we.

Blessings –

Robert B. Sloan, Jr.