Officials say late decision to close campus was made for safety
By Sarah Chacko
Staff reporter

This week’s icy conditions have campus officials glued to watching weather reports and contemplating safety concerns.

Chancellor Michael Ferrari said the most significant part of the decision to close the school were safety issues. While TCU has many students living in residence halls, officials must consider the students, faculty, staff and guests who have to travel here from 50 yards to 30 miles away, Ferrari said. Once people are here, they have to be able to safely navigate around the campus as well, he said.

Ferrari, who spent many years of ice and snow in the Midwest, said it is easy to second guess these decisions.

“You can’t make hasty decisions,” he said. “You have to use the best judgment you can.”

Tuesday’s decision to close the school was made at 6 a.m., Ferrari said. Tuesday night’s weather reports suggested a reasonable chance of mid-morning warming, he said.

School officials decided that classes would be able to resume at noon, he said.

However, when officials arrived on campus early this morning, it was obvious the ice was not clearing fast enough, Ferrari said.

“You have to go with what you have,” Ferrari said.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs William Koehler is in charge with making the final decision for closing the school. Koehler said he doesn’t recall the campus being closed for more than a day and a half. Though they wanted to open the campus today, the weather just wasn’t working with them, Koehler said.

“People will be slipping and sliding and there will be people having trouble getting to work,” Koehler said. “We say your personal safety is important but you have to make that decision.”

Southern Methodist University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ross Murfin said SMU went through a similar process when deciding whether classes should resume for their campus. The campus was originally scheduled to be open at noon Wednesday, but was canceled for the rest of the day that morning, Murfin said.

The University of North Texas President Norval Pohl decided Tuesday afternoon that the UNT campus would be closed all day Wednesday. Pohl said the decision was made early because 50 percent of their student body are commuters. Commuters often criticize the university for waiting until the early morning to announce cancellations, he said.

Pohl said given Wednesday’s weather and the road conditions, UNT could have held afternoon or evening classes, but it would have been difficult to get those immediate decisions out to everyone.

“This was a better way of planning,” Pohl said. “We made a judgment call to err on the side of caution this time, and we happened to make the right decision.”

TCU officials are prepared to make a decision for Thursday in the morning, Ferrari said. While it may look fine now, it could freeze overnight, he said.

“I hope everyone will simply start early or decide that it is too risky and not come, and if so, we can accommodate that,” Koehler said.

s.e.chacko@tcu.edu