DURHAM, N.H. -- University officials have announced that the Durham campus will be closed (curtailed operations, only essential personnel) Monday, Oct. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 30, in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy's impact on the area. While weather models and forecast are still not certain, the anticipated scope and the severity of the storm that carries expectations of widespread power outages prompted a decision to err on the side of caution. For our many students who will want to leave campus to be with family, this provides them the time to travel safely, but for those students who choose to remain on campus, the university is prepared to support them for the expected 48-hour period of closure.

Another significant consideration in this decision was that the university's co-generation plant is offline for scheduled maintenance. Electrical power for the UNH campus comes from two sources: power generated by the co-generation plant and power purchased from PSNH. Significant power outages are being predicted and if PSNH power is not available due to an outage caused by storm damage there is no back up, so outages that affect the campus beyond the 48-hour period will warrant further consideration.

"We used all of the information available to make the best decision for the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors," said UNH President Mark Huddleston. "Losing days in the classroom is not something we ever like to do, but I encourage faculty to reach out to their students before the storm with any reading or assignments that can be done even if power is lost."

Any further updates can be found at www.unh.edu and everyone is encouraged to subscribe to the university alert system  to receive messages about emergency situations on campus.

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