It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for all of us, as we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best as Hurricane Irma approached. In spite of the fact that Florida’s East Coast was spared much of the storm’s wrath, I know many local members of the FAU family sustained property damage and parts of our service area remain without power. My thoughts are with those who continue to be affected, and I hope that power is restored soon.

Classes resumed on all FAU campuses today. Dining and other services are operating on normal schedules. I appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation during our campus closures. I am especially thankful for the planning and teamwork of those who helped get our campuses back up and running.

Please exercise caution when traveling to and on campuses. Our crews continue to work tirelessly to clear streets and sidewalks. Students and staff returning to the Boca Raton campus will notice that we lost the large banyan tree behind the food court. Fortunately, the beloved tree behind the Social Sciences and Administration buildings is still standing tall. I know that we lost many other trees across our campuses, and sustained nominal damage to buildings. Otherwise, we were very lucky.

We continue to watch with sadness the many reports of devastation in the Caribbean, Florida Keys and Southwest Florida as these areas recover from the impact of Hurricane Irma, and in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by these disasters. Many relief organizations are reaching out to help. Please click here for more information and to contribute to the relief effort.

As hurricane season continues, it is important we stay alert and prepared. The safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is always a top priority. FAU will continue to monitor the tropics for disturbances that may affect our area, and will provide updates at www.fau.edu/advisory.