Weather and Emergency Closing Policy

A. General Information

The Director of Public Safety consults with the Vice President of Finance and Administration when the campus will be closed due to severe weather conditions or in the event of mid-workday closing (early release). The Vice President of Finance and Administration will work closely with Public Safety should the College need to close due to non-weather-related emergencies.

Students and teaching faculty should always assume that classes are in session, unless and until a specific announcement canceling or suspending classes is issued. In certain situations, administrative faculty and staff could be released, but teaching faculty and students would be expected to continue a normal class schedule.

In the event of a closing, certain areas may have standing arrangements in place for remaining open, such as Lilly Library, Runyan Center and the Wellness Center. Notification of staffing expectations in those areas will be arranged by the appropriate administrators, in consultation with the Office of Human Resources.

Employees in the following areas of campus should expect to report regardless of conditions unless otherwise notified: Dining Services (if students are here), Residence Life, Public Safety, Housekeeping, Wellness Center, HVAC and Grounds.

B. Notification Processes

The first-updated and most accurate information sources will be the Earlham website’s home page news, campus emails and WECI-FM (91.5).
The Department of Public Safety will make announcements via their social media sites:

• Twitter: @EarlhamDPS
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/EarlhamCollegeDepartmentofPublicSafety

Closings may also be announced through the following local and regional outlets:

• Palladium-Item, Richmond’s Daily Newspaper
• WECI-FM (91.5), Earlham Public Radio
• WHON-AM (930)/WHON-FM (101.7) Richmond
• WKBV-AM (1490)/WFMG–FM (101.3) Richmond
• WQLK-FM (96.1) Richmond
• WMUB–FM (88.5) Oxford
• WCTV–TV, Richmond
• FOX59-TV, Indianapolis
• WDTN-TV (2), Dayton
• WHIO–TV (7), Dayton

Adjunct faculty who live outside the broadcast areas listed above should check the campus webpage or email for information.

After the initial announcement and based on the type of closing, community members should consult either the Weather Alert or the Emergency Information pages for up-to-date information on the nature of the closing, possible duration of the closing, specific cautions or warnings, information on campus facilities (Athletics and Wellness Center, Lilly Library, Runyan Center) and other details as they develop. Only closing announcements will be repeated daily as necessary. There will not be a “re-opening” announcement; faculty, students and staff should assume that offices are open and classes are in session unless there is a closing announcement for a given day.

Individual offices may want to develop internal phone trees to supplement the processes above, for employees with long or treacherous commutes.

C. Early Release

Decisions on early release (release from regularly scheduled hours, usually weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.) will be made by the Provost on behalf of the Emergency Response and Recovery Planning (ERRP) Committee after consultation with the Business Office. Announcements will be made through the Earlham website and campus-wide listserves.

Please note that supervisors may not individually institute early release or approve late arrivals as paid time. Vacation time must be used by employees missing regular work hours, in the absence of a closing notice which involves their given area. For more information, see the Inclement Weather Day section of the Staff Handbook.

D. After Hours and Weekends

Areas of the College with staffing responsibilities on weekends:

• Public Safety
• Dining Services
• Residence Life
• Housekeeping
• Events
• Athletics
• Wellness
• Student Activities

Persons working in bolded areas are expected to report regardless of conditions (Dining Services if students are on campus) on the weekends. Supervisors in all other areas are to consult with the Business Office prior to exempting or releasing staff due to inclement weather.

To the extent possible, cancellations of after-hours and weekend special events (i.e., Goddard Auditorium, Stout Meetinghouse) will be communicated by the Marketing and Communications Office via the local media. The Earlham website also will post this information. If the Events Coordinator is involved, an automated message will be placed on the Events Office line: 765-983-1373.