| Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students, Your continued safety is our top priority. Regardless of whether or not the campus is open, we encourage you to always exercise judgment based on your specific circumstances about traveling to and from campus. We have been actively monitoring the forecasts, and current predictions indicate significant snow-ice melt from today will freeze overnight, plus there is a potential for freezing rain tomorrow. This will create very icy and dangerous roadways and hazardous driving conditions. Additionally, several of our facilities have been impacted by the cold weather, prompting the need to limit access to such. Due to the ongoing impacts of inclement weather, the UT Health Science Center campus in Memphis will be CLOSED tomorrow, Thursday, January 18. Employees will report the day as unscheduled administrative closing (UAC1, 2 or 3, depending on shift worked). Students will need to work with their faculty for appropriate class accommodations. Employees assigned to partner institutions and students on clinical rotations will need to ensure they adhere to related expectations. Please review your respective programs’ policies and procedures governing such activities during a campus closure due to inclement weather. Again, the potential for ice can create significant difficulty for travel to and from the campus, along with problems navigating around campus. If you decide to travel to or from campus, please take appropriate precautions. Essential services, which include Campus Police and physical plant operations, will continue to operate, as necessary. For the latest information, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to visit the University website at uthsc.edu, and look for messages via UTHSC Alert, our emergency mass messaging system for campus closures and other urgent information. We appreciate all the feedback and advice on how we collectively and collaboratively navigate the circumstances we have been dealing with over the past few days. Please take appropriate precautions and stay safe. Raaj Kurapati Executive Vice Chancellor Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer |