Recovering from Tropical Storm Helene

Dear Furman Community,

As I’m writing this the sky is clear and bright blue, like a typical October day in South Carolina. It’s almost hard to believe our campus, Greenville, and our slice of the Southeastern United States suffered the blows of one of the most devastating natural disasters in this area’s history. Collectively, we worried last Thursday and Friday morning, wondering what Tropical Storm Helene would bring, and we woke to towering trees tumbled like toys, blocking roadways, cutting off electricity and crushing cars and houses.

But Helene not only delivered dangerous winds and heavy rain. It was the kind of storm that can alter the landscape of our lives. In many cases, Helene heightened our humanity. We saw this in the quick and selfless response by many of our employees.

Our chief of police, John Milby, leads our emergency response team. He orchestrated activities long before Helene hit, and his officers responded with care and attention for campus safety. Jason Cassidy, our dean of students, and others in Student Life, including our student resident assistants, made sure our students were taken care of. Jeff Redderson and Rick Schosky in Facilities Services, and their crews, were out as soon as possible clearing campus, assessing and repairing damage, and communicating with Duke Energy to restore power. Tony McGuirt, director of auxiliary services, was making sure the DH was open and our students had meals. I want to offer my sincerest thanks to them and to the many other staff members who were cooking, running chain saws, mopping floors, making payroll, or assuring students that everything would be alright.

Thanks also to our faculty, who have adjusted their class schedules while dealing, like our staff and other community members, with emergencies at their own homes. It’s no wonder Furman’s faculty ranks among the best teachers in the country.

Thank you to our parents who have been kind and understanding. We know there are many questions when your students are away, and we don’t always have answers right away. But parents pitched in. Some took their students and their students’ friends home. Local parents offered assistance to parents far away.

And a big thanks to our students for their graciousness and understanding. Students, this is your semester, and many people are working very hard to make sure it provides one of the best times of your life.

While we celebrate having electricity on campus again, our enthusiasm is tempered by the loss of life throughout the Southeast and the utter devastation as close as 30 miles north of us. Banner Elk, Flat Rock, App State. Western North Carolina. Eastern Tennessee. It’s impossible to know how traumatic the storm has been for so many people, including some in Greenville, but the images we’ve seen make taking a cold shower at home seem insignificant in comparison.

Because we are educators, we look for lessons in downed power lines and toppled trees. In the landscape of our lives, we know that storms like Helene, be they weather events or personal catastrophes, can teach us the value of having people who help and support us. They can teach us patience and empathy. And by making it through these storms we learn we are resilient, so that the next time skies turn dark and winds swirl, we know blue skies are ahead.

We still have some decisions to make about opening campus, and you will receive another campus update tomorrow. But I did not want to let another day go by without expressing my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for doing your part to help see us through the storm’s destruction and toward a successful semester. I look forward to seeing everyone back on campus soon.

Warmly,

Elizabeth Davis

President