UIS not damaged by tornado

UIS was not in the path of the tornado that struck Springfield about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night (March 12). Residential students were encouraged to evacuate to the tunnels for safety reasons, and about 50 to 60 did so. Fortunately, UIS is on spring break this week and so fewer students than normal were on campus. There was no tornado damage at UIS.

Power did go out Sunday night on the UIS campus, as it did in most of the city of Springfield, but was restored at UIS early Monday morning.

In the city, there was widespread damage. Some major thoroughfares still had limited or no access Monday morning. Law enforcement authorities were asking people to stay away from these areas and avoid the area's major roads if possible. Therefore, Chancellor Ringeisen decided to close the university Monday except for essential personnel and services.

Normal operations at UIS resumed Tuesday morning.

For more information about the widespread damage in Springfield, see the local newspaper's web site at www.sj-r.com.

For general information related to emergencies and UIS, visit www.uis.edu/emergencies/.