Archived News |

June 13, 2012

Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s George T. Walker Hall: President Bruno remarks

Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ President Dr. Nick J. Bruno voiced his immense gratitude for the Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ staff and faculty who joined forces in the aftermath of yesterday's event at George T. Walker Hall.

"Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ police immediately responded to the incident, and our staff quickly rallied to restore our university operations. One example of that collegiality is our Computing Center. Their staff worked tirelessly to reactivate computing services within a remarkably short period of time. Currently, several staff members and university administrators are diligently working to relocate classes and offices while maintaining the utmost convenience for our university community. As a result of this team effort, Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ essentially is now back to normal operations, including our full-capacity PREP session that began today."

Background:
On Tuesday, June 12, everyone was safely evacuated from George T. Walker Hall following a fire that began at 10:06 a.m. and was under control by 10:45 a.m. Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ Police Department, Monroe Fire, and Monroe Police immediately responded to the scene.

Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ police activated First Call, Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s emergency notification system. Manual fire alarms were also activated at the start of the fire. The facility meets all fire safety codes.

Shortly after the fire began, Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s Computing Center, located in Walker Hall, deactivated all computing services to prevent potential damage. Thus, Internet, e-mail, and access to online classes were not active until approximately 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

All of Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s primary computing services are now active. This includes Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ employee and student e-mail, Banner, Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s web site, Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½'s mobile app, the myÂ鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ portal, and more.

Fire Source & Damages:
Officials are still investigating how the fire began; they have not yet determined the official cause. It appears the fire started in a custodial storage closet on the first floor of George T. Walker Hall.

The building is closed, and no one is allowed to enter the building without an official escort. At this time, there is not a conclusive financial estimate of damages or a conclusive estimate of structural damages. Structural and electrical engineers are currently investigating the building.

George T. Walker Hall will be closed through the fall semester. The length of the building closure is contingent upon collaborations with state agencies, many of which will help facilitate the design and construction.

George T. Walker Hall Functions
George T. Walker Hall housed several departments within the College of Arts & Sciences — mathematics, English, and criminal justice.

Also housed in this building were the Graduate School, Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Computing Center, Sponsored Programs and Research, the Copy Center, and the Small Business Development Center.

Contact information and new office locations:
The temporary telephone number for the College of Arts and Sciences, which was located in George T. Walker Hall, is 318-342-3013. The office can also be reached via e-mail at as@ulm.edu.

The Graduate School can be reached at 318-342-1025. These offices will most likely be relocated to the second floor of Hanna Hall and their former telephone numbers restored this week.

It is anticipated the Registrar's Office and Financial Aid will be relocated to Sandel Hall. Other faculty and staff offices in George T. Walker Hall will be relocated later this week.

New class locations:
All Summer I courses scheduled to meet in George T. Walker Hall have been relocated for the remainder of this term. Please visit for new meeting locations.

All other face-to-face courses will continue meeting in their scheduled locations.

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