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Archived Alerts
Winter Weather Alert - January 23, 2025 • 11 a.m.
EGSC Students, Staff, and Faculty:
After evaluating campus and area conditions, the Swainsboro campus will return to normal, in-person operations tomorrow, Friday, January 24, but with modified hours. Campus will be open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., to allow more flexibility and to give the roads a few more hours to dry out. These hours will hold for all Swainsboro classes and on-campus functions/activities.
Supervisors, please work with any staff or faculty on an individual basis if they are unable to report to work for any reason. Faculty and staff in Augusta and Statesboro will continue to follow any guidance given by Augusta University and Georgia Southern University.
For students and staff on campus, dining services will be open today from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. for ‘To-Go’ options and will re-open at 10 a.m. on Friday.
My sincere thanks to everyone for their patience, flexibility, and support this week. Please check in if you need anything at all.
David Schecter
Winter Weather Alert - January 22, 2025 • 10:32 a.m.
Good morning, EGSC Students, Faculty and Staff:
Given that nearly 5 inches of snow has fallen in and around Emanuel County in the last 24 hours, freezing and below-freezing temperatures remain in the forecast, and road conditions remain unclear, the EGSC Swainsboro campus will continue with virtual operations and teaching through the close of business on Thursday, January 23. Only essential personnel should report to campus under direction of their supervisors.
No College-sponsored events in Swainsboro will take place through Thursday the 23rd.
A decision on Friday operations will be made tomorrow, based on weather, road, power, and public safety conditions in the next 24 hours. We will send an update by early afternoon Thursday confirming Friday operations.
All faculty, staff, and students associated with the Georgia Southern University and Augusta University campuses will continue to follow any weather-related directives from those entities.
Please stay off of the roads if at all possible, follow any guidelines provided by public safety and emergency management entities in the region, keep cell phones charged, and reach out to us if we can be of assistance.
Updated food service and food pantry operation hours for EGSC Swainsboro will be shared later today.
Stay safe and wishing everyone well,
David Schecter
Winter Weather Alert - January 20, 2025 • 12:34 p.m.
Dear EGSC students, staff, and faculty:
The Swainsboro campus will move to all remote work except for essential employees for Tuesday, January 21 and Wednesday ,January 22. This means all faculty should move their classes to an online format for these two days and all staff should be working regular hours and be available to their colleagues and students during those two days. Provost Whelan will send a separate email to faculty with additional details.
As always in emergency management situations, Statesboro and Augusta campuses follow guidance issued by those respective schools.
Students, if you are away from campus today, we urge you to stay put and not travel to campus until conditions improve late Wednesday. Those students already on campus, we encourage you to return home, if you are able. If you are enroute to campus, there will be access to the dorms and dining services through Tuesday and Wednesday, but no guests will be allowed in the dorms over those two days. Any student traveling should ensure they have a full tank of gas before hitting the road, as access to fuel could be jeopardized this week, as we saw with the September hurricane. All students should look for communications from their faculty on how their classes will be handled and attend virtually to keep up with the work assignments.
Faculty and staff, please ‘overcommunicate’ through all available channels over these next few days with students and each other to ensure continuity of service is not disrupted and that we maintain the strong momentum and start to the semester. Please be flexible with students as issues arise. All staff should work with their supervisors if they need assistance in the coming days and are free to come to campus today and tomorrow to retrieve anything they may need to work remotely.
Please note that road conditions can be hazardous, keep your electronics fully charged in case of power outages, and let’s show each other grace and care as we get through this latest storm together.
Thank you,
David Schecter
Winter Weather Alert - January 19, 2025 • 8:12 p.m.
RESOLVED - Problems accessing myEGSC portal & OneUSG Connect services - October 29, 2024 • 1:30 p.m.
Good afternoon EGSC faculty, staff and students,
The issue affecting access to the myEGSC portal and OneUSG Connect services has been resolved. You should now be able to access these services. If you encounter an issue accessing the myEGSC portal or OneUSG Connect services, please try clearing your browser’s cache / history. If you still need assistance, please reply to this email or contact the EGSC Information Technology Department via phone at 478-289-2004.
Thank you for your patience while the issue was being resolved.
--EGSC Information Technology Department
Problems accessing myEGSC portal & OneUSG Connect services - October 29, 2024 • 12:25 p.m.
Good afternoon EGSC faculty, staff and students,
We are currently experiencing issues with single sign on services necessary for accessing the myEGSC Portal and OneUSG Connect services. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Once the issue has been resolved, an update will be sent via email. Thank you for your patience!
--EGSC Information Technology Department
Hurricane Helene - October 4, 2024 • 1:08 p.m.
Bobcat Faculty, Staff, and Students:
Our Swainsboro campus clean-up has progressed to a point where we can now make plans to re-open this coming week. We are still aware of the many challenges you all face, so we are taking a phased approach to our re-opening.
The following is a general timeline for our return to campus. Additional details will be provided in follow-up emails for specific groups, such as faculty, later today. Please reach out to your supervisor if you have any questions.
Monday, October 7th
Swainsboro: Staff and faculty, if they are able, will return to campus for a shortened workday, 10am to 3pm.
Statesboro and Augusta: Staff and faculty, who are able, will return to campus for a regular workday, 8am to 5pm. Classes resume in Statesboro and Augusta in line with the recent notifications from Georgia Southern University and Augusta University.
11am: “Campus Update and Q&A” in the Auditorium (Swainsboro) with Zoom option. This update will be for all employees on all campuses. We will provide an overview of where things stand, and several folks will be available to answer questions. The link to the meeting will be sent out Monday morning at the latest.
It is expected that staff and faculty unable to return to the campuses Monday will work remotely, if possible, and coordinate with their supervisors on enabling that remote work. Please check in with your supervisor if you are unable to return to campus.
Tuesday, October 8th
All locations: Regular workday, 8am to 5pm, for all faculty and staff. If you have extenuating circumstances, and cannot return to campus, please contact your supervisor.
Swainsboro: Housing students will return to the Bobcat Villas after 8am. Housing students have already been contacted with details of this return. No student should return to campus before Tuesday morning as the Bobcat Villas will remain closed for continued repairs and clean-up until that time.
Wednesday, October 9th
All locations: Regular workday, 8am to 5pm, for all faculty and staff. If you have extenuating circumstances, and cannot return to campus, please contact your supervisor.
Swainsboro: All classes resume.
For Faculty and Staff and people in their households in Swainsboro who are still without power or water, you are welcome to use the showers in the locker rooms in the Gym on Sunday, October 6th between 12-5pm. The gym will also be open 8am-5pm Monday and Tuesday for that purpose.
The rest of campus remains closed through Sunday evening, so please do not venture into other buildings or your office on Sunday if you come by. Doors on several buildings, like the JAM, remain in need of repair and the like. The tree clean-up crew also has a good deal of heavy equipment operating in and around campus. Food service for Monday and Tuesday is still up in the air, but we will know more about that on Monday.
Due to laundry challenges, next week will be casual / Bobcat spirit attire all week. There are many to thank for helping us get to this point, but I want to publicly thank the entire EGSC Cabinet and leadership team for their incredible work, including Provost Whelan, Chief Drawdy, Ron Stalnaker, Ashley Woods, Dave Steptoe, Johnna Eaton, housing leadership – Gage and Michael and all of their teams – thank you!
Please know that we do not assume we have all of the answers here...we do not. This is a first for so many of us. Let’s continue to show grace to each other in the coming days and to the students as they return. We welcome feedback and input on how to do things better or help the campus community. Please keep those ideas coming....
To end, for those of you that were here for the Investiture a year ago this month, you may remember that I ended it with these lines and a wonderful performance of “I Can See Clearly Now:”
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright
Bright sunshiny day
That song has been inspiring me all week, and I assume many of you have turned to music, as well, to get you through this time. I have also listened many times to Bruce Springsteen’s gospel-inspired “My City in Ruins,” about the aftermath of 9-11. If you are so inclined, or need a pick-me-up, please give them a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0cAWgTPiwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnkJa6HdgJw
Regards,
David Schecter
Hurricane Helene - October 2, 2024 • 3:37 p.m.
Bobcat Faculty, Staff, and Students:
The EGSC Swainsboro campus is in much better shape since our last update. But the campus remains closed – for safety reasons, staff, faculty and students should avoid the campus until an “all clear” is issued and we will do that as soon as possible.
A tree removal company has been working each day to clear roads and paths, parking lots, and the like. The Fulford Center area and inside Quad were particularly hard-hit, but the clean-up is underway. With the clean-up not complete, it is but another reason why we need folks to stay away from campus at this time so that others can complete their work.
The students that were relocated to Georgia Southern - Armstrong campus are safe and sound. Several more have been able to go home and as of this afternoon, thirty-eight remain. We thank our sister campus for their assistance and hospitality.
Most of the Swainsboro campus has power and water. The dorms are being cleaned up and all freezers/refrigerators have been emptied, thanks to some terrific volunteers.
Internet service on campus is not yet ready, but the IT staff is working hard in the office right now to get connectivity up and functioning.
To assist the community, today we offered the gym to serve as overnight housing for a few nights for Georgia Power emergency crews and Red Cross staff who are helping our community get back on its feet.
On a possible return date to campus, unfortunately things remain up in the air.
According to the PowerOutage.us site, roughly half of Emanuel County is still without power. This highlights that there is much recovery still to be done for impacted families, so we recognize returning to work would be challenging for many. We also do not yet know how K-12 districts will navigate the next few days and weeks.
We envision a ‘soft opening,’ of sorts, where perhaps faculty and staff that are able, return to the campus first to ensure it is ready for students and classes. We are considering many options, in other words, and will provide a further update on this point on Friday.
Let’s literally and figuratively turn the page on September and hope for brighter days in October. I remain incredibly positive. And for every tree that has fallen on campus, let’s commit to planting two. So that they will know years from now we weathered this storm and prepared the campus for their future.
Best,
David
Hurricane Helene - September 29, 2024 • 8:41 p.m.
Provost Whelan and I were on campus again today and spoke to several individuals about the timeline for power and water restoration in Emanuel County and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, things are still very much up in the air. For these reasons, and until we have more clarity, classes are canceled for the coming week at all locations (Swainsboro, Statesboro, Augusta, and online).
The Swainsboro campus will be closed all week. Faculty and staff are not expected to return. We know that Augusta University will also be closed this week. As of the timing of this message, Georgia Southern has not made a decision about the remainder of the week. Regardless of Georgia Southern's decision, EGSC-Statesboro faculty and staff will not be expected to return.
I will provide another update on Tuesday or Wednesday about potential reopening plans beyond this week.
As I walked through campus and neighborhoods today, I was deeply saddened by the unprecedented devastation I saw. I hope that you and your families are safe. Please let me know if you need anything.
With respect,
Dr. David Schecter
Hurricane Helene - September 28, 2024 • 4:04 p.m.
Saturday Update: EGSC Swainsboro will remain closed through Tuesday, October 1. Statesboro and Augusta-based faculty and staff should continue to follow emergency management guidelines sent by Georgia Southern and Augusta University. Swainsboro students in our dorms have been relocated to housing at Georgia Southern. A timeline for re-opening is unknown, as we await power and water restoration, along with so many in our community. An 'all-clear' message will be sent when campus is ready to re-open. Our thanks to everyone that has assisted the campus, from faculty and staff to community leaders - we are grateful!
Hurricane Helene - September 27, 2024 • 1:30 p.m.
Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, the EGSC campus is closed until further notice. Students on campus should shelter in place. We are working to clear roads and restore services on campus. No injuries have been reported. An all clear will be sent when campus is ready to open. EGSC-Augusta and EGSC-Statesboro will follow AU and GS's response plans.
Hurricane Helene - September 26, 2024 • 10:32 a.m.
Good morning, EGSC Staff, Faculty and Students:
Given the latest forecast for Hurricane Helene and the fact that a number of K-12 districts in our area will have early release today and no school on Friday, we have decided on the following course of action:
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- The Swainsboro campus will move to essential personnel only starting at 2 p.m. today and remain closed tomorrow (Friday). The hope and goal is for classes and full operations to continue through 2 p.m. today.
- We will reopen Monday morning at 8 a.m.
For students who stay on campus over the next few days, we want to do all we can to make sure you feel safe and secure. The food pantry is open now and will remain open through 5 p.m. today. The shopping shuttle will also run today from 2-4 p.m. today to assist with acquiring anything you may need. Dining services will continue to serve, with the following adjustments: Lunch will be served as normal today in the RLB Dining Room and Café Window. Meals-to-go/dinner bags will be available for students as the dinner option from 3:15-4:15 p.m. today… please pick those meals up at that time. Some items will be added to those dinner bags that will be breakfast items for tomorrow. Friday lunch will be from Noon-2 p.m. in the dining room and at the café window.
All student life events scheduled for today and tomorrow are canceled and will be rescheduled. If any students feel that they need support during serious weather events, please reach out to our Counseling Office or Christie Campus Health Support Line - 1-833-855-0079 - it is available 24/7.
For staff, if you are unsure of whether your position is that of an ‘essential’ employee, please check with your supervisor. Our HR office will send out a separate note to staff later this morning about recording time in the system for these two days – please be on the lookout for that email.
General reminders:
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- Statesboro personnel will follow guidance issued by Georgia Southern over the next few days and Augusta personnel will follow any Augusta University guidance – we ‘follow their lead,’ so to speak, when it comes to emergency management planning at those locations.
- Emergency management groups recommend stocking up on water, food and batteries due to possible power outages and flooding.
- If we are made aware of a Tornado Warning in effect for Emanuel County we will ask you to locate the nearest shelter room and prepare. There is also a tornado alarm that will sound across the campus in severe situations. Please heed the warning of those alarms and seek shelter immediately. Please make sure you know where the shelter rooms are located in the buildings you frequent.
- If you are not on campus during a storm, please be aware that there can be power outages in and around the city, so traffic lights may be out and you should be extra cautious while driving.
- Our campus police will be available around the clock. Keep your cell phones and other devices charged in case of power outages. Also, please power off your computer before leaving campus today.
If anything changes in the coming day or two, we will keep you posted. Please stay safe – we care deeply about each and every one of you…
Regards,
David L. Schecter, Ph.D., M.B.A.
President
Hurricane Debby - August 5, 2024 • 8:00 a.m.
Given the forecast for the area, East Georgia State College will be open and fully functioning beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, August 5, but will move to essential personnel only on the Swainsboro campus starting at 3 p.m. Monday afternoon. Campus will close at that time and will stay closed, except for essential personnel, through Tuesday, August 6.
Severe Weather - January 8, 2024 • 4:50 p.m.
We are currently tracking the severe weather system scheduled to impact our service areas this evening and through tomorrow.
At this time, East Georgia State College's Swainsboro and Augusta campuses will operate as normal.
EGSC-Statesboro will follow Georgia Southern University's decision to move all classes to virtual tomorrow. For more information, visit https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/alert/
Any changes to these schedules will be announced on this page and emergency notifications will be sent via our ConnectED system. EGSC-Statesboro students should monitor their EAGLE ALERT systems, while EGSC-Augusta students should monitor their JagAlert systems for changes at those locations.
Hurricane Idalia - August 29, 2023, 3:10 p.m.
For our on-campus resident students, the Campus Café will be open Wednesday, August 30, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Dining Hall will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and for dinner/supper from 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Common Grounds Coffee Shop will be closed.
Hurricane Idalia - August 29, 2023, 1:25 p.m.
Tropical Storm Idalia - August 28, 2023, 5:00 p.m.
EGSC is currently monitoring the path of Tropical Storm Idalia. Please continue to monitor your local weather conditions. As storm projections change, this page will be updated with location-specific alerts.
