Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson sent this message to parents and families of undergraduate students Friday night.

Dear Rice Parents and Families:

I wanted to update you on how the day has gone at Rice.

As many of you know from watching the weather news, Harvey has grown significantly in intensity and has slowed its movement. Landfill occurred at about 10 o’clock this evening well south of Houston, near Corpus Christi and Rockport. As such, we do not anticipate that the Rice campus will experience the ferocious winds which are now hitting our neighbors to the south. The major concerns at Rice are about rainfall. Because the storm has slowed, it is gathering additional moisture, and the predictions are still that the storm will travel north to Houston, bringing with it flooding rains. This may last for several days. Rice is continually monitoring these developments, and we are well prepared.

So far, the weather at Rice has been mild. We’ve had rain off and on all day without any downpours and without significant wind. There has been no flooding. We will continue to post updates to emergency.rice.edu.

My wife, Paula, and I have moved into an apartment on campus to be near your students. We have been walking from college to college this evening, and the mood of the campus is very upbeat. Students are in their college commons socializing, playing games, watching movies … and even studying! Many off-campus students have moved on campus, and we all enjoyed excellent meals, thanks to the outstanding chefs and staff in the serveries.

I have recently sent information to all students about the availability of consultations for health services and for counseling and about the hours when the Health Services Center will be open for walk-in care. My email included this note to all of the students: “I have been very impressed by how all of you are responding to this emergency situation. I am always proud of the Rice student community, and today I am even prouder.”

Thank you to all who took the time to respond to my earlier email and Dean Hutch Facebook post. I regret that I will not be able to respond to individual inquiries. I think you will understand when I say that I am very, very busy!

Best wishes,
Dean Hutch