Despite the blizzard outside that caused her to cancel classes, President Jo Ann Gora said her day in the office is proceeding normally.
All her meetings continued as planned except a lunch scheduled with freshmen students who canceled on her.
"It surprised me because they are here and I'm here," she said. "I was willing to walk over to Scotty's [Brewhouse]."
The decision to cancel classes comes from the recommendation of Thomas Kinghorn, vice president of Business Affairs, because he receives all the information on the conditions of the roads, Gora said.
"Although we believe that the roads were passable this morning, we knew that the snow was going to keep up all day long, and that it was projected that there would be 10 inches," she said.
It is especially hard for commuting students and faculty members to come when the weather is so horrible, she said.
University Communications Director Tony Proudfoot said in order to cancel classes again on Wednesday the weather would have to be the same as it was today.
"The biggest factor today was not being able to get the snow cleared," he said, "particularly the on-campus driveways and sidewalks and parking lots. So it's really a case-by-case analysis."
Gora said the storm is supposed to end tonight, and if it does, she does not foresee classes being canceled again on Wednesday.
Despite classes being canceled today, university offices remain open. The university tries to maintain service for students if possible, Proudfoot said.
"The university is a complex operation, and even when we don't have classes we have students that are living on campus and facilities that need to be maintained and taken care of," he said. "Closing down the university is not as simple a task as it sounds."
Faculty and staff who do not report to work will count today as one of their days of paid time off.
"Generally, first and foremost, we want all of our students and faculty and staff to be safe and make good decisions about their safety," he said.
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