Sept. 11, 2024, 5:07 p.m. UPDATE.
SMU officials say an update on Umphrey Lee is “coming soon.”
The repairs taking place at Umphrey Lee are still set to be completed by Saturday, Sept. 14 as facilities work around the clock to make sure that everything is clean and safe inside the building, said Michael Molina, associate vice president of facilities planning and management and university architect.
Molina told the Daily Campus in an email that the building was set to reopen this Saturday.
“Dehumidifiers are running around the clock to control moisture levels,” Molina said. “The installation of electrical panels and HVAC systems is on track.”
Cheryl Mendenhall, senior lecturer and professor of graphic design, also shared with her students in class on Wednesday that Umphrey Lee should open on Saturday. However, she shared that the elevators in Umphrey Lee are currently not working and might be out of operation until Sept. 16.
At Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, Lyle Senator and Outreach Chair, Reese Mellor, told the chamber that Umphrey Lee would be open either Thursday or Friday. Queer Senator Alison Kellom also noted that Flex Dollars would be refunded to students with dining plans.
In an email statement to the Daily Campus, Anthony de Bruyn, SMU director of strategic communications, said “I was not at that meeting and cannot confirm or clarify those statements.”
De Bruyn did include that SMU Dining provided all residential meal plan holders a one-time $100 credit in Flex Dollars earlier this week due to Umphrey Lee’s closure. The credit applied to residential students with “The Works” and “Residential Block” meal plans, and the Flex Dollars can be applied to purchases made in dining, retail, or convenience locations on-campus.
Sept. 6, 2024, 8:07 p.m. UPDATE.
Umphrey Lee will remain closed through Saturday September 14 as the facilities team works hard to repair the damage done to the buildings electrical, HVAC, fire sprinkler, and plumbing systems as stated in an email from the Office of Facilities Planning and Management.
Professor David Sedman said that a generator is ready to be used when appropriate but confirmed that Umphrey Lee will not open for classes next week.
“It indeed will be closed,” said Professor Sedman in a text message.
If a student or faculty member absolutely needs to access the building they can call SMU Police Dispatch for assistance at 214-768-3388.
Students can check their emails for a link to see where classes have been relocated, or they can click here.
Sept. 4, 2024, 11:30 p.m. UPDATE.
While classes will possibly be rescheduled on Friday, Associate Professor of Film and Media Arts David Sedman said a final decision has not been made yet.
“Friday is kind of still in the air, but you know that Friday afternoon classes have already been relocated because of the BYU football game,” said Professor Sedman.
Fortunately, the flood did not impact an area necessary for students. While the dining hall and the area under the kitchen have been impacted, Professor Sedman remains hopeful that the building will soon recover.
“They may have to get rid of quite a bit of food if they don’t get the fridges back on in a certain amount of time,” said Professor Sedman.
Another reason Professor Sedman remains hopeful about the building being restored quickly is that the water is clean rather than sewage.
“I think the building’s going to be absolutely fine,” said Professor Sedman. “This is clean water.”
If a student or faculty member absolutely needs to access the building they can call SMU Police Dispatch for assistance at 214-768-3388.
Students can check their emails for a link to see where classes have been relocated, or they can click here.
This is a breaking news story. The Daily Campus will update this article as more information becomes available.
Umphrey Lee remains closed following a mainline break this morning which caused flooding in the building. Students were evacuated in the morning as facility managers closed the building to begin to mitigate flooding and possible damages. Classes have been relocated to other buildings across campus for both Wednesday and Thursday.
Journalism professor Annette Nevins evacuated with her students just as her class was expected to start.
“Students were just arriving for class when workers came in and told us to leave quickly,” Nevins said. “They said they had to turn off the electricity to the building as a precaution.”
The rainy weather outside persisted as faculty and students waited for information about what caused the flooding and how classes would continue. Journalism student Milly Stephenson was upset at the lack of information, especially as everything seemed normal from outside the building.
“It’s kind of frustrating as a student to have gotten up and walked to class in the rain, and then have everything be canceled,” Stephenson said. “I think I’m more frustrated on the end of the professors because I know Professor Arterbery said she wasn’t getting any information from the school about where to go, what to do, or where to relocate.”
Though Umphrey Lee remains closed, classes have been relocated to other buildings across campus. Professor Cal Jillson who teaches a class in Umphrey Lee at 11:00 am said the relocation to a classroom in Heyer Hall was smooth.
“I was surprised the university was able to switch the classes to different rooms so quickly, in under an hour, so the class went smoothly,” Jillson said.
Students are encouraged to check smu.edu/aware for the latest information on the closure and class relocation.
