Dear Alumni and Friends,

As clean up continues from Hurricane Sandy and the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, I want to send a note of care and concern to those who suffered loss from the hurricane. We are still receiving word of alumni, family and friends who remain without power or any promise of when it might return.

Many of us had parents and family who found themselves in trouble. Some of us had trees fall on our houses or cars; others lived along the seaboard and in communities that suffered severe damage; some have homes that are no more.

Hurricane Sandy arrived in Glenside with heavy rain and even more wind, downing trees and power lines, and wiping out electricity and Internet connectivity to thousands of people and businesses in our area for more than a week. Arcadia survived the storm in very good shape.

Our Student Life staff did a wonderful job making sure our students were safe, occupied and well fed; our Global Information Systems team worked around the clock to prevent the worst and address the inevitable disruptions; and we were even able to provide temporary housing for our neighbors on Church Road who were without electricity for a week, when the power lines went down.

The campus ended up losing power for about twelve hours and access to the internet for three days, but we suffered no damage to any of our buildings and no one was injured. We had many reasons to be proud of our staff: a great many of them endured significant stretches of power-outages, property damage, and disruption to their home lives, but contributed every way they could to get Arcadia up and running again.

The weather events of this past week were devastating for many people. They remind all of us how quickly lives can be changed, and how privileged we are to be part of this special community. We head into this holiday season ever more aware of our many blessings and even more thankful for them.

Very best wishes from Glenside,

Tobey Oxholm
20th President, Arcadia University

How can you connect with other Arcadians in the Hurricane Sandy aftermath?

The Office of Alumni Relations has created a Facebook group where you can find alumni and friends who have weathered the storm, post photos, share stories and dialogue together.

Visit the Office of Community Service webpage and find volunteer opportunities for future Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts at arcadia.edu/communityservice.