A Question For Peter Hans

How have recent hurricanes impacted higher education institutions in North Carolina?

Several of our western campuses suffered direct impacts from Hurricane Helene, including flooding and wind damage. UNC Asheville was especially hard hit, with an extended outage of the municipal water supply forcing us to move classes online for the remainder of the semester. And across the whole region, we have students, faculty, and staff coping with damaged homes or displaced family members. There are some really heartbreaking stories.

North Carolina is no stranger to hurricanes, and we have very solid plans in place to deal with weather emergencies across the state. But the scale of the storm in the mountains really took a lot of people by surprise, and the infrastructure damage in the city of Asheville was just extraordinary.

How is the UNC system helping institutions that are experiencing disruptions?

I’m incredibly proud of the way the UNC System pulled together. Law enforcement and first responders from across the system were deployed to help in the immediate aftermath of the storm; we dispatched maintenance and IT personnel from across the state to help with cleanup and repair; students who evacuated from Asheville were offered housing at other UNC System schools; and campuses across the state sent food, water, and other supplies to aid communities in the mountain region. Displaced students were welcomed at UNC System campuses to use counseling services and recreation facilities.

The desire to help has been tremendous, and our role at the system has really been to coordinate that mutual aid and make sure we’re gearing up for the long-haul recovery ahead. It’s a great example of why a statewide system of higher education is so valuable.

What initiatives have emerged to assist North Carolina institutions that are experiencing hardships because of these hurricanes?

Within hours all of our affected campuses had established emergency funds to help students, faculty, and staff affected by the storm, and there’s been an outpouring of donations to make sure everyone can get back on their feet. Our state financial aid agency added $850 in grant aid for students impacted by the storm to make sure they could cover unexpected costs.

And our lawmakers have been incredibly responsive, working closely with us on an emergency appropriation to cover repair costs, provide free spring tuition for students at UNC Asheville, and grant millions in emergency aid to affected students across the state. They’re doing everything they can to make our universities and our community colleges whole, and I’m heartened by the level of support we’re seeing.

I think we’re all very aware of the lessons of the COVID pandemic, and the risks that come with disrupting someone’s educational experience midstream. We’re working hard to keep all of our students on track. This storm has caused so much damage already, and we don’t want to see anyone lose the opportunity for a college education.

What can boards of trustees and college presidents do prepare for possible unforeseen crises like a natural disaster?

We put a lot of time and careful thought into resilience planning. Gaming out these enterprise risks well in advance—making sure the key players know each other and trust each other and understanding what assets you have available before you need them—is the heart of it. You don’t want to be starting from scratch when you’re staring down a bad storm forecast. You want to be executing a response you’ve already designed.

You also need steady, experienced people in senior roles. Fred Sellers, the system’s vice president for safety and emergency operations, is well known and well respected by all of our chancellors, police chiefs, and first responders across the state. We run regular tabletop exercises preparing for different scenarios, so we have a good sense of where to tap resources and expertise when we’re facing a crisis.

It also helps that our chief of staff is an expert on disaster response and recovery. Norma Houston has deep experience in emergency management, has been on advisory boards for the Department of Public Safety, and has advised local governments all over the state on hurricane preparedness and recovery. Having people like that coordinating the university’s effort has certainly been a blessing.