At Washington and Lee University, we take great pride in a community of trust and care for one another. However, we also recognize that W&L and the City of Lexington are not immune from emergencies. We encourage you to explore this website where you'll find information about how we communicate in the event of minor or major emergencies, a summary of the University's Crisis Management Plan and other details about how the University responds in the event of a crisis. With this said, our primary goal in crisis management is to prevent crises from occurring through nurturing a community of care for one another.

In the event of severe weather that could cause a delay in the opening of the University or in a closure, or in the event of a major violent incident on campus or a major public health event, the University’s Crisis Management Team will communicate with members of the campus community in a variety of ways depending on the type of incident.

We encourage students, faculty and staff to bookmark this site on their office and home computers and in their PDA’s so it can be easily accessed. This site provides important information regarding Public Safety contacts on campus as well as listings of emergency management resources in the local and regional area and nationally.

Weather Events: The University will provide information on local radio and TV stations as well as this web site, broadcast e-mail, or voice mail for faculty and staff. Members of the campus community can also call the Campus Emergency Hotline (GOCLASS or x5277 on campus) to listen to instructions regarding closings and delays.

Violent Incidents and Public Health Events: The University will use the e-2-campus text messaging system to alert students, faculty, and staff about a major emergency on campus. In addition, the University will make use of other sources such as broadcast e-mail, voice mail, web site, and a systematic deployment of University personnel who can alert people to the crisis and provide instructions.

If you have questions about crisis management at the University, please contact Dawn Watkins, Dean of Student Affairs, at dwatkins@wlu.edu.