Hurricane Ian: Most colleges to open Thursday. South Florida school districts to remain closed
School districts in South Florida will remain closed Thursday as expected because of Hurricane Ian, the powerful Category 4 storm that made landfall on Florida’s west coast around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Some colleges and universities, however, will resume classes Thursday.
Miami-Dade and Broward county school district superintendents on Tuesday announced schools would be closed Wednesday and Thursday. A decision about Friday classes would be made Thursday, officials said.
In the Florida Keys, Monroe County public schools will also be closed on Thursday, said Monroe County Superintendent Teri Axford on Wednesday. A decision about Friday’s school schedule will be made on Thursday. Schools have been closed since Tuesday.
Catholic schools and parish offices in the tri-county Archdiocese of Miami — Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties — will reopen Thursday.
READ MORE: South Florida school districts announce closures as Hurricane Ian approaches
Unlike K-12 schools, college campuses are mostly resuming operations on Thursday, according to announcements made Wednesday.
Here’s what to know about colleges and universities in South Florida.
▪ Barry University: Campus locations in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties will resume remote operations and classes on Thursday, the university announced Wednesday. These locations will resume normal operations and classes on Friday.
▪ Broward College: On Tuesday, the college announced classes and operations would be shut down through Thursday. No plans have been announced for Friday.
▪ Florida Atlantic University: All FAU campus operations are again suspended for Thursday and all classes, including online, are canceled, the university announced Wednesday. A decision about Friday “will be made as information becomes available.”
▪ Florida International University: Normal operations will resume Thursday, a university spokesperson confirmed to the Herald.
▪ Florida Memorial University: Normal operations, classes and activities will resume on Thursday, the school announced in a late email Wednesday.
▪ Keiser University: Three of its South Florida campuses — 2101 NW 117th Ave. in Miami, 1640 SW 145th Ave. in Pembroke Pines and 1500 Northwest 49th St. in Fort Lauderdale — were closed Wednesday. They will remain closed Thursday.
▪ Miami Dade College: All classes and operations will resume Thursday, the college announced Wednesday.
▪ Nova Southeastern University: Normal classes and operations for all Broward and Miami-Dade county locations will resume Thursday, according to a Twitter announcement. The Palm Beach campus, however, will remain closed Thursday and classes will be virtual. Normal classes and operations are expected to resume Friday in Palm Beach.
▪ University of Miami: Officials announced Wednesday that the school would resume normal operations Thursday at its Coral Gables and Marine campuses. Classes at the Miller School of Medicine and all UHealth clinical facilities, except for the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Naples, will also function on normal schedules Thursday.
▪ St. Thomas University: All classes, activities and athletics will resume regular operations Thursday, the university announced Wednesday, and all faculty and staff are expected to report to campus. On Wednesday, classes were delivered online.
