2/19/2025 7:02 pm Update
Campus Community:
Winthrop’s Emergency Management Team continues to watch winter storm predictions and consult with local, county, and state agencies.
Although the forecast shows minimal to no snow accumulation for our area, there is still a concern for dangerous road conditions on Thursday morning due to a drop in temperature tonight.
Due to this and out of an abundance of caution, Winthrop University has made the decision to open on a delay, opening at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 20. All classes and activities scheduled to start before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 20 are cancelled. All classes and activities scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. and after will continue as normal.
As noted previously, the greatest chance of impacts to Winthrop are in relation to the cold—frozen or burst pipes, slick spots if precipitation remains on the ground, etc. Facilities Management staff has prepared the campus, but everyone should use caution moving about tomorrow. If you encounter ice on paved surfaces or walkways on campus, please complete a facilities work request so additional de-icer can be spread on problem areas. At this time, we do not expect any changes to operations of Dining Services, West Center, and the DiGiorgio Campus Center, unless the campus loses power. If staffing becomes an issue, Dining Services may close Markley's, but the Eagle Eatery will remain open.
Facilities Management and Winthrop University Police Department employees are deemed essential to manage the needs of the university and are required to report to work on campus at their normally scheduled times. Supervisors will notify other employees who may also be required to report to work on campus at their normally scheduled times.
Students:
For students who may be traveling to Winthrop from areas with more serious impact than what is expected here, please reach out to your faculty members directly.
Faculty:
Faculty members should be mindful that students may be traveling to Winthrop from more seriously impacted areas. If a faculty member is unable to travel to Winthrop for in-person classes, they should notify their department chair and students as soon as possible with the alternative delivery mode or assignment.
Staff:
Since offices will open at 9:30, staff may use annual leave or accrued compensatory time to make up for the one-hour delay, or may work an extra hour on Thursday or Friday. Staff who may be unable to travel to work due to road conditions in their area or other weather-related issues, should communicate directly with their supervisor. Supervisors may obtain approval from their divisional Vice President to allow remote work for employees who live in areas that experience a greater impact from the storm.
Please be mindful of the very cold temperatures expected all this week and use caution when traveling in general but especially as this storm moves through South Carolina.
Additional information will be provided via WU Alert and this website as necessary.
Sincerely,
Winthrop University Emergency Management Team
Any member of the Winthrop community (students, faculty, and staff) should sign up for WU Alert to receive text and voicemail messages with incident notifications and/or the status of any closings or delays.
While communications staff members notify all of the major local and Charlotte area media outlets of this information as well, your best and most timely source of information is WU Alert. You can expect a short WU Alert via text for most incidents, with detailed follow-up information typically coming through a voice-recorded message sent to your phone. Information also is posted on Winthrop’s official social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter).
You may check your university e-mail or the university website for information related to incidents and closings/delays as well. Should you not have access to e-mail, the web, or other information, call the Campus Alert Line at 803/323-2222. Please do NOT call the Winthrop University Police Department for closing information, as this will tie up phone lines that may be needed for an emergency.
These are the website links you will see on the Winthrop homepage when detailed information is provided:
If a weather incident requires cancelling classes or other events on a weekend, see the policy for that scenario.
Members of the Winthrop community always should use their discretion in judging the safety of traveling to the university during periods of inclement weather. Check the Hazardous Weather/Emergency Leave Policy for details to help faculty and staff determine how inclement weather affects the work schedule.
Register your cell or landline phone number today for emergency notification