A Message from President Christopher L. Holoman
Update 9.25.18: We are continuing to investigate the causes of our weekend power outage, both internal and external, in order to prevent similar issues in the future. We are especially grateful to our local service provider, SWEPCO, for their service over the weekend and their assistance as we continue to troubleshoot the problem.
Dear Centenary community,
The last two days have been filled with frustrations and inconveniences, so I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your patience and understanding while we address the ongoing power issues on campus. I also want to recognize and thank our Facilities Services staff who have been working tirelessly to identify issues, make repairs, and perform inspections to ensure your safety and that of our campus facilities. Many other staff members, especially those in Public Safety, Housing, and Communication worked all weekend to address the many challenges that this unforeseen incident caused and I am deeply grateful to them.
The non-technical explanation of what happened is that due to what was probably a failure of power company (SWEPCO) equipment, the power coming into campus was not adequate to run heavy equipment, including air conditioning systems and servers. In order to prevent that equipment from overheating and possibly catching fire, it was necessary to shut off all power. Subsequent efforts to identify and repair the problems were hampered by the torrential rain and flooding the area experienced yesterday. It is frustrating that these issues appear to originate from outside campus rather than within our own infrastructure. As we respond to developments that are largely beyond our control, our decisions are guided primarily by what will keep you safe and protect the campus facilities where you live and work. At times, that will likely continue to mean that we will need to shut off power in order to safely make necessary repairs. I know that it has not been pleasant to be without electricity and air conditioning this weekend, but our entire community has dealt with these inconveniences admirably.
While we have tried our best to keep you informed about the timeframe for necessary repairs, there have been and will be times that we are unable to predict how long it will be before things are “back to normal.” We ask for your continued patience as we work with SWEPCO to find a long-term solution to these issues, and we will continue to update you as the situation develops. We will have an updated estimate on air conditioner repairs in James Proper and Sexton tomorrow morning.
Thank you again for continuing to bear with us.
Christopher L. Holoman
President