Photo courtesy Ringling College: Relief drive on campus for Hurricane Ian survivors.

It’s been nearly a month now since Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm, a few miles per hour short of a Category 5. Although our area and surrounding counties were hit pretty hard, it is impossible not to feel an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude that Sarasota did not experience a direct hit by this monster storm. 

As President of Ringling College of Art and Design since 1999, I have experienced my fair share of hurricane seasons, and of course vividly remember Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Hurricane Irma not long ago in 2017. With both of those terrible storms, as with Ian, Sarasota was thankfully spared their full wrath. 

One thing people always say about hurricanes, particularly the die-hard Floridians, is at the very least, you have time to prepare. Unlike our neighbors in the Midwest who deal with tornadoes that whip up in a flash or our West Coast friends and their earthquakes, hurricanes graciously allow you several days to make your preparations… right? If there is one thing I have learned during my years in Florida, it is that despite the fact there is some time, there is never enough time to fully prepare for something as catastrophic as a hurricane like the one experienced these last few weeks. What I am grateful for are the important lessons we have learned as a campus community along the way.

Our Emergency Response Team, which is made up of myself, senior leaders, and other key members of staff at the College, made the final decision to cancel classes and close the Ringling College campuses on Sunday, September 25 after meeting multiple times a day in the lead up to the storm. Looking back, at the time I remember thinking that our decision seemed early – after all, the storm was then due to track as far north of us as the panhandle. But over the next 48 hours, as Ian’s path continued to shift, I was very thankful we made that decision.

By the close of business on Monday, residence halls were closed and all resident students followed their required plan for safety in the event of a hurricane and were safely evacuated from campus with the help of our incredible Student and Residence Life teams. Our Institutional Technology, Facilities, and Public Safety teams completed office shutdowns, weather preparations, and by Tuesday morning our campus’ data center and network were completely offline and safely backed up. Faculty and staff were either at home “hunkering down” as they say, or evacuating to a safer place with their families, with the ability to connect and work remotely if and when needed. A lesson learned from the earlier days of COVID, thanks to our innovative IT team and dedicated faculty, we knew if we had to teach classes remotely for several days, even weeks, this was absolutely possible. 

Thankfully, on Thursday morning following the worst of the storm, we were able to confirm only minor, superficial damage to our campuses. As early as Sunday, Oct. 2, power had been restored, residence halls opened for students, and our dining services began serving the campus community. We welcomed faculty and staff back to campus on Monday morning, Oct. 3. Students returned to campus throughout the week even though classes did not begin until Monday, Oct. 10. 

Our Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College and the Museum Campus also weathered the storm well. In an effort to demonstrate our gratitude to this community which has always shown its support to us, we opened our beautiful Museum to the community at no cost through Oct. 9, so people could use it as a space of tranquility and refuge. Free coffee, hot soup, and delicious cookies were also available for those who visited our Museum campus. 

As a result of our teamwork, thoughtful and effective planning and preparation, our students, faculty, and staff were safe and our campuses had survived the storm. I am so, so proud of and thankful for every single staff member who helped make this possible.

Maybe these lands have been blessed, as the locals say, by the indigenous American Indians who originally inhabited our beautiful coastal lands. Maybe it’s a geological phenomenon; maybe it’s just been sheer luck. Whatever the reason, I am humbled and thankful that our College and our neighboring communities of northern Sarasota have been able to get back to “normal,” back to learning, and back to helping each other. But, our hearts, thoughts, and prayers continue to go out to our neighbors to the south and we look forward to doing all we can to help them heal and rebuild. 

Dr. Larry Thompson is president of Ringling College of Art & Design.

Photo courtesy Ringling College: Relief drive on campus for Hurricane Ian survivors.