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JALC Semester in Full-Swing as Offices Relocate

Published on September 10, 2020

As the fall semester kicked off at John A. Logan College, an arc fire in a mechanical room caused a power outage and smoke damage to over 170,000 square feet of the campus. As the smoke cleared, College staff began the arduous task of keeping the College operational to ensure that essential student services would continue without disruption. The financial assistance office was moved within a day, and academic advisors worked remotely with students during the final days of registration.

College President Dr. Ron House was not surprised by the efforts of the staff to continue serving students.

“Our staff did a phenomenal job of continuing the operations of the College after the fire,” said House.  “All classes moved seamlessly online for a few days until we could be back on campus, and it didn’t matter if our staff was at home or in a temporary office they continued to serve students.”

All staff has now been relocated to available spaces on campus, and the restoration process is well underway in the areas that were affected by the smoke. According to Vice President for Business Services and College Facilities, Brad McCormick restoration company, ServPro is working with local labor groups to remove the odor associated with the electrical fire, remove and replace ceiling tiles, carpet and paint the affected areas.

“The ServPro team is making progress in the perimeter areas cleaning surfaces and using equipment to clean the air,” said McCormick. “Part of the process includes ensuring our ductwork does not contain anything harmful or dirty, so when space is re-occupied, we can have confidence we are both clean and safe.”

McCormick added that recent air samples had shown excellent results and that in addition to ServPro, the College has contracted with teams that are beginning to examine electronic equipment such as computers and projectors to clean them and verify that they are not damaged.

While there is no specific schedule for when departments will return to their permanent offices, each department is fully functioning on campus in temporary locations. Departments and individual offices have relocated to the following areas and have staff on campus five days a week to assist students. The following offices have relocated: Admissions, Dual Credit and Partnerships, G202; Dean of Student Services, G204: Advisement, C235; Testing Services, E228; Career Services, E245; Financial Aid, E139; Student Activities, E106. Athletics is currently located in Logan Fitness and the Foundation is working remotely but can be reached at Ext. 8355. The John A. Logan College Bookstore has relocated to SIU Bookstore and can be reached at 618-878-8028.