D’Youville University Hosts Severe Weather Preparedness Session Ahead of Winter Season

On November 24, leaders at D’Youville University will convene for a severe-weather preparedness session to ensure the campus is ready for the upcoming winter season. The half-day meeting is designed for university administrators to review existing protocols, identify gaps, and anticipate potential challenges, at a time when the City of Buffalo is actively reviewing its own snow plan.

Campus Safety Chief Jon Nowakowski will lead the operational portion of the meeting to ensure clear communication flow and coordinated decision-making across all areas of the university in an emergency. Nowakowski led D’Youville’s response during the Blizzard of 2022, giving him firsthand experience navigating campus operations through extreme conditions.

“Every major weather event is different, but preparedness and clear communication are constants,” said Nowakowski. “When severe weather hits, our ability to act quickly and in alignment across the campus is what keeps students, faculty, and staff safe and allows operations to continue as smoothly as possible.”

The meeting will be facilitated by Kacey Stewart, who directs the new Health, Wellness, and Climate Program at D’Youville.

“We will use a series of interactive and creative writing activities to imagine a range of possibilities for what could go wrong,” said Stewart. “It’s easy to prepare for what we know, but much harder to prepare for what we don’t. There’s no crystal ball but surfacing potential scenarios and thinking through how we could handle them makes us more nimble when severe weather strikes.”

D’Youville will also incorporate coordination planning with city, county, and state partners. Located on Buffalo’s West Side near downtown, the university is a critical anchor institution in blizzard-related response.

“The better prepared we are, the better neighbors we can be and that means a lot in this city,” Stewart added.

For more information about D’Youville University, visit dyu.edu

About D’Youville University 

D’Youville University is a nationally ranked private university founded in 1908 and headquartered in Buffalo, New York, which offers degrees in the health sciences and business. D’Youville University promotes a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Through transformational educational experiences, students are prepared for growth, career success, and upward mobility. For more information, visit dyu.edu.