Gruening Building Closure

Gruening Building open, additional finals rescheduled, heat restored

Gruening Building and final exams

The Gruening Building has been reopened and elevators are operating. 

Classrooms and other spaces above the ground floor (third floor) were not flooded and are open. However, most classrooms on the third floor and below will remain closed for the duration of the semester to allow time for additional cleaning and repairs. 

With the exception of Room 208, all classrooms on the first, second and third floors will be offline until the winter break, which begins on Thursday, Dec. 25. The registrar’s office has been working directly with faculty members to find alternative locations for final exams scheduled in those places. 

Students should communicate directly with their instructors regarding final exams. A list of exams with new locations is also posted on this page. Students may also have received messages via Nanook Navigator. 

The Disability Services Testing Center has also been relocated for the remainder of the semester. It is temporarily housed in the Bunnell Building, Room 140.

Heat and hot water 

Heat and hot water were restored to campus on Tuesday around noon. Today, Facilities Services restarted the main boiler at the combined heat and power plant. All buildings on campus should have normal heat levels for the current below-zero temperatures. 

Members of the campus community are encouraged to contact 474-7000 right away if they notice an area of a building without heat so that crews can come evaluate the situation. Please also remember to keep windows closed and ensure that exterior doors close completely. At below-zero temperatures, it doesn’t take long for things to freeze when a window or door is left open. 

Additional information, if necessary, will be posted on this website.

Gruening Building closed Tuesday and Wednesday

The Gruening Building will be closed for the remainder of today and all day Wednesday due to a line break in the sprinkler system on the ground floor. The resulting flooding affected the ground floor and the two floors below it. Please avoid the area, as walkways outside the building may be icy. The building is scheduled to reopen on Thursday.

Final exams Tuesday and Wednesday

Finals that were scheduled in Gruening during the closure will be rescheduled to alternate locations. A list of new locations, when available, will be posted on this website.

Faculty members should contact the registrar’s office to identify alternate locations for their final exams, if needed.

Students whose finals were scheduled in the Gruening Building during the closure should communicate directly with their instructors about the new location.

Gruening Building employees

Employees who work in the building should work directly with their supervisors regarding remote or other alternate work locations on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday.

Additional information

Employees and students who left personal items in the building during the evacuation can retrieve them with an escort. A community service officer will be on site until 5 p.m. to assist. Please use the south building entrance, which is the entrance closest to the Eielson Building.

Updates, if available, will be posted on this website.

Gruening Building closed due to sprinkler line break

The Gruening Building is currently closed due to a sprinkler line break. We are working to reschedule final exams to alternate locations. More information will be shared on this website once that work is complete. 

Heat, hot water limited on campus

Buildings on the Troth Yeddha’ Campus will be cooler than normal this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 9, due to low steam pressure from the combined heat and power plant. Hot water is also out in campus buildings.

Employees and students may notice that air handling systems are off or at lower power. Facilities Services has turned off fans bringing outside air into buildings to preserve heat.

Please ensure that all doors and windows are closed in buildings. Crews are working to restore steam levels, but it could be several hours before buildings return to normal temperatures and hot water is restored.

Updates, if available, will be posted on this website.

New locations for final exams Dec. 11-13

If you don't see your class here, please reach out directly to your instructor. 

New locations for Wednesday final exams

For employees and students

For members of the public

Smart911 Alerts

Parents and members of the public can also receive emergency alerts from the university or the City of Fairbanks by signing up with Smart911. Residents of the Fairbanks North Star Borough will also have the option to customize their borough Smart911 information.

• Sign up for Smart911 alerts from University of Alaska

• Sign up for Smart911 alerts from the City of Fairbanks

For media inquiries

Refer reporters to UAF public affairs staff or designated spokesperson for information in an emergency:

• Marmian Grimes, communications director, 907-474-7902 or mlgrimes@alaska.edu.

• Kristin Summerlin, public information officer, 907-474-6284 or klsummerlin01@alaska.edu

• Karen Tomasik, communications coordinator, 907-474-6438 or kjtomasik@alaska.edu

• UAF University Relations, uaf-news@alaska.edu.

Related links

• UAF home

• UAF news and events

• UA Office of Information Technology outage communication

• Report an injury or accident