LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Western Kentucky University’s President Timothy Caboni confirmed one student died during the early morning storms that swept through the area.

The President confirmed the news in a letter to students and staff early Saturday morning.

Hilltopper Community:

As the sun rises on our hill this morning, tremendous loss in our surrounding area is apparent. Our Housing and Residence Life teams have verified that there are no injuries or fatalities among our residential students, but I have recently been notified that one of our students—a young man set to graduate today—tragically passed away in the early morning storms at his off-campus residence. Kacy and I offer our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the young man’s family and friends, and to all the families in our broader community who have been so affected by the devastation of last night’s storms. Students, if you have not yet made contact with your loved ones, please take a moment to let them know you are ok.

Since the early morning hours, teams of our staff have been with us on campus working to assess damage, establish temporary power, restore campus networks and phone lines, and restart basic operations. That work is very much ongoing, but preliminary assessments indicate that primary structures on campus were largely spared from significant damage. A complete evaluation will take some time, as our main focus now is making sure that everyone in our campus community is safe. In the coming days and weeks we will repair any damage and clear debris. But the significance of this event will remain with us forever.

Please take care of yourselves and your friends, and spend a little more time with those you love during the holiday break. To our students traveling home soon: residence halls will not close today as we originally planned; take your time.

Thanks to all of you working hard to serve our students on campus, provide counseling services, and manage our facilities. Together we have faced other challenges, and I have no doubt that the Hilltopper spirit that pulls us together in times of crisis will also bring us through this one.

Take care of one another,

Tim

–

Timothy C. Caboni

President

The student was set to graduate in the commencement ceremony on Saturday, which has since been canceled.

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