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Campus Alert
Update on Facilities Emergency as of Friday, Oct. 23

Following Tuesday morning's electrical incident originating in the mechanical room of Building 42, power disruptions impacted Buildings 32, 38, 39, 42, 43 and 47.

Power has since been restored to Buildings 38, 39, 43 and 47. Buildings 56 and 71 were not impacted by this incident. Additionally, Buildings 44, 46 east and 46 west were unaffected and remained fully operational throughout the event.

The university's electrical contractor continues to assess the damage and determine options for restoring and redistributing power to Buildings 32 and 42. As a result, Buildings 32 and 42 will remain closed through Monday, Nov. 2, while assessments are completed and necessary repairs or equipment replacements are identified and implemented.

Academic Operations

  • The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) will remain under Emergency Remote Instruction (ERI) while Buildings 32 and 42 are unavailable.
  • Classes for all non-SEAS students will resume normal operations.
  • Classes at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, Community College, Congress Heights campus and DCA Aviation Hangar will continue as scheduled.

Administrative Operations

  • Administrative and support functions at the Van Ness campus will resume normal business operations and maintain regular business hours.

Guidance for SEAS Faculty and Staff

  • SEAS staff should contact their immediate supervisors regarding remote work expectations.
  • SEAS faculty should consult their supervisors for ERI-related guidance.
  • The Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL) remains available to support instructional continuity, including Blackboard, Zoom and other teaching and learning technologies.

CAL Faculty Support Resources

Guidance for SEAS Students

  • Due to this facilities emergency, SEAS in-person operations will remain suspended through Monday, Nov. 2. Instruction will continue remotely through both synchronous and asynchronous formats.
  • Courses requiring laboratory, clinical, studio or other hands-on instruction may require makeup sessions. However, every effort will be made to maintain academic continuity through virtual learning whenever possible. Faculty conducting synchronous instruction should continue to meet during published class times to minimize disruptions to student schedules.

The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and community remain our highest priority. We will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.

Please continue to monitor the university website and official social media channels for the latest information.

For safety concerns, contact OPSEM at 202-274-5050. For emergencies, call 911.

Thank you for your flexibility, cooperation and continued commitment to UDC and our students.

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Lewis Johnson, Ph.D.

Chief Research Officer and Senior Vice President of University Research

Lewis Johnson, Ph.D.

Lewis JohnsonLewis Johnson, Ph.D., is a physicist and senior academic administrator with over two decades of experience in scaling institutional research enterprises and driving student success. He most recently served as the associate provost for strategic initiatives at Florida A&M University (FAMU), where he led a $10M+ portfolio dedicated to elevating national rankings, research productivity and graduation metrics.

Johnson graduated Magna Cum Laude from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Physics, then earned his Ph.D. from Duke University. His doctoral research in the Free Electron Laser Laboratory was conducted under the mentorship of the late John M. J. Madey. Prior to his tenure at FAMU, Johnson served as a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Advanced Light Source, where he specialized in Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and X-ray microscopy. This foundational expertise in synchrotron radiation informs his current research focus on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), specifically investigating fundamental laser-matter interactions and their applications in environmental and hazardous-material detection.

Johnson has secured and managed over $30 million in external funding as a Principal Investigator from agencies including the NSF, NNSA, DoD and USDA. He co-founded the Center for Plasma Science and Technology (CePaST), a $4M, 30,000-sq.-ft. multidisciplinary facility that has since generated over $40M in research funding. He also created the Laser Remote Sensing Laboratory, a unique resource among HBCUs valued at over $3M. His scholarly contributions include over 50 co-authored papers and the successful mentorship of numerous Ph.D., Master’s and undergraduate students. For his dual excellence in the lab and the classroom, he was honored with the FAMU Research Excellence Award and named Teacher of the Year in 2012

Johnson’s administrative career is marked by a commitment to data-driven institutional transformation. Having served in key roles — including assistant dean of the College of Science and Technology, assistant vice president for strategic planning, and interim vice president for strategic planning, analysis and institutional effectiveness — he has developed a comprehensive command of the university’s research and student success operations. Notably, he engineered a student success framework that yielded a transformative 86% increase in FAMU’s four-year graduation rate and established the university’s first Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), which has supported over 500 students.

Contact Information

Lewis Johnson, Ph.D.
Chief Research Officer and Senior Vice President of University Research
[email protected]

For Media Inquiries

Rachel Perrone
Assistant Director of Media Relations
Van Ness Campus
[email protected]
202-274-6759

For General Requests

[email protected]
202-274-6155
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