Campus Alert Archive
U-M

U-M Contacts All 19 Students and Staff in France Within Two Hours of Bataclan Attack

MIcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the night of November 13, 2015, coordinated terrorist attacks across Paris killed 130 people. University of Michigan Vice Provost for Global and Engaged Education James Holloway reported that U-M made contact with all 19 students, faculty, and staff in France within two hours of the attacks. The university did not order students to return home, determining that Paris conditions had normalized.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
University of Michigan
Public R1 · MI
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction427 chars
The University of Michigan is aware of the terrorist attacks in Paris. We are urgently working to contact all U-M students, faculty, and staff currently in France. If you are in France and have not yet heard from your program coordinator, please check in immediately. Our Global Engagement office is available around the clock. We will share further updates as the situation develops. Our thoughts are with the people of Paris.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from WEMU-FM report on November 17, 2015; Vice Provost James Holloway confirmed U-M contacted all 19 students, faculty, and staff in France within two hours of the attacks.
U-M has a dedicated employee focused on global safety issues to ensure student safety abroad -- a structural investment that contributed to the rapid two-hour accountability timeline.
The Paris attacks began at approximately 9:16 PM CET (3:16 PM EST) on November 13 with shootings at the Le Carillon bar; the Bataclan theater siege began at approximately 9:40 PM CET.
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction478 chars
We have now confirmed the safety of all University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff in France following Friday's attacks in Paris. All 19 individuals have been contacted and are safe. At this time, the University does not plan to ask students to return home, as we assess the situation in Paris to have normalized. We continue to monitor conditions closely and will update you if that assessment changes. We are grateful for the outpouring of concern from our community.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

U-M's decision not to recall students distinguished it from some peer institutions that required their Paris-based students to return home or suspend programs.
The 19-person count included students, faculty, and staff -- a broader cohort than just enrolled study-abroad students, reflecting U-M's global research and teaching footprint in France.
U-M's two-hour accountability response time was notably fast; the GW Hatchet reported that George Washington University, by contrast, took until approximately 1 PM Saturday (roughly 15 hours later) to confirm all 52 of its students safe.
Context

Background

The November 2015 Paris attacks killed 130 people in a coordinated series of shootings and bombings across the city on the night of November 13, including 90 people at the Bataclan theater. At the time, the University of Michigan had 19 students, faculty, and staff in France. WEMU-FM reported on November 17 that Vice Provost for Global and Engaged Education James Holloway confirmed U-M had made contact with all 19 within two hours of the attacks -- one of the fastest accountability timelines documented among US universities responding to the Paris attacks. U-M's international safety infrastructure, including a dedicated employee monitoring global safety conditions, contributed to that response speed. Unlike some peer institutions, U-M determined after initial contact that Paris conditions had normalized sufficiently that students were not ordered to return home. The episode illustrated the variation in US university response philosophies: while GW confirmed all 52 of its Paris students safe by approximately 1 PM Saturday, and institutions like Johns Hopkins confirmed roughly 20 students safe by November 16, U-M's two-hour contact time stood out as an operational benchmark.
Outcome
All 19 U-M students, faculty, and staff in France accounted for within two hours; no students ordered to return home; university continued France programs.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    University of Michigan Provides Safety For All Their Students Abroad After Terrorist Attacks - WEMU-FM
    wemu.org
  2. Source
    November 2015 Paris attacks - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  3. Official
    Johns Hopkins confirms safety of students in Paris following attacks - JHU Hub
    hub.jhu.edu
Tags
study-abroadfranceterrorisminternationaladvisoryparis2015
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion