Dear UT community,

On Monday, April 8, The University of Texas at Austin will experience Austin’s first total solar eclipse since 1397 and the last until 2343. The Great North American Eclipse is an opportunity for us to gather as a UT community for a defining Longhorn experience unlike any other in our lifetimes.

For those of you who live, work and study on the Forty Acres, we’re planning the Total Eclipse of the Horns — a campus-wide viewing experience from noon to 3 p.m. Stations located around campus will distribute free viewing glasses and share more information about what we’ll see during the eclipse. Our University Events and Experience team will be distributing those materials ahead of time to our faculty and staff members who work at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus and other Austin-area locations. More details will be available on UT’s eclipse information hub, eclipse.utexas.edu, next month.

From 1:36 to 1:38 p.m. on April 8, Longhorns will have one of the best views in the universe — and we want you to enjoy it. The University will be setting aside time for community-wide viewing from 1 to 2 p.m. that day. Classes will not meet, and most normal University services will be suspended for that hour.

Our University leaders are already working together to ensure a safe and seamless eclipse experience for our community. Provost Sharon Wood will be reaching out to faculty members during the coming days with special guidance for those who usually teach class or supervise labs on Monday afternoons.

We have many other surprises in store for you this spring, and I can’t wait to share more soon. I’ll see you on the Forty!

Hook ’em!

Jay Hartzell
President