Update at 12:57 p.m. ET. University of Texas Reopens:
The University of Texas has reopened, after a phoned bomb threat prompted the evacuation of its entire Austin campus this morning.
That's not an insignificant undertaking: The university has 50,000 students and 22,000 employees. A spokeswoman told The Austin American-Statesman that it was the largest evacuation in recent memory and it was issued after a man called to say that he had planted bombs across campus.
The university issued the evacuation order at 10:53 a.m. ET. and lifted the order at 1 p.m. ET, after the buildings had been cleared.
In a statement posted on its website, the university said classes on the main campus had been cancelled for the remainder of the day.
Update at 1:42 p.m. ET. North Dakota State University Lifts Order:
North Dakota State University, which also received a bomb threat, will lift its evacuation order at 2 p.m. ET.
Our Original Post Continues:
The University of Texas has evacuated its entire Austin campus.
The University issued an evacuation order at 10:53 a.m. ET. on its website, saying they received threats.
"Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible," the university said on its website.
The Austin American Statesmanreceived a statement from UT officials that said the university received a threatening call at 9:35 a.m. ET. The bombs, the man, said would go off in 90 minutes.
An evacuation of this campus is significant, because the school says a little more than 50,000 students are enrolled.
This is a breaking story. We'll update this post with the latest.
Update at 12:55 p.m. ET. Buildings Reopen:
The university sent this alert:
"Classes on the Main university campus are cancelled for the remainder of Friday, September 14, 2012. University buildings may be re-entered effective noon today. All University activities except for scheduled classes will resume at 5:00 pm this date."
Update at 12:41 p.m. ET. Biggest Evacuation In Recent Memory:
UT spokeswoman Tara Doolittle tells The Austin American-Statesman that she could not recall a larger evacuation. As we said before, the university has 50,000 students and 22,000 employees.
Doolittle added that only one threatening call was received from a single person.
"We're checking the buildings to make sure they are secure, and we hope to allow reentry this afternoon," Doolittle told the Statesman.
Update at 12:25 p.m. ET. Better To Be Safe:
NPR member station KUT is live blogging. They report on their conversation with a couple of people on campus:
"It is scary because you don't know what's going on or if you're safe anywhere," student Eric Hermes told KUT News.
"'Honestly, it's probably nothing, but it's better to be safe,' said Michelle, a woman who was seven months pregnant and walking in away from campus with her three-year-old."
In its latest update at 12:25 p.m. ET, the university said it was still "under emergency conditions."
Update at 11:39 a.m. ET. Buildings Being Checked:
On its Twitter account, the university says they are in the process of checking the buildings and will give another update at 11:45 a.m. ET.
Update at 11:26 a.m. ET. North Dakota State University Evacuated:
North Dakota State University has also ordered the evacuation of its campus, including "residence halls, downtown buildings." The university has a student population of more than 14,000.
In a statement posted on its website the university said it the evacuation was prompted by a bomb threat. There is no word on whether these two threats are related.
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