Villanova University given the ‘all clear' following threat towards building
Villanova University was closed on Thursday after, school officials said, the university received a ‘threat of violence targeted at an academic building’ early in the morning.
However, after finding no reports of activity posing a danger on campus, school officials permitted students to move freely throughout the campus and some buildings were available for student use.
“The FBI and law enforcement agencies are continuing their investigation, and we are now aware that even more universities have received a similar threat,” school officials said in an update. “Given this information and after law enforcement’s safety assessment, individuals on campus no longer need to remain indoors. It is safe to be out on campus. All in-person classes and activities are still canceled, and all academic buildings will remain closed.”
Officials said some buildings — including the main dining halls, Dougherty, Donahue, and St. Mary’s Hall — were open for residential students.
The Connelly Center, Falvey Memorial Library, and the Student Health Center were also opened for student use as of 11 a.m.
By 2:30 p.m., officials gave a final “all-clear” for the campus.
However, classes and activities were still cancelled and all academic buildings would remain closed for the remainder of the day, officials said.
School officials said they have received no reports of any activity posing a danger to the campus, and an increased police presence would remain on campus throughout the day “out of an abundance of caution.”
The school noted that it would close for the day on its website and officials said the campus will return to normal operations on Friday, Jan. 23.
Investigators have not yet provided more information about the threat.
The incident was the third time in the 2025-2026 school year that Villanova students and staff dealt with threats.
In late August 2025, false reports of an active shooter at Villanova caused confusion on two occasions.
Villanova was one of at least two universities that received threats on Thursday. The NYPD provided heightened security at New York University after emails threatened violence at two buildings, officials said. Both NYU buildings were eventually given the all-clear and classes resumed.
It’s unclear if the threats at Villanova and NYU are connected.
