Campus Alert Archive
Notre Dame

Notre Dame International Confirms All Abroad Students Safe After Brussels Airport and Metro Bombings

INcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Coordinated suicide bombings struck Brussels Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek Metro station on March 22, 2016, killing 32 civilians and injuring more than 300. Notre Dame International (NDI) emailed all Notre Dame students abroad that Tuesday with a safety check and advisory to avoid Belgium. NDI confirmed no Notre Dame students were known to be in Brussels at the time of the attacks and that all study-abroad students had been accounted for.

Alerts
2
Response
min
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Notre Dame
Private R1 · IN
Notre Dame International
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 reconstructionReconstructed from NDI's published news article confirming student safety and listing the advisory actions taken; specific email text not published verbatim868 chars
Dear Notre Dame students abroad, I am writing to follow up on the devastating attacks this morning in Brussels. Notre Dame International has been in contact with our program partners and has not identified any Notre Dame students who were in Brussels at the time of the attacks. If you are in Belgium or plan to travel there, please contact your program director immediately and follow the guidance of local authorities. The U.S. Embassy in Brussels has issued a Level 4 threat rating and recommends avoiding large public gatherings and remaining alert to your surroundings. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates. Please update your overseas contact information in the ND Travel Registry and respond to any communications from your program coordinators promptly. Counseling support is available through HTH insurance. — Notre Dame International

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

The NDI article confirmed that no ND students were identified in Brussels at the time and that all students abroad had been accounted for -- the core verified facts
The Level 4 U.S. Embassy Brussels threat rating and the ND Travel Registry guidance are confirmed details from the NDI article
The bombings struck Zaventem Airport at 7:58 AM CET and Maalbeek Metro at 9:11 AM CET on March 22, 2016 -- the NDI email went out the same day
ALL CLEARWebsite
Approximate reconstructionParaphrased from the NDI news post confirming all students safe; the phrase 'rigorously monitor world events' is the closest to a verbatim fragment available from the source403 chars
Notre Dame International has confirmed the safety of all Notre Dame students currently studying abroad. We are not aware of any ND students who were in Brussels at the time of this morning's attacks. NDI will continue to rigorously monitor world events and urge students abroad to take proactive safety measures and to access the University's resources for responding to disruptive or unsafe situations.

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

NDI's public statement emphasized its ongoing monitoring posture and urged students to use 'proactive safety measures' -- a formulaic but consistent messaging pattern across the archive's study-abroad cases
The statement was published on the NDI website as a news item rather than as an automated alert-system message -- consistent with how ND handles overseas emergencies compared to on-campus Clery notifications
Context

Background

The 2016 Brussels bombings killed 32 people in coordinated attacks at Zaventem Airport (7:58 AM CET) and Maalbeek Metro station (9:11 AM CET) on March 22, 2016, claimed by the Islamic State. Notre Dame International, which administers overseas programs for roughly 1,000 Notre Dame students abroad each year, sent an advisory email to all students abroad the same morning and posted a public safety confirmation on its website. Crucially, NDI's travel registry system -- which tracks student locations abroad -- showed no ND students in Brussels at the time, enabling the rapid all-clear. The advisory recommended that students defer travel to Belgium, update their Travel Registry contact information, and respond promptly to coordinator outreach. The Brussels case illustrates how a large US research university with a mature overseas portfolio executes an emergency-accountability check within hours of a major overseas attack: the travel registry generates the roster, program coordinators attempt contact, and NDI publishes the status publicly once confirmed. Counseling support was made available through HTH Worldwide insurance, Notre Dame's standard study-abroad health provider.
Analysis

Key Findings

NDI's travel registry enabled same-day confirmation that no ND students were in Brussels -- the registry is the operational linchpin of the accountability check, not the alert system
The advisory email's action items -- update Travel Registry, respond to coordinators, defer Belgium travel -- represent the standardized US study-abroad emergency-response checklist that emerged from the post-9/11 and post-London 7/7 era
The NDI response was published as a news article, not an automated alert-system message -- reflecting the different legal and operational frame for overseas vs. on-campus emergencies
Outcome
No Notre Dame students were in Brussels during the attacks. All ND students abroad were accounted for. The U.S. Embassy Brussels issued a Level 4 threat rating; NDI advised students to defer travel to Belgium.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    NDI Confirms Safety of Students Abroad Following Brussels Attacks
    international.nd.edu
  2. Source
    2016 Brussels bombings (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  3. Official
    Emergencies Abroad -- Notre Dame Global
    global.nd.edu
Tags
study-abroadbrusselsbelgiumterrorisminternationaladvisorytravel-registryprivate-r1notre-dame2016
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion