Villanova University closes campus Thursday as it investigates possible threat to academic building

Villanova University is closing for the day and canceling all activities on its suburban Philadelphia campus after an unspecified "threat of violence" was made targeting an academic building.

The university sent a Nova Alert to the campus community around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, and said the FBI and campus safety personnel are working with other law enforcement partners to investigate.

The alert said the agencies were still working to assess whether the threat was legitimate, and that campus would be closed "out of an abundance of caution."

As part of the alert, students who live on campus have been instructed to stay in their residence halls, and students who don't live on campus have been advised not to come to campus. Faculty and staff are also being told not to show up Thursday.

In an update around 9 a.m., the university told the community that at least one other university received a similar threat.

"While no additional details are available at this time, there have been no reports of any activity posing a danger to our campus. There will continue to be an increased police presence on campus throughout the day," the update said. "Please continue to remain indoors."

In August 2025, a Villanova residence hall was evacuated after authorities were notified of an active shooter threat, which was later confirmed to be fake.

This is a developing story and will be updated.