A UW-Eau Claire student died Tuesday after giving birth in a university residence hall bathroom.

Emergency personnel reportedly found Karen Marie Hubbard, 19, in a bathroom stall in Oak Ridge Hall some time near 11:30 p.m. She was not breathing and had no pulse.

When an officer removed Hubbard from the stall, he found a newborn baby girl. A student reportedly began CPR procedures on the baby while officers attempted to revive Hubbard.

She and the baby were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where Hubbard later died.

The baby was then flown to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, where she remained in critical condition Wednesday, university officials said.

P.J. Kennedy, a UW-Eau Claire counselor who spoke to concerned students all day Wednesday, said officials were optimistic Wednesday that the baby would survive.

“This is a tragic situation,” said Charles Major, the school’s director of housing and residence life. “The university community offers its condolences to this young woman’s family and our support to her many friends on our campus. Counselors have been meeting with students throughout the night to help them deal with this tragedy.”

Other students coming and going in the bathroom around the time of the birth asked Hubbard if she was okay, and she reportedly said she was fine, thinking she was “just sick.”

Kennedy said he has been meeting with students and residents of the all-woman dormitory about Hubbard’s death.

“[Tuesday] night I met with students from [Hubbard’s] wing and with students who were trying to be helpful to her,” Kennedy said. “They cried and comforted each other. I think people are coping in different ways. We all do.”

A freshman pre-pharmacy major, Hubbard was a 2001 graduate of Owen-Withee High School in Withee, where she was co-valedictorian.

Kennedy said counseling services would continue as necessary, and a member of the counseling team would be meeting with each wing of students in the dorm.