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Advisor is leaving, but hasn't told me

My PhD advisor is switching schools, but hasn't told me yet. I know about it because my lab mate told me. This upcoming Fall semester is her last semester at my school. 

I am wondering 1) what does this mean for my phd and 2) why she hasn't told me.

I am entering my 5th year. I am planning to propose in the Fall and defend in the Spring. I still need to finish up two smallish projects, but the vast majority of my research is completed. In terms of writing, the bulk of that is also done, but I still need to write about the things I've done over this past summer and the small projects between now and graduation. Of the other students in our group, one is entering his 2nd year, and the other is entering his 4th year. It would make sense to tell them right away (although I don't know if the 2nd year has been told) because they will likely move with her.

My main concern is - can my advisor still be my dissertation chair if she leaves the university? I am hoping that the reason my advisor has left me in the dark is because I am so close to graduation, and she knows that the obvious plan for me is to just stay at the current school, work remotely with her for the last semester, and her fly back in for my defense. I don't really know if this is possible, though, and I don't want to ask anyone. I don't want to ask because this is apparently very confidential (my lab mate assumed I knew, and when he found out I didn't know he asked me several times to "pretend to be surprised when she tells you" and to keep it confidential - not even to tell our other lab mates). If I go around asking administrative people about this, it will definitely raise some red flags depending on who knows and who doesn't know. I'm a little worried about asking our graduate school itself because it might raise a red flag. The only information about this in our catalog is:

> Dissertations are chaired by graduate faculty and are selected by agreement between the student and the faculty member. A doctoral student may select  only one faculty member as chair of the committee. 

Those sentences specifically say graduate *faculty*. How far can that be stretched? Could my advisor stay on as adjunct faculty and chair my committee?

I don't when this decision was made. My lab mate only told me yesterday. I was so surprised that I didn't even think to ask him how long he has known about it. It is a very big deal though because my advisor has been at the school for over 25 years, is a full professor, served as associate dean for a year, and oversees the I/UCRC at our school. The new school is definitely a move up the ladder, but I get the feeling that some department politics are also a motivation.

I have no intention of moving schools with her (it would mean moving states away), mostly because of personal life reasons. However, I've been working with her since I was an undergrad so I absolutely want her to chair my committee. It would feel so wrong to see someone's name as my advisor on my CV after all of this is done.

Does anyone have experience with this? Any thoughts, opinions, etc on what my options will be or why I haven't been told?
gpt
If you'll be less than a semester away from defending when your advisor leaves, and won't need any physical equipment which'd become unavailable to you due to her move, you should be able to finish quite normally and without moving. You'll most likely formally get a new chair of committee, but your advisor will stay on your committee and take main part in correcting your thesis, and attend your defense or follow it through videochat such as Skype, and you can keep calling her your PhD advisor in your CV and everything forever.