Dillard, Xavier and Southern Universities Planning to Reopen in January
Three historically black colleges and universities hit hard by the Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath of September floods will reopen in January, giving seniors an opportunity to graduate and returning others to their campus home.
Officials with Southern University in New Orleans and Xavier University said their facilities are being evaluated to determine what work needs to be done to accommodate students and faculty. Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund, also said that Dillard University is making arrangements to reopen.
Dillard was "severely impaired by water," Lomax states adding that Tulane University has offered to make space available for Dillard as it recovers.
Norman Francis, the longtime Xavier University president, said he is hoping that most Xavier operations can take place on that campus, located in the center of New Orleans.
Officials at each of the three institutions say because several buildings had damage only on their first floors, some can accommodate students and faculty on the higher levels. Other area universities with less damage, such as Loyola and Tulane, also have offered to assist the HBCUs.
"I started my 38th year as president here with a girl named Katrina," Francis expressed in a recent interview. "She has given a challenge, but we will make it. This isn't the first time we've had a challenge."
Though damage estimates on each of the college campuses are incomplete, repair and restoration is projected to run into the millions. Lomax said estimates so far place the cost of restoring Xavier at $137 million and the cost of restoring Dillard at $350 million. Officials at Southern have estimated restoration costs there at $350 million, according to the Chronicle on Higher Education.
In addition to the facilities' rebuilding costs, universities also must wrestle with the future of their faculties.
"We have excellent faculty and staff, and we want to retain them," Francis said. "Now we have to make decisions, so that our faculty and staff will match the number of students we will have in January. Right now, we have no income coming in. We still have to pay the mortgage and lights and find scholarships for the students who will be returning."
Most students from the affected colleges opted for temporary transfers after the storm cancelled classes for their fall semester. University officials say they are hoping students will return once the doors reopen, but they realize some may decide to stay permanently at other institutions.
Then there's the issue of financial aid money. Universities already had received money for fall semester payments, and that money must be spent on their tuition.
Lomax said UNCF is committed to assisting students and their two member institutions in New Orleans.
"It will take a lot to restore these colleges," Lomax said. While some funds will come from the federal government and insurance to help, Lomax said, UNCF will work to raise money to help close the gap. "We've raised $2 million, and we are certain that more money will come in to support these students and their institutions."
Most of the $2 million has come from corporate contributions; the Newhouse Foundation, which is associated with the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, has contributed $250,000 toward Dillard and $250,000 toward Xavier. Also, JP Morgan Chase has contributed $1 million. About $100,000 has been contributed by individual donors.
Officials hope to reopen Southern University at New Orleans for the spring semester, perhaps by constructing one or two new buildings in the coming months, interim campus Chancellor Robert B. Gex, said in the Chronicle on Higher Education.
Southern is basing its cost estimates on constructing entirely new buildings, but Mr. Gex said he is holding onto the hope that some of the structures will be salvageable.
"When you get hit like we have been hit, it's a setback, but it's not the first time in our lives we have had road blocks," Francis said, referring to the myriad challenges faced by HBCUs. "We'll be back."
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Tuesday, October 11th 2005 at 4:06PM
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