wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 558-Black colleges help Dillard University

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Black colleges help Dillard University after storm

Oct. 4, 2005

NOTE: Photographs and a related report, UMNS story #557, are available
at
http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - When students in colleges along the Gulf Coast
fled Hurricane Katrina, the United Methodist Church's historically black
schools were among the many institutions that responded.

"We have extended our welcome and hospitality to our sister institutions
in the Gulf region by opening our doors and resources to students who
have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina," said Trudie Reed, president
of the Council of Presidents. The organization comprises the presidents
of the denomination's 11 historically black colleges.

United Methodist-related Dillard University in New Orleans was among the
schools that evacuated in advance of Hurricane Katrina. When the storm
made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi Aug. 29, Dillard suffered
heavy damage.

The Council of Presidents paid tribute to Dillard and discussed relief
efforts during a Sept. 27 meeting in Nashville.

Reed said the opening of doors has included raising money, taking in
families and providing resources to those in need. The church's black
colleges have collectively accepted more than 230 students from Dillard
and other schools on the coast, offering gifts such as tuition, fees,
room and board, books and sometimes weekly allowances, she said. The
schools also have accepted faculty and staff members. Most of Dillard's
more than 1,500 students have enrolled at other predominantly black
colleges and universities across the country.

"We are proud to celebrate our ongoing role and legacy of educating
deserving students by offering hope, opportunity and tools for lifelong
learning," said Reed, who is also president of Bethune-Cookman College
in Daytona Beach, Fla. "While worldly possessions have been lost, the
students that we have accepted into our homes on a temporary basis have
gained a new family and home away from home within a Christian context,
where values are transmitted and human dignity is being restored."

The Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators Inc., the risk
insurance company available to all of the church's colleges and
universities, has provided a $1 million insurance advance to cover
Dillard's cost of being down. "I am so pleased that they are stepping up
to the plate to provide resources for Dillard University," Reed said.

EIIA was formed during the 1960s, when a number of historically black
colleges and universities related to the United Methodist Church were
unable to obtain property coverage from the commercial insurance market.
The denomination assisted the colleges by combining their resources and
buying insurance as a group.

The presidents also learned that Brown University has committed funds
from its endowment to assist in rebuilding Dillard, and the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry has made nearly
$300,000 available to assist the university. Donations for Dillard can
be made at www.gbhem.org/hurricaneresponse.html online or by mail to the
Dillard University Hurricane Relief Fund, c/o The General Board of
Higher Education and Ministry, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN
37203-007.

"We are not (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), but I think the
church is making a statement about the importance of this institution,"
said the Rev. Jerome King del Pino, top executive of board.

It is fortunate that a connectional church exists to "enables us to
respond to Dillard in a way that will assure that it is going to be
restored," he said.

"Dillard is a stellar institution ... that is going to continue to
provide leadership for the church and society and will be able to do
that at a time when we need it most," he said.

When the university evacuated, school officials set up offices in
Washington and Atlanta, and many of the students enrolled in other
historically black institutions while retaining their academic credit
from Dillard.

"The Dillard family is scattered everywhere," said Dillard President
Marvalene Hughes. "The academic cluster is in Atlanta. I have spent most
of my time in fund raising in Washington and with foundations across the
country, which is very critical for rebuilding."

She and other officials journeyed to the campus Sept. 28 to assess the
campus before deciding how to reunite the Dillard family and rebuild.
They had hoped to resume some classes on campus in January but postponed
those plans because of damage on the campus. In addition to flooding,
three of Dillard's buildings were damaged by fire.

"We are looking at alternative sites at this time," Hughes said. "We are
in the throes of making immediate decisions.  We were too optimistic for
January.  I am projecting the fall semester, but we are selecting
alternate sites to bring the community together."

Dillard officials announced Oct. 3 that plans are under way to commence
classes as early as January at a site in New Orleans. Dillard has signed
a memorandum of understanding with Tulane University, also in New
Orleans, to provide temporary facilities for Dillard while the campus
undergoes extensive repairs.

"The board of trustees, in consultation with various stakeholders,
sought a solution that would reconnect the Dillard community physically,
emotionally and spiritually, as well as enable the important work of
teaching and learning to commence without further interruption," Hughes
said in a news release.

"Tulane invited us to consider a memorandum of understanding, which we
developed collaboratively," she said. "They have responded
enthusiastically, and we approved this opportunity to return to our home
in New Orleans."

Dillard University will "maintain its separate identity and heritage as
a historically black college, re-establish its learning-centered
community of students, faculty and staff, and reclaim its legacy of 135
years in the city," she said.

News reports have stated that historically black schools along the Gulf
Coast will have a hard way to go because they lacked appropriate
insurance to cover damages. On Sept. 29, Hughes drafted a letter to the
editor of the New York Times in response to the paper's report about the
storm stretching the safety net for black colleges. The letter, posted
on the school's Web site, said the story was accurate in reporting
Dillard's damage but that the school does have insurance to help with
rebuilding.

"Contrary to the reporter's assertion ... Dillard does indeed have
business interruption insurance, which will be of some assistance in our
recovery efforts. However, by no means will this meet the overall need,"
she wrote.

During the Council of Presidents' meeting, Hughes expressed gratitude
for the United Methodist Church's support and for the black colleges'
generosity in accepting Dillard's students "with the warmth that has
caused them to feel at home."

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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