Restructuring, Restoring and Rebuilding

With rivalries washed away in the waters of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans universities are sharing expertise and resources in order to survive

By Kendra Hamilton

NEW ORLEANS
A city of trailers on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain. Overlooking the Mississippi River, a hotel hung with banners welcomes a new clientele — students. A campus once under 6 feet of water is again open for business and bustling with activity.

These are just a few of the signs of life discernible at three historically Black universities six months after Hurricane Katrina crashed through the Gulf Coast region, leaving a trail of broken lives and broken dreams in her wake.

“We are a wounded community, make no mistake about that. Katrina has dealt us some heavy blows,” says Dr. Marvalene Hughes, speaking from an office tower that’s become the nerve center of Dillard University-in-exile.

Reminders of the city’s suffering are all around. Hughes’ window offers a birds-eye view of the battered Superdome. High-rise buildings have plywood, not glass, staring from each window frame.

Few faculty have homes to return to. Large swaths of the city are still without power, and basic services like grocery stores, laundromats and gas stations remain difficult to come by. But Hughes says, “Finally we can say the worst of the logistical challenges are under control, and we can move ahead with meeting every new challenge.”

The logistical challenges in the aftermath of Katrina were certainly sobering, as the city’s topography conspired to magnify the storm’s devastation at historically Black campuses.

New Orleans’ HBCUs are all located near water, with Dillard less than a mile from the London Avenue Canal. Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) is situated just south of Lake Pontchartrain and west of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal that connects the lake and the Mississippi.