The HBCU campus update

EACH school year, a plethora of new events take place on HBCU grounds, turning a new spotlight on these historic institutions of higher learning. But this year represents a new beginning for some HBCU campuses in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, including Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) and Xavier University of Louisiana. When the hurricane breeched several levees, flooding the city of New Orleans and all three campuses, officials were faced with the challenge of restoring the institutions. Some have picked up the pieces with help from other HBCUs, like North Carolina Central University. Because of such help, some schools are reopening on their original campuses this fall, while others will continue to operate from temporary quarters. On other campuses, the new school year brings new life to institutions that are more than 100 years old, including Tuskegee University, which celebrates 125 years of excellence, service and distinguished contributions.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath had a profound impact on the nation, says James H. Amrnons, chancellor of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, N.C. "We felt it was important for us to act and lend a hand to those who had their lives turned upside down," he says. NCCU responded by hosting a prayer vigil, and sponsoring a benefit concert, featuring renowned gospel singer Shirley Caesar, which raised $6,206 for victims of the hurricane. WNCU, the campus radio station, raised $63,000 to help build a Habitat for Humanity home in New Orleans. Additionally, the university enrolled students from universities in hurricane-ravaged areas. Besides fund-raising efforts, work also occurred on an academic level. Dorothy Singleton, an associate professor and director of the Institute on Minority Issues, wrote the soon to-be-released book, The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Educating Traumatized Children, Ammons says.

Outside of hurricane relief efforts, NCCU, the first public liberal arts institution for African-Americans, recently broke ground for the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise Center of Excellence (BRITE). The center was created with a $19.1million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation of North Carolina to help transform North Carolina's economy from one dominated by tobacco, textiles and furniture to one that is driven by biotechnology, says Ammons, who has been at the school for five years.

Under Ammons' leadership, the school has seen enrollment increase from 5,400 to 8,219 last year. "That makes us one of the fastest-growing institutions in the state," he says. The school also is a leader in the recruitment of National Achievement Scholars, third behind Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

DILLARD UNIVERSITY

Marvalene Hughes, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the first female president of Dillard University at the school's commencement on July 1. Although she began her tenure as president on July 1, 2005, she was never inaugurated because of Hurricane Katrina, says Joy Patin, a university spokeswoman. For the 137th year in the university's history, commencement occurred on the "big lawn" under lush and sprawling oaks, with entertainer and civic leader Bill Cesby delivering the keynote address. Commencement marked a momentous occasion for other reasons. The university--known for its stately buildings and verdant grounds--sat under as much as 10 feet of water for several weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This fall, students return to campus after spending most of last year living and learning at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, Patin says. Officials are planning to build four new buildings on campus to house the science department and a complex to house the schools of business, nursing and education. Additionally, officials plan to build a new residential complex, and a multipurpose health and wellness building that would serve as a fitness center for the entire community-not just students, faculty and administrators, Patin says.

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT NEW ORLEANS

Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) will reopen this fall as one of the only universities in the nation to be housed completely in modular buildings and trailers, says Chancellor Victor Ukpolo, Ph.D. "The site is unique in the sense that there is no other campus that I know of in the country that has been put together on wheels, or trailers," says Ukpolo. "Literally, we are sitting on blocks." The school is comprised of 45 modular buildings (including 26 classrooms and a dining facility) and 400 temporary travel, or living, trailers, on the school's North Campus, which is comprised of 38 acres of undeveloped land, says Harold Clark, a university spokesman. In the aftermath of the hurricane, SUNO students resided at the Marriott New Orleans Hotel until the housing trailers arrived in late April. Classes were held at a local middle school for the first month of the school year.