Higher Education Community Requests $500 Million for New Orleans
Campuses
Dec. 13, 2005
The American Council on
Education (ACE) and eight other higher education associations have
called on Congress to add $500 million in financial
support for Gulf Coast colleges directly affected by Hurricane
Katrina to a supplemental appropriations bill now under
consideration.
In a letter to members of
Congress, ACE President David Ward wrote, “Twelve Gulf Coast
colleges and universities were severely ravaged last summer by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the point that they remain closed
today. All of the institutions have hopes of reopening in January
and of returning to some semblance of normalcy, but that will not happen
without outside assistance.”
Immediately after the storm,
colleges around the country worked together to take in displaced
students. Congress enacted legislation to ease loan repayment conditions
and the Department of Education worked to provide necessary student aid
resources. However, the institutions have received little or no
federal government assistance in their efforts to rebuild and
reopen.
“Our institutions face a
different need–the need for immediate institutional assistance to
help offset the costs of lost tuition revenues, to meet payroll to
retain the faculty and staff without whom no reopening will be possible,
and to continue with the repair and clean up that is needed to make
these colleges operational once more,” Ward wrote.
“This is a critical time for these institutions. Every day
brings news of more program closures and layoffs of tenured
faculty.”
In the past week, Southern
University joined the ranks of schools that are downsizing their faculty
and staff and radically reducing the number and the composition of
programs they offer. Similar plans have been announced by
Tulane, Dillard and Loyola Universities.
The complete letter is available at the ACE web site.
| hurricane relief supplemental appropriations congress federal financial aid american council on education ace |
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