As flood waters clear in New Orleans, uncertainty clouds the
future of the city’s black colleges, as many of the
institutions’ faculty and students have found new homes far
away from Bourbon Street.
Though the city’s three black campuses ““ Xavier
University of Louisiana, Dillard University and Southern University
of New Orleans ““ have promised to repair and rebuild,
questions linger as to their ability to woo back top faculty and
students.
Black faculty are in high demand, as schools across the nation
are looking to increase faculty diversity, likely making it more
challenging for New Orleans universities to hold onto them.
And for many, this uncertainty spells sharp decline in the
prestige of these institutions, which have for years incubated many
of the black community’s top leaders.
Failure to bring back top faculty could lay a big blow to the
black community in hurricane-affected areas.
“If they don’t return, it’ll be
devastating,” said Darnell Hunt, director of the Bunche
Center for African American Studies at UCLA.
“There’s a culture at these universities, a
tradition in supporting and nurturing black students that’s
been invaluable,” Hunt said. “It’ll definitely be
a blow.”
The road to reconstruction won’t be an easy one.
Dillard’s endowment is less than $50 million,
significantly smaller than the coffers of comparable institutions,
which often range in the billions.
Some black leaders have called for increased financial support
from alumni, federal and state government, and corporate donors to
fill the gap.
“Clearly there are some immediate, incredible challenges,
but going forward I’m sure something good will come out of
it,” said Lezli Baskerville, president and CEO of the
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, an
umbrella organization representing black and predominantly black
colleges across the nation.
Though school insurance policies are expected to cover much of
the tab, officials say donations are still needed to meet repair
costs ““ expected to hit $1 billion ““ at the three
schools.
Xavier, now closed indefinitely, sent more black students to
medical school than any other institution, and Dillard has one of
the most prestigious nursing programs in the nation.
“Contemporary leaders graduate from these schools,”
Hunt said.
Some faculty and students who fled the disaster zone may feel
uneasy returning to a city below sea level, where future hurricanes
are likely to hit.
The need for diverse faculty at colleges around the nation could
lure New Orleans professors elsewhere.
Hunt said the Bunche Center is in early negotiations with at
least one professor from New Orleans, though he would not provide
more detail.
UCLA has taken in 84 students from colleges affected by the
hurricane, some of whom are considering staying in Westwood until
they graduate.
“A lot of my friends, they’re either afraid of
another hurricane hitting or they may feel that our school was
unprepared,” said second-year pre-pharmacy student Annette
Evans, who recently transferred from Xavier to UCLA.
“It’s too devastating having your stuff gone,”
she added.
Evans said her college future ““ either in Westwood or New
Orleans ““ is “up in the air.”
Though Evans expects many of her friends to remain at their new
colleges, some black leaders have disagreed, saying the nurturing
atmosphere and rich history at the region’s black colleges
will keep students coming back.
“Students that were attending these institutions were
there because they wanted to be. They could have been anywhere they
wanted to be and they chose to be there,” Baskerville said.
“The thing that drew them to these institutions will be there
after Katrina.”