New Orleans, LA
December 2010
Rebuilding Dillard University
Flooding from Katrina inundated Dillard University. 
FEMA obligated more than $61 million to help the school reconstruct its campus.
Well, actually, to my big surprise, every single building at Dillard University was underwater and the depth ranged from 6 feet to 10 feet. 
What this meant, of course, is that we had to reconstruct every building.
By 2010, I would say at least mid-2010, and certainly, not quite in the fall, but we have three other halls to finish, residence halls, that will be finished. 
We will complete the expansion to the library, we will complete the two new green lead certified buildings, and by that time, this campus will be absolutely a new state of the art campus, that is stronger, that is better, and that far exceeded anything I inherited when I came here in July, 2005.
At the beginning it was very very frustrating, and part of it was because people were rotating in and out. 
I never knew that FEMA operated that way.
We���re at the stage now, where we feel very, very good about the relationship that we have established and um, that is why we���re so sure that we���ll be able to finish our projects on schedule now. 
We know exactly who to contact and that part is very refreshing. 
But it took three years before we could get any continuity whatsoever.
Dillard University on an average has registered between 1700 and at one time about 2,000 students. 
We are now beyond the 50% point, which is exactly where we wanted to be. We now have about 1,015 students. 
We expect to increase incrementally.
It has been such a long, long difficult journey. 
It feels good to be on this side of it. 
I look back and wonder how we did it, how could we have rebuilt an entire campus in less than four years, and in five years, how is it that we will have a completely reconstructed new facility that exceeds anything the university has ever had in its history.
For more information visit www.FEMA.gov.