Brown will join Princeton University in a significant effort to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged campus of Dillard University, Brown officials announced Wednesday.
Historically black Dillard, located in New Orleans and the alma mater of President Ruth Simmons, was forced to cancel all classes this semester after Hurricane Katrina hit. Its campus is still under some eight feet of water.
"Brown and Princeton will invite personnel from their campuses to aid Dillard in vital areas such as physical planning, facilities, libraries, academic offerings, campus life, human resources, computing and development," University officials said in a statement Wednesday.
The statement continued, "In addition to covering the costs of their employees involved in the project, Brown and Princeton may donate equipment, academic resources, supplemental consulting and other necessary materials and services."
Details of Brown's involvement in Dillard's rebuilding are unclear. Michael Chapman, vice president for public affairs and University relations, declined to comment Wednesday about how much money Brown will spend to rebuild Dillard.
Brown officials may try to raise funds for Dillard, Chapman said, but he declined to provide details on what else the University might do to help.
The $5 million gift from Sidney Frank '42 to assist Brown's hurricane relief efforts will not be used for Dillard's reconstruction, Chapman added.
"It's still in the early stages. ... These things have to be worked out in more detail," Chapman said.
Princeton Director of Public Affairs Karen Jezierny, who will be coordinating Princeton's effort to assist Dillard, told The Herald, "We've been brainstorming, and my colleagues have been enormously creative."
Dillard officials are still not sure what it will take to rebuild the university - the campus is still submerged in water and Dillard administrators have been unable to assess the physical condition of the campus, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported Friday. Three campus buildings were destroyed by fire, the Associated Press reported. And according to the Chronicle, dead bodies were said to have been found on Dillard's campus.
Despite the uncertainty, Jezierny predicted that Princeton's response would be wide-ranging and involve many Princeton officials. Advancement officials may assist in Dillard's fundraising; the facilities department may map the Dillard campus and assess damage; public safety officers may lend their expertise on emergency planning and communication; information technology specialists may help rebuild Dillard's technology and communication infrastructure; and library and art museum preservationists may work to protect Dillard's valuable library and other collections, she said.
Jezierny said Princeton and Dillard have had long-standing relationships, including in graduate school recruitment and leadership initiatives. Additionally, she said Princeton will focus its hurricane response efforts on Dillard as a result of "an assessment of where we could be most helpful."
Simmons' close ties with both Princeton and Dillard are behind the joint effort by Brown and Princeton to help Dillard. Simmons was a 1967 graduate of Dillard and vice provost at Princeton between 1992 and 1995.
Simmons' relationships with Princeton and Dillard were "pivotal in pulling all of this together," Jezierny said.
Brown and Princeton had each made individual offers to help Dillard before deciding to pair their efforts, the Associated Press reported.
More than 68 colleges and universities across the country, including Brown, have offered temporary admission to Dillard's 2,100 students, and Dillard administrators hope to reopen the campus in January and hold two semesters worth of classes before August, the university said in a statement Monday.
