Western offers aid to hurricane victims
Displaced students, faculty invited to the Hill
Kelly Richardson
Issue date: 9/8/05 Section: News
Western has started welcoming students from universities in the Gulf Coast area who were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina.
Western will admit students and hire faculty who were displaced because of last week's hurricane. It is one of the measures t implemented at an administrative council meeting Tuesday.
Western officials also decided to raise donations for the American Red Cross and the University of New Orleans at Saturday's football game against Eastern Kentucky University. Western also will offer to host the home games of UNO's men's and women's basketball games.
"It's important that we be coordinated for our own sanity and to have optimum impact," President Gary Ransdell said.
Students and faculty on the Hill are also organizing fundraisers for hurricane victims.
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29, causing massive amounts of flooding and damage to the region, mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to usatoday.com. New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has estimated the death toll in New Orleans alone could be about 10,000.
Students who already paid for a semester's tuition at their university in the Gulf Coast may attend Western for a semester without having to pay any additional tuition fees. In-state tuition rates will be offered to those students after the semester ends.
Ransdell said he wants to help displaced students eventually transfer back to their original institutions.
Ransdell also said he expects less than 20 students to arrive from affected universities. He said they will probably know how many students will be coming in the next week.
Luther Hughes, vice president of enrollment management, said he knows of four students from the Gulf Coast who have enrolled at Western.
Paducah graduate student Aundrey Ligon was enrolled at Loyola University in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. He received his undergraduate degree from Western and reenrolled at Western on Wednesday.
Ligon is staying with friends in Bowling Green. He said the entire process of enrolling and getting financial aid took no more than an hour and a half.
"Actually, Western made it really easy," he said.
Faculty at institutions on the Gulf Coast can relocate their research to Western or teach classes, Ransdell said. Their payment will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Western has some places visiting scholars can stay, but new faculty may have to find their own housing, Ransdell said.
Western will also raise donations for hurricane relief efforts at the football game Saturday against Eastern. Donations will be split between the Red Cross and UNO, whose semester was canceled because of the damage, Ransdell said. There will also be trucks set up for canned goods, he said.
The council chose to assist UNO because it is a member of the Sun Belt Conference with Western, and the school was severely damaged, Ransdell said.
"They're a sister institution in our athletic conference," Ransdell said. "They're completely shut down this semester. They need help."
Western will pay for UNO's travel expenses and will donate the ticket sales back to UNO if the school accepts Western's offer to host the home games.
A Western account will also be established for donations raised by student organizations. Each organization will receive its own sub-account.
Some clubs and Greek organizations have started raising money for hurricane relief.
The Student Volunteer Bureau is hosting an event featuring local bands to raise money, said Shayla Overstreet, the president and co-founder of the bureau.
"I just felt compelled that we should do something as a newly formed organization," she said.
ALIVE Center Director Cheryl Kirby-Stokes is in charge of volunteers who are interested in opening their homes to evacuees and assisting the United Way.
Pam Johnson, the director of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting, is considering letting hurricane refugees live in her house.
"I thought about going there to help, but I thought I could help right where I am," she said.
Reach Kelly Richardson at news@wkuherald.com.
Western will admit students and hire faculty who were displaced because of last week's hurricane. It is one of the measures t implemented at an administrative council meeting Tuesday.
Western officials also decided to raise donations for the American Red Cross and the University of New Orleans at Saturday's football game against Eastern Kentucky University. Western also will offer to host the home games of UNO's men's and women's basketball games.
"It's important that we be coordinated for our own sanity and to have optimum impact," President Gary Ransdell said.
Students and faculty on the Hill are also organizing fundraisers for hurricane victims.
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29, causing massive amounts of flooding and damage to the region, mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to usatoday.com. New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has estimated the death toll in New Orleans alone could be about 10,000.
Students who already paid for a semester's tuition at their university in the Gulf Coast may attend Western for a semester without having to pay any additional tuition fees. In-state tuition rates will be offered to those students after the semester ends.
Ransdell said he wants to help displaced students eventually transfer back to their original institutions.
Ransdell also said he expects less than 20 students to arrive from affected universities. He said they will probably know how many students will be coming in the next week.
Luther Hughes, vice president of enrollment management, said he knows of four students from the Gulf Coast who have enrolled at Western.
Paducah graduate student Aundrey Ligon was enrolled at Loyola University in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. He received his undergraduate degree from Western and reenrolled at Western on Wednesday.
Ligon is staying with friends in Bowling Green. He said the entire process of enrolling and getting financial aid took no more than an hour and a half.
"Actually, Western made it really easy," he said.
Faculty at institutions on the Gulf Coast can relocate their research to Western or teach classes, Ransdell said. Their payment will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Western has some places visiting scholars can stay, but new faculty may have to find their own housing, Ransdell said.
Western will also raise donations for hurricane relief efforts at the football game Saturday against Eastern. Donations will be split between the Red Cross and UNO, whose semester was canceled because of the damage, Ransdell said. There will also be trucks set up for canned goods, he said.
The council chose to assist UNO because it is a member of the Sun Belt Conference with Western, and the school was severely damaged, Ransdell said.
"They're a sister institution in our athletic conference," Ransdell said. "They're completely shut down this semester. They need help."
Western will pay for UNO's travel expenses and will donate the ticket sales back to UNO if the school accepts Western's offer to host the home games.
A Western account will also be established for donations raised by student organizations. Each organization will receive its own sub-account.
Some clubs and Greek organizations have started raising money for hurricane relief.
The Student Volunteer Bureau is hosting an event featuring local bands to raise money, said Shayla Overstreet, the president and co-founder of the bureau.
"I just felt compelled that we should do something as a newly formed organization," she said.
ALIVE Center Director Cheryl Kirby-Stokes is in charge of volunteers who are interested in opening their homes to evacuees and assisting the United Way.
Pam Johnson, the director of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting, is considering letting hurricane refugees live in her house.
"I thought about going there to help, but I thought I could help right where I am," she said.
Reach Kelly Richardson at news@wkuherald.com.
