Pittsburg State explores ways to assist hurricane victims

Pittsburg State University President Tom Bryant sent the following e-mail outlining the university’s desire to help victims of Hurricane Katrina to all students, faculty and staff today:

To: Faculty, Staff and Students
From: President Tom Bryant

As we continue to learn more about the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, I know I speak for us all when I say our hearts go out to the thousands of people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The university is exploring opportunities to reach out in a meaningful way to the individuals and families who have lost so much from this natural disaster.

First, we would ask faculty, staff and students who have friends and family members who have been affected by the natural disaster in the Gulf Coast to share that information with the Office of Campus Life and Auxiliary Services or the Office of University Communications. Please email your information to either Steve Erwin, serwin@pittstate.edu or Ellen Carter, ecarter@pittstate.edu, who will then share the information with appropriate staff and offices either on campus or in the community. By sharing information, we can explore opportunities to offer assistance.

Second, the university will be working through national organizations such as the Association of American State Colleges and Universities < www.aacu-edu.org/>, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education <www.case.org>, the American Council on Education < www.acenet.edu> and other higher education organizations, to offer assistance to the universities, colleges and technical schools affected directly by Hurricane Katrina.

Pittsburg State University can expedite the enrollment of any student from one of the higher education institutions in the devastated areas. PSU currently has limited on-campus housing available that could be made available immediately to incoming students. The university stands ready to help incoming students from the Gulf Coast arrange for transportation to southeast Kansas.

We realize this natural disaster will have an impact on the stricken area well beyond the fall semester and in ways hard to predict. The Office of International Programs has already been contacted about the possibility that two international students scheduled to attend Tulane University may want to enroll at Pittsburg State University. We ask the assistance of faculty, staff and students in getting the message out to any students you know who were affected by Hurricane Katrina that Pittsburg State University will do what it can to help them continue their educational careers. The Offices of Admission, Campus Life and Auxiliary Services, Financial Assistance, International Programs and Services, and many others across the campus are ready to offer assistance if students want to access our programs and services either in the short term or long term.

On an individual basis, there are numerous avenues for providing monetary support to the relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Members of PSU’s Presidential Emerging Leaders program will be accepting monetary donations at Saturday’s football game. All donations will be turned over to the Pittsburg Community Foundation, which will be forwarding such contributions to recognized relief agencies such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Also, KSN TV and Chatter’s Restaurant will accept donations of bottled water at the KSN tent east of Gorilla Village between 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 3rd.

If you know of additional relief efforts or avenues for providing support to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, please share that information with Ellen Carter in University Communications who can then pass that information on to the campus as appropriate.

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