255 MTSU HELPS TO PROVE THAT “THE SUNO ALSO RISES”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 6, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

Educators to Help Devastated New Orleans School

(MURFREESBORO) – Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) today entered into an agreement to assist Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) as the Louisiana school struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina one-and-a-half years after the storm pounded the Gulf Coast.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and SUNO Chancellor Dr. Victor Ukpolo signed the memorandum of understanding, which will enable the institutions to strive for collaborations in online instruction, faculty development programs, joint research, cultural and artistic programs, and cross-registration in selected academic disciplines.
Ukpolo said SUNO’s pre-Katrina enrollment has dwindled from 3,647 to 2,345, and its pre-Katrina faculty has shrunk from 160 to 91.
“This program here will allow them to get some semblance of normalcy,” Ukpolo said.
Faculty and students are functioning in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“On my campus, we have people living and working in trailers 24/7,” Ukpolo said. “Just imagine the psychological impact that would have on any human being.”
According to SUNO literature, the university cafeteria is a total loss. The library’s electronic and physical card catalogs, along with many books and periodicals, were ruined. The maintenance building sustained $1.3 million in damage.
McPhee, who has toured the SUNO campus, said, “This is not a one-time deal. We’re not throwing a few dollars at the university, at SUNO, and moving on with our business.”
Ukpolo estimated that it will take $60 million to restore SUNO to its former status. However, since academic exchanges will not rebuild buildings, MTSU is engaged in talks with Vanderbilt University officials about a joint fundraising concert to be staged in late August or early September, McPhee said.


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