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September 12, 2005 Volume 30, Issue 5 |
University pitches in to help in weeks since hurricane
The Student Association has established a Student Relief Fund to aid MSU students affected by the disaster. At the Sept. 3 MSU-Murray State game, the effort raised more than $35,000.
Those seeking to make a contribution may do so online at http://www.msstate.edu/web/ecommerce/gift/ , with 100 percent of the funds contributed going to the student-initiated relief effort.
The university currently is housing approximately 113 evacuees in guest housing on campus. For shelter information, contact Shay McDonnall, assistant director for conferences and guest housing, at 662-325-2867.
The Extension Service is offering refuges Internet access through county extension offices as a way of helping locate family and friends. The Extension Service also is conducting a statewide survey to assess the needs of those in every Mississippi county.
The MSU Communication Department and the Holland Faculty Senate worked with community groups to coordinate delivery of an 18-wheeler filled with supplies to the Gulf Coast. The effort received support from the Starkville Community Theater, local churches and other groups. The use of a truck was donated by Royal Trucking of West Point, and the group estimates it delivered approximately $100,000 in supplies collected from MSU and community contributions.
Faculty and staff of the College of Forest Resources and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center are assisting the Civil Air Patrol search and rescue activities in the lower six counties of Mississippi for missing persons. The college has provided personnel, trucks, boats, generators, air conditioners, chainsaws, bulldozers, water, and food to help get MSU Research and Extension Centers in Poplarville, Pascagoula, and Biloxi back in operation. MSU also assisted with clean-up efforts in Picayune.
The Bagley College of Engineering will accommodate participating engineering faculty members and administrators from Tulane University, as well as graduate students, during the time it takes for Tulane to reopen. The college is offering research laboratories and office space as needed to assist displaced Tulane engineering students. Faculty members also are available to assist Mississippi businesses and industries with engineering-related issues related to rebuilding.
The College of Veterinary Medicine has volunteers staffing a primary rescue center in Jackson and Hattiesburg, and has provided medical supplies and equipment to the areas. The college also has established communication centers and is coordinating private veterinary hospital-related activities, among other initiatives.
Among College of Architecture, Art and Design initiatives is an ongoing clothes and toiletry drive for Red Cross relief efforts in Vicksburg. In addition, both the architecture college in Starkville and its fifth-year program in Jackson have offered studio and classroom space to displaced Tulane architecture students and professors. The college has contacted Gulf Coast architects to offer assistance with repair and rebuilding efforts and will collaborate with other schools of architecture in establishing a community design outreach effort to expedite the rebuilding process.
In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, animal scientists are assisting with livestock-related issues following Hurricane Katrina. An Instant Command Center is located at the Forrest County Agricenter, and MSU personnel are helping organize relief efforts. Agricultural economists are developing economic assessment of agricultural-related damages from the disaster, and the Department of Landscape Architecture has offered temporary working space, Internet connection and other support for displaced landscape architects, among other activities.
The Meridian Campus is disseminating enrollment information for displaced students through the Department of Human Services in counties surrounding Meridian. East Mississippi Center for Educational Development, whose offices are on the Meridian Campus, is collecting school supplies for distribution to refugee students enrolling in area schools.
The T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability is launching a drive to collect assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers and other equipment for those displaced.
The Early Childhood Institute in the College of Education is launching a nationwide solicitation for age-specific educational materials that will be distributed this fall as part of a campaign dubbed, “Hurricane Relief: Embrace Mississippi Children.” The institute is collaborating with the MSU Extension Service, MSU School of Human Sciences, Mississippi Public Broadcasting Network, Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the Mississippi Early Childhood Association.
The GeoResources Institute worked with Gulf Coast emergency responders to identify precise geographic locations for rescue efforts. The MSU team provided expertise in geocoding emergency response calls, Web mapping support, and integrating geographic information systems with remote sensing data sets.
The Counseling Center will extend its hurricane-related counseling services to faculty and staff, as well as students, without charge.
Psychology faculty members and Social Science Research Center research scientists will conduct a Web-based survey of student needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Included will be a measure of student stress and mental health issues, as well as the kinds of resources students say would be most helpful.
The MSU Libraries created a Web site, http://library.msstate.edu/Katrina , providing avenues through which students and others could make possible contact with families and agencies. The library also is working closely with the Mississippi Library Commission and the state Department of Archives and History, among others.
The university's hurricane Web site is http://www.msstate.edu/web/katrina/.