Fwd: Harvard's Response to Hurricane Katrina

[NewsNet]

>Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 20:27:27 -0400 (EDT)
>From: "Dean William C. Kirby" <fasdean at fas.harvard.edu>
>To: "Jolanta M. Davis" <jmdavis at fas.harvard.edu>
>Subject: FAS Response to Hurricane Katrina
>X-Loop: jmdavis at scanmail.fas.harvard.edu
>X-PMX-Version: 4.6.0.97784
>
>September 2, 2005
>
>Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
>
>The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have stunned us all.  The
>loss of life, destruction of property, and unimaginably severe
>conditions that remain in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
>are profoundly saddening.  Our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are
>with all those who have suffered from the storm and its aftermath.  How
>can we as a university help?  Let me outline several ways.
>
>First, we are contacting our undergraduate and graduate students who
>live in the region to offer any assistance we can in helping them
>arrive safely for the fall term.  We also stand ready to lend support
>to any member of the Faculty or staff who has family members displaced
>by the storm.  Any faculty or staff in need of such support should
>contact my office at 617-495-1566.
>
>Second, Harvard College will admit 25 additional students from colleges
>and universities that will not reopen this term due to the storm into
>our Visiting Undergraduate Student Program for the Fall Semester.
>Applications will be processed on an expedited basis.  No tuition will
>be charged.  On-campus housing will be provided on a space-available
>basis and priority will be given to students rendered homeless by the
>storm.  Students interested in being considered for the Visiting
>Undergraduate Program should contact Marlene Vergara Rotner in the
>Office of Admissions at 617-495-9707 or vus at fas.harvard.edu.
>
>Third, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will admit into the
>Special Student Program for the Fall Semester, 25 additional students
>from colleges and universities that will not reopen this term due to
>the storm.  As in the case of Visiting Undergraduates, applications
>will be processed rapidly, and no tuition will be charged.  Students
>interested in being considered by the Special Student Program should
>contact Sue Wood at 617-495-5392 or swood at fas.harvard.edu.
>
>Fourth, the Harvard Extension School, which has led Harvard's outreach
>efforts for more than a century, will allow enrollment in up to four of
>its fall courses to those students living within commuting distance who
>would normally be attending college in the flooded areas.  For those
>students who are not within commuting distance of the campus, HES will
>make available enrollment in any of its 36 fall online courses.  In
>either case, HES will waive the tuition for these students and require
>only the $50 registration fee.  Scholarships for online courses are
>limited.  Further, high school students from the flooded region who can
>come to the Boston area and live with relatives may enroll in Extension
>School courses that meet AP requirements, such as Introduction to
>Calculus, introductory science course, and introductory language
>courses.  Students interested in these opportunities should contact
>Christine Santos at 617-495-5850 or santos at hudce.harvard.edu.
>
>President Summers is posting on the University website a letter in
>which he will outline efforts across Harvard, including the
>establishment of a fund to assist victims of the hurricane.  Let me
>suggest a further way you can help.  If you are in a position to house
>a visiting student for the fall semester, you would do that student,
>and this Faculty, a great service.  If you can assist in this way,
>please contact Anna-Lisa Plant in the Harvard College Dean's Office at
>617-496-0265 or aplant at fas.harvard.edu.
>
>Finally, please help to spread the word about these opportunities to
>colleagues and friends in the affected colleges and universities.
>Given that our classes do not begin until Monday, September 19, there
>is still time.  But we must move quickly.  Now is the moment to show
>solidarity with our sister institutions who are in such need.
>
>With all best wishes,
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>William C. Kirby
>Edith and Benjamin Geisinger Professor of History and Dean of the
>Faculty of Arts and Sciences
>
>
>
>A copy of this letter is available at the FAS website:
>www.fas.harvard.edu

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