It has been almost two years since Mykell Clem stepped into a classroom at Xavier University in New Orleans.
Like many college students, the biology junior was forced to leave her home university in search of an academic haven - Louisiana State University - after Hurricane Katrina uprooted her from her home in the 7th Ward in August 2005.
Chancellor Sean O'Keefe reported in an LSU Board of Supervisors committee meeting this past August that more than 85 percent of the 2,700 students who transferred to LSU returned to their home institutions in spring 2006.
Many of Clem's friends who also transferred to LSU have made their way back home.
Clem stayed put.
But officials at New Orleans universities said they are recapturing the student populations they once had, even though students like Clem have not returned.
Former students are returning to the area, and freshman students are submitting more and more applications as the schools pick up the pieces and move forward with recovery efforts, officials said.
Winston Brown, dean of admissions for Xavier, said he expects this year's freshman class to be 46 percent larger than the incoming class of 475 students in fall 2006.
Brown said bouncing back from the freshman enrollment rut will be the key to getting student enrollment back to the university's expectations.
Brown said he expects enrollment numbers to reach the pre-Katrina incoming freshman level of 950 students within the next two school years.
"The increase is a gradual thing before people gain more confidence in the area," Brown said. "All the things college students need have been restored and are here in the area."
Clem said she misses Xavier's close teacher-student connection.
"At small colleges, the teachers give you more attention," Clem said. "But at big schools like LSU, you have to be more independent."
But Clem said she stayed here for that same reason.
"I'm away from home but not too far," Clem said. "I felt that being away from home has brought me closer to my family. When I go home, I am excited to see them. But I still have my freedom and independence."
Clem said although her parents respected her decision to stay at LSU, they strongly encouraged her to return home and continue her education at Xavier.
But officials at New Orleans universities said they are just now overcoming reservations many parents and students had about returning to the area.
Lori Zawistowski, interim dean of admissions and enrollment management at Loyola University, said she has seen an increase in the number of out-of-state students and potential student campus visits in the past year.
The number of out-of-state Loyola students has increased from 50 to 54 percent since fall 2006, and more than 700 new undergraduates are entering the university this fall. Zawistowski said these changes speak for people's increased confidence in the progress of the city and school.
Loyola had approximately $5 million in damages and has since been completely repaired, she said.
"Our main focus is to tell them to 'come and see for yourself and let us know what your concerns are,'" Zawistowski said. "Students and parents alike are excited about what the city and school has to offer now."
Dillard University, which is located in the heavily-devastated Gentilly area of New Orleans, seemed far down the list of schools to successfully recover after nearly every building on its campus flooded during the hurricane. The Hilton New Orleans Riverside was the university's temporary classroom and administrative home during its recovery process.
But Karen Celestan, Dillard's director of University Communications, said alumni, community and nationwide support have helped the campus restore 60 percent of its facilities and raise student enrollment to 2,100 - 52 percent of what it was prior to Katrina.
Celestan said parents still have reservations about sending their kids back to Dillard but said it has not overshadowed recovery efforts.
"We were not sure that the university was going to come back," Celestan said. "But people did not want to see Dillard go away."
Community college students were not exempt from the effects of the hurricane either.
Delgado Community College located in the City Park area - 90 percent of the area was under eight feet of water - had 70 percent of its facilities rendered useless after Katrina flooded its campus.
But Molly Jahncke, Delgado's associate director for public relations, said enrollment is growing faster than school officials expected. More than 8,000 students - 65 percent - have returned to the campus, Jahncke said.
Many of Delgado's buildings are still not repaired. Jahncke said the college is having to keep pace with the steady growth by making extra classroom and administrative space for the returning students.
"We are using our space well," Jahncke said. "But some of our classes are being held in trailers until we restore the rest of our buildings."
Clem said she remembers few people returning to Xavier when it reopened. She said she is not sure what school she would choose if she had to make a decision again.
"Both of the schools are a give-and-take situation," Clem said. "But I am doing well here. It is a good feeling when I overcome difficult situations."
Celestan said she expects Dillard to take on the same recovery pace of the city - at least three to five years.
"Rebuilding is a slow and steady process," Celestan said. "You gain small successes, and you build on those successes."
--- Contact Garesia Randle at grandle@lsureveille.com
1 comments