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Katrina Revisited: Assessing Past Collaborations to Build Future
Partnerships
Katrina Revisited: Assessing Past Collaborations to Build Future
Partnerships
By
Dr. Marc C. David
As we approach the Third Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, there is
still more to say about the impact of this storm on the Gulf Coast
region. Dozens of articles have been written documenting various aspects
of life in New Orleans and beyond in the aftermath of Katrina,
particularly in reference to institutions of higher learning. In fact,
the twenty-six week collaboration between Dillard University and the New
Orleans Riverside Hilton Hotel has been written about extensively and
with good reason. This union between corporate giant and HBCU represents
one of the most unique living and learning experiences in the history of
higher education. However, of all the studies conducted on this
collaboration, none have attempted to assess student satisfaction at the
hotel during this period.
To recap, many of Dillard University’s academic, residential, campus
life, and business functions were located in the hotel while the campus
was undergoing reconstruction. During the collaboration, Dillard
University students were asked to complete a satisfaction survey. The
survey consisted of 27 multiple choice and 3 open ended questions. The
first set of questions dealt with life immediately following the
hurricane, leading up to the contractual agreement with the New Orleans
Riverside Hilton Hotel; the second set of questions dealt with life at
the hotel; and the last set of questions dealt with strategies for
recruitment, retention, and the discussion of any issues that did not
emerge during the survey. For the purpose of this article, only
highlights of the survey will be presented. However, these highlights
reveal some very interesting data about the collaboration.
Question six inquired how students rated Dillard’s response in the
aftermath of Katrina. Although students complained about delays in
relaying information, 46.4% of the respondents thought Dillard’s
response was fair followed by 26.7 who thought the response was above
average.
Question nine inquired how students rated the retrieval process, which
was developed to help students salvage belongings left in the residence
halls during the evacuation. In response to this question, 30% thought
the process was fair, 8.6% thought it was below average and 26.7%
thought the process was poor. The latter two figures are likely
attributed to the fact that a significant number of students, especially
first floor residents, lost some if not all of their belongings to flood
waters and therefore had nothing to retrieve. As a result, they were
given an insurance allotment which often did not cover the total cost of
their lost possessions.
Question eleven inquired about registration that was set up at the hotel
to track enrollment. In spite of long lines and overcrowding, the
majority of students, 44.8%, thought the process was fair and 18.8%
thought it was above average.
Question twelve revealed that 39% of the respondents thought their
residential life experience at the hotel was fair, followed by 22% who
thought the experience was above average. These figures are not
surprising given the fact that the New Orleans Riverside Hilton Hotel
had a three-star rating.
One of the most surprising figures was found in question fifteen.
Although the university had to compete, in a sense, with the French
Market, the French Quarter, and three-story mall just blocks from the
hotel, 34.6% of students ranked university’s extracurricular activities
as fair, followed by 25% who thought they were above average. Some of
these activities included guest speakers like New Orleans Mayor, Ray
Nagin, Rev. Jessie Jackson, Music Recording Artist, Usher, and Academy
Award Winner Denzel Washington, who was filming scenes from Deja Vu
right next to the hotel. The university also sponsored a leu hau, Greek
membership intake, a fashion show, a party, and other activities
designed to create a sense of normalcy at the hotel.
One magazine reported that students would be served gourmet meals during
their stay at the Hilton Hotel. According to question nineteen, 52.7%
reported that their dining experience was poor. In fact, some verbally
expressed a desire for the meals that were served on Dillard’s campus
prior to Hurricane Katrina.
Since Dillard was unable to retain health and wellness and behavioral
health staff members, the university formed a consortium agreement with
Tulane University. In question twenty-two, 33.8% thought the health and
wellness services were at least fair, followed by 18.8% who thought the
services were above average. It is also important to note that 18.1% of
the respondents thought the behavioral health services were poor.
However, this figure does not likely speak to the quality of service
rendered by Tulane University but the inconvenience of traveling across
town to acquire services.
In question twenty-three, a more significant number of students, 54.3%,
thought that the behavioral health services were at least fair followed
by 16.5% who though services were above average. This higher number is
likely attributed to the fact that the Dillard acquired one of its
former counselors to work part time in the campus life office, about
four weeks into the semester. The campus life office was located only
one block from the hotel.
Question twenty-five rated how students perceived their academic
experience at the hotel. Although there were various complaints about
noise levels, classroom space, course schedules, and other related
issues, 43.3% thought the experience was fair followed by 19.6 who
thought the experience was above average.
One of the final questions, twenty-nine, inquired what could be done to
retain current students and encourage others to enroll in the future.
Most of the responses included providing more financial aid,
scholarships, and paid internships; offering more extracurricular
activities; facilitating better communication and organization; and
ensuring that all faculty and staff express a more caring spirit toward
students.
If Dillard University is ever impacted by another natural or human
disaster, collaborating with the New Orleans Riverside Hilton Hotel
should be at the top of the list. This option played a significant role
in the recruitment and retention of students in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. In fact, before Dillard signed a contract with the
Hilton Hotel, around four hundred students had registered for
enrollment, followed by around 1,100 once the announcement was
confirmed. The fact that students responded at least fairly to most of
the questions in the survey and enrolled steadily during both sessions
of the twenty-six week period indicates that students were at least
satisfied with their academic and campus life experience.
Institutions of higher learning located in disaster prone areas of the
country should likewise begin building coalitions with local businesses
and other organizations and include these options as a part of their
emergency response protocol. A disaster of Katrina proportions may never
strike again. However, if it does, colleges and universities will be
much better prepared if they have already cultivated partnerships that
are essential to recovery efforts.
Dr. Marc C. David is former Dean of Students at Dillard University. He
is currently serving as Division Chair for Religion and Humanities at
Morris College.
Dr. Marc C. David is former Dean of Students at Dillard
University. He is currently serving as Division Chair for Religion and
Humanities at Morris College.
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