Carleton News Updates
President Oden announces Gulf Crisis Team
September 14th, 2005
In order to thoughtfully and adequately assess all of the recommendations and offers of assistance the College has received in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Carleton President Robert A. Oden Jr. has announced the establishment of a Gulf Crisis Team, led by trustee William "Bill" Craine '70, with primary on-campus assistance from Program in Ethical Reflection at Carleton (PERC) Director Douglas "Doug" Mork '87.
As Carleton's Gulf Crisis Team has continued to meet and develop an appropriate response to the Katrina crisis, they have focused on a number of possibilities that allow for various levels of involvement and that utilize the particular assets of Carleton. With those criteria in mind, Carleton's response to the Katrina crisis will move forward in the following specific areas:
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Family assistance: An offer of help including housing in Northfield has been extended to the families of Carleton students who have been most affected by the hurricane.
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Dillard University faculty: Dillard University in New Orlean is an historic black liberal arts college with about 2,200 student that has been hit hard by the hurricane. One of Carleton's trustees, Arnold Donald, is also a trustee at Dillard and the two colleges have had other connections in the past. Carleton is actively working with Dillard to determine its needs and how best Carleton can respond. At this time, the College has extended an offer for housing and research support to up to six Dillard faculty for this academic year.
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Student response: Student energy to respond to this crisis is very high. Planning meetings have begun, supported by the students and staff of Carleton's ACT Center. In particular, Carleton will consider partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. Opportunities for on-campus as well as on-site (December break) service will be explored, as well as student-centered fund raisers and special events.
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Curriculum: The Office of the Dean of the College will work with faculty to develop curricular and co-curricular opportunities to reflect on this crisis from various disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Questions and suggestions may be e-mailed to Bill Craine at William.Craine@manginsurance.com and Doug Mork at
DMork@acs.carleton.edu.