'Kick in the Gut' for Black Colleges

NEW ORLEANS — NEW ORLEANS\o7 -- We love thy every blade and tree\f7.

The first line of "Fair Dillard," the alma mater of Dillard University, is dedicated to a majestic promenade of trees that locals call the "avenue of the oaks."

Generations of students at Dillard, one of the nation's oldest historically black colleges, have walked the avenue on graduation day. The rest of the year, the oaks provide shade and a picturesque backdrop.

But on those spring afternoons, in the heart of New Orleans, the limbs seem to beckon young African Americans, coaxing many of them along a path from poverty to the middle class and beyond.

Today, the grass is dead and covered with a sludge left by Hurricane Katrina's flood. The oaks are splintered, toppled and rotting.

Lost in the madness of Katrina, the nation's black college community has been devastated by the storm.

New Orleans is home to three historically black universities -- Dillard, Xavier University of Louisiana and a branch campus of Southern University. A month ago, 10,000 students were attending such colleges here, more than in any other city in the country, one federal education official said.

Today, all three New Orleans colleges are closed indefinitely, although Dillard announced plans Monday to resume some classes on the Tulane University campus as early as January, when Tulane reopens.

The New Orleans campuses of Xavier, Dillard and Southern, and three others in Mississippi with less damage, would likely require a combined $1 billion before they can reopen, said Lezli Baskerville, president and chief executive of the National Assn. for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, which represents historically black colleges and universities.

For these colleges, which have relatively small endowments -- Dillard's is $46 million; Harvard's, by comparison, is $25.9 billion -- securing those funds is a monumental order, even if insurance policies cover a chunk of the loss, as expected.

"We've had a real kick in the gut," said Michael L. Lomax, president and chief executive of the United Negro College Fund and Dillard's president from 1997 to 2004. "This is a substantial blow, not just to New Orleans but to African American higher education."

The first task in rebuilding has been finding a home for displaced students. Colleges across the nation have quickly opened their doors, often at no cost, and fundraisers have provided stipends to many students.