UT does its part for Katrina victims

Just passing along a note from the chancellor of UT. Makes me proud to be a Volunteer.

"September 1, 2005

FROM: Chancellor Loren Crabtree and Faculty Senate President Deseriee Kennedy
SUBJECT: Helping Students & Colleagues Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Dear Colleagues:

Today we write to ask your assistance in lending a hand to students and colleagues in higher education following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina.

As you may have heard, Governor Phil Bredesen late yesterday offered our state's assistance in providing space to educate students displaced by the storm. Our campus has joined the entire UT System and the Tennessee Board of Regents institutions in supporting this. It is quite simply the right thing to do.

Already this morning, we've heard from several students who are looking for places to continue their studies while their colleges and universities work to recover from this disaster.

Here at Knoxville, we've offered to bring in up to 500 undergraduate students, as well as 50 law students (20 first-year students, 30 from the upper division) and all graduate students who wish to come here. While it is unclear how many students will accept this offer, we ask that you join us in working with these displaced students and in doing what we can to help in light of this terrible tragedy.

This is a time of incredible stress for many in our community. Many faculty, staff and students have been directly touched by this disaster. We encourage all members of the community to be sensitive to others in need. We'd also like to remind all members of the UT family that our university counseling services are available and can provide valuable assistance during this difficult time.

A task force has been created to coordinate this initiative and to ensure that we can manage the accommodations we offer to these students in need. The contact for the task force is Vice Chancellor Tom Milligan, and he can be reached at 974-9438."