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September 28, 2006
Contact: Marilyn S. LeFeber,
(810) 238-5651,
info@mott.org
$1 million in Mott grants aid Katrina-ravaged black colleges
FLINT, Mich. – Dillard University and Xavier University of Louisiana, both based in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and having survived the storm, are beginning a new school year with a renewed sense of optimism and determination. Supporting their ongoing recovery efforts, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has provided a $500,000 grant to each university for campus reconstruction and scholarships.
Despite their reputations for educational excellence, both schools face a major task in retaining and recruiting students. Families of about half of their students reside in Louisiana, and many have lost homes or suffered through temporary or permanent unemployment. Equally daunting is attracting new students to the storm-battered city. Therefore, both institutions will use a portion of their Mott grants to provide scholarship assistance for new and returning students.
Dillard is using its Mott funding to help build a $4.9-million fund to provide up to 1,600 students with incentive scholarships based on need. To remain eligible, students must maintain a 2.5 GPA and participate in community service related to post-Katrina rebuilding efforts.
Because more than 60 percent of Xavier students major in the sciences, officials there identified the reconstruction of laboratories, classrooms and offices in science departments and the College of Pharmacy as most critical to recovery. The university plans to use $400,000 in Mott funding for reconstruction and $100,000 to provide financial aid to students.
“These historically black universities have been recognized again and again for their academic excellence. They have met the enormous challenges of reopening their campuses, and their strong leadership will help them tackle the equally great challenges going forward,” said Maureen H. Smyth, Senior Vice President-Programs and Communications.
“With our history of support to historically black colleges and universities, we are proud to provide this funding.”
In December 2005, the Foundation also had made a $1-million grant to the Southern Education Foundation to assist both schools in the initial stages of their recovery.
Hurricane damage to Dillard's 55-acre campus was so extensive that the university was unable to hold classes on its campus for the 2005-06 academic year. The school reopened to students in January 2006 at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans.
Despite sustaining more than $400 million in damage, the Dillard campus' historic "Avenue of the Oaks" was the site of 2006 graduation ceremonies. Students, faculty and staff began returning in late September to their home campus for the 2006-2007 academic year.
Only five months after Katrina left Xavier’s campus four feet underwater, almost 75 percent of its students were back in New Orleans, where a delayed fall semester resumed in January 2006. Refurbished classroom space is now plentiful, and library and residence halls are close to their pre-storm condition. About half of the $50 million needed to reconstruct the campus has been raised to date.
The Mott Foundation's support for historically black colleges and universities dates to the late 1970s. Prior to the 2005-06 funding, Xavier had received five grants totaling $1.3 million, and Dillard had received six grants totaling $655,000.
In addition to the grants for the two colleges, Mott has awarded 15 grants totaling $3,057,000 to current and former grantees to assist in hurricane recovery efforts in community organizing, coastal restoration and assistance to displaced Louisiana residents living in Michigan.
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, established in 1926 in Flint, Michigan, by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited geographic basis, internationally. Besides Flint, offices are located in suburban Detroit, Johannesburg (South Africa) and London. Grantmaking is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area and Pathways Out of Poverty. The Foundation, with year-end total assets of $2.48 billion, made 549 grants totaling $123.2 million in 2005.
The Mott Foundation, established in 1926 by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited geographic basis, internationally. Grantmaking is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area and Pathways Out of Poverty. Besides Flint, offices are located in metropolitan Detroit, Johannesburg (South Africa) and London. The Foundation, with 2012 year-end assets of $2.28 billion, made 439 grants totaling $91 million. For more information, visit www.mott.org.
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