Benedictine comes to aid of students, universities affected by Katrina
9/6/2005

Phil Brozynski, Media Relations Manager
(630) 829-6094
pbrozynski@ben.edu

Benedictine University President William J. Carroll has answered a call for help from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) by announcing late Thursday that Benedictine will accept students displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The students would only pay that tuition due to their Katrina-stricken institutions, and those monies would then be forwarded to those institutions so they would be able to meet their financial obligations. If tuition has already been paid to the stricken school, Benedictine will honor that commitment.

“The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) put out a status report today (Thursday) on our sister colleges and a request for help,” Carroll said. “The situation in many schools is dire. This disaster caused me to wonder what would happen to us if we were faced with such a tragedy.”

Carroll said Benedictine would: accept at face value “temporarily” displaced students from a Katrina-stricken school; those students will come to Benedictine paying what they would pay at their home school; the students will be seen as “temporary” Benedictine students with all rights and privileges; and tuition collected, in its entirety, will be sent to the Katrina-stricken institution.

“Students would also be provided free room (space permitting),” Carroll said.

Using the guidelines set forth by Carroll, the damaged institution will continue to have a cash flow and displaced students will not lose ground academically.

“My hope is that other ACCU institutions might adopt this model,” Carroll said. “Through this offer, I hope to treat others as we would like to be treated in a similar situation.”

Carroll has also contacted representatives of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council of Independent Colleges for their support and that of their member institutions.

Students displaced from Gulf Coast colleges and universities seeking to enroll at Benedictine should contact Barb Dwyer, director of community development, at (630) 829-6003 or by e-mail at bdwyer@ben.edu.

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