Xavier U faces post-Katrina woes

Today's New York Times brought out a further impact Hurricane Katrina has had and will have on the black community in the deep south. Two historically black universities (Xavier and Dillard) suffered serious damage from flooding, but do not have the endowments or, sadly enough, the kinds of insurance, that can help them dig out without impacting their students' and staff members' futures. Neither university had "cessation of work" insurance, and so paychecks are in question, leaving the schools open to loss of key faculty members. It seems that they did not have flood insurance. And their small endowments are not open to general use.

Xavier has the distinction, of course, not only of being the only historically black Catholic college in the country; it is the only one in the country (as far as I can recall) ever to be founded by a saint, St. Katharine Drexel. Actually, very few universities in the world have that distinction. And Xavier has made enormous contributions to the black community in its long history. Let's pray it can continue to do so.

 

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