A statement from President John L. Hennessy in response to Hurricane Katrina disaster

As residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region struggle to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Stanford is committed to help. We continue to offer our heartfelt sympathy and prayers for those who are suffering in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast.

Below is a summary of the steps we have begun to take in response to the disaster. In the days ahead we will continue to assess our role in supporting relief efforts and update this web site as additional steps are taken.

The Office of Student Affairs is working to contact all Stanford students who may have been in the areas affected by the hurricane to see what assistance we can provide to them, including housing, financial aid and counseling.

For undergraduate students who are admitted to universities that have closed because of Hurricane Katrina:

• Stanford will be admitting academically qualified students from these universities as non-matriculated students for the fall quarter, which starts on September 26 and ends on December 16. Students should note that most schools are on the semester system, while Stanford uses the quarter system. The home university will decide how to credit these courses toward their degrees.

• Preference will be given to students from the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Stanford will provide housing on campus for students who are accepted.

• Stanford wishes to support the home universities that have been damaged by the hurricane. Thus, the students admitted are expected to return to their home campuses. While the financial details will need to be finalized, Stanford will not charge the students and their families tuition to attend Stanford. Students should continue to pay tuition to their home universities. Students will only have to pay Stanford for room and board and incidental expenses. Stanford will work with students, their families, and the home institutions on financial aid issues.

An application form is available at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ucomm/gulf/studentinfo/.

Deans of our professional schools have also committed themselves to assisting in whatever way possible. The law school has already agreed to admit on a limited basis third year law students from two law schools that have closed because of hurricane damage. The Medical School dean reports that he has been in contact with the director of the National Institutes for Health and that Stanford Medical School will participate in a coordinated national effort to respond to the medical and health issues prompted by the disaster. Stanford graduate schools and departments are working to provide assistance to displaced graduate students and faculty.

The university also is committed to help the affected area by allowing those Stanford employees wishing to volunteer their time to hurricane relief efforts the opportunity to do so under certain conditions. Employees approved to participate may take up to one week leave time which Stanford will match with a week of paid leave. Requests for leave will need the approval of the employee's supervisor and will be subject to the operational needs of the department. We will post details of this initiative shortly. In addition, Stanford will work with student, staff and faculty groups who are supporting disaster relief efforts through fundraising events. More information is available at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ucomm/gulf/relief/.

Finally, the university will continue to work with the Association of American Universities and other groups in an effort to coordinate assistance to the academic institutions affected in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast.

We will continue to provide details on these and other efforts through regular updates to this web site.

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