USC is enrolling students displaced from colleges and universities, especially in the New Orleans area, on a case-by-case basis, he said. The University also volunteered a facility on Pickens Street, the former Naval Reserve building, as a processing center for evacuees being flown to Columbia from the Gulf Coast.

“Everyone has come together with incredible enthusiasm,” Sorensen said. “The selfless, altruistic way in which they responded makes me so proud to be president of this University. It’s extraordinary. I’m just overwhelmed by the response that the University community has made.”

Displaced students who enroll at USC will be considered transient students and won’t have to submit transcripts, test scores, or other records that might have been destroyed by the hurricane.

“They can be admitted immediately and can sign up for classes provided we have space available in those classes,” Sorensen said. “Some of those students have very exact and specific requests. One student, for example, who is applying to medical school needs an advanced organic chemistry class this semester.”

More students are transferring to the law school than any other college. Twelve students had enrolled by Sept. 7, and about three more were expected to enroll, said Burnele Powell, dean of the law school.

The University also is helping displaced students with housing and financial assistance.
Sorensen volunteered the University’s building on Pickens Street in response to U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s request that Columbians respond to the catastrophic hurricane. The University’s Board of Trustees approved with no “hesitation or equivocation,” Sorensen said.

Rick Kelly, the University’s chief financial officer, and his staff worked around the clock Labor Day weekend to have the facility, which was not scheduled for use until December or January, ready for evacuees. Bill Hogue, the University’s chief information officer, and his staff also worked 24 hours to install telephone and computer lines.

The University’s facility on Pickens Street will accommodate regular evacuees, who will be brought directly to the center, and medical evacuees. Evacuees with severe medical problems will be admitted to Palmetto Health Richland hospital. Evacuees with less severe medical conditions will be treated at the University’s outpatient clinic on the hospital’s campus.

Many faculty members also have volunteered to open their homes to professors displaced by the hurricane. Ted Moore in the provost’s office is coordinating the effort to find housing for faculty displaced by the hurricane.
Provost Mark Becker said the University’s first priority immediately after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast was to the more than 300 students at USC from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

“Dennis Pruitt [vice president for student affairs] was able to identify the students, and personal contact was made with each student so that if they had needs or concerns about their families in the impacted area or other issues, those needs would be met, and we had counselors available to help students who were affected by the disaster,” Becker said.

“I want to compliment all the faculty, deans, and student services. Everybody who has been asked to step up and help these students has done so. It makes me very proud to be a member of the Carolina family. The response has been heartwarming to watch.”

Renée Gibson at the Institute for Families in Society is a certified liaison with the American Red Cross and is helping coordinate the University’s relief efforts. To reach her, call 7-1121 or e-mail gibson@gwm.sc.edu. Comprehensive information and answers to many common questions about voluntering and other aspects of USC’s response to Hurricane Katrina is online at www.sc.edu/Katrina.

At the Faculty Senate meeting, which followed the General Faculty Meeting, Becker said the search for the campus dean of the S.C. College of Pharmacy is under way, and the search committee is reviewing applications. The search for dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology is moving forward. An ad for the position should appear in the Chronicle of High Education and other appropriate outlets soon, Becker said.

The next General Faculty Meeting will be held at 2 p.m. April 26, 2006, in the School of Law Auditorium. The next Faculty Senate meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Oct. 5 in the School of Law Auditorium.

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