Admin Support Transcripts

1	Worldwide Attraction	The very best thing going on at SUNO is that we continue to exist. Unfortunately, it took a Katrina for us to gain the worldwide attraction that we have received. We have had reporters from Japan, Australia, and across the United States to come to see what's going on at SUNO. We feel good about that. Recently we had six Congressional members visit our campus. Good in that we can get them here. Not so good for the reason they had to come. We have a great outlook for our future. Our future is bright. And we look forward to seeing students continue to come to SUNO. We have 2,000 students enrolled this Spring 2006 semester. In the Fall 2006 semester, we will have 3,000 students enrolled at SUNO. What's good also is that traditionally we have been a commuter campus, we have now somewhat become a residential campus in that we have trailers. Our students will occupy in the not-too-distant future. That to me is good. As you know we have non-traditional students, so we are providing opportunities for them and their families, so that's good in my opinion. And I think we're on the right track at this time.
2	Contact Information	We're very pleased to help. My name is Miss Joy Tillis. The other recruiter is Mr. Henry Price. You can call Miss Litch, Miss Latamore. And if we're not available, you can call our director of admissions, Mrs. Timitio Bailey.
3	Life After Katrina	Hello, I'm Gloria Bartley Moultrie and I serve as the Vice-Chancellor for Community Outreach and University Advancement for SUNO, and we're talking today about life after Katrina. As a graduate of SUNO, I was rather disturbed when I first saw the campus. Seeing the campus in the condition it was in was not a good feeling. Buildings were full of water. And the smell around the campus, as well as around the city, is indescribable. Unimaginable. But being the resilient people we are, we have come back. Our main campus, 6400 Press Drive, is still not usable, but we have continued to forge ahead by providing academic opportunities for our students. Presently, we are operating on what we call our North Campus, located at 6801 Press Drive. It's about 38 acres of land that had previously been unoccupied. So to our good, this property is being used to create our university trailer community. We are told that it's the first of its kind in existence. We officially opened on Monday, February 13th. Fortunately, too, we have more than 2,000 students who have enrolled at SUNO. Prior to Katrina, we had more than 3,600. After that massive devastation, our students were spread throughout the United States as well as one or two countries abroad. Many of our students were housed and actually enrolled on the Baton Rouge campus. We had students enrolled in schools in Texas, Georgia, and throughout the country. But we have been able to get more than 2,000 students back to campus, and we are pleased that they have returned. We have had many questions from our alumni on SUNO's future. We are sad to report that many of our programs were cut, but we are delighted to report that we are still here, and we are looking toward a bright future at SUNO. Many of us know that the New Orleans that we previously knew is not the New Orleans that we know at this time and probably will never be the same again. But we encourage our alumni to remain in touch. And we will in turn remain in touch with them, even though they too are spread throughout the country and beyond. We have been able to maintain some contact with them via email. Alumni, if you see this, please send us your email at gmoultrie@suno.edu, and we look forward to continued contact with our SUNO alumni across the country and beyond.
4	The Faculty	Student: The faculty, really they've just shown up. A 100,000 people for the most part left this state; they [the teachers] didn't have to be here, they didn't have to come here, they didn't have to give up themselves, so to speak, in order to want to be a part of this. When you look at it from that perspective that really says a lot about the character of the faculty here at Southern University here at New Orleans.
5	Technology	It doesnt matter where you are in the country. I want you to enroll, engage and learn here at SUNO. You can use technology no matter where you are. We are looking for students who want to participate in this information age and want to better themselves for doing so.
6	Housing	It's unfolding as we go. But for the most part, initially, when we found out that FEMA was going to provide the housing trailers for us, we were all excited. Then we had to decide how we were going to do that. Right now, FEMA was a little late in providing the trailers for the students here on the North Campus, so they provided housing at the Marriott for our students. About 300 students, 400 including faculty and staff and administrators until the trailers are completed. And we just got word that within a couple of weeks our students will be moving from the Marriott hotel on Canal Street to the housing trailers here on campus. So we're working with the logistics of that. Most of what we have conveyed to the students has been via the website, flyers, word of mouth, and telephone calls. We have telephone numbers where we call students and invite them in to talk about issues and provide information that we need in order to make this transition from the Marriott hotel to the housing trailers possible. Prior to that time, when our students were displaced all over the United States, some of us actually traveled to the cities to recruit students. I was one of those persons who went out. I went to two universities in Texas to reclaim our students, and we were able to do that. At that time, we told them, look, I know you need some place to live and we're going to have housing trailers. So many of our students came back with the expectation of having some place to live. We initially thought 400 trailers would be okay. We had over 700 requests. So that's what we're struggling with now. I know that if we had more housing, our enrollment of 2000, which is really unbelievable, would be much more than that. But right now we are struggling with housing, but we're working through FEMA in terms of providing housing trailers for our students. And that's where we are.
7	Family Oriented	Student: What I love about SUNO is that we're very family oriented. Everybody has a voice at SUNO.
8	Several Degrees	SUNO is a place that gives you the opportunity to have not only mental growth and personal growth, but it gives you the opportunity to achieve a degree in several fields. Several of my co-workers are actually going for a master's in criminal justice. SUNO offers a variety of educational styles. To actually be an alumnus of SUNO, I think it would be a privilege being within the Southern University system.
9	Community Clean-Up	We had a community clean-up on Saturday. There were a lot of alumni involved. It was good. A lot of alumni came to support us, including myself. I am still a student, although I did graduate from here. It was a good turnout.
10	Students are Amazing	Teacher: Students here at SUNO this semester, they amaze me. Our students have gone through major disaster, a real struggle. But they are smiling, and laughing and working. And they are eager to learn. How can a professional not thoroughly enjoy that?
11	Community	Our students are wonderful. We have a wonderful relationship with the students. I have an open-door policy. Students can walk in any time. We have this relationship of trust and understanding. I tell everybody that I'm an advocate for students and students' rights. But I also advise the students of their responsibilities. I love students. I also love the family. The family feeling and the family environment. We're a close-knit group and small. And we work together. Unlike some large universities, we can pick up the phone and say, "Hey, can you help me out here?"
12	Opportunities	Student: My name is William Saint Julian. I'm from Lafayette, Louisiana. I'm a current student at SUNO, which is Southern University at New Orleans. I really love coming to the university, there's a lot of opportunities here. We have online classes and regular sit-in classes. The teachers are helpful and I just enjoy attending this school.
13	Enjoying It	It's been a long time since I've been – it's been over 10 years – this is the first time I've been back in 10 years. I'm attending Southern during the day, and night, and online. So I'm enjoying it immensely.
14	Admissions	The Office of Admissions of Southern University at New Orleans: 504.286.5314. 504.286.5314. The Office of Admissions of Southern University at New Orleans
15	Environment	Faculty: What I like about SUNO is the environment here. Everyone here is committed to the mission of SUNO. As I've said before, we're a family. Not only are we a family, but we are a family that makes outreach to the community as a community resource and I'm glad to be part of that network.
16	Here To Stay	The division of student affairs is what I refer to as the lifeline of the university. This is the division which provides services and programs that enhance the academic mission of the university. We have all kinds of activities that students are involved in so that they can be educated holistically. We have student activities and organizations, career counseling and placement, intramural sports, health services, a number of services for students with disabilities, veterans' affairs. Now we have housing, which is a biggie. SUNO was a community college until Katrina. And in order for us to survive, we needed students back, of course. And because we never had dormitories, students had to come back with no place to live. So now we're in a position that we call forced-housing, and we're logistically trying to make arrangements for our students to live in the housing trailers that are provided by FEMA. Any students who want to come now, we do have student housing, limited as it might be. But as students move out - we have some students who are graduating in May, so we'll have some openings for new students who think they want to come to Southern University of New Orleans. I've been at SUNO for 29 years, and I would work no place else. I like what we stand for. It's a unique university. The majority of our students are what we call non-traditional. They have families, they have jobs. They come to school and they succeed. The university contributes a lot to the community, and I think the community is aware of that. And we're here to stay.
17	SUNO Website	Student: The website is extremely important because it keeps us informed, it keeps us involved with what's going on, it's very informative, it is a great site because it just keeps you abrupt on everything that's going on at the university and I think it's very important.
18	Graduation From SUNO	I am graduating from this university. It's very important as an African-American individual. And also it gives me enrichment for my soul. This is not just a place where I come to learn, but it has actually become a part of me. It's a part of my being. I bring it home, and I bring it everywhere I go. Southern University is here to stay and we need everyone to come around and support us.