After Katrina, Xavier University in New Orleans transforms its campus

March 12, 2012
Flooded campus has re-emerged with the help of $80 million in funding

From The New Orleans Times-Picayune: The campus of Xavier University in New Orleans sat for weeks in Hurricane Katrina floodwaters as deep as 6 feet at what was supposed to be the start of the fall semester in 2005. But when restoration of the nation's only historically black Catholic college began, nearly $80 million started flowing in from the federal government, private donors and the oil-rich nation of Qatar. A chapel designed by architect Cesar Pelli is nearing completion. A residence hall that had been scheduled for demolition has been reborn as a modern, glass-walled center for academic and health services. A master plan for the campus, with its signature green roofs, had been in the works before disaster struck, and the university has been carrying it out since the school reopened in 2006.