Hurricane Katrina

After the storm, athletics facilities at Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge were transformed into an 800-bed field hospital to treat evacuees from New Orleans. (Photograph by Jim Zietz, LSU)

Shaken by the storm, dozens of colleges on the Gulf Coast begin to grasp the damage done and the tasks ahead.
After the storm, athletics facilities at Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge were transformed into an 800-bed field hospital to treat evacuees from New Orleans. (Photograph by Jim Zietz, LSU)

• SOUTHERN COMFORTS: A community-college freshman returns to her dormitory and is relieved to find her laptop, Louisiana hot sauce, and SpongeBob pillow.
• WHAT ABOUT OUR EDUCATION? Two medical students thought they'd wait it out. They were eventually evacuated and now are wondering what will happen next.
• COOKING UP A STORM: The Roman Catholic nuns at Xavier University of Louisiana knew what to do when Katrina approached.
• CANCELLATIONS: A list of conferences that will be moved from New Orleans.
• A SINGULAR OUTPOURING: Americans are donating to hurricane relief at an unprecedented pace, but will that last?

The storm affected dozens of colleges in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, leaving some unable to reopen while others prepared to accept displaced students.

Tulane has canceled its fall semester as officials try to put the university back on its feet from a command post in Houston, 350 miles from New Orleans.

Colleges in the United States and abroad have opened their doors to an estimated 100,000 displaced students. But with the offers of admission come tight deadlines and logistical challenges.

Dillard University's president scrambles to raise money, as well as spirits, to help save the historically black university.

Librarians are worried about the fate of books and research collections in flooded areas.

Sean Duffy fled Loyola University New Orleans before the hurricane and spent time in a shelter and with friends before reaching home.

A climatologist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology once doubted that global warming was making hurricanes worse. After more research, he has changed his mind.

The Internet was a crucial tool of communications in the storm's aftermath.

• RESOURCES ON THE WEB: A list of sites to help students and institutions affected by the hurricane.
• FREE ONLINE COURSES: A group of universities in several states is putting together a collection of 400 online courses that will be offered free to students whose educations have been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina.

Bill Lavender, director of a writing program at the University of New Orleans, describes his escape from the flooded city.

The storm has led David D. Perlmutter, a professor at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, to realize the importance of sympathy in the classroom.