And how could I forget about the Friendship Oak.  It lost some limbs and most of its leaves.  I sure hope it can come back.

Here's the link for the pictures:
http://poobal.net/picturebook/album29

Damon:  glad to hear you are well and thanks for the photos. Tom stayed with us during the storm and then went back to campus to see--he also got some on-the-scene photos of Gulf Park, which I am providing to the dean for a meeting he will attend tomorrow morning.  The cabinet and deans are supposed to discuss exactly what to do about GC operations. I had wanted to attend the meeting as well, but it is limited to cabinet and the deans only.

Given the photos, it appears to me that a concerted effort to rebuild could have some operations back up and running by spring semester--possibly even in time for an intensive 8W2 session IF roadways (particularly Hwy 90) can be rebuilt in time.

Incidentally, Tom and myself have either spoken with or heard positive reports on each of the CoAL Coast faculty. We've still not heard from Deb Cole--our beloved staff member--and hope that anyone who has will let one of us know. I know for certain that many of our faculty's homes are either unlivable or completely washed away, so perhaps my desire to see GP back up and running isn't realistic given the housing situation.  I'll post more after tomorrow's meeting and will also try to email or call all Coast CoAL faculty with news. 

If anyone needs to contact me w/ questions or concerns, please use my off-campus email, as I can't seem to get webmail to work at the moment from where I am:    drvh_usm@yahoo.com

Denise

Colleagues,

Last Saturday I toured the Gulf Campus and found a degree of good and bad news.
The first floors of the Library and AEC had some damage but were actually in
very good shape (there was some minor exterior damage to the AEC). The former
Business and Holloway complexes were also in relatively good shape. Several of
the smaller buildings on campus, including the old Toy Library and the Cook
building received significant, catastrophic damage.

The Friendship Oak faired well with some minor damage, and there were numerous
trees down around the campus. The Provost's House is gone. There is significant
debris around campus, including files, equipment and personal items. 

The first floors of Hardy Hall, the Admin. Building and Lloyd wall were
essentially gutted, with the most damage to Hardy. However, the upper floors
were in remarkably good shape. My office, Hardy Hall 225 (facing the Gulf)
received no damage whatsoever. A random check of other College of Arts and
Letters (CoAL) offices also revealed no damage.

Students are desperate for information and I spoke with several on Saturday who
came on campus when they recognized my vehicle. In addition, I have been in
contact with others. You may refer CoAL students to me to answer questions by
email at this USM address or tlansford@sprintmail.com or by phone 228 343 2629.
There are a number of USM Gulf Coast students in shelters and any and all aid
would be greatly appreciated. My home in Pass Christian is gone, but my family
and I were taken in by the von Herrmanns in Hattiesburg during the storm and
have been with friends in Atlanta since. I came down on Saturday with
volunteers (including a USM alum and former graduate student Jack
Covarrubias)and returned today to make a more detailed inspection of the campus
and help recovery efforts. I intend to stay through the week before returning
to Atlanta and then back to H'burg for the start of the semester. While I am
here, please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests. In
addition to my aforementioned cell number, you may also try 228 297 7845.

A team led by Dr. Pat Joachim and including Shelia White, Harlan McDonald,
Dayonne Maguire, etc., met this morning to discuss the campus. In addition, the
President and Deans will meet tomorrow in H'burg to discuss the Coast. I would
urge faculty to contact their respective chairs and deans to affirm the loyalty
and dedication of the faculty and staff of the campus to the campus, and our
desire to continue operations, though in an appropriate manner given the
tragedy faced by students, faculty and staff and their families.

One proposal under consideration is to move some or all operations to the former
Garden Park Medical facility. In addition, many may be unaware, but a campus
meeting was called for Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, at 9:00 at the Long Beach High
School. Those who are unable to attend please forward any questions or concerns
to me and I will make advocate on their behalf, or at least make the issues
known. I apologize for the short notice of the meeting and I only found out
about the session this evening through the local news. Finally, at the session,
those without direct deposit will be able to pick-up their paychecks at that
time.

I wish everyone the best during this period. Please let me know if you need
anything or are aware of students, faculty or staff who are in need. I had some limited success in raising funds and supplies, and have been able to identify a few places for people to stay if they are in need. If anyone has heard from Deb Cole, Robin Johnson or Kathy Mathis, please let me know immediately. Otherwise, all CoAL members on the coast are have been reported safe.

Best regards and please keep those less fortunate in your thoughts and prayers,
Tom Lansford

It's a "Gulf Coast" wide meeting, so I believe anyone from any campus along the Coast is welcome tomorrow morning at 9 at the Cleveland Avenue Long Beach high stadium.  What we know from today's meeting is that

1) the administration is strongly committed to rebuilding operations on the Coast and is looking at options.

2) they don't want folks going to Gulf Park because of concerns for safety as the first floors were so heavily damaged that no one knows if the structures are really sound enough to support additional weight on the second/third floors.

3) everyone who wants to continue to teach and who can be flexible about days/times/places is still needed and wanted. In CoAL, we are meeting with our department chairs tomorrow at 2 pm and will ask them to give our Coast faculty every option and work with them to provide continuing opportunities for them to teach students at the Coast.  If some wish to come temporarily to Hattiesburg that will be considered an option as well.  For any Coast CoAL faculty reading this--please try to get in touch with your chair asap.  Internet IS finally working again in LAB.

As I offered previously, if any GC Arts/Letters faculty have questions and can't get through to Tom, please try me at home 601-583-9780 or email through drvh_usm@yahoo.com

Denise

Did anyone else catch SFT on WLOX right after lunch today?  I hate to paraphrase him because I am so skeptical of everything he says; I'm afraid I will color his comments unintentionally.

He was interviewed after inspecting some of the facilities on the coast, but he had not yet toured the main Long Beach campus.  JL Scott is history apparently.  But no classes were taught there; so the loss will not affect teaching, just research.

We are going to turn this lemon into lemonade.  The faculty that aren't able to teach traditional classes now will be able to develop computer based classes.  We will extend the deadlines for registration so that people who had not yet completed the process or those who have decided they want to go to college can still enroll for the Fall 2005 semester.  There will be a lot of folks who can't attend other coast facilities that will be lining up to go to USM.

Some of the USM-Gulf Coast buildings will be able to house classes as usual; others will not.  But the good news is that the third floor of the library is not being used, so we will be able to offer classes in there as long as need be. ("Now we don't like to do this," he says, "but we have to do what we have to do.")

When asked what steps had been taken to secure USM prior to the storm, SFT reported that faculty were constantly reminded to update their records and store that information on computer disks.  Not everyone always does what he tells them to do, but maybe now everyone will see how important it is.