Hooper Eblen Center and the Fitness Center have been preparing this past week to serve as possible temporary shelters for some of the thousands of displaced residents of New Orleans, Biloxi and other cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. At this point, however, it's not known whether any evacuees will actually be directed here.

A Louisiana state trooper from Minden, La., ducks power lines in search of survivors on Treasure Street in New Orleans last week. Law enforcement officers were dispatched from all parishes north and west of New Orleans. Photo by Jake Decoteau of Ascension Parish and posted by nola.com.

Within days of the category four storm, Gov. Phil Bredesen and the presidents of colleges and universities throughout Tennessee had offered various facilities to relief workers seeking sanctuaries for people who have lost their homes and jobs in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Various logistical problems, including sheer distance, have so far prevented evacuation to Tennessee in large numbers, but as shelters in Texas — which have already pulled in more than 250,000 evacuees — reach capacity, the state will see more. Whether any will come to campus or Putnam County is still unknown at this point.

"It's hard to just sit by and watch the anguish of our neighbors to the south," says President Bob Bell. "We're doing everything we can to be ready if called upon to house evacuees. I can't imagine what those people are going through; it's heartbreaking."

Over Labor Day weekend, staff members worked on plans to outfit the two buildings on campus most suitable for large numbers of people. They secured telephone, Internet and cable lines to help evacuees get in touch with family and friends, and they began assembling a volunteer staff to help coordinate any influx of evacuees.

Sheltering evacuees in neighboring states falls largely to the American Red Cross, which is expecting 1,000 a day in Tennessee this week. Once refugees arrive in Nashville, the Red Cross will direct them to various shelters around the state.

Because evacuees will likely be staying in shelters for some time, months even, Putnam County has been lowered on the list of sites; our campus isn't set up to accommodate evacuees for long periods of time. Ultimately, the number of evacuees who come to Tennessee will determine whether any will be routed to campus.

On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Bredesen estimated that at least 15,000 people displaced by Katrina had already arrived in Tennessee. Memphis, being closer to the affected areas, had absorbed more than 10,000 evacuees.

MBA Studies Director Bob Wood, left, helps New Orleans graduate student Joe Henican register for fall semester.

Like the rest of our TBR peers, we've also made arrangements to ease the transfer of any students whose college studies are being disrupted by the storm and its aftermath. Loyola University graduate student Joe Henican (see full story) is now studying in our MBA program. As of yesterday, one other graduate student and an undergraduate student had enrolled here. The University of Memphis has enrolled about 200 students from affected areas; and the University of Tennessee has enrolled about 70.

Whether our facilities serve as shelters or not, there are other ways to help. Visit the university's Hurricane Katrina web site to see which campus groups are raising money for disaster relief and for links to related sites. E-mail ttunews if you have campus announcements to add to the site.