HBS To Welcome Students, Faculty Affected By Katrina

Harvard Business School (HBS) announced last week that it would offer limited levels of assistance to second-year MBA students, doctoral students, and business faculty from Gulf Coast universities shut down by Hurricane Katrina.

HBS’s decision to welcome selected students and faculty from the region came a week after Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, the School of Public Health, and the Graduate School of Education committed themselves to taking in 25 displaced students each for the fall term.

Several of Harvard’s other schools have also made plans to accommodate students from institutions forced to close temporarily after the storm hit the Gulf Coast about three weeks ago.

In a letter to the HBS community, HBS Dean Jay O. Light wrote that HBS will welcome some second-year MBA students, but it will not admit any first-year students, noting that the schools MBA program had already begun in the first week of September.

While first-year students at HBS follow a predetermined schedule of courses, the second-year curriculum permits greater flexibility by allowing students to choose classes.

“In special circumstances, we will try to accommodate a small number of second-year students in the elective

curriculum (second year) of the MBA program as special students for the

fall semester,” Light wrote. “These students may attend the remaining classes of several ongoing courses.”

Light also wrote in the letter that a number of displaced doctoral candidates will be able to continue their doctoral studies as visiting students at HBS this fall on a space-available basis.

HBS will also welcome faculty members from business schools in the Gulf Coast region, offering them assistance in conducting research during the fall term, Light wrote.

According to Light, HBS will assist students and faculty in finding housing for their time in Cambridge.

Collectively, the University plans to take in at least 125 displaced students, although that number is expected to grow once each of Harvard’s schools make their final admission decisions, as several of those schools have not yet determined the precise number of students they will accommodate.

Harvard’s Divinity School, Graduate School of Design, Kennedy School of Government, and Extension School have also all announced their intentions to accept displaced students as visiting students for the fall term, although they have not yet specified how many students they will each take.

Harvard Medical School has not yet stated its policy on displaced medical students, although the school is preparing to offer clinical rotation spots to students if necessary and is assisting with student relocations.

A number of Harvard’s schools have also made plans to provide scholarly assistance to faculty members from Gulf Coast universities.

The University will also match donations of up to $100 made by students, staff, and faculty to any of eight specific charitable relief organizations such as the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and the Bush-Clinton Relief Fund.

—Staff writer Joshua P. Rogers can be reached at jprogers@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.