State-of-the-art facilities add to the university’s prestige and play a significant role in recruitment of students, faculty and staff.

To secure its future, Dillard University must provide an environment that promotes learning and teaching in the 21st century.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Dillard University campus, it caused more than $400 million in damages and fiscal losses. To get from where we were pre-Katrina to where we intend to be requires a substantial capital investment.

The massive renovations and code upgrades of the Will W. Alexander Library, Rosenwald Hall, Stern Hall, Lawless Assembly Hall and Chapel, and Kearny and Cook Halls are examples of how private funding for campus facilities fulfills practical and aesthetic needs. With its long history, Dillard has an obligation to preserve the beauty of buildings from the past, as well to create new facilities that will accommodate its growth.

Two new state-of-the-art, twenty first century facilities have been completed. One is the recently-opened, 127,000-square-foot Professional Schools and Sciences Building, which houses the schools of business and nursing, and classrooms for mathematics, computer science, and chemistry. This facility is the first Gold Leed Certified academic building in Lousiana. The other is the 55,000-square-foot Student Union and Recreation, Health and Wellness Center which is pending Gold Leed certification.

Those who study and work in a university deserve suitable buildings, classrooms, laboratories and the best equipment to reach their full potential.

Private support is increasingly critical in providing Dillard with the financial resources necessary to enable the university to provide an optimal learning environment. An investment of at least $5 million is needed to sustain and strengthen Dillard.