Campus Alert Archive
UNO

$100 Million in Damage and the First New Orleans University to Reopen — Online, From Wherever Students Had Internet

LAhurricaneadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Hurricane Katrina struck the University of New Orleans Lakefront campus on August 29, 2005, causing more than $100 million in damage primarily from wind, rain, and human activity during the storm. The London Avenue Canal levee breach south of campus flooded the first floor of Bienville Hall, the Lafitte Village apartments, and the Engineering Building, but the Lakefront campus's relative elevation spared most of the site from catastrophic flooding. UNO became the first of the large damaged New Orleans universities to reopen, launching a fully online fall 2005 'virtual semester' in October 2005 alongside satellite-campus classes in Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish. The Lakefront campus reopened for in-person instruction in December 2005. The case is significant as the earliest documented large-scale post-disaster pivot to online instruction in US higher education.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of New Orleans
Public R2 · LA
~17,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPhone
Approximate reconstruction511 chars
[University of New Orleans is suspending operations and closing the Lakefront campus ahead of Hurricane Katrina. Residence-hall students must evacuate today; commuter students should not return to campus until further notice. Faculty and staff: secure laboratories, computer equipment, and academic records. The university anticipates closure for several days; communication will resume as soon as conditions permit. Updates will be posted to the UNO website and communicated through college-level phone trees.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UNO had no formal mass-notification system in 2005; communication relied on the UNO website, college-level phone trees, and physical signage
The Lakefront campus is on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain — relatively elevated, which spared most of the campus from the worst flooding but exposed it to severe wind and rain damage; a London Avenue Canal levee breach south of campus did flood Bienville Hall's first floor, Lafitte Village apartments, and the Engineering Building
Pre-landfall evacuation of UNO residence halls began on August 27, 2005, before Mayor Nagin's August 28 mandatory-evacuation order
UPDATEWebsite
Approximate reconstruction786 chars
[University of New Orleans has sustained severe wind and rain damage to multiple buildings on the Lakefront campus; preliminary damage estimates exceed $100 million. A London Avenue Canal levee breach south of campus flooded the first floor of Bienville Hall, the Lafitte Village couples apartments, and the Engineering Building, but the campus's relative elevation spared most of the Lakefront site from catastrophic flooding. UNO is without power and inaccessible. UNO will NOT cancel the fall 2005 semester. The university is developing a fully online fall 2005 program ('Virtual UNO') and is identifying satellite locations in Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish for in-person classes. Returning students should monitor the UNO website and check email for course-section reassignment.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UNO's decision NOT to cancel the fall 2005 semester distinguished it from Tulane, Loyola, Dillard, and Xavier — all of which canceled fall 2005
The 'Virtual UNO' fully online program launched in October 2005 and is widely considered the earliest large-scale post-disaster online-pivot in US higher education
Satellite in-person classes were held in Baton Rouge (LSU facilities) and at the UNO Jefferson Center in Metairie
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction562 chars
[Virtual UNO online courses are now operational. Approximately 60 percent of pre-Katrina students have re-enrolled for fall 2005 in online or satellite-campus modes. The Lakefront campus is anticipated to reopen for in-person classes in early December 2005 for the final weeks of the semester. UNO is the first of the large damaged New Orleans universities to resume operations. Students with disrupted financial aid or housing should contact the appropriate UNO office; counseling resources are available through the College of Education and Human Development.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

UNO's enrollment dropped sharply after Katrina and never fully recovered to pre-storm levels
Lakefront campus reopened for in-person instruction in December 2005, the earliest in-person reopening among the large damaged New Orleans universities
The Virtual UNO model influenced subsequent disaster-response planning at universities nationwide and is cited in DOE post-disaster guidance
Context

Background

The University of New Orleans is a public R2 institution on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, founded in 1958. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, UNO's Lakefront campus sat on relatively elevated terrain — high enough to be spared the catastrophic flooding that destroyed the Dillard and Xavier campuses, but fully exposed to the wind and rain of a Category 3 landfall. A London Avenue Canal levee breach just south of campus did flood the first floor of Bienville Hall, the Lafitte Village couples apartments, and the Engineering Building, but the bulk of the Lakefront site escaped the deep inundation seen elsewhere in New Orleans. Damage to UNO buildings exceeded $100 million, with structural impacts to the library, research laboratories, and student-life facilities. What distinguished UNO from its New Orleans peers was the institutional response: rather than cancel the fall 2005 semester (as Tulane, Loyola, Dillard, and Xavier all did), UNO chose to restart the semester online in October 2005. The 'Virtual UNO' program — a fully online fall semester delivered through Blackboard and email correspondence — is widely considered the earliest large-scale post-disaster online-instruction pivot in US higher education, predating the COVID-19 pivot by 15 years. UNO supplemented Virtual UNO with in-person satellite classes at LSU in Baton Rouge and at the UNO Jefferson Center in Metairie. The Lakefront campus reopened for in-person classes in December 2005. Although UNO's enrollment dropped sharply after Katrina and never fully recovered to pre-storm levels, the university's decision to maintain academic continuity through online and satellite modes shaped how the higher-education sector approached subsequent disasters — from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Analysis

Key Findings

UNO was the first of the large damaged New Orleans universities to reopen, launching 'Virtual UNO' fully online classes in October 2005
The Lakefront campus's relative elevation spared most of the site from catastrophic flooding (though a London Avenue Canal levee breach south of campus flooded Bienville Hall's first floor, Lafitte Village apartments, and the Engineering Building) but exposed the university to over $100 million in wind and rain damage
Virtual UNO is widely considered the earliest large-scale post-disaster online-instruction pivot in US higher education, predating COVID-19 by 15 years
UNO did NOT cancel the fall 2005 semester — distinguishing it from Tulane, Loyola, Dillard, and Xavier, all of which did
UNO's pre-Katrina enrollment of ~17,000 dropped sharply after the storm and never fully recovered to pre-storm levels
Outcome
All students evacuated successfully ahead of landfall on August 29, 2005. Campus damage exceeded $100 million from wind, rain-driven water, and looting. UNO did not cancel the semester; instead it launched a fully online fall 2005 program in October and held in-person classes at satellite locations in Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish. The Lakefront campus reopened in December 2005. Enrollment dropped sharply post-Katrina and never fully recovered to pre-storm levels.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Source
    University of New Orleans - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  2. Report
    Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Universities - AAUP Report
    aaup.org
  3. Report
    Institutions Affected by Katrina: 'The Louisiana Story' - AACRAO
    aacrao.org
  4. Source
    Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  5. Source
    Challenging recovery for New Orleans universities after hurricane devastation - Physics Today
    physicstoday.aip.org
Tags
hurricanekatrinalouisianapublic-r2online-pivotvirtual-unosatellite-campushistoricalpre-modern-alertinglakefrontwind-damage
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion