Dillard University Checks the Weather Forecast When Setting Its Academic Calendar

After its campus was devastated by Hurricane Katrina last August, Dillard University, the historically black educational institution in New Orleans, closed its doors and then operated out of a downtown hotel during the Spring 2006 semester. But the university is set to move back to its campus this fall.

To avoid potential problems, the university has revised its academic calendar to avoid the peak hurricane season. Dillard will open September 25, about a month later than it has in the past. National Hurricane Center data shows that the vast majority of major hurricanes that come near New Orleans occur in August or September.

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