In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Brian Bromberger, dean of the Loyola School of Law, did not waste any time in taking action.
The day after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Seth Chandler, vice dean at the University of Houston Law Center, e-mailed Bromberger pledging to do whatever he could to help.
In the following weeks, Bromberger began piecing together an administration crew to help reassemble the School of Law and temporarily relocate it to Houston.
Bromberger, along with his assistant, associate dean, chief fundraiser, financial aid officer and admissions director, worked in a spare office on the University of Houston’s campus while trying to draw out a plan.
“I was determined not to let the flag come down the pole. Loyola law school would be operating… somehow,” Bromberger said.
Barbra Wilson, assistant to the dean, had evacuated to Texas and contacted Bromberger just days after the storm.
“After asking if I was OK, the next thing he asked me was if I brought my working shoes,” Wilson said. Bromberger continued to relay his plan to Wilson, and a few days later, she was there to help.
“Initially it was very chaotic. The University of Houston had given us a spare office to work from, and we had no time to waste,” Wilson said.
The six-member crew shared a small office with two desks and one telephone. The common goal remained unanimous: “not to miss a beat.”
Without knowing the number of students that were going to attend, the Rev. Lawrence Moore, S.J., associate dean, faced the task of creating a class schedule. Classrooms at the University of Houston Law Center were booked everyday besides Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays. With just those three days and access to one auditorium during the week, Moore was able to “piggyback” a schedule of more than 40 classes.
“Father Moore was a miracle worker. Not only did he schedule the classes, he scheduled them around the faculties availability,” Bromberger said.
Classes were set and faculty was flown in from as far as Park City, Utah, to Washington, D.C.
Andy Piacun, budget director of the School of Law, had the responsibility of handling all expenses acquired by faculty traveling in and out of Houston.
“We made great use of the university credit cards,” Piacun said.
“We were able to directly charge some hotel and travel expenses for those who had difficulties and also cover living expenses with occasional cash advances,” he said.
With financial concern out of the way, one major question remained: How many students were going to arrive?
“We had no idea how many students were going to show up,” Bromberger said.
With no foolproof way of contacting the students, Bromberger’s friend offered to setup a blog.
“I didn’t even know what a blog was – but it worked,” Bromberger said.
Ashley Rosenbloum, a first-year law student, said that before she found out about the move to Houston, she was at “a total loss” about the situation.
“My dad suggested that I start submitting my applications to other law schools for the next year’s program ‘just in case.’ I was devastated by the idea.”
Rosenbloum’s mother was the first in her family and circle of friends to discover that the School of Law would be temporarily relocating to Houston.
Immediately Rosenbloum began looking for a place to stay in Houston. “I was very lucky,” Rosenbloum said. “My boyfriend is a real estate agent, and his family lives in Houston.”
For those not as fortunate as Rosenbloum, Wilson had already put together a list of apartments and realtors to distribute to all of the attending students.
“I was contacting every realtor around,” Wilson said. “I even called the local radio stations. Sooner than later it all worked out and everyone was able to get housing once they got there.”
Classes resumed on Oct. 3 at the temporary Houston location.
“It was certainly an experience,” Rosenbloum said. “Our professors kept telling us that if we could survive the first semester of the first year of law school – under these conditions – we could do anything.”
Jared Bailey can be reached at [email protected].
