The University of Memphis has been awarded a place on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its efforts after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in August 2005.
The U of M was one of the 141 colleges and universities that received the designation out of over 500 that applied.
In the aftermath of Katrina, the U of M received over 300 students, with 82 coming from the University of New Orleans.
Other schools with large amounts of transfers were Xavier University with 36 students, Dillard University with 34 and Tulane University with 26. All those schools are located in New Orleans.
David Cox, executive assistant to the president at the University of Memphis, said such a distinction helps The University's reputation nationally.
"We filled out a pretty extensive application that detailed the number of participants and the dollar values involved," he said. "We essentially served as the gateway to the state educational system. Any students that wanted to go here, we helped them do that, but those who wanted to go somewhere else were directed there as well. Athletically, we got some recognition for hosting Southern Miss at the beginning of the season."
Cox also noted the help The U of M gave to displaced faculty members. For example, a criminal justice faculty member from Tulane helped design a community policing initiative for the area around the U of M campus.
The awards were presented soon after a study by the Corporation for National and Community Service was released that showed student volunteering increased by about 20 percent from 2002 to 2005.
The study also said that students from 16-24 who are enrolled in school are more likely to volunteer than those not enrolled.
Cox said that student involvement was remarkable.
"There were extensive student activities, from raising money here to students volunteering on the Gulf Coast during breaks," he said. "Many people were impressed at the level of involvement from the entire university."
Keith Cox, senior mathematics major, said the displaced students fit in well with everyone else.
"I remember several weeks into class a number of new students coming in," he said.
"They had to move desks in the room because of the extra people, but other than the fact that the class was bigger and they showed up later in the semester you really wouldn't have noticed. They mixed in very well."
As for what the award means to The U of M, he was not quite sure.
"It certainly looks good for us to help those who need it, but we're not the only ones," he said. "Just about anybody will do what they can in a situation like that. What impressed me most was what we did for Southern Miss. To help a rival shows me more about the football team and the university as a whole than this award does."
