Robert Collins, chair of the urban studies and public policy department at Dillard University in New Orleans, will speak Sept. 26 at the University of Colorado at Boulder on the relative costs of preventing and recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Collins' presentation, "Lessons From the Drowning Pool: Analyzing the Past and Future of Disaster Mitigation Planning Following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans," will begin at 4 p.m. in the auditorium inside Old Main on the CU-Boulder campus.
The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by CU-Boulder's Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement and the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society.
Collins believes current federal disaster policy in the United States is biased in favor of recovery and against mitigation. Because funds were not available for specific mitigation projects, New Orleans was not able to prevent the catastrophic effects of a major hurricane, according to Collins. The ultimate effect was a significant loss of life and property, and the costs of rebuilding the city will be many times higher than the costs of preventing the destruction.
His presentation will compare the financial costs of mitigation and recovery, list specific projects that could have reduced the effects of the hurricane and offer specific policy recommendations to avoid loss of life from future hurricanes. The talk is based on a paper Collins presented at the Urban Affairs Association's annual meeting in April and is updated to include Hurricane Katrina.
Collins is chair and assistant professor in the urban studies and public policy department at Dillard University, where he also serves as dean of the division of social sciences. He currently conducts research in the areas of urban planning, redeveloping central city areas and disaster mitigation policy. He also serves as a consultant to public agencies and private corporations, assessing the economic impact of business location decisions and the risk of disasters in specific geographic areas as well as writing plans to mitigate the effects of natural disasters in urban areas.
Collins holds bachelor's and master's degrees in communications and a doctorate in urban studies, all from the University of New Orleans. Before beginning his professional academic career, Collins served as a congressional staff member, holding the position of field assistant to former U.S. Sen. Bennett Johnston.
Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college of about 2,000 students that has been a "partner institution" with CU-Boulder since 2002. The partnership involves shared curriculum, joint programs involving students and faculty, summer research experiences and other programs. The partnership was initiated and is led by the ATLAS Institute at CU-Boulder, and involves a formal agreement between the heads of the two campuses.
Collins has been part of the partnership as one of the two main Dillard participants in a summer student/faculty program in 2004 that focused on issues of water in New Orleans and Colorado. During that program, a group of CU-Boulder and Dillard participants visited a pumping station in New Orleans.
Dillard has suspended its operations for the fall semester but is communicating with its students on ways they can continue to work on their degrees, including transferring credits from other institutions, while a plan for rebuilding is implemented. Dillard plans to resume operations for the spring 2006 semester.
Earlier this month, CU-Boulder established a "CU Campaign for Dillard University" to assist the university in its rebuilding effort and secured a $10,000 challenge grant from two anonymous donors in the first few days of the drive. Anyone interested in assisting Dillard University is welcome to contribute.
For more information on how to join CU-Boulder relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina, including the CU Campaign for Dillard, visit .