For Immediate Release

SEPTEMBER 1, 2005

Contact: Sarah Molina
Communications and Marketing Writer
for Editorial Services
(405) 208-5348 or smolina@okcu.edu


Unprecedented Generosity: Oklahoma City University Offers Free Tuition to Any Student Affected by Hurricane Katrina

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University President Tom McDaniel announced Thursday the university will offer free tuition to any student enrolled at a college or university affected by Hurricane Katrina.

This includes but is not limited to students at the following New Orleans schools: Dillard University, Loyola University, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Southern University at New Orleans, Tulane University, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University. Students enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., also are being offered free tuition.

“We are opening our hearts and our university to these students,” McDaniel said. “Although we can not replace lost lives or undo damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, the OCU community is eager to help. In fact, it is part of the mission of our university. We don’t want this natural disaster to be a road block in these students’ educational path.”

The one semester of free tuition applies to undergraduate, graduate and law programs.

The university has extended its enrollment period by one week. Students may enroll through Sept. 9.

As a further gesture of generosity, university alumni and trustee members are being asked to open their homes to these needy students.

About 3,700 students attend OCU, which offers programs in dance, arts management, nursing, music, business, religion and arts and science. One semester of undergraduate tuition is valued at about $8,500.

For more information on enrollment, call Ryan McLaughlin at (405) 208-5051.