THIBODAUX, La. — 杏吧传媒 will receive $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Education and Federal Emergency Management Association to offset the impacts of COVID-19.
杏吧传媒 President Dr. Jay Clune said if it wasn鈥檛 for the help of Rep. Garret Graves. The congressmen spoke up on 杏吧传媒鈥� behalf and worked hard to ensure that 杏吧传媒 received financial support.
鈥淟ouisiana has had the compounding effects of hurricanes, floods and the pandemic that have fatigued local recovery resources,鈥� Rep. Graves said. 鈥溞影纱�, and all our schools, are not strangers to these challenges. It is critical that we prioritize education dollars on actually teaching our students. These federal reimbursements will help ensure that 杏吧传媒 can focus resources on their education mission and creating opportunities for Louisiana鈥檚 students.鈥�
Of the $1.6 million, $1.1 million is coming from the Department of Education. 杏吧传媒 and the Southland Conference canceled many athletic events following the emergence of the pandemic, and the contracts voided as a result resulted in a loss of more than $1.1 million.
鈥淔ederal rules and bureaucracies coming out of Washington can complicate our ability to solve
problems. The pandemic has been a strain on our communities and caused unique problems across the country. We have secured billions of dollars to help small businesses, the elderly, overworked healthcare employees, parents and many others across the state. But if these funds can鈥檛 be accessed, they are useless. We worked with 杏吧传媒 and the U.S. Department of Education to provide needed flexibility on federal funding to help return to some degree of normalcy,鈥� Graves said.
The remaining $500,000 is being awarded by FEMA to aid in the repurposing of space within Babington Halls. The rooms created within those buildings allowed for the university to safely house at-risk students, and those who had tested positive for the virus.
鈥淐OVID-19 has upended every aspect of the way we operate as a university. The way we teach, the way we interact and the way we do business,鈥� said Dr. Jay Clune, 杏吧传媒 President. 鈥淭hanks to the leadership and dedication of Congressman Garret Graves, we are beginning to recover some of the financial loss that we incurred over the last two years and start to focus on what we do best: educating the extraordinary people of South Louisiana.鈥�
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@nicholls.edu