Penn veterinary-behavior resident Lisa Radosta-Huntley watched the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina with disbelief.
"I couldn't sit [at home] and watch the many animals swim," she said. "For me, it wasn't a choice. I had to go."
Although Radosta-Huntley was eager to help, she feels she could not have afforded to miss work to volunteer. And that's where the University came in.
Immediately after Katrina struck, President Amy Gutmann enacted provisions providing Penn faculty and staff with up to three consecutive weeks of paid leave to volunteer in New Orleans. To encourage more faculty members to help in relief efforts, Gutmann recently extended the offer's deadline from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31.
Staff can work with organizations involved in hurricane-relief efforts, such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Deans from each of the University's schools decide if applicants are eligible for leave.
Despite the recent extension, only 29 staff and faculty members have requested paid leave, according to Vice President for Human Resources Jack Heuer.
Of the 29 applicants, 16 are still waiting for program assignments. Heuer did not know the applicants' affiliated schools.
It is unclear how many staff officials expected to take advantage of the offer, but some seem to think the immediate response has been low.
Despite the extension, deans from the School of Arts and Sciences, the Engineering School and the School of Social Policy and Practice have not reported that faculty members have applied for the work-leave program.
"People have many responsibilities that may not make it possible to go away for two to three weeks," Chairwoman of the Faculty Senate Neville Strumpf said.
She feels faculty will be more willing to help during their summer and winter vacations.
As the December deadline for paid leave time approaches, Strumpf is hopeful that the program will again be extended.
"The president has left [the policy] open," she said. "I think that it will be reviewed again."
A number of faculty are also helping in the relief effort from home and thus are not taking advantage of the University's offer.
Dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice Richard Gelles said that "99.9 percent of our effort is local."
Faculty are currently working closely with the the dean of Tulane's School of Social Work as well as the Red Cross on everything from housing issues to the creation of new domestic-violence shelters, he said.
"The psychological impacts [of the hurricane] are not fully blown," Gelles said. Red Cross officials "told us not to send faculty down there until Thanksgiving."
Although at this time mental health is not a primary concern, ensuring physical health is a top priority for those in health-related fields. At least eight faculty members from the School of Medicine participated in the paid-leave relief program, Medical School spokeswoman Rebecca Harmon said.
Radosta-Huntley, who worked with the Red Cross and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Louisiana, was one of seven veterinarians who helped care for sick and displaced animals in various shelters outside New Orleans.
"I don't know that financially I could have paid for the [two-week] trip myself," she said.
Since the creation of the program, the School of Nursing has sent one faculty member to provide basic first aid to victims in Louisiana evacuation camps.
If a faculty member "applies to go to New Orleans, we give them our support as well as take care of their [academic] responsibilities," Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis said, adding that another faculty member is planning to leave for Louisiana in the near future.
Despite the initial numbers, Gutmann still feels that the program sends a message about Penn's commitment to hurricane relief.
"The program itself is the biggest encouragement we can give people" to help in relief efforts, Gutmann said.
