The Southeastern Conference donated $100,000 to the University late February to assist employees who suffered and continue to suffer loss from the devastating floods of August 2016.
The money was donated to the LSU Employee Assistance Fund. LSU President F. King Alexander requested for the establishment of the fund in late August to help those affected by the flooding.
“On behalf of the LSU employees affected by the flood, I wish to thank Commissioner [Greg] Sankey and the members of the Southeastern Conference [for] their assistance,” Alexander said in a news release. “Though the flood is several months behind us, it remains very real to the thousands of Louisiana residents who remain in temporary housing with many months of recovery ahead.”
Herb Vincent, SEC associate commissioner for communications, said the money had been in a fund set up for emergency purposes for SEC schools for a while. However, Vincent said it was only recently that school presidents and chancellors approved the process for allocating money for schools in emergency situations. This approval gave SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey the authority to donate the money.
Vincent said the process should be faster because of the recent approval decision.
“It’s just important to help in situations like this,” Vincent said. “There’s a lot of folks who make the SEC what it is. It’s the people from all the campuses, the students, its faculty, it’s staff. Different campuses have different needs.”
In a news release, LSU Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said the University was appreciative of the generous donation from the SEC.
“We are fortunate to be part of a great league that cares about its member institutions in areas that go well beyond competition,” Alleva said. “This donation will go a long way in helping LSU employees who were impacted by the devastating flood continue to rebuild and restore what was lost last August.”