Rice U. expert available to discuss financing of disaster response

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Rice U. expert available to discuss financing of disaster response
Kinder Institute, Harte Research Institute release primer outlining process of funding disaster response on Gulf Coast

HOUSTON – (Nov. 29, 2017) – A new report by Rice University and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outlines the process of financing disaster response on the Gulf Coast. Kyle Shelton, director of strategic partnerships for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and Katya Wowk of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi are available to discuss the report.

The “Relief and Recovery Funding Primer,” developed by the Kinder Institute and the Harte Research Institute, is intended to inform decision-makers and the public about the complicated process of financing disaster response.

The primer shows how federal, state, local and philanthropic funds have provided or will provide relief to the areas and people affected by Hurricane Harvey. In addition, a section on vulnerable populations discusses some of the challenges certain populations face in trying to access relief and recovery resources.

The report helps both residents and officials understand the complicated process of recovery funding. The whole impacted area is going through this process now, and to recover effectively, all the stakeholders involved need to have a sense of how the process works, Shelton said.

Longstanding challenges in using disaster relief funding wisely will be addressed in subsequent work, he said.

For more information, to schedule an interview with Shelton or Wowk or to request a copy of the report, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

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This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Kinder Institute website: http://kinder.rice.edu/

Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies: https://www.harteresearchinstitute.org/

Photo link: http://news.rice.edu/files/2017/09/0911_100YEAR-b-2ap6qj3.jpg

Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,879 undergraduates and 2,861 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for happiest students by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.

About Amy McCaig

Amy is a senior media relations specialist in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.