The old model still works: face-to-face university extension after disaster

• Extension increases resilience through bridging social capital to communities.
• Sea Grant encouraged Delcambre to form a Steering Committee for redevelopment.
• Committee used university expertise to develop a waterfront redevelopment proposal.
• Committee successfully applied for a $2.2 million grant to implement redevelopment.
• Higher education partnerships help communities take leadership in their recovery.

Summer 2015 marks ten years since the landfall of Hurricane Rita, which wrought massive destruction on coastal Louisiana communities. In the small town of Delcambre, in the central coast of Louisiana, the relationship with Sea Grant Extension helped spur that community toward recovery through a variety of community development activities. Most notably, engagement with the university resulted in the Port of Delcambre receiving a $2.2 million grant to rebuild fisheries infrastructure and rebuild the economic tax base of the community. Although Delcambre is not urban, it is a stellar example of the success of long-term community recovery. This paper provides support for establishing and maintaining partnerships with higher education by recounting the role of University Extension in stimulating community recovery.