Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research
university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a public medical college in 1834, the school grew into a full university and was
eventually privatized under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in the late 19th century. It is the only American university
that has been converted from a public institution to a private institution.[3]
History
Founding/early history
The University dates from 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana.[1] With the addition of a law department, it became
The University of Louisiana in 1847,[1] a public university. 1851 saw the establishment of
an Academic Department, the forerunner of the College of Arts and Sciences. Two significant scientific innovations were made by
faculty at the University at this time.[4] J.
Lawrence Smith invented the inverted microscope in 1850,[5] and John L. Riddell invented the first practical microscope to allow binocular viewing through
a single objective lens in 1851.[6]
The University closed for three years during the Civil War; after reopening, it
went through a period of financial challenges. Paul Tulane donated extensive real estate
within New Orleans for the support of education; this donation led to the establishment of a Tulane Educational Fund (TEF), whose
board of administrators sought to support the University of Louisiana instead of establishing a new university. In response,
through the influence of former Civil War general Randall Lee Gibson, the Louisiana
state legislature transferred control of the University of Louisiana to the administrators of the TEF in 1884.[1] This act created the
Tulane University of Louisiana.
In 1885, a Graduate Division started, the predecessor to the Graduate School. One year later,
gifts from Josephine Louise Newcomb totaling over $3.6 million led to
the establishment of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College within Tulane
University. Newcomb was the first coordinate college for women in the United States.[7]
In 1894 a College of Technology formed, the forerunner to the College of Engineering. In the
same year the university moved to its present-day uptown campus on St. Charles Avenue, five miles by streetcar from downtown.[7]
The 20th century
In 1901, the cornerstone was laid for the F.W. Tilton Library, endowed by the New Orleans businessman and philanthropist Frederick William Tilton (1821–1890).
An Architecture Department originated within the College of Technology in 1907. One year later,
Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy appeared, both temporarily: Dentistry ended in 1928, and Pharmacy
six years later.[7]
In 1914, Tulane established a College of Commerce, the first business school in the South.[7]
1925 saw the formal establishment of the Graduate School. Two years later, the university set up
a School of Social Work, the first in the Deep South region.[7]
The house of Tulane's president on St. Charles Avenue was once the mansion of
Sam Zemurray who was the head of the United Fruit
Company which became infamous for its exploitation of Latin American countries as "banana republics."
University College dates from 1942. The School of Architecture grew out of Engineering in
1950.
The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine dates from 1967 and is the oldest school of
its kind in the country. Also, Tulane's School of Tropical Medicine is the only of its kind in the country. In the Fall of 2006,
the School of Public Health began admitting undergraduate students.
The student-run radio station of the university, WTUL-FM, began broadcasting on campus in 1971.
On April 23, 1975, Gerald R.
Ford, Jr., spoke at Tulane University's Fogelman Arena at the invitation of Congressman F. Edward Hebert, the powerful representative of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District. During the
historic speech, Ford announced that the Vietnam War was "finished as far as America is concerned"- one week before the fall of
Saigon. Ford drew parallels to the Battle of
New Orleans saying that such positive activity could do for America’s morale what the battle did in 1815.[8]
Tulane once had a football stadium on campus that seated over 80,000 people, held three Super
Bowls, and was the home of the New Orleans Saints and the Sugar Bowl. When Tulane Stadium was razed after the construction of
the Superdome, workers found a mummy couple
underneath the bleachers.[9] The football team now plays in
the Superdome.
During the 1980s, Tulane made the fateful decision not to place a portion of its endowment into
the stock market due to the market's volatile nature at the time. This has led to Tulane having to dip into its endowment on a
regular basis.[citation needed]
In 1998, the student body of Tulane University voted by referendum to split the Associate Student Body (ASB) Senate into two
separate houses, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA).
Previous to the split, only one Executive Cabinet was elected and all student government meetings consisted of both undergraduate
and graduate students. Now, each house has its own Executive Cabinet and Senate elected by its own students. USG and GAPSA meet
separately to issues pertaining to their respective constituencies. However, the Office of the Associated Student Body President
remained - the ASB President is a representative of every student on all of Tulane's campuses. This person is still elected by
the entire student body of Tulane, both undergraduate and graduate students.
USG and GAPSA come together twice a semester to meet as the ASB Senate, where issues pertaining to the entire Tulane student
body are discussed. The meetings of the ASB Senate are presided over by the ASB President.
The Jambalaya, Tulane's yearbook, published annually since 1897, published its last edition (Volume 99) in 1995, due to funding and management
problems. In the fall of 2003, the "Jambalaya" was reestablished as a student club, and in the spring of 2004, the centennial
edition of the Jambalaya was published. The staff now continues to publish a "Jambalaya" annually.
The 21st century
In 2001 the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy started as the first
major center in the U.S. to focus on research using adult stem cells.
In the July 2004, Tulane received two $30 million donations to its endowment, the largest individual or combined gifts in the university's history. The donations came
from Jim Clark, a member of the university's Board and founder of Netscape, and David Filo, a graduate of its School of Engineering and
co-founder of Yahoo!. The gifts had particular significance, since Tulane had had one of the
lowest endowments ($722 million as of June 2004) among the 62 members of the Association of American Universities. In the months following Hurricane Katrina,
restrictions were removed from these gifts to ensure the continued financial health of the university. On July 30, 2007, Tulane made a public announcement that its endowment reached $1
billion.
Effects of Hurricane Katrina
As a result of the storm and its effects on New Orleans, Tulane University was closed for the second time in its history—the
first being during the Civil War.
Tulane began to publicly respond to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina on
August 27, 2005, with an initial plan to close the university
until September 1. The following day, that date was extended to "no earlier than"
September 7. University officials led a rare evacuation of nearly 400 students (one report
said that the number was closer to 700) to Jackson State University, all of
whom remained safe after the hurricane's passage and returned to their homes if they were from outside the gulf coast region.
This was the second time Tulane's evacuation plan had been used, the first being in September 2004
during Hurricane Ivan. In other recent hurricanes such as Georges in 1998, Tulane simply used its larger dorms as shelters for students.
On August 30, the university reported that "physical damage to the area, including Tulane's
campuses, was extensive" and conditions in the city were continuing to deteriorate. Power was out, water levels were rising, all
city roads were blocked, and the "vast majority of our workforce" had left the parish in response to the mayor's mandatory
evacuation order. By September 1 only a core group of public safety and facilities personnel
remained on campus. Tulane president Scott Cowen and an "emergency team" relocated to
Houston, Texas to coordinate planning for recovery. Tulane reported that security was
being maintained on campus and that students' belongings were safe in the unflooded areas of the dormitories. On September 2,
President Cowen announced that the University would cancel classes for the fall semester.
During the storm, Tulane University Hospital & Clinic lost power and received patients
from neighboring hospitals and from the Louisiana Superdome. These patients, along
with all hospital staff, staff family members present, and patients were evacuated within five days via helicopters from the top
floor of a neighboring parking garage. This rescue effort was organized, directed,
and paid for by the hospital's parent company, HCA.[10] On February 14, 2006 it was the first hospital to reopen in downtown New Orleans after the hurricane.[11]
The American Council on Education and the Association of American Universities urged their member institutions to help
displaced students from Tulane and the area's other universities. Dozens of universities made provisions to allow Tulane students
(and students from other affected colleges) to enroll as "provisional students" for the fall semester. When the university
reopened in the spring, Tulane transferred credits earned by students elsewhere. To further help students graduate on schedule,
Tulane offered two academic semesters between January and June 2006. A regular spring term began January 17, with a seven-week
"Lagniappe Semester" which ran from May 15 through the end of June.
Tulane School of Medicine relocated its students and essential teaching staff to Houston,
Texas, and continued its fall semester at Baylor College of Medicine.
This was aided in part by the support of Michael DeBakey, pioneering heart surgeon,
graduate of Tulane School of Medicine and chancellor emeritus at Baylor College of Medicine. Students taking the basic science
medical courses used the facilities at Baylor, while 3rd and 4th year students did clinical rotations in several of the nearby
teaching hospitals located in Houston, Galveston, and Temple. Tulane attempted to keep the medical students together, and
discouraged transfer, except in the most extenuating of circumstances. Students were able to request transfers, but many medical
schools supported Tulane's attempts to retain their student body and thus their school, although some students were successful in
their appeals to transfer. The School of Medicine's stay in Texas ('Tulane West' or 'Tulane at Baylor') ended, with the students
and faculty returning to New Orleans in July 2006.
As a result of the plan dismissing so many tenured faculty without what the American Association of University Professors considered "due cause,"
Tulane, along with three other New Orleans based universities, was censured [1] by
the AAUP [2].
Tulane’s responses purportedly showed that the AAUP's draft report was flawed significantly and contained numerous errors of
fact, omission and interpretation. Tulane's administration responded that the final version of the AAUP report acknowledges
(mostly in footnotes) some of the corrections Tulane offered, and continued to assert that errors and meritless conclusions
remain in the final version (contrary to the AAUP's viewpoint). [3]
2005–06 Renewal Plan
Facing a budget shortfall, the Board of Administrators announced a "Renewal Plan" on December 8, 2005 to reduce
its annual operating budget and create a "student-centric" campus. At the end of January 2006, the administration reported an
estimated $90 to $125 million shortfall for the 2005–06 year. Tulane laid off about 2,000 part-time employees in September and
October 2005, 243 non-teaching personnel in November 2005, 230 faculty members in December 2005, and another 200 employees in
January 2006.
Under the Renewal Plan, Tulane eliminated six undergraduate and graduate programs in the Engineering School: mechanical
engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, environmental engineering, and computer science,
and also a bachelor's degree in exercise science. The university cut twenty-seven of its forty-five doctoral programs and
suspended eight NCAA Division
I intercollegiate athletic programs.
For spring 2006 the administration reported that "85 percent of all students" returned. By keeping the school smaller,
officials said they will not have to lower admission standards.
The university Renewal Plan created a single undergraduate co-ed college in July 2006, discontinuing Tulane's liberal
arts and sciences coordinate college system that comprised Tulane College (for men) and the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (for women). On March 16, 2006, the board
announced establishment of the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Institute, an umbrella organization for extracurricular
programs, "to enhance women's education at the university."
Claiming that dissolution of Newcomb College violates conditions on the gifts and will of its founder Josephine Louise
Newcomb, Mrs. Newcomb's heirs are suing Tulane to enforce their ancestor's donor's intent. The action, Howard v. Tulane, is now
pending in Louisiana District Court.
Critics of the Renewal Plan charge the school administration of using Katrina as the excuse to push an agenda that
would otherwise have been difficult to accomplish. [4] In response to cutting several engineering degree programs, students, faculty, and alumni started the Save Tulane Engineering campaign to
reinstate the five engineering majors and the separate school. The American Association of University Professors expressed concern at the
lack of meaningful faculty involvement in crafting the Renewal Plan, as did many students.[12]
On April 4, 2007, Tulane University announced that the School of Science and Engineering will introduce a new major beginning
fall 2007, called engineering physics. The major, the first new engineering major
added since the School of Engineering closed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, is designed to meet the criteria of the
Engineering Accreditation Commission, and is geared towards preparing students in quantum physics and nanotechnology.[13]
On May 8, 2007, Tulane announced that more than 1,375 high school seniors had committed to coming to Tulane University as part
of the class of 2011. This increase in enrollment, surpassing 882 students from the class of 2010, and a planned 1,200 students
for the class of 2011, marks a strong return in enrollment that nears the level prior to Hurricane Katrina. Tulane will welcome
1,500 new students including 128 transfer students in fall 2007. [5]
Campuses
Tulane's uptown campus, established in the 1890s, occupies over 110
acres (0.4 km²), facing St. Charles Avenue directly opposite Audubon Park.
The rear of the uptown campus reaches South Claiborne Avenue, and it is divided by Freret Street. The campus architecture
consists of several styles, including Richardsonian Romanesque, Elizabethan, Italian Renaissance, Brutalist Modern, and
Ultramodern styles. Though there isn't a coherent building design across the entire campus, most buildings make use of similar
materials. The front campus buildings use Indiana White Limestone or orange brick for exteriors, while the middle campus
buildings are mostly adorned in red St. Joe brick, the staple of Newcomb College buildings. Loyola University is directly adjacent to Tulane, on the downriver side. The uptown campus
is known for its many large live oak trees and architecturally historic buildings.
The front of the Campus, between St. Charles Avenue and Freret Street, is home to most of the schools academic buildings,
including the schools of Architecture and Social Work. The centerpiece of the Academic Quad is the first academic building on
Tulane's uptown campus, Gibson Hall. The middle of the campus, between Freret and Willow Streets and bisected by McAlister Drive
and Newcomb Place, serves as the center of campus activities. The Lavin Bernick Center for University Life (known by students as
the UC), Fogelman Arena (home to Tulane's basketball teams), McAlister Auditorium, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, most of the
student residence halls and academic buildings populate the center of campus. The middle campus is also the home of the Newcomb
College Campus. The facilities for the Business school line McAlister Drive and Tulane Law School sits adjacent to the Business
school. The Newcomb Campus was designed by New York architect James Gamble Rogers,
noted for his work with Yale University's campus.[14] The Newcomb campus is home to Tulane's performing and fine arts venues. The back
of campus, between Willow Street and South Claiborne, is home to two residence halls, Reily Recreation Center and Turchin
Stadium, the home of Green Wave baseball.
Through Hurricane Katrina, Tulane has continued to build new facilities and renovate old spaces on its campus. The newest
residence hall, Lallage Feazel Wall Residential College, was completed in August 2005 and took in its first students when Tulane
re-opened in January 2006. Fogelman Arena was completely renovated for basketball in the fall of 2006. The Lavin-Bernick Center
for University Life was renovated to be a green, environmentally friendly building and opened for student use in January 2007.
Turchin Stadium is undergoing renovation and will reopen for the 2008 baseball season.
Tulane also hopes to begin construction on another new residence hall, to be ready for the incoming class of 2008.
An early
20th century view of Tulane's
Gibson
Hall. It faces St. Charles Avenue and is the entry landmark to the uptown campus.
An early
21st century view from a similar vantage point. Note the major growth of the
live oak trees since the previous picture.
Other facilities owned by Tulane include:
- the F. Edward Hebert Research Center, near Belle Chasse, Louisiana, which provides facilities for
graduate training and research in computer science, bioengineering, and biology;
- Tulane National Primate Research Center in Covington, Louisiana, one of eight
such centers funded by the National Institutes of Health;
- Tulane University Health Sciences Center, located in the New Orleans
Central Business District between the Louisiana Superdome and
Canal Street in 18 mid/high-rise buildings, which houses the School of
Medicine and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine;
- Tulane University Square, is located on Broadway and Leake Avenue adjacent to the Mississippi River. University Square is a
mixed use shopping center, with stores and some offices of Tulane University unrelated to student affairs. There is also a hotel
and conference center at University Square;
- the satellite campuses of the School of Continuing Studies, Tulane's open admissions university college, located in downtown New Orleans and in Biloxi, Mississippi;
- Houston, Texas, Santiago, Chile,
Shanghai, China, and Taipei, Taiwan where the business school
offers an executive MBA program.
Academics
Academic divisions
Tulane is organized into ten schools centered around liberal arts, sciences and certain professions:
All undergraduate students are enrolled in the Newcomb-Tulane College. The graduate programs are governed by individual
schools. Tulane also offers continuing education courses and associate's degrees
through its School of Continuing Studies.
From 1963-1968, the Tulane Law School dean was Cecil Morgan, the key legislator who had been involved in 1929 in the
impeachment of Governor Huey
Pierce Long, Jr., and who thereafter was a major Standard Oil Company executive in
Louisiana and New York City. He had also been a judge for two years in Shreveport.
A view of the downtown Tulane University Health Sciences Center
Statistics and rankings
The following statistics reflect some of the changes at Tulane between 1998 and 2006:
- Undergraduate applications received annually nearly tripled, growing from 7,780 to 21,000.
- The average SAT scores for incoming students rose from 1278 to 1306.[1]
- Application acceptances lowered from 79% of applicants to 38%.[16]
- Funding for research and development nearly doubled, from $68 million to $130 million.
- The National Institutes of Health funding ranking rose from 96 to
79.[17]
Tulane's Latin American studies program was ranked second in the country by the
Gourman Report[18].
In 2003, Tulane's graduation rate for student-athletes was 79%, ranking 14th among
Division I athletic programs.
Tulane is one of North America's top research universities; its status confirmed by it being one of 60 elected members of the
Association of American Universities. Tulane also is designated as
a Carnegie research university/very high
research activity, the highest classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[19]
Tulane's overall undergraduate program was ranked 50th in the nation among "National Universities" by US News & World
Report in its 2008 edition. Tulane tied with Syracuse University for the 50th
spot.[20]
In the US News and World Reports Best Grad Schools Guide, published in April 2007, the Tulane School of Law
ranked 47th (with a ranking of 5th for its environmental law program), and the A.B. Freeman School of Business ranked No.
45.[21][22]
According to the 2005 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, Tulane's French program was ranked 6th in the country. This index
ranks departmental faculty at research universities based on the awards, grants, and publications of the faculty.[23]
Dean's Honor Scholarship
The Dean's Honor Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded by Tulane which covers
full tuition for the duration of the recipient's undergraduate program. The scholarship is offered to 100 incoming freshmen by
the Office of Undergraduate Admission, and is awarded only through a separate application. This scholarship is renewable provided
that the recipient maintains a minimum 3.0 GPA at the end of each semester and maintains
continuous enrollment in a full-time undergraduate division. Typically, recipients rank in the top 5% of their high school graduating class, have a rigorous course load including honors and Advanced Placement classes, and an outstanding record of extracurricular activities.[24]
Notable recipients include Sean M. Berkowitz, David
Filo and Eric R. Palmer.
List of university presidents
There have been fourteen presidents of Tulane since the establishment of the Tulane Education Fund in 1884.
| President |
Years |
| William Preston Johnson |
1884–1899 |
| William Oscar Rogers |
1899–1900 (acting) |
| Edwin Alderman |
1900–1904 |
| Edwin Boone Craighead |
1904–1912 |
| Robert Sharp |
1912–1913 (acting)
1913–1918 |
| Albert Bledsoe Dinwiddie |
1918–1935 |
| Douglas Smith Anderson |
1935–1936 (acting) |
| Robert Leonval Menuet |
1936–1937 (acting) |
| Rufus Carrollton Harris |
1937–1960 |
| Maxwell Edward Laphan |
1960 (acting) |
| Herbert Eugene Longenecker |
1960–1975 |
| Sheldon Hackney |
1975–1980 |
| Eamon Kelly |
1980–1981 (acting)
1981–1998 |
| Scott S. Cowen |
1998–present |
Athletics
-
Tulane is a member of Conference USA in athletics and fields NCAA Division I teams in several sports.
Tulane University's football team went 12-0 in 1998 culminating in a 41-27 victory over BYU in the Liberty Bowl. They finished
the season ranked No. 5 in the nation, by far their best performance to date. They were led by senior quarterback
Shaun King, who in that season set an NCAA record for the highest single-season passing
efficiency rating.
They have been unable to match 1998's success in recent years.
Notable alumni and faculty
-
Alma maters
|
Tulane Alma Mater
We praise thee for thy past, O Alma Mater!
Thy hand hath done its work full faithfully.
The incense of thy spirit has ascended
And filled America from sea to sea!
Olive Green and Blue! we love thee!
Pledge we now our fealty true
Where the trees are ever greenest,
Where the skies are purest blue.
Hear us now, O Tulane, hear us,
As we proudly sing to thee!
Take from us our hearts' devotion,
Thine we are and thine shall be!
|
Newcomb Alma Mater
Where stars arise in Southern skies
And thy loyal love in laughter lies,
O Newcomb fair, we bring to thee
Our hearts' allegiance, bold and free.
We bring to thee, where e'er shall be
The Star of our ascendancy --
CHORUS
O Alma Mater, Stand we nigh,
Thy daughters lift Thy flag on high!
|
International profile
Popular culture references
Literature
- Black Sunday by Thomas Harris is set during a Super Bowl played in
Tulane Stadium..
- A Confederacy of Dunces by Tulane graduate John Kennedy Toole is set
in New Orleans and features Ignatius J. Reilly.
- Love in the Ruins and The Moviegoer by
Walker Percy are partially set on Tulane's campus.
- Earth (novel) by David Brin, features characters from Tulane.
- The Pelican Brief by John Grisham is set on Tulane's campus and features a
Tulane Law student.
- The story Reb Kringle from Nathan Englander's book For the Relief of Unbearable Urges features an appearance by "the elf on winter break from Tulane."
- Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts features a character Roxanne Nouvelle who attends
Tulane.
Television
- St. Elsewhere: Howie Mandel's character, Dr. Wayne Fiscus, attended Tulane
Medical School.
- Frank's Place: Bubba Weisberger (played by Robert Harper) was a graduate of
Tulane Law School.
- Sex and the City: Mr. Big's ex-wife, Natasha, attended Tulane University as
an undergraduate student.
- Gilmore Girls: Rory Gilmore's high school
classmate Louise Grant attended Tulane, and Louise's best friend Madeline Lynn also transferred to the school.
- Grey's Anatomy: Dr. Burke attended Tulane University.
- CSI: Miami: Calleigh Duquesne attended Tulane University and majored in
physics.
- The Real World: Denver: Colie Edison attended Tulane University.
- The Real World: New Orleans: The cast often socialized with
Tulane students especially at The Boot Bar.
- In the A&E movie about Senator John McCain,
the outside scenes of the Naval Academy were filmed at Tulane.
Movies
Computer games
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Tulane's official media
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