Tulane University

Tulane University

Tulane University Shield
Motto	Non Sibi Sed Suis (Not for one's self, but for one's own)
Type	Private University
Established	1834
President	Scott Cowen
Academic staff	2,511
Students	13,214
Location	New Orleans , La. , USA
Campus	Urban
Athletics	6 Teams competing in 8 Varsity Sports
Nickname	Green Wave
Affiliations	AAU C-USA (NCAA Division I)
Website	www.tulane.edu

Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as public medical college in 1834, the school grew into a full university and eventually privatized under the endownments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in the late 19th century.

Tulane is recognized as one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the United States, a pedigree borne out by its historical nickname "The Harvard of the South". It is compared in academic rigor and prestige with such universities as Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Rice, and Duke. The school is also one of sixty members of the Association of American Universities, a consortium of elite American and Canadian research universities whose members include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and each of the Ivy League schools. Particularly noted are its programs in Political Economy, Latin American Studies and Economics, as well as its graduate schools of law, business and medicine, each ranked in the top tier of their respective national rankings.

Tulane is currently undergoing a radical transformation in the aftermath of the physical and financial damage caused by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The university will be reorganized academically to maximize the recovery of the university.

Campuses

An early 20th century view of Tulane's Gibson Hall

Tulane's main campus occupies over 100 acres (0.4 km²) in uptown New Orleans, facing St Charles Avenue directly opposite Audubon Park. The rear of the campus reaches South Claiborne Avenue, and it is divided by Freret Street. Loyola University New Orleans is directly adjacent to Tulane, on the downriver side.

Other locations 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 downtown New Orleans, which houses the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine;
• the satellite campuses of University College, Tulane's open admissions college, located in downtown New Orleans and in Biloxi, Mississippi;
• Houston, Texas, where the business school offers an executive MBA program.

Organization

Tulane is organized into colleges and schools centered around liberal arts, sciences and certain professions. Currently, Tulane College and the women's Newcomb College are for undergraduates studying Liberal Arts and Sciences. Tulane also includes the following professional schools:

• School of Architecture
• A.B. Freeman School of Business
• School of Engineering
• Law School
• School of Medicine
• School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
• School of Social Work

A separate Graduate School offers advanced degrees in engineering, sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the fine arts. Tulane also has a University College which provides continuing education courses for the New Orleans community.

Due to a massive restructuring in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as of June 30, 2006, Tulane will be divided into the following colleges:

• School of Architecture
• A.B. Freeman School of Business
• School of Law
• School of Medicine
• School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
• School of Social Work
• School of Liberal Arts
• School of Science and Engineering

There will no longer be a separate Graduate School. The graduate programs will be governed by the different colleges offering the programs. University College as a division will become the College of Continuing Education.

All undergraduate students will be a student of the Tulane-Newcomb Undergraduate College, but shall be affiliated with the college of their major. This is a departure from the old model where students were housed under the college of their major. The exisiting colleges shall be entities of the faculty primarily.

A total of five programs — Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Exercise and Sports Science — will be eliminated.

The establishment of The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Institute shall continue the traditions of H. Sophie Newcomb College and will house interdisciplinary program designed to enhance women's education and continue to enrich the women's community at Tulane. The Newcomb College Institute will be housed on the Newcomb campus and will be headed by an executive director who will also be the holder of a newly created Newcomb College Endowed Chair.

Tulane will have six Division I-A programs—football, men and women's basketball, baseball, women's volleyball, and women's track—which will compete in eight sports.

Statistics

The following statistics reflect some of the changes at Tulane between 1998 and 2004:

• Undergraduate applications received annually have more than doubled since 1998, growing from 7,780 to 17,548. Most recently, in fall 2004, the university received a record 18,666 undergraduate applications.
• The average SAT scores for incoming students has risen from 1278 to 1347.
• Application acceptances have lowered from 79% of applicants to 44%.
• Funding for research and development has nearly doubled, from $68 million to $130 million.
• The National Institutes of Health funding ranking has risen from 96 to 78.

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.

History

The University dates from 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana. With the addition of a law department, it became The University of Louisiana in 1847, a public university. 1851, saw the establishment of an Academic Department, the forerunner of the College of Arts and Sciences.

It closed 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, the Louisiana state legislature transferred control of the University of Louisiana to the administrators of the TEF in 1884. 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 totalling 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.

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.

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.

In 1914, Tulane established a College of Commerce, the first business school in the South.

1925 saw the formal establishment of the Graduate School. Two years later, the University set up a School of Social Work.

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. In the Fall of 2006, the School of Public Health will admit undergraduate students.

The student-run radio station of the university, WTUL-FM, began broadcasting on campus in 1971.

In 1998, the Associated 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 as 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.

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 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 David Filo, a graduate of its School of Engineering. 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.

Effects of Hurricane Katrina

As a result of the storm and its effects in New Orleans, Tulane University saw its second closing- 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 have returned to their homes if they are 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 dormitories, which are intact.

After the storm, Tulane University Hospital & Clinic lost power and received some special needs patients from the Louisiana Superdome. Within five days the hospital had been completely evacuated via boats and helicopters. On February 14, 2006 it was the first hospital to reopen in downtown New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

On September 2, President Cowen announced that the University would cancel classes for the fall semester.

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 have already made provisions to allow Tulane students (and students from other affected colleges) to enroll as "provisional students" for the fall semester. Tulane will transfer credits earned through these arrangements when the university reconvenes.

Tulane's policies regarding "provisional" or "visiting" students have not gone uncriticized. While the rather open undergraduate university system has facilitated the option of transfer, the law and medical schools have drawn criticism for their policies as far as student options go.

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. Students were discouraged from transferring to other medical schools, with the Tulane administration asking other medical schools to help "keep the students together". Several students were angered with the Tulane's transfer policy. As part of the below mentioned "Renewal Plan", 122 full-time faculty (mostly clinical) were released. These cuts were deemed necessary and justified by citing the changed health care needs within the New Orleans health care system. The university was "generous in supporting separated faculty" and has made a commitment to faculty who were retained. The School of Medicine's stay in Texas (Tulane West as dubbed by the student body) is expected to come to an end, with the 2006-2007 academic year expected to return to New Orleans.

All of Tulane's varsity sports teams, with the exception of cross-country, moved to four other universities in Texas and Louisiana, while continuing to represent Tulane in competition:

• Texas A&M University: men's basketball, women's swimming and diving, women's volleyball, women's soccer, men's tennis, and women's tennis
• Texas Tech University: baseball and women's basketball
• Southern Methodist University: men's and women's golf
• Louisiana Tech University: football

To help students graduate on schedule, Tulane has scheduled two academic semesters between January and June 2006. A regular spring term began January 17, with a seven-week "Lagniappe Semester" to run from May 15 through the end of June.

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, full-time faculty will be required to teach undergraduates. Additionally, 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 27 of its 45 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 will create a single undergraduate Newcomb-Tulane College in July 2006, discontinuing Tulane's two liberal arts and sciences coordinate colleges: 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 as an academic center "to enhance women's education at the university."

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. [1] In response to cutting several engineering degree programs, students, faculty, and alumni started the Save Tulane Engineering campaign to reinstate the six 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. [2] The cuts constitute the largest de-tenuring of faculty in the history of American higher education.

Athletics

Tulane is a member of Conference USA in athletics and fields NCAA Division I teams in 16 sports. The team nickname is the Green Wave, a nickname adopted during the 1920 season, after a song titled The Rolling Green Wave was published in Tulane's student newspaper in 1920. Prior to that, the teams were known officially as "The Olive and Blue" and unofficially referred to as "The Greenies" or "The Greenbacks."

Football

Tulane's earliest athletic traditions are tied to its football team, which began playing in 1893 and hit its stride in 1900 with a perfect 5-0 season, beating the Southern Athletic Club, Alabama, Millsaps, LSU, and Ole Miss. In a 1912 game against Southwestern Louisiana, Tulane set records of 15 rushing touchdowns and 95 points that still stand. In 1925 the Green Wave again went undefeated, with only a tie against Missouri to blemish its record. The administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, however, in order to keep the students in class. The next year saw the completion of a new stadium on campus. Tulane's third and fourth perfect regular seasons came in 1929 and 1931, with a single loss to Northwestern in Chicago, Illinois marring the 1930 campaign. The 1931 team did go to the Rose Bowl, losing 21-12 to USC.

In 1933 Tulane joined the Southeastern Conference as a charter member. In 1939 the team completed its fifth unbeaten season losing a close 14-13 battle to Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. Tulane left the SEC in 1966 amid a long series of disappointing campaigns. They had some success in the 1970s with three bowl invitations in the decade.

Tulane's football program started fresh with a new conference in 1996 and a new coach, Tommy Bowden in 1997. Bowden's second year brought about Tulane's sixth perfect season and the first since 1931. Quarterback Shaun King led the wave to a 12-0 record and a final No. 7 national ranking. Despite a perfect regular season, the Green Wave was not invited to a BCS bowl game — an event which contributed to questions about how college football championships and revenues are managed.

Men's basketball

Tulane's men's basketball program fell victim to one of the biggest scandals of the 1980s in college sports when four players, including star forward "Hot Rod" Williams were accused of taking money and cocaine to alter the final point spreads of games they played in. Clyde Eads and Jon Johnson were granted immunity and testified against Williams, the alleged ringleader. Although he was indicted, the judge eventually declared a mistrial and no sentence was handed down. Williams spent the next nine years with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. Following the scandal, Tulane's administration decided to disband the men's basketball program. It was resurrected four years later under new head coach Perry Clark who rapidly rebuilt the program to unprecedented success, including a 1991 season that started 13-0 and ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Baseball

The last few years have seen Tulane's college baseball team consistently ranked among the best in the nation. In 2005, the Green Wave had its best season in school history. Tulane started the season ranked first in the nation and held the top spot throughout most of the regular season. The Green Wave entered the postseason ranked No. 1 and beat Rice University to win its Super Regional. Tulane advanced to the College World Series for the second time in school history. The Green Wave defeated Oregon State, 3-1, in its first game, but then fell 5-0 to Texas, the eventual national champion. In an elimination game against Baylor University, the Green Wave led 7-0 in the 7th inning before the Bears scored 8 runs in the final three innings to win the game. Brian Bogusevic was named Louisiana Pitcher of the Year, was named to four All-American teams, including Louisville Slugger's first team, and was a semifinalist for three national awards. He was taken in the first round of the 2005 draft by the Houston Astros. Pitcher/first baseman Micah Owings was named Conference USA and Louisiana Player of the Year. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Third baseman Brad Emaus was named Conference USA and Louisiana Freshman of the Year. Head Coach Rick Jones was named Louisiana Coach of the Year. The Green Wave enter the 2006 season ranked No. 24 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 40 Preseason Poll and No. 12 in the Baseball America Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Athletics reform

In 2003 the University undertook a comprehensive review of its athletics department commitments in light of the long term goals and mission of the school. The outcome of the review was a renewed commitment to fielding a strong Division I athletic program, but also a resolution to make Tulane a model program in terms of academic performance, graduation rates, financial viability, and support for the overall university mission. (In 2003 Tulane's graduation rate for student-athletes stood at 79%, ranking 14th among all Division I programs.)

To that end, President Scott Cowen began a dialogue with other university presidents calling for a change to the existing system that rewards established powers at the expense of less successful programs. His criticisms, in particular of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in football, led to the creation of the Presidential Coalition for Athletics Reform and opened the door for hearings on college athletics revenues in the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2003. On February 29, 2004 the BCS met in Miami, Florida and agreed to amend revenue distribution and open the series to more opportunities for non-BCS teams.

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 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 ascendency --
CHORUS
O Alma Mater, Stand we nigh,
Thy daughters lift Thy flag on high!

Fan traditions

Official fight song: The Olive and the Blue

Here's a song for the Olive and the Blue
Here's a cheer for the team that's tried and true,
Here's a pledge of loyalty to thee,
Oh, Tulane Varsity,
Here's to the Greenbacks that never will say die
And here's to the hearts that are true,
To the men of Tulane, who are fighting for her name
For the Olive and the Blue.

(CHORUS)
Roll, Green Wave, roll them down the field!
Hold, Green Wave, that line must never yield!
When those Greenbacks charge through the line,
They're bound for Victory,
Hail Green Wave, for you we give a cheer.
Hail Green Wave, for you we have no fear,
So ev'ry man on ev'ry play,
And then we'll win the game today,
Hurrah for Old Tulane.

Unofficial Tulane fight song

Green Wave Green Wave,
Hats off to Thee.
We're out to
Fight Fight Fight
For our Victory.
Shout to the Skies
Our Green Wave War Cries.
The Bravest we'll Defy.
Hold that Line for
Olive and Blue.
We will Cheer for You.
So Fight, Fight, Old Tulane
Fight on to Victory.

Official cheer: "The Hullabaloo"

A One, A Two,
A Helluva Hullabaloo
A Hullabaloo Ray Ray
A Hullabaloo Ray Ray
Hooray Hooray
Vars Vars Tee Ay
Tee Ay, Tee Ay
Vars Vars Tee Ay
Tulane!

Logo and mascot

In 1963 Rix Yard, then Athletic Director and Eldon Endacott, manager of the university bookstore contacted Art Evans, a commercial artist who had already designed the Boilermaker mascot for Purdue University, the Wisconsin Badger and the University of Southern California Trojan, to create a new mascot for Tulane athletics. His design for a mean-looking anthropomorhic wave-crest was officially adopted in 1964.

In 1986 a new logo consisting of a white block "T" with green and blue waves crossing its center was adopted as the primary symbol for official uniforms, though the "angry wave" continued to be used unofficially in licensed products, and a costumed Green Wave, nicknamed Gumby, served as the mascot.

In 1998 a full redesign of all athletic logos and marks was commissioned which replaced the "angry wave" and "wavy T" designs with a green and blue oblique T crested by a foamy wave. Gumby was replaced with a new pelican mascot, recalling the university seal, and the fact that a pelican was often used in the first half of the century as the emblem of Tulane's athletic teams. The name "Riptide" was selected for the performing pelican in a vote of the student body, but is more commonly called "Pecker" by students.

See also

• List of Tulane University people

External links

• Tulane University website
• Student newspaper, the Hullabaloo
• Official Tulane athletics site
• University's Special Collections
• Hurricane Katrina-related Tulane information