TULANE TALK

April 5, 2013

Good Morning:

The excitement is building for what promises to be one of our most memorable commencements ever. You already know that our keynote speaker, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will each receive honorary doctorates at Commencement 2013, right? Well, that is just the beginning of a day of recognition, honors and fun.

Medical degree candidate Jonathan D. Santoro will represent the class of 2013 as the keynote student speaker. Jonathan can speak with authority about the Tulane experience. He has been enrolled here since before Katrina, earning his bachelor’s, master’s and medical degrees from Tulane.

This Commencement we will also recognize several faculty members who have helped so many Tulane students reach their potential and achieve the dream of earning a Tulane degree. Latha Rajan, associate professor of clinical tropical medicine, and T.R. Johnson, associate professor of English, will receive the Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellows Awards for their excellence in undergraduate teaching, student advising and instructional development. They will each receive a medallion, a cash award of $5,000 a year for four years and the title of Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellow.

Elma Ireland LeDoux, associate professor of medicine, and Gabriel A. Feldman, associate professor of law, will receive the Tulane President’s Awards for Excellence in Professional and Graduate Teaching for their continued commitment to educational excellence at the graduate level. Elma and Gabe will each receive a $5,000 cash award and a special medallion designed by Professor Emeritus Franklin Adams.

Commencement is the pinnacle of the academic calendar and this year we are reaching new heights in honoring our graduates and sending them off in true Tulane and New Orleans style.

Have a great weekend,