TULANE TALK

May 23, 2003

Good Morning:

The academic year may be over but the work of the university continues. This week we filled two critical posts at Tulane by naming Cynthia Cherrey the new vice president of student affairs and George Bernstein the new dean of Tulane College. Cynthia Cherrey comes to us from the University of Southern California where she served as associate vice president in the student affairs office and was also a clinical associate professor in the Rossier School of Education and a lecturer in the Annenberg School of Communication.

Prior to her appointment at USC, Cynthia held senior level student affairs positions at the University of Denver and the University of North Texas. Cynthia earned a B.A. in psychology from St. Cloud State University, an M.S. in educational counseling at North Dakota State University and a Ph.D in communications studies from the University of Denver. Provost Lester Lefton, who coordinated the search for Cynthia, praised her “talent, energy and extensive record of achievement in all areas of student affairs.” Cynthia will replace Martha Sullivan who has so ably led our student affairs office for many years.

Many of you already know George Bernstein, who has served as an associate professor in our history department since the 1980s. Throughout his long career at Tulane, George has published numerous articles and two books on Britain’s political history. He has also served on dozens of university committees charged with overseeing teaching, hiring new faculty and staff members, hearing grievances, coordinating study abroad programs and dealing with faculty tenure, freedom and responsibility. He also served as associate chair of Tulane’s history department for two years.

George earned a B.A. in economics from Columbia University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. Provost Lefton, who coordinated the search for Bernstein, hailed George as a dedicated faculty member who has earned the universal respect of his colleagues. “It’s wonderful to promote one of our talented colleagues to a position of leadership,” the provost said of George. George replaces T.R. Kidder, associate professor of anthropology, who, in July 2002, agreed to serve a one-year term as interim dean of Tulane College after long-time dean Tony Cummings stepped down to rejoin our faculty.

I want to thank T.R. Kidder and Teresa Soufas, who chaired the student affairs and dean of Tulane College search committees respectively, for finding such accomplished leaders to serve in these vitally important roles. Special thanks also to the individual members of each committee and to Provost Lefton for overseeing these searches. Everyone’s hard work will help shape the future of Tulane University for many years to come.

Except for occasional Special Tulane Talks to announce matters of urgent university-wide interest, Tulane Talk, but not its author, will take a summer break. I hope you all have a wonderful summer starting with a great Memorial Day weekend.