TULANE TALK

June 27, 2003

Good Morning:

I want to bring you up-to-date on a few senior level changes at the university.

After a yearlong search to find a new dean of the A.B. Freeman School of Business, Provost Lefton and I have decided to keep the search open. When Dean McFarland told us last year that he was stepping down we immediately formed a committee to begin a national search to replace him. The search yielded many worthy candidates but no one upon whom the committee, faculty, student representatives and senior university leadership could agree. In light of this, Dean McFarland has graciously agreed to stay on for another year while we restart the search process.

We are also in the early stages of putting together a search committee to replace Don Gatzke, dean of the School of Architecture, who announced that he is leaving his position to assume the deanship of the school of architecture at the University of Texas-Arlington, effective January 2004.

During his seven years as dean, the School of Architecture has enjoyed tremendous growth in enrollment, academic offerings and prestige. Among Dean Gatzke’s most visible accomplishments is the current $5 million renovation of the school’s home in Richardson Memorial Hall. In addition to structural change, Dean Gatzke also oversaw the creation of a graduate program in preservation studies and established the Urban Regional Design Center, two initiatives of great importance to a historic city such as New Orleans.

These efforts, along with his success in helping the school achieve a maximum six-year term of accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board, his raising of faculty salaries and increased contact with the architectural community, have all led to a higher profile for the school on both a local and national level. The architectural profession recognizes Tulane’s excellence in graduating students who know architecture from both a theoretical and practical standpoint.

We will miss both of our departing deans for their leadership and friendship. But one familiar face that will still be around is Debbie Grant, who has been elevated to the position of vice president of university communications. Debbie has a long history with Tulane, having led our communications efforts for many years. Debbie oversees our media relations, the university’s web presence, publications such as “Inside Tulane” and the “Tulanian” and coordinates university-wide events such as the Wave Goodbye celebration and commencement. She also tells me what to say when reporters show up on my doorstep. Or at least she tries to.

Have a great weekend,