TULANE TALK

Dear Tulane Community:

Tomorrow we will welcome the newest members of the Tulane family as the class of 2017-18 moves onto campus. This is my 16th Move-in Day as president of Tulane and I am just as excited now as I was back in 1998 when I welcomed my first class. Most of this year’s class were still toddlers then.

Once again, this year’s class is one of the most academically qualified and community-oriented classes in Tulane’s history. When I address them at tomorrow’s convocation I will emphasize to them their importance to both our university and city. I will remind them that a central part of their education will be to explore and connect with our culturally diverse, historically rich, one-of-a-kind community and its people who have so much to teach them. I will remind them of all the good accomplished by the classes that preceded them and how much we are expecting of them.

I will urge them to grow intellectually, ethically and emotionally during their time at Tulane. I will also tell them how many businesses, buildings and traditions in this great city have been started by Tulane graduates in the past and how they are destined to create their own legacy in the future.

Finally, I will tell them to take a good look around, let out a deep breath and relax. They made the right choice. They are home.

Have a great weekend