TULANE TALK

August 30, 2002

Good Morning:

Scouts for the upcoming film “Runaway Jury,” starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffmann and John Cusack, visited #2 Audubon yesterday as a possible setting for one of the movie’s scenes. The crew is also considering other locations on campus and have ordered a Tulane sweatshirt for John Cusack’s character. I’ll keep you abreast of the latest Hollywood buzz.

Thanks to the hard work of a lot of staff and faculty members and our wonderful student volunteers, we were able to give a warm Tulane welcome to the most academically qualified first year undergraduate class in university history last weekend. Likewise, early indications suggest that virtually all of our schools and their programs had a very successful fall registration. I will keep you posted on the numbers as well as the quality of the students enrolled.

We also recently welcomed Robert M. Devlin, chairman of the New York-based venture capital firm Curragh Capital Partners, to the Board of Tulane. Bob received his B.A. in Economics from Tulane in 1964. He is the former Chairman and CEO of American General, one of the largest diversified financial services organizations in the United States. Bob is a member of the Tulane President’s Council and the Tulane College Dean’s Advisory Council. His appointment continues the board’s efforts to ensure that it is comprised of members who have strong Tulane connections and operate in the national and international arena.

Our students have only been back one week and they are already hitting the streets. But that’s a good thing. Tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. nearly 300 Tulane students will volunteer at service organizations throughout the city as part of the 12th Annual Outreach Tulane. I am extraordinarily proud of our faculty, staff and students’ involvement in the community. If anyone cares to join in this Saturday’s events, contact dsimons@tulane.edu or call (504) 314-2115.

Finally, some of you careful readers noticed a typo in last week’s Tulane Talk. The figure for the number of donors to our Annual Fund should have been 14,100 not 4,100. (I have to quit letting Gibson proofread my stuff.

But speaking of Gibson, if any of you doubted my ability as a swim coach, check out this photo.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend,