TULANE TALK

September 11, 2009

Good Morning:

Tulane University’s strength has always been its people. The greatness of our university is defined by their quality, character and talent. In the years ahead, our ability to continue to realize our dreams and full potential are dependent on us attracting and retaining the best faculty, staff and students possible.

As we pass the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and move into the future, it is now time to reconsider how our senior administrative team has been organized since the storm and make adjustments to better position the university to capitalize on the many opportunities – academically, administratively and financially – that now present themselves. To achieve these goals we must continue to invest in the “people initiative” outlined in our Renewal Plan. This includes investing in our senior leadership team.

This team must be properly staffed and focused on Tulane’s highest institutional priorities and opportunities. At the same time, we must continue to strengthen our management team to ensure that strong leadership exists in all our key areas so we can sustain the university’s growth well into the future.

With this context in mind, I have been discussing changes to our organizational structure with Board members and others, and I am happy to announce the following major organizational changes, effective October 1. Yvette Jones, currently chief operating officer and senior vice president for External Relations, will become executive vice president for University Relations and Development. In this very critical role Yvette will oversee Government Relations; University Communications and Marketing; Alumni Affairs and Development, including all of its related areas; Board Relations and Community Relations.

This change is being made to significantly enhance our fund-raising capability as we begin to lay the foundation for the largest campaign in Tulane history – a more than $1 billion fund-raising initiative. As successful as we have been in the past in fund raising, it is now time to make the kind of investment in our university relations and development areas that will ensure that we are even stronger as we move ahead. It is clear that the benefits to be gained far exceed the investment required. This change will provide the focus and stellar leadership needed to develop a “best in breed” fund-raising function while also enhancing new or existing external partnerships.

Given Yvette’s broad experience, seniority and commitment to the university and excellent record of accomplishment, she is the ideal person to lead these efforts that will have a major impact on the future of Tulane. The change in Yvette’s current responsibilities will also prompt a reassignment of duties among other members of the senior leadership team.

Anne BaÒos, currently vice president and chief of staff, will become vice president for Administrative Services. Anne will continue to oversee the Work Force Management Office, Emergency Response and the child centers. In her new role, she will also assume additional responsibility for Environmental Health and Safety and Campus Services (e.g. dining, vending, university contracts, shuttle services). This organizational change will result in a more efficient grouping of activities so we can realize greater effectiveness in the delivery of important services to our community. These changes will also help to even the workload among other members of the senior leadership team.

Anne is well prepared to assume these additional duties. In the last nine years, her performance as Chief of Staff has been excellent and as a result she has assumed greater responsibilities over time. Anne clearly has the breadth and depth of knowledge required for this new position. As part of Anne’s transition to this new role, I will hire a new chief of staff. These appointments will bring additional changes to the responsibilities of other senior officers. All are important, but not on the same scale of change as the ones outlined above. For a complete picture of the revised organizational structure for each of the senior officers, please go to http://riptide.me/v.

These changes will require incremental investment in people and systems by the university but again these investments will return to the university an amount far in excess of their cost. This will greatly strengthen the university in every way and better position us for future growth and expansion.

Please join me in congratulating and thanking Yvette, Anne and everyone else affected by the reorganization for accepting and assuming these tasks for the benefit of our community.

Have a great weekend,