TULANE TALK
August 17, 2007
Good Morning:
The weather isn’t the only thing hot in New Orleans this summer. Tulane University was named one of the 25 “Hottest Schools in America” this week by the 2008 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College” guide. Schools on the “Hottest” list offer top academic programs but also are generating extra buzz this year, according to the creators of the annual guide. You might remember we were also one of only nine schools named on the guide’s hottest schools list in 2002.
Forbes magazine also ranked Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business 44th (28th among private universities) in its latest rankings, which were released this week. Tulane was ranked 51 in this same survey in 2005.
We were also informed this week that we will be included in the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review’s “Best 366 Colleges” guidebook which Random House will publish August 21. This guide includes features on the nation’s top schools, ranked in no particular order.
In addition we received notice this week that Tulane is ranked 50th among the best national universities by U.S. News and World Report, 48th in the magazine’s “Great Schools/Great Prices” category and is also cited for its excellent service learning programs.
Our overall U.S. News and World Report ranking was 44th immediately prior to the storm. Normally, this change in ranking would be disappointing. Yet, it is remarkable and a credit to all of our hard work and the dedication of our students that, given the devastation of Katrina and U.S. News’ standardized, inflexible methodology, Tulane continues to be ranked among the top national universities while also being recognized as one of the “Hottest Schools in America.”
These and other rankings tell me that we are still receiving national recognition for achieving our goal of not only surviving Katrina but thriving in its aftermath. Indeed, since our post-Katrina Renewal Plan was adopted, the university’s endowment reached $1 billion for the first time in its history, our freshmen class is expected to increase by a record 50 percent this year (the largest one-year increase in first-time freshmen in the history of Tulane) and we recently enrolled our largest medical school class ever.
Tulane’s best days are still to come as the school moves closer to full recovery and achieving its potential as one of the most distinguished and distinctive educational and research institutions anywhere.
The regular Tulane Talk series will begin again next Friday. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the remaining days of summer.
