TULANE TALK

February 23, 2001

Good Morning:

Here’s some good news. Our engineering school has received a $4.4 million bequest from the estate of Catherine G. Spaar of Texas to support scholarships and infrastructure needs. Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, an assistant professor in our chemistry department, was awarded a $40,000 Sloan Research Fellowship to continue her research on proteins. This prestigious grant is awarded to “the very best young faculty members” in chemistry and other sciences.

I was able to share this and many other exciting things taking place on campus with alumni and potential supporters while in Cleveland earlier this week. On Wednesday I returned to campus and, among various appointments, had a chance to have lunch with Tulane alum, Jerry Springer. In case you are wondering, Jerry is friendly, smart, charming and self-effacing. However, I did have to admit to him that I have never seen his show!

Yesterday I gathered with members of the President’s Cabinet to review our progress on achieving the goals set forth in our strategic plan. In particular we focused on what is working and not working as we implement the plan.

I hope you all enjoy the Mardi Gras break. Margie and I are going to miss it because we are going on a development trip to Puerto Rico and Miami starting on Sunday. I will tell you about it in next week’s Tulane Talk. We do, however, plan to attend a few carnival events, including some parades, before we leave.