TULANE TALK

October 18, 2002

Good Morning:

Tulane made a French connection of sorts this week. Senior Vice President for External Affairs Yvette Jones presented French President Jacques Chirac with the Tulane University President’s Medal at the ElysÈe Palace in France. Yvette, representing our university, was part of a delegation of Louisiana business and political leaders who visited France Oct.12-20 to express our state’s abiding friendship, shared heritage and continued cultural and economic ties with the people of France.

Governor Mike Foster has invited President Chirac to New Orleans on Dec. 20, 2003 to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase, which transferred the territory of Louisiana from France to the United States. It won’t be the first time President Chirac has visited our city, having come to New Orleans in the 1950s to research his college thesis on the development of the Port of New Orleans.

Recalling our city’s French heritage brings to mind the many cultures whose contributions make our city and campus community such a lively and enriching place to live and work. One of my primary goals as president is to make sure Tulane is an open, inclusive and welcoming environment. In a couple of weeks all faculty, students and staff will receive an on-line survey that seeks everyone’s opinion on how well the university has lived up to the goals of inclusiveness and diversity outlined in its Strategic Plan.

It is crucial that you fill out this completely confidential survey as honestly as possible. Only then can we properly assess our successes, as well as the areas in which we need to improve. Merci, in advance, for your cooperation.

Have a great weekend,