TULANE TALK

October 18, 2013

Good Morning:

Tulane has been a bit star-struck lately with actors Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum filming scenes from “22 Jump Street” on campus, “The Queen Latifah Show” taping from the steps of Gibson Hall and the History Channel filming in one of our earth and environmental sciences labs.

Major motion pictures shooting on campus are not only for fun. They assist Louisiana’s growing film industry, an important part of our city and state’s economy. They also benefit Tulane by raising our profile and creating a positive buzz and excitement about the university. “The Queen Latifah Show” taping, for instance, featured both Tulane students and a special group of http. Tulane students have also been hired as extras and have earned a few speaking roles in the many films we have hosted throughout the years. Margie and I even got to do a cameo appearance in “22 Jump Street.” And that photo of Channing Tatum in a football uniform riding through campus with Jonah Hill has been tweeted and retweeted more times than I can count.

This is all great, but the football players who really deserve tweeting are our own Green Wave, who USA Today just named the nation’s top “surprise team.” This team is fun to watch and last week’s triple overtime victory was one of the most exciting and nail-biting sporting events I have ever witnessed at Tulane. To make sure you are part of this year’s fun, we are offering every faculty and staff member two free tickets to the Green Wave’s next game against Tulsa at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 26, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. You and the team will get to see my hair a lovely shade of (TBD) for this game.

I also definitely plan to visit with students in the tailgating section before the game. Athletics is planning a huge pre-game party for our students with free food, soft drinks and music. It is sort of a Homecoming Part II to make up for some of the special events that got rained out for this year’s Homecoming. I know it will be a blast. Our students pour their hearts into everything they do — in the classroom, on the field, in the stands and in the community they are the real superstars who make the real difference.

Have a great weekend,