TULANE TALK

September 13, 2001

Dear Colleagues:

As many of you have heard by now, President Bush has declared tomorrow a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.

I invite staff, students and faculty to join me in honoring President Bush’s request to pray for our country by attending one of two interfaith memorial services at noon tomorrow. These services will be held in the Kendall Cram Room of the University Center and at the Tulane Medical School auditorium.

Later in the afternoon at 3:30 p.m., we will hold an open forum in the Kendall Cram Room co-hosted by Provost Lester Lefton and Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences Paul Whelton to discuss the week’s events and to help us in “Making Sense of the Senseless.” I have invited a number of the leading members of our faculty to this forum to share with us their expertise in foreign policy, international law, the Middle East and other related topics.

In order to allow our students to participate in the memorial services and the forum that follows them, I am suspending classes as of noon on Friday. University offices will remain open and I request that all supervisors be as accommodating as possible in allowing their employees to participate in this important occasion.

Our program is designed as a dialogue and all who attend will have the chance to ask questions and volunteer their thoughts and feelings. I feel very strongly that this event is important to all of us and will, hopefully, be the start of a deeper understanding of what has transpired in the last few days. I also believe it will be a cathartic opportunity to discuss how America is forever changed.

For those unable to attend these events, both will be streamed on the University’s web site and will be shown on the University’s cable TV system. Both programs will also be shown in the Tulane Medical School auditorium.