Tulane Talk December 04, 2009
TULANE TALK
December 4, 2009
Good Morning:
Yesterday, City Council President Arnie Fielkow and I presented “Five Things You Should Know About New Orleans” to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. We wanted to send the national media a different kind of message regarding New Orleans.
Our main points were:
1. The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina will result in New Orleans being a better and stronger city in the future.
Katrina exposed flaws crumbling federally-built levees, a government unprepared, poverty and other signs of a community that had failed its youth. But this tragedy also awakened citizens to the need for change.
2. As a result of Katrina, New Orleans can serve as a demonstration lab for disaster recovery and transformation. We now know how to plan for and respond to emergencies. We know the value of public/private partnerships that are revolutionizing our school system and establishing community health centers to provide medical care for the uninsured. We know how to recover our economy and even how to deal with FEMA.
3. Our recovery is a superb example of civic activism and resiliency.
Citizens voted out a wasteful system of seven tax assessors and multiple parish levee boards. They demanded funding for an inspector general to root out corruption and they banded together to demand effective and accountable government.
4. New Orleans is an iconoclastic city, which has retained its distinctiveness and charm despite the challenges and hardships it has and does face.
There are now more restaurants in New Orleans than before Katrina. We ranked first in more categories in Travel + Leisure Magazine‘s 2009 “America’s Favorite Cities” survey than any other city. We are a hotbed of entrepreneurship and the quintessential sports town hosting the Super Bowl in 2013 and the men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four basketball championships in 2012 and 2013. Not to mention our undefeated Saints.
5. New Orleans has the potential to become a model city for the 21st century.
Great things are in store for New Orleans. We have gotten a taste of positive change. We want more and we aspire to be a model for the country. I was honored to share our city’s message on a national stage.
I hope you, too, will share these five things with everyone you encounter, especially out-of-town friends and family. Together, we can make the story of New Orleans known far and wide.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk November 20, 2009
TULANE TALK
November 20, 2009
Good Morning:
Since this will be the last Tulane Talk before Thanksgiving break begins next Thursday, I want to tell you about four things for which I am thankful: our students, faculty, staff and alumni.
I am thankful for alumni like Shea Kathryne Shelton who, along with current business students Jay Zhao and Nic LaGatta, won “Movers & Changers,” the nationwide competition for young social entrepreneurs conducted by NYSE Euronext and mtvU. And, also, medical student William Kethman and law student Stephanie Roberts who were runners-up. You can watch the first episode of a new mtvU series starring these young Tulanians at http.moversandchangers.com/.
I am thankful for faculty members such as Delmar Caldwell, professor and chair of the Ophthalmology Department, whose skilled surgeon’s hands brought the gift of sight to a four-month-old baby girl. You can view this moving story at http.me/6J.
Finally, I am grateful for our amazing staff, especially the 10 extraordinary ones who have been selected for this year’s Staff Excellence Awards. I will announce their names soon. They are truly the best of the best.
I hope all of you, for whom I am so grateful, have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk November 13, 2009
TULANE TALK
November 13, 2009
Good Morning:
Our students never cease to amaze me. Recently, the New York Stock Exchange and mtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network, sponsored a nationwide contest to find the country’s most promising young social entrepreneurs, those whose business ideas could both benefit society and make money.
The hundreds of entrants were narrowed to just three team finalists. These will be featured in the new mtvU series “Movers and Changers” that premieres on Nov. 16. They will also present their business ideas before a panel of top socially conscious entrepreneurs in New York during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 16-22. The winning team will receive $25,000 in start-up money and the opportunity to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
If any school managed to have one team among the finalists, it would be considered a great accomplishment. However, Tulane is honored to have TWO teams among the three finalists. The business plans of these two teams address major problems in new and unique ways.
The team of Tulane medical student William Kethman and law student Stephanie Roberts will present SafeSnip, a small, disposable plastic clamp that cuts, seals and disinfects an umbilical cord in one step. The device, which William and Stephanie invented, along with Tulane science and engineering graduates Byran Molter, Mark Young and Professor David Rice, is designed for developing countries where home births are common and infants are susceptible to bacterial infections and neonatal tetanus.
The team of public health major Shea Kathryne Shelton and business majors Jay Zhao and Nic LaGatta addresses unfair trade practices and our endangered wetlands. Their business plan envisions buying tea grown in China at fair trade prices. The tea will be prepared in a traditional, organic and environmentally friendly way and then sold here on campus and throughout the city. The team will use part of its profits to plant cypress trees in the wetlands and raise awareness of our diminishing coast.
Both of these teams are already winners in the truest sense of the word and represent the best of Tulane. Please join me in wishing them success in this competition and in all of their future endeavors.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk November 06, 2009
TULANE TALK
November 6, 2009
Good Morning:
This coming Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 9 and 10, Tulane University will welcome some of the country’s top political strategists, commentators and pundits to campus for the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Inaugural Political Summit.
The list of participants includes Barack Obama’s lead pollster; John McCain’s campaign adviser; the senior advisor and strategist for John Kerry’s presidential campaign; the top media adviser to Bush-Cheney ’04 and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns; the senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign; a leading columnist for The Washington Times and the Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post plus many, many more. James Carville and Mary Matalin, two people who epitomize the value of bipartisanship, will serve as honorary co-chairs of the summit.
I hope you will be able to attend some of the summit’s sessions, which will take place in the Kendall Cram Room on the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life. The panels open to the public on Monday, Nov. 9 include What’s Fair in Politics? from 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. (opening remarks will begin at 2:30 p.m.) and Assessing the Obama Presidency from 4 – 5 p.m. On Tuesday, Nov. 10 the panels open to the public will be Looking Ahead to 2010 and 2012 from 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. (opening remarks will begin at 9:30 a.m.) and The Role of the Media in Elections from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. If you can’t make the panels in person, you can view a live webcast at http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/NOLA2009.
The list of participants at this event is as impressive as it is potentially combustible. But the theme of the summit is Taking the Poison Out of Partisanship and the purpose of the Bipartisan Policy Center is to demonstrate that consensus and principled compromise can be achieved on difficult issues when policy differences are debated in a thoughtful and constructive manner. These are ideals I think all of us can agree on, regardless of our political affiliation.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk October 30, 2009
TULANE TALK
October 30, 2009
Good Morning:
Today’s Tulane Talk comes to you from Taiwan where I have been all week. I will return to New Orleans tomorrow.
The two objectives of the trip were to reconnect with our 800-plus alumni living here and to strengthen and expand our Taiwanese academic partnerships. We covered a lot of ground in four days, including separate meetings with the president and senior administrators of Taiwan National University, Asia University and China Medical University. At China Medical University, I allowed myself to be the patient for a demonstration of Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and other stress reduction techniques. I feel a lot better as a result. At each university we signed a Memorandum of Understanding for expanded relations in student exchanges and educational and research programs.
Our trip also included a visit to Lite-On Corporation, one of the leading technology companies in the world, and a stop at a Taiwanese winery that makes sake. (I participated in the sampling demonstration.)
I had an opportunity to meet with Taiwan’s vice president in a session that was scheduled for 30 minutes but lasted an hour longer. The topics ranged from disaster recovery to the world economy. I had separate meetings with the minister of health and education and also had an exciting visit to Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, which is the first medical tourist complex in the world. This new concept was extremely interesting to learn about and witness first-hand.
I was treated to a luncheon and banquet every day, mostly attended by our alumni and university officials from our partner institutions. Since each meal consisted of 12 courses, I ate well but healthily.
The trip was very productive. I was quite impressed with the dedication and commitment of our alumni and their desire and willingness to promote their organizations and ties to Tulane. Taiwan and its universities play an important part in Tulane’s global strategy and I am proud we have so many programs there. The Taiwanese are also very gracious hosts and I am already looking forward to my next visit.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk October 23, 2009
TULANE TALK
October 23, 2009
Good Morning:
Last year I signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging, among other things, that Tulane would work toward carbon neutrality by balancing the amount of any carbon released with measures to reduce such emissions by an equivalent amount. My support was not driven by political correctness; instead, it was motivated by the fact that it was the right thing do for our campus and wider community.
To fulfill the carbon neutrality component of the commitment, we first determined how much greenhouse gases we actually emit at our campuses and research buildings in New Orleans, Harahan, Covington, Belle Chasse, Houston and Biloxi. Our findings showed that energy used by buildings is the largest source of greenhouse gases at Tulane, followed by travel for university business, commuting by faculty, staff and students, waste and our vehicle fleet. The full report is available at http://green.tulane.edu. Now that we know the sources, the Climate Commitment Advisory Committee I appointed will research ways to reduce our emissions. Their report will be finished next year.
Meanwhile, we continue to reduce the university’s energy use and environmental impact in other ways. For instance, new campus construction projects, such as the renovation of Dinwiddie Hall, are following the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building program.
These and other efforts are already beginning to pay off. The Sustainable Endowments Institute recently gave Tulane a “B” on its “College Sustainability Report Card for 2010.” We won’t stop working until we get an “A,” but this is a good start. In addition, the Arbor Day Foundation recently named Tulane a “2009 Tree Campus USA University” for its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. Tulane will officially celebrate its Tree Campus USA designation from noon to 5 p.m. on Nov. 6 with a plaque dedication, festivities and a tree planting effort in which students will plant 45 trees on campus.
You can also learn all about recycling, environmental majors, sustainable dining, green rebuilding projects, campus environmental organizations and more at the second annual Going Green Block Party from 4 to 6 p.m., Oct. 27 on Mayer Quad, behind Le Gourmet. There will be live music from student bands, local and sustainable cuisine on the grill, with free samples, and an opportunity to meet campus organizations and offices working to make Tulane and New Orleans greener for us all.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk October 16, 2009
TULANE TALK
October 16, 2009
Good Morning:
This week turned out to be particularly interesting and exciting because of President Obama’s visit to New Orleans. I was honored to be among a small group of local leaders who met face-to-face with the president prior to his Town Hall Meeting yesterday at UNO. I thanked the president for the vital role the federal government continues to play in our recovery. In his public comments he remarked that the improvement in New Orleans’ public educational system is probably the most dramatic he has seen anywhere in the country, a view shared by Education Secretary Arne Duncan earlier that morning. I really appreciated that observation, knowing how big a role Tulane has had in this transformation. I told the president that I hoped New Orleans might serve as a model of transformation for other cities throughout the country.
I joined Secretary Duncan on a visit to John McDonogh High School to discuss the transformation of public education in New Orleans. Secretary Duncan engaged the students in a discussion of their experiences. It is so wonderful to see the hope and energy of these young people as their school begins to register steady improvement. I also had the chance to meet separately with senior advisers traveling with the president, including HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley.
I concluded the day by accompanying Melody Barnes, director of the president’s Domestic Policy Council, and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu on a visit to CafÈ Reconcile, which provides youth from at-risk communities with the experience and interpersonal skills for a successful career in the hospitality and restaurant industries.
The Obama administration is very interested in learning about and supporting such innovative social programs. I was included in this tour because of Tulane’s recognition as an institution devoted to civic engagement and social entrepreneurship, of which CafÈ Reconcile, founded by the late Rev. Harry Tompson, is a prime example.
The day left me filled with gratitude, pride and hope for New Orleans’ continued recovery and renewal and the Obama administration’s commitment. Most of all I was honored to represent you and Tulane University on a national stage.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk October 09, 2009
TULANE TALK
October 9, 2009
Good Morning:
“Five Things You Should Know About Tulane University,” will be the theme of this morning’s Town Hall Meeting, which will convene at 11 a.m. in Dixon Hall. I am looking forward to sharing with you some thoughts about our accomplishments and future plans as well as responding to your questions. It is a perfect time to do this as we mark Tulane University’s 175th anniversary.
The Town Hall Meeting is one of the many activities during this busy Homecoming Weekend. The http Homecoming auction and party is taking place this evening, as is a pep rally on the LBC Quad, featuring Coach Bob Toledo, the Homecoming Court, fireworks and a concert by Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers.
For a list of all Homecoming activities, visit http://tulane.edu/homecoming. All these events and traditions, of course, lead up to the big game tomorrow against Marshall at 2:30 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome. I like our chances to extend our winning streak and secure a Homecoming victory. Hope you will be cheering alongside me.
Have a great Homecoming Weekend,
Tulane Talk October 02, 2009
TULANE TALK
October 2, 2009
Good Morning:
Next week will be one of the most festive of the year as we celebrate Homecoming 2009. Parents and families from all over the country will descend on campus to spend time with their students during the annual Parent/Family Weekend. At various reunions, alumni will renew friendships that changed their lives. These and all the other traditions, remembrances, concerts and the big game that will make Homecoming 2009 so memorable can be found at http://tulane.edu/homecoming/week.cfm.
I also want to spotlight an extra special part of this year’s celebration, the Hullabaloo Homecoming, an auction and party that will benefit Tulane’s student-athletes. The chairs of this event, which will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Oct. 9 at the Lavin-Bernick Center, are Jill Glazer, a Tulane parent, board member and civic leader, Shaun King, a Tulane great, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst and Brenda Dickson, a Tulane parent and wife of Athletic Director Rick Dickson.
With chairs of this caliber, we were expecting great things and, boy, did they deliver. This year’s Hullabaloo Homecoming promises to be like no other. The evening will feature live music, great food and a chance to visit with Tulane student-athletes past and present. The signature event of the evening will be an incredible auction hosted by local news personality Lee Zurik.
The more than 240 items to be auctioned include tickets to the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open and Masters; suite (and sweet) packages for New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and English Manchester United Football Club games; a Saturday with ESPN Football Analyst Shaun King at ESPN Headquarters as he, Kordell Stewart and others break down the day’s games; tickets for “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”; VIP seats for the “The Bonnie Hunt Show”; the Brad Paisley concert; the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”; the “Dr. Phil Show”; an Eli Manning autographed Giants jersey; a Tommy Lasorda autographed baseball; a Yao Ming autographed Houston Rockets jersey; dinner prepared by chef Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace and shared with James Carville, Mary Matalin and Margie and me at our home; the opportunity to have best-selling author James Patterson’s next book dedicated to you and one of the book’s characters named for you; a seven night Caribbean Cruise for two; and much, much more.
Tickets for the Hullabaloo Homecoming, which is open to the public, are $20 and dress for the event is “come as you are.” But there are a limited number of tickets so please register early by calling (504) 865-5356 or visiting http://tulane.edu/homecoming/hullabaloo. At this link you can also bid online now for many of the auction items mentioned above, register for the Super Bowl ticket raffle and, if you can’t be in New Orleans for the big night, submit absentee bids for the auction items that will be available only the night of the Hullabaloo Homecoming.
But I do hope to see you there and, maybe, for dinner.
Have a great weekend,
Tulane Talk September 25, 2009
TULANE TALK
September 25, 2009
Good Morning:
This week has been hectic so pardon me if I make this brief. Along with our board meeting this week, a quick trip to D.C. to attend the Council for Higher Education Accreditation meeting and other pressing university business, Margie and I are preparing (at least mentally) for the marriage of another one of our children. Our only son, Tommy, will be married next weekend in a small family wedding in the Catskills.
I know our son reads these weekly messages because when I once jokingly remarked in a Tulane Talk that dogs are better than children because they don’t talk back, he sent me a two-word reply: “WOOF-WOOF!”
That really made me laugh, as Tommy has done so often throughout the years. He and all of our children, and more recently grandchildren, have brought joy and fulfillment to our lives like no other experience. We are really looking forward to this next happy occasion as a family.
Finally, I want to thank the many people who congratulated me for receiving the 2009 Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award. This recognition is really in honor of all of you, my other family, who work tirelessly on behalf of the university and community. Without your efforts, Tulane would not be the great institution it is and I would never have been so honored.
Have a great weekend,