TULANE TALK

May 5, 2006

Good Morning:

Each of us in the Tulane community has experienced and survived the worst natural disaster ever to befall an American city and university. The emergency plan we refined and practiced prior to Katrina served us well.

However, there were many lessons we learned from Hurricane Katrina. For instance, I always operated under the assumption that I should ride out any storm on campus; the old ìcaptain never abandons the shipî mentality was my guide. However, after being trapped on campus for days after Katrina with very little ability to communicate with my senior staff I realized the most effective way for me to direct the recovery of the university would be to establish a senior leadership recovery team, led by me, in Houston prior to a stormís landfall.

Also, in the past it was highly recommended that each department formulate their own emergency plan. But only departments whose activities directly impacted human and facility safety were required to do so. While this policy ensured the safety of our students, faculty and staff as well as our major facilities, we learned that many employees did not know how to prepare their workspace for a hurricane or their responsibilities after the storm passed. Now plans for every university department are mandatory and are due at the end of this month.

Before Katrina, our hurricane plan dictated one strategy for Category 1 and 2 hurricanes and another for Category 3, 4 and 5. Our revised plan will make no distinction in how the university will respond to different categories of storms.

There are several more changes to our hurricane preparation with which you should familiarize yourself. The revised plan will be available at the beginning of June on Tulane’s emergency web site http://emergency.tulane.edu

This hurricane season will undoubtedly be an anxious one for many of us. However, I know if we follow our battle-tested, and now improved, plan we will be able to keep our university and each other safe.

Have a great Jazz Fest weekend,

TULANE TALK

April 21, 2006

Good Morning:

This weekend I am off to Washington, D.C. to attend a meeting of the Association of American Universities and to testify before a congressional committee on the need for federal money to help universities and K-12 public education in New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Specifically, I will ask members of the U.S. House of Representativesí Committee on Education and Workforce to support the establishment of the Education Relief Loan Program. This program would provide repayable loans to assist hurricane-impacted universities with the overwhelming tasks of managing the cash flow issues they face as they try to recover their losses from insurance carriers and FEMA.

I will also petition the committee on behalf of our K-12 education system. While the federal government has given money to support teacher’s salaries and purchase books and equipment, FEMA has allocated no money for repairing the infrastructure of our elementary and secondary schools, 70 percent of which were damaged by Katrina. Repairing the physical facilities of our schools is critical as more and more students return and we reform our school system, which was failing our children.

New Orleans and the surrounding region cannot recover without the survival of its colleges and universities. Higher education pumps approximately $3 billion each year into the regionís economy. Tulaneís economic impact on New Orleans before Katrina totaled more than $842 million a year and our economic impact statewide was more than $1.12 billion a year. Prior to Katrina, Tulane was the largest private employer in Orleans Parish; now we are the single largest employer of any type in the city.

New Orleans needs repaired levees and rebuilt homes and businesses in order to survive in the short term. But it is only through the education of our citizens at all levels that we can achieve lasting, positive change and become the city of our dreams.

TULANE TALK

April 7, 2006

On April 10 Tulane University students, in partnership with their colleagues at other local universities, will present a mayoral debate in which the candidates will address student-specific concerns regarding the future of New Orleans. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and close at 6:45. The debate, which is open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in McAlister Auditorium with Roop Raj of WDSU-TV moderating.

I am very proud of our students for taking the initiative and arranging this forum on their own. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the most important issues the next administration will face as it leads our city toward recovery.

After securing adequate levee protection and addressing our urgent housing needs, I believe the most important issue for the the recovery of New Orleans is repairing, physically, fiscally and academically, our K-12 public school system. As you may know, I recently headed the Education Committee of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission. Our recommendations for creating a public school system that puts the needs of children first can be found at http://www.bringneworleansback.org/

I urge you to attend Mondayís mayoral debate and decide for yourself which candidate is most worthy of being entrusted with the future of New Orleans and the future of our children.

Have a great weekend,

TULANE TALK

March 24, 2006

Good Morning:

Although it has long been a tradition at universities around the country, I sometimes wonder if, before Katrina, we truly understood and appreciated the meaning of Homecoming.

This coming week we will finally get a chance to celebrate the Homecoming and Parent/Family Weekend that Katrina delayed, but could not deny us. This yearís Homecoming, which we are calling ìHomeRun 2006,î will be centered around a weekend baseball series between our 14th-ranked Green Wave and the Rice Owls, the nationís second-ranked team.

This classic college match-up, which will include tailgating and live music at the Zephyr Stadium parking lot beginning at 9 a.m. on April 1, may be the highlight of ìHomeRun 2006î but the festivities begin much sooner with the Lighting of McAlister Auditorium ceremony on March 26 at 7 p.m., followed by the presentation of members of the 2005 Homecoming Court, a step show and fireworks.

Throughout the week window painting, sidewalk chalking, green and blue snoballs and numerous other activities bringing students, parents, faculty, staff and fans together will help remind us, once again, how glad we are to be home. Weíll also remember our medical school students and faculty who are continuing their studies in Texas and wonít return home until July.

For a list of all of the activities of this ìHomecoming DÈjà Vuî please visit http://www2.tulane.edu/homerun06.html

Have a great weekend,