Tulane University of Louisiana

Tulane University of Louisiana Summary

Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a public medical college in 1834, the school grew into a full university and was eventually privatized under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in the late 19th century. Tulane is a major American research university, and is the highest ranked institution of higher learning in the Deep South according to U.S. News & The Lavin Bernick Center for University Life (known by students as the UC), Fogelman Arena (home to Tulane’s basketball teams), McAlister Auditorium, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, most of the student residence halls and academic buildings populate the center of campus. Loyola University New Orleans is directly adjacent to Tulane, on the downriver side. Other locations include: Tulane is organized into 10 schools centered around liberal arts, sciences and certain professions: All undergraduate students are enrolled in the Newcomb-Tulane College. Tulane also offers continuing education courses and associate’s degrees through its School of Continuing Studies with continuing education. The following statistics reflect some of the changes at Tulane between 1998 and 2006: In 2003, Tulane’s graduation rate for student-athletes was 79%, ranking 14th among Division I athletic programs. In the US News and World Reports Best Grad Schools Guide, published in April 2006, the Tulane School of Medicine ranked No. this donation led to the establishment of a Tulane Educational Fund (TEF), whose board of administrators sought to support the University of Louisiana instead of establishing a new university. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College within Tulane University. In 1914, Tulane established a College of Commerce, the first business school in the South. In 1998, the student body of Tulane University voted by referendum to split the Associate Student Body (ASB) Senate into two separate houses, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA). However, the Office of the Associated Student Body President remained – the ASB President is a representative of every student on all of Tulane’s campuses. This person is still elected by the entire student body of Tulane, both undergraduate and graduate students. USG and GAPSA come together twice as semester to meet as the ASB Senate, where issues pertaining to the entire Tulane student body are discussed. In July 2004, Tulane received two $30 million donations to its endowment, the largest individual or combined gifts in the university’s history. As a result of the storm and its effects on New Orleans, Tulane University saw its second closing—-the first being during the Civil War. Tulane began to publicly respond to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina on August 27, 2005, with an initial plan to close the university until September 1. In other recent hurricanes such as Georges in 1998, Tulane simply used its larger dorms as shelters for students. On August 30, the university reported that “physical damage to the area, including Tulane’s campuses, was extensive” and conditions in the city were continuing to deteriorate. The American Council on Education and the Association of American Universities urged their member institutions to help displaced students from Tulane and the area’s other universities. Dozens of universities made provisions to allow Tulane students (and students from other affected colleges) to enroll as “provisional students” for the fall semester. When the university reopened in the spring, Tulane transferred credits earned by students elsewhere. To further help students graduate on schedule, Tulane offered two academic semesters between January and June 2006. Tulane School of Medicine relocated its students and essential teaching staff to Houston, Texas, and continued its fall semester at Baylor College of Medicine. This was aided in part by the support of Michael DeBakey, pioneering heart surgeon, graduate of Tulane School of Medicine and chancellor emeritus at Baylor College of Medicine. Students were able to request transfers, but many medical schools supported Tulane’s attempts to retain their student body and thus their school, although some students were successful in their appeals to transfer. The School of Medicine’s stay in Texas (‘Tulane West’ or ‘Tulane at Baylor’) ended, with the students and faculty returning to New Orleans in July 2006. Under the Renewal Plan, Tulane eliminated six undergraduate and graduate programs in the Engineering School: mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, environmental engineering, and computer science, and also a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. The university Renewal Plan created a single undergraduate co-ed college in July 2006, discontinuing Tulane’s liberal arts and sciences coordinate college system that comprised Tulane College (for men) and the H. In response to cutting several engineering degree programs, students, faculty, and alumni started the Save Tulane Engineering campaign to reinstate the five engineering majors and the separate school. There have been fourteen presidents of Tulane since the establishment of the Tulane Education Fund in 1884. Tulane University’s Football Team went 12-0 in 1998 culminating in a 41-27 victory over BYU in the Liberty Bowl.

Summary content courtesy of Wikipedia.