Tulane to Reopen
December 9, 2005
Lean Tulane to Reopen Its Campus Next Month
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
Tulane University announced yesterday that it would reopen in New Orleans next month as a sharply scaled-back institution, coping with the effects of Hurricane Katrina by laying off more than 200 faculty members, eliminating some academic programs and carrying half as many varsity sports teams.
Officials said the changes were necessary even though they expected up to 90 percent of Tulane's 13,000 students to return after a semester spent at colleges and universities across the country.
"By subtraction, we will strengthen ourselves," said Tulane's president, Scott S. Cowen. "These changes were all done to make sure that as Tulane goes forward, we can maintain academic excellence, address our financial issues and help save New Orleans."
Mr. Cowen said the hurricane had forced the university to reinvent itself, narrowing its focus to its strengths, including an urban program intended to help rebuild New Orleans, and eliminating programs it could no longer support financially.
The high rate of student return reflected, in part, a campaign this fall by Mr. Cowen and other Tulane officials, who visited campuses around the country to encourage Tulane students to return in January.
While Mr. Cowen called the number of returning students "amazing," some parents expressed anger at the university for trying to discourage displaced students from staying at the colleges that had taken them in.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck, a group of national education organizations sent letters to presidents of institutions that had taken in students from the New Orleans area, urging them to admit them "only on a visiting or provisional basis."
"They have made a concerted effort at various levels to make sure that students don't transfer," said Daniel J. Checki of South Orange, N.J., the father of a Tulane sophomore who attended Cornell this fall and wanted to stay.
Other parents expressed concern that despite continuing cleanup efforts from the storm that hit on Aug. 29, New Orleans might still not be ready to receive so many returning students and faculty members.
Since its earliest days in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana and its conversion to a full private university 50 years later, Tulane has been a jewel of New Orleans, situated on the high ground of St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District.
It has consistently been a leading university in the South and a magnet to many students from the Northeast. When the doors open in January, Tulane will resume its role as New Orleans's largest employer, and a diminished city population will increase by 20 percent.
Tulane is not the only New Orleans college struggling to recover. Loyola and Southern Universities have vowed to reopen next month, and Loyola announced Tuesday that 28 employees would lose their jobs at the end of the year. Two small historically black universities, Dillard and Xavier, suffered far worse damage than their wealthier counterparts on higher ground and are scrambling to get back on their feet.
Mr. Cowen said the streamlined version of Tulane took into account the weakened condition of the area and the university's more limited resources, including a budget of $600 million, reduced from $700 million, and spending of $200 million for hurricane recovery.
Five undergraduate majors have been eliminated, all in science and engineering, and many other programs have been consolidated. The graduate school has been shut down.
The medical school faculty is being reduced by 180 positions, to 345, largely because only two hospitals are operating in New Orleans.
Over all, Tulane is reducing its full-time faculty and staff to 4,000, from 4,700. The cutbacks include job losses for 26 tenured professors whose programs are being dropped.
While its marquee athletic teams, including football and basketball, will survive, eight intercollegiate sports will be suspended.
Mr. Cowen said other changes were designed to produce new areas of specialization for Tulane, including a partnership with Xavier and Dillard on urban issues.
He said the collaboration would reflect the urgent needs of rebuilding the Gulf Coast, with special attention to poverty, social justice and race.
"We are determined to find opportunity in the face of adversity," Mr. Cowen said. "Tulane will do more than just survive. We will thrive and continue our role as a beacon of learning and research for the region and the nation."
Parents of many Tulane students said their children were eager to return, partly drawn by the ambience of the campus and the quirky nature of New Orleans.
But some parents pointed to efforts by Tulane and other universities to block transfers.
Mr. Checki said his son, Matthew, was told he would have to sit out a semester before being eligible to enroll there. A spokesman for Cornell, Simeon Moss, said anyone could apply at any time, but referring to the 200 students at Cornell from New Orleans colleges and universities, he added, "I'm sure there was no attempt to encourage them to apply."
Stephanie Swisher, a Tulane freshman who spent the fall semester at the University of Virginia, said she helped organize a petition drive, asking the administration to waive rules and allow first-year students to transfer in without the required 24 credits.
Virginia's student council passed a resolution supporting the effort, but the administration ignored it.
Other parents said that they were less enthusiastic about a return to campus, citing concerns over environmental safety, crime, a lack of basic services in many parts of the city and Tulane's ability to serve the students adequately.
With some of the student housing still uninhabitable, Tulane is negotiating the lease of a cruise ship.
"I'm not happy about a lot of things," said Susan Goodman, whose daughter, Kristen, attended Virginia this fall as a senior.
Ms. Goodman, who lives in Westchester County, N.Y., visited New Orleans recently and said she found it "horrifying, much worse than anything you see on TV."
And her daughter? "She wants to go back," Ms. Goodman said. "But I'd prefer that she stay where she is."
Lean Tulane to Reopen Its Campus Next Month
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
Tulane University announced yesterday that it would reopen in New Orleans next month as a sharply scaled-back institution, coping with the effects of Hurricane Katrina by laying off more than 200 faculty members, eliminating some academic programs and carrying half as many varsity sports teams.
Officials said the changes were necessary even though they expected up to 90 percent of Tulane's 13,000 students to return after a semester spent at colleges and universities across the country.
"By subtraction, we will strengthen ourselves," said Tulane's president, Scott S. Cowen. "These changes were all done to make sure that as Tulane goes forward, we can maintain academic excellence, address our financial issues and help save New Orleans."
Mr. Cowen said the hurricane had forced the university to reinvent itself, narrowing its focus to its strengths, including an urban program intended to help rebuild New Orleans, and eliminating programs it could no longer support financially.
The high rate of student return reflected, in part, a campaign this fall by Mr. Cowen and other Tulane officials, who visited campuses around the country to encourage Tulane students to return in January.
While Mr. Cowen called the number of returning students "amazing," some parents expressed anger at the university for trying to discourage displaced students from staying at the colleges that had taken them in.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck, a group of national education organizations sent letters to presidents of institutions that had taken in students from the New Orleans area, urging them to admit them "only on a visiting or provisional basis."
"They have made a concerted effort at various levels to make sure that students don't transfer," said Daniel J. Checki of South Orange, N.J., the father of a Tulane sophomore who attended Cornell this fall and wanted to stay.
Other parents expressed concern that despite continuing cleanup efforts from the storm that hit on Aug. 29, New Orleans might still not be ready to receive so many returning students and faculty members.
Since its earliest days in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana and its conversion to a full private university 50 years later, Tulane has been a jewel of New Orleans, situated on the high ground of St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District.
It has consistently been a leading university in the South and a magnet to many students from the Northeast. When the doors open in January, Tulane will resume its role as New Orleans's largest employer, and a diminished city population will increase by 20 percent.
Tulane is not the only New Orleans college struggling to recover. Loyola and Southern Universities have vowed to reopen next month, and Loyola announced Tuesday that 28 employees would lose their jobs at the end of the year. Two small historically black universities, Dillard and Xavier, suffered far worse damage than their wealthier counterparts on higher ground and are scrambling to get back on their feet.
Mr. Cowen said the streamlined version of Tulane took into account the weakened condition of the area and the university's more limited resources, including a budget of $600 million, reduced from $700 million, and spending of $200 million for hurricane recovery.
Five undergraduate majors have been eliminated, all in science and engineering, and many other programs have been consolidated. The graduate school has been shut down.
The medical school faculty is being reduced by 180 positions, to 345, largely because only two hospitals are operating in New Orleans.
Over all, Tulane is reducing its full-time faculty and staff to 4,000, from 4,700. The cutbacks include job losses for 26 tenured professors whose programs are being dropped.
While its marquee athletic teams, including football and basketball, will survive, eight intercollegiate sports will be suspended.
Mr. Cowen said other changes were designed to produce new areas of specialization for Tulane, including a partnership with Xavier and Dillard on urban issues.
He said the collaboration would reflect the urgent needs of rebuilding the Gulf Coast, with special attention to poverty, social justice and race.
"We are determined to find opportunity in the face of adversity," Mr. Cowen said. "Tulane will do more than just survive. We will thrive and continue our role as a beacon of learning and research for the region and the nation."
Parents of many Tulane students said their children were eager to return, partly drawn by the ambience of the campus and the quirky nature of New Orleans.
But some parents pointed to efforts by Tulane and other universities to block transfers.
Mr. Checki said his son, Matthew, was told he would have to sit out a semester before being eligible to enroll there. A spokesman for Cornell, Simeon Moss, said anyone could apply at any time, but referring to the 200 students at Cornell from New Orleans colleges and universities, he added, "I'm sure there was no attempt to encourage them to apply."
Stephanie Swisher, a Tulane freshman who spent the fall semester at the University of Virginia, said she helped organize a petition drive, asking the administration to waive rules and allow first-year students to transfer in without the required 24 credits.
Virginia's student council passed a resolution supporting the effort, but the administration ignored it.
Other parents said that they were less enthusiastic about a return to campus, citing concerns over environmental safety, crime, a lack of basic services in many parts of the city and Tulane's ability to serve the students adequately.
With some of the student housing still uninhabitable, Tulane is negotiating the lease of a cruise ship.
"I'm not happy about a lot of things," said Susan Goodman, whose daughter, Kristen, attended Virginia this fall as a senior.
Ms. Goodman, who lives in Westchester County, N.Y., visited New Orleans recently and said she found it "horrifying, much worse than anything you see on TV."
And her daughter? "She wants to go back," Ms. Goodman said. "But I'd prefer that she stay where she is."
posted by Joe Paris at Friday, December 09, 2005
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