Dear Tulane Community:
As you read this, our students are finishing up their final exams. Please join me in wishing them every success and confidence as they complete this final challenge of the academic year. But, despite their title, "finals" do not actually mark the end of the academic year. No, the best is yet to come as we head into Commencement 2018.
That's when nearly 3,000 members of the great Class of 2018, from undergraduates to graduate and professional school students, will trade their thinking caps (temporarily) for mortarboards and gowns and dance in the Dome to live jazz and second lines. They will also hear words of wisdom from one of our country's preeminent authors, two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.
Saints hero and Congressional Gold Medal nominee Steve Gleason, Netscape Co-Founder Jim Clark, healthcare advocate for the poor Dr. Paul Farmer and Grammy-winner Irma Thomas will also be on hand to salute our graduates and receive honorary degrees. Grammys of another kind – along with thousands of moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandpas, brothers, sisters, spouses and friends will join faculty, staff and university leaders in cheering our graduates.
CNN, NBC News and other national and local media are planning coverage of Commencement 2018, which will be a celebration like no other, in a city like no other, for a class like no other.
I hope to see you there.
