Dear Tulane Community:
In last week's View from Gibson, I wrote of an emerging glimmer of hope that we will win the battle against COVID-19 and that, as surely as we had left our campus home, we would return. With each passing day, that glimmer grows a bit brighter and is beginning to cast a light on our plans for the fall. Clearly there are many variables and issues that we and every other institution in society are grappling with as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. While we cannot guarantee anything in these uncertain times, we very much hope to hold face-to-face, on-ground classes in fall 2020.
Achieving this goal will take careful, bold and innovative planning. We are gathering the top leaders, faculty and staff in academics, research, facilities, housing, dining, workforce and other vital areas to chart a path forward. These committees will explore every possible contingency to ensure a safe environment for our students, faculty and staff when they return. This may include adjustments to the academic calendar, modifications to housing plans, changes in classroom settings and more.
Devising and implementing the plan to return to our campuses will take the collective knowledge, perseverance, courage, will and wisdom of us all. It is truly a historic undertaking that can seem daunting at times, but we will build this path on the solid foundation of a more than 185-year-old institution that has, time and again, proven its resilience, its strength and its value to New Orleans and to the world.
Beginning with our founding in 1834 and through the nearly two centuries since, the heart of Tulane has always been its people – students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and supporters. In these unprecedented times, we turn again to the heart of Tulane for the direction, inspiration and vision needed to find the way back home.
One perfect example of the heart of Tulane is the week's Heroes and Helpers. Read his inspiring story below.
"Heroes & Helpers" recognizes a person or team, among Tulane's students, faculty, staff and alumni, engaged in extraordinary efforts on behalf of others in the battle against the major health crisis of our time.
Isaac Hoeschen
Meet this week's Heroes and Helpers, Isaac Hoeschen, a School of Liberal Arts student, who returned home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when Tulane students transitioned to online classes to help limit spread of the coronavirus. Through Isaac's efforts a local hospital now has a steady supply of face shields and laid off machine shop workers are back on the job. Read More
