May 14, 2026
Dear Tulane Community,
Commencement weekend has arrived! Over the next few days, we will celebrate over 3,000 graduates, culminating in the Unified Commencement Ceremony at Caesars Superdome on Saturday, May 16 at 5 p.m. As we fête the Class of 2026, I invite the entire Tulane community to reflect on all we have accomplished together.
Long before they earn their diplomas, our students soar. The Class of 2026 student speaker, Madeline "Dylan" Murray, co-founded a biotech company called Exactics in her sophomore year that has the potential to revolutionize at-home rapid testing for Lyme and other infectious diseases. For the fourth consecutive year, Tulane was named a top producer for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, and two students were selected this spring for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate researchers in STEM fields. Green Wave student-athletes continue to lead the American Conference in graduation success rates and took conference championships this year in sailing, beach volleyball, women’s cross country and football, which made its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Tulane’s world-class faculty also continued to generate breakthrough discoveries with global impact this year including novel insights into aggressive tumor growth, a new vaccine for a deadly emerging tropical disease called melioidosis, and a study that could hold the key to preventing birth defects caused by cytomegalovirus, to name just a few. Our renowned scholars are leading national and international initiatives focused on subjects ranging from jazz to archaeology to world monuments. With support from the Tulane Innovation Institute, faculty are commercializing discoveries aimed at transforming drug delivery, detecting drone threats and developing biodegradable alternatives to plastics used in coastal restoration. Their work is being recognized with the highest honors in their fields, including membership in the National Academies. And their exceptional scholarship is matched with a remarkable commitment to educating the next generation. On Saturday, I look forward to honoring five of our most dedicated faculty members with the university’s highest honors in teaching and mentoring.
Achievements like these flourish in a physical and intellectual environment designed to facilitate collaboration, innovation and academic excellence. This year we opened new spaces for residential living and learning (Bayou and Fogelman Halls), impactful research (Hutchinson Building laboratories) and championship-level athletics (Goldring Tennis Center and the Indoor Practice Facility). We also announced plans to launch the Institute of Advanced Energy Studies, a university-wide hub connecting energy research and education across disciplines, and the Center for Civil Discourse, which will coordinate initiatives across our campuses that foster constructive dialogue and robust debate. Through signature annual events like the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University and the Tulane Future of Energy Forum, we invited the broader community to engage with and benefit from the expertise of our faculty alongside globally renowned thought leaders.
As we continue to grow the region’s first world-class academic medical center through our partnership with LCMC Health, we are seeing the power of destination health in action. This year, Tulane doctors performed the state’s first-ever gene therapy treatments for hemophilia and sickle cell disease, saved a Houma man’s eye with a pioneering treatment for ophthalmic melanoma, and literally brought a patient from Mississippi back to life with highly specialized care and a heart transplant. Advances like these align with the university’s mission to improve lives while positioning New Orleans as a hub for bioinnovation and entrepreneurship. These efforts are attracting attention at the local and national level: Michael Hecht, CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., has stressed the “transcendent importance” of Tulane’s downtown expansion, while the nonprofit NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center recently ranked the New Orleans metro region 14th in the nation for entrepreneurial growth — citing Tulane as the major driver.
The author and civil rights icon Coretta Scott King once wrote that “we do not accomplish great things in isolation.” Tulanians accomplish great things because we work together: with classmates, colleagues and community organizations. The Unified Commencement ceremony will celebrate this collaborative spirit in inimitable fashion, including a powerful keynote from acclaimed actor and producer Sterling K. Brown; the presentation of honorary degrees to three extraordinary individuals; and an unforgettable musical tribute from alum and jazz legend Dr. Michael White and his Original Liberty Jazz Band, featuring renowned vocalist, alum and longtime Tulane staff member Yolanda Robinson-Windsay.
I look forward to sharing this beloved Tulane tradition with the graduates and families who will experience it for the first time, along with the faculty and staff who participate year after year to make it a celebration unlike any other. I know the entire Tulane community shares my pride in the Class of 2026 and my eagerness to see what they accomplish as alumni.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026, and Roll Wave!
