Dear Tulane Community:
Happy New Year! I trust you had a great holiday break. Having now completed a week of work, you are, I am sure, fully back into the swing of things. Or at least have caught up on emails!
While it is wonderful to have our staff, administrators and many faculty members back, the campuses still seem empty without our students. They are the lifeblood of every great academic institution. When students do return on Monday, they will begin a truly remarkable year in the life of Tulane. Everything at Tulane – academic offerings, research opportunities and extracurricular activities – is growing by leaps and bounds. We will also continue important conversations on issues such as race and Tulane's core values, while expanding our mental health services for students. The physical expansion of Tulane also continues. We are building a critical Tulane River and Coastal Center and we will begin expansion of the business school and the transformation of the former School of Social Work building into the Center for Student Success. This semester will also witness a host of special events, celebrations and good ol' New Orleans fun.
All the numerous activities of this semester will support our long-term goals of preparing Tulanians to be leaders both on campus and when they graduate. We also are engaged in research focused on the country's most fundamental social problems. It is an exciting time to be part of Tulane.
I will share more on the upcoming semester in a special View from Gibson welcoming back our students on Monday. In the meantime, thank you for all you have done and continue to do to make sure 2016 is a truly extraordinary and memorable year at Tulane University.
