Dear Tulane Community:
With the ongoing pandemic and continuing recovery from Hurricane Ida, this semester has been like no other. To be sure, these are challenging times, but Tulanians have responded with characteristic empathy – reaching out to those who may be struggling emotionally, assisting others with hurricane recovery and looking up and ahead to brighter days.
With our COVID-19 positivity rate remaining very low (thanks to continued testing, masking and high vaccination rates), the familiar rhythms and rituals of university life have returned, including exhibitions, lectures, plays, football games and gatherings of all kinds.
As I stated above, a huge part of the Tulane experience and our return to campus is helping others both within the campus community and beyond. Through Outreach Tulane and numerous other efforts, our students, faculty and staff are assisting neighboring parishes recover from Hurricane Ida. With our classrooms filled and our labs fully staffed, we are engaged in innovative, cross-disciplinary scholarship and breakthrough research that will have profound impacts both locally and regionally.
Hurricane Ida repairs are also progressing well throughout our campuses and quickly shifting from repair to construction as we continue creating the residential village along McAlister Way, building the new Steven & Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering and renovating Richardson Memorial Hall, home of our School of Architecture. On our downtown campus, we are preparing for students, staff, faculty, postdocs, residents, researchers and other Tulane affiliates to begin moving into the newly built apartments of Thirteen15, the latest addition to our expanding footprint in the heart of the city’s commercial district.
In just a few weeks, we will welcome alumni, parents, family, fans and friends back to campus for Wave '21, our homecoming, family and reunion weekend. I hope you will join in on this long-awaited opportunity to celebrate all the things we love about Tulane and New Orleans. I predict this year will be one of the greatest celebrations ever because now we truly know how important it is to come home.
