Dear Students:
Welcome to the new year and the spring semester!
Over the winter recess, I hope you found joy in the company of family and friends. As you return to our classrooms, laboratories, and residence halls, I know you’ll draw energy and inspiration for the new semester from the warmth and support of your fellow students, as well as our faculty and staff.
During the break in classes, work has continued on improvements to our campuses that will elevate the academic, research, and living experience. Last week I had the chance to walk through newly renovated spaces on the downtown campus including the massive laboratory spaces in the Hutchinson Memorial Building, the nursing school’s beautiful first home in the Murphy Building, and the forthcoming Wave City Market food court, which is a huge step toward building a student center for our downtown community.
On the uptown campus, Richardson Memorial Hall is preparing to welcome our architecture students and faculty later this spring to a stunningly renovated and reimagined space that facilitates innovative design and interdisciplinary approaches. The transformation of our campuses will pave the way for you, our students, to unlock new levels of academic achievement and success.
Wherever your Tulane experience is centered — whether uptown or downtown — you will be buoyed by our caring, relational community throughout this semester and beyond. This is all the more important as we continue to grieve the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack that took place in the French Quarter in the early hours of New Year’s Day. I am grateful to the many Tulanians who leapt into action in the wake of this tragedy, from the Tulane doctors who treated victims to those who donated blood. I am also grateful for the team of Tulane professionals led by Kirk Bouyelas, AVP of Public Safety and Community Engagement, for their ongoing work to ensure that our campus is safe and secure.
Whether you’re just beginning your time at Tulane or heading into the home stretch, I encourage you to make time to explore and to foster new connections. Pay a visit to the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz in Jones Hall, or invite a classmate to lunch at Chapter IV on the downtown campus. Cheer on our Green Wave basketball teams at Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, or attend a Music at Midday performance presented by the Newcomb Department of Music in Rogers Chapel. These experiences will bring richness and depth to your Tulane journey.
I’m looking forward to seeing you in person as spring classes get rolling, so get ready for a Mike Drop or two this month. In the meantime, enjoy all the special moments that mark the start of a new semester, from reconnecting with friends to meeting new professors. Years from now, you may look back and remember one of these moments as the one that changed your life.
