Tulane University announced plans Thursday to lay off about 230 faculty members

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10385926/

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Tulane University announced plans Thursday to lay off about 230 faculty members and shut down some programs to cope with the financial damage done by Hurricane Katrina.

In a set of budget cuts totaling about $100 million, the university will eliminate about 180 tenured faculty positions at its medical school and about 50 in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

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Read the whole article on MSNBC.

 

This afternoon I was watching the Head of the Charles Regatta
http://www.hocr.org
on television. They were interviewing the Coach of the Tulane Rowing Team, and some of the members. After Katrina, all the rowing team members went off to other schools and this major race in Boston brought them all back together again (although on different teams). The Coach was saying that everything at Tulane was completely wiped out ans while efforts are being made to reestablish the Team (and the school) that there's not a huge amount of confidence that they'll succeed.
Good luck to them all.
Jack

 

I understand that Tulane recently announced the termination of a whole bunch of intercollegiate sports. (Rowing probably among them.) They are keeping football, basketball and a few others (probably the money making ones that attract paying fans). Reportedly they have been given special temporary permission from the NCAA or whoever decides, allowing them to stay in Division 1-A, despite their not fielding enough sports to technically qualify. And that in turn suggests that they intend to reinstate the missing sports in the future.

 

Tulane is definitely trying to get up and running again. They say that they will be holding spring semester on campus in New Orleans starting next month.

A little over three months ago Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in the history of the U.S., caused unbelievable destruction to our beloved city, its people and institutions, including Tulane University. However, Katrina did not destroy us because of the courage and sheer determination of so many who would not accept defeat no matter what obstacles or challenges stood in the way.

Tulane University will open its doors on January 17 to approximately 86 percent of the students who were here pre-Katrina, a figure no one thought conceivable three months ago. This speaks volumes about the quality and commitment of our students, faculty and staff. I am so proud and honored to be associated with each and every one of you.

http://www.tulane.edu/general.html

I wonder what the students will find when they get back. I gather that hurricane damage was pretty bad. Dunno how much flooding there was. The school couldn't have been deeply underwater if it's reopening so quickly. But wind damage was reportedly extensive.

Here's a statement off their website about their massive renewal plan.

http://renewal.tulane.edu/

Excerpts (highighting by me):

The plan addresses the financial challenges created by Katrina, including $200 million in recovery costs this year and a significant projected budget shortfall for next year...

The undergraduate program will be at the core of the renewed Tulane; in recognition of this the university will establish a new Undergraduate College... All incoming Tulane students, regardless of their field of interest, will enter the university through this unified Undergraduate College. This new college will serve as a coordinating mechanism for all aspects of the undergraduate experience...

The university will focus its undergraduate, professional and doctoral programs and research in areas where it has attained, or has the potential to achieve, world-class excellence. It will suspend admission to those programs that do not meet these criteria.

The School of Medicine's educational program will return to New Orleans in the fall of 2006. The university's medical enterprise will be refocused with added emphasis on the research and educational programs that will position it among the top NIH-funded institutions in the country. The size of the medical school's faculty will be reduced in response to the changing population and health care environment in New Orleans.

 

I hate to hear that. Tulane is one of the few Louisiana icons...and probably the ONLY one that adds class to the state.....or at least one of the few.

 

Tulane Law

Well, I guess that's curtains for Tulane Law, then. A very good school, to be sure, but I don't think any realistic evaluation would call it "world class". I would call Tulane Law a "regional" as opposed to "national" school, the latter including such giants as Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and (maybe) Georgeown.

Actually, if I had had to take my law degree in Louisiana, my choice would have been LSE...

 

Re: Tulane Law

Tulane will still be offering the following LLM programs:

Maritime Law
International & Comparative Law
American Business Law
Environmental & Energy Law
General

http://renewal.tulane.edu/students_graduate_programs.html

 

How very interesting...

The graduate "chart" shows the LL.M. programs but not the J.D. program. The undergrad "chart doesn't list the J.D. either.

I wonder...is Tulane Law in such bad shape that it can no longer meet ABA standards?

Anyway, the J.D. program seems to have vanished, at least pro tem.

 

"...are greatly exaggerated."

Tulane Law has a temporary post-Katrina site:

www.law.tulane.edu/default.aspx#

They are apparently more-or-less soliciting J.D. applications but the effort seems a bit half hearted to me.

Well, it will be interesting to see.

 

My understanding

I thought very little of Tulane flooded? However, even buildings that didn't flood have had mold and wind damage. I think Tulane's biggest problem is lack of students. No one wants to come back and be forced to stay on campus since most of the rest of the city is still a wreck....

 

This might be especially true of law/grad students who are perhaps a bit more likely to have a spouse and a kid, etc.
Jack

 

Yes...

I think only one public school has reopened.