Tulane University

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Due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University has suspended all classes for the fall 2005 semester.

Tulane University

Tulane University Seal

Motto Non Sibi Sed Suis
(Latin, "Not for one's self, but for one's own.")
Established 1834
School type Private University
President Scott Cowen
Location New Orleans, Louisiana
Enrollment 13,214
Faculty 2,511
Campus Urban
Athletics 16 Varsity Sports
Nickname Green Wave
Mascot Wave, Pelican
Conference Conference USA
(NCAA Division I)
Homepage www.tulane.edu

Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian university located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tulane is organized into colleges and schools centered around liberal arts, sciences and certain professions. Tulane College and the once-separate women's Newcomb College are for undergraduates studying Liberal Arts and Sciences. Tulane also includes the following professional schools:

A separate Graduate School offers advanced degrees in engineering, sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the fine arts. Tulane also has a University College which provides continuing education courses for the New Orleans community.

Contents

Campuses

An early 20th century view of Tulane's Gibson Hall
An early 20th century view of Tulane's Gibson Hall

The main campus occupies over 100 acres (0.4 km²) in uptown New Orleans, near the Audubon Zoo and just a streetcar ride away from downtown. Other locations include:

Statistics

The following statistics reflect some of the changes at Tulane between 1998 and 2004:

  • Undergraduate applications received annually have more than doubled since 1998, growing from 7,780 to 17,548.
  • The average SAT scores for incoming students has risen from 1278 to 1347.
  • Application acceptances have lowered from 79% of applicants to 44%.
  • Funding for research and development has nearly doubled, from $68 million to $130 million.
  • The National Institutes of Health funding ranking has risen from 96 to 78.

In 2003, Tulane's graduation rate for student-athletes was 79%, ranking 14th among Division I athletic programs.

History

The University dates from 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana. With the addition of a law department, it became The University of Louisiana in 1847, a public university. 1851, saw the establishment of an Academic Department, the forerunner of the College of Arts and Sciences.

It closed during the Civil War; after reopening, it went through a period of financial challenges. Paul Tulane donated extensive real estate within New Orleans for the support of education; this donation led to the establishment of a Tulane Educational Fund (TEF), whose board of administrators sought to support the University of Louisiana instead of establishing a new university. In response, the Louisiana state legislature transferred control of the University of Louisiana to the administrators of the TEF in 1884. This act created the Tulane University of Louisiana.

In 1885, a Graduate Division started, the predecessor to the Graduate School. One year later, gifts from Josephine Louise Newcomb totalling over $3.6 million led to the establishment of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College within Tulane University. Newcomb was the first coordinate college for women in the United States.

In 1894 a College of Technology formed, the forerunner to the College of Engineering. In the same year the university moved to its present-day uptown campus on St. Charles Avenue, five miles by streetcar from downtown.

An Architecture Department originated within the College of Technology in 1907. One year later, Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy appeared, both temporarily: Dentistry ended in 1928, and Pharmacy six years later.

In 1914, Tulane established a College of Commerce, the first business school in the South.

1925 saw the formal establishment of the Graduate School. Two years later, the University set up a School of Social Work.

University College dates from 1942. The School of Architecture grew out of Engineering in 1950. The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine dates from 1967.

The student-run radio station of the university, WTUL-FM, began broadcasting on campus in 1971.

In 1998, the Associated Student Body of Tulane University voted by referendum to split the Associate Student Body (ASB) Senate into two separate houses, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA). Previous to the split, only one Executive Cabinet was elected and all student government meetings consisted of both undergraduate and graduate students. Now, each house has its own Executive Cabinet and Senate elected by its own students. USG and GAPSA meet separately to issues pertaining to their respective constituencies. However, the Office of the Associated Student Body President remained - the ASB President is a representative of every student on all of Tulane's campuses. This person is still elected by the entire student body of Tulane, both undergraduate and graduate students. USG and GAPSA come together twice as semester to meet as the ASB Senate, where issues pertaining to the entire Tulane student body are discussed. The meetings of the ASB Senate are presided over by the ASB President.

The Jambalaya, Tulane's yearbook, published annually since 1897, published its last edition (Volume 99) in 1995, due to funding and management problems. In the Fall of 2003, the "Jambalaya" was reestablished as a student club, and in the Spring of 2004, the Centennial Edition of the Jambalaya was published. The staff now continues to publish a "Jambalaya" annually.

In 2001 the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy started as the first major center in the U.S. to focus on research using adult stem cells.

In July 2004, Tulane received two $30 million donations to its endowment, the largest individual or combined gifts in the university's history. The donations came from Jim Clark, a member of the university's Board, and David Filo, a graduate of its School of Engineering. The gifts had particular significance, since Tulane had had one of the lowest endowments ($722 million as of June 2004) among the 62 members of the Association of American Universities.

Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Tulane began to publicly respond to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina on August 27, 2005, with an initial plan to close the university until September 1. The following day, that date was extended to "no earlier than" September 7. University officials led a rare evacuation of nearly 400 students (one report said that the number was closer to 700) to Jackson State University, all of whom remained safe after the hurricane's passage and have returned to their homes if they are from outside the gulf coast region. In other recent hurricanes such as Georges in 1998, Tulane simply used its larger dorms as shelters for students.

On August 30, the university reported that "physical damage to the area, including Tulane’s campuses, was extensive" and conditions in the city were continuing to deteriorate. Power was out, water levels were rising, all city roads were blocked, and the "vast majority of our workforce" had left the parish in response to the mayor's mandatory evacuation order. By September 1 only a core group of public safety and facilities personnel remained on campus. Tulane president Scott Cowen and an "emergency team" relocated to Houston, Texas to coordinate planning for recovery. Tulane reported that security was being maintained on campus and that students' belongings were safe in the dormitories, which are intact.

On September 2, President Cowen announced that the University would cancel classes for the fall semester.

The American Council on Education and the Association of American Universities urged their member institutions to help displaced students from Tulane and the area's other universities. Dozens of universities have already made provisions to allow Tulane students (and students from other affected colleges) to enroll as "provisional students" for the fall semester. Tulane will transfer credits earned through these arrangements when the university reconvenes.

The football game scheduled for September 4 between Tulane and the University of Southern Mississippi has been postponed until November 26; however, the September 17 game between Tulane and Mississippi State University was held at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

All of Tulane's varsity sports teams, with the exception of cross-country, moved to five other universities in Texas and Louisiana, while continuing to represent Tulane in competition:

To help students graduate on schedule, Tulane is scheduling two academic semesters between January and June 2006. A regular spring term begins January 17, with a seven-week “Lagniappe Semester” running from May 15 through the end of June.

As a result of the storm and its effects in New Orleans, Tulane University saw its second closing- the first being the Civil War.

Athletics

Tulane is a member of Conference USA in athletics and fields NCAA Division I teams in 16 sports. The team nickname is the Green Wave, a nickname adopted during the 1920 season, after a song titled The Rolling Green Wave was published in Tulane's student newspaper in 1920. Prior to that, the teams were known officially as "The Olive and Blue" and unofficially referred to as "The Greenies" or "The Greenbacks."

Football

Tulane's earliest athletic traditions are tied to its football team, which began playing in 1893 and hit its stride in 1900 with a perfect 5-0 season, beating the Southern Athletic Club, Alabama, Millsaps, LSU, and Ole Miss. In a 1912 game against Southwestern Louisiana, Tulane set records of 15 rushing touchdowns and 95 points that still stand. In 1925 the Green Wave again went undefeated, with only a tie against Missouri to blemish its record. The administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, however, in order to keep the students in class. The next year saw the completion of a new stadium on campus. Tulane's third and fourth perfect regular seasons came in 1929 and 1931, with a single loss to Northwestern in Chicago, Illinois marring the 1930 campaign. The 1931 team did go to the Rose Bowl, losing 21-12 to USC.

In 1933 Tulane joined the Southeastern Conference as a charter member. In 1939 the team completed its fifth unbeaten season losing a close 14-13 battle to Texas A&M University in the Sugar Bowl. Tulane left the SEC in 1966 amid a long series of disappointing campaigns. They had some success in the 1970s with three bowl invitations in the decade.

Tulane's football program started fresh with a new conference in 1996 and a new coach, Tommy Bowden in 1997. Bowden's second year brought about Tulane's sixth perfect season and the first since 1931. Quarterback Shaun King led the wave to a 12-0 record and a final No. 7 national ranking. Despite a perfect regular season, the Green Wave was not invited to a BCS bowl game — an event which contributed to questions about how college football championships and revenues are managed.

Men's basketball

Tulane's men's basketball program fell victim to one of the biggest scandals of the 1980s in college sports when four players, including star guard John "Hot Rod" Williams were accused of taking money and cocaine to alter the final point spreads of games they played in. Clyde Eads and Jon Johnson were granted immunity and testified against Williams, the alleged ringleader. Although he was indicted, the judge eventually declared a mistrial and no sentence was handed down. Williams spent the next nine years with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. Following the scandal, Tulane's administration decided to disband the men's basketball program. It was resurrected four years later under new head coach Perry Clark who rapidly rebuilt the program to unprecedented success, including a 1991 season that started 13-0 and ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Baseball

The last few years have seen Tulane's college baseball team consistently ranked among the best in the nation.

Athletics reform

In 2003 the University undertook a comprehensive review of its athletics department commitments in light of the long term goals and mission of the school. The outcome of the review was a renewed commitment to fielding a strong Division I athletic program, but also a resolution to make Tulane a model program in terms of academic performance, graduation rates, financial viability, and support for the overall university mission. (In 2003 Tulane's graduation rate for student-athletes stood at 79%, ranking 14th among all Division I programs.)

To that end, President Scott Cowen began a dialogue with other university presidents calling for a change to the existing system that rewards established powers at the expense of less successful programs. His criticisms, in particular of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in football, led to the creation of the Presidential Coalition for Athletics Reform and opened the door for hearings on college athletics revenues in the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2003. On February 29, 2004 the BCS met in Miami, Florida and agreed to amend revenue distribution and open the series to more opportunities for non-BCS teams.


Alma Maters

Tulane Alma Mater

We praise thee for thy past, O Alma Mater!
Thy hand hath done its work full faithfully.
The incense of thy spirit has ascended
And filled America from sea to sea!
Olive Green and Blue! we love thee!
Pledge we now our fealty true
Where the trees are ever greenest,
Where the skies are purest blue.
Hear us now, O Tulane, hear us,
As we proudly sing to thee!
Take from us our hearts' devotion,
Thine we are and thine shall be!

Newcomb Alma Mater

Where stars arise in Southern skies
And loyal love in laughter lies,
O Newcomb fair, we bring to thee
Our hearts' allegiance, bole and free.
We bring to thee, where e'er shall be
The Star of our ascendency --
CHORUS
O Alma Mater, Stand we nigh,
Thy daughter lift Thy flag on high!


Fan traditions

Official fight song: The Olive and the Blue

Here's a song for the Olive and the Blue
Here's a cheer for the team that's tried and true,
Here's a pledge of loyalty to thee,
Oh, Tulane Varsity,
Here's to the Greenbacks that never will say die
And here's to the hearts that are true,
To the men of Tulane, who are fighting for her name
For the Olive and the Blue.

(CHORUS)
Roll, Green Wave, roll them down the field!
Hold, Green Wave, that line must never yield!
When those Greenbacks charge thru the line,
They're bound for Victory,
Hail Green Wave, for you we give a cheer.
Hail Green Wave, for you we have no fear,
So ev'ry man on ev'ry play,
And then we'll win the game today,
Hurrah for Old Tulane.

Unofficial Tulane fight song

Green Wave Green Wave,
Hats off to Thee.
We're out to
Fight Fight Fight
For our Victory.
Shout to the Skies
Our Green Wave War Cries.
The Bravest we'll Defy.
Hold that Line for
Olive and Blue.
We will Cheer for You.
So Fight, Fight, Old Tulane
Fight on to Victory.

Official cheer: "The Hullabaloo"

(A one, a two, a helluva HULLABALOO)
HULLABALOO, 'Ray, 'Ray
HULLABALOO, 'Ray, 'Ray
Hooray-Hooray
Varsa, Varsa, T.A.
T.A. T.A.
Varsa, Varsa, T.A.
Tulane.


Logo and mascot

In 1963 Rix Yard, then Athletic Director and Eldon Endacott, manager of the university bookstore contacted Art Evans, a commercial artist who had already designed the Boilermaker mascot for Purdue University, the Wisconsin Badger and the University of Southern California Trojan, to create a new mascot for Tulane athletics. His design for a mean-looking anthropomorhic wave-crest was officially adopted in 1964.

In 1986 a new logo consisting of a white block "T" with green and blue waves crossing its center was adopted as the primary symbol for official uniforms, though the "angry wave" continued to be used unofficially in licensed products, and a costumed Green Wave, nicknamed Gumby, served as the mascot.

In 1998 a full redesign of all athletic logos and marks was commissioned which replaced the "angry wave" and "wavy T" designs with a green and blue oblique T crested by a foamy wave. Gumby was replaced with a new pelican mascot, recalling the university seal, and the fact that a pelican was often used in the first half of the century as the emblem of Tulane's athletic teams. The name "Riptide" was selected for the performing pelican in a vote of the student body, but is more commonly called "Pecker" by students.

See also

External links


Conference USA
  East Division: East Carolina | Marshall | Memphis | Southern Miss | UAB | UCF  
West Division: Houston | Rice | SMU | Tulane | Tulsa | UTEP
Conference USA
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