TUlane remembering al Albert Weatherhead, friend and mentor
THE MAGAZINE OF TULANE UNIVERSITY
MODERN LOVE Modernist architecture is a tough sell
TOP OF THE HOP Julie Greenwald bounces to the summit of the music biz
THE MAYA EXPLORER The Indiana Jones of Tulane— Frans Blom
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Look up!
Modernist architecture adorns the skyline of New Orleans
PA U L A B U R C H - C E L E N TA N O
STAGE PRESENCE Things got a little crazy toward the end of the Wave ’11 homecoming party on Friday, Oct. 21, after trombonist “Big Sam” Williams invited all his rowdy friends to join him on stage. Students and alumni in the audience suddenly became part of the show as they climbed aboard the platform constructed on the quad outside the Lavin-Bernick Center. The only thing louder than Big Sam’s Funky Nation was— perhaps—the firework spectacle that closed out the night. Wave ’11 was one of several happenings constituting this year's Homecoming/Family Weekend held Oct. 17 through Oct. 23. Other events included the Helluva Hullabaloo Auction and Party that benefited Tulane’s student-athletes, campus tours, art demonstrations, guest speakers, tailgating and, of course, the homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. Williams, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, also has been featured in HBO’s “Treme” series.
Wondrous Dome On the cover: The steel frame of the Superdome covers a 13-acre expanse. Constructed in 1971–75, the architectural masterpiece, designed by Curtis and Davis, remains the largest fixed-dome structure in the world and the premier example of modernist architecture in New Orleans. Photo by David M. Kleck/ Courtesy Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries
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P R E S I D E N T ’ S
L E T T E R
Being a Tulane Student by Scott S. Cowen
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In case you didn’t know it, there are a number of perks in being a university president. I get to travel around the country and meet all sorts of interesting people. As president, I really enjoy and look forward to a particular benefit: the opportunity each fall to address first-year students at the university convocation that we hold in McAlister Auditorium. In welcoming these bright, enthusiastic students, I try to select the right words that will give them a sense of the community they are joining. It’s interesting that in talking to a room full of Tulane “rookies,” even a 14-year veteran of the university such as myself can feel humbled and even awed by our story. This year, I particularly wanted our incoming class of freshmen to understand the truly dynamic environment they are entering. In bouncing back after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, both Tulane University and the city of New Orleans have engaged in enormously transformative processes. I wanted our new students to know that these processes would be integral to their learning experience at Tulane. I told my young audience that six years ago, New Orleans was a distinctive, wonderful city, but frankly one that tended to be more concerned with the past than the present or the future. Today, New Orleans is
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transformations Tulane first-year students join a community of engaged learners, intent on making the world a better place.
a hotbed for innovation, an incubator for new ideas and new industries in the fields of bioscience, filmmaking, green technology and even video game design. Today, the city is becoming a national model in areas of community health and public education—something no one six years ago would have thought possible. I described to our new students the amazing network of neighborhood health centers that provide primary and mental health care to thousands of New Orleanians, no matter their ability to pay. I mentioned to them our exciting, re-imagined public school system in which three quarters of New Orleans pupils are thriving in independent charter schools. And as my attentive audience was beginning to wonder what this all had to do with them, I made it clear to them that much of this progress was facilitated by their university. A lot of the good work toward the city’s recovery in the last six years was accomplished by the Tulane students who have preceded them. After Katrina, Tulane became the first and still only major research university to integrate public service into the core curriculum. This change has had a profound impact on our academic culture and informed how the university views its role locally and around the world. It has been instrumental in the transformation of New Orleans and, I told the students, it will permeate their collegiate experience atTulane. Today, Tulane students are establishing debate clubs in the public schools to teach young people how to think, communicate, work together and compete. They are tutoring public school students, helping them not only to read better but also dream bigger. They are designing and building safer and stronger homes to replace those destroyed by Katrina. They are sponsoring science and engineering events to develop the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. Tomorrow, this work will continue because of students like those I was addressing at convocation. “What will be your contribution?” I asked them, and then reminded them that college is not only about getting a job or building a resume. It is about developing the habits of the mind and heart so you become engaged citizens and leaders with a focus on making the world a better place. This, I told them, is what being a student at Tulane all is about.
TUlane C O N T E N T S Juxtaposition
david m. kleck/courtesy southeastern architectural archive, special collections division, tulane university libraries
Under construction in this photo, the Superdome changes the 1970s landscape of New Orleans. See page 16.
2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Scott Cowen welcomes new students 6 NEWs Avondale Shipyard shutdown • Fuel produced from newspaper cellulose • Preserving the Tunica language • Student numbers • Who dat? Bryan Batt • Brazilian pop music • Business school dean Ira Solomon • Dr. Ayyala’s eye camp • Healthy aging, not all in the genes • Copyright challenges • Community Service Honor Roll • 15th-century Bible in Howard-Tilton Library
14 Remembering Al Tulane president offers a personal reflection on the wisdom, wit and winning ways of Albert J. Weatherhead III, one of the university’s most extraordinary friends. By Scott S. Cowen
16 Modern Love In a city that indulges in the romance of bygone days, buildings constructed in the more recent past are in need of a little TLC. By Carol J. Schlueter
12 SPORTS Ed Conroy, men’s basketball coach • Conference USA and Mountain West merge for football • World Deaf Swimming Champ • NCAA Division I certification 30 TULANIANS Bea Field House • Alumni band • Legacies • Megan Boudreaux 32 WHERE Y'AT! Class notes 35 FAREWELL Tribute • Marguerite Bougere
22 Top of the Hop Julie Greenwald, NC ’91, first heard bounce in the Calliope Housing Project, now she purveys music to the masses from the summit of the record industry. By Mary Ann Travis
26 The Maya Explorer Handsome, charming and irrepressible, Tulane archaeologist and adventurer Frans Blom is among the most colorful academic figures of the early 20th century. By Nick Marinello
38 TULANE EMPOWERS Law School externships • Wick Cary’s gift to athletics • Helluva Hullabaloo for student-athletes • Campaign progress 40 NEW ORLEANS Angus Lind on the music scene
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absinthe makes the heart grow fonder J. Marion Legendre (A&S ’18) invented Herbsaint when the ingredient wormwood was banned and the drink could not be called absinthe.
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Absinthe in New Orleans My father, J. Marion Legendre, (A&S ’18), was born in New Orleans to French-speaking parents. The U. S. Army needed French-speaking men during World War I and my father volunteered. He served in France for three years and because he spoke French he worked closely with the French underground where he acquired the formula for absinthe. Upon his return to New Orleans, he endeavored to reproduce the drink with herbs imported from France. When my sisters and I were children, our father began producing absinthe in our attic at Jefferson Ave. and Danneel St. As the business grew, he relocated to the warehouse district. I can remember very large barrels full of wonderful smelling herbs. Because the U.S. government banned the ingredient wormwood, the drink could not be called absinthe. My father got together with his friend Willy B. Wisdom and they came up with the name HERBSAINT. My favorite slogan was “absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.” While cleaning the house after the death of my mother [Octavie Tiblier Legendre, NC ’21], we came across a box full of absinthe glasses. The glasses were the size of a water goblet. On the top of the goblet sat a rimmed glass tray with a hole in the middle. A cube of sugar was placed in the bottom of the goblet, and crushed ice was placed in the tray. When HERBSAINT was poured over the ice, “The Green Fairy” percolated into the goblet. On behalf of myself and my two sisters, Marion Legendre Winstead (NC ’47) and Diane Legendre Fagan, thank you for the opportunity to tell the true story of Legendre’s HERBSAINT. Louise Legendre Ross, Richmond, Va. Abundance and Scarcity I read with interest the Summer 2011 “Letter from The Editor” article on our abundant, under-utilized fresh water resource—the great Mississippi. I think you are so correct to challenge us to utilize this amazing resource. Opportunities abound, particularly in a time of shrinking aquifer fresh water supplies nationwide and opportunities in aquaculture, not to mention possible alternative energy sources. I certainly agree that Louisiana for centuries has served as a rich font of resources, exploited—by others—for profit and that we need to keep some of this business in the State. However, may I point you to a second striking and deadening phenomenon occurring just a short distance from the near-topping Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya Basins, both leveed? That phenomenon was drought. Rice farmers, for example, immediately to the west struggled with
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w r i t e a profound lack of fresh water. … In the end the State’s rice yield was fair, but an increasing number of farmers found themselves utilizing salt water in order to bring the (compromised) crop to maturity. So, here we find a conundrum: unprecedented abundance and unprecedented lack—of the same resource—within a half hour of each other. Some of us suggest that wise and bold measures be invented/engineered/ adapted so as to convey the solution to the problem in future years. We suggest that obstacles be clearly identified and solutions explored in forthright discussion and implementation. Carolyn Woosley, NC ’71 Lake Charles, La. POESCH and Newcomb Pottery The summer issue 2011 of Tulane carries an appreciative tribute to Jessie Poesch. Not noted is one of her most valuable contributions to the lasting history of Newcomb Pottery. Any owner of a piece of Newcomb Pottery can identify the item from the inscriptions on the base of the pot, clearly referenced by Poesch. Viewers of the “Antiques Roadshow” are constantly amazed at the current value of these lovely pots. The Tulane University website includes the citations: “Her [Poesch’s] interest in the art pottery of Newcomb College in New Orleans culminated in an exhibition and catalogue, Newcomb Pottery: An Enterprise for Southern Women, 1895–1940, in 1984. The book stands as a classic in decorative-arts monographs. It additionally sparked renewed appreciation for the nowfamous Newcomb Pottery. A second, expanded edition was developed with Sally Main, Newcomb Pottery and Crafts: An Educational Enterprise for Women, 1895–1940 (2003).” Carolyn Graham Stifel, NC ’44 Irvington, N.Y. GRAND CANYON REVISITED I enjoyed the large photograph of the Grand Canyon Colloquium floating on the Little Colorado in the Summer 2011 issue. I participated in the class and the trip in 1990, and enjoyed the company of Dr. Parsley, the rest of the faculty team, and a great cross-section of the university’s students. I remember more than a few green faces, but not exactly in the Tulane spirit, after the short hops in tiny airplanes and a helicopter entailed in reaching the put-in and take-out points. I still have my ammo can waterproof box and a lot of great pictures of my own, including the Pink Grand Canyon Rattlesnake we found in the middle of camp after we unloaded and set up one evening. This is an excellent crossdisciplinary course with one of nature’s greatest outdoor classrooms. I believe
the class carries a “lifetime pass” for alumni of the class to join the trip in future years, and I hope to do so. Keith R. Powell, A&S ’93 Columbia, S.C. PHOTO ID I enjoyed that picture of Lindy Boggs, Hale Boggs and Howard K. Smith that appeared in the Tulane Magazine, Summer 2011 [“Who Dat? The Press”]. I grew up down the street from Lindy and Hale Boggs and had the opportunity to meet Howard K. Smith on occasion when he visited relatives in New Orleans. Some of the other people in that photograph look vaguely familiar but I can’t identify them. Can you identify the other people in that photo? Brainerd S. Montgomery, UC ’69, L ’71 New Orleans Editor’s note: We would love to hear from readers who can tell us who else is in the 1935 yearbook photo. We cannot find a record. STREET SMARTS Although I love the guerrilla art campaign [“Street Art,” summer 2011], I wish it were grammatically correct. When using if, wish, or other verbs that express doubt one must use the subjunctive tense. I find it deplorable that my university would offer an award for bad English ... even if it is street art. Way to dumb down the neighborhood! Brian Rundle, A&S ’92 Reading, Pa. FAMILY TREES Although the Meaher family (“Family Reunion,” summer 2011) seems to have a lot of Tulane degrees within the immediate family, we now have a 4th-generation Tulane student in our family. My grandmother, Edith Levy Brenner graduated from Newcomb in 1925. … Her daughter, my mother, Carol Lise Brenner Rosen graduated with a business degree from Tulane in 1956. My father, Irving Louis Rosen, received his Tulane undergraduate degree in 1947 and his MD in 1949. I received my MBA in 1982. My younger sister, Edie Rosen Bender, graduated in 1983 with her undergraduate degree and returned a couple of years later for her MSW (1986). My husband, Ellis B. Murov, received his JD in 1979. Now, my daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Frilot, is a member of the law school class of 2014. Additionally, my younger daughter, Maitland Louise Frilot, has worked as a lifeguard at Reily for the past two summers, and Edie’s step-daughter, Ashley Bender, is now on the Tulane English faculty.All that, and we live basically across the street from campus on Audubon Blvd.! Beth Rosen Murov, B ’82 New Orleans
APPRECIATION Congratulations on a tremendous win. … Every page was a surprise and delight. If I had to choose a winner among the winners, I would say: Farewell (so personal and readable) and the “building history” so unexpected. Jack W. Thomson, L ’51 Carriere, Miss. OTHER INTERESTS Surely there is something of more interest and value to your readers than six pages of Newt Gingrich [summer 2011, “Today Iowa, Tomorrow the World.”] Bill Fly, A&S ’58 Bellingham, Wash. COL. HURLEY RECOGNITION I was pleased to see the notice [“Final Frontier,” page 32] in the Spring 2011 edition of the new Tulane Magazine identifying Col. Douglas G. Hurley [E ’88], USMC, as the pilot of the STS135, the last flight of the Space Shuttle. The mission was successfully completed this morning [July 21, 2011]. … We should now all congratulate Col. Hurley for a job well done and thank him for his contributions during his service to our country. James V. Boone, E ’55 Fairfax, Va. SINCE WE ASKED Regarding the name change from Tulanian to Tulane, since you asked: “Tulanian” indicated a magazine about and for Tulanians, including alumni as well as students and faculty. “Tulane” indicates a magazine about Tulane University. Although I am no longer part of Tulane University, as an alumnus, I consider myself a Tulanian. The magazine is still interesting, but I feel it has taken a step away from the alumni. I gather this was deliberate, and I think it was somewhat unfortunate. Tom Slocombe, A&S ’70 Emporia, Kan. IN THE VERNACULAR I was very disappointed with the new magazine—not the stories, contacts, information—but the use of the VERNACULAR in a magazine from Tulane University. Correct English will never go out of style. … Heather Jurist, NC ’64 Baco Raton, Fla.
Drop Us a Line E-mail us at: tulanemag@tulane.edu or U.S. mail: Tulane, University Publications, 200 Broadway, Suite 219, New Orleans, LA 70118
Letter from The Editor
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Editor Mary Ann Travis
Art Director Melinda Whatley Viles Features Editor Nick Marinello “Tulanians” Editor Fran Simon
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Contributors Catherine Freshley, ’09 Alicia Duplessis Jasmin Angus Lind, A&S ’66 Mark Miester, A&S ’90, B ’09 Kathryn Hobgood Ray Ryan Rivet, UC ’02 Richie Weaver senior University Photographer Paula Burch-Celentano senior Production Coordinator Sharon Freeman
layered memories An amazing aspect of an old city (and an old university) is that it is ever changing. Even when traditions appear hidebound, new practices are layered on top of old patterns. New energy flows through the present even as our experience of it is filtered by the past. “In New Orleans, the past is all around, the memories are front and center,” writes Ned Sublette in The Year Before the Flood. Memories accumulate here, it is true, with those formed before the flood joining those made after. Weatherhead Hall, a new residence hall, opened this fall at the old site of New Doris and Old Doris halls. Nearly 300 sophomores have moved into the 81,000-square-foot structure on the uptown campus. On the first cold day of the season, students come and go to class from Weatherhead. Some, usually the men, brave the cold (60 degrees!), wearing shorts. The women are bundled in sweatshirts, leggings and boots. The air is crisp, the way it can be in
October. The sun shines brightly on the palm trees. The sky is the bluest yet this fall. The students living in Weatherhead, like those living in Irby (pictured above and built in 1956) and all the other residence halls, are creating memories. They are finding friends, stretching their minds, imagining careers and falling in love. The French philosopher Maurice Halbwachs, who explores the twists and turns of memory, has said, “Our conceptions of the past are affected by the mental images we employ to solve present problems, so that collective memory is essentially a reconstruction of the past in the light of the present.” Based on Halbwachs’ take on memory, it would seem that how you remember your years at Tulane is tied up with how you see the present. And, perhaps, your recollections depend on how many years have elapsed since you were a student living in a dorm room, sharing a bathroom with eight people, as they still do in Irby. Some things, after all, never change. —Mary Ann Travis
Graphic Designer Tracey O’Donnell
President of the University Scott S. Cowen Vice President of University Communications Deborah L. Grant, PHTM ’86 Executive Director of Publications Carol J. Schlueter, B ’99 Tulane (USPS 017-145) is a quarterly magazine published by the Tulane Office of University Publications, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, LA 70118-5624. Periodical postage at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. Send editorial correspondence to the above address or email tulanemag@tulane.edu. Opinions expressed in Tulane are not necessarily those of Tulane representatives and do not necessarily reflect university policies. Material may be reprinted only with permission. Tulane University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Tulane, Tulane Office of University Publications, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, LA 70118-5624. fall 2011/Vol. 83, No. 2
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TUNICA TALES Linguistic scholars at Tulane, led by anthropology professor Judith Maxwell, helped the Tunica-Biloxi tribe produce two books— Deer and Turtle and Fighting Eagles. Written in the tribe’s nearly extinct language, the books of fables and prayers preserve an essential component of the tribe’s identity.
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News Fit for Fuel
Shipyard Shutdown For more than 70 years, Avondale Shipyard has been a major economic driver in New Orleans. Now that there are plans to close the shipyard by 2013, a group of professors is taking a look at what impact the shutdown will have on the region. This summer, at the urging of the AFL-CIO, Tulane researchers— Aaron Schneider, assistant professor of political science; Jana Lipmann, assistant professor of history; and Thomas Adams, a history postdoctoral fellow—along with faculty members from Loyola University, the University of New Orleans and Southern University–New Orleans, began surveying current and former shipyard employees. They’re seeking to understand the economic effects, as well as the nonfinancial repercussions, of the shipyard and its potential closure on the more than 5,000 people who work there. Schneider, the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Professor of Social Entrepreneurship, expects that there will be a long-lasting social impact to the shutdown. He is examining the role of the shipyard in civic engagement in the community. “People who have good jobs, who participate in organizations like unions, also tend to participate in other organizations,” Schneider says. “This is important to our citizenship and our democracy. The worry there is the shutdown will have a chilling effect on community engagement.” For many, Avondale provided a path to the middle class, and during its history workers there have played a role in fighting for civil rights and women’s rights. Schneider says the shutdown offers a unique opportunity to raise questions about a major industrial closure before it happens, rather than doing a postmortem. “I don’t know that anyone has ever come in at this stage to track the effects as a firm makes plans to shut down and eliminate jobs,” he says. “This is an situation where we can look at the people during the process, see how they respond and hopefully lend a hand.”—Ryan Rivet
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Boat Builders Avondale Shipyard represents about one percent of the roughly 520,000 jobs in the seven-parish New Orleans metropolitan area.
Tulane University scientists have discovered a novel bacterial strain, “TU-103,” which uses paper to produce butanol, a biofuel that serves as a substitute for gasoline. The researchers are experimenting with old editions of The Times-Picayune newspaper with great success. TU-103 is the first bacterial strain from nature that produces butanol directly from cellulose, an organic compound, says David Mullin, associate professor of cell and molecular biology. “Cellulose is found in all green plants and is the most abundant organic material on earth. Converting it into butanol is the dream of many,” says Harshad Velankar, a postdoctoral fellow in Mullin’s lab. “In the United States alone, at least 323 million tons of cellulosic materials that could be used to produce butanol are thrown out each year.” Mullin’s lab originally identified TU-103 in animal droppings, cultivated it and developed a method for using it to produce butanol. A patent is pending on the process. “Most important about this discovery is TU103’s ability to produce butanol directly from cellulose,” says Mullin. He adds that TU-103 is the only known butanol-producing clostridial strain that can grow and produce butanol in the presence of oxygen, which kills other butanol-producing bacteria. Having to produce butanol in an oxygen-free space increases the costs of production. As a biofuel, butanol is superior to ethanol, which is produced from corn sugar, because it can readily fuel existing motor vehicles without any modifications to the engine. It also can be transported through existing fuel pipelines, is less corrosive and contains more energy than ethanol, theoretically resulting in improved mileage. While the discovery has the potential to reduce bio-butanol production costs, in addition to possible savings on the price per gallon as a fuel, Mullin says, “Bio-butanol produced from cellulose would dramatically reduce carbon dioxide and smog emissions in comparison to gasoline.” The innovative process also could have a positive impact on landfill waste. —Kathryn Hobgood Ray
In That Number Student Stats TALLY TOUTING Even before the fall semester began, the admission office was busily engaged in its annual ritual of number crunching, analyzing the myriad data that ultimately yield a numerical picture of Tulane’s student body. The office released its final tally in October, revealing interesting and in some cases historic results.
7,048
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Number of undergraduates enrolled
13,359* 1,757** Number of all students enrolled (including graduate and professional schools)
Number of new students enrolled
212
56.92%
Percent of female students in freshman class
34
Number of new students from NEW YORK
223 Number of new students from Louisiana
Number of international freshmEn (representing 15 countries)
15.66
Average number of credit hours carried by each first-year student
zero
New students hailing from Hawaii, North Dakota, Wyoming and Delaware
THE POLL DO YOU SLEEP NEXT TO YOUR CELL PHONE? We want to know! We’ve read other surveys that indicate that the majority of young people sleep within reach of their mobile phones. Do you? We’ll report on the results in the winter issue of Tulane.
100%
THE results On recycling in the summer issue, we asked if you recycle. everyone who responded said that they recycle but they aren’t always happy with curbside programs in their cities.
*Largest number in Tulane’s history **Largest number since Hurricane Katrina T U L A N E MAGA Z I N E FA L L 2 0 1 1
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AR,AMD BERTIN/courtesy tulane university archives
Who Dat ? Colorful Character
BRYAN BATT Before he went on to a career as a leading actor on Broadway and in the awardwinning television show “Mad Men,” theater major Bryan Batt (A&S ’85) plays Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago during his senior year at Tulane. Batt has fond memories of this and other theatrical productions while he was a student at Tulane, including his appearance in Patchwork Players’ Hansel and Gretel. Batt’s Broadway and off-
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Broadway shows include Jeffrey, Sunset Boulevard and La Cage Aux Folles, among others. About the future, Batt says, “I am working on a new project for Broadway, but contracts are not signed yet, so lips are sealed.” This fall, Batt has kept busy on a book promotion tour in New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles for Big, Easy Style: Creating Rooms You Love to Live in, a decorating book he co-authored with Catherine
“Katy” Danos (NC ’85). The book (Clarkson Potter/ Random House) gives tips on an eclectic style that reflects the home furnishings boutique Hazlenut located on Magazine Street in New Orleans and owned by Batt and his partner, Tom Cianfichi. If you ask Batt about his views on using color in the home, he says, “Don’t be afraid of color. What did it ever do to you?” Batt’s first book, She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother (Crown,
2010), is a “momoir,” a tribute to his late mother, Gayle Batt (NC ’51), as well as a chronicle of growing up in New Orleans. Also pictured here in the 1980s scene from Chicago are Rebecca Nice (NC ’85, G ’87), left, and Leslie Castay (NC ’85), right, who after her own career on Broadway now acts in various shows in New Orleans, and with her husband, Bryan Burkey, owns the Wine Institute of New Orleans (W.I.N.O.).—FRAN SIMON
Eye Camp Dr. Ramesh Ayyala, Tulane professor of ophthalmology, along with ophthalmology resident physicians, conducted a free “eye camp” in July in Port Sulphur, La., an area hard-hit by disasters. The doctors screened more than 100 patients, prescribing glasses for those who needed them and diagnosing sightthreatening diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinal diseases in patients.
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The country of Brazil has a distinctiveness all its own. Its citizens speak Portuguese, for one thing. And to an extent not seen in most other countries, popular music is an essential part of the identity of Brazil, says Christopher Dunn, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Tulane. “Brazil might, in fact, be the most salient example of a country in which popular music has had an important role in society and politics and in the formation of cultural identity,” Dunn says. It’s an issue of degree, says Dunn. In other countries, popular music plays in the background. But in Brazil, “Music is central to Brazilian notions of personal and national identity.” With Idelber Avelar, professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Tulane, Dunn co-edited Brazilian Popular Music and Citizenship (Duke University Press, 2011). They collaborated on collecting, editing and translating the essays in the book, many of them originally written in Portuguese by Brazilian scholars, including anthropologists, historians, literary scholars and ethnomusicologists. Among other contributors to the book are Daniel Sharp, Tulane assistant professor of music, and Aaron Lorenz, who earned a PhD in Latin American studies from Tulane in 2009. The essays go beyond the formal study of Brazilian music per se, although there are discussions of samba, coco, maracatu and bossa nova as well as international genres that have been Brazilianized such as hip-hop, funk, rock and even the waltz. “What we really wanted to do is capture a range of debate and discussion around citizenship in Brazil,” says Dunn. The citizenship that Dunn is talking about is not about how people literally become citizens. “It’s about the long struggle for people gaining rights in the country—civil rights, social rights, political rights, cultural rights. “We’re interested in how music has played a role in these struggles,” says Dunn.—Mary Ann Travis
Pop music Chico Science and Nação Zumbi perform with their band in Recife, Brazil, in 1995. They were leading proponents of the “mangue beat,” which combines psychedelic rock, electronica and hip-hop with regional rhythms such as maracatu, coco and ciranda.
Ira Solomon thinks business schools should do more to address societal issues, and the new dean of the A. B. Freeman School of Business thinks Tulane University is just the place to take on that challenge. “The way in which Tulane has repositioned itself in terms of strong connections to the community is something that I find interesting and intriguing,” says Solomon, who became dean this summer. “I like the strategic direction I see the campus going, and I think the Freeman School is well positioned to move in that direction.” Solomon came to the Freeman School from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was the R. C. Evans Endowed Chair in Business and head of the Department of Accountancy, widely regarded as one of the finest accountancy programs in the country. Solomon succeeds Angelo DeNisi, who had served as dean since 2005. DeNisi will remain at the Freeman School as a professor of management. Solomon says energy and accounting are two obvious areas with potential for growth for the Freeman School, but before making any decisions, he is involving faculty members in the planning process. “It’s not my style to sit here in the dean’s suite and make decisions in isolation,” he says. “My style is to engage my colleagues to systematically discover what makes sense in terms of investment areas.”—Mark Miester
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gil vicente
Brazilian Beat
New Business Dean
Dean of Business Ira Solomon is the new dean of the A. B. Freeman School of Business.
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Community Service Honor Roll For the fifth year in a row, Tulane has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which celebrates exemplary commitment to service and volunteering in the nation’s colleges and universities.
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Copyright Controversy
Die Young at an Old Age S. Michal Jazwinski, a geneticist who has studied the aging process for more than 25 years, might be expected to say that the secret to a long and healthy life span is all in the genes. But he points out other factors—diet, exercise, productive pursuits and social activity—that contribute to living long and well. Genes do matter, though. Jazwinski is the director of the Tulane Center for Aging and a professor of medicine and biochemistry. He holds the John W. Deming, MD, Regents Chair in Aging. Jazwinski pioneered using the yeast model for aging research and was the first scientist to clone or isolate a longevity-associated gene— LAG1 (Longevity Assurance Gene)—in any organism. Recently, he and his colleagues have generated a hypothetical model involving three human genes, ApoE, H-Ras and LASS (human LAG1), predicting, and then showing, that they interact in longevity and healthy aging. The human biological system is quite complex; it involves networks of different reactions all going on at the same time, each affecting the other. There is “a narrow window where everything seems to work nicely,” Jazwinski says. “But you can only go so far in tweaking a certain gene and its expression to increase life span.” What Jazwinski says that he and his colleagues are most interested in is healthy aging in humans. “The whole idea is to compress morbidity, to make the period of decline [before death] as short as possible, so that everyone can die young at an old age.”—M.A.T.
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Healthy Aging Living a long and happy life depends on genes, environment and chance.
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a copyright law, and the court’s ruling, expected by June 2012, the end of its current session, will have broad implications for researchers, readers and music and art lovers, says Elizabeth TownsendGard of Tulane Law School. The copyright law in question affects millions of foreign books, music compositions and artwork, including items such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich and artwork by Pablo Picasso— potentially any foreign work created between 1923 and 1989. These works have long been in the public domain in the United States, whereby anyone could reprint them or create new versions without paying the copyright holder or getting permission. But in a recent ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law that removed the works from the public domain, restoring copyright protections and giving copyright holders exclusive rights. Townsend-Gard is associate professor and co-director of the Tulane Center for Intellectual Property Law and Culture. She says that among the groups that will closely be watching the Supreme Court ruling are Google and Amazon, companies that digitize works and post them online. Also, academic researchers who frequently use public domain materials are following the controversy. “Is it constitutional?” Townsend-Gard asks. “It’s like taking a public park back and giving the land back to the original owners. This kind of amendment to the Copyright Act brings instability and uncertainty to the whole system.” Townsend-Gard says complicated political issues are at play because Congress first mandated the copyright as part of a broad foreign trade agreement. The case could have huge implications, she says, not just for copyright, but for trade law, the First Amendment and power relations between Congress and the Executive Branch. “What is the future of copyrights? We are in a battle between domestic law versus implementation of trade treaties. What do we as a society think is important and what is not?” —Carol J. Schlueter
Gallery Biblia Latina ancient Scriptures Deep within the stacks of the rare books collection of HowardTilton Memorial Library lies a weathered pigskin Bible bound together by brass clips. For years it lay there in obscurity, an unrecognized treasure. It was not until Michael Kuczynski, associate professor of English and medieval studies, stumbled across the four-volume Bible that the book was recovered as a precious source for scholarship. It all came about two years ago when Kuczynski needed a Latin Bible to verify a footnote for a book on which he was working. “I didn’t want to run home
to check my modern edition of the Latin Bible,” says Kuczynski, “I typed ‘Biblia Latina’ into the online card catalogue and when I noticed an item with a 15thcentury date, I knew that Tulane owned something special.” Each of the mammoth volumes, dated 1481, stands nearly 20 inches tall and is about 4 inches thick. The book was printed using movable type designed to have the appearance of handwriting and contains the Old and New Testaments, as well as commentary on the scriptures. Most 15th-century families would not have had a copy of this heavy, multivolume book. “It
would have cost a lot of money and it’s in Latin,” says Kuczynski, “which, generally speaking, only the clergy could read. It was most likely used to help scholars interpret the scriptures.” Even the yellowed pages of sheet music pasted to the inside covers to fasten the book’s pigskin flaps hold significance, says Kuczynski. “One of these pastedowns was from a medieval choir book that had the words of chants and musical notes in different colored inks.” The pastedown indicates that it was taken from a workshop manuscript, which “makes the Bible volume rarer,” says Kuczynski.
Printed in Strasbourg, France, the Bible was later transported, as indicated by a faded blue library stamp, more than 1,000 miles to the municipal library in Budva, Montenegro. Medieval books often were sold by libraries, which may explain how the Bible arrived at the Louisiana State Museum and ultimately was acquired by Tulane. More research is called for on the book’s history, says Kuczynski. “I love this kind of scholarly detective work and have had a great deal of success getting my graduate and undergraduate students interested in it, too.”
—Alicia Duplessis Jasmin
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Interview Ed Conroy, Men’s Basketball Men’s basketball head coach Ed Conroy enters his second season with the Green Wave after guiding the team to a 13-17 overall record last year. How does the team look this year? “The team is working extremely hard. Every day you get a good surprise. With new guys, it’s always an adventure, but these guys are definitely putting in the effort.” What are the successes you’ll build on from last season and what are some things you need to improve? “I thought last year’s team did a great job of buying into how we wanted to play. We have some bigger bodies this year, so we need to be a more physical team and work on finishing on the defensive end.” What are your goals for the season? “Last year our guys really believed in the process, and I think that’s why you could see improvement in their play. This year, with so many new guys, we’ve got to be focused, get better as a team and also make sure that each individual is improving every day.”
What’s the best part of being a coach? “The relationships you develop with the guys. Trying to make a difference in their lives. You get to know them, in so many ways. That gives you great satisfaction.” —ryan rivet
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paula burch-celentano
Was coaching always your career goal? “Like most athletes, I thought about playing for as long as I could. Then in my sophomore year, I suffered a severe neck injury, and that was probably the first time I really started thinking about coaching as a profession.”
certified The Tulane Department of Intercollegiate Athletics had its Division I certification reaffirmed by the NCAA this summer.
S P ORT S
Football Merger
paula burch-celentano
Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference in October announced a unanimous agreement to merge their football leagues by the 2013 season. The merger will be constituted in two divisions that will play one conference championship game. Currently, C-USA has 12 members, including Tulane, and Mountain West has 10. The goals of the merger are to offer more visibility to member institutions, maintain regional rivalries and garner an automatic BCS bowl bid for the top team in the new 22-member conference. Tulane President Scott Cowen, who serves as the chair of the Conference USA board of directors, praised the alliance, calling it a “high potential, unique partnership.” In regard to all other sports, each conference will maintain its independent structure.—R.R.
Record Setting Tulane swimmer Kristin Ates was part of a world-record setting team at the World Deaf Swimming Championship in Coimbra, Portugal, during the summer. Ates, a native of Charlotte, N.C., teamed with Peggy Liang, Samantha Elam and Becca Meyers to post a time of 8:49.55 in the 4-by-200–meter freestyle relay and take home the gold medal. The time surpassed the former deaf world record of 8:50.09 established by the Russian Federation in 2009. “This is a huge accomplishment, and I couldn’t be prouder of Kristin for her performance at the world championship,” says Lena Guarriello, head coach of the Tulane women’s swimming and diving team. Swimming the second leg of the record-setting relay, Ates posted a 2:13.68 split. In addition, she finished third in the 200-meter butterfly and came in sixth in the 400-meter freestyle. Ates also competed and won multiple medals at international competitions for deaf athletes in 2005 and 2007. She has severe hearing loss in one ear and profound loss in the other. A cochlear implant allows her to attend Tulane classes without an interpreter. A two-year letterwinner with the Green Wave, Ates is one of 19 swimmers returning to the squad for the 2011–12 season. She was part of a team that finished fifth at the 2011 Conference USA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.—Richie Weaver
Swimming Champ Green Wave student-athlete Kristin Ates competes at the highest level in freestyle and butterfly swimming events.
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AP PHOTO/PATRICK SEMANSKY
Remembering Al tulane president offers a personal reflection on the wisdom, wit and winning ways of one of the university’s most extraordinary friends.
by Scott S. Cowen
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Support team Al and Celia Weatherhead, shown in this 2008 photo, pledged $100 million to Tulane University through the Weatherhead Foundation. Opposite page: President Scott Cowen with his longtime friend and mentor.
On Sept. 20, Albert J. Weatherhead III passed away, leaving a void in the lives of the many people he cherished and the numerous organizations he supported. His passing was especially difficult for the Tulane community. Al loved Tulane, and we loved him right back. To say Al was a remarkable man is an understatement. His influence ranged from the millions he gave away to universities and other institutions throughout the country to the well-known plastic spice top his company invented—the one with the small holes for sprinkling and the big hole for pouring. But despite his success and influence, Al faced many hardships in his life, including the death of an infant child, alcoholism, severe arthritis, a heart attack and a broken back. “I now see that suffering, pain and the threat of death were the only hard lessons strong enough to break through the thickness of my hard head,” he wrote in The Power of Adversity, one of his three books. “Eventually, I came to see these adversities for what they were: blessings in disguise that I learned to leverage to make me a stronger, wiser, more loving and creative human being.” I first met Al in 1980, when I was an associate professor of management at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. Al and his wife, Celia, through the Weatherhead Foundation, had just made a gift naming the CWRU school in which I taught, the Weatherhead School of Management. Obviously, I was impressed by Mr. Weatherhead and, as an ambitious associate professor in my early 30s, eager to make his acquaintance. But at the time, I had no idea how much influence he would have on my life. Four years later, when I was offered the job as dean of the same Weatherhead School of Management, I asked Al if he thought the salary was fair. He told me, “Graciously accept what was offered, do an outstanding job and, over time, the salary will take care of itself.” As always, his advice turned out to be great and during the next 30 years Al became an ever-closer friend and mentor. On a professional level, he used lessons learned from his creation of Weatherchem Corp. and other successful enterprises to teach me about business and how to lead. On a personal level, he was always a thoughtful adviser who helped guide my career choices.
Al had vision and high expectations that inspired those of us who knew him.
The best advice he ever imparted to me was his and Celia’s suggestion that I give the offer to interview for the presidency of Tulane a second look. There had been a number of opportunities to apply for the top position at universities in the past but I had never really pursued any of them. My wife, Marjorie, and I had a great life in Cleveland with many friends, and I loved being dean and Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Management at the Weatherhead School of Management. Why change? But Al had vision and high expectations that inspired those of us who knew him to try to excel at whatever we did. In other words, I was headed to New Orleans and the greatest adventure of my life. After I was honored in being named president of Tulane in 1998, Al continued to provide me guidance. Celia, a Newcomb alumna (NC ’65), joined the Board of Tulane as a trusted adviser, and the Weatherhead Foundation made $100 million in pledges to benefit outstanding students with distinguished records of community engagement and to help recruit and retain faculty who have made outstanding contributions as artists, researchers and scholars. But Tulane was not the only recipient of Al’s generosity. Besides additional gifts to Case Western Reserve, Al gave millions of dollars to support the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard, the Weatherhead P.E.T. Center for Preventing and Reversing Heart Atherosclerosis at the University of Texas–Houston and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. I was traveling to Cleveland and planning to visit Al when I learned of his death. Though he was 86 years old, I was completely shocked. He had triumphed over so much illness and adversity throughout his life, it was hard to believe anything had gotten the better of him. My immediate thoughts raced to Celia and Al’s family and all the sorrow they were enduring. I also realized the country, and especially the higher education community, had lost a visionary business leader, an advocate and a generous philanthropist. And what had I lost? A friend, a mentor and a father of sorts. In addition, Al also was a wonderful cutup with a great love of mischief and the ability to lift the spirits of everyone around him, even during the darkest times. I have been thinking a lot about Al these past few weeks. I have thought about his challenges, his triumphs, his advice and his love. I also have marveled how, even after his death, he continues to teach me lessons, especially lessons about dealing with loss. I can hear him telling me to be cheerful and to move forward with reckless abandon. I also have thought about Al’s habit of going for a 15- or 20-minute walk every day, squeezing a rock the whole time. At the end of the walk he would toss the rock into a pond, saying, “That’s it for the day. No more anger and sadness until tomorrow.”
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benson & riehl collection, southeastern architectural archive, tulane university libraries
Modern Love In a city that indulges in the romance of bygone days, buildings constructed in the more recent past are in need of a little TLC.
By Carol J. Schlueter
Reuse, Repurpose The Saratoga Building, pictured in this 1957 photo, is a modernist landmark in downtown New Orleans. Originally built for commercial purposes, it is now an upscale residential development that houses more than 150 apartments and an impressive art collection.
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Reverence for the past is part of the New Orleans psyche—just take a stroll through the French Quarter or a drive through the Garden District. New Orleanians worship at the architectural altar when it comes to 18th- and 19th-century structures with European detailing. But love of the modern-era buildings from post–World War II to the 1960s— that’s more fickle. Some modern buildings happily persist in the landscape, but others have brought heartbreak for preservationists and architects, who say these buildings are often allowed to deteriorate, or are renovated poorly, or are demolished. But with their history (much of it rooted at Tulane University) and their forward-looking designs, do the midcentury structures deserve a chance to survive, or even help lead the way into the future for the new New Orleans? Loves me, loves me not Summer 2011 was a watershed of sorts for modern architecture in New Orleans. Within weeks of each other, two modernist-designed schools from the 1950s, both winners of national design awards, fell to the wrecking ball. Now gone are Phillis Wheatley School in Treme, designed by the late Charles Colbert, who taught at Tulane, practiced in New Orleans and influenced generations of architects; and Thomy Lafon School in Central City, designed by Curtis and Davis, a prolific firm of modernist architects led by Tulane alumni Nathaniel “Buster” Curtis Jr., A ’40, and Arthur Q. Davis, A ’41, ’42. Demolition is ahead for another Curtis and Davis design, George Washington Carver Junior-Senior High School in the Ninth Ward. The schools have joined a ghostly list that constitutes all that remains of such modernist landmarks as the Rivergate International Exhibition Facility (demolished to make way for Harrah’s Casino in 1995) and St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Church (torn down in 2007, the site for a new school). Both were products of Curtis and Davis. Meanwhile, at the heart of the city, three other modern-era landmarks —the former Pontchartrain Motors/Sewell Chevrolet building, the Saratoga building and the Louisiana Superdome—have seen their lives extended through major renovations. Those who love regional modernism know more fights are ahead to try to save what they deem as important. Win some, lose some “We’re starting to put the showroom back in now, and it’s pretty neat,” said architect John Williams, A&S ’72, A ’78, in mid-September as he gave a tour through the construction site at 701 Baronne St. that last served as the Sewell Chevrolet dealership. The plate-glass windows that face Baronne and Girod streets are shining once again, but new cars have given way to grocery baskets. This is the new home of Rouses Supermarket, which opened in mid-November to customers who live and work in downtown New Orleans. Perhaps the modernist architect Edward B. Silverstein, whose firm designed the dealership that opened in 1955, would be pleased that his building has a new life. Williams is certainly pleased: “Every building needs to be preserved and put back into commerce. That’s the highest form of sustainability.” After restoring “400 or 500 buildings” in his career, Williams said that he’s “really good at finding incentives for folks to be able to justify restoring a building.” That is, what he did for Rouses in a deal in which the purchase of the building was matched with a suite of tax credits to make the renovation possible. “We’re preserving the building, inside and outside,” he said, as the tax incentives required. “There’s always hurdles—there’s the Historic District Landmark Commission. You’ve got to go to the State Historic Preservation Office, also the National Parks Service.” The approval process is daunting, and “a little bit over the top” for a chain like Rouses, which has nearly 40 stores in Louisiana and Mississippi. And renovating a 56-year-old building always has its share of challenges. Outside, Williams pointed triumphantly to the new foundation.
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chris granger/ the times-picayune
Home and Dome Left: Sleek, angular and functional, Phelps Residence Hall on the Tulane uptown campus (pictured here in 1961) embodies the ethos of modernism. Above: A $1.6 million animated light system now illuminates the MercedesBenz Superdome, which was renamed after receiving corporate sponsorship this fall. The 36-year-old Dome underwent extensive renovation after Hurricane courtesy tulane university archives
Katrina and will remain a signature of the New Orleans skyline for the foreseeable future.
“If one understands the rhythm, scale and proportions of the city’s fabric, modern architecture can be a great infill solution within historic neighborhoods.” —Marcel Wisznia T UL A N E MAGA Z I N E FA L L 2 0 1 1
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“We held this whole building up and put a new foundation underneath it. Let me say that again. We held this whole building up, all the way, every bit of it.” Even with this winning example of “repurposed” modernism, Williams, of course, is well aware of the recent losses of the modern-era school buildings, Wheatley and Lafon. But he said, “You’ve got to go forward. There is the power of one … you can effect change, like Rouses has effected change here.” Boom and doom With their clean, often boxy lines, lack of ornamentation, affinity for flat roofs and window walls to bring in light and natural views, and the use of new materials for dramatic outer skins, buildings from the midcentury modern period often stand out in the Crescent City landscape. “Modernism is not an easy sell for a lot of people,” admits Francine Stock, G ’96, visual resources curator at the Tulane School of Architecture. “The buildings just don’t have the romantic architectural details we have come to associate with New Orleans.” As these buildings reach their 50th birthdays, they become candidates for historic building status, and ones that are in historic districts such as those downtown have protected status. But any building that’s 40 or 50 years old also tends to be unfashionable and could be in jeopardy. Modernist design became common on the local scene during what was a booming post-war era, says Keli Rylance, head of the Southeastern Architectural Archives at Tulane. Veterans using the GI Bill to pursue college studies headed to Tulane; its School of Architecture spawned a talented group of innovative young designers with modern and progressive ideas. John P. Klingman, the Koch Professor of Architecture, says that ironically, the city was “a hotbed of modernist design” with new schools, churches, civic buildings and residences that represented an era of progressive thinking. “During that period there was an intense building boom in New Orleans in part because of municipal projects spearheaded by Mayor deLesseps S. Morrison,” Rylance adds. “Some of the national architectural journals were writing about the ‘new’ New Orleans in the 1950s.” That may sound familiar in the post–Hurricane Katrina environment, with national publications talking about the “hot South” and placing New Orleans among the “Best Cities for Jobs” and “Coolest Cities for Startups.” It was Katrina that imperiled the modernist gem of the Louisiana Superdome, whose design was developed in the late 1960s by Curtis and Davis, with Buster Curtis leading the way. Despite serious damage including a hole in its roof, the Superdome was declared “solid as a rock,” and reopened a year later after repairs. Architect Arthur Q. Davis wasn’t surprised. “We thought it had a fighting chance of being saved,” he says. This year, the stadium received the final touches on a $185 million renovation. The juxtaposition between what’s old and what’s new is certainly not lost on Marcel Wisznia, A ’73, who’s making a stir by designing and developing downtown historic buildings into residential properties. He has three projects complete and filling up with tenants, including the 1956-era Saratoga building at 212 Loyola Ave., and a fourth modernist-era renovation being planned, the former Stephens Buick building, later Stephens Garage, at 840 Carondelet St., not far from the new Rouses Supermarket. Wisznia, who serves on the architecture dean’s advisory council, is the son of a modernist architect. His dad’s first speculative design of a home was so radical in his adopted hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, that it did not sell, so the Wisznia family ended up moving into it. He’s a believer in “adaptive reuse” of older structures, and is concerned about the city’s losses of some modern-era buildings. The Rivergate’s demolition? “It made no sense.” Cabrini Church? “To have lost that is a sin, it’s a crime.” Wheatley School? “Ridiculous.” He says,
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“It’s not only losing the buildings but it’s the lack of understanding by the people who control them today. They have no knowledge of the architectural importance of what they possess.” Wisznia adds, “My fear is that New Orleans will turn into a museum, showcasing how cities looked in the past. I don’t want to live in a museum, but rather a living museum—a city sensitive to its past but not afraid to look to the future. If one understands the rhythm, scale and proportions of the city’s fabric, modern architecture can be a great infill solution within historic neighborhoods.” Modern on campus It’s not surprising that the modern-thinking architects from Tulane also had a major impact on the uptown campus. Klingman calls the 1953-era Phelps and Irby residence halls “two absolutely wonderful modernist buildings,” along with Paterson House, completed in 1951. Perhaps the best example, however, is one that lives on at the heart of campus: the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life. Look with a modernist eye and you’ll notice the large expanses of glass that provide marvelous views of the quad and oak trees on two sides. This and other elements of the building are reflective of its life as the original University Center, designed by Curtis and Davis and completed in 1959. Klingman remembers that a proposal was on the table to tear it down and rebuild. Instead, a major renovation and expansion took place,
Frank Lotz Miller, Photographer. Curtis & Davis, Architects. Rivergate, 1968. Curtis & Davis Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive.
Do you DOCOMOMO?
Ain’t There No More Built in the late 1960s at
Colm Kennedy TSA '10, Courtesy of Tulane School of Architecture, New Orleans Virtual Archive
reducing the building to its basic structure and adding 50 percent more space. “People asked, ‘Why did we save that?’” Klingman says. “Well, because, it was in the right place, and it had the right conceptual attitude. The ideas of transparency and openness were incredibly important modernist principles. They’re great principles for a university center.” The new architects, Vincent James & Associates, led the design but also worked with Tulane alumnus and former faculty member Wayne Troyer, A ’83. “The existing building was preserved as far as the entrance circulations,” he says, describing it as repurposed and improved, but with great respect for the original planning by Curtis and Davis. The resulting Lavin-Bernick Center, dedicated in December 2006, harkens back to its roots. As Francine Stock says, “When you go in, you can still feel the original building there … the spirit of the building is intact.” Davis, whose firm designed the original University Center, agrees. “They preserved the spirit of it. Upgraded it in many ways, but on the whole it’s a contribution to the campus.” “We’re on the cusp of a new movement in preservation,” Stock says. “I’m not so optimistic,” responds Davis, no doubt feeling the losses of numerous buildings designed by his firm and his partner, Buster Curtis. “People have been building and tearing down forever.” But Troyer is more upbeat. “It’s going to be more and more difficult for people to take down modern buildings in New Orleans. There is a renaissance going on in terms of being able to save them.”
What’s next for the city’s remaining modernist buildings? They are still beloved, and one group especially is trying to keep them in the landscape: the Louisiana chapter of DOCOMOMO (an acronym for the “DOcumentation and COnservation of building, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement”). It’s part of an international organization. The Louisiana group president, Francine Stock, says its work is crucial. That work got a major boost this year when Stock, with help from Keli Rylance, architecture students and the Tulane technology services staff, developed an iPhone app, New Orleans Regional Modernism, available free of charge from Apple’s App Store. It features maps, tours of neighborhoods, archival photos of buildings (both existing and demolished) and details about them. “If we lose too much, then you’re at risk of forgetting entirely,” she says. “Maybe it will save something else in the future by opening up this dialogue.” Her group held a number of events in October, including a bicycle tour highlighting modernera buildings such as the Automotive Life Building at 4140 Canal St., pictured below.
the foot of Canal Street, the Rivergate International Exposition Facility was a distinctive and innovative gem of design and engineering. It was demolished in 1995 to make way for the construction of the Harrah’s New Orleans Casino.
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Top of the Hop Julie
G r e e n wa l d
first
heard
bounce
in the Calliope housing project; now she purveys music to the mas ses from t h e s u m m i t o f t h e r e c o r d i n d u s t r y.
by Mary Ann Travis
In the rarified atmosphere of the 27th floor of an Avenue of the Americas building in New York City, Julie Greenwald (NC ’91) sits on top of the music industry. Billboard named Greenwald the most powerful woman in the music business in 2010. She’s chairman and chief operating officer of Atlantic Records, one of the most successful music companies on the planet. Greenwald’s corner office at the company headquarters is sleek and modern, decorated with a big painting of Jay-Z, the billionaire hip-hop star, whose career Greenwald helped launch almost two decades ago. There’s also a photo of R&B singer Trey Songz. A photo of Greenwald with Jon Bon Jovi, the wildly successful New Jersey rock star, and photos of singer/songwriters James Blunt and Jason Mraz fill the wall space. Two hundred and twenty-five people work for Greenwald in the United States, and a thousand other employees around the globe market music for the company that has a storied history of producing and promoting legendary recording artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. The road to the apex of the music industry for Greenwald has been a nearly straight shot. But, “I never set out to get into the music business,” she says. “I tripped up on the music business because it was a summer job for me.”
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On the verge The summer job in 1992 that set the course for Greenwald’s career was with Rush Management in Manhattan. She was an assistant to Lyor Cohen, who led Rush Management and Def Jam, managing artists and producing hip-hop music. Cohen quickly promoted Greenwald through the ranks. “Lyor and I clicked,” she says. “I grew up at Def Jam and Lyor encouraged me to learn and run each department.” She and Cohen still work together at Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group after surviving corporate takeovers and mergers through the years. In its earlier days, hip-hop “was a little secret,” says Greenwald. “It wasn’t mainstream yet. It was exciting to be on the cutting edge of something that was about to become big.” At Def Jam at that time, there were 60 employees. “We were taking on the world to bring this new music to the masses,” says Greenwald. Out of the ’Hood There has been nothing quite like the excitement of that period in Greenwald’s career. “We were on the verge. We were in on it. We knew it was coming. And to be ahead of something is incredible,” she says. But it wasn’t Lyor Cohen and Def Jam Records that first turned Greenwald on to
Julie Greenwald went from a gig with Teach for America in New Orleans to Def Jam Recordings to president of Atlantic Records.
MICHAEL EDWARDS
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john shearer
kids. Twenty law students volunteered, encouraging the children and helping Greenwald finish the year.
Rap Star Rapper T.I., left, is an artist whose career Greenwald
hip-hop and urban music. It was the children in the Calliope (pronounced Callyope) in New Orleans, where Greenwald was a Teach for America teacher during the second year of that organization’s existence and her first year out of college.
has nurtured through good times and bad. Craig
In the Calliope Greenwald graduated Records joins Greenwald from Tulane with a and T.I. to celebrate the double major in politicompany’s digital sales. cal science and English. She expected to become a lawyer and an advocate for children and education. Growing up in the Catskills of New York, she was raised by parents who instilled in her the concept of “always giving back.” Her Teach for America job in 1991–92 brought her to Calliope Elementary in the middle of the notorious Calliope Housing Project, a poor and often violent section of town that was cut off by Earhart Expressway from the rest of the city of New Orleans. The poverty rate in this isolated community was staggering. But the creative output was equally astonishing. Here in the Calliope, bounce music, an indigenous New Orleans form of hip-hop, boomed with the songs of rappers like Juvenile. It was the beginning of a multimillion-dollar entertainment business in New Orleans as the record company No Limit grew out of the Calliope, and the Magnolia Housing Project spawned Cash Money record company. “Hip-hop is,” writes Ned Sublette in The Year Before the Flood: A Story of New Orleans, “poetry, music, rhythm, visual language, gesture, drama, culture— a composite artistic movement.” Hip-hop definitely captivated Greenwald. She says, “Those kids in the projects would play music after school. They taught me a lot about how to dance and like catchy Southern hip-hop songs. They got me ready for when I started at Def Jam. I had had a year living inside urban culture.” But it was tough. Many of her third-grade students could not read. Greenwald called upon the African American Association of Law Students at Tulane to tutor and mentor the elementary school Kallman of Atlantic
Connecting the dots The music business that Greenwald started out in has, like almost every other creative, political, economic and social endeavor in the world, been utterly transformed by the Internet. Going to a physical store on an actual street to buy the latest CD by one’s favorite artists is not the way more than half of consumers obtain the music to which they listen. In November 2008, the New York Times reported that for the first time digital sales exceeded compact disc sales at Atlantic Records. “I think we’ve figured it out,” Greenwald said at the time. “It used to be that you could connect five dots and sell a million records. Now there are 20 dots to connect to sell a million records.” Digital sales then included and still include ring tones, ring backs, satellite radio, iTunes sales and subscription services. Three years later, the business is even more complicated. New technologies to distribute and share music come online almost daily. “Every day is a new battle,” Greenwald said this year. “But I feel like new services pop up every day to give us other avenues to create revenue streams.” These services include subscription services like Rhapsody and Spotify for streaming, sampling and buying music. New tools allow people to be their own disc jockey. ”There’s so many new, cool things that let consumers have so much fun with engagement with music,” says Greenwald. In the next five years, she expects there will be even more ways to hear and have fun with music. While going to clubs will still be there, consumers will be able to share music in an online social experience, too. “It’s going to be better and better for the consumer,” she says. To keep its revenue streams flowing for the company and the artists, Atlantic has made inclusive deals with artists, giving the company a stake in touring revenues and merchandise such as T-shirts that promote the artists.
“Those kids in the projects would play music after school. They taught me a lot about how to dance and like catchy Southern hip-hop.”
Musical piracy Every business has to change to keep up with fast-moving technology innovations. Greenwald accepts that reality, but what she doesn’t accept is thievery. “In the last 10 years, the music business has been robbed by piracy,” she says. What appears to be a harmless crime based on a mentality that music should be free or, “who cares that it’s stealing, it’s only ripping off the fat-cat record companies,” hurts everyone down the line from the performing artists to the engineers, producers, songwriters and sound mixers. “It costs us all money,” says Greenwald. “Everybody needs to be paid somehow.” Illegally downloading a song has reverberations for the future of new artists, she says. “It’s the record companies that fund the new babies and give them tour support and help them make their new album and get them out on the road.” There are 50 million bands on YouTube, says Greenwald. “How do you know who to listen to? Someone’s got to show you and say, hey, listen to this. This is great.”
—Julie Greenwald
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Intense commitment Discovering new artists that she can fall in love with and nurture is what keeps Greenwald in the game. From the beginning of her career,
Old Friends Julie Greenwald hangs out with Jay-Z, center, and Lyor Cohen, at a “listening party” in August at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Jay-Z was among the first hip-hop artists Greenwald and Cohen promoted at Def Jam
kevin mazur/wireimage
Recordings in the 1990s.
“I’ve fallen in love with artists in the music business,” she says. “I am lucky to get to work with super-talented people. It’s extraordinary.” Subdued, serious and steeped in the music business, the slightof-frame, brown-eyed Greenwald appears on an August afternoon practically weighed down by the responsibility of running a major music company. “You work hard. You do good things for people. It comes back to you. It’s how I live my life. I’ve been able to make a nice livelihood out of this business.” Greenwald is married to Lewis Largent, whom she met when he worked for MTV and asked for permission to use a song of one of her artists, LL Cool J, for a “Beavis and Butthead” soundtrack. They’ve been married 13 years and have two children, Lulu, 12, and Eli, 7. “They keep me grounded,” she says, “and remind me how hard it is to balance it all. But it’s great. I love the fact that I get to go home to those two angels.” Her children love it when they get to go performances, like a Flo Rida concert in the Hamptons. Her artists are always nice to her children, says Greenwald. And her daughter thinks it is cool to turn her friends on to new music and the next big hit that Greenwald has brought home. It’s a wonderful life. “I get to go out every night and hear music and go into the studio and see how it’s going with the artists,” Greenwald says. The music business requires intense commitment, like a marriage. “You want to have some kind of connection with the artists because you want to grow old with them because it’s going to take a long time,” says Greenwald. It takes hard work on both sides—the record company’s and the artist’s—to achieve success. “Being with someone who you believe in so much and you think is going to be the next big thing and then to help them fulfill their dreams—that’s remarkable,” says Greenwald. “And you
get to go along for the ride and be with them when they finally walk across Madison Square Garden. You feel like you’ve accomplished something.” Mother hen When she talks about artists currently on the Atlantic roster, artists like Flo Rida and T.I., she mentions their work ethic and the pressure they are under. Flo Rida is the “nicest guy on the planet,” says Greenwald. “He’s constantly working. He works 300 days a year. He’s out on the road. He travels the globe.” And T.I., who’s had his legal troubles, got released from prison in September and immediately went to work on a new album. “There’s a lot of pressure when you’re in the public spotlight,” says Greenwald. “Music is such a personal expression.” Most of Atlantic’s artists are singing their own words. “They’re putting their personal feelings out on the table. And then people come along and either trash it or love it,” says Greenwald. The most successful acts work grueling schedules, always trying to reconnect with their fans, putting new music out, touring all the time. “It’s the demands of that job,” says Greenwald. She’s the mother hen, without the fussiness, the nurturer-inchief, of the artists. “That’s why I do so well because I understand what it takes,” she says. “I know it’s hard and that it’s not an easy path but it’s a rewarding one. And if you’re prolific, it’s what you need. You need an outlet to put it all out.” The path that led Greenwald from the Catskills of New York to Tulane and New Orleans to the Calliope Housing Project and an introduction to hip-hop to the pinnacle of the music industry is not the one she ever expected to follow, she says. But the music business “captured me when I started working in it, and I fell in love and never looked back.”
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The Maya Explorer Handsome, charming and irrepressible, Tulane archaeologist and adventurer Frans Blom is among the most colorful academic figures of th e e arly 20th cent ury. by Nick Marinello
The year is 1925, and the world is a much larger, more rugged and lessknown place. Tulane archaeologist Frans Blom, along with a small team, sets out on a steamer from the port of New Orleans on the first of what will be several expeditions to the jungles and mountains of Mexico and Guatemala to study the ancient remains, customs and languages of what he regards as “the most notable of the ancient population of America, the Maya Indians.” Hacking though 1,200 miles of jungle and forest in six months, Blom records more than 100 archaeological sites, including the discovery of 24 ruined cities. He finds a group of Maya in the highlands of Guatemala who are still using their ancestral ritual calendar and stumbles upon a colossal stone head left behind by the ancient Olmec civilization, a discovery so startling that nothing similar to it has yet to be recorded in the annals of archaeology. And Blom is just getting started. Over the next decade, the intrepid explorer will bring to Tulane’s campus a trove of historical objects and knowledge while establishing himself as one of archaeology’s most colorful figures. In and out of the jungle The director of Tulane’s Department of Middle American Research from 1926 to 1940, Blom is by all accounts an enigmatic personality and in many ways a model for the fictional character of Indiana Jones. Brilliant, idealistic and sometimes stubborn, Blom, through force of personality, puts Tulane’s Middle American studies on the map. It is these same traits, however, that keep him on the fringe of mainstream academia and ultimately see to his undoing at Tulane.
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In Frans Blom, Maya Explorer, biographer Robert Brunhouse explores the “unusual, distinctive, impressive” characteristics that defined Blom’s character. “The story of Frans Blom is the strange odyssey of a man who sought the solace and beauty of the forest, though he was forced to live within the confines of Western culture for many years,” writes Brunhouse. We pick up Blom’s story five years before his landmark Tulane expedition. He’s in Mexico, circa 1920, working for an oil company in Veracruz, tramping through the jungles, living for periods of time in palm huts as he hunts for abandoned oil wells that might be redeveloped into productive ones. He’s thousands of miles from his homeland of Denmark and even farther from his father’s expectation that he become a businessman. Blom has no training in archaeology, but during these expeditions he seems strangely drawn to pre-Columbian temple mounds that rise out of the snarl and choke of jungle. In his own amateurish way, he makes notes, illustrations and photographs of carved hieroglyphs, stucco reliefs and crumbling structures. His work—as well as his enthusiasm—for documenting Maya antiquity attracts the Bon Vivant attention of several noted archaeologists and Frans Blom peers anthropologists in Mexico who encourage out of this fragment of Blom to seek formal training. a photograph taken in A Harvard degree here, a brief stint with 1922. Ever dashing, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., Blom was quite the man about town during his there, and Blom is invited to join Tulane’s tenure at Tulane. newly created Department of Middle American
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courtesy middle american research institute
Indiana Jones
courtesy middle american research institute
Blom (center) sits for an informal photograph with Tulane colleague Oliver LaFarge and Indian guide, Tata. The picture was taken during the landmark 1925 expedition to Mexico and Guatemala.
Research as an assistant to the department’s founding director William Gates. Blom arrives at Tulane despite being warned by colleagues of the elderly Gates’ disagreeable nature. One of Blom’s mentors even suggests that by playing his cards right, Blom could soon be replacing the curmudgeonly Gates as director. It turns out the mentor was prescient. “William Gates did not last long at Tulane, and Blom played a major role in his ouster,” writes Donald McVicker, in “Institutional Autonomy and Its Consequences: The Middle American Research Institute at Tulane,” a paper published in Histories of Anthropology Annual. “Almost from the beginning,” continues McVicker, “Gates was suspicious, if not jealous, of Blom’s charming of prominent citizens and warm relationship with [Tulane] President Dinwiddie.” By spring 1926, the affable young Blom is at the helm of the department, and beginning to shape it into his own image. Bumbay “The character and direction of the nascent institution were in large part the result of Blom’s personality and opinions,” writes Daniel Berman (G ’95) in his master’s thesis, “The Middle American Research Institute: Seventy Years of Middle American Research at Tulane University.” Over and again, we are given clues to the force of Blom’s personality. “Although he was only five feet nine, most persons testify that he was tall; something about his presence seemed to add to his stature,” writes Brunhouse. Indeed, Blom’s early years at Tulane and in New Orleans are marked as much by his personal life as his professional one. He is the kind of man whose life seems to be recorded not in footnotes but in headlines. As a bachelor, Blom haunts the French Quarter with a band of artists, academics and writers that includes William Faulkner, whom Blom counts a personal friend. He names his apartment “Bumbay” in sly reference to the cadre of respectable rogues who periodically crash
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at his place. To escape the Quarter, Blom often weekends at this or that friend’s plantation or yacht. In 1932, Blom escorts a group of society people on an excursion to Mexico. Among the group is the famous lovelorn columnist Dorothy Dix, who apparently has the time of her life: “Going to Mexico with Frans Blom is like being shown over heaven by an archangel,” she writes after returning to the United States. When Blom finally decides to settle down, he does so with Mary Thomas, a socialite from a wealthy New York family. The two marry on Long Island; Archibald Roosevelt, the son of Teddy and a friend of Blom’s, is the best man. Back in New Orleans, the couple move from Blom’s flat uptown to the exclusive Pontalba Apartments on Jackson Square. Temple of doom “Personally and professionally, Blom embodied this period’s romantic infatuation with exploration,” writes Berman. And Blom seems to be operating both aspects of his life from the fast lane. Professionally, the early 1930s start off well for Blom, despite financial burdens imposed by the Great Depression. “It was largely due to the generosity of friends of the department that it could engage on this extensive field work,” writes Berman, who particularly notes the philanthropy of Sam Zemurray, whose contributions initially created the department and whose continued support played a large part in sustaining it. “Blom’s staff grew until he employed as many as nine persons,” writes Brunhouse. “He inaugurated a series of publications, published a book and numerous articles and arranged an increasing number of exhibitions.” He also receives several significant grants to expand the department’s library and publications. It is one of his greatest successes, however, that will play a role in his eventual downfall at Tulane. In the run-up to the 1933 “Century of Progress” World’s Fair in Chicago, Blom is tapped to supervise a
courtesy middle american research institute courtesy middle american research institute
Fair and Field Above: A replica of the Uxmal Maya temple constructed at the 1933 World’s Fair was one of Blom’s major triumphs. Below: Blom is seated at the head of a table at the real Uxmal site.
reconstruction of the Nunnery from the ruined Maya city of Uxmal. Blom receives a $7,500 grant to take a team of artists, architects and engineers to the Yucatan to collect information to assist in the reproduction. Along the way, his team makes several important archaeological discoveries. While the completed reproduction at the site of the World’s Fair falls short of Blom’s ambitions (officials deem Blom’s plans too expensive and order him to reproduce only a single façade of the Nunnery), public reception is positive. “Blom estimated that about seven million people visited the building and its museum displays, which originated from the department’s collections,” writes Berman. The idea that the public could be so interested in archaeology and Middle America takes root in Blom’s imagination, and he conceives a plan to recreate the Nunnery as the new home for the Department of Middle American Research on Tulane’s campus. “For the remainder of the 1930s,” writes Berman, “Blom attempted to gain support for this grandiose scheme.” During this same time, Blom submits to the university’s administration a plan to expand the department, creating 10 divisions, a staff of 30 persons and an operating budget of more than $200,000—perhaps not the most strategic of ambitions in a world slogging through the Great Depression. Blom’s ideas fail not only to attract support from either inside or outside the university but, according to Berman, are considered “fanciful and unrealistic.” When his plans for the Nunnery encounter opposition from the university’s trustees, Blom proposes an alternative structure: a full-scale replica of the temple pyramid at Chichén Itza. The structure is designed to be 200 feet in width and 104 feet tall, containing five stories on its interior. Historian John Dyer, in Tulane: The Biography of a University, suggests that the buzz on campus was that “the goings on upon the fourth floor of the science building (present-day Dinwiddie Hall) smacked of the esoteric and crackbrained.” Blom, however, seems oblivious to the pushback. “He constantly hammered the administration with requests for a major fundraising drive to erect his headquarters,” writes McVicker. Significantly, Blom no longer travels to Mexico on expeditions, exchanging adventure for what Brunhouse calls the “mundane details” of being a departmental administrator.
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Perhaps as a consequence of all of the above, in the late ’30s, Blom’s personal life begins to fall apart. His marriage ends in 1938. Alcohol, a companion he has always taken with him as “a stimulant” on expeditions, begins to play a larger role in his life, intersecting very badly with the demands of his profession. Brunhouse reports several accounts of Blom’s unstable behavior during this time. In one story, the president of Tulane escorts several important visitors to the department, intending to impress them with its collection. Blom, who is absent from the office, hastily arrives “in a disheveled condition, with rumpled clothes and a two-day growth of beard.” Though the university finally allows Blom to begin fund-raising for his grand, temple-like headquarters, the detrimental effects of alcohol thwart Blom’s ability to speak publicly and raise funds. By fall 1940, the university appears to have had enough of Blom and places him on an indefinite leave of absence from which he does not return. Without work and unable to find employment, Blom eventually loses his personal possessions. A dream come true “The years at Tulane brought his downfall,” writes Brunhouse, but it would be unfair to end Blom’s story here, because while the arc of his tenure at Tulane represents a tragic fall from grace, it does not describe the entirety of his life. Engaging in a bit of armchair psychology, Brunhouse speculates that Blom’s attraction to archaeology is based not on burning desire to be an archeologist, but rather an “emotional yearning” for adventure and the beauty of nature. The academy, however, involved Blom in the “intricacies of modern civilization” that required of him to play a game in which he was not fully invested. He had not bargained for the tiresome details of administrating a research institute and was far more at home in the forests and jungles than in his fourth floor office of the science building.
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If Blom didn’t understand that about himself during the first part of his life, he gets it right in his later years. Blom spends the last 20 years of his life in Mexico, where he meets and marries the Swiss photographer Gertrude (Trudi) Duby. The two purchase a house in San Cristóbal, where Blom continues his work as an archaeologist, making forays into the jungle, focusing on learning more about the Maya he so loved and establishing within his home a research center for visiting scholars. (No doubt a more wholesome and sane version of “Bumbay.”) “He recovered his self control, found a faithful woman to help him, adopted a revised set of values,” writes Brunhouse, in succinct summary. Calling it a “dream of 25 years which came After Tulane true,” Blom, after streaking across the sky of Blom spent his later early 20th century academia like a dying comyears living and et, seems to have unearthed, tucked away in working in Mexico the central highlands of Mexico, the life he had with his wife Trudi. previously been unsuccessful in finding. Below: Trudi snaps “He cannot be fairly judged on his professional a photograph of her record alone,” writes Brunhouse. “He must be husband shortly after judged as a man who came to terms with himself, he has fallen from an ideal which many men fail to achieve.” his horse.
MARI collection enjoys new space Founded in 1924, the Department of Middle American Research was renamed the Middle American Research Institute (MARI) in 1938. For nearly 90 years, the institute has supported research in Middle America. It stewards an extensive collection of textiles and artifacts from not only Mexico and Central America, but also the U.S. Southwest and South America, as well as houses an archive of letters, field notes, maps and photographs from the scores of field projects it has sponsored. After more than 80 years of existing in cramped quarters in the fourth-floor attic of Dinwiddie Hall, MARI is now housed in newly renovated space on the third floor. (The entirety of Dinwiddie Hall underwent extensive renovation in 2009–10). “Now that we have been moved to the third floor, we have more rational spaces that allow us to properly store and exhibit our collection,” says Marcello Canuto, director of MARI. The new space also better facilitates archiving and digitizing materials, as well as the preparation of publications. Still under construction, the institute’s exhibit space will come online early next year, in time for an exhibition of selected materials from MARI’s Maya collection. “MARI never has had a room dedicated to exhibit space,” says Canuto. “We are on the brink of what Frans Blom was trying to achieve 80 years ago.” Canuto also credits the Zemurray Foundation for funding that is supporting the completion of the renovation as well as opening opportunities for greater public outreach in the future. “We hope to make the collection more available to groups of students from area schools, as well as open it up for events for the Tulane community,” says Canuto. “We want to make it a place where people come and visit on a regular basis—a place where they can have a more vibrant engagement with our material.”—N.M.
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LEGACY The Tulane Office of Alumni Affairs invited members of 305 “legacy” families to a luncheon this fall to celebrate incoming first-year students whose grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts or uncles attended Tulane.
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PAULA BURCH-CLEENTANO
Band Plays On
Coming Home Six years after it was damaged by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, the venerable Alumni House on Willow Street was dedicated in memory of Beatrice McMillan Field (NC ’28, G ’42), longtime alumni director. The dedication ceremony during homecoming weekend on Oct. 23 included a festive jazz brunch and reception. “It’s been a long time coming, but it is well worth it,” says Charlotte Travieso (NC ’64), executive director of the Tulane Alumni Association and director of the Office of Alumni Affairs. Alumni affairs staff members, who had been displaced by the storm, moved back into the Alumni House a few weeks before the ceremony. The Bea Field Alumni House is poised to become a hub of activity for alumni, students, staff members and the community. “It is ideal for different kinds of events, including receptions, weddings, conferences and meetings,” says Travieso. The house was built in 1938 and purchased by Tulane in 1952. It was restored—and elevated—with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “The house looks even grander now that it’s raised 50 inches above the ground,” says Travieso. The Collins C. Diboll Foundation has established an endowment to support the alumni affairs office and maintenance of the Alumni House. Jean (NC ’55) and Saul A. (A ’53) Mintz, through their family foundation, and other donors also contributed to this endowment. Bea Field served as alumni director from 1942 until 1977. She then continued her service at Tulane as a special assistant to the president until her death in 1986. An oil portrait of Field hangs over the fireplace in the mahogany-paneled library and reception parlor of the house. —Fran Simon
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Bea Field House The Alumni House is restored and spruced up for reopening this fall. Six years ago the building was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina flooding.
On Fire Erin Ketterman, Tulane University Marching Band baton twirler, lights up the night.
The alumni band that assembles to play with the Tulane University Marching Band at homecoming is seeing a swell of participation from recent graduates. Among the more than 30 alumni who played with the band at this year’s homecoming were French horn players Neill Aguiluz (’09), Katy McPherson (’10), Nicolle Perez (’09) and Eric Wilder (’08, SSE ’09). Aguiluz, who conducts genetic research at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, said he enjoys the opportunity to get together with other former band members as well as witnessing the growth of the marching band. Following a 30-year hiatus, the Tulane University Marching Band was reestablished and poised for a return in 2005. Then, after Hurricane Katrina, the band made its public debut in 2006. “My freshman year was the first year the marching band officially played at football games and marched in Mardi Gras parades with new uniforms,” Aguiluz said. “When we did Mardi Gras in 2006, there were maybe 25 members. Now there’s the Shockwave dance team and more than 70 members of the band.” Barry Spanier, director of bands, said, “These alumni are amongst the most loyal to the band program and the institution throughout their lives. The lessons learned through the band experience are life lessons; and lifelong friendships and connection to the institution are forged.” Baton twirler Erica Andrew (’10), who is a Teach for America corps member in New York, also joined the current marching band twirler, Erin Ketterman, for the homecoming show. —F.S.
Dispatch Megan Boudreaux W H E R E
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1940s GERALD BERENSON (A&S ’43, M ’45) announces the publication of Evolution of Cardio-Metabolic Risk From Birth to Middle Age: The Bogalusa Heart Study, by Springer, which tracks his research into the development of heart disease. 1950s ROBERT GREEN (A&S ’50, L ’56) was honored by the alumni chapter of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law for his contributions to the law and to the community. Green is a retired captain and 30-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve. Emory University School of Law honored AARON L. BUCHSBAUM (B ’52) as a distinguished alumnus this fall. JOHN PATRICK HANLEY (A&S ’56, M ’60) and his wife, Kay, practice pediatrics in the same office in Clearwater, Fla. After 50 years as a doctor, he enjoys teaching medical students who work in his office while on rotation. PEDRO ANTONIO (A&S ’56) retired from civil service after 22 years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as director of the Caribbean office. He is writing a book about Puerto Rico’s environmental movement.
JERRY GREENBAUM (B ’62) and BARBARA AXELROD GREENBAUM (NC ’63) opened Chophouse New Orleans, a downtown New Orleans restaurant focusing on beef and Gulf and international seafood. The Greenbaums have three adult children, Gregory, Tracy and Jeffrey, and eight grandchildren. KATHERINE T. “BONNIE” SONIAT (NC ’64, G ’83) announces the publication of her fifth collection of poems, The Swing Girl, by Louisiana State University Press. RONALD THOMAS ALONZO (A&S ’65) is relocating to New Orleans. Under the pen name Don Merlot, he writes “Fly on the Wall” wine and food articles for www.junto.blogspot.com. The latest book by PATRICIA BRADY (NC ’65, G ’66, ’77), A Being So Gentle: The Frontier Love Story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson, was published this year by Palgrave Macmillan. Brady also wrote Martha Washington: An American Life (2005). She served as director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection for 20 years. She lives in New Orleans. President Barack Obama appointed URA JEAN OYEMADE BAILEY (G ’67, ’69) as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
PAULA BURCH-CLEENTANO
1960s The Tulane Medical Alumni Association honored DALE JEANETTE PULLEN (M ’61) with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Pullen’s research has focused on the classification and treatment of childhood leukemia.
GUARDIAN ANGEL Moved by the plight of orphans and other vulnerable children in Haiti, Megan Boudreaux (’08) has taken custody of two small girls, Michaelle and Jessica. They are among the hundreds of “restaveks,” Haitian children who have lost one or both parents and who must “reste avec”—stay with—other families. A native of Lafayette, La., Boudreaux lives in Gressier, Haiti, where she established the nonprofit organization Respire Haiti in October 2010. She says the organization is building a school for about 350 children in kindergarten through the eighth grade. Most restaveks are child slaves, says Boudreaux. “It is such a difficult and tricky form of slavery. The children are given to or bought by families, and they spend all day doing dishes, laundry, cooking, getting water, cleaning, whatever. However, because they are given a place to live and food, many Haitians say it is not slavery. The only way to combat it is through education.” Through Respire Haiti, children receive financial help and have the opportunity to go to school. The organization has two programs that feed about 350 children housed in a tent city near Gressier and nearly 300 other children staying on Bellevue Mountain near the school. “After visiting Gressier in August of 2010 for only 45 minutes, I knew that there was a lot of work to be done there … and I realized that the person to do the work was me, initiating it and working with the community,” says Boudreaux.—Fran Simon
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‘Brave ducks’ A drama written by Andrew Belcher (TC ’06) about the aftermath of disaster was inspired by his experience working at a Red Cross shelter in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The play had its world premiere at the 15th annual New York International Fringe Festival in August.
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in September. Bailey is a graduate professor of human development in the School of Education at Howard University. She also directs the Center for Drug Abuse Research and chairs the Howard University Republic of South Africa Project. WILLIAM R. FORRESTER JR. (L ’68) received the 2011 Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Curtis R. Boisfontaine Trial Advocacy Award for his devotion to excellence in trial practice and for upholding the standards of ethics. Forrester practices with Lemle & Kelleher law firm in New Orleans. MICHAEL PARRINO (M ’68, PHTM ’72) has retired from private practice pediatrics and moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Earlier in his career, Parrino served three years active duty in the U.S. Army and 17 years in the reserves. Recently, Parrino walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. FERDINAND J. SCHAFF JR. (UC ’68) and his wife relocated to West Monroe, La., where his son lives, after Hurricane Katrina. Schaff previously lived in New Orleans for 75 years, where he worked for Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Co. The Pakistan Cauldron by JAMES FARWELL (A&S ’69, L ’71), published by Potomac Books in October, explores the dynamics of Pakistan’s politics. Farwell is an expert in strategic communication and has advised the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Special Operations Command, among other government agencies. Farwell is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, England. He is now a senior research scholar at the Munk School in the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies at the University of Toronto. LOUIS STERN (A&S ’69) is chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Fla. 1970s RONALD W. BUSUTTIL (M ’71, G ’76) received the 2011 Thomas E. Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. Among other appointments, he holds the William P. Longmire Jr. Chair in Surgery and serves as the director of the Dumont—University of California–Los Angeles Transplant and Liver Cancer Centers. RICK KINGREA (A&S ’71) opened the Alabamabased mediation and arbitration firm Perry Dampf Kingrea Dispute Solutions. Kingrea is an attorney and mediator living in Fairhope, Ala.
is an attending neuroradiologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. JOHN HARVEY CRAFT (A&S ’75, L ’79) was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church this August and is priest-in-charge of the Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans. LOREN BUCKNER (SW ’76) draws on her personal life and her career as a psychotherapist for her book, ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges of Family Life and How to Deal With Them. Buckner is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel and in private practice in Tampa, Fla. For more information, visit www.lorenbuckner.com. Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed JAIME R. GARZA (A&S ’76) of San Antonio to the Texas State University System Board of Regents. Garza is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in private practice and, among other appointments, a clinical professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center Department of Surgery. EMMETT B. CHAPITAL JR. (M ’78, B ’96) presented grand rounds at Louisiana State University– Shreveport this spring with a talk, “Closing the Medical School Diversity Gap.” He was named one of New Orleans “Super Doctors” for 2011 and received an “Unsung Hero” award from the Clout Ministerial Alliance this summer. He also is president of the New Orleans Legatus chapter. THOMAS S. GUILLOT JR. (M ’79) and LYNN HENKEL GUILLOT (PHTM ’91) announce that their daughter, Lori, received the Louisiana State Medical Society Alliance Scholarship in May. She is in the Tulane University School of Medicine class of 2012. Aerial Roots by STEVE TOBIN (A&S ’79) is on exhibit for four seasons in a seven-acre wildflower meadow at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, N.J. 1980s The Louisiana Department of Education named ANNA EDELMAN BOWIE (G ’80) Louisiana State Middle School/Junior High Principal of the Year for 2011–12. JAN GILBERT (G ’82) and DEBRA HOWELL (G ’83) displayed collaborative photo-based works in the VESTIGES/Trinitas Exhibition at the Rebecca Randall Bryan Gallery in New Orleans this fall. The exhibition brought together artists displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
This past summer, DEBORAH LITTLE (G ’73) published Growing Up Little: Uptown New Orleans and Rural Alabama, a memoir of her childhood in the 1950s and ’60s.
LISA RICE (NC ’83) married Tom Thompson on July 3, 2011, in Annapolis, Md. She is the senior director of political affairs at the National Retail Federation. She returned to the Tulane campus in August to accompany her son, Thomas Lynch, for move-in weekend.
WILLIAM BALL (M ’75) was appointed University of Cincinnati interim vice president for research this summer. He is a professor of radiology, biomedical engineering and pediatrics. He also
RHETT WEISS (B ’83) is executive director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. The institute, which launched
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earlier this year, will work in conjunction with Entrepreneurship@Cornell to connect students with a network of leaders. Weiss is founder and CEO of Dealtek. DORIC CAPSIS (A&S ’84) received the Allen Dawson Memorial Award from the Nassau County, N.Y., Track Coaches Association this spring for his contributions to the sport. Capsis is Westbury Union Free School District director of athletics, health and physical education. Capsis previously taught physical education and coached basketball and football in New York. ROCHELLE HEAD-DUNHAM (M ’86) has been named director of the Office for Behavioral Health in the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Head-Dunham also is clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Tulane University Hospital and Clinics. The Atlanta Basketball Host Committee announced that SHARON GOLDMACHER (NC ’86), president of Communications 21, will be executive director of the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Final Four. EDOUARD FONTENOT (A&S ’87) is the senior clinical consultant and clinical director for psychotherapy and psychological testing services at Commonwealth Psychology Associates, which has offices throughout the Boston area. He lives with his spouse, Christopher Bellonci, in Boston and in Truro, Mass. DiversityMBA Magazine listed VIPIN MAYAR (B ’88), executive vice president and global director of marketing performance at McCann Worldgroup; SAMI MIETTINEN (B ’96), executive director of Royal Bank of Scotland; LILY LE (B ’98), executive vice president and chief marketing officer with AEG Affiliated Energy Group; ANNE ST. CLAIR (B ’01), private client manager at Bank of America; and ALEX HERNANDEZ (B ’03), founder and president of Hernandez Consulting, to the “Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders” list. WILLIAM D. DONOVAN (M ’89, PHTM ’89) was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Radiology this spring. Donovan is chief of magnetic resonance imaging and neuroradiology at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn. Entrepreneurs DAVID DUBIN (A&S ’89) and ROBIN BETH DUBIN (NC ’89) announce the launch of two new business ventures: David Dubin’s return to voiceover work and a mail-order ostomy business. David Dubin has survived colon cancer twice as well as kidney cancer. The couple lives with their three boys, 16, 12 and 7, in Haworth, N.J. Their blog can be found at www. aliveandkickn.com. THOMAS M. FLANAGAN (L ’89) was named in The Best Lawyers in America (2012) in the area of appellate law. New Orleans–based Flanagan Partners practices in commercial litigation, insurance coverage, construction and oil.
nola weddings Bruce Goldstein (A&S ’81) and his wife, Dale Rochkind, founded a destination wedding business called Streetcar Weddings after they married in New Orleans in 2010 rumbling along the iconic St. Charles line. They met 30 years after they both attended Tulane. The couple lives in Edgewater, N.J.
1990s RICH COHEN (A&S ’90) appeared on “The Today Show” in August to discuss his third interview with Angelina Jolie, which is featured on the cover of Vanity Fair’s October issue. Cohen is a contributing editor for that magazine and for Rolling Stone. CHARLES “CAM” MARSTON (A&S ’91) announces the publication of his third book, Generational Selling Tactics (J. W. Wiley & Sons). Marston writes columns for Business Alabama and InvestmentNews. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Mobile, Ala., with their four children. MICHAEL ROBERT MILLS (M ’91, PHTM ’91), a gastroenterologist, has built a practice of more than 50 doctors in Phoenix. He is founder and medical director of Phoenix Endoscopy and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona. Mills and his wife, Dena, celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary, and their oldest son has headed off to college. They have two children still at home. SHERWOOD NEISS (A&S ’91), a Miami Beach, Fla., entrepreneur, has won two Startup Weekend Miami challenges in the past year for the use of smart phones for instant polling and for an equity-based crowdfunding platform. Neiss also co-founded FLAVORx, a company that makes flavors for medicine. KIMALA PRICE (NC ’92), an assistant professor of women’s studies at San Diego State University, was elected to the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. ALPEN PATEL (A&S ’93) is an otolaryngologist in the Baltimore area, where he lives with his wife, Neelam, baby, Rohan, and dog, Emma. KEVIN J. WILLIAMS (B ’93) co-produced, with his wife, Tamara, the documentary feature film, Fear of a Black Republican. The film had its premiere this fall at the Kansas City Urban Film Festival. To see the movie’s trailer, visit www. fearofablackrepublican.com. RYAN COLL (TC ’94) married Marianna Price on Aug. 31, 2011, in Chatham, Mass. JOSEPH T. KELLEY III (TC ’93) was best man. The couple has an 8-year-old son, William, and they reside in Philadelphia. DAVID JILG (G ’94), associate professor of theater, received the 2011 Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service at Rhodes College at the opening convocation this August. JOHN STEPHEN TOLAND (A&S ’94), founding principal of Toland Law Firm, announces the expansion of his practice to the newly formed Law Offices of Peek and Toland in Austin, Texas, where the Toland family resides. The firm specializes in federal and state criminal defense, as well as immigration and deportation defense. Toland and his wife, Debbie,
welcomed a son, Boden Jefferson, on Feb. 3, 2009. Boden joins his sisters, Brighton Callen and Bentlee Kinna. CHRISTINA L. SISK (NC ’96, G ’99, ’04) announces the publication of her book, Mexico, Nation in Transit: Contemporary Representations of Mexican Migration to the United States, this fall. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Houston. KATIE WOLF MAHONEY (L ’97, PHTM ’99) is executive director of health policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Katie and her husband, Jason, live in Rockville, Md., with twin sons, Ethan and Sam, 5, and daughter, Lyla, 3. JASON C. NELSON (B ’97) relocated to Atlanta, where he joined the law firm Mercer Thompson as a senior associate attorney. MT is an energy boutique specializing in global corporate and project financings, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and long-term service agreements. SCARLET SINGER PAOLICCHI (NC ’97) received a StartUp Nation 2011 Leading Moms in Business Award for her MomsWearYourTees.com social media marketing business. Her website, FamilyFocusBlog.com, has been nominated for a Best All-Around Mom Blog at Parents.com. She is married to DANIEL PAOLICCHI (TC ’98). AARON ALLARDYCE (TC ’99) and JEANNE WILDHAGEN ALLARDYCE (NC ’00) announce the birth of Evangeline Isobel on Aug. 9, 2011, in Stamford, Conn. The baby joins her older twin brothers, Graham and Lachlan. KATE MORRIS MITZENMACHER (B ’99) and DAN MITZENMACHER (B ’99), along with big sister Layne Burkley, welcomed Bennett Preston on Jan. 8, 2011. The couple wed in 2005 in Lexington, Ky. The family previously lived in San Francisco and has now relocated to Lexington. 2000s ALAN FEIGENBAUM (TC ’00) and TALIA NOCHUMSON (NC ’00) welcomed Nola Mae on June 6, 2011. She joins her brother, Jack, 3. Feigenbaum is a matrimonial attorney at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres and Friedman in New York. Nochumson is a technology specialist at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York and in a doctoral program at Columbia University. ERIC FIELDS (TC ’00) and LESLIE RUBIN (NC ’00) married in Newport, R.I., on June 4, 2011. Leslie Fields works for the Baltimore City Circuit Medical Office as a forensic social worker. Eric Fields is assistant district general manager for CORT Furniture in Washington, D.C. The couple lives in Columbia, Md. SARA JOHANSON SABER (NC ’00), JOEL SABER (E ’00) and big sister Julia announce the birth of Nathaniel Rafe on Aug. 2, 2011. HEATHER BELL BARON (NC ’01) and TODD BARON (UC ’06) announce the birth of William Rhys on
Aug. 26, 2011. He joins his sister, Natalie, 3. The family resides in Huntington Bay, N.Y. SARA KUZIA COHEN (NC ’01) and her husband, Jason, announce the birth of twin boys, Reese and Noah, on March 19, 2011. The family lives in Maynard, Mass. ANNA SHATTUCK THORNTON (NC ’01) and her husband, David, celebrated the birth of Lily Susannah on Aug. 3, 2011. BRITTANY CONNOR (NC ’02) and her husband, Jason, welcomed Elodie Claire into the family on April 13, 2011. She joins big brother, Charlie. The family resides in Erie, Colo., near Boulder. ALEXI GIANNOULIAS (L ’02) was appointed chair of the Illinois Community College Board by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. Giannoulias will focus on increasing graduation rates. He was Illinois state treasurer from 2007 to 2011. RACHEL MEISEL RATCLIFFE (NC ’02) and MORGAN RATCLIFFE (B ’02) welcomed Sadie Rebekah on July 8, 2011. JOSHUA P. FERSHEE (L ’03) is associate dean for academic affairs and research for the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he has been since 2007. Fershee recently published articles in Harvard Journal on Legislation, Energy Law Journal and Environmental Law. MATTHEW R. COLEMAN (UC ’04) and Noelle Ann Campbell were married on Sept. 24, 2011, in Rye, N.Y. Matt Coleman, a director of the Tulane Alumni Association, oversees intergovernmental and political affairs for Anthony J. Santino, senior councilman of the Town of Hempstead, N.Y. Noelle Coleman manages corporate communications for Allied World Assurance Co. MINDY EZRA (E ’05) received her PhD in biomedical engineering from Rutgers University this summer. She also has a master’s degree from Columbia University. She has a postdoctoral position in the Smith Neurotrauma Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. PAM GILLETTE (PHTM ’06) is vice president of transplant services at Medical City Dallas. She was previously transplant administrator of Mayo Clinic Arizona and also served as director of the Tulane Transplant Center. In Chicago, JON SIDER (B ’07) and his brother, Mark, have developed a coconut, low-calorie, low-sugar sports drink, Greater > Than. For more information, visit www.drinkgt.com. DANA LYNN LEVITON (’08) received a JD degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law last December. GREGORY ROME (L ’09) published his first book, the Louisiana Civil Law Dictionary, along with co-author Stephan Kinsella. Rome practices law in Chalmette, La.
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MATH WIZ Frank T. Birtel, university professor emeritus, died on Sept. 1, 2011. He was a professor of mathematics from 1962–1982, university provost from 1978–81, and university professor from 1982–2002, as well as director of the endowed Chair of Judeo-Christian Studies at Tulane.
F A R E W E L L WILLIAM J. CURRY JR. (A&S ’35) of Metairie, La., on Aug. 2, 2011.
DURELL A. HILLER JR. (A&S ’47) of Shreveport, La., on July 12, 2011.
DAN A. RUSSELL JR. (M ’51) of San Antonio on May 26, 2011.
C. MANLY HORTON JR. (A&S ’36, L ’38) of New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2011.
TOM D. NORMAN (M ’47) of Ashland, La., on June 22, 2011.
ARNOLD C. SANCHEZ (A&S ’51) of Fullerton, Calif., on June 26, 2011.
CHARLES I. CRAIS (E ’38) of Monteagle, Tenn., on July 27, 2011.
HARRY J. BATT JR. (B ’48) of Metairie, La., on Sept. 18, 2011.
EDWARD J. BONDURANT (A ’52) of Vestavia Hills, Ala., on July 10, 2010.
ARTHUR P. LAUBENGAYER (A&S ’38) of St. Louis on March 4, 2010.
RAYMOND A. SCHWARZ (A&S ’48) of Carriere, Miss., on Sept. 25, 2011.
RAUL A. GUEVARA (M ’52) of LaPlace, La., on July 6, 2011.
ANN KOSTMAYER BRADBURN (NC ’39) of New Orleans on July 26, 2011.
JOHN E. THIBAUT (A&S ’48) of Napoeonville, La., on Sept. 9, 2011.
JOHN D. HALLARON (UC ’52) of Conroe, Texas, on Sept. 22, 2011.
MILDRED L. BUERKLE (B ’40) of Houston on July 18, 2011.
GERALD F. VILLARS (A&S ’48) of Mandeville, La., on July 19, 2011.
ALBERT F. STRATTON JR. (M ’52) of Cocoa, Fla., on July 22, 2011.
HOWARD B. GIST JR. (A&S ’41, L ’43) of Alexandria, Va., on Aug. 22, 2011.
CHARLES R. SANG (B ’49) of Lisle, Ill., on Aug. 23, 2011.
SAM STRAUSS JR. (B ’52) of Little Rock, Ark., on Aug. 25, 2011.
EDITH P. MALONEY (UC ’41) of Kenner, La., on Aug. 22, 2010.
DAVID E. STEVENS SR. (E ’49) of Macon, Ga., on Sept. 22, 2011.
EARL E. FERGUSON JR. (B ’53) of Slidell, La., on July 13, 2011.
THOMAS B. LOCKETT (E ’42) of New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2011.
FRANCIS WAGUESPACK JR. (A&S ’49) of Vacherie, La., on Sept. 4, 2011.
FRANK J. STASS (B ’53) of Metairie, La., on June 27, 2011.
MERCEDES G. MANIERI (UC ’42) of New Orleans on July 29, 2011.
BERNARD P. ABADIE JR. (A&S ’50) of Westwego, La., on Aug. 19, 2011.
RICHARD H. STEELE (G ’53) of Waynesville, N.C., on Sept. 26, 2011.
MARGARET WIEDORN BRIDWELL (A&S ’43) of Columbia, Md., on Sept. 18, 2011.
GEORGE A. BRUMFIELD (B ’50) of Ocean Springs, Miss., on July 27, 2011.
AARON ROSEN (A&S ’54) of Richmond, Va., on Aug. 2, 2011.
FREDERICK J. CORALES (B ’43) of Covington, La., on July 16, 2011.
CARL W. ELLER JR. (E ’50) of Hendersonville, La., on Aug. 15, 2011.
CHARLES A. REESE SR. (E ’55) of New Orleans on Sept. 3, 2011.
HARRY N. GRAUBARTH (A&S ’43, M ’45) of Hernando, Fla., on Nov. 18, 2010.
WILDA HAGSTETTE MARTINEZ (NC ’50) of Abita Springs, La., on July 24, 2011.
WILLIAM J. ATKINS (A&S ’56) of Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 23, 2011.
MARGARET JOACHIM LECORGNE (NC ’43) of Covington, La., on Aug. 24, 2011.
ROBERT F. WHITMAN (A&S ’50) of Metairie, La., on Aug. 8, 2011.
GERARD T. GELPI (A&S ’56, L ’58) of Bay St. Louis, Miss., on Sept. 16, 2011.
FRED J. SCHUBER JR. (B ’43) of New Orleans on July 15, 2011.
WILLIAM H. WOODWARD (A ’50) of Moss Bluff, La., on Aug. 25, 2011.
SALVATORE E. PANZECA (B ’56, L ’59) of New Orleans on July 5, 2011.
ROBERT H. WEGENER (A&S ’43) of New Orleans on Aug. 2, 2011.
THURMAN E. BRANDON JR. (M ’51) of Tuscaloosa, Ala., on June 19, 2010.
NOLAN J. PARRENIN JR. (A&S ’56) of Jackson, La., on June 10, 2011.
RUTH M. CALZADA (NC ’44) of New Orleans on Aug. 22, 2011.
WILLIAM P. CAGLE III (M ’51) of Los Angeles on March 27, 2010.
CLEVELAND TURNER JR. (M ’56) of Amarillo, Texas, on Aug. 19, 2010.
L. P. PASQUIER (E ’44) of Oak Ridge, Tenn., on July 7, 2011.
DAVID R. CARROLL (A&S ’51) of Shreveport, La., on July 25, 2011.
RAYMOND M. WILENZICK (A&S ’56) of Atlanta on July 25, 2011.
LOUIS A. BEECHERL JR. (A&S ’45) of Dallas on July 5, 2011.
JAMES R. GAMBLE JR. (SW ’51) of San Antonio on May 6, 2011.
MATTHEW COHEN (M ’57) of Granada Hills, Calif., on June 19, 2010.
ROBERT O. HARRIS III (M ’45) of Mobile, Ala., on Oct. 11, 2010.
CLAIRE R. GIOVENGO (A&S ’51) of Marrero, La., on Sept. 12, 2011.
GERALDINE A. FELL (SW ’57) of Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 15, 2011.
JONNIE HORN MCLEOD (NC ’45, M ’49) of Charlotte, N.C., on July 19, 2011.
HAROLD G. GRAHAM JR. (A&S ’51, L ’54) of Birmingham, Ala., on June 16, 2011.
MAUDE FLANAGAN SALSICCIA (NC ’57) of Hammond, La., on Aug. 6, 2011.
OLIVE WISE PAULUS (NC ’45) of Little Rock, Ark., on Aug. 8, 2011.
DOUGLAS J. JOUBERT SR. (A&S ’51) of River Ridge, La., on March 1, 2011.
RONALD E. LEMMONS (M ’58) of Loyola Beach, Texas, on April 11, 2011.
EVELYN CRAIS THOMAS (NC ’46) of Ann Arbor, Mich., on July 22, 2011.
CHARLES E. LUGENBUHL (L ’51) of Covington, La., on Aug. 14, 2011.
JAMES F. MULLA JR. (A&S ’58) of New Orleans on Feb. 17, 2011.
AGNES IANNAZZO WEBER (NC ’46) of Metairie, La., on Aug. 18, 2011.
PATRICIA ADAMS NICKELL (NC ’51) of Sarasota, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2011.
CHARLES E. SAUCIER (A&S ’58) of Alexandria, La., on Aug. 5, 2011.
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Tribute Marguerite Bougere CARL M. CORBIN SR. (UC ’59) of New Orleans on Aug. 19, 2011. THOMAS F. PARKER (A&S ’60, G ’61) of San Jose, Calif., on June 12, 2011. JAMES C. QUEEN (SW ’60) of Winston, N.C., on June 28, 2011. C. WINTER GIDDINGS (SW ’61) of Valdosta, Ga., on June 13, 2011. GERALD E. RUSSELL (SW ’62) of Leesville, La., on July 1, 2011. FRANK L. SETLIFF (G ’62, ’66) of Little Rock, Ark., on July 31, 2011. ROBERT F. BAUER (A&S ’63) of West Chester, Pa., on July 30, 2011. NANCY KERR EUSTIS (NC ’65) of Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 2, 2011. HOWARD N. HENRIQUES (UC ’65) of New Orleans on Aug. 3, 2011.
MOLLYNE KARNOFSKY (B ’66, G ’72) of New York on May 20, 2011. DOROTHY MOSER MEDLIN (G ’66) of Rock Hill, S.C., on July 30, 2011. SUSAN MARLAND COCHRAN (NC ’67) of Fortson, Ga., on July 14, 2011.
tulane university archives
NICHOLAS SAURO (SW ’65) of Brainerd, Minn., on Sept. 15, 2011.
ONCE UPON A LAP Marguerite Bondy Bougere (NC ’40, G ’60) died in New Orleans on June 29, 2011. In 1976, she taught her education students, including me, the “Lap Method” of reading. “You put a child on your lap and read aloud,” she said in her honeyed drawl, “and that child will want to read and grow up loving books.” I knew then that this brilliant teacher’s simple statement was backed by countless studies. I didn’t know her words would define my future, guide me through raising my children and lead me to teach and write. Reading aloud is central to my teaching. Like Marguerite Bougere, I experience how students of all ages listen mesmerized to a powerful story and are transformed into thoughtful, imaginative learners. One powerful picture book can turn a crazy, discordant classroom into a community of readers. I think of her often as I write children’s book columns, hoping to spread the love of books that she nurtured in me. —Susie Wilde (NC ’74, G ’76) is a children’s book specialist in Chapel Hill, N.C.
ROBERT J. LINDLEY (E ’67) of Landing, N.J., on June 20, 2010. RAYMOND E. LUCAS JR. (G ’67) of Fleetwood, Pa., on May 6, 2011.
W. DAVID SUTTLES (B ’75) of Marietta, Ga., on July 16, 2011.
VANCE E. WATSON (E ’81) of Arlington, Va., on Sept. 11, 2011.
JO GWIN SHELBY (NC ’69) of New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2011.
LISA G. MATTHEWS (NC ’76) of Shelbyville, Ky., on June 14, 2011.
REYNOLD DAN BROUSSARD (G ’83) of Abbeville, La, on Sept. 19, 2011.
JOHN P. BOYLE (SW ’70) of Easton, Md., on Aug. 8, 2011.
FRANCIS E. MORRISSEY JR. (B ’76) of Bennington, Vt., on Aug. 15, 2011.
LAWRENCE A. STEMPEL (A&S ’84) of Weston, Fla., on July 1, 2011.
HAROLD A. FULLER (A&S ’71) of Quincy, Mass., on March 28, 2011.
MARYRUTH VOLLSTEDT (NC ’76, L ’84) of Falls Church, Va., on July 5, 2011.
HOWARD A. GRENIER (A&S ’71) of New Orleans on Aug. 1, 2011.
EDDIE L. ANDERSON JR. (A&S ’78) of Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 19, 2011.
MAY WELLS JONES (G ’72) of Asheville, N.C., on Nov. 30, 2010.
PETER ISAAC BORNSTEIN (A&S ’80) of Ridgefield, Conn., on May 19, 2011.
LOUIS J. ST. MARTIN (UC ’72) of Raceland, La., on Aug. 21, 2011.
HOLMES KOECHI HARRISON (SW ’80) of Covington, La., on July 28, 2011.
NANCY HERMAN PLANCHARD (NC ’73) of Shreveport, La., on Aug. 12, 2011.
MICHAEL L. McALLISTER (B ’80) of Dallas on Aug. 28, 2011.
MARJORIE McGANN ROBINS (UC ’74) of Stamford, Conn., on July 18, 2011.
CAROL HURST DEUTSCH (SW ’81) of New Orleans on Aug. 4, 2011.
DENISE M. HARVEY (G ’91) of Knoxville, Tenn., on June 17, 2011.
MARION HARRANG ROY (G ’74) of New Orleans on July 1, 2011.
JOHN L. LOPER (UC ’81) of West Monroe, La., on Feb. 15, 2011.
SUSAN J. LANDRY (UC ’92, PHTM ’99) of New Orleans on Sept. 27, 2011.
SHANNON WILLIAMS BENNETT (NC ’85) of Marietta, Ga., on Sept. 18, 2011. GERALD J. SHIELDS SR. (UC ’85) of New Orleans on Sept. 6, 2011. MICHELLE HORNAK TRAUB (NC ’86) of Leander, Texas, on July 20, 2011. CHARLES W. KREHER IV (SW ’87) of New Orleans on Aug. 18, 2011. VAN B. MATHEWS (L ’87) of Franklin, La., on Aug. 31, 2011. MICHAEL S. CESSNA (L ’88) of Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 13, 2011.
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Landscaped campus Gardens, bike paths and walkways lined with indigenous trees are among uptown campus landscaping and construction projects funded by donors and completed within the past six months.
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During his life, Logan Wickliffe Cary had an abiding love for college athletics. But no one who knew him imagined that he would advance a generation of Green Wave competition through a major gift to Tulane athletics. “I knew Wick as another avid fan in the stands who was passionate about sports at Tulane and beyond,” said Tulane athletics director Rick Dickson. “I had no idea he would do something of this magnitude.” In his will, “Wick” Cary, who died in 2009, left one-sixth of his estate as an unrestricted gift to Tulane. The university has received $3.5 million to date. Jack Thompson (L ’51), Cary’s financial adviser and close friend of 40 years, was as surprised as anyone by the extent of Cary’s holdings and his generous will. From a prominent family that included former governors of Kentucky and Louisiana, Cary made his home in New Orleans and had a successful career in the oil and gas industry. By all accounts, he was an unassuming, quiet man. His favorite Green Wave teams were baseball and volleyball, and he often attended games. Cary was a longtime season ticket holder for multiple sports at several institutions, and he rarely left home without a sports schedule tucked into his shirt pocket. He kept careful statistics on a host of teams throughout the region and in his native state of Oklahoma. Cary’s gift will be used to support Tulane athletics and fund the completion of the new Hertz Center, the on-campus training facility for basketball and volleyball that opened this fall. One of the center’s two practice courts will be named Cary Court in his honor. “He valued the role of collegiate play in athletics,” said Yvette Jones, executive vice president for university relations and development at Tulane. “This is truly an astounding planned gift.” —Michael Ramos
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Legal Experience Third-year law student Madison Hardee worked as an extern at a nonprofit in Tanzania helping with the legal representation of women. Secondyear law student Marcus Gatto spent his summer researching Brazilian environmental issues for a nonprofit think tank in Rio de Janeiro. Closer to home, Robert Hohne helped the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office in the major offenses/trials unit. Those are just a few examples of the unpaid, yet invaluable, externships completed by more than 180 Tulane law students this summer. The externships are part of a new program to place students with nonprofits, governmental and nongovernmental agencies to expose budding lawyers to life in a legal setting with a public service goal. The externship program is a top priority for a law school with a strong public service tradition. “It’s experiential learning at its best,” says Julie Jackson, assistant dean for public interest programs at Tulane Law School. “Our students are working under the supervision of an experienced attorney in the field setting, while receiving guidance from the TLS faculty externship supervisor.” Hardee will never forget her experience in Dar es Salaam, a province of Tanzania. “I came to realize that even the most underfunded public interest organizations in the U.S. are very privileged. In Tanzania I was surrounded by individuals dedicated to promoting social justice despite all the barriers working against them. Their commitment was inspiring and reaffirmed my enthusiasm for representing underserved populations in my legal career.” Tulane Law School is seeking funds to build a lasting foundation for the externship program. For more information, contact Shannon Woodward, senior director of development, at swoodwar@tulane.edu. —Mary Mouton
Law and Service Third-year Tulane law student Madison Hardee poses with attorney Benjamin Kalume of the Women’s Legal Aid Center in Tanzania. Hardee participated in an externship at the WLAC this year. She says that the experience reaffirmed her enthusiasm for building a legal career representing underserved populations.
court esy ma d ison h a rd ee
Quiet Man, Resounding Legacy
The Ledger Fiscal Quarter End, 9-30-11
Helluva Hullabaloo The Helluva Hullabaloo Auction and Party raised more than half a million dollars on Oct. 21 and through its online Charitybuzz.com counterpart, breaking a previous fund-raising record for a homecoming event that supports Tulane student-athletes and their achievements on and off the playing field. The live auction at the Lavin-Bernick Center drew hundreds of bidders, while a combined 2,500 participants contributed as sponsors, donors and attendees. “The success of this event is a credit to our co-chairs, our volunteers and the many people who support a special group—our Tulane student-athletes,” said Luann Dozier, a Tulane vice president for development. Co-chairs of the Helluva Hullabaloo auction were Jill (NC ’85) and Avie Glazer and Maria and Andrew (L ’94) Wisdom. The auction supports programs such as the Devlin Student-Athletes for Education Center for Leadership Development, established by Kate and Bob (A&S ’64) Devlin. Through the S-AFE Center, Tulane studentathletes have the opportunity to develop leadership skills and reach out to children in the community in programs such as Wave Days, Youth Ticket Initiative, Shadow-a-Student-Athlete Day and the NFL-affiliated Youth Impact Program. Devonta Duncan, 13, is among the hundreds of New Orleans public school students who spent time on campus with Tulane student-athletes during the past year. Duncan, a student at Samuel J. Green School, said the student-athletes encouraged him to focus on attaining a college education. “They gave us a different view of how college is,” he said. Phillip Davis is a former Tulane studentathlete who participated in the four-week NFL Youth Impact Program this past spring. In August, Davis, a cornerback, signed a three-year contract with the NFL San Francisco 49ers but he says one of the best experiences of his life was interacting with young students like Duncan and encouraging them to channel their dedication to sports into motivation to do well in school. Davis also picked up some useful coaching tips. “You have to give each one special attention,” he said. —Kimberly Krupa
“Donna and I have always had a keen interest in education and, more specifically, what a top-flight research institution can do for the economic well-being of our community.” —Paul Flower, E ’75
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Paul Flower made the $1 million naming gift for the $7.4 million Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation, which will replace the Taylor Laboratory building on the uptown campus. Flower Hall will open in fall 2012 as a four-story, 24,000-square-foot facility with 15 research laboratories as well as office space and student study areas.
“Tulane made me a socially interactive person, somebody who wanted to give back. Tulane gave me a full scholarship that I never forgot, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for the school.” —Matt Gorson, A&S ’70
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The Gorson Porch of the Lavin-Bernick Center is named for Matt Gorson. He also contributed funds for the Gorson Family Gathering Gardens around the perimeter of the LBC Quad. Dedicated in September, the garden project includes lighting, benches, plantings and a bike rack. THE GOAL $100 million is the total goal for the Tulane Empowers campaign.
46.2
$
MILLION
THE TALLY As of Sept. 30, 2011, the campaign had received $46.2 million toward the total goal.
raised, to date
of Goal
money raised
22.4
$
45% of Goal
46%
MILLION
TO THE PEOPLE For endowed scholarships, fellowships, chairs and professorships.
raised, to date
21.9
$
49% of Goal
MILLION
raised, to date
38% of Goal = $5 million
1.91
$
MILLION
raised, to date
TO BUILDING COMMUNITIES AND NEW IDEAS In support of faculty and student initiatives with our community partners. TO THE TULANE FUND To support emerging campaign initiatives across all schools and disciplines.
TULANE EMPOWERS is a philosophy of learning that will define Tulane University for generations. The true value of community engagement is that it benefits the giver as much, if not more, than the recipient.
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qUANDaRY Each spring for more than 40 years, Tulane students have shared a common dilemma: “Should I study for final exams or should I go to the Jazz Fest?”
O R L E A N S
robert guthrie
N E W
A Band in Every Corner by Angus Lind It’s Friday night at Rock ’n’ Bowl on Carrollton Avenue and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers are playing to a packed house. Ruffins never plays to small crowds—his talent, coupled with his enthusiastic fun-loving attitude and smile, his ever-present fedora and bandana, his nearby cache of Bud Light and his nonstop chatter, make this showman a citywide favorite. “All aboard!” he shouts. That is his trademark line. Then he breaks into “Drop Me Off in New Orleans,” my wife’s favorite song and one that always causes her to turn the nearest napkin into a handkerchief to wave as she hits the dance floor—the place where everybody in New Orleans seemingly gets together. “If you’re down and out and feel there’s no way out, get dropped off in Noo Or-leeens,” sings Ruffins. Hanging on the wall behind the stage are metal sculptures of Johnny Adams, Eddie Bo, Snooks Eaglin and Ernie K-Doe, four New Orleans music legends who played this venue. Nearby is a painted mural of beloved jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain, who celebrated his 80th birthday here in 2010. Back when I was a Tulane student in the 1960s (so long ago the Dead Sea was merely sick) there were only a smattering of non-jazz clubs, most memorably La Casa de los Marinos, a rough-and-tumble Latin seaman’s bar at Toulouse and Decatur streets and the seedy Acy’s Hoedown, a pool hall on Sophie Wright Place that featured country music.
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All Aboard Whether playing in a neighborhood bar or on a festival stage, New Orleans musicians keep the beat of the city.
In the mid-’70s, the daily paper’s entertainment section contained no listings for music clubs. On a recent Friday, I opened the paper and counted 129 places to hear live music. Compared to yesteryear, the options now are mind boggling. “This city has a culture of bars,” says Connie Atkinson of the University of New Orleans, who teaches a History of New Orleans Music course. Atkinson calls my attention to Le Bon Temps Roule on Magazine Street, a neighborhood bar that seems to always have a band playing in the corner. “If you don’t have a bar,” she says, “it’s hard to put a band in a corner.” The booming Rock ’n’ Bowl, which features 18 bowling lanes, as well as a bar and a stage, may be the town’s zaniest venue. “Orleanians enjoy being distinctive in a nondistinct nation,” says Atkinson. “They enjoy saying, ‘We’re different—we have music in a bowling alley. Come see.” There are many factors for the growth of the music scene, but Atkinson identifies one of them as the mid-1980s oil bust. During the ’70s offshore oil boom, she says, the city tourism initiatives focused mainly on convention trade, not individual tourists. “New Orleans once spent less on tourism than Utah,” says Atkinson. “Music was somewhat looked on as anti-business. But with the loss of the oil scene it was: ‘What can we do to bring in jobs? What else do we have?’ The answer was, duh, we can sell music—not to mention food—which brings in tourists, which in turn creates jobs.” The clubs that already existed, like Tipitina’s and Snug Harbor, became more savvy about advertising. The youth culture that had followed groups like The Radiators grew older but clung to the lifestyle of hanging out in clubs. Then there is the springtime New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, now in its 42nd year. Held at the fairgrounds, it drew more than 400,000 people in 2011. And beyond the fairgrounds, during the two weeks that surround Jazz Fest, about 30 music venues pop up at clubs and halls around town every year. And during the other 50 weeks of the year, well, let’s just say, it’s almost easier to find an anvil that will float than a weekend where there isn’t some sort of festival with music. The more people hear local musicians, the more the word gets out about them—and everything else about the city that is so charming. It’s not rocket science—it’s just great music—and it’s everywhere.
[Associates ] • Make an annual Tulane Fund gift of $1,500+ to any school, college or select program to join. • Tulane couples are recognized for their combined gifts. • Employer matching gifts count towards membership. • Enjoy dual membership in other gift recognition programs, such as the 1834 Society, Aldrich Society, Law Fellows, Coach’s Corner, Architecture Circle, Science and Engineering Leadership Circle and Liberal Arts Leadership Circle. • Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) can join by donating $150 for each year since your most recent year of graduation.
Tulane University’s Premier Gift Recognition Program Thank you to the members of the 2010-11 Tulane Associates. Your support allows Tulane to set the standard for the next generation of universities. We invite you to view the 2010-11 Tulane Associates Honor Roll at http://tulane.edu/giving/honoring-donors.cfm. If you are not yet a Tulane Associates member, please join us today. Unrestricted leadership gifts to the school, college or select program of your choice support scholarships, research, technology, community outreach and more, creating and sustaining opportunities that would otherwise not be possible. Call TroyLynne Perrault, Director of the Tulane Fund, Regional Development and Associates at 504-247-1473. Or visit us online:
tulane.edu/giving
Associates Gift Clubs Pillars of Tulane Founders’ Club President’s Club Provost’s Club Deans’ Club University Club
$50,000+ $25,000-49,999 $10,000-24,999 $5,000-9,999 $2,500-4,999 $1,500-2,499
Sincerely,
Tommy Meehan (SSE ’83) Chair, Associates Board of Directors
TUlane M A G A Z I N E
Office of University Publications 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1 New Orleans, LA 70118-5624
pa u l a b u r c h - c e l e n ta n o
Wish You Were Here Alumni Band plays at 2011 homecoming in the Superdome.