A YEAR IN REVIEW
FA L L 2 0 1 5
SPRING 2016
REFLECTIONS
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
MISSION STATE M E N T
The School of Liberal Arts is dedicated to nurturing and promoting innovative scholarship, transformative research, and creative inquiry within the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Based on a distinctive vision comprised of our interdisciplinary approach, dedication to place-based creativity, and commitment to service learning, the school provides students with an outstanding education founded on close working relationships with distinguished faculty. In our belief in interdisciplinary inquiry, our faculty reach beyond traditional academic boundaries; in our dedication to place-based learning, we engage with New Orleans and the greater Gulf region; in our pursuit of social innovation, we foster a lifelong enthusiasm for service to the community and the world.
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SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Professor of History and SLA Dean Carole Haber Associate Deans Mary Clark, Kevin Gotham, Jeremy Jernegan
ithout a doubt, fine
universities abound across the nation, as do outstanding liberal arts colleges. What, then, makes the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane unique? What will students, faculty, and staff find here that cannot be matched even by the most highly rated educational institutions? The answer, we believe, lies in our distinctive vision, made up of three intersecting elements: mission, place, and approach. In our mission, we are dedicated to connecting what our students learn in the classroom and in their research with the outside world, whether that means providing translation in a hospital in New Orleans or working on cultural, food, and economic sustainability in St. Martin. With SLA teaching over 150 service-learning courses each year, learning does not end at the classroom door; knowledge is wedded to practice. The second part of our vision, place, is intricately related to our mission. In our enthusiasm for learning, we understand the importance of place, whether the locale is New Orleans, the Yucatán Peninsula, or Stratfordupon-Avon. In immersing themselves in place, both past and present, faculty and students find a vivid canvas for exploring the arts, humanities and social sciences with both depth and imagination. Third, our interdisciplinary approach reflects the breadth of our school. Our faculty members have strong disciplinary roots as each individual is deep seated within a department. At the same time, a large number are also engaged with our seventeen interdisciplinary programs and nine unique centers; they collaborate in research and teaching with colleagues across SLA. Some of our largest majors and coordinate majors, in fact, such as environmental studies, international development, and digital media, are the extraordinary result of this intra and interschool engagement. As you will see in this year’s Reflections, our vision has had a direct impact on the activities of our students and faculty throughout the academic year. Mission, place, and approach have combined to create a distinctive and truly exciting educational experience.
DEAN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL Wilson K. Magee ...A&S ’77...Chair Paul H. McDowell ...A&S ’82 . . .Vice Chair John P. Argenti ...A&S ’85 Curtis A. Baker...A&S ’90, Parent LA ’19 Michael J. Bracci...A&S ’87 Matthew K. Breitman ...A&S ’90 Kenneth P. de Got ...A&S ’85 Michael S. Field ...A&S ’63 Andrew D. Fredman ...A&S ’84 Howard J. Freedman ...A&S ’67 Reuben I. Friedman ...A&S ’68, L ’71 Constantine D. Georges ...A&S ’77, L ’80 Debra H. Gibbons ...Parent LA ’13 and NC ’09 Paul F. Gibbons ...Parent LA ’13 and NC ’09 Cathy Steinberg Glick ...Parent B ’15 Craig S. Glick ...A&S ’82, Parent B ’15 James M. Horowitz ...A&S ’83 Charlotte Beyer Hubbell ...NC ’71 John A. Isakson ...A&S ’92 Marjorie C. Jacobs ...NC ’81 Hans A. B. Jonassen ...A&S ’63, Parent UC ’94 Loryn C. Kass ...NC ’87 Michael L. Kass ...A&S ’87 Michael I. Keyes ...A&S ’85 Dianne L. LaBasse ...NC ’74, B ’76 Katharine Lander…NC ‘06 Kevin W. Lander ...LA ’07 Richard I. Lane ...A&S ’85 Alan W. Lawrence ...A&S ’87 Carol S. Levin ...B ’80, Parent LA ’12 Albert T. Lojko, Jr. ...A&S ’94 David J. Lonner ...A&S ’84 Wilson K. Magee, Jr. ...A&S ’77 Paul H. McDowell ...A&S ’82, Parent LA ’13 and LA ’13, CS ’16
Darrick U. McGowan ...TC ’98, SW ’99 Bruce E. Murray ...A&S ’85 Russell S. Palmer ...A&S ’71, Parent TC ’03 Suzanne Mandel Palmer ...NC ’73, SW ’76, Parent TC ’03 Sanford B. Panitch ...A&S ’89 Steven B. Pearl ...A&S ’85 Christopher S. Petrikin ...A&S ’88 Meryl Poster ...NC ’86 Richard M. Rhodes ...A&S ’83, Parent LA ’18 Mathew S. Rosengart ...A&S ’84 Richard L. Roskin ...A&S ’87 Peter D. Russin ...A&S ’85, Parent A ’18 Kenneth R. Sadowsky ...A&S ’84 H. Andrew Schwartz ...A&S ’90 Mark L. Schwartz ...A&S ’80, Parent B ’07 Julie Parelman Silbert ...NC ’80, L ’84 Andrea B. Snyder ...NC ’06 John B. Strasburger ...A&S ’86, Parent B ’19 Harold Sylvester, Jr. ...A&S ’72 Travis A. Torrence ...TC ’02 Eric H. West ...A&S ’86 David H. Willis ...A&S ’91 Mark Wladis ...Parent LA ’14 Robert M. Wolfberg ...A&S ’92 Jennifer Simon Wooster ...NC ’91 Evonne Marie Yonover ...Parent LA ’15 John B. Yonover ...A&S ’87, Parent LA ’15 DEVELOPMENT STAFF
CAROLE HABER
Dean, Tulane School of Liberal Arts
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TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
tulane.edu/liberal-arts
Director of Development, School of Liberal Arts Lauren Phipps (504) 247-1375 • lphipps@tulane.edu Development Officer, School of Liberal Arts Laurie Pierce Martin (504) 862-3045 • lmarti1@tulane.edu Program Manager, School of Liberal Arts Nicole Long
I NS I DE
REFLECTIONS
4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mission
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Looking Ahead
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25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SLA By the Numbers
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Tulane students join School of Liberal Arts festivities during the 2015 Homecoming tailgate on the LBC quad.
SLA REFL EC T IO NS YE AR IN REVIE W A M a g a z i n e f o r A l u mn i a n d Fri e n d s o f th e S c h o o l o f L i b e ra l A rts V O L U M E 3, 2015–2016
Writing & Editorial Advisory Board Carole Haber, Makenzie Kozojet, Laurie Martin, Linda Peal, Arielle Pentes, Lauren Phipps, Mary Sparacello, Nicole Westerfield Design Tana Coman, Anna Toujas Photography Paula Burch-Celentano, Arielle Pentes, Ryan Rivet Contributors Tracey Bellina-Milazzo, Barri Bronston, Rachel Hoormann On the cover: Tulane School of Liberal Arts, along with the Wendell Brunious Jazz Band, lead a jazz funeral in Stratford-upon-Avon to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. giving.tulane.edu/sla
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MISSION
The New Orleans non-profit organization A’s & Aces was one of nine local community awarded grants from the SLA Philanthropy & Social Change course in fall 2015.
A IS FOR ALTRUISM Philanthropy course awards $50,000 to nine local non-profits In fall 2015, Tulane students in the School of Liberal Arts course “Philanthropy and Social Change” awarded a total of $50,000 to nine New Orleans non-profits. “Giving away money isn’t easy,” Michele Adams, associate professor and chair of the department of sociology, said at the awarding ceremony. “Contributing to 4
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worthy causes is difficult, thoughtprovoking, and so rewarding.” Supported by a grant from the Once Upon a Time Foundation’s The Philanthropy Lab, the students in the semester-long course started with a list of 60 non-profits. To decide how to distribute the $50,000, students split into five groups and conducted research,
TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
tulane.edu/liberal-arts
interviews, and site visits all while studying the principles of philanthropy. They developed a set of team values, mission and problem statements, and established metrics to compare non-profits, engaging in passionate debates as students argued for their chosen causes. According to Carole Haber, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, having
pens
‘KREWE’
NOLA NARRATIVE By RE B E C C A SN E D E K ER
Clark Executive Director of the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South
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PHILANTHROPY AWARDS PHOTO BY NANCY DINOTO
this course at Tulane is a natural fit. “Our students come to Tulane with a desire to become involved in the community and make a difference in the lives of New Orleanians. The Philanthropy Lab gives them unmatched, first-hand experience.” The course was available for the first time in fall 2015 through the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor (SLAMM), which introduces non-business majors to management practices and principles through a liberal arts perspective.
Students awarded money to non-profits in five categories:
ARTS & CULTURE
Hope Stone New Orleans Ellis Marsalis Center for Music
EDUCATION
A’s & Aces Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools
HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Bayou District Foundation Sankofa Community Development
SOCIAL SERVICES Hagar’s House
YOUTH
Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans Youth Empowerment Project
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occer fields, business incubators, and barbershops are just a few of the places described in the fourth edition of Krewe, a journal edited by Michael Luke and Sophie Teitelbaum and published by the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South. Luke is an adjunct lecturer in the English Department who teaches a journalism course with a service-learning component. Every semester, his Tulane students are paired with Teitelbaum’s 9th grade English Honors students from the New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School (Sci-Hi). The resultant essays are published at the end of the semester in Krewe. Service learning, at its best, is a coming-together and a genuine exchange. The students come to know one another, and they all learn about our city. Writers from both the high school and Tulane are required to hit the streets, meet people, and ask questions. Their final pieces bring readers to unfamiliar places and help us see familiar places with fresh eyes. At the release party for the new edition, Sci-Hi freshman Destiny Dupree spoke about her Tulane mentors: “They gave us tips and helped us research and form our essays. They took some of the stress out!” Tulane senior Stephanie Wartelle asked her professor about how to land an internship at a local paper. Luke was adamant: “Don’t just go there saying you want an internship. Go there with specific stories you’re eager to write and ready to pitch—and your clip from Krewe. Then you’ll stand out.” Luke’s course and others that explore this city and region, collectively known as the Fredman Courses, are made possible through a generous gift by Andrew and Kerin Fredman to the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South.
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Tulane’s President Emeritus, Scott Cowen, engages students in his leadership course.
THE MYTHOLOGY & REALITY OF LEADERSHIP
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t is a Tuesday morning, and Scott Cowen is leading Tulane undergraduates in a spirited discussion on a topic he knows well—leadership. Cowen, Tulane’s President Emeritus and Distinguished University Chair, engages the students, asking probing questions and peppering his lecture with anecdotes from his own experience as well as with erudite references to articles and books. Forty-one undergraduate students were granted firsthand access to real-world leaders through their enrollment in Cowen’s course, “The Mythology and Reality of Leadership.” Half of the students are in the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor (SLAMM) and half in the Social Innovation & Social Moon Landrieu Entrepreneurship minor.
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TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
& Norman Francis share stories of their New Orleans leadership roles.
MISSION
The SLAMM minor introduces non-business majors to management practices and principles within a liberal arts framework. Opening the course to non-business students was important to Cowen. “Understanding the theory and practice of leadership is essential to all students—regardless of their field of study or career interests,” he says. “I hope to be able to expand the course to as many Tulane students who are truly interested in the topic of leadership as possible,” he says. “Hopefully, all of our students aspire to be more effective leaders. We need to create more opportunities for them to achieve this goal—in and outside of the classroom.” Cowen retired in 2014 as the 14th president of Tulane. His leadership during and after Hurricane Katrina has been hailed as visionary. Because of his many personal and professional connections, Cowen has been able to attract guest lecturers who enthrall the students. For example, in the week that students focused on transformative leadership, they heard from two true New Orleans change makers. Norman Francis, recently retired president of Xavier University, is the longest-running university head in history, and Moon Landrieu served as New Orleans mayor from 1970 to 1978. He is the father of current mayor Mitch Landrieu. Both men regaled the students with stories of rising from humble beginnings to become two of the most exalted leaders in New Orleans history. Landrieu talked about being threatened for his stance opposing segregation, and Francis, who has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was the first African-American to
graduate from Loyola Law School, told students of holding a law degree but not being allowed to walk in the front door of a hotel. Their appearance prompted Cowen to pose thought-provoking questions to the students, such as whether people can become transformational leaders if they did not lead during turbulent times. A supportive professor, Cowen clearly believes that each of his students has the potential to become a transformative leader.
Over the course of the semester, he met with each student to discuss his or her own personal leadership development. “I want students to assess their leadership capabilities and develop a comprehensive life plan to enhance their ability to be effective leaders in society,” he says. “The future of our country and the world depends on effective leadership, and I want Tulane students to be at the forefront of leading and changing our world.”
CLASSROOM TO COMMUNITY
J
ust south of New Orleans, on lands only accessible by boat, School of Liberal Arts students gather with residents of the Grand Bayou Indian Village to discuss the effect of economic development on the tribe’s livelihood and culture. Enrolled in a unique summer course, “Environmental and Social Justice in Greater New Orleans,” students see firsthand how changes, such as the loss of land and resources, have affected many river parishes in Louisiana. Under the guidance of Professor of Practice Christopher Oliver, issues such as sustainability, resiliency, and preservation become far more than chapters in a book; they become the day-to-day realities that challenge the lives of river parish residents. The students’ experience, however, does not end with understanding the environmental realities faced by the residents. Rather, through strategies such as learning to write preservation grant proposals, the course addresses ways to partner with the parishes’ most vulnerable in order to obtain social justice.
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JAZZ FUNERAL COMMEMORATES SHAKESPEARE IN 8
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W
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
hen the town of Stratford-upon-Avon commemorated the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death on April 23, 2016, the festivities included a taste of New Orleans — in the form of a jazz funeral. The Wendell Brunious Jazz Band played an integral role in the celebration, all thanks to the Tulane University School of Liberal Arts and Tulane parent and New Orleans native Stuart Rose, the donor who made the trip possible. In true-to-New Orleans form, the band led the procession complete with a grand marshal donning a beautifully embroidered Shakespeare sash and holding a glittered umbrella. The jazz funeral was the talk of the town. A record number of locals and Shakespeare fans from around the world gathered for the festivities. It all started over a year ago when Paul Edmondson, head of research and knowledge at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford, met with Michael Kuczynski, chair of the Tulane Department of English. Kuczynski was the site director for the “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition at the Newcomb Art Museum, and it is his passion for Shakespeare and jazz that led to the trip. Kuczynski told Edmondson about Tulane University’s plans to apply to be the Louisiana host of “First Folio!” and, if successful, that he wanted to have a jazz funeral on opening night. Kuczynski says Edmondson’s eyes lit up. “He said, ‘Over in the U.K., we love jazz. What are the chances that you could be in Stratford to do it on the anniversary itself?’” Kuczynski was determined to make it happen, which meant finding a benefactor for the trip. Rose, a rare books collector who now lives in Dayton, Ohio, was thrilled to help. “Stuart sees his involvement as a tribute to the unique culture of his hometown, to Tulane and its commitment to the humanities, and, of course, to Shakespeare,” Kuczynski says. With funding secured, a grateful Kuczynski asked Brunious to assemble a first-rate band to perform. He joyously accepted. Two Tulane student musicians, Dylan Koester (SLA ’18) and Joe Foster (SPHTM ’18 ), also joined the band in Stratford-upon-Avon. Brunious says he is humbled to have been invited. “To be identified with someone with such history and who was as influential as Shakespeare is such an honor.”
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From Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
Michael White & The Original Liberty Jazz band lead the jazz funeral at the First Folio exhibit opening.
FIRST FOLIO EXHIBITED AT TULANE In recognition of Shakespeare’s death 400 years ago, the Folger Shakespeare Library organized a national traveling exhibition of the Shakespeare “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare.” Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts and the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane were honored to be selected as the Louisiana host site for this amazing exhibition and related events.
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Housed in the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane throughout May of 2016, the First Folio was opened to the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy in Hamlet. In addition, and unique to Tulane’s version of the exhibition, visitors also saw a rare quarto of Hamlet, which was on loan from Tulane parent and bibliophile, Stuart Rose. Printed in the large “folio” size, the First Folio is the first collected
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TO NE W ORL E A N S OR NOT TO NE W ORL E AN S edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Published by two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors in 1623 seven years after his death, the First Folio is the only source for eighteen of Shakespeare’s plays, including some of his best known and most popular, such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and As You Like It. Without the First Folio, all of these works might otherwise have been lost. The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC, in partnership with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association, is touring a First Folio of Shakespeare
to all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. In 1897, the Folger acquired the copy of the First Folio that visited Tulane as part of their first acquisition of an extensive Shakespeare collection, the Warwick Castle Library. Only 233 known copies of the First Folio are in existence today, with 82 copies held by the Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection. One of the most valuable printed books in the world, a First Folio sold for $6.2 million in 2001 at Christie’s and another one for $5.2 million in 2006 in London.
Spoken word poet and artist Gian Smith performed his unique recitation “A poem for New Orleanians in the key of Hamlet called ‘That Is the Question’” on May 9th at the opening of the First Folio exhibit at Tulane. To read Smith’s full poem, visit: tulane.edu/sla/gian-smith.
Poet Laureate W
hen Peter Cooley returned to his house after floodwaters inundated his neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, one of the first things he picked up was a pen. That action is natural for Cooley, a professor of English and director of the creative writing program at Tulane University, who starts every day by writing. In fall 2015, Cooley was named the Louisiana State Poet Laureate and will serve a two-year term in the appointment. In his role as Poet Laureate, Cooley was a featured speaker at the opening celebration of the First Folio exhibit at Tulane.
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Scrap House, made with recycled materials by artist Sally Heller, is a monument to nature’s unpredictable powers.
Hurricane Katrina as a Learning Tool
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hen Andy Horowitz, a disaster history expert, announced that he would be leading a seminar class at Tulane University on Hurricane Katrina in fall 2015, students signed up in droves. With the class limited to 15 students, most ended up on the waiting list. Horowitz, an assistant professor of history in the School of Liberal Arts, wasn’t surprised by the response. “I think when students come to Tulane, it’s partially because they want to engage with this city,” he said. “And this course offered them a way to become engaged with their new home. It gave them a way to care about New Orleans.” The course, The Katrina Disaster Now, explored Katrina as a political, cultural, and environmental event in the history of New Orleans, the United States, and beyond. It looked at Katrina, as Horowitz describes it, “as an ongoing process with causes and consequences that stretch across a century.” As such, Horowitz said, the class began with the founding of New Orleans in the early 18th century, covering everything from the drainage system to racial segregation. The second part dealt with issues surrounding Katrina such as evacuation, housing, and education. In the final part of the class, students looked at coastal erosion and other present-day problems. From kayaking tours in the swamps, lectures on race and economics, to visits to historical cemeteries, The Katrina Disaster Now course allowed Tulane students first hand access to interesting locals and their stories about living, working, and surviving in the Gulf South. Because of Tulane’s unique Andy Horowitz, Assistant Professor of History surroundings, “we were able to use the city and the region as our classroom.”
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tulane.edu/liberal-arts
A SENSE OF PLACE
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ebecca Snedeker has called New Orleans an “unfathomable city” and has told parts of its story on film and in her writing. Now, she continues to explore the many sides of New Orleans through her new role as the Clark Executive Director of the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South at Tulane University. Snedeker is an accomplished documentary filmmaker, Author & filmmaker capturing an Emmy Award Rebecca Snedeker for “Outstanding Historical joins the New Orleans Programming — Long engage our collective Form” in 2011 for her destiny.” Center for the documentary Witness: School of Gulf South as its Katrina. She won critical Liberal Arts Dean new director. acclaim for the 2013 Carole Haber said book, Unfathomable City: Snedeker has the A New Orleans Atlas (University vision and energy to support and of California Press), which she grow the New Orleans Center for co-authored with Rebecca Solnit. the Gulf South. “Rebecca has a The New York Times called the storyteller’s sense of place and a book an “idiosyncratic, luminous documentarian’s skill in managing tribute” to New Orleans. multiple narratives. Her talents are “New Orleans is my teacher, assets to the center.” case study, and source of wonder,” The New Orleans Center for says Snedeker, a native New the Gulf South supports research, Orleanian. She said that the teaching, and community directorship of the New Orleans engagement that focus on New Center for the Gulf South, which is Orleans and the Gulf South and housed in the School of Liberal Arts, explore the region’s place in felt like a calling. the world. The center sponsors “I was attracted to the center for conferences, programming, and its potential to support accelerated service-learning courses, and learning experiences that draw on awards fellowships to Tulane faculty the complexity of this place and its and to external scholars and artists. relationships to the world, to help Since its establishment in 2010, the us understand where we are and center has developed a wide variety giving.tulane.edu/sla
of music-focused programs, with the creation of the Musical Cultures of the Gulf South coordinate major, the Music Rising at Tulane website and K-12 educator institute, and the Trombone Shorty Academy and the Fredman Music Business Institute. Reflecting her passion for the region, Snedeker envisions a boundless future for the Gulf South Center. “My goal is for the center to be a dynamic port,” says Snedeker. “I love bringing people together with different expertise and backgrounds. Place-based learning requires the integration of a multiplicity of voices, approaches, and understandings, all responding to an infinitely complex, everevolving model. Training in how to go about this, and finding pleasure and mooring in it, is the essence of a liberal arts education. And something that we bring wherever we may go.”
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AP PROACH
SPIRIT of Renewal
PROGRAM RENAMED AFRICANA STUDIES
T
he Africana Studies program in the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane has a new name, a new home, and a renewed focus both on internationalism and black experience in the United States. Academic leaders are hopeful that the new name will increase the program’s visibility and educate more members of the Tulane community about the program’s important work. “I view the name change as a jumping off point,” says Laura Rosanne Adderley, associate professor of history and director of the Africana Studies program. The program changed its name in January 2016 from African & African Diaspora Studies to Africana Studies, a name that is more meaningful and aligned with similar undergraduate programs nationwide. Five Tulane faculty members are jointly appointed as Africana Studies professors, and at least 20 professors, including Adderley, are affiliated with the program. The breadth and depth of their research displays an interdisciplinary vibrancy that is the hallmark of a Tulane education, Adderley says. The program’s offices moved from Norman Mayer to Hebert Hall in September 2015. The new
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space offers strategic connections for the program’s international interests, especially in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and also Europe. “This shared space will encourage students to think about Africana Studies as part of their global education,” says Adderley, adding that opportunities abound for students to study abroad in Africa and elsewhere. The School of Liberal Arts is dedicated to providing resources that will help the Africana Studies program reach its potential. According to Dean Haber, “Africana Studies provides students throughout Tulane with a unique interdisciplinary perspective incorporating history, literature, anthropology, psychology, political science, and a wealth of foreign languages.” The Africana Studies program, which is committed to raising its profile, co-sponsors programming that focuses broadly on African Americans, the African continent, and the African diaspora. Adderley says there is a “spirit of renewal” pervading Tulane right now. “We want alumni and students and the university invested in the program. The program is good for Tulane and the kind of student we want to put out in the world.”
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E L LI S W I L S O N . F U N E RAL PRO C ESSI O N. O I L O N MASO NITE, CIRCA 1954. COURTESY OF THE A MISTA D RES EA RCH CENTER AT T ULA N E
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DIGITAL COLLABORATIONS B y V I C K I M AY E R
Professor, Department of Communication
D
igital humanities in New Orleans sit at a crossroads for collaborative growth. For nearly twenty years, individuals throughout the city’s various institutions for research — from library archives to university academic units — have worked to promote access and increase connectivity to knowledge collections. In addition, the city is home to citizens who curate their own cultural stories and images. Yet locating these sources can often be problematic even for the most sophisticated researcher. But the difficulty of finding digital resources is not the only challenge for the city’s digital humanities. For
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every new launch, ghosts of the digital past abound: antiquated websites, nonfunctioning links, abandoned blogs. Some sites launched with minimal content but all had a relatively short shelf life, both in terms of the technology itself and in terms of the human capital needed to keep them relevant. The lesson from these experiences are clear: no website can be a silo and no project can stand without mutual support. These realization motivated the formation of the NOLA Digital Consortium, a collaboration of digitally curious stakeholders throughout the city who want to plan, coordinate, and build consensus to network regional digital humanities projects. The group began meeting in January 2015, directed jointly by Tulane
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University and the University of New Orleans. The consortium includes members representing these universities, the Louisiana State Museum and local archives, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and all of our community partners. Meetings have involved pitching new ideas, sharing resources, and seeking support. The consortium is also working on developing new ideas with the State Museum for a digital jazz history exhibit, with the New Orleans Video Access Center for digital archives and with the Newcomb Art Museum for digital access solutions. Most importantly, the consortium works towards strengthening ties to faculty and students through flexible service learning opportunities tied to classroom learning outcomes.
APPROACH
INTERDISCIPLINARY T
he interdisciplinary nature of the School of Liberal Arts has been around for decades — an approach that is at the very heart of SLA. Not only does the school have almost twenty interdisciplinary programs, providing majors, coordinate majors, or minors, but the teaching and research environment for both faculty and students is shaped by this principle. Departments are not siloed; faculty members readily know and work with others beyond their own disciplines. They participate in cutting-edge courses, seminars, and summer offerings available only at Tulane. Students respond by flocking to innovative programs, and by creating honors theses, undertaking internships, and fashioning self-directed majors that cross departments and engage the perspective of many disciplines.
Even within singular departments, such as Classical Studies or Jewish Studies, faculty come from numerous fields, crossing such disparate areas as philosophy, literature, history, archaeology, and religion. The interdisciplinary approach is apparent as well in our graduate programs, both those formed well before the storm and those created in its aftermath. Our long-standing
Art History/Latin American Studies program ranks as one of the finest in the country; our newly created City, Culture and Community Program links urban studies, sociology, and social work. And within SLA based or allied centers and institutes, from our recently formed New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, with its interdisciplinary coordinate major, to our faculty’s central role in established university-wide centers such as the Murphy Institute and the Stone Center, or through their work with A Studio in the Woods, interdisciplinarity defines the complex way we have come to understand the city, the region, and the world. For more information about The School of Liberal Arts ciplinary Programs, go to http://tulane .edu/liberal-arts/departments-programs.cfm.
A STUDIO IN THE WOODS B y AM A R O G A N
Managing Director, A Studio in the Woods, Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research
F
or fifteen years A Studio in the Woods, a program within the Tulane/ Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, has hosted artists, writers, scholars, and students of all ages in creative retreat within eight forested acres on the Mississippi River in Lower Coast Algiers, New Orleans. The award winning Studio has an established record of pairing land preservation
with intimate artist residencies and connecting artists to the local community through creative discourse centered on environmental and social challenges. The Studio facilitates conversations between artists and faculty/researchers. Each artist is paired with a Tulane or Xavier University faculty member to inspire each other in the development of new work, to excite
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the public and to fuel social change. Since 2014, eleven artist-faculty crossdisciplinary teams have created new works engaging community on issues such as gentrification, asthmatic youth, gender and identity, and environmental toxins to name a few. Visit www.asitw.org for details on this and all of the Studio’s programming.
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APPROACH
B y H A N N A H D EA N
Senior majoring in Latin American Studies
O
n a Tuesday morning in Newcomb Hall on Tulane University’s uptown campus, students across three classrooms are laughing, sharing stories and talking about pop culture — with student partners thousands of miles away in Brazil. These students are part of the Teletandem language program, in which students are partnered with a Brazilian peer via Skype for a modern version of a pen pal program. Each session is 75 minutes
long, with a half hour devoted to speaking each language (English and Portuguese) and a 5–10 minute conclusion where students can talk about language difficulties or cultural differences that they noted during the session. The relationships that students develop with their Skype partners “makes this program a highly personalized endeavor,” says Megwen Loveless, senior lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Her students were nervous before their first Skype session, she says, but have become much more confident
in their Portuguese abilities and established close relationships with their partners. Loveless, who is also the Portuguese basic language program director, says that this program makes it easier for students to understand other cultural perspectives, learning about them directly from other students. Some cultural differences come up naturally, such as food traditions or popular music, while others are introduced via articles and videos supplied by professors. During the sessions, students talk about topics ranging from daily routines to eccentric professors to their favorite Netflix series. The Teletandem program currently is available for students enrolled in Portuguese 1120, but Loveless plans to offer it for 2030 classes next year. Her department also has debuted “PORceiros,” a program in which visiting Portuguese scholars and Tulane students can meet up to practice both languages. Several of her
students say that the program also provides them with improved language capabilities, better cultural understanding, and a new friendship with an international peer.
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TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
tulane.edu/liberal-arts
we
DONOR HONOR ROLL
WhyGive The support
of alumni and friends allows the School of Liberal Arts to
give students an innovative and transformative education. Such generosity means we are able to recruit top faculty, offer resources for travel and research, bestow scholarships and awards on worthy students, bring renowned speakers and conferences to campus, and provide facilities for cutting-edge research and creativity.
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DONOR HONOR ROLL
Tulane School of Liberal Arts is grateful to the following individuals, companies and foundations that gave gifts and made pledges or pledge payments of $1,000 or more in fiscal year 2016.* Anne Abbott and Herschel Abbott Alphawood Foundation Susan Altman and Sam Altman
D
Anonymous Donors
on’t ever
Janice Apple and Jerry Apple
think you’re
Archaeological Institute of America
too young to
A. Matthew Ashley
change the world.
Katherine Bailey and William Bailey
— David Goldstein, rabbi
Therese Bailkey
emeritus of Touro Synagogue
Why
we Give
and adjunct professor of
Hillary Baker and Curtis Baker
Jewish Studies at Tulane
Manda D’Agata and Ian Barnes
University. Through a generous alumni donation, Goldstein,
Doris Barnett and William Barnett
who annually gives to faculty
Marcia Barr and Cameron Barr
initiatives, teaches the SLA
Karen Becker and Robert Becker
course, “The Holocaust in Film and Literature.”
Adelaide Benjamin Joan Berenson and Gerald Berenson Louellen Berger and Darryl Berger Donna Berger Rose Bernstein and George Bernstein Sharon Bertrand and James Bertrand Kelly Biesecker and Frederick Biesecker James Blake
Sherwood Briggs
John Courtney
Joyce Brinkmann and Fred Brinkmann
Arthur Crais
The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation
Alison Crowther
Sally Corning and Edison Buchanan
Dolores Bohen Ellen Kanner and Benjamin Bohlmann Rene Fransen and Edward Bonin Richard Bouchner Bonnie Boyd and John Boyd Colleen Bracci and Michael Bracci Meredith Breitman and Matthew Breitman
Elizabeth Ostrow and Andrew Buchsbaum Robert Bunnen Adele Cahn Marie Cahn and James Cahn Vivian Cahn and Richard Cahn Richard Cantor Coastal Cargo Company, LLC
Karen Brenner
Karen Cole and David Cole
Peter Bretting Katherine Brewer and J. Lyons Brewer Lucille Brian and Eugene Brian
Aloha Collins and Robert Collins Thomasene Collins and Stephen Collins
* Fiscal year 2016: July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016
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TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
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Candace Davey Dean de Freitas Elizabeth Delery Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation Donald Diboll Paul Distler Lisa Dobbs Laurie Dubin and Scott Dubin Janet Daley and Stanwood Duval Catherine Edwards and David Edwards Nicole Eichberger Stacey Eisenberg and Glenn Eisenberg
DONOR HONOR ROLL
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Ferber Family of Houma Foundation, a supporting foundation within the Jewish Endowment Foundation
Pamela Godsick and Jeffrey Godsick
Robin Epstein and Steven Epstein
Roxanne Field and Michael Field Nina Fine and Scott Fine Michael Fink Olivia Fischer and Harlan Fischer Pollena Forsman and William Forsman Rita Montlack and Howard Freedman Marlene Friedman and Reuben Friedman Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Annette Gelpi and John Gelpi Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust Constantine Georges
Robert Hill
Cathy Glick and Craig Glick Carol Goldman and Peter Goldman William Goldring
Louise Hoffman Marie Holcombe and Gregory Holcombe Rebecca Hollingsworth and Michael Hollingsworth
Shannie Goldstein and David Goldstein Susan Goldstein and Robert Goldstein Nathan Gordon
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Through generous donor support and in collaboration with the New Orleans Chapter of the International English Speaking Union, the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane hosts a regional Shakespeare competition for students grades 9–12 each spring.
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DONOR HONOR ROLL
Carol Jones Loryn Kass and Michael Kass Scott Kauffman Gwen Keiser and David Keiser Lynn Kerdyk and William Kerdyk Marianna Kirikian and Richard Kirikian Dianne LaBasse Charles Lacoste Rachel Ladin and Brian Ladin Lesley Lahm and Martin Lahm Elizabeth Landis and James Landis Martha Landrum and John Landrum Ann Lane and Bruce Lane Jill Lane and Richard Lane Laura and John Arnold Foundation Caroline Lavender Nead and Arthur Nead Alan Lawrence Cheryl Lazarus and Andrew Lazarus The Leakey Foundation Bob Lemon Madeline Leone Gloria Lessan and Juan Goni Carol Levin Donald Levy Albert Lojko Martha Long and Phillip Long Douglass Lore Lisa Lorino and Anthony Lorino Hilary Magee and Wilson Magee
A
s Travis Torrence (TC ’02) departed for his first day of classes as a freshman, his parents reminded him that they were sending him to college to make a better life for himself. While participating in service learning courses at Tulane, the Communication and Political Science double-major was introduced to the old adage: “You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.” Today, as Vice President and Senior Legal Counsel at Jiffy Lube International, Inc., Torrence attributes his commitment to community service to his experiences as an undergraduate at Tulane. “While riding through the Magnolia Projects on the service learning shuttle, I thought about how fortunate I was and how it was incumbent upon me to serve the poorest, most vulnerable individuals in our community,” says Torrence, who went on to Yale Law School after graduating Summa Cum Laude with Departmental Honors from Tulane. Now, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Liberal Arts, Travis spends most of his free time in Houston raising money for causes dear to his heart. Travis has chaired the Houston Bar Association’s Campaign for the Homeless Committee and the AIDS Outreach Committee. Torrence is also the reigning male champion of Dancing With The Houston Stars, in which he performed original Janet Jackson choreography to benefit Urban Souls Dance Company, a Houston non-profit that preserves historical dance, creates contemporary dance to celebrate cultural themes, and teaches modern dance to inner-city kids to cultivate confidence, artistry, self-awareness, and technical ability. Torrence’s advice for current Tulane students is simple: “While you should definitely enjoy the rumble of streetcars barreling down St. Charles Avenue, the horns of Rebirth Brass band, and the sweetness of strawberry lemonade at Jazz Fest, don’t forget the quote made famous by Maya Angelou—‘try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.’”
Jodi Block and Barry Malkin Jeanne Marks and Leonard Marks Jonathan Marmelzat Louise Martin and Edward Martin Eva Martinez and Andrew Martinez Joan Mascaro Mary May and Thomas May Susan McDowell and Paul McDowell Merry McSwain Mary Meaher and Augustine Meaher Stacy Messina and Andrew Messina
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John Mintz
Melinda Neblett and Robert Neblett
Linda Mintz
Therese Esperdy and Robert Neborak
Daniel Mondschain
Mary Nichols and Hudson Nichols
H. Dixon Montague
Kenneth Barnes and Roger Ogden
Barbara Motley and Lawrence Motley
Penny O’Krepki
Mozel Charitable Trust
Lynn O’Neill and James O’Neill
Hilary Murray and Bruce Murray
Cynthia O’Neill and Timothy O’Neill
Nacey Maggioncalda Foundation
Stacy Palagye and Keith Palagye
Max Nathan
Linda Peal
TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
tulane.edu/liberal-arts
DONOR HONOR ROLL
Steven Pearl Nicholas Petras
T
Christine Petrikin and Christopher Petrikin
ulane’s always taken its task of providing a top undergraduate and graduate education very seriously. Being a part of that is very important to me.
The Philanthropy Lab Craig Platt Joyce Post Curtis Powell Alice Prater and Harlan Prater Susie Raizner and Jeffrey Raizner Nancy Rebold and Matthew Rebold Reily Companies, LLC Cheryl Rhodes and Richard Rhodes
Why
we Give
— Alan Lawrence (A&S ’87) created a new endowment for the Center for Scholars that will provide funds to support travel, lodging, and honorarium for visiting scholars.
Shelley Rice and James Rice Jerome Romagosa Mary Romagosa and David Romagosa Mimi Rose and Stuart Rose Kenneth Rosenbaum Matthew Rosenthal Colette Dartnall-Roskin and Richard Roskin Andrea Russin and Peter Russin Dawn Saunders and Wayne Saunders Sazerac Company, Inc. Laurie Schloss and Lawrence Schloss Amy Goldberg and H. Andrew Schwartz
David Straub Cynthia Sublett and Roger Sublett Jeffrey Taft
George Ann Wesner and James Wesner Natalie West and Eric West Hilary Bell White and H. David White
Cecil Talley Maureen Thunell and Robert Thunell The Estate of Thelma Toole
Kristan White and Richard White Richard Wilkof Ginger Willis and David Willis
Travis Torrence
George Wilson
J. Bowman Trumbo
Judith Windhorst
Judy Schwartz and Mark Schwartz
Christine Tuchler and Andrew Tuchler
Eugene Shafton
Julie Turken and Donald Turken
Anjali Sheffrin and Steven Sheffrin
Madilyn Turken
Patricia Wolf
Jeff Shipp
Cynthia Urbanowicz and E. Peter Urbanowicz
Lynne Wolfberg and Robert Wolfberg Julie Landis and Fred Wolgel
Rae Victor
Barbara Workman and Mark Workman
Thomas Vining
Jacky Wu
Scott Waitzer
Ann Yarborough
Thomas Wald
Nell Young and Robert Young
Elmon Webb
Claudia Zeldin and Daniel Katzner
Wendy Sibley and Lawrence Sibley E. Francesca Silva and James Silva Amy Silverman and Jeffrey Silverman Deborah Smith and Hudson Smith Paulette Stewart and Frank Stewart Carol Stone Harvey Stone Suzanne Stone and Richard Stone Raymond Strangways Pamela Strasburger and John Strasburger
Barbara Wingo and Charles Wingo
Ann Weinbaum and Ben Weinbaum Martha Wells and Max Wells Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. Please contact Lauren Phipps at (504) 247-1375 or lphipps@tulane.edu with corrections or questions.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Petrochemical City
Beginning fall 2016, the Environmental Studies Program Focus on the Environment series will explore the consequences of petrochemical industrial production on the socio-ecological conditions of New Orleans, as well as examine the connections between the city and the larger urban socio-ecological region. Open to all Tulane students, the year-long program, entitled The Petrochemical City: The Costs and Consequences to New Orleans, will involve readings, writing assignments, guest speakers and expert panels, and field based activities throughout the city and region.
Financial Literacy Starting spring 2017, the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor (SLAMM) will offer a new course on financial literacy that will help Tulane students understand and take control of critical economic issues. Led by Toni Weiss, the Lawrence M.v.D. Schloss Professor of Practice in Economics, the course will give students concrete knowledge of realworld financial matters that will have a major impact on their lives such as how to set up a 401K or negotiate a mortgage. Made possible through the generosity of Larry Schloss, who graduated from Tulane in 1976 with an economics degree, the financial literacy course will be open to students in SLAMM, as well as the general student body who are not majoring in business or economics.
Gulf South Journal
Through the generosity of Wilson Magee, Tulane alumnus and chair of the School of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Council, SLA’s New Orleans Center for the Gulf South will begin work on a new online journal, Gulf South: A Journal of Call and Response. Set to debut in 2017, the journal will publish essays by individuals who are awarded the Center’s prestigious Monroe Fellowships, a program designed to support key research on the region. This publication will also include essays that will be specially written for the journal, appealing not only to scholars but also to the broad community. Each scholar’s essay will serve as a call, and each will be followed by two or three responses created by select community members, experts, and artists who have been invited to engage with the scholarship. These responses may take the form of a piece of artwork, poem, or short composition.
Image: AnnieLaurie Erickson, Assistant Professor of Art, 30°28’5.88”N, 91°12’37.73”W (Port Allen), from the series Slow Light Pigment print from color negative taken with afterimaging camera
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TULANE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS
tulane.edu/liberal-arts
2 0 1 5 —2 0 1 6
S L A B Y T HE NUMBE R S In 1851, the University of Louisiana, which became Tulane University 33 years later, incorporated the arts and sciences through the newly founded Academic Department. Following Hurricane Katrina, the School of Liberal Arts, encompassing the arts, humanities, and social sciences, was established in 2006.
165 SLAMM
150 SERVICE LEARNING COURSES +
were offered.
MINORS In its first year, the popular School of Liberal Arts Management minor (SLAMM) exceeded expectations.
There were 1,064 SLA students enrolled in service learning courses. Each student averaged 23 service hours. Students devoted 24,624 hours of service to the community.
382
2,342
FACULTY
STUDENTS
• 1,964 Undergraduates • 99 Masters • 279 PhD
• 201 Tenure Track • 42 Professors of Practice and Lecturers • 23 Visitors • 102 Adjuncts • 14 Post-docs
663
SLA GRADUATES • 562 Undergraduate • 15 MFA • 48 MA • 30 PhD • 8 MS
$8,127,610 The Total Amount of Donors' Gifts and Pledges.
$525
The average Annual Fund Gift.
1,846
The number of donors who contributed.
$498,755 The total amount of Annual Fund Gifts.
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