Tulane Magazine June 2018

TUlane JESMYN WARD PERSISTS

THE MAGAZINE OF TULANE UNIVERSITY

Commencement 2018

THE WRITERS’ PEN

THE ACT OF ART

ON POINT WITH MÉLANGE

Novelist and teacher Zachary Lazar

Printmaker and professor Teresa Cole

Dance company advocates for social justice

JUNE 2018

CRE AT I VE Creativity Changes the World

PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

OVATION On the commencement stage on May 19, 2018, New Orleans Saints hero, ALS activist and honorary degree recipient Steve Gleason, center, is applauded by, from left, President Mike Fitts, commencement speaker and novelist Jesmyn Ward, and other honorary degree recipients: Grammywinning singer Irma Thomas, medical anthropologist and physician Dr. Paul E. Farmer, second from right, and Netscape co-founder James H. Clark, far right. Third from right is Gleason’s associate Dillon Parfait.

Gleason addressed the graduates in the audience, telling them to “seek your purpose.

Be grateful and triumphant. Keep your aim high.”

Classic New Orleans Back cover: Students line up for beignets and cafe au lait at a food truck on the uptown campus.

(Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S

L E T T E R

Special Place in My Heart

MARK ANDRESEN

by Mike Fitts

The following is an excerpt from President Mike Fitts’ commencement address on May 19, 2018, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The class of 2018 has a special place in my heart. They were my first class at Tulane.

I watched them grow, transformed by the magic of New Orleans and Tulane, into leaders ready to take on the world. We are all so proud of them.

One member of the class of 2018, Dr. Adaora Okoli, who received a Master of Public Health from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, came to Tulane from Nigeria after she had recovered from Ebola. She wanted to merge her passion for clinical work with epidemiology research in developing countries. This would mean combining medicine, statistics, public health, biology, engineering and social science—all with an international focus— under one umbrella.

Most universities couldn’t provide such a wide net for study.

But Tulane was different.

At Tulane, we actually push our students to merge and link distinct fields and disciplines. We revel in the innovation that such academic exploration and curiosity can breed.

Adaora’s story is the story of so many Tulanians.

It is one of resilience, perseverance and overcoming adversity.

It’s one of living out our motto: “Not for one’s self, but for one’s own.”

And it’s a case study in how ambition—and immense intelligence— will help this class accomplish anything they set their mind to.

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PRAISE FOR THE CLASS OF 2018 President Fitts celebrates the ambition and intelligence of Tulane’s latest graduating class.

I have watched, with enormous pride, all the ways they have lived out these Tulane values in their time here.

Law students represented victims of domestic abuse.

Social work students provided vital medical services to some of New Orleans’ most at-risk populations.

Together, the class of 2018 completed more than 100,000 service hours.

And their efforts expanded across the region and across the globe, as well.

This summer, when our neighbors in Houston suffered terrible flooding and damage, the class sprang into action—rallying and organizing first-response efforts.

And when Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean this fall, the class took the lead in Tulane’s effort to host the displaced Puerto Rican students.

But perhaps what I am most proud of is how the class pushed the Tulane community to reckon with its own flaws, inequalities and injustices.

They pressed their peers, and their university, to address some deeply concerning issues of our own—from racism to sexual violence to systemic inequity.

In the face of these immense challenges, they came together with compassion, strength and resolve.

They supported each other, and bound together closely as a community of leaders committed to positive change.

Remember that: There is nothing that a group of motivated, empathetic people can’t accomplish together.

I have watched them over these four years, and it is clear to me that, more than anything we taught them in a classroom, they have learned the single most important lesson of Tulane—to meet the challenges of the world head-on, with grit, determination and the unyielding belief that any answer can be found—any solution can be obtained—and any problem can be solved.

Graduates: This is your time. It’s your moment to take the baton. I want you to go out there and show the world what Tulane means. We are all rooting for you.

You have been equipped with the tools of greatness. I can’t wait to see what you build with them.

Let the good times roll!

TUlane C O N T E N T S ‘It’s Raining’ Irma Thomas is followed

by Jesmyn Ward during the second-line parade at the conclusion of Commencement 2018. (See page 14.)

2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Class of 2018 ready to take on world

SALLY ASHER

6 NEWS Land building • New SSE dean • Newcomb Dance • Who Dat? Marty Pitts • LiDAR in Guatemala • Om for schoolchildren • Podcasts for quilters • History of food • HTML’s 50th anniversary

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Jesmyn Ward Persists In inimitable Tulane style, Commencement 2018 fuses music, humor, reflection and joy.

By Faith Dawson

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13 SPORTS AAC men’s tennis champs • Football’s 1998 undefeated season

The Writers’ Pen Hailed by The New York Times for “tackling the disconnect between ‘truth’ or ‘fact,’” novelist and English professor Zachary Lazar mines stories of the incarcerated. He also brings his Tulane creative writing students to prisons, grounding fiction in reality. By Mike Luke, TC ’04

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The Act of Art Printmaker and art professor Teresa Cole rolls up her sleeves and gets to work, creating

31 WHERE Y'AT! Class notes

beautiful art and in the process expressing difficult ideas. By Nick Marinello

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34 FAREWELL Tribute: Mary Louise Christovich

On Point With Mélange A dance company, led by two Tulane graduates, choreographs prizewinning productions to raise consciousness about gender equality and respect for women and other social justice issues.

By Leslie Cardé

30 TULANIANS Drs. Charity Dean, Brett Wilson and Jenni Nix • EverGreen • Mark Horowitz • Catherine Ann Taylor • Danielle Del Sol

38 WAVEMAKERS Giving Day • The Commons • Jenny and Bob Kottler 40 NEW ORLEANS Urban legends

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PERFECT SEASON William Forman Jr. (A&S ’58, L ’61) has been following Tulane football since 1947. He was teaching international law with several team members in his class in 1998 when the Green Wave had its undefeated season. He recalls the excitement and the scores of every game. He says, “It was the perfect season, long to be remembered by Wave fans.” [See more in “Sweet Victory” in this issue on p. 13.]

Y E A H,

Y O U

DON’T OVERLOOK DESIRELESS In the recent past editions [“New Orleans Literature”

by Thomas Beller, December 2017, and “Yeah, You Write,” March 2018], I did not see the novel Desireless in the list of books about New Orleans.

Tom York, a Tulane grad [A&S ’61, G ’75, ’82], wrote Desireless (Viking, 1988). The novel was the last of six that Tom wrote before his death.

The novel tends to follow Under the Volcano, a novel about the last days of a person in Mexico. Desireless is about the last three days of James Girard, the scion of a famous New Orleans family.

Desireless caused quite an uproar in New Orleans and some tried to ban its sale in the U.S. Tom was my good friend while I attended MBA school.

I recognize a number of characters in the book.

Bill Poland, B ’76 Ponchatoula, Louisiana MEMORIES OF BRUFF This is to call your attention to an error in the March issue in the article “Olive & Blueprint,” on page 27, where it is stated that Bruff Commons opened in 1963.

I was a student at Tulane from 1955 to 1959, and Bruff Commons was open the entire time, maybe in a different location, but it included the main University dining hall.

It would be fine to improve it as the article suggests, but I hope it keeps the name, Bruff Commons, as that has become a Tulane tradition.

C. Thomas Bienvenu Jr., L ’59 St. Martinville, Louisiana

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W R I T E

Editor’s Note: The Refectory (built in 1902) was renamed Bruff Commons in 1942. A second Bruff Commons was built next to the Mechanical Engineering building in 1948. The current Bruff was built in 1963.

Still, I think a “climate survey” of TU magazine readers might indicate a few clouds on the horizon for the editorial department.

It could be worth reinvestment and reinvention to more effectively appeal to your readers by ensuring that this group’s inclusive diverse translational cross-disciplinary multicultural innovational cuttingedge transformative impactful reading experience involving complex theoretical principles might be improved by using a simpler writing style.* Just saying! happen. *Yes, the gobbledygook words above have appeared with stupefying regularity in the TU magazine.

Stuart Rich, E ’70, ’71 Coral Gables, Florida OLIVE & BLUEPRINT

TUlane THIS IS BIG

A campaign for the history books

SITY F TULANE UNIVER THE MAGAZINE O

MARCH 2018

Only the audacious can make

OF RAISON D’ÊTRE AHEAD THE CLASS Research is

the reason for Tulane’s being

Teaching transforms

STRONGER & SMARTER

Commitment to diversity

The Commons

philosophies does much harm to the institution and alienates those who could help the school.

Clint Wilder, B ’91 Armuchee, Georgia CLIMATE SURVEY I had seen the information/data referenced in “Wave of Change” (March 2018, Tulane) in another publication and found it shocking. As the father of a daughter who graduated from Tulane, I looked at the “data” with more than casual interest. … “Sexual assault” is both a fraught and nebulous term; its meaning should not be left to each survey respondent. A survey with this potential importance should be very rigorously conducted—I don’t know if that was the case.

Dennis Rocheleau Fairfield, Connecticut

3/1/18 1:27 PM

GOOD-NATURED MUSINGS I really enjoy keeping up to date with your fine Tulane magazine.

A few good-natured musings occurred to me while reading the March issue: Re: “Risky Behavior”: Spoiler Alert! Professor Jill Daniel’s research will conclude that males engage in risky impulsive behavior because they’re born that way.

That’s why they do stupid things like ride motorcycles and invent heavier-than-air flying machines.

Suggestion to editors: Being an engineer, I can hardly be expected to put two words together, much less a complete sentence.

DISCRIMINATION When you mention “Academic Equity,” you are referring to race-based discrimination. You work on an assumption that all races should be represented in college and every high school graduate should be enrolled in a four-year college or university regardless of their career intentions, IQ and individual skill, and a particular job demand. Have you ever wondered why your alumni donations are down?

Tulane’s saturation with political correctness and liberal

Editor’s Note: For more about Tulane’s next steps in making the campus safer and stronger, go to: https://tulane.edu/ waveofchange MOTORCYCLE INSPIRATION Thanks for the article “Switching Gears” [about Max Hazan, March 2018, Tulane] I enjoyed the article and watched the whole video. [YouTube, “Raw Craft With Anthony Bourdain,” episode 12] Really inspirational.

Made my day. Hazan’s tale and his comments at the end of the video have me thinking about some new possibilities personally for how to break out of the workday rut.

Eric Lincoln, Current Student New Orleans

Letter From the Editor

TUlane M

Celebrated clarinet virtuoso Dr. Michael White (G ’79, ’83) performs at this year’s commencement. His creative musicality has been part of the ceremony for two decades.

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EDITOR Mary Ann Travis CREATIVE DIRECTOR Melinda Whatley Viles EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Faith Dawson

PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

CONTRIBUTORS Keith Brannon Barri Bronston Mary Cross, SLA ’10 Alina Hernandez Alicia Jasmin Angus Lind, A&S ’66 Mike Strecker, G ’03 SENIOR UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER Paula Burch-Celentano, SW ’17

CREATIVITY CHANGES THE WORLD In many ways, Tulane is defined by the word creative.

That’s why we’ve devoted this Tulane to creativity.

Tulane acts creatively in the world. Its students, faculty and alumni exhibit a creative spirit in so much of what they do.

Creativity, though, needs to be nurtured in order to flourish.

Hard work and persistence pay off.

Opportunity is required to succeed.

This Tulane features Zachary Lazar, creative writing professor, whose latest novel, Vengeance, penetrates into the world of a lifer and the crime he may or may not have committed. Lazar said that in his involvement with actual prisoners, he’s found “a lot of people who are in prison already are creative people and that there’s this mysterious … relationship between being a creative person and winding up incarcerated.”

For art professor and printmaker Teresa Cole, “Creativity is an action. And it’s very physical—I carve plates, I ink them and press them onto paper.”

Tulane graduates Alexa Lambert and Monica Ordoñez of the Mélange Dance Company advocate for social justice through their creative choreography and performances.

These stories about creative people and their artistic expression—through literature, visual art and dance—show the role that Tulane plays in cultivating and encouraging creativity.

And Tulane magazine readers undoubtedly know many more examples.

We at Tulane magazine strive to use our own creative skills in design, photography and writing to present the stories of Tulane University to our readers.

Our next issue will be redesigned and launch a new chapter in the long history of the magazine. We’re excited to try a new look and new approach to connecting readers to this great university.

We’re entering a new phase at Tulane with the retirement this spring of Deborah L. Grant, vice president for communications and marketing. Debbie has been a leader at Tulane for 35 years.

Tulane President Mike Fitts said, “Very few have ever touched Tulane the way Debbie did. Her love of Tulane is hard to put into words: Every step of the way she put Tulane first, with professionalism, composure and a sense of humor.”

In addition to leading public relations, publications, web communications and social media, Debbie’s other signature achievement is as the impresario of the Unified Commencement Ceremony for 20 years.

President Fitts said, “If there’s one thing that perfectly articulates the magic of Tulane University, it’s our commencement. I have spent decades going to many different commencement ceremonies around the country: There is no doubt in my mind that Tulane’s is the most beautifully orchestrated one of all.”—MARY ANN TRAVIS

SENIOR PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Sharon Freeman GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Marian Herbert-Bruno Kimberly D. Rainey

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: COMMUNICATIONS.TULANE.EDU/MAGAZINE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY Michael A. Fitts SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Richard Matasar Tulane (ISSN 21619255) is a quarterly magazine published by the Tulane Office of University Communications and Marketing, 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 Communications and Marketing, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, LA 70118-5624.

JUNE 2018/VOL. 89, NO. 4

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NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER Neuroscientist and HIV/AIDS

researcher Jay Rappaport joined Tulane in June as the new director and chief academic officer of the National Primate Research Center. He comes to the university from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

N E W S

River Diversions Although river diversions that bring land building sediment to shrinking coastlands are the best solution to sustaining portions of the Mississippi Delta, a new Tulane University study concludes that the rate of land building will likely be dwarfed by the rate of wetland loss.

Torbjörn Törnqvist, Vokes Geology Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the School of Science and Engineering at Tulane, is a co-author of the study. He said that given the accelerating rates of sea-level rise that will likely continue long into the future, even the best designed river diversions won’t be able to prevent more land loss.

“Therefore difficult choices will have to be made about where to locate these diversions.”

The study, published in the open-access journal Science Advances, used optical dating to measure how fast the delta shoreline migrated seaward under natural conditions.

“Optical dating determines when sediment grains were deposited by measuring their last exposure to daylight,” said Elizabeth Chamberlain, lead author of the study. Chamberlain earned a PhD in earth and environmental sciences from the School of Science and Engineering at Tulane in 2017.

“This method allowed us to date the shoreline of the Lafourche lobe in the central Mississippi Delta and to calculate that it advanced at a rate of 300–500 feet per year for almost 1,000 years.”

Prior to human influence, the Mississippi Delta grew at a rate of 2 to 3 square miles per year. But over the past century rates of land loss in coastal Louisiana have averaged 15 to 20 square miles per year.

Positioning river diversions in areas that have the greatest land building potential and protect the largest population centers is the best viable option.—Barri Bronston

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In the Field Elizabeth Chamberlain (right), lead author of a study of land building by sediment from the Mississippi River, collects samples for optical dating with fellow scientist Zhixiong Shen. They are along Bayou Lafourche, an abandoned course of the Mississippi River.

NEW SSE DEAN Kimberly Foster has been named the new dean of the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, effective Aug. 1, 2018.

Kimberly Foster, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), will become the new dean of the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering.

The appointment, announced by Tulane Provost Robin Forman and President Michael Fitts, is effective Aug. 1, 2018.

A member of the UCSB faculty since 1999, Foster has a PhD in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University.

“I am thrilled that Kimberly will be joining the Tulane community,” Forman said. “Her research, especially on nonlinear microelectromechanical systems, has transformed the discipline. She is a gifted and award-winning teacher and mentor with a great track record of success as an administrator, demonstrating her deep commitment to excellence, innovation and interdisciplinarity. She is exactly the right person to lead the School of Science and Engineering to the next phase of its exciting trajectory.”

Foster is the author or co-author of more than 170 publications in high-level journals and selective conferences, and she holds six U.S. patents.

“I knew Tulane was special from the first moment I set foot on campus,” Foster said. “I am impressed with the commitment to continued evolution and strength of research and education from the administration and the faculty.”—Barri Bronston

PHOTO COURTESY KIMBERLY FOSTER

ANJALI FERNANDES

New Leader

In That Number Newcomb Dance Program

NEWCOMB DANCE PROGRAM

Dance has had a long and illustrious history at Tulane. In the 1920s, dancers performed the maypole dance on the Newcomb College lawn, and by the 1940s, the Newcomb College Dance Club was established and dance became part of the curriculum of the Newcomb Women’s Physical Education Department, later led by Elizabeth “Lib” Delery. By 2000, a full-fledged dance major was available to students to earn either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance. The master of fine arts degree program launched in 2015.

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Eight genres of dance are taught: classical ballet, modern dance, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, African, Brazilian and tap.

NEWCOMB DANCE PROGRAM

1995

Elleonora Perrilliat McWilliams, former Newcomb Dance Club President of 1944, donated the anchor grant for construction of McWilliams Hall in 1995.

McWilliams Hall includes four dance studios on the uptown campus.

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The Newcomb Dance Company, formed in 1984, celebrates its 35th anniversary with a concert in spring 2019.

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PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

SALLY ASHER PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

8 INFOGRAPHIC BY KIM RAINEY AND ALICIA DUPLESSIS JASMIN

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Dance program faculty have a collective 143 years of teaching experience at Tulane.

VECTEEZY

Each semester approximately 400 students enroll in dance classes through the Newcomb Dance Program in Tulane’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

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Who Dat? Marty Pitts

of Marty’s directing skills; his camera work was dazzling. Marty’s video for the Bee Gees’ “Too Much Heaven” has been viewed by almost 100 million viewers on YouTube. He was also nominated for an Emmy in the category of sports documentary.

Tulane and New Orleans were Marty’s early laboratory; his world was the crowd that lived in the old UC, drinking coffee by day, and lounging in the old Howard-Tilton browsing room in the evening. What a cadre of friends he had! Talk of James Dean, Marlon Brando and Truman Capote was always in the air. There were nights when Marty and his group haunted movie theaters to see New Wave films or Humphrey Bogart festivals at the New Orleans YMCA. For me and my family, the loss was personal. Marty read from the Beatitudes at my wedding, inspired by Jack Kerouac’s claim that those sacred words were the origin of the term “Beat,” and he photographed my daughter’s first Holy Communion, somehow winding up at the altar next to the priest, without seeming obtrusive or ruffling anyone’s sensibilities.

I know that my heart was not alone in feeling heavy at the news of his death.

—RON MARTINETTI (A&S ’67)

COURTESY LINDSEY CLENNELL

AMAZING PERSONALITY On Dec. 24, 2017, Tulane lost an extraordinary alumnus and the world a gifted artist with the passing in Los Angeles of MARTY PITTS (A&S ’67).

Marty was from Nashville, Tennessee, and arrived at Tulane in 1965, a transfer from the University of Tennessee. It was an amazing era for Tulane: The student body had its fair share of selfstarters, iconoclasts and rebels. Marty was certainly part of that crowd—students of promise whom it was rumored the admissions office regarded as “thinkers, not doers.”

At Tulane, Marty taught himself to operate a camera, and to it he brought the touch of a poet, which in Los Angeles in the 1980s would lead him to be a pioneer in MTV and recipient of the first American Music Award for Favorite Country Video of the Year for his Randy Travis “Forever and Ever, Amen” video in 1988.

Marty’s country roots ran deep. He would recall that as a schoolboy he joined the search in the hills outside Nashville for the wreckage of the plane in which the great Patsy Cline had perished.

Over time, Marty also worked with Roberta Flack, the Allman Brothers and the Bee Gees. The late Ray Manzarek of The Doors and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees were friends and great admirers

Videographer, director and photographer Marty Pitts (A&S ’67) with his friend Muhammad Ali in Sudan, circa 1990.

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KATRINA SURVIVORS IN SCIENCE Science magazine published in February 2018 an in-depth feature on Katrina@10, the multiuniversity research effort to learn the lasting health, economic, demographic and social impacts of Hurricane Katrina, led by Tulane University sociologist and demographer Mark VanLandingham.

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COURTESY LUKE AULD-THOMAS AND MARCELLO A. CANUTO

Yoga in Schools

Maya Discovery Guatemalan Find LiDAR laser technology yielded the discovery of ancient cities including more than 60,000 structures in Guatemala’s forests.

MANAGING STRESS Breathing exercises, guided relaxation and traditional yoga poses help thirdgraders deal with their anxiety, according to Tulane public health researchers.

THINKSTOCK

Two Tulane archaeologists are part of a team of researchers involved in a remarkable discovery of dozens of ancient cities in Guatemala through the use of jungle-penetrating LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology.

Marcello A. Canuto, director of the Middle American Research Institute at Tulane, and Francisco Estrada-Belli, a research assistant professor and director of the Holmul Archaeological Project since 2000, say the discovery in the Petén forest of Guatemala includes more than 60,000 structures, including isolated houses, large palaces, ceremonial centers and pyramids.

“It seems clear now that the ancient Maya transformed their landscape on a grand scale in order to render it more agriculturally productive,” said Canuto, who has three decades of field experience in Maya archaeology. “As a result, it seems likely that this region was much more densely populated than what we have traditionally thought.”

LiDAR technology is able to pierce through thick forest canopy and map features on the earth’s surface. The maps can often reveal changes in elevation, enabling archaeologists to identify human-made features on the ground, such as walls, roads or buildings.

Estrada-Belli, who specializes in the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems on early Maya civilization, said the discoveries were made in a matter of minutes, compared to what would have taken years of fieldwork without the LiDAR technology.

“Seen as a whole, terraces and irrigation channels, reservoirs, fortifications, and causeways reveal an astonishing amount of land modification done by the Maya over their entire landscape on a scale previously unimaginable,” he said.

The story of the discoveries is told in a documentary produced by the National Geographic Channel.—Barri Bronston

Participating in yoga and mindfulness activities at school helps third-graders exhibiting anxiety improve their well-being and emotional health, according to a new Tulane study published in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.

Researchers worked with a public school in New Orleans to add mindfulness and yoga to the school’s existing empathy-based programming for students needing supplementary support. Third-graders who were screened for symptoms of anxiety at the beginning of the school year were randomly assigned to two groups. A control group of 32 students received care as usual, which included counseling and other activities led by a school social worker.

The intervention group of 20 students participated in small group yoga/mindfulness activities for eight weeks using a Yoga Ed curriculum. Students attended the small group activities at the beginning of the school day.

“The intervention improved psychosocial and emotional quality-of-life scores for students, as compared to their peers who received standard care,” said principal author Alessandra Bazzano, associate professor of global community health and behavioral sciences at Tulane School of Public Health.

Researchers targeted third grade because it is a crucial time of transition for elementary students when academic expectations increase.—Keith Brannon

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EMPIRE Newcomb Art Museum presents EMPIRE, an immersive art installation, in

celebration of the New Orleans Tricentennial, drawing on the archives and special collections at Tulane. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 22, 2018.

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Moonshine and Labor

Entrepreneurial law professor Elizabeth Townsend Gard has unleashed a grassroots “army” of law students studying the roles of creativity and law in stoking the transformation of quilting from a folk-art craft into a multibillion-dollar industry.

Townsend Gard’s Entrepreneurship and the Law class at Tulane Law School has launched a research-based audio podcast called “Just Wanna Quilt,” a series of in-depth interviews with quilters and quilt-industry entrepreneurs discussing their creative passion and challenges, alongside the history and art behind the craft.

The podcast is hosted by Townsend Gard, an intellectual property law professor whose interest in quilting led her to interview nearly 75 quilters, artists, designers, historians, inventors, collectors and fabric-makers around the country who make up the $3.7 billion quilting industry. She hopes to complete 200 interviews in the next year.

“Law school is a balance between doctrinal courses and opportunities for experiential learning,” Townsend Gard said. “By engaging and immersing students in the practicalities of getting a podcast, a business or even a project up and running, they see firsthand the struggles and energy it takes, and it helps them be more empathetic to their clients.”

Second-year law student Corrie Dutton, who has worked on the project, said, “Having the opportunity to feel what it is like to be an entrepreneur—the pressures, the details and of course, the legal issues that arise—has made me think about the role of an attorney with entrepreneurs in a much more complex way.”

Go to www.justwannaquilt.com for podcast episodes and other information.—Alina Hernandez

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Just Wanna Quilt Podcasts produced by law professor Elizabeth Townsend Gard and students in her Entrepreneurship and the Law class explore the multibillion dollar quilting business and its intersection with creativity and the law.

HISTORIANS OF EATING AND DRINKING Blake Gilpin, left, and Jana Lipman are featured in separate episodes of “Lectures in History” on C-SPAN 3.

CHERYL GERBER

CK TO KS IN TH

Quilting Bee

Students enrolled in The History of Eating and Drinking history course in the Tulane School of Liberal Arts get to explore the political, cultural and economic past of cuisine across the globe.

The class is led by a team of instructors who have researched—throughout different historical periods—the production and consumption of food and drink.

C-Span, the public service cable network, became intrigued by the course and broadcast two lectures—one by assistant professor Blake Gilpin and another by associate professor Jana Lipman—this spring. (The lectures are available for viewing on the C-Span website in its “Lectures in History” series.)

Gilpin focused his talk on the history of moonshine in America’s Deep South and the spirits’ roots in rural Southern culture.

In her lecture, Lipman investigates immigrant labor and food processing in the United States.

“During the lecture, I talk about United Farm Workers, Cesar Chavez and the organizing of Mexican-American workers in California from the 1940s through the 1960s,” she said.

“Part of my goal was to make sure that vegetarians in the room knew that their vegetables had people who planted and picked them.”—Mary Cross

Gallery Class of 2018 ‘BMike’ Poster

ONE OF A KIND Since 2016, the Tulane University Alumni Association has sent graduates off with a specially commissioned beautiful art poster designed for their class.

The 2018 art, created

by New Orleans artist Brandan “BMike” Odums, features cross-hatching and layers of patterned paper combined with paint for texture. The image, printed as an 18by-24-inch poster, shows the landmark uptown campus bead tree as the backdrop for several hands symbolically reaching up in support of one another. One hand wears a 2018 class ring.

The poster is made available to every graduate, at no charge—a gift from the Tulane Alumni Association.

“The posters are given to graduating students the night before commencement so they will always have a reminder of New Orleans to take with them wherever they go,” said Madison Hurwitz, a manager for alumni programs.

Hurwitz says that each year’s poster is commissioned to a local artist who is given only the directive to “keep it Tulane-themed.”

“I picked Brandan ‘BMike’ Odums because of his gaining popularity and fame,” said Hurwitz.

“Many students have visited his studio (Studio BE), so he is an artist they are familiar with.”

Odums’ notoriety as an artist began in 2013 when he completed #ProjectBe, a series of graffiti murals depicting iconic African-American civil rights leaders, at an abandoned public housing complex in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. The space attracted national attention bringing in spectators from all over the country to see the art.

Currently, the original works of art are kept in the Bea Field Alumni House, but Hurwitz hopes to create a “gallery wall” to display the art permanently as the collection grows.

“My hope is when alumni come back to campus they can visit this wall and look for their class’s art,” said Hurwitz. “We may also incorporate the art or poster in future reunion events, too.”—ALICIA JASMIN

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In Your Own Words Dean of Libraries David Banush

The city of New Orleans celebrates its 300th birthday this year. But 2018 also marks a few milestones on the Tulane campus itself, including the 80th anniversary of the union of the Howard, Tilton and Newcomb libraries, which created the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, and the 50th anniversary of the current HowardTilton Memorial Library building at 7001 Freret St. The library touches students’ lives in a variety of ways. Students will always tell you the same thing: When they want to do serious work, they come to the library.

Many students study in the library, of course. But they also hold jobs here, socialize here, and even meet their future spouses in the library.

As part of the anniversary celebration, we are collecting memories and stories from Tulane alumni, staff and faculty about the library.

Among the memories we’ve already collected on the library website (library. tulane.edu) are those of Alice from the class of 2002. She wrote, “The higher you went in the building, the more serious the studying. If I was ‘social studying,’ I would stop on the second floor. If it were crunch-time ‘serious studying,’ I would climb to the Latin American Library on the 4th floor, where it was quieter and I preferred the art on the walls. I remember an old-school vending machine in the basement where you could still buy an actual cup of coffee from a machine.

A great procrastination and caffeination station.”

A student who is in the class of 2020 wrote, “When I took a creative writing class freshman year, I used to go up to the semi-secret, 6th-floor couches to write my poetry. There were often people taking naps or just relaxing on the comfy chairs, with the New Orleans skyline as a

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COURTESY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

IN YOUR OWN WORDS David Banush is dean of libraries and academic information resources at Tulane. Since 2015, he's led the libraries including Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, which is celebrating celebrating the 50th anniversary of its building this year.

Students study in the new Howard-Tilton Memorial Library in 1968.

backdrop. I always felt inspired by the peaceful little nook, a sanctuary from all the stress that people felt cramming for tests and writing last-minute papers in the cubicles throughout the rest of the library.

Even though I’m not doing as much writing these days, I still love to go up there and read a book when I have the time.”

If you have stories like these to share, we’d love to hear from you. We will be

collecting them throughout the year and sharing them in various ways (only with permission and anonymously if requested).

Readers may tell their stories at the library’s website and watch for more events celebrating the library’s history.

A birthday celebration (with cake!) is also planned for this fall.

—DAVID BANUSH

DEVON WALKER HONORED No Tulane student-athlete will ever wear No. 18 again.

Tulane Athletics is planning to retire the jersey of former Green Wave safety Devon Walker, who despite a career-ending spinal injury, continues to be an inspirational figure both on and off campus.

S P O R T S

PARKER WATERS

It had been 13 years since the Tulane men’s tennis team won a conference title, and the guys on the roster, from Constantin Schmitz to Hamish Stewart, were determined to see that streak come to an end.

The American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championships came down to second-seeded Tulane and the University of South Florida. The Green Wave—ranked 23rd nationally—pulled out the win 4-3.

“As we go into next year, it will always be an experience they can recall in which they overcame a lot of adversity and were able to succeed and be crowned champions,” said head tennis coach Mark Booras, who was named AAC coach of the year. “They now have firsthand experience of knowing how to succeed at the highest level.”

He said Schmitz—a native of Germany who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player and AAC tennis player of the year— deserves much of the credit. Schmitz, a senior who was also named Tulane’s male athlete of the year, said it was a total team effort.

“This tournament was about the team and Tulane and not about me as an individual player,” he said.

Schmitz is returning to Germany to play professionally, taking with him lifelong memories. “Tulane was a place that felt like home,” he said. “The Athletics Department was like a second family.”—Barri Bronston

COURTESY TULANE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Tennis Winners

Sweet Victory Unforgettable Season After winning against BYU in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 31, 1998, members of the undefeated Green Wave team celebrate. The 1998 team will be recognized in Yulman Stadium at the Sept. 8 game vs. Nicholls State this year.

CHAMPION PLAYER Constantin Schmitz plays stellar tennis.

He led the men’s tennis team to an American Athletic Conference championship this year.

When the Tulane football team went from a dismal 2-9 record in 1996 to an impressive 7-4 record under first-year coach Tommy Bowden the following year, offensive tackle Bernard Robertson III was certain the team would be headed to a bowl game.

He was wrong. He was also shocked and angry, as were his teammates.

“It hurt,” said Robertson, a New Orleans native who played high school ball at Edna Karr. “That carried over to the off-season and into training camp. Little did we know that hurt would be the fuel that produced the drive for the entire ’98 season.”

It was that legendary season that had the Green Wave winning every single game. They didn’t just beat their opponents, they clobbered them, scoring at least 40 points in nine of their 12 games. They won the Liberty Bowl and finished the season ranked seventh in the country.

On Sept. 8, 2018, Tulane Athletics will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1998 team during the Green Wave’s matchup with Nicholls State at Yulman Stadium.

Robertson, who went on to play with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders, will be among the players and coaches in attendance.

Now an investment consultant, Robertson says he looks forward to gathering with his 1998 teammates and thanking Tulane Athletics for recognizing the team and its contribution to Tulane football history.

He looks forward to the reminiscences about the passion of the team galvanized by missing out on a bowl game the year before.

“It was the transformation of Tulane football from a team that was scheduled for other programs’ homecomings to a National Championship contender.

“We let all of that hurt out on our opponents, and it felt good,” he said. “The magic was there.” —Barri Bronston

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PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

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Jesmyn Ward

Persists I N I N I M I TA B L E T U L A N E S T Y L E , COMMENCEMENT 2018 FUSES MUSIC, H U M O R , R E F L E C T I O N A N D J O Y.

By Faith Dawson

“Take a step that will lead you toward the realization of your dream, and then take another, and another, and another.”

“Hold fast to your oars. Hoist the sails to the wind.

Read the pictures in the stars.”

“Look beyond the horizon, to that which you can’t see but dimly sense in your future: the curving inlet, the sandy beach.”

“Know that even those calm waters may harbor boulders, craggy rocks intent on rending the bottom of your boat.

That when you land, you may find your legs too weak to walk well, still shaky from the sea, and that the soil may have its own perils, know that this is life. But also know that the fruit on the trees, sweet and warm to the mouth, is life as well.”

“Persist. Be patient. Be well.”

SALLY ASHER

A jubilant atmosphere prevailed as nearly 3,000 Tulane University students convened in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome—many ready to celebrate with flags of home countries, second-line umbrellas and bouquets in hand—on Saturday, May 19, during the Unified Commencement Ceremony.

The graduation ceremony, the 20th anniversary of Tulane’s unified commencement, took place with its traditional elements of music, humor, reflection and joy. The commencement keynote speaker was author and professor Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award winner and 2017 recipient of the MacArthur “Genius Grant.”

Honorary degrees were bestowed on four individuals, including internet pioneer Jim Clark, healthcare activist Dr. Paul Farmer, former Saints player and ALS activist Steve Gleason, and Grammy-winning singer Irma Thomas, who sang one of her big hits, “It’s Raining,” with Dr. Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band.

In her address, Jesmyn Ward, also an associate professor of English on the Tulane faculty, recounted a time when she sought refuge in education and writing, while also viewing it as salvation from her small-town origins.

Instead, she found that education was more a process than an achievement, she said.

Jesmyn Ward’s Words for Graduates

Facing page: Tulane President Michael Fitts looks on as Jesmyn Ward delivers her commencement address. This page: The class of 2018 celebrates.

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THE WRITERS’ PEN

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H A I L E D BY THE NEW YORK TIMES F O R ‘ TAC K L I N G THE

DISCONNECT

BETWEEN

“TRUTH”

OR

“ FA C T,” ’ N O V E L I S T A N D E N G L I S H P RO F E S S O R ZACHARY

LAZAR

MINES

STORIES

OF

THE

INCARCERATED. HE ALS O BRING S HIS T UL ANE CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS TO PRISONS, G R O U N D I N G F I C T I O N I N R E A L I T Y.

By Mike Luke, TC ’04

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© DEBORAH LUSTER. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK.

COURTESY ANGOLA PRISON RODEO

“ What I’ve come to think is that a lot of people who are in prison already are creative people and that there’s a somewhat mysterious, although not completely mysterious, relationship between being a creative person and winding up incarcerated.”

TRAVIS GILLETT

—Zachary Lazar

Prison Life Top, left: Paintings by inmates are displayed at the rodeo. Right: A horseback rider at Angola Prison Rodeo.

Bottom, left to right: Passion Play performers: Jamal Johnson as a Roman soldier, Mary Bell as Anna, and James Blackburn as a Roman horse soldier.

No place locks up, imprisons or incarcerates more people than Louisiana—not any other state in the United States, not China, not Iran, not Germany, not anywhere else on Earth. Louisiana leads the world, per capita, in jailing people.

From this soul-crushing reality, deep behind the concrete walls of Louisiana prisons, Tulane English professor, acclaimed writer and novelist Zachary Lazar has found a way to mine something positive, something profoundly creative and cathartic and use it to inform his own writing and in a writing course he teaches.

The idea for Lazar’s latest novel and his creative writing course, which is also a Tulane service learning class, came from a 2013 trip to Louisiana State Penitentiary (better known as “Angola”).

“I met a lot of people in prison who were doing a lot of incredible, creative stuff,” he said, in a calm, almost soothing tone. “A lot of them arrive in prison with creativity in their background, and once they are there it is a release, a way to pass the time.”

While Lazar said the confinement of a person in a cell for hours on end and being behind the walls of a prison for decades might stimulate some level of creativity as an escape, that is not all he found in the inmates he met.

“What I’ve come to think,” he said, “is that a lot of people who are in prison already are creative people and that there’s a somewhat mysterious, although not completely mysterious, relationship between being a creative person and winding up incarcerated. A lot of these folks I encounter are musicians, rappers, Cajun and zydeco musicians, punk rockers, artists, tattoo artists—creative people who are mostly from environments where’s there no economic way to make money through creativity.”

ROOTED IN REALITY Angola is the state’s prison farm that is surrounded by its own levee, wrapped in chain-link fence, crowned in barbed wire and overseen by armed guards in towers. It’s an infamous and brutal prison—home to 5,000-plus inmates and built on the grounds of an old plantation in central Louisiana in West Feliciana Parish. Ninety percent of the men who walk in, most likely in shackles, will never walk out again alive. It may take years, or even decades, but a sentence to Angola is a death sentence in almost every sense.

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“It’s unsatisfying if the only value of the class is, let’s get better as writers. Let’s use writing to think about the world.

Let’s use writing to think about who we are. Let’s use writing to ask questions and to reflect. … Here you are in a prison, we’re all together in a prison right now. What happened?”

—Zachary Lazar Outside of the Angola Prison Rodeo, held twice a year and open to the public, it is otherwise relatively closed off to the outside world.

But Lazar was able to get a view that few see—the inside of Angola— working as a journalist with the help of Deborah Luster who was going there as a photographer. Lazar also wrote a letter to get permission from then-assistant Cathy Fontenot, who was “open to it because of my father,” he said.

Luster and Lazar went to Angola to cover an inmate performance of a Passion Play, the dramatic representation of the trial, suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The photographer and the writer have something profound in common beyond spending time inside Angola together: Both lost a parent to violence under similar circumstances.

In his novel Vengeance (Catapult, 2018), where fact and fiction are hard to tell apart, Lazar writes this about Luster: “I’ve come to Angola this week because of an unlikely bond I share with a photographer, Deborah Luster, who has been photographing inmates here and elsewhere in Louisiana for many years. Both of us had a parent who was murdered. Both murders happened in Phoenix, Arizona. They were both contract killings. All these years later, we find ourselves living in the same city, New Orleans, which at the time we met had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. We live two blocks away from each other—you can see my house from Deborah’s roof. When I tell this story to an inmate named Elton Thomas, who calls himself Solomon after the wise king, he tells me it’s not just a coincidence. He says it’s fate, an act of God.” DOCUMENTARY FICTION Vengeance centers around Kendrick King—a composite of people Lazar met at Angola, an inmate serving life in the prison for a murder he may or may not have committed in Jefferson Parish—and a narrator, who is Lazar in many ways and words. There is doubt as to whether King was there at the scene of the murder, whether he pulled the trigger, or if he was coerced by detectives to confess to a crime he didn’t actually commit.

Drawn from some real-life events and real people, along with court transcripts and witness interview tapes, Vengeance is a novel but King’s story has a reality that many prisoners in Louisiana face.

“The main things that are pressing on people who are incarcerated at Angola are the long sentences,” said Lazar.

His impression of inmates that he’s met at Angola is that they are thinking, “I’m never going to get out of here. I did something when I was 19 and I’m never going to get out of here, and now I’m 45.”

In Vengeance, inmates describe life imprisonment like this: “Imagine you’re trapped in a barn. Now imagine that the barn is on fire. You will do anything you can to get out of that barn.

“A life sentence comes with an exclamation point and a question

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mark. ‘Wow!’ And then, ‘When this gonna end?’”

When Lazar met the inmates who were doing the Passion Play, he said, they “were philosophical and spiritual. All of these big philosophical questions were very much in the foreground. Hearing how reflective and thoughtful of it people were was an eye-opener to me. It defied all the stereotypes you might have of people who have been convicted of violent crimes.”

Lazar said he was struck by “the ordinariness of most of the people I spoke to, how much we had in common. When I talked to them about why I was there, about my father, that would shift the dynamic and opened things up.”

Inmates were often surprised to learn about the murder of his father, he said. “But I think the thing we had in common was this firsthand experience with the consequences of violence. I could talk about that in a way that was more comfortable to me than with talking with other people.”

HIS FATHER’S MURDER In Vengeance, a novel that feels like journalism but in which it’s hard to tell where the nonfiction ends and the fiction begins, Lazar writes: “I write about violence and its ramifications—that’s my subject. There’s a simple reason for this, which is that when I was six years old, my father was murdered. When I tell people this story, I’m always oversharing. It’s always awkward. There’s a temptation to apologize or make light of it somehow, but I’m telling this story now for a reason: It’s a story about the importance of stories. I show the students another prop, another book I wrote, Evening’s Empire: The Story of My Father’s Murder. The book as a prop is a way of defusing the subject’s shock value, also of deflecting sympathy, which I don’t want. The murder happened. I didn’t choose my father’s story, his story chose me. By writing it, I gained a measure of control over it as well as a deeper understanding.”

The murder of Lazar’s father is something you quickly learn after meeting him. It hovers about him in a way. And he’s not shy about talking about it.

Besides gaining him access to Angola, Cathy Fontenot was also the force behind Lazar’s prison-based creative writing class. When she changed jobs from assistant warden at Angola to warden at Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, she asked if he was interested in teaching a joint class with inmates and Tulane students at the facility in Scott, Louisiana.

“Cathy is a very enlightened prison administrator,” said Lazar. “I don’t think there’s very many like that.”

INSIDE PRISON WALLS During a semester, Lazar’s Tulane students and incarcerated students read the same literary works and ultimately collaborate together. The students produce Ink—an anthology rich with intensely personal outpourings of material, ranging from fiction to memoirs to poetry. The

DEBORAH LUSTER

stories deal with themes like loss, love, rage, regret, mistakes made in the course of a life, and lessons learned.

“Always in my class, I start with nonfiction and move further away from it,” he said. “We move in that direction—further and further from the facts—but I want them to be rooted in something that is real, so that their writing has some texture.” The result? Writing produced by all of the students tends to be confessional.

His Tulane students make the trip by bus to the prison three times a semester to work with the inmates.

During the first trip on which Lazar took his Tulane students, as they rode on the bus together, he was filled with doubts if this would work at all, worrying about how the interactions would work. “This is going to be terrible. This is a terrible mistake,” he described the thoughts going through his mind on the bus.

“And it just wasn’t like that.”

He said the two groups were initially physically separated inside the jail, but after getting the guards to agree to let them sit together the walls came down instantly. “They immediately got along in a way that totally shocked me. They didn’t freeze up, and that’s been true every time. I think everyone is curious about each other. I think the folks in prison are very excited, especially in the first week, for people to come see them from the outside world. I think they (the inmates) are the ones that make it possible to have that sense of ease, which you wouldn’t think because they are in their orange or black-and-white jumpsuits. The first visual of them is really pretty intense. And they aren’t smiling when we first come in,” he said with a laugh.

For each of the service-learning creative writing courses that he’s taught at the prison, on the first two-hour bus ride that he and his Tulane students make to Lafayette, Lazar lays out the story of his father’s murder and his time at Angola as a journalist.

“I want them to know why I am doing it. Also, I want to start things with me confessing this type of thing,” he said, and that telling them about his father may play a role in the flood of personal material that he often gets from the students.

“They’re surprised,” he said of the Tulane students’ reaction to the story of his father. “I think sometimes a little puzzled why someone whose father was murdered would be reaching out to people in prison, rather than wanting them all to rot away, throw away the key. But I talk about that, though, that’s part of why I became a writer. I say, ‘When you’re 6 years old and your father is murdered, it’s very confusing and disorienting and you need to recreate a new vision of what the world is actually like because whatever your vision about what the world was actually like is completely wrong.’”

Lazar said one of the ways he coped with his father’s murder was to read. He wanted to explore and investigate why it happened, but in a larger sense why people commit evil acts.

Creative Writer “You start to read about it. and Teacher Reading leads to writing, and that’s always Zachary Lazar is the how I always try to frame the classes,” he said. author of five books.

“It’s unsatisfying if the only value of the class He received the 2015 is, let’s get better as writers. Let’s use writing John Updike Award to think about the world. Let’s use writing to from the American think about who we are. Let’s use writing to Academy of Arts and ask questions and to reflect.

Letters for “a writer “I say this to them, ‘Here you are in a prisin mid-career whose on, we’re all together in a prison right now. work has demonstrated What happened?’” consistent excellence.”

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The Act of Art PRINTMAKER AND ART PROFE S S OR TERE SA COLE ROLLS UP HER SLEEVES AND GETS TO WORK, C R E AT I N G B E AU T I F U L A RT A N D I N T H E P RO C E S S E X P R E S S I N G D I F F I C U LT I D E A S .

By Nick Marinello

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PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

“Creativity is an action. And it’s very physical—I carve plates, I ink them and press them onto paper.”

Outside of art professor and printmaker Teresa Cole’s off-campus workspace on the downtown end of Tchoupitoulas Street, 18-wheelers grind into aching, reluctant halts with such regularity it’s almost like music. Cole says she uses this studio as a “thinking space,” a place apart from the printmaking studio she runs in the Woldenberg Art Center on Tulane’s uptown campus.

Cole has taught at Tulane since 1994. Hundreds of students— whether art majors or not—have taken her classes. She’s served as chair and associate chair of the Newcomb Art Department several times. She’s shown her work—a catalog of inviting, beguiling, abstract images born of different techniques and technologies—in more than 100 exhibitions. She’s been a visiting artist and scholar at numerous international institutions, and traveled to far-flung corners to research resources and gather inspiration.

Her art—which seems bound by an underlying, unifying spirit— teems with figures both biologic and geometric as she incorporates global iconography.

Just now, Cole has stepped away from her worktable to fetch a thin, 16-inch block of Masonite onto which she has hand-carved the image of a billowing strand of seaweed.

Questioned about creativity, the language of art and the spiritual content of her work, she boils down her work to simple terms: carving, inking, pressing.

“Creativity is an action,” she says. “And it’s very physical—I carve plates, I ink them and press them onto paper.”

INCLINED TO IMPROVISE Not 10 feet from the worktable and dominating one corner of her studio is a gaggle of 30 5-foot stainless-steel mesh cylinders, all digitally etched with images Cole created using traditional patterns from around the world—star motifs from Japan, latticework from Shanghai, wrought-iron work from New Orleans.

The cylinders are part of a project commissioned by the A. B. Freeman School of Business and will hang in the atrium of the school’s new business complex on the Tulane uptown campus. It’s the largest installation Cole has ever done and has required collaboration with a sculptor to fabricate the cylinders and an architect to generate the 3D modeling needed to precisely orchestrate where the cylinders will hang. She’s also going to need a crew to suspend the bunch of them from the atrium’s 40-foot ceiling.

While there are numerous printmaking processes—including relief, intaglio and lithograph—the basic idea is to create a single picture or design by transferring ink from carved (or engraved, or etched) blocks onto a single sheet of paper, typically through multiple

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layers. Within the process, the printmaker has myriad choices. Cole, for instance, has traditional Japanese carving knives and computercontrolled routers in her toolkit.

That is all straightforward stuff. And while most printmakers follow a carefully prescribed plan on how those layers will be inked and arranged, Cole is more inclined to improvise.

“These are all about chance and experimentation,” she says.

Moving over to a large flat file, Cole carefully pulls out prints to show some of her work. The crisp, protective paper crackles noisily as she unwraps each print and delivers it to a nearby table. The prints are large, maybe 3 by 4 feet, and flexible, but she handles them with an assured grace.

One on top of another, she places them down in a slow sequence, a slide show that reveals a multilayered world where organic squiggles and curves coexist with chevrons, hexagons and other geometric forms.

Interlocking patterns spread out and then dissipate into shapes that are almost familiar to memory. Images are muted in gray scales happily doused with neon green and radiant orange. Bees dance, snakes curl and mosquitoes join their tiny legs to form icky interlocking configurations. Camels and Southern belles coexist in cultural contrast.

Ambiguity and perplexity are balanced by surprise and revelation.

In fragmentary musings, Cole succinctly describes her method of working: “What happens if a ghost of silver (ink that has not been completely removed from a block) gets laid on top of something?” she says.

“What if I put down a layer and it doesn’t work?

“What if I decide to pick up a different block?”

What if she takes a printed sheet of paper that is a discard from a previous project and uses it as a base for a new one? What if she chooses one of the hundreds of blocks she’s made over the years and employs it in a different way than it was originally intended? What if making things is a leap of faith, one that compels the resolve “let’s just see where this idea will go?”

HONEY AND VINEGAR Beauty, they say, is skin deep—just enough room for a printmaker to ply her trade.

A few days later, in the printmaking studio occupying a third-floor corner of the Woldenberg Art Center, Cole uses a brayer—a roller made out of hard rubber—to determinedly work a green ink onto a block carved with an intricate textile pattern. To do it takes a lot of muscle—a lot of rolling and rolling to get it right.

“I do want to make beautiful things,” says Cole, speaking over the relentless sound of the brayer. She wonders, however, given the highly

PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

“Process is very important to me.

It’s in the act of trying to do something that you discover something else.”

charged political and social milieu of the country, if that is enough.

“I work very abstractly,” she says. “It’s ornaPrintmaker mental and attractive and maybe it doesn’t Previous pages: Teresa seem particularly to challenge.”

Cole stands with She says she’s frustrated that her work is the cylinders for the not as angry as she is about what she perceives Freeman Business as the heightened level of publicly expressed installation. Facing sexism and racism as well as the country’s page and this page: increasingly exclusionary policies. She Tools of the trade: a remembers a work-study job in a college photo work apron, squeegees, lab where she was treated as inferior because detail of a large of gender. She remembers being a young and printing plate, the idealistic art student and the bruising, narrow installation model, and views of her male professors. She remembers lithography stones. being called “didactic” for the feminist views expressed in her early work.

But she also remembers the old saying that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And she’s thinking about a comment a female colleague made at a campus event a few weeks back: that pleasure, in and of itself, can be an act of resistance.

“Beauty,” Cole reflects as she sorts through all of this, “can be a gateway to difficult ideas.”

She says this as she works, placing a plate under a wool blanket to print the inked block that she’s put atop a printing press. It will make the transfer smoother, she says, as she lays a sheet of paper on the block.

By now, her two graduate student assistants have filtered in.

Instinctively, the two women join in the printing process, helping to calibrate the pressure of the metal roller under which block and paper will pass. They seem to have an intimate understanding of the eccentricities of the machine and how to dial it in to make the best impression.

As they work, the younger women talk about their recent activities.

One is recently returned from an out-of-state printmakers’ conference and the other is in the middle of forming her thesis committee.

There is as much listening as there is talk, and there is respect and there is cooperation and fellowship.

A connective tissue stretches between the known and unknown.

“Process is very important to me,” Cole said. “It’s in the act of trying to do something that you discover something else.”

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On Point

MIKE YODER

With Mélange

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A D A N C E C O M P A N Y, L E D B Y T W O T U L A N E GRADUATES, CHOREO GRAPHS PRIZE-WINNING PRODUCTIONS

TO

RAISE

CONSCIOUSNESS

ABOUT GENDER EQUALITY AND RESPECT FOR WOMEN AND OTHER SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES.

By Leslie Cardé

Ellis Island Landing In Journey of Dreamers, Mélange Dance Company performers tell the story of immigrants to America.

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UpStairs Lounge Left: Linn Quinton weeps as he is helped

by New Orleans firefighters after he escaped from the fire at the UpStairs Lounge on June 24, 1973.

Below: Choreographed

by Monica Ordoñez, the UpStairs Lounge dance is inspired by

CROSSING BOUNDARIES The founders of Mélange met through the Tulane dance community after they both graduated from the university, and ended up working together in two different dance companies. Later, when Ordoñez was choreographing for the Marigny Opera House, Lambert was one of the dancers there.

Each woman has a rather surprising and eclectic background. Lambert received a Bachelor of Science in cell and molecular biology from the School of Science and Engineering in 2008 and a master’s degree in public health from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2010.

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“In my day job, I’m a data analyst as a contractor for the Centers for Disease Control,” said Lambert. “My aptitude for organization has carried into Mélange. I apply for grants, tackle our budget and do the scheduling.”

Choreographer Ordoñez’s day job is rooted in the legal profession.

A double major in Tulane’s School of Continuing Studies, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in dance and paralegal studies in 2012. That dichotomy was rooted in pragmatism.

“I never knew whether I could make a living through dance, and having another career was an insurance policy of sorts,” said Ordoñez.

“Unfortunately, artistic endeavors in cities around the country are on a constant quest for funds, as the box-office receipts just don’t pay the bills … or the dancers.”

TOMAS ORIHUELA

Whatever the political climate, entertainment has always served as escapist fare, but it’s the hope of two Tulane graduates that life might just imitate and reflect their particular form of entertainment, as their dance productions become the provocateur for social change.

Their New Orleans–based dance company, called Mélange— French for a mixture—reflects the group’s diverse dancers, both in training and style. The troupe, whose artistic works center on social justice causes, has been around less than four years, but under the direction of the dynamic duo of artistic director Monica Ordoñez and executive director Alexa Erck Lambert, it has already earned formidable kudos.

Nominated four times previously in the Big Easy Foundation’s Tribute to the Classical Arts, Mélange this year won the award for Outstanding Choreography for its production of Journey of Dreamers, an ode to America’s immigrants who passed through Ellis Island. Though they arrived amongst a sea of people of conflicting backgrounds, these immigrants somehow managed to assimilate and live the American dream. With America now in an era of what seems to be conflicting and confusing sentiments out of Washington about the future of immigration, the production couldn’t be timelier.

“Of course, our dances have a point of view, but I think most people would agree we don’t take our productions too far,” said Ordoñez. “We try not to ram our ideas down your throat, and we’ve been told repeatedly that we don’t cross that fine line that may alienate those who may not be on board with our ideas … yet!”

MIKE YODER

AP PHOTO/RONNIE LEBOEUF

lounge patrons.

COURTESY MÉLANGE DANCE COMPANY

SOCIALLY RELEVANT SPIN The vision for the dance company from the getgo embraced Ordoñez’s penchant for storytelling choreography—incorporating stories that hadn’t been told before and putting a new socially relevant spin on others that had. Mélange’s first dance production—UpStairs Lounge—spoke volumes about the company’s commitment to exposing social injustice.

“The topic came from my best friend, who suggested I take on a historical New Orleans story, which many were unfamiliar with,” said Ordoñez.

“The UpStairs Lounge was a gay bar and safe haven for the underground New Orleans gay community back in the early ’70s. On June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the lounge, killing 32 people in what was then the deadliest attack on the LGBT community to date. Only Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub massacre in 2016 has eclipsed this tragedy in sheer numbers.”

Socially relevant productions have become the staple and centerpiece of Mélange. Its newest production, HerStory, perhaps defines more than any other its ability to adapt to changing social mores and cultural movements.

“Our personal progression throughout the company’s history has been one of molding it to the changing times,” said Lambert. “HerStory, initially, was not as politicized. Its debut in 2016 was before the Women’s March, before the #MeToo Movement, and before the 2016 presidential election. In fact, when this dance was conceptualized, we didn’t even know who the [presidential] candidates were.”

Billed as a historic journey through the trials and triumphs of the quest for gender equality, HerStory takes the theatergoer on a continuum through the three waves of feminism, building to a crescendo of resounding and powerful women’s voices.

“It all began when I was researching the storming of the Sazerac back in the 1940s by a group of women who were fighting to be able to get a drink in the all-male bastion that was then the lounge of the Hotel Grunewald, later to become the Roosevelt Hotel,” said Ordoñez. “As I began questioning why it was so difficult for women to be allowed into a bar in the 1940s, my research indicated this wasn’t the only inequity for women … far from it. I then began to conceptualize an entire production based on the history of women’s rights.” (After the protests, women were given the right to drink at the Sazerac in 1949.)

The scope and breadth of the HerStory production are beyond ambitious and took an enormous amount of research, exploring the women’s movement through the ages.

“Our costume designer, Kaci Thomassi, did a remarkable job of designing a wardrobe that spanned an immense time frame, from the suffragettes of the early 1900s to the Roaring ’20s, from Rosie the Riveter in the ’40s to the bra burners of the ’60s, and from the women’s liberation

movement right into the present-day women’s empowerment movements,” said Ordoñez.

Trials and AUDIENCE FEEDBACK Triumphs In spite of their growing reputation, includLeft: HerStory delves ing gaining Academy Award–winning acinto feminist history tress Patricia Arquette as a Twitter follower, and current issues.

Mélange’s productions have only been covAbove (left to right): ered by the mainstream media in previews.

Alexa Lambert and To date, no critic has actually reviewed the Monica Ordoñez lead productions after they’ve premiered, which the Mélange Dance can easily be explained by the troupe’s lack Company. of a marketing/PR department. Feedback has largely come from audiences in the form of comment cards.

“The initial response about HerStory was that the first act was more about history, and the second act was very political,” said Lambert. “But, women getting the right to vote, and getting the right to have a job outside the home may not seem political now, but these were very political ideas at the beginning of the 20th century. And, one day, equal pay and the end of sexual harassment in the workplace will no longer seem political either. Rather, it will be something that is just an inherent part of equal rights for everyone.”

The synergy between Mélange’s HerStory production and unraveling current events has been stunning.

“The premiere of HerStory had always been planned for just a few days after the presidential election … an election that we all thought would usher in the first female president,” said Ordoñez.

“So here we were at the dress rehearsal, making frenetic costume changes while the election results were pouring in. By the end of that rehearsal, we were all confronted with a stunning disappointment.”

Revamped this past March, the production has proved to be prophetic, with the advent of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, along with the renewed fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (passed by the U.S. Congress in 1972 and now ratified by the legislatures of 36 of the 38 states necessary for its addition to the U.S. Constitution).

“We’d love to have the underlying financial support in order to pay our dancers fairer wages, so they wouldn’t have to have other full-time jobs,” added Lambert.

“Meanwhile, it’s important to take a refined and expanded HerStory on the road, where we could use it as leverage to positively move things along politically.”

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SUN SCREEN Skin cancer survivor Melissa Marks Papock (B ’96) founded Cabana Life, a stylish line of sun protective beachwear for men, women and children. Each piece in the collection provides 50+ UV protection—the highest protection available in apparel. As part of its mission, Cabana Life also regularly partners with like-minded charities to emphasize the importance of everyday UV protection and to fund sun safety awareness initiatives.

T U L A N I A N S

Disaster-tested Doctors EverGreen

Unites Alums

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Calm in Crisis Dr. Charity Dean, Dr. Brett Wilson and Dr. Jenni Nix relied on Tulane training to help Santa Barbara County manage a wildfire, mudslide and the aftermath.

GET ENGAGED Show your Tulane pride by accepting the EverGreen challenge, an initiative of the Office of Alumni Relations.

Don’t be surprised if fellow Tulane alumni start asking you, “Are you EverGreen?” Tulane’s Office of Alumni Relations recently launched EverGreen, its first-ever alumni engagement initiative, which encourages alumni to complete activities to receive special Tulane swag.

Not to mention, they’ll receive bragging rights that they are EverGreen alumni.

“The initiative is a great way for alumni to be involved wherever they are,” said James Stofan, vice president for alumni relations.

Each month, alumni challenges are announced via email and Tulane Alumni Association social media channels.

“Some of the challenges will take alumni five minutes to complete, some will be a bit more of a time commitment, but our goal is always to create both fun and rewarding opportunities for our alumni to stay engaged,” said Jesse Hartley, director of alumni engagement.

The Office of Alumni Relations also recently launched a free mobile app called Tulane EverGreen to complement the initiative.

Whether they’re attending a Tulane tailgate or traveling the world in an Angry Wave hoodie, alumni are encouraged to share their EverGreen moments on social media using #EverGreenTU. Some alumni even serve as social media ambassadors for the program, rallying friends and family to connect with their alma mater.

“EverGreen is virtual; any alumni can be involved,” said former TAA president and EverGreen ambassador Larry Connelley. “It’s an exciting way to connect and take individual steps that will lead to a stronger, more involved alumni base. It is a way to give back to Tulane with your actions.”

Go to evergreen.tulane.edu for more information.—Marianna Barry

PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

MATT DAYKA

In Dr. Charity Dean’s (M ’05, PHTM ’05) disaster-training exercises, first responders imagine multiple mass events happening at once, including highly unlikely events.

In January, Dean, public health officer for Santa Barbara County, California, witnessed such a scenario unfolding in real life, as a massive mudslide struck Montecito, following a huge wildfire and multiple influenza outbreaks in healthcare facilities. Area hospitals and nursing facilities were full, and Santa Barbara was marooned, as mud had washed out U.S. Highway 101. County officials were ready, with rescue crews staged around the county.

“Public health officer is a 24/7 job. My role is to anticipate, prevent and mitigate any threats to the public’s health,” said Dean, who also praised the dedication of the area’s healthcare workers, who “went to heroic lengths to show up for work.”

Among those on duty were Dr. Brett Wilson (M ’02), director of emergency medicine at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and a former Charity Hospital resident during Hurricane Katrina, and Dr. Jenni Nix (M ’15, PHTM ’15), a general-surgery resident at Cottage. Dean and Wilson already had a working relationship, forged by their Tulane ties, problemsolving behind the scenes.

“Without my time at Tulane and in residency at Charity, this would have been a totally different experience for me,” Wilson said. “The experience I had with Katrina was a huge factor as to why I was able to help my department run smoothly during this event.”

Training at Tulane “did help me learn how to interact with people who are going through a huge emotional stress,” added Nix. The first day, the hospital treated a couple dozen of the nearly 1,000 people who were eventually rescued from the mud, suffering from hypothermia, blunt trauma injuries and chemical or raw-sewage exposure.

Injuries continued to pour into Cottage over the next days.

“There’s something unifying about both [of us] going to Tulane,” Dean said, adding that Wilson reliably communicated his experiences in real time. “It was comforting to know that Brett was in charge of the ER … so that our two organizations are in lock-step.”—Faith Dawson

Dispatch Mark Horowitz W H E R E

Y ’ A T !

1960s Featured in this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, CHARLOTTE TRAVIESO (NC ’64), MARLY SWEENEY (NC ’74, SW ’77) and MICHAEL PIERCE (G ’74) performed with Shades of Praise: The New Orleans Interracial Gospel Choir on April 27 in the Gospel Tent.

On Feb. 15, 2018, JUDITH H. BONNER (G ’83), senior curator at The Historic New Orleans Collection, gave a lecture called “José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza: Spanish Colonial Painter in Louisiana” at the Denver Art Museum. She also collaborated with THOMAS BONNER JR. (G ’68, ’76) to edit the book Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles by William Spratling and William Faulkner for Pelican Publishing, which originally published the volume in 1926. In April 2018, Xavier Review Press additionally published Thomas Bonner Jr.’s Parterre: New and Collected Poetry and Prose, a collection of essays on the writing of Kate Chopin, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and John Faulkner as well as poems and short fiction.

1970s FRANCIS J. BARRY JR. (A&S ’70, L ’73) served as president of the 27th Admiralty Law Institute of Tulane Law School. A partner at the Deutsch Kerrigan law firm in New Orleans, Barry is also the commander of the Louisiana Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars and is a member of the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He is married to JANICE LEIGH GONZALES (NC ’71, L ’73) and has two children and three grandchildren.

In April 2018, CMDR. TOM KRUPP (A&S ’70) retired from Black & Veatch Corp. in Overland Park, Kansas. He formerly served as deputy global security director and Americas regional security director.

RANDOLPH C. READ (A&S ’72) is one of five nominees chosen by activist and investor Carl Icahn to become a member of the board of directors for SandRidge Energy. Based in Oklahoma City, the company produces oil in Oklahoma and Colorado. Read previously worked with the investment fund Nevada Strategic Credit Investment.

THOMAS M. HUGHES (A&S ’74) has taught business law at the University of South Carolina for the past 30 years and has served as director of the Business at Moore program for the last eight years. Hughes has won seven Mortar Board awards, the Alfred G. Smith award, the Michael Hill Outstanding Honors College award and the Two Thumbs Up award for faculty who make a difference. Hughes has no interest in retiring.

SUSAN MEYER

ALAN H. GOODMAN (A&S ’67), a partner in Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson LLP’s commercial litigation group in New Orleans, was selected as a member of the New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law Class of 2018, which recognizes 50 area lawyers whose successes in law have set the pace for the legal community.

BATTLE ROYALE In his latest book, Daring Dynasty: Custom, Conflict and Control in Early-Tudor England, historian MARK HOROWITZ (A&S ’71) illuminates the legacy of the first Tudor king: Henry VII. A compilation of works derived from nearly 30 years of research, Horowitz’s book covers the reign and royal policy of Henry VII but also draws fascinating parallels between the past and present.

“Studying history is about finding relevance in the past,” he said. “We can use history as a mentor—a consultant. I can’t predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I’ve got options.”

The Chicago native originally planned to pursue a medical career but decided to change his major to history after receiving guidance from several Tulane mentors, like former professor Francis Godwin James.

“James brought history to life by personalizing it,” said Horowitz.

After graduating, he was awarded a fellowship by Joseph Gordon, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The opportunity ultimately led Horowitz to earn a PhD at the University of Chicago and to become a visiting professor at the University of Illinois– Chicago, where he taught a course called “The Tudor Kings” for four years.

Horowitz considers Henry VII to be a master politician and one of history’s greatest businessmen.

“He took a nation that was in the throes of intermittent civil wars, called The Wars of the Roses, and turned it into a stable country that he could hand over to his largerthan-life son, Henry VIII,” he said.

Prior to defeating Richard III in battle, Henry VII had the most anemic claim to the British monarchy since William the Conqueror in 1066.

“At 28 years old, he wasn’t in line for the throne, and he had been living in exile for 14 years,” added Horowitz.

Horowitz’s book delves into the incredible story of how the monarch reigned for almost 24 years.

“He became king at a very dangerous time,” he said. “Of the last nine kings, five of them had been murdered and replaced, and he could have been the next to meet an untimely death.”

Daring Dynasty also creates connections to current events, as the first chapter concerns the “war of words” between Richard III and Henry VII that cost the former his crown. Those words included “fake news,” as Henry led the courts of Europe and the pope to believe that he was not usurping the throne but reclaiming it from an imposter who had rebelled against the nation’s rightful ruler.

“Clearly, Henry got the upper hand,” said Horowitz.—MARY CROSS

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Dispatch Catherine Ann Taylor As an associate professor of architecture, BETH LEWIS (NC ’74) has taught at Florida A&M University for about 20 years. Her book Sustainaspeak: A Guide to Sustainable Design Terms was published by Routledge of Taylor & Francis Publishing and is available on Amazon. Lewis is part of a sixth generation of Tulane graduates that traces back to the early days of the School of Medicine in the late 1800s. She hopes her Tulane ancestors are proud.

VIRGINIA KLUITERS

On March 22, 2018, JMCC WING LLC, a company owned by JAMES MCCANNEY (G ’75), was selected as one of five finalists from a field of 98 international competitors to compete for a $1.5 million prize from the Water Abundance XPRIZE powered by Tata Group and Australian Aid. The challenge is to design a system that will extract more than 2,000 liters of water per day from the air using only renewable energy sources for a cost of less than 2 cents per liter.

MAKING A SCENE Rather than standing in the spotlight onstage, CATHERINE ANN TAYLOR (SLA ’16) prefers to helm plays from the director’s chair.

The Columbia, South Carolina, native discovered her passion for being behind the scenes when she directed her first show for her high school senior project.

“I decided to try directing,” said Taylor. “There was a play called Jerry Finnegan’s Sister that I saw during a weekend theater competition. I loved it and thought, ‘I want to direct this play.’”

Taylor got her first glimpse of the Tulane uptown campus while working with Habitat for Humanity in 2011.

“For fun, we took a tour of the campus at night,” she said, noting that she was instantly fascinated by the Theatre and Dance Department’s costume shop.

“When we walked by the shop, I thought that it would be so much fun to get fitted there, because you could see sumptuous ball gowns and dancers’ clothes displayed,” she said.

As a Tulane student, Taylor was mentored by then-faculty member Dmitry Troyanovsky, who encouraged her to become a theatre and English double major.

“I think I caught his eye because few students wanted to direct,” she said.

After graduating in May 2016, Taylor remained in New Orleans to rehearse a remount of Jerry Finnegan’s Sister with Haley Nemeth (SLA ’18) and John Berner (SLA ’18) during the summer. The trio traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland that August, where Taylor produced the show.

“It’s a huge festival with more than 3,000 shows. It was a theater lover’s dream,” she said.

Taylor has since moved to New York to turn her passion for directing into a career.

In April 2018, she directed a short play called Grim Reaper as part of a production competition hosted at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, an Off-Off-Broadway space located near Times Square.

In the lighthearted comedy, Death visits an elderly, hard-of-hearing couple, who mistake him for a magazine salesman.

Taylor is also gaining industry experience by working on social media marketing with Broadway investment and production company Red Spear Productions, which has produced more than 100 New York shows, including 2017 Tony nominees The Great Comet of 1812 and Bandstand.

“It’s great to get a handle on how the finances of Broadway and Off-Broadway work. Behind the scenes, it’s a lot of emails and spreadsheets just like in any other industry,” she said. “I’ve also learned how important marketing is and what a huge chunk of your budget goes towards it.”

Taylor hopes to connect with other New York–based Tulane alumni who are working in the field and to spend this year directing as much as possible in preparation to pursue a directing MFA.—MARY CROSS

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HOLLY CLEGG (NC ’77), author of the trim&TERRIFIC and Eating Well cookbook series, teamed up with men’s health expert Dr. Curtis Chastain to write a new cookbook called Guy’s Guide to Eating Well: A Man’s Cookbook for Health and Wellness, which debuted in May 2018. A culinary expert, Clegg is the author of 15 cookbooks and has sold more than 1.5 million copies. She lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with her husband, MIKE V. CLEGG (L ’77).

Mardi Gras Murder, the fourth book in the Cajun Country Mystery series written by ELLEN SEIDEMAN (NC ’77), will be released on Oct. 10, 2018. The series was inspired by the passion that Seideman developed for Cajun country during her time as a Newcomb student.

Because I Come From a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist is the newest book from author EDWARD HALLOWELL (M ’78). In the memoir, he recounts funny and often offbeat stories from his childhood and early training in psychiatry. Hallowell authored 19 other books.

CURTIS CLARKE MOSLEY (A&S ’78) has published a free e-book entitled How to Spot the Messiah When He Appears. It is dedicated to his friends from Tulane and is available at www.HowToSpotTheMessiah.com.

1980s “As a Tulane brat and second gen alumnus, I have been reading Tulane Magazine and its predecessor The Tulanian for close to 50 years.

It has always been fun to read who is the latest chief of surgery somewhere or playwright in New York or TV actor in Los Angeles. And though there is a section after the notables for those who have left us, it has been one of my quiet aspirations to be listed one section prior to the other. So here is my offering which will hopefully meet the mark,” writes E. RUSSELL WETZEL (E ’80). Wetzel is the technical liaison to the UK Ministry of Defense for land systems research and development from the U.S. Army

Dispatch Danielle Del Sol W H E R E

Y ’ A T !

R&D Command. He and his wife, Janet, live in Salisbury, UK, where they enjoy the Salisbury Cathedral, British cuisine and the beautiful English countryside.

For the past year and a half, SHARYN ESSMAN (NC ’81, L ’84) has collaborated with JAY SCHEINER (A&S ’81) to co-author his memoir.

The book recounts how Scheiner nearly died while attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Published on Amazon’s CreateSpace platform, the work is receiving excellent reviews.

Truly Are the Free, the second historical novel

by JEFFREY K. WALKER (A&S ’82), was published in November 2017. Walker’s third book in his World War I and 1920s trilogy will be out this fall. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

1990s A senior management executive and tour producer for Red Light Management, JONATHAN SHANK (TC ’97) produces national tours for major networks like Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Disney Junior. Shank creates characterdriven experiences that speak to the audience’s emotions. His most recent tour, called Disney Junior Dance Party On Tour, brings characters and hits from the No. 1 preschool TV network to 120 markets.

BRENT SMITH (B ’97) has been promoted and is now a professor of marketing at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He is the first African-American faculty member to achieve this rank in the history of the Erivan K. Haub School of Business and the university.

SARA BONISTEEL (NC ’98) is The New York Times senior staff editor for food and dining.

In March 2018, DAN ENGEL (B ’98) joined NGEN Partners, a $250 million sustainability investing fund, as a venture partner. His e-commerce payment software company, FastSpring, was also acquired by Accel-KKR.

2000s As a regional managed-care director for Your Hearing Network, an affiliate of William Demant Holdings, HELEN HARRIS-ALLEN (B ’01) is responsible for all company managed-care activities for Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Medicaid, unions and trade associations, as well as the development, growth and management of strategic partners.

PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

The first recipient of a master of fine arts degree in glassblowing at Tulane, MARK ROSENBAUM (G ’83, UC ’87) showed his work in the Contemporary Crafts Tent during the first weekend of this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

MORE THAN THE “PRETTY POLICE” As a journalist, DANIELLE DEL SOL (A ’11) learned about the importance of historic preservation from working a real estate news beat and seeing how preservation fits into a scheme of affordable housing and neighborhood quality of life.

Del Sol eventually turned that beat into a career change: In February, she was named executive director of the Preservation Resource Center in New Orleans, leading the city’s premier organization devoted to preserving and restoring local architecture and neighborhoods.

New Orleans has plenty of historic housing stock, but some of the city’s problems aren’t unique, Del Sol said. Other places struggle with excessive blight, a lack of affordable housing and water-management issues. As executive director, she intends to lead the 44-year-old organization in addressing these issues, working with other cities to find solutions.

“Saving as much of what we have is a huge deal to us,” she said. “When it comes to tear-downs, people kind of have a mindset: ‘We have plenty. We can get rid of a few and it doesn’t matter.’ But the reality is that enough people say that, and we end up losing an incredible amount of historic structures,” said Del Sol, who earned a Master of Preservation Studies in the School of Architecture and who also serves as an adjunct lecturer there.

In the meantime, Del Sol wants New Orleanians to know that the Preservation Resource Center is ready to help tackle issues that people face every day, such as renovations that require less maintenance and increase energy savings—all while staying true to the historic nature of the city’s well-known and -loved architecture.

“People think we’re the ‘pretty police’ … but it’s not just about that. A historic property is an investment that everyone shares in,” she said.

To that end, Del Sol is working with local agencies to incentivize New Orleanians to maintain their properties along preservation guidelines, especially since cheaper construction alternatives can be attractive to renovators.

“If it’s been there for 100 years, there’s a reason it’s been there 100 years,” she said. “It’s solid.”—FAITH DAWSON

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SISTER ACT Kendall Glazer (SLA ’13) and Libby Glazer (SLA ’15) created the accessories brand Stoney Clover Lane. The entrepreneurial duo designs the line of pouches, bags and travel accessories, which can also be customized with special patches, from their New York headquarters. They also launched a new clothing line called Tiger & Eloise that sold out in its first offering.

W H E R E

F A R E W E L L

Y ’ A T !

Chef and proprietor JOHN VERLANDER (B ’01) is bringing traditional New Orleans fare to Brooklyn, New York, through his new neighborhood restaurant called Lowerline. The menu includes classic dishes like crawfish etouffee, Creole cream–style red beans and rice with ham hocks and andouille sausage, seafood and okra gumbo, oysters on the half shell, and an assortment of po’ boys paired with sides of Zapp’s Potato Chips.

New Orleans CityBusiness recognized CHRIS DUCOIN (TC ’03, PHTM ’05), who is on the faculty of Tulane School of Medicine, as one of its 2018 “Health Care Heroes.” Honorees are selected annually based on industry, community involvement and achievements that have set the pace for the overall community.

TERENCE O’ROURKE (L ’03) is running for Congress in the First District of New Hampshire.

In his new book, Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House, VICTOR LI (L ’04) delves into Richard Nixon’s career as a Wall Street lawyer and how he used his law firm to prepare for the 1968 presidential election. The book was published

by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

CPA JOHN THERIOT (B ’04) was featured in a cover story of Lagniappe, the Louisiana CPA magazine.

The story traces the roots of a partnership between Malcolm M. Dienes LLC (MMD) and Helm Paint & Supply. As a CPA and managing partner at MMD, Theriot gives practical advice to the Helm team concerning how to run their business in order to maximize profits. MMD has offices in Metairie and Houma, Louisiana, and has served clients in the Gulf South for 66 years.

Gospel Choir in the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

2010s STEPHEN C. RICHMAN (L ’10) and his wife, Margaret Flagg, announce the birth of their son, George Salisbury Richman. He was born in Dallas on March 7, 2018.

BENJAMIN KARP (SLA ’12) is president of New Orleans Friends of Music, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing world-class chamber music to the New Orleans region. The organization’s 63rd season featured six concerts by musicians of international acclaim.

J. LOWRY CURLEY (SSE ’13), co-founder and CEO of AxoSim Technologies LLC, won a $100,000 award from New Orleans Entrepreneur Week.

On May 3, 2018, KATY HOBGOOD RAY (SLA ’14, SCS ’17) performed with the Confetti Park Players in the Kids Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She also hosts “Confetti Park,” a radio show and podcast featuring music and children’s stories from Louisiana.

WEIWEI XU (M ’15) danced with the awardwinning New Orleans flamenco group Micaela y Fiesta Flamenca at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 3, 2018.

At the 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, YOLANDA ROBINSON-THOMAS (SCS ’17) was featured in performances with Larry Sieberth, Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, and Gerald French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band.

JONATHAN BOUCHLAS (B ’08) is the co-founder and CEO of Bass Egg, an alternative portable audio system that allows the user to choose their own “speaker cone.” The Bass Egg product uses a much larger speaker cone for satisfying, full-range audio.

Bringing government and private industry perspective to the intellectual property practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, RACHEL FERTIG (NC ’09) assists media, technology and retail companies with copyright protection and enforcement.

On April 28, 2018, PAMELA JOHNSON (SCS ’09) performed with the Archdiocese of New Orleans

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Joyce Perez O’Connor (NC ’39) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on March 3, 2018.

Helen Bres Schupp (NC ’41) of Atlanta on Jan. 28, 2018.

Felix A. Siegman (A&S ’41, M ’44) of Brooklyn, New York, on Dec. 1, 2014.

Rex J. Bunker (A&S ’42, M ’44) of Caguas, Puerto Rico, on April 13, 2014.

William J. Langlois Jr. (A&S ’42, M ’44) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 5, 2018.

Elizabeth Scott Bres (NC ’44) of Medina, Ohio, on Jan. 24, 2018.

Erwin Hecker (A&S ’44, M ’47) of Pikesville, Maryland, on Jan. 11, 2018.

Ailleen Cassegrain Livaudais (NC ’44) of Chesterfield, Missouri, on March 1, 2018.

Marion Schexnaydre Zinser (NC ’44) of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2018.

Bernard V. Baus (E ’45) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, on Jan. 22, 2018.

J.B. Brown (M ’45) of St. Augustine, Florida, on Jan. 4, 2018.

Rufus C. Harris Jr. (A&S ’45, L ’49) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Jan. 29, 2018.

E.W. Jones (E ’45) of Marshall, Texas, on March 15, 2018.

Troye A. Svendson (A&S ’45, L ’49) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on March 10, 2018.

KEY TO SCHOOLS

Recognized in the areas of construction litigation, business litigation, real estate and surety, SHAILENDRA “SHAY” KULKARNI (L ’07) was named as a 2018 Rising Star by Super Lawyers for a third year. Kulkarni is currently a shareholder at Sullivan Hill, one of San Diego’s longest-standing business and trial law firms, where he focuses his practice primarily in the areas of construction, complex civil litigation, and insurance coverage litigation and analysis.

J.H. Johnston Jr. (A&S ’38, M ’41) of Jackson, Mississippi, on Feb. 11, 2018.

SLA (School of Liberal Arts) SSE (School of Science and Engineering) A (School of Architecture) B (A. B. Freeman School of Business) L (Law School) M (School of Medicine) SW (School of Social Work) PHTM (School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine) SoPA (School of Professional Advancement) A&S (College of Arts and Sciences, the men’s liberal arts and sciences college that existed until 1994)

Mortimer F. Currier (A&S ’46) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Dec. 19, 2017.

Miriam Greenberg Krinsky (NC ’46) of Atlanta on Jan. 11, 2018.

Raymond L. Laakso (B ’46) of Petal, Mississippi, on Jan. 3, 2017.

Harriet Laird Martin (NC ’46) of New Orleans on March 1, 2018.

Frank J. Basile Jr. (E ’47) of Houma, Louisiana, on Feb. 6, 2018.

Elizabeth Hezlett Chilelli (NC ’47) of Bordentown, New Jersey, on June 7, 2015.

TC (Tulane College, the men’s liberal arts and sciences college that existed from 1994 until 2006)

Sherwood A. Cuyler (A&S ’47) of Covington, Louisiana, on March 22, 2018.

NC (Newcomb College, the women’s liberal arts and sciences college that existed until 2006)

James H. Gibert (A ’47) of New Orleans on Feb. 5, 2018.

E (School of Engineering) G (Graduate School) UC (University College, the school for part-time adult learners. The college’s name was changed to the School of Continuing Studies in 2006.)

SCS (School of Continuing Studies, which changed its name to the School of Professional Advancement in 2017.)

E.S. Maunsell II (B ’47) of St. Francisville, Louisiana, on Jan. 25, 2018.

Nicholas D. Bernard (L ’48) of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Dec. 6, 2017.

David H. Dannheisser (A&S ’48) of Atlanta on July 20, 2016.

F A R E W E L L

Morrie L. Eakin (B ’48) of Diamondhead, Mississippi, on Jan. 26, 2018.

Raymond A. Carlson (M ’51) of Vinton, Louisiana, on Feb. 24, 2018.

David L. Harden (A&S ’55, M ’57) of Pensacola, Florida, on Dec. 3, 2017.

James E. Kraft (M ’48) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 22, 2014.

J.A. Gannaway III (A&S ’51) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Jan. 21, 2018.

Isaac F. Hawkins Jr. (B ’55, L ’60) of Shreveport, Louisiana, on Jan. 2, 2018.

Ronald B. Mitchell (A&S ’48, M ’51) of Medina, Ohio, on Dec. 27, 2017.

Edward S. Lindsey (A&S ’51, M ’58, ’68) of New Orleans on March 23, 2018.

Frederick F. Olsen Jr. (A&S ’55) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Dec. 15, 2017.

E.L. Mowe Jr. (A&S ’48) of Mandeville, Louisiana, on Jan. 9, 2018.

Dean C. McKee (E ’51) of Covington, Louisiana, on Feb. 1, 2018.

Terry T. Rees Sr. (M ’55) of Newport News, Virginia, on Oct. 28, 2017.

Laurelle Fillmore Neel (NC ’48) of Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 8, 2018.

Thomas F. Qualls Sr. (A&S ’51) of Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 1, 2018.

Ann Felton (SW ’56) of Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 6, 2018.

Sue Keefe Reid (NC ’48) of Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 4, 2018.

Elise Mitchell Sanford (A&S ’51) of Athens, Ohio, on March 23, 2018.

Charles L. Hamaker (B ’56, L ’58) of Monroe, Louisiana, on Jan. 7, 2018.

Milton E. Bailey (A&S ’49) of Columbia, Missouri, on Feb. 6, 2018.

Ernest C. Williams (M ’51) of Smyrna, Georgia, on Jan. 3, 2018.

John Koehler (G ’56) of Gresham, Oregon, on Feb. 2, 2018.

Peter H. Beer (B ’49, L ’52) of New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2018.

Charles B. Wilson (A&S ’51, M ’54) of San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2018.

Joanne Davis Reagler (SW ’56) of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on Jan. 10, 2018.

R.L. Carmedelle Jr. (B ’49) of St. Augustine, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2018.

Harlin M. Dees (E ’52) of Tyler, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2018.

Jack K. Smith (A&S ’56) of New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2018.

Beverly Blane Conn (NC ’49) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Feb. 17, 2018.

Benjamin A. Lucio (A&S ’52) of River Ridge, Louisiana, on March 10, 2018.

Rose Mary Decker Bernstein (E ’57) of Santa Rosa, California, on March 2, 2018.

August H. Douglas Jr. (E ’49) of New Orleans on Dec. 19, 2017.

Kathryn Nizer (SW ’52) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Jan. 20, 2018.

William Krapac (B ’57) of McComb, Mississippi, on Dec. 23, 2017.

Asaichi S. Hieshima (M ’49) of Huntington Beach, California, on Jan. 10, 2018.

Rosita Garcia Reisig (NC ’52) of Lacombe, Louisiana, on Dec. 31, 2017.

Tom Louis III (M ’57) of Jackson, Mississippi, on Jan. 13, 2018.

Mark M. Porter (A&S ’49) of Meridian, Mississippi, on Dec. 7, 2017.

Paul J. Vega Sr. (A&S ’52) of Hammond, Louisiana, on Dec. 30, 2015.

Alan J. Van Buiten (A&S ’57) of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2018.

Elizabeth Muller Stafford (NC ’49) of New York City on Jan. 27, 2018.

Joseph S. Chang (A&S ’53) of Honolulu on Feb. 2, 2018.

Murray S. Work (A&S ’57, G ’60, ’64) of Carmichael, California, on Jan. 31, 2018.

Jack E. Thielen (A&S ’49, M ’52) of Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Feb. 19, 2018.

Thomas M. Collins (B ’53) of Shreveport, Louisiana, on Jan. 31, 2018.

Maumus F. Claverie Jr. (B ’58, L ’61) of New Orleans on Feb. 14, 2018.

Charles W. Brice Jr. (M ’50) of Chester, South Carolina, on Jan. 13, 2018.

Larry W. Manguno (A&S ’53, G ’69) of New Orleans on Jan. 14, 2018.

Edward A. Colina Marquez (B ’58) of Miami on June 20, 2017.

John K. Johnson Jr. (A&S ’50) of Kenner, Louisiana, on Jan. 2, 2018.

Philip B. Watson Jr. (L ’53) of St. Joseph, Louisiana, on Feb. 28, 2018.

Herbert H. Duncan Jr. (A&S ’58, L ’61) of Slaughter, Louisiana, on March 25, 2018.

John T. Macy (B ’50) of Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 27, 2018.

Sally Pitts Carstens (NC ’54) of Alexandria, Louisiana, on March 2, 2018.

Abigail Hahn (NC ’58) of Winnfield, Louisiana, on Jan. 13, 2018.

James R. Riffey (A&S ’50) of Battle Creek, Michigan, on Jan. 30, 2018.

Donald L. Goldwasser (B ’54) of Fayetteville, North Carolina, on March 2, 2018.

Anne Mandeville Whittinghill (A&S ’58) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Jan. 19, 2018.

Kenneth B. Robinson (E ’50) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 11, 2018.

Robert P. Harper Jr. (A&S ’54) of New Orleans on Jan. 26, 2018.

Mary Myrick Langlois (NC ’59) of Metairie, Louisiana, on March 10, 2018.

Herbert S. Abraham (A&S ’51) of Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 13, 2018.

Esther Rush Ives (G ’54) of Stone Mountain, Georgia, on Jan. 15, 2018.

Ralph W. Lazzara (M ’59) of Anna Maria, Florida, on Jan. 16, 2018.

Richard A. Ashby (A&S ’51) of Conroe, Texas, on Jan. 7, 2018.

William T. Mitchell Jr. (M ’54) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Feb. 8, 2018.

Kenneth B. Pearce (G ’59, M ’62) of Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2018.

Roland A. Bahan Jr. (A&S ’51) of St. Francisville, Louisiana, on Nov. 12, 2015.

Gladys Brennan Suffern (NC ’54) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Dec. 17, 2017.

Charles F. Smith Jr. (M ’59) of Pensacola, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2018.

Louis I. Bell (A&S ’51) of Beverly Hills, California, on Feb. 23, 2018.

Horace J. Baltz (A&S ’55) of New Orleans on Dec. 6, 2017.

William P. Stallworth (M ’59) of Knoxville, Tennessee, on Nov. 20, 2017.

Charles E. Bishop Jr. (E ’51) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Dec. 4, 2017.

Haskell H. Bass Jr. (M ’55) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Feb. 8, 2018.

Gary A. Stoll (B ’59) of Princeton, Indiana, on Jan. 5, 2018.

Margaret Field Boudreau (NC ’51) of Lake Charles, Louisiana, on March 11, 2018.

Barbara Moon Carroll (NC ’55) of South Hero, Vermont, on Dec. 17, 2017.

Lynn C. Woods Jr. (L ’59) of Houston on Jan. 31, 2018.

T U L A N E M AGA Z I N E J U N E 20 1 8

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TRAILBLAZING TOPOLOGIST Mathematician Pierre E. Conner Jr. (A&S ’52, G ’53) died in New Orleans on Feb. 3, 2018. The National Science Foundation Fellowship recipient earned his PhD at age 23. As a leading topologist, he spent 28 years as the Nicholson Professor of Mathematics at Louisiana State University. Conner was also honored as an outstanding alumnus of the Tulane Graduate School in 1980.

F A R E W E L L J.C. Andrews (E ’60, ’61) of Austin, Texas, on Jan. 7, 2018.

Victor R. Rose (A&S ’65, L ’70) of New Orleans on Dec. 31, 2017.

Esther Barnhart McBride (G ’72) of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on Dec. 26, 2017.

Rodney A. Bretz (B ’60) of Plantation, Florida, on Feb. 13, 2018.

Bill M. Shaw (L ’65) of Austin, Texas, on Oct. 27, 2017.

Susan Roth (SW ’72) of New Orleans on Jan. 18, 2018.

Kendrick V. Cooper (A&S ’60) of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Feb. 22, 2018.

Rodney L. Sill (UC ’65) of Bogalusa, Louisiana, on Feb. 9, 2018.

Larry P. Toups (E ’72) of Houma, Louisiana, on Aug. 4, 2016.

Richard J. Corbin (G ’60, ’74) of Jackson, Georgia, on Dec. 16, 2017.

J.R. Williams Jr. (G ’65, M ’65) of Glenville, North Carolina, on Jan. 23, 2017.

Harold M. Wheelahan III (A&S ’72, L ’75) of New Orleans on Feb. 3, 2018.

Bee Pollock (NC ’60) of Dallas on Dec. 1, 2017.

John C. Burgess (E ’66) of New Orleans on Jan. 29, 2018.

Edward A. Bernard III (A&S ’73) of New Orleans on Jan. 9, 2018.

Sally Stocker Maxson (NC ’66) of Athens, Texas, on Feb. 8, 2018.

G.A. Dean (M ’73) of Twin Falls, Idaho, on April 21, 2016.

Jesse N. Perrett Jr. (E ’66, ’68) of Gulfport, Mississippi, on March 4, 2018.

Leslie Rubin Graf (NC ’73) of New Orleans on Feb. 23, 2018.

William A. Rau Jr. (SW ’66) of Westwego, Louisiana, on Jan. 23, 2018.

Randolph J. Bordlee (UC ’74) of Gretna, Louisiana, on Jan. 15, 2018.

Marian Wadler Strug (NC ’66) of Houston on Feb. 21, 2018.

Leroy Brown Sr. (E ’74) of New Orleans on Jan. 5, 2018.

Julie Losh (PHTM ’67, ’74) of Seattle on Jan. 10, 2018.

John H. McCalla (B ’74) of Sherwood, Arkansas, on Dec. 30, 2017.

Kenneth W. Tucker Sr. (UC ’67) of Helotes, Texas, on Feb. 8, 2014.

Michael J. Stadther (A&S ’74) of Coronado, California, on Jan. 30, 2018.

Janith Dejoie Doley (NC ’68, G ’69) of New Orleans on Dec. 11, 2017.

Mary Margaret Conkling Culver (G ’75) of Montgomery, Texas, on Jan. 1, 2018.

Donald D. Gray (E ’68) of Morgantown, West Virginia, on Dec. 19, 2017.

Wendell J. Martin Jr. (A&S ’75) of Louisiana, Missouri, on July 31, 2017.

Stanley W. Haag (M ’68) of Coffeyville, Kansas, on Dec. 13, 2017.

Audrey Rosenbauer (PHTM ’76) of Weymouth, Massachusetts, on Jan. 18, 2018.

J.R. Hanchey (E ’68) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Feb. 4, 2018.

Janet Ford (G ’77) of Oxford, Mississippi, on Feb. 3, 2018.

Guillermo A. Vasquez Jr. (M ’68) of Sarasota, Florida, on March 3, 2018.

David G. Hartzell Sr. (A&S ’77) of Little Rock, Arkansas, on Jan. 2, 2018.

Louis P. Larue (UC ’69) of New Orleans on Feb. 19, 2018.

Deborah Ravich Vorhoff (G ’77) of New Orleans on March 12, 2018.

Thomas T. Steele (A&S ’69, L ’72) of Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 27, 2018.

John E. Flemming Jr. (M ’78) of Orangeburg, South Carolina, on Jan. 30, 2018.

Forrest B. Thomas III (A&S ’69) of Tomball, Texas, on Jan. 4, 2018.

Marco J. Giardino (G ’78, ’85) of Purvis, Mississippi, on March 13, 2018.

Mary Bernard (NC ’70) of Marietta, Georgia, on Feb. 2, 2018.

John A. Thorndike (A&S ’79) of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, on Dec. 28, 2017.

Iberia J. Lemoine Jr. (UC ’70) of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Feb. 18, 2018.

Anne Bendernagel (NC ’80) of New Orleans on March 6, 2018.

Kenneth S. Davis (G ’71) of Gainesville, Florida, on Dec. 12, 2017.

Johnny Jackson Jr. (SW ’81) of New Orleans on Jan. 24, 2018.

Jude T. May (G ’71) of Oklahoma City on Feb. 14, 2018.

Martha Stewart de Leon (NC ’82) of Oak Park, Illinois, on Feb. 4, 2018.

Lester G. Oufnac (UC ’71) of Harvey, Louisiana, on Feb. 27, 2018.

Denise Dussom (B ’83) of New Orleans on Aug. 20, 2017.

Severance B. Kelley (PHTM ’72) of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, on Feb. 18, 2018.

Michael J. Rowe (A&S ’83) of Bronx, New York, on April 3, 2017.

J.E. May Sr. (UC ’72) of Spring, Texas, on Feb. 28, 2018.

Steven E. Dessens (G ’85) of Houston on Jan. 12, 2018.

Gerard L. St. Martin Sr. (G ’60, ’69) of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Feb. 13, 2018.

Charles L. Chassaignac III (A&S ’61) of New Orleans on Jan. 18, 2018.

J.R. Hite (E ’61) of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Feb. 15, 2018.

Frank S. Lisella (PHTM ’61) of Watkinsville, Georgia, on Jan. 18, 2018.

Roy A. Perrin Jr. (E ’61, ’62) of Metairie, Louisiana, on Dec. 24, 2017.

Thelma Schenck (NC ’61) of Lacombe, Louisiana, on Jan. 7, 2018.

William P. Weidanz (G ’61) of Roseville, California, on Nov. 21, 2017.

Robert G. Elia Jr. (G ’62) of Belmont, California, on Feb. 17, 2016.

Mary Johnson (NC ’62) of Atlanta on March 5, 2018.

William S. McAninch (A&S ’62) of Bat Cave, North Carolina, on Feb. 23, 2018.

William C. Hartwell Jr. (B ’63) of Davidson, North Carolina, on Jan. 21, 2018.

Nina Jacobs (NC ’63) of Napa, California, on Dec. 26, 2017.

Marthann Newton (SW ’63) of Dana Point, California, on March 4, 2018.

Patricia Harris Rogers (SW ’63) of Daytona Beach, Florida, on Jan. 2, 2018.

Ilda Woods Weinert (UC ’63) of New Orleans on Feb. 20, 2018.

Jervis O. Burns Jr. (A&S ’64) of Carriere, Mississippi, on Jan. 6, 2018.

Judith Melvin Elgin (NC ’64) of Tallahassee, Florida, on March 9, 2018.

James E. Mathews (M ’64) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Dec. 16, 2017.

James H. Roussel (L ’64) of New Orleans on Feb. 1, 2018.

Bernard R. Sargent (PHTM ’64) of Ashland, Ohio, on March 4, 2018.

R.M. Eilers (UC ’65) of Jacksonville, Florida, on Feb. 24, 2018.

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Linda Little (NC ’85) of Birmingham, Alabama, on Nov. 29, 2017.

Myra Pellandini Chapoton (UC ’86) of Hammond, Louisiana, on Dec. 9, 2017.

Alton O. Moore Jr. (G ’86) of Alamo, Texas, on Feb. 22, 2018.

Gregory R. Chlup (E ’88, B ’93) of Kenner, Louisiana, on Feb. 6, 2018.

Joseph E. Cazenavette (A&S ’89) of Bush, Louisiana, on Dec. 3, 2017.

Maria Bartush Groff (NC ’89) of Houston on March 5, 2018.

Barbara Jeanpierre Kinsey (UC ’89) of Slidell, Louisiana, on Jan. 18, 2018.

Michael H. Smith (A&S ’89) of Atlanta on Jan. 20, 2018.

Brenda Zaeringer (SW ’89) of New Orleans on Feb. 11, 2018.

John D. Dressing (G ’90, ’07) of South Bend, Indiana, on Dec. 18, 2017.

Buena Hithe Silve (UC ’91) of Lacombe, Louisiana, on Feb. 22, 2018.

Liborio R. Hurtado (A&S ’93) of San Antonio on March 5, 2018.

Elise Osborn Strickland (NC ’93) of Austin, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2018.

Rodney F. Davis Jr. (UC ’98, ’99) of Mandeville, Louisiana, on Jan. 15, 2018.

Thomas L. Wachtel (PHTM ’98) of Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 6, 2018.

Bradley A. Sandner (B ’00) of Chicago on Jan. 15, 2018.

Alvin L. Garibaldi (B ’01) of New Orleans on Jan. 10, 2018.

Glenn S. Newbauer (L ’01) of New Orleans on Feb. 16, 2018.

Charmaine Auzenne (UC ’05) of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Nov. 6, 2015.

Irene Dette Duhon (UC ’05) of Slidell, Louisiana, on Aug. 12, 2017.

Cara Whelton (L ’07) of Lutherville Timonium, Maryland, on Aug. 29, 2014.

ALUMNI: TELL US YOUR NEWS! Share your professional achievements, awards and honors, and other milestones with Tulane magazine for the Tulanians section of an upcoming issue. It’s easy!

Submit the form at alumni.tulane.edu/news

PRESERVATIONIST EXTRAORDINAIRE Mary Louise Mossy Christovich (A&S ’49), who died on Dec. 25, 2017, in New Orleans, left behind an outstanding legacy of civic and literary achievements.

She was a tireless advocate and leader of historic preservation and other civic causes in New Orleans, in addition to being a longtime friend and supporter of Tulane University.

Mary Lou’s lifelong interest in Louisiana architecture began at an early age. That interest matured through her study of art history at Newcomb College and through travel to other countries. Her participation in civic causes exposed her to a national crisis beginning in the late 1950s—the rapid destruction of our country’s historic urban environments.

In New Orleans, some neighborhoods were threatened by the construction of expressways.

Mary Lou became an outspoken advocate and activist for preserving the city’s architectural heritage. She was a co-founder, board member and president of the Friends of the Cabildo in 1956, and in 1972 she founded Save Our Cemeteries. She also supported many other organizations across New Orleans.

Passionate in her cause, Mary Lou skillfully applied her major in journalism from Tulane and her art history studies to produce 10 books. Among her most influential works are the first six volumes in the New Orleans Architecture series (1971–80), which drew urgent attention to preserving historic districts other than the Vieux Carré.

In 1982, Mary Lou received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Newcomb College.

She was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumna in 1992 by the Tulane University Alumni Association. Among her numerous other citations were the Harnett T. Kane Award in 1985 from the Louisiana Landmarks Society and the Grace King Award in 1986 from Save Our Cemeteries.

Mary Lou and her late husband, prominent attorney William Kearney Christovich, contributed the Christovich Excellence Funds for Historic Preservation to the Tulane School of Architecture and law school, and established the William K. Christovich Endowed Fund Professorship in Law. Mary Lou served on the Board of Tulane University, on the Tulane School of Architecture’s Board of Advisers, and as an advisor to the school’s Master of Preservation Studies program.

Mary Lou’s loss to the New Orleans community, in particular to we historic preservationists, has left a giant void. Through the buildings and neighborhoods she saved, and the example she set as a caring spokesperson for the city’s historic built environment, she will be long remembered.

—JOHN H. STUBBS, Christovich Senior Professor of Preservation Practice, Tulane School of Architecture

T U L A N E M AGA Z I N E J U N E 20 1 8

JT BLATTY

Tribute Mary Louise Christovich

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LEAD THE WAY “Only the Audacious” boasts a vibrant leadership community, with 224 alumni, parents and friends volunteering to serve on the National Campaign Council.

JENNIFER ZDON

W A V E M A K E R S

Tulane University’s first-ever giving day was a huge success, with donors from all over the world coming together to make more than 2,100 gifts to support Tulane’s bold future.

“Give Green: A Day for the Audacious” occurred during 24 hours on April 18, raising $459,429 for schools and units, scholarships, research and other aspects of the Tulane experience.

“The turnout for Give Green was absolutely outstanding,” said Tulane President Michael A. Fitts, “and its reach was equally impressive.

Donors supported the many things they love about Tulane, and, in doing so, they provided a wonderful demonstration of the collective impact of our Tulane family.”

Generous donors made the most of the day, helping many Tulane supporters double their impact by setting up matching gifts and other challenges. Students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, fans and friends from 45 states and eight countries participated in the inaugural event.

With an initial goal of 1,834 donors, Give Green far surpassed expectations.

“The Tulane community came together to support the institution they love,” said Jenny Nathan Simoneaux, director of annual giving campaigns. “Surpassing our goal in this first year is remarkable and shows the overwhelming generosity of the Tulane community.”

Excitement grew throughout the day at organized events on Tulane’s uptown and downtown campuses. The day culminated with a final push at the Tulane vs. LSU baseball game, with the Green Wave getting the win.

The day was impressive for the breadth of support as well as for the wide swath of Tulanians, including first-time donors, young alumni, current students and parents who were inspired to make gifts.—Mary Sparacello

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PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO

First Giving Day a Success

Donor Support Spurs The Commons Covering 77,000 square feet and three stories, Tulane’s new building, The Commons—adjacent to the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life— will house an innovative new dining hall, multipurpose meeting spaces and a permanent home for the Newcomb College Institute. [See “Olive & Blueprint,” March 2018, Tulane] The $55 million project promises to transform life on the Tulane uptown campus. And it is only possible because of generous support from Tulane donors.

An anonymous lead gift, along with generous donations from several other donors, provided the momentum to begin construction. Alumni, parents and friends of Tulane were inspired by The Commons’ potential to bridge student academic and social life.

“It’s an exciting project,” said Ginny Wise, senior vice president for advancement. “By bringing together such varied elements of the Tulane experience, The Commons will be a vibrant space at the heart of daily life for Tulane students.”

As the project gets underway, there are still opportunities to make a leadership gift and name a prominent cornerstone of The Commons. It is scheduled to open in 2019.

The Commons’ design will bolster engagement and community among students and offer an appealing space that students will be drawn to as a hub of social activities. Ultimately, the first and second floors will offer over 1,000 seats in state-of-the-art dining facilities.

The Newcomb College Institute’s space on the third floor will feature an open-air courtyard, an area for archives and special collections, a library with a dedicated reading room, an event space and offices for the Newcomb Alumnae Association. —M.S.

Common Ground The site that will house The Commons next year shows the expanse of the building, which will include multiple dining options, the new home of Newcomb College Institute and more.

GREEN GOALS

On the university’s first giving day, Give Green, friends of Tulane University pledged $459,429.

SOUND SPACE The Newcomb Department of Music in the Tulane School of Liberal Arts will soon have its first professional-level music recording studio and production space thanks to support from an anonymous donor and the Undergraduate Student Government. The anonymous donor has issued a $250,000 grant, plus matching funds for a Wavestarter campaign, and additional donations continue to pour in.

W A V E M A K E R S

A Shared Devotion

PARKER WATERS

Bob and Jenny Kottler's dedication to Tulane goes back to their undergraduate days working on the school yearbook.

The couple recently contributed a significant gift to support university research.

Kottlers Devoted to Tulane Jenny Juge Kottler (NC ’83, B ’84) and Bob Kottler (B ’81, ’83) met as undergraduates working on the Jambalaya, the school yearbook. While recording several years’ achievements in the Jambalaya, they learned about the many facets that make Tulane great. Their shared experience strengthened their deep love for the university, a love and dedication that has only grown over the years.

The Kottlers split their time between Annapolis, Maryland, and New Orleans and hold leadership positions on alumni committees and several Tulane boards.

Jenny, founder of the consulting and conference-planning company Kottler Works, is on the Board of Tulane. Bob, executive vice president for IberiaBank, is on the Business School Council. Both are co-chairs for the Greater D.C. metro area National Campaign Council, and Bob currently serves on the President’s Council.

“At our level of involvement with Tulane, we began to understand what the university’s most pressing needs are,” said Jenny.

“We made a commitment to research because that’s fundamental to the university.”

—Bob Kottler In addition to their generosity of time, the Kottlers recently commemorated their

dedication to Tulane with a significant gift to support research, one of President Michael A. Fitts’ top priorities for the “Only the Audacious” campaign.

“We made a commitment to research because that’s fundamental to the university, and we wanted to offer Tulane the responsiveness to pursue exciting opportunities as soon as they arise,” said Bob. In addition to their gift to research initiatives, the Kottlers are supporting priorities close to them and to the university, such as Tulane Athletics, the A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane Sailing, Newcomb College Institute and the Tulane Fund.

During their days on the Jambalaya, the Kottlers covered the breadth of Tulane. Now, through their service and philanthropy, their commitment continues to positively impact nearly every corner of the university.

—M.S.

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ANGUS LIND A 1966 graduate of Tulane, Angus Lind spent more than three decades as a columnist for The Times-Picayune.

N E W

O R L E A N S

Fake News

by Angus Lind The immediate post-Katrina world in this city was the perfect spawning ground for urban myths. The city was underwater, communication was difficult, and for a time it was lawless and without power, therefore very dark at night.

Looters ran amok. One widespread urban myth/legend was that looters broke into an elderly woman’s house when she was there, realized the poor soul had nothing worth stealing, and in a moment of sideways sympathy for her, they went to another dwelling, stole a high-def TV and brought it back to her. Best I can tell this happened everywhere from Lakeview to the Ninth Ward to Uptown. There were also alligators in the storm drains.

It’s the kind of stuff that former Tulane sociology professor Fred Koenig, whose expertise was social psychology, spent a lifetime debunking— rumors, urban myths and hoaxes.

So a short while ago I was perusing the ultimate fount of truthfulness and accuracy—Twitter—when I stumbled onto an attention-grabber. A Tulane medical school graduate, now an established physician in Seattle, had posted a fantastic story that seemed to be the perfect urban myth.

We live in the era of fake news and fractured journalism where believability is constantly in doubt. Figuring out what’s true and not true, what’s news versus opinion, at times is a daunting challenge.

Dr. Eliot Fagley was at Tulane from 1998 through 2005 for med school and his residency and internship. His resume also shows that he was a bartender at the now defunct Le Chat Noir, a CBD playhouse and bar on St. Charles Avenue. “A great place,” he said. He is currently at Virginia Mason Medical Center where he is an anesthesiologist specializing in critical care cardiology surgery, an intensivist. He recalled this: “So I’m dating a med student in 2003 and she says to me, ‘Hey, have you heard this story about a girl in the med school interview room and there was

A TRUE STORY

MARK ANDRESEN

The story of a prospective med school student badly cutting herself during an interview—and continuing on—turns out to be true.

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J U N E 2 0 1 8 T U L A N E M AGA Z I N E

this glass bottle explosion and she was bleeding a lot from her hand during the interview but still continued on?’”

Fagley said he had not, but later heard that the student being interviewed was painting her nails during the interview when this happened. “I didn’t believe it could possibly be true, and honestly I didn’t think about it for maybe 12 years.” He parked it into his brain’s urban myth dormant file.

For the past year and a half, Dr. Fagley’s partner has been Dr. Sarah Bain, a graduate of George Washington Medical School who did her residency and cardiac fellowship in anesthesiology at Stanford. Through a friend, the highly qualified physician had been referred to Dr. Fagley and she came on board. A couple of weeks ago he was sitting at lunch with Sarah Bain when she casually said, “Hey, have I ever told you about my interview at Tulane?”

She went on to say that she was wearing a skirt and panty hose. She had a run in her stocking but she was prepared. Her mom had told her if that happened to put clear nail polish on it. She tried to open the bottle but the whole thing exploded and severely cut her hand. She sat there and listened to the rest of the briefing.

Then she excused herself and went to the ladies room, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She wrapped her hand in paper towels, returned to the room and said, “I’ve got this problem.” Fagley said she told him that when the lady looked at it, she almost passed out. Bain was taken to the ER where she was stitched up but suffered nerve damage for years.

Dr. Fagley’s reaction was, “‘You have got to be kidding me? That was you?’ We’d been working together for a year and a half and she only told me two weeks ago? It’s a crazy story, but it was no urban myth.”

Not that he didn’t believe his partner, but like any good journalist would do, he was seeking affirmation. So he contacted the senior associate dean for student affairs at Tulane medical school, Dr. Marc Kahn, and asked him if he remembered a girl who cut herself during an interview.

“You mean Sarah Bain?” Kahn replied without hesitation.

In what may qualify for the understatement of the year, Dr. Fagley said, “The likelihood of the two of us crossing paths is infinitesimally small.”

Something like California’s Sasquatch meeting Louisiana’s Rougarou in Kansas.

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