Important Information from Tulane University
Aug 30, 2005 | General
September 1, 2005
The Tulane University administration has requested that we post the following information for the Tulane community on www.TulaneGreenWave.com. Please forward this information to any students, parents and families, staff or faculty and direct them to this site or to http://emergency.tulane.edu for future updates.
CURRENT STATUS
September 2, 5 p.m.
Dear friends of Tulane,
Since my relocation to Houston, I have had more access to information about the situation in New Orleans. I was hopeful that recovery would soon progress. However, given the ongoing situation in the city, I am forced to make an extremely difficult decision - Tulane University cannot hold a fall semester on its campus.
While this news is extremely disappointing to all of us, our students can continue their academic careers uninterrupted thanks to an avalanche of support from our colleagues in higher education.
Nine of the leading higher education associations, which represent hundreds of colleges and universities around the country, have developed a plan to accept Tulane students, as well as those from other institutions adversely affected by the hurricane, for the fall semester only. This coalition has set forth guidelines for temporary enrollment for the fall semester. Read the statement
Tulane University will accept credit for all courses with a passing grade from regionally accredited universities; such credit will be applied to a student's Tulane course of study. We encourage all Tulane students to enroll in courses that they might have enrolled in at Tulane, but equivalent or near equivalent courses will also count to degree progress.
Students enrolled in schools and colleges with accredited professional programs (for example: Business School, School of Social Work, Engineering School, and School of Architecture) should enroll in universities with programs that are also accredited.
Our student-athletes are an integral part of this plan. We want our athletes to carry the torch, face, and name of Tulane University during this difficult time and we have worked out an arrangement within the context of the plan described above. This is made possible once again with assistance and generosity from colleges and universities - those in Conference USA and those outside of the conference - who have generously offered to help keep our teams together by providing not only academic opportunities but also practice facilities, playing facilities and general support.
As a president who is leading an institution during these challenging times, I have never been prouder than I am now to be in higher education. I am so indebted to my colleagues around the country for developing a plan that is both sensitive to the needs of our students and will also serve as a lifeline to those institutions dramatically affected.
Now that we have given guidance to our students, we will turn our attention to the many issues facing our employees. There are many unsung heroes in the Tulane community - men and women whose bravery made the evacuation of our campuses successful. Some are still on campus protecting our facilities. The Tulane community is indebted to you. I am aware of the myriad of questions and concerns of our staff. We intend to provide helpful information tomorrow.
As you can imagine, there are many issues involved in managing the university's recovery. I realize you have questions - probably more questions than we can answer at this point. Rest assured that there will be opportunities to communicate and I will make myself available through a variety of means to do so. I anticipate communicating again by 1:00 pm CST tomorrow.
Scott Cowen
PREVIOUS MESSAGES
September 1, 4 p.m.
Dear Friends of Tulane,
After five days on campus, our emergency team has just arrived in Houston from New Orleans, where we will be joined by the rest of our senior leadership team from locations around the country. We will be working out of Houston effective immediately. Now that we have access to electricity and Internet connectivity, we will be corresponding regularly via this website: http://emergency.tulane.edu
Our immediate priorities are:
1. Attend to the needs of our faculty and staff who remain on campus. They are safe but living conditions are not good. We evacuated the entire uptown campus safely. As of today, only a core team of public safety and facilities personnel remain. We are in the process of evacuating personnel from the Health Sciences Center downtown . Additionally, we are trying to continue to supply provisions to the remaining staff on-site at the Primate Center in Mandeville. All of the students who were evacuated to Jackson State University in Mississippi have returned to their homes or are in the process of returning to their homes.
2. Re-establish our communications with constituencies ASAP. In particular, we will be giving guidance within 48 hours about our plans for this semester. I understand everyone's anxiety but we need additional time to assess the situation in New Orleans.
3. Begin the recovery process. The campus did sustain some damage, though it generally fared very well during the storm. There are many downed trees, some buildings sustained water damage, and some roofing tiles were damaged. The necessary repairs are manageable. The dorms are intact and students' belongings are safe.
I will update you again no later than 11 a.m. CST tomorrow, September 2, 2005. Please disseminate this email as widely as you can through any additional means you may have.
Scott Cowen
August 30, 7:30 p.m.
Dear Friends of Tulane:
I know you are all concerned about conditions in New Orleans and at Tulane University, and have many questions about what is going to happen in the next few days, weeks and months.
Our first priority during this time is the safety of our faculty, staff and students. Thankfully, everyone associated with the university is safe, including those of us who remain at Tulane.
Our second priority is to secure our facilities. As expected, our facilities have been damaged; however, based on our preliminary assessments, the majority of the damage can be remediated in a reasonable period of time. The uptown campus is covered with debris from fallen trees and shrubs, making it almost impossible to drive or even walk on campus. We have no power in any of the buildings other than a few where we control the power source.
Our third priority is to develop a recovery plan. This task is impaired right now by the devastation of the city and its infrastructure, and deteriorating further due to the flooding we are now facing. In addition, we don't know when our employees will be able to return to the city, much less to the university. Therefore, until conditions stabilize, it is impossible to do any longer term recovery planning. However, part of the responsibility of the senior leadership team in Jackson, MS is to begin the planning and they have done so.
As I suspect you all know, there is no contingency plan that could ever be developed to respond to what the area and the university are experiencing. However, all of us at the university are totally committed to doing whatever it takes to get the university operational as soon as possible. I hope you will be patient and understanding of our situation as we work our way through the complexities.
It is difficult to describe what this situation feels like for those involved. It is surreal and unfathomable; yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our focus is on the light and not the darkness.
Scott Cowen
Special Information for Students Evacuated to Jackson and Their Parents
August 30, 6:15 p.m.
The approximately 400 students that Tulane University evacuated to Jackson State University are safe and secure after the remnants of Hurricane Katrina struck the city of Jackson.
Jackson State has committed to sheltering and feeding all of the evacuated Tulane students for as long as necessary. The students are in very safe quarters and are accompanied by senior officers of the university.
The situation in the city of Jackson is that there is a power outage and Internet service is erratic. The airport is closed but is expected to reopen within 24-48 hours and other modes of transportation will also resume in that timeframe. Once those services are operational we are recommending that all Tulane students at Jackson State make plans to return home until the university can resume normal operations.
Tulane has arranged bus service to Dallas and Atlanta so that students can make travel arrangements from other cities if they choose. The buses will depart Jackson, MS at 8 p.m. CST tonight. Students sent to Atlanta will be hosted by Georgia Tech; students sent to Dallas will be hosted by Southern Methodist University.
August 30, 11:45 a.m.
Dear Tulane Faculty, Staff, Students and Friends:
As you all know by now, New Orleans and the surrounding parishes were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The physical damage to the area, including Tulane's campuses, was extensive.
Unfortunately, conditions in the city continue to deteriorate, making it virtually impossible to begin recovery efforts. On a very positive note, in Tulane's case, we are very thankful that all of our people are safe, including all the students and staff who evacuated to Jackson, Mississippi.
We have started the process of assessing the condition of our campus facilities and determining how long it will take us to reopen. This assessment process will take days because many of the answers will be determined by how quickly the city and its services become operational. The situation is further complicated by the fact that there is no power in the city, water levels continue to rise, all city roads are blocked, and the vast majority of our workforce had to leave the parish as part of the mandatory evacuation order. It is unclear at this time when people will be allowed to return to the city.
Given the uncertainties, we cannot determine at this time when employees and students should return to campus. We will do the best we can to keep you appraised of our situation and progress.
Also, I want to remind you that the university's main website is not operating at this time and we do not know when we will be able to bring it back on-line. Due to this, the Tulane email system is not functioning. However, this website (emergency.tulane.edu) will continue to have the most up-to-date information about university operations and the Tulane Alert Line at 1-877-862-8080 and 1-504-862-8080 will also have the most current information available. These communication vehicles are the best source of information about Tulane since phone and cell service are unreliable.
I realize that you have many more questions than we have answers at this time. However, I'm sure you understand the complexity and difficulty of the situation we face. Nonetheless, we are determined to move forward as quickly as possible and make Tulane University an even stronger and healthier institution. We have been in New Orleans for 171 years and we look forward to another century in this great city.
Scott S. Cowen
August 29, 1 p.m.
The worst of Hurricane Katrina has now passed through New Orleans and we will shortly begin the process of assessing the condition of our campuses.
The emergency team located on the uptown campus has been in frequent contact with the university's team at Jackson State University. The approximately 400 students who are located there and are accompanied by university officials, are doing well and are safe. Anyone seeking information about these students may call (601) 979-1964.
In the next 24 hours we expect to finalize our plans regarding the resumption of university operations.
As previously announced, classes will begin no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Employees, students and parents should continue to regularly monitor this website and the Alert Line-- 1-877-862-8080 or 1-504-862-8080.
As of this date the university's main website and the university's email system are not in operation and are not expected to be functional for another 24-48 hours.
