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Aftermath of this morning's Q&A
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ih8scottcowen



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 36
Location: New Orleans, LA

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:31 pm    Post subject: Aftermath of this morning's Q&A Reply with quote

After Scott's Q&A this morning, I have surmised the following....

1. Tulane Engineering is not dead.
2. Most, if not all sophomores will graduate with an Engineering degree under the current E-School.
3. The 2008 "budget surplus" will spark a new life to the Science and Engineering School. One that hopefully will reinstate the EECS Department and others that were eliminated this year.

To the guy that asked about why football & baseball were kept: for football, we scheduled 2 or 3 "massacre" games next year against top-ranked schools. We will get absolutely killed in the games, but we are getting paid BIIIIIIIG bucks just to show up. And our baseball program is arguably the best in the nation.....what rock have YOU been living under?
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TheCzar35



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Location: New Orleans, La

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:52 pm    Post subject: Hope in 2008 Reply with quote

Hoping for EECE and other programs being reinstated in 2008 because of a budget surplus is fruitless. This is liking killing someone and then praying for their resurrection. The provost, Dr. Lefton has been quoted "we have no interest in engineering programs at Tulane in the future". Why do you think there will be any hope no matter what surplus is in the 2008 budget. No we need to stop them NOW, this semester.
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bethmcardle



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 24
Location: Huntsville, AL

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:02 pm    Post subject: Examples? Reply with quote

Is there anyway for someone to post as much as they can about the Q&A meeting today? As an alum, I am sure I am going to get email in the near future about how understanding and willing to sacrifice you all are yada yada. I want to know what he said, how did he talk down to you?
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Dr. Ash



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 45
Location: New F'n Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Who do you think will join the Tulane faculty this point to be a "tenure track" (for what that's worth) prof in EECS? The best and brightest?
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The most offensive quote from the meeting:

"None of you will remember your major 20 years from now."

Now that might have some basis in reality if we were liberal arts majors or business majors, but that's about as dumb as saying a neurosurgon isn't going to remember med school.

That's just one example of how he talked down to us.
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Clay Kirby
11th generation New Orleanian
4th generation Tulanian
Mechanical Engineering Class of '06
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mollyzogirl



Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Posts: 93
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:26 pm    Post subject: sophomores Reply with quote

I dont know ANY sophomores who would be able to finish engineering requirements by 2007. As a sophomore myself (BME.. so this doesn't quite apply to me), I would not be able to do it. I had AP credit, and I've taken full course loads ever semester (except last semester when I only got 9.3 credits because I was at a quarter school). Even taking 3 lagniappe classes, I will be caught up to a normal track for BME, but there are way too many classes and research projects left to do.

If there are any sophomores here who would be able to do this, I would love to hear how. I brought this up at the meeting today, that Sophomores should get the $2K to look at other schools, and he seemed completely unaware that the plan they came up with was not that easy to do.
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some other Cowen insinuations:

* Russian (or fill in the blank) majors are just as important to the rebuilding of New Orleans as engineering majors are. He was actually offended by us insinuating that engineering is more important to New Orleans than anything else. Yep. Just blows your mind, doesn't it. If we were producing people to go to Iraq, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies would be important.

* Anytime someone mentioned anything from the media, he immediately denigrated them by saying "we all know the media lies and takes things out of context" and "I don't know where you're getting your facts from." He even said that we were being taken out of context. When was that? Anyone know when someone on this site was taken out of context?

* He laughed at me when I called Tulane a family. I was making a point about how, being a 4th generation Tulanian, I don't like it how he's acting as though he's the CEO of corporation and everything is cut and dry and he's the boss. He then had the gaul to say something to the effect of "oh to be young and ignorant." Yep.

* He now (as opposed to what he said in the Times-Pic earlier) thinks that Tulane's reopening is more important than the levees.

* His overall explanation on everything was "Trust us, we're not idiots." No hardcore facts, just "Trust us, we wouldn't be here if we weren't idiots."

* He was very pissed that alumni showed up to the meeting with the students. Gasp! He refused to take any questions from the one, most vocal alumn.

* "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" Oh wait. That was Wizard of Oz.
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Mechanical Engineering Class of '06
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wwalkeri



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 136

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cowen has told some faculty in meetings that it would not surprise him if BME and CHEM E went under. So yes BME and CHEM E majors should be very weary.
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ih8scottcowen



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 36
Location: New Orleans, LA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

He almost ripped "the one vocal alum" a new asshole....and I think the guy deserved it. I mean, he was holding up a "Dump Cowen, Not Engineering" sign in bright red letters when Scott tried to answer questions asked by people around him.

One other interesting note is the $1.5 Billion (please correct me if I remember the wrong number) estimate to keep the E-School running for the next few years. Doesn't that seem astronomical? The New York Yankees have a $200 million payroll, the highest in baseball by far. I don't see anyone at Tulane getting paid a Barry Bonds type contract, nor do I see any other significant costs to make up for the rest of that money. And what do we need such a big budget for? Why not leave it the same and just accept more students?
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ggreen



Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ih8scottcowen wrote:
One other interesting note is the $1.5 Billion (please correct me if I remember the wrong number) estimate to keep the E-School running for the next few years. Doesn't that seem astronomical?


First, I think it was $1.1 billion/$55 million per year. Second, I believe that's for the entire restructuring plan (i.e., the entire plan saves $55 million a year). He didn't give the number for just the engineering cuts, but he said something to the effect that it wasn't quite half, if I remember correctly.

That's still well over what Tulane lost in the hurricane (according to Cowen, about $300 million). Shouldn't $300 million be more than enough to save engineering, since Cowen says he would not have cut engineering had Katrina never hit?
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TchernaviaJ



Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Biloxi, MS

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wckirby wrote:
The most offensive quote from the meeting:

"None of you will remember your major 20 years from now."

.



My jaw damn near unhinged reading that..pompous bastard
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bethmcardle



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 24
Location: Huntsville, AL

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

None of you will remember your majors 20 years from now? That has to be the stupidest comment I have heard as yet. Well, I graduated just about 21 years ago (gee whiz!), and I use what I learned in my major everyday today. Not only that, I remember the professors who taught it to me, some of whom are still there (THANKS Drs Hassell, Benard and Petry!). And, I can even remember many of the assignments and test questions. That's a little sick, but there it is... Hmmm... maybe my major studies were just too darn PRACTICAL!
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ih8scottcowen



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 36
Location: New Orleans, LA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ggreen, you're confusing issues here....the $300 mil or so that was lost was operating costs (salaries, travel, etc.) and property damages. Tulane is paying for property damages out of its own pocket and with loans right now. The operating costs cannot be recovered. And the property damages will be paid back to us in increments over time, not all at once. That $300 mil, for the sake of conversation, is lost right now.

Now, they made a plan where they can save $55 mil a year. They calculated all the factors: paying off the loans with interest of course, eating the operating costs lost from the storm, and receiving the remainder of the insurance payments. In 2008, they calculate Tulane will finally see that $300 mil in current losses "break even" and even surpass that point. And with that surplus money coming in, they can create a better, more modern, Engineering School.

The $300 mil in losses has nothing directly to do with saving the E-School. Rather, the sacrifice of the E-School is how Tulane can cope with the loss of $300 mil, relatively easily.
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ataylor



Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you all are the arrogant idiots. Your protest yesterday was a fucking joke, and I will tell you that they way you all see yourselves as the only people that can rebuild NO is making the rest of us kind of happy that your majors got fucked. I'm glad and I hope all of you experience much pain and anguish...and then transfer. The rest of the student body doesn't support you. WC Kirby, I don't care if your fucking dog went to Tulane, it doesn't give you more insight into the current situation than anyone else. You are the biggest loser of all.

P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C
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wwalkeri



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 136

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you believe that you are severly misguided. Several faculty informed me that Cowen told them during a meeting that it would not surprise him if the remaining two ENGR majors went under. This ideology was also confirmed by some in the deans office. You are also wrong about the operating cost. between 200 and 300 million was supposed structural damage which insurance will eventually repay. Furthermore, Tulane had operating costs before the hurricane. Finally a faculty member informed me that Tulane does have some inssurance to cover operating costs for situations like this; however, the person did not know the exact number of months it covered.
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