Save Tulane Engineering

[wclarkson]

This is my thought process on Tulane' arguments for eliminating the programs they did.

So, most of the faculty won't be off of the payroll until 18 months from now. They still have to pay them for that period, unless they leave the university. If they leave the university, then students suffer. That is not an option for the 'world-class' institution we want to attend. I would hope the board has realized this.

After 18 months, the insurance money from the damages should be settled, tuition will be coming in on a regular basis and the money recently appropriated to the colleges will be delivered. Financial exigency should be lifted by then, or it will be soon afterwards. So, after 18 months the school is in the exact same position they would be if they were keeping the engineering school. But actually worse, because the number of students would be less, so they are getting less 'bang for their buck' from the remaining faculty.

How does this benefit the school financially? The short answer is, it doesn’t. The long answer is, maybe. It may help in 10 years. But that remains to be proven by the administration. Finances must not be the issue. If they truly are then they have 18 months to get donations up and restructure so that they save money. That doesn't seem impossible considering what the city has been through and the help they could have from the student body and the government. I'm sure most alumni, as we have seen, support Tulane 100%.

The only thing left is the 'strategic' part of Cowen's rationalization. How does destroying the engineering school benefit Tulane as a whole? If Cowen truly wants a well-rounded institution, he will help save engineering. If he wants a top tier liberal arts school, he will still keep the engineering school.

You need diversity for a top tier institution. That is a fact. An example: What if Joe and Jane start out at Tulane as Psychology majors, but they see the presence that the Tulane Engineering School has? The DARPA Grand Challenge team, the Bio-meds helping save lives through advanced prosthetics, the Electrical Engineers developing new signals and switches and circuits for various devices, Civil Engineers developing new ways to secure New Orleans from water, and Mechanical Engineers helping to conserve power. They might consider it. Or, they might not. Either way, Tulane wins. Its name gets out there for the achievements its engineering school makes and the remaining student body benefits from the diversity of education on campus. That helps the school.

So, strategic is the only argument that actually holds water. But, I ask you this. Have you ever heard of Mount Union College? The answer is probably not. Do you know why? Neither do I, but they don’t’ have an engineering school, so maybe that’s it.

[ckp24]

Just checked my webmail and saw a news release with a link to the latest Renewal plan document. Perhaps it holds some of the keys to their rationalizations? I don't know..don't have time to read it at the moment. It's 29 pages.

http://renewal.tulane.edu/renewalplan.pdf

Happy Holidays to everyone.

[Dr. Ash]

[wckirby]

"The School of Architecture’s expertise is urgently needed in rebuilding New Orleans and setting examples for urban planning worldwide."

This is insulting. This is a cruel joke



Clay Kirby
11th generation New Orleanian
4th generation Tulanian
Mechanical Engineering Class of '06?