Save Tulane Engineering

[wckirby]

Dear Friends at Ole Miss,

I am an 11th generation New Orleanian and a 4th generation Tulanian. I have lived in exile from the city I love, lost a friend to Katrina, and had my home flood. But none of that compares to what I’ve been through the past few days.

On Thursday, Tulane’s administration announced a “Bold Plan for Renewal” which included the gutting of the engineering school. 6 of 8 engineering majors, including mine, were axed. New Orleans needs every good engineer it can get its hands on and Tulane is gutting the program. I was stunned. Same with everyone I know. Everyone I knew, including myself, thought about withdrawing and finishing up somewhere else. We were all extremely rattled.

And then a funny thing happened. The entire engineering student body decided we weren’t going to stand for this. We decided we were returning and we were going to fight for the school like you wouldn’t believe. Less than 3 hours after the announcement, the students had a website up and running, www.savetulaneengineering.org. Less than 3 hours after that, the students had more signatures than there were students in the engineering school. In less than a week, we’ve also gotten press attention. Momentum is building.

New Orleans needs engineering now more than ever. We're not just fighting for out school, but we're fighting for the future of New Orleans. Engineering is one of the white-collar sectors in New Orleans. Without Tulane's infusion of brainpower, the sector will take a big hit. The reasons to save engineering are too numerable to list here. What I'm really after is your help.

Here's what I'd like you to do:

1.) Sign the petition. You can't solve the problems of the world with an online petition, but if we get 10,000 signatures by the time we meet with him in January, that will be a powerful symbol of our support. We're already at 2,300 signatures. If someone could organize Ole Miss' students to sign, I'd appreciate it.
http://www.petitiononline.com/savetula/

2.) Get the word out. If you've got any contacts at any other engineering schools, let them know. One of the administration's key justifications was Tulane engineering wasn't "nationally prominent." We need to get the support of engineering school across the country. Also, if you know anyone in the media, let us know. Brian Cole, our media relations officer (yes, we're that organized) has already fielded calls from the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Times Picayune. He can be contacted at Staff@SaveTulaneEngineering.org.

3.) Check the website. I could have made this email 10 pages long, but I chose to leave a lot unsaid. There's also lot that needs to be done. We're still putting together a logo and brainstorming ideas. The joy of the internet is small people now have the same tools as big people. A bunch of engineering students are exerting an influence on the news arguably as much as the administration of Tulane is. Just check out the website and the press coverage we've already received if you don't believe me.

Tulane's administration says this decision is final and irrevocable. While I believe they're not going to roll over easily, I think we can put up enough of a fight to save at least the core of the engineering program, because we're right. We aren't just doing this for ourselves, we're doing this to help save the city of New Orleans. Albert Baldwin Wood designed the first systematic pumping system in the world. We want to graduate and build Cat-5 levees around the city. Tulane's engineering program and New Orleans are inextricably linked.

Finally, I would like to thank the Ole Miss community for taking me in. It meant a lot to me and I will be eternally grateful.


Thank you very much,
Clay Kirby
Mechanical Engineering Class of '06 (?)

[aRadler]

looks good clay,
keep it up!
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Anthony Radler ME/CS '06
Save Tulane Engineering and do it quickly; we have a city to rebuild!

[Scott Kensell]

well written man... I like it...
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Scott Kensell
Freshman EE major