<p>It will be released in June- I am hoping it is this years summer reading. I can't wait to read it myself! Tulane</a> University - Reflections on an eventful presidency</p>
<p>Agreed. I would like to see another sometime that focuses strictly on the transformation of Tulane. Maybe someday.</p>
<p>I agree, I was hoping thats what this one would b about.</p>
<p>I imagine that a book like that might ruffle a few feathers still. A lot of alums are still upset about the elimination of some of the engineering majors, the closing of Newcomb College as a separate entity, and other moves that were made. Maybe in another 10 years or so it will be OK.</p>
<p>Ah, yeah didn’t think of it from that perspective. I’m sure after he retires and distances himself a bit , let more time pass. This one still sounds interesting.</p>
<p>If anyone is going to be in town tomorrow night for Orientation, Scott Cowen is holding a discussion/signing of his book at the JCC on St. Charles Ave. at 7:00 pm We are going to try to make it, if our flight gets in on time and we have enough time to get there. </p>
<p>Has anyone else read this? I read it on our flight down to NOLA for Orientation. It’s pretty short and very interesting.<br>
I have a few friends who do not like Scott Cowen. They were either Tulane alum, professors or NOLA residents that just don’t like the man. I heard them describe him as arrogant, self important, blowhard. Many are resentful that he axed the engineering and computer science programs and I’ve heard comments about him creating a school for rich privileged kids from the northeast and that while Tulane is financially stable it’s “poorer” as a result. I can understand the resentment if your friends or family were directly impacted by the elimination of those programs. </p>
<p>Looking back at old threads (I went back to the beginning) it seems that Tulane has really come a long way since before Katrina. There used to be much more of a focus on partying (I think I’ve said that before on here) but now the focus is on academics. Many comments on run down dorms and facilities. I’ve seen Cowen stating that few people realize that after Katrina it wasn’t a matter of WHEN Tulane would re-open, but IF. </p>
<p>He describes himself as an outsider who was able to make difficult, unpopular decisions for the good of the University. In everything I’ve ever seen about him he seems very genuine, very caring and very motivated to do what is best for Tulane. I’ve seen pictures of him with green hair, sitting with students during the hurricane (Issac), at student gatherings and sporting events. I find it hard to reconcile their perceptions with what I’ve seen. </p>
<p>@fallenchemist - You knew the University before and After Katrina- do you think Scot was a good leader? Did he bring the school back from the brink? Is it a better university now? Were there always a large % of students from the Northeast? I just don’t see how anyone can think that Tulane could survive without accepting students from all over. Certainly New Orleans itself wasn’t or isn’t going to produce enough students to keep it in business! </p>
<p>Would love to hear what others on here think about his leadership and reign over Tulane. </p>
<p>@dolphnlvr6 - Since you asked… I have very strong opinions about this. There are, as you say, those that disagree with me strongly. IMO, they are usually one issue “voters” that just cannot see the truth over their self-interest. I really don’t mean that as harsh a criticism as it sounds. I understand that people often get very focused on certain issues and nothing else matters. But I think everyone on here that has followed my posts about Tulane and about college in general would agree that I try to take a very comprehensive and balanced assessment of these subjects. So with that in mind…</p>
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Absolutely not. I think he was a great leader, an outstanding leader. I use past tense because you did, so I take the context to mean referring only to the time following Katrina that was the most impactful. Let’s call it the three to four years after the storm. I think this is a case where, had a couple of other former presidents of the university I have known and/or read about been in charge at that time, the outcome would have been very different and not even close to as good. The man was tireless, acted very quickly when needed, very deliberately but still with all due speed when that was required. Like all great leaders, he set goals and a tone for what he wanted to happen, but took into account a wide variety of opinions and input from sources both within the university and from the outside. He inspired so many to achieve more than they thought was possible, both with his words and his example. There is almost no one that looked at what happened from an outside, non-partisan viewpoint that isn’t effusive in their praise for Scott Cowen, and recognition of him by numerous entities such as The Carnegie Foundation, Time Magazine as one of the countries top ten university presidents, his recognition by and selection to various White House committees by two administrations and so on all speak to his accomplishments in this regard.</p>
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I think that is indisputable. Especially the speed with which he reopened the doors. I think people severely underplay and overlook how huge that was. If Tulane had taken another semester to open, the loss of faculty and students would have been far more serious, to the point of potentially and even likely being devastating. I don’t think I can state it any more plainly or forcefully than that, except to say that I think a few seconds of thought by anyone in creating that scenario in their minds could hardly come to any other conclusion.</p>
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While part of me feels the need to use a disclaimer here that “better” is a subjective term, I think by nearly all measures of what most people would say constitute a better school the answer has to overwhelmingly be yes. But it took a little time to get it there. Certainly there was an initial loss of some key faculty that hurt. Not just in the departments that were eliminated, that was a given. But in departments that were kept, Tulane still lost some great professors due to poaching by other schools combined with, no doubt, a feeling by some of those profs that they just didn’t want to be part of the rebuilding process, both of Tulane and their own lives and homes in NOLA. The uncertainty surrounding both was huge at first, and by the time it was clear that both would be OK, even better than before, they had already moved on. But most came back, and some truly excellent young professors were hired over the next several years to take their place. As good as some that left were, in a number of cases their replacements have turned out to be stars themselves and brought a lot of youthful energy to boot.</p>
<p>The students came back in numbers that were remarkable. I dare say that without that, and the attitude they brought, New Orleans and Tulane both would have had a much harder time coming back. That led to the huge success of the service learning aspect of Tulane, not only the requirement to graduate but the mindset overall. Applications to the university soared, and Tulane reached application numbers of nearly 50,000 that to that point only a school like UCLA used to see. That has tapered off some, mostly on purpose by Tulane, but the quality of student submitting an application, both from a academic statistics aspect and a social awareness aspect changed completely. Consequently the incoming freshman classes are more academically accomplished, that is simply factual by the math, but they are also overall more mature in their outlook towards society and their role in it. Of course there is still a ton of partying, it’s college! I really can’t say if it is any less than in the old days. I think it is less, because I think there are more very academically serious and focused students at Tulane than before. But of course even the most incredibly selective schools like Duke and Stanford have epic partying. They all do. The point is that Tulane is definitely stronger in the academic strength of its current students and it continues to inch up, although it is already at a very high level on any objective scale.</p>
<p>I would also say there are some great programs brought into Tulane since the transformation. More majors and programs of study that take key interdisciplinary approaches. Things like Newcomb Scholars, and the Newcomb Institute.and now Altman Scholars. And that continues to evolve as well, as there will now be a Tulane Scholars program for 75 of the very best and most academically serious at Tulane that will provide a new level of mentoring and opportunity to those select students. So the improvements are certainly ongoing. I am sure I have left out a lot.</p>
<p>To be continued…</p>
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Yes, absolutely. Did it used to be more represented by the South? Yes of course, although I am not sure it was that much more New Orleans represented. Maybe a little, but I think the big shift has been to have somewhat fewer from the traditional southern states, especially the Deep South, and more from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic and more recently from the western part of the country. Obviously Tulane could easily produce some tables and charts documenting this shift over time to see how much of this is perception and how much is factual, but I am sure it would show more from the eastern part of the country above the DC area. But as you say, it has always been so. Transportation is so much cheaper and easier these days though. The northeastern schools have also seen a dramatic shift away from being so area heavy to a much broader geographic diversity. I am sure Stanford and others would show similar trends. It isn’t just Tulane, and overall Tulane would almost certainly show a broader national spread today than 30 years ago.</p>
<p>I know this was almost a book in itself, but I think you left out the one decision made by Scott and Tulane that was actually the most controversial and still raises a lot of hard feelings today. That was the decision to close Newcomb College as a formal, separate entity. The decision to close most of engineering and computer science certainly created a rift with many of the alumni that graduated with those majors, but now we are talking about an entire gender, and not just a department but a recognized and beloved name on thousands of diplomas. Lawsuits resulted, one of them making it all the way to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which is as high as it could go since it wasn’t a federal matter. Tulane won, but there is no ignoring the fact that it had elements of a pyrrhic victory. Obviously I wouldn’t go quite that far, since the result overall was good for the school and, I would argue, good for women. But it was extremely emotional, and I get that. But that’s another book, I just wanted to get it on this (now) dissertation that this was perhaps the most significant of all the decisions made when you add up the operational effect (not much in some ways but definitely a change in administrative structure) and the effect on a huge number of alumnae.</p>
<p>OK, I am sure you are all tired of reading by now, but I am happy to address any points and questions in more bite sized chunks if you wish. Forgive any typos, even I don’t have the energy to proofread this right now.</p>
<p>FYI and BTW, I haven’t gotten a copy of the book yet. But I will at some point soon, I hope.</p>
<p>I always enjoy reading your perspectives. I did forget to mention the Newcomb school closure. He does touch upon it in the book. I don’t see that this has harmed the University in anyway or made it more unattractive to women since the enrollment leans towards females! </p>
<p>It was very surreal reading this book as I was taking my son to Orientation. The week before Katrina my family was vacationing in New Orleans. We became friendly at the hotel pool with a family who was there for Tulane move in with their son. I feel like we have come full circle from that point. I never would have imagined on that day that 9 years later I would be doing the same thing. We left town on Friday and …well the rest is history.</p>
<p>Oh and I only used past tense since technically his reign as President is over. I’d really like to see him continue to be involved in New Orleans on a much larger scale. Can you imagine how he could re-build and strengthen the police force and reduce crime? Or deal with the homeless population? Get funding for preservation for the wetlands? I think that man can do anything he sets his mind to!</p>
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Well, technically he has two more weeks.</p>
<p>yeah you right. 
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<p>And just to be clear, while it is perfectly appropriate to focus on the 3, 4 or 5 years right after Katrina, since they were of course the most critical, I think Scott’s leadership has continued unabated. One can certainly like or dislike some of the decisions, especially the football stadium would draw a real split in opinions I imagine. But I think when you look at the new science building, the new dorms and dining hall in the works, the improvements in campus amenities, the expansion of the library, and yes the new stadium, along with several other obvious projects and dozens, if not hundreds of less visible decisions, he has continued to be an excellent president right up until his retirement.</p>
<p>It is also very important to keep in mind the unique role of Tulane in its host city. With no major companies having a dominant presence in NOLA, Tulane is the largest private employer. I am having trouble thinking of a school that is in a city of 350,000 or more and a metro area of over one million that is its largest employer. So in a very real way, as went Tulane, so would go New Orleans. Talk about added pressure! And I didn’t even touch on how he led the way in the complete overhaul of the K-12 schools in the city, and how much they have improved from pre-Katrina levels. Lots of work still to do, but the huge jump is undeniable.</p>
<p>Yep, and again varying opinions on that. I’ve heard people upset that the only schools left in NOLA will be Charter schools- even though those schools are thriving and the remaining Recovery Public schools are failing miserably. Thousands of teachers were fired after Katrina so there is still some bitterness. Thats a whole other can of worms. Of course I think ANY changes to the public school system is going to be beneficial. That was a HUGE reason we chose NOT to move to NOLA 13 years ago when we had the chance. THe school system. Our son was in a very good private school system here. To find a comparable school in NOLA would have been out of our price range. He talks about that in the book too and that all came from him wanting to get his staff and faculty back home. Many of them not only lost their homes but they had children and no where to send them to school. So finding housing and re-opening schools were an additional challenge to getting Tulane back up and running. The scope of what he did in those initial years following Katrina is mind boggling! </p>
<p>I don’t have the book handy or I would look it up but he referenced a quote about not seeing how successful a leader/president is until 5 years after they have left office so I guess his true impact is yet to be seen. </p>
<p>Just went on amazon and sent it to my kindle. You two should get a commission! </p>