Tulane Censured

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Adding to Tulane's decline, it has now been censured by the American Association of University Professors, based on a report which found the following:</p>

<p>"1) that the Tulane administration refused to present sufficient information to link specific faculty terminations with the university's financial problems </p>

<p>2) that by refusing to seek other suitable internal positions for terminated tenured faculty members, Tulane was violating its own procedures as well as AAUP standards </p>

<p>3) that in restructuring the faculties without faculty participation, Tulane violated faculty constitutions as well as AAUP standards </p>

<p>4) that the university does not appear to have distinguished tenured from untenured faculty members in decisions to terminate and that that lack of distinction, together with recent ambitious plans for various expenditures, puts in doubt the claims of financial exigency and the existence of the system of academic tenure at Tulane." </p>

<p>Added to the accerating decline in New Orleans's population and economic base, this does not, despite the university's hype to the contrary, bode well for the future of Tulane. Look, also, for a significant slip from its precarious perch as the number 44 university in the country per USNWR (tied with Yeshiva and UC-Irvine) when those ratings come out in August.</p>

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<p>Tulane managed to grow its endowment sigificantly during the Katrina year. It also basically tapped out its line of credit with the banks. Essentially what happened was the endowment grew by roughly the amount borrowed.</p>

<p>You might wonder why the endowment would grow in the midst of what was a financial disaster and why you would choose to grow the endowment and borrow at the same time. Likely the reason is in the details of President Cowen's cotract.</p>

<p>Everyone should know that the physical damage to the campus was significant and that it did cost beaucoup bucks to repair the damage on an accelerated schedule in order to open the following Spring. At the same time thanks to the timing of katrina right at the start of the Fall semester Tulane did NOT lose tuition money. The students all had to pay Tulane's tuition regardless of where they attended classes or withdraw and forfeit scholarships.</p>

<p>Tulane is still a pretty good school but the current administration is a disaster. Many of the best faculty have bolted or are in the process of bolting. The medical enterprise may have been permanently crippled by the losses during Katrina and the loss of population in the city. I expect it will drop out of the top 50 in the USNWR rankings. It has dropped a whole host of PhD programs including such basics as English, economics, and French, and the vision thing they do have going seems to involve paying the bills by turning the atheletic department in to a money maker. That is about as likely to happen as me getting drafted by the Yankees.</p>

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<p>Wow, what a response to such a sad, damaging post, HL, particularly by someone who speaks of himself in the first person plural, seemingly associating himself WITH Tulane. I would think this would be an opportunity for you to provide the other side--some real balance--if you really are on intimate terms with the workings of the institution. Can you give that a shot?</p>

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<p>Well ctymom I will let you put the cheerleader costume on. I don't believe that living in denial ever did anyone any good. If you believe love means never telling your significant other they don't look good in spandex you had best not plan on growing old together.</p>

<p>Sometimes the truth hurts and you cannot get to fixing a problem until you accept that you have one.</p>

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<p>Ha! We're ALREADY old and neither of us ever looked very good in spandex. However, we both have an awful lot of other excellent features that balance those flaws (if flaws they be), and tell one another about them regularly. Balance is everything and goes a long way toward helping people see the truth.</p>

<p>Do I take your metaphor too far?</p>

<p>I have no cheerleader's costume (too much spandex), as I don't speak of myself and Tulane as "we," HL. I assume you know enough about the inner workings to justfy that usage, so I assume that you are better placed to provide reasonable balance.</p>

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<p>hey buddy what you got against tulane? yeshiva university itself has been on the list of censured institutions since 1982 and still ranks in the top 50 near tulane. do more thorough research. i dont feel like this will translate into an exact ranking change for the school. look at yeshiva. its not like the rankings search out for this aaup report in its criteria. other things such has test scores and acceptance rates(lower for 2010) which are actually important factors in us news have remained stable (at least for class of 2010). although i do agree this is detrimental for the school, although perhaps not immediately to its rankings.
<a href="http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protectrights/academicfreedom/censuredadmins.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protectrights/academicfreedom/censuredadmins.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>hmm I wouldn't be worrying about the school's ranking as much as it's ability to remain a top university in its own right, regardless of what USNews says. If faculty are leaving, PhD programs closing, and finances remaining stagnant, I'm not sure how it can be good. However, one must consider what New Orleans has been through. It's amazing that Tulane has been so resilient and still been capable of attracting quality students.</p>

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<p>I think people on this thread are making moutains out of mole hills, so to speak.
My friend, a former member of the AAUP, tells me that the AAUP likes to sit back and shoot spitballs at everyone. I mean, its a union of college professors, so what would you expect them to do? I don't know how big a deal this censure really is. I don't think any less of Bennington for being on the list.</p>

<p>In terms of cutting engineer and grad programs, this isn't as dire a situation as people make it out to be, either. It is, in a way, may be the start of a trend.
I mean, Penn wants to cut its engineering programs. If a hurricane hit Philadelphia, they might have done the same thing.
Brown has ALREADY cut upper level slavic and italian majors/courses. Granted, these aren't English and French, but it shows that Linguistics and Engineering are two fields that many schools are trying to abandon.</p>

<p>As many people have said, this is kind've something Tulane may have wanted to do anyways. I don't agree with cutting these programs in any way, but I don't think it is as "bad" of a situation as people are making it out to be.</p>

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<p>I think it's also telling that several other universities from New Orleans ended up on that Censure list as well. While there may have been some decisions made that weren't the standard expected, the fact is that what they ALL have in common is coping with major devastation and an unprecedented situation.</p>

<p>It tells me that perhaps these drastic measures, while unpleasant and clearly hurtful on a personal level, were perhaps necessary to assure survival. I can't judge these college presidents/administrators very well because I haven't walked the "mile in his shoes". </p>

<p>If Tulane was the ONLY school in the area that was censured, it would force me to look at it a bit differently. But that's not the case here. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how its rankings fare in the future. Since S goes there, I have a vested interest in the outcome. And I hope things will stabilize, for the sake of the school and the city.</p>

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<p>I have been waiting to post on this topic since I first read it, but there are a few points that I did want to bring to the table. </p>

<p>First, Curiouser is right. Every school in New Orleans was censured, not just Tulane. Loyola University New Orleans, Southern University at New Orleans, Tulane University and the University of New Orleans were all censured. Many higher education officials claim that the AAUP simply cannot grasp the gravity of Hurricane Katrina. This is how many (but certainly not all) people feel at Tulane, including Dr. Cowen. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.tulane.edu/%7Eaaup/cowen6_11.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tulane.edu/~aaup/cowen6_11.htm&lt;/a> This is his response to the censure and is certainly worth reading. The meat of it states; "The AAUP's report, on which the June 9 vote to censure was based, is a deeply flawed, factually inaccurate document riddled with erroneous information and contradictions that do not support its own conclusions or AAUP doctrine. The AAUP report is a disservice to the values for which AAUP stands and to the thousands of individuals, including those at Tulane, who have suffered through the worst natural disaster in the history of the U.S."</p>

<p>I feel its necessary to show both sides of this argument. </p>

<p>While I know little about the AAUP and what their codes and stances are, I did find this article interesting. <a href="http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i40/40a00801.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i40/40a00801.htm&lt;/a>. To me, it sounds like the AAUP has plenty of problems of its own. I do not speak for Tulane when I say this, but it's just a point worth brining up. </p>

<p>I am not totally clear why redcrimblue and Higherlead have it out for Tulane, but I respect their opinions. The truth of the matter is that no one on this blog, or out side of USNWR, knows what goes on with their future rankings. I can tell you that while Tulane did eliminate some of their Engineering Programs (while still retaining its four big programs), they have since created new programs for Engineering in the SSE, including Engineering Physics. Also, the elimination of a few PhD programs will not affect USNWR rankings, as they rank exclusively undergraduate programs. </p>

<p>It’s always wonderful to see so many strong supporters of Tulane out there. We are truly a school on the rebound, with an even brighter future. Sure, call me an optimist, but I know I am not just part of what some call hype. We're all pretty hyped about having 1400 freshman, 5 new majors, and a beautiful, continually recovering city to call home.</p>

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<p>You have my best wishes as does your city.</p>

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<p>Thanks, TulaneJeff. Balance is good. Optimism and hope in the face of devastation are even better. I've been in higher ed for many years myself, and I don't agree with what the AAUP has done, but I have tired of being ridiculed on this board. Thank you for stepping in with the appropriate balance.</p>

<p>Students like my son have found Tulane to be a wonderful school. He is planning to return from his summer classes in Mexico to volunteer further, this time with the new Hispanic population that have come to help rebuild. I've watched his character as well as his intellect develop at Tulane, with professors who are real teachers, willing to maintain relationships with him that include meaningful e-mail exchanges about ideas as well as the more normal office and class hours. And I've seen him find people who share his values as well as those who challenge him, allowing him to become a stronger man over the last two years. He's had opportunities he couldn't have found anywhere else, and if anyone wants concrete details about those, they can PM me. </p>

<p>I wouldn't want to be accused of being a cheerleader.</p>

<p>Rah.</p>

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<p>tulane rules!!!</p>

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<p>Talk about "deeply flawed, factually inaccurate ... riddled with erroneous information" did Dr Cowen read his own response to the AAUP censure? I see he has gone from having katrina be the worst natural disaster to hit the US in 100 years, which itself is factually incorrect to it being "the worst natural disaster in the history of the U.S."</p>

<p>Now I have no intention of belittling the enormity of katrina but the hurricane that hit Galveston, the San Francisco earthquake, the 1918 Influenza epidemic, and even the 1927 Mississippi floods that inundated 27,000 square miles for two months was very arguably a bigger disaster though the oficial loss of human life was lower. There were also a number of other natural disasters where the loss of life was actually far higher than katrina including the Johnstown flood and the Peshtigo fire.</p>

<p>Isn't it about time that Dr Cowen stop wrapping himself in bloody sheets everytime somebody questions one of his decisions and actually address the issues? If anyone is doing a disservice to Tulane it is not the AAUP or me or any of the other critics of certain decisions but this administration.</p>

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<p>I just returned home from Tulane, new student orientation.</p>

<p>Tulane is here to stay in the top 50, I actually think 25!!!! The students are top in their class, have drive, and want to make a difference in this world. In choosing to attend Tulane these kids are making a dramatic statement. I was amazed at the top students from my sons high school in California that were turned down from Tulane.</p>

<p>This was my first time to New Orleans, I fell in love with Tulane and New Orleans. The media needs to stop the negative information. The French Quarter is wonderful, the Garden District and Uptown beautiful. In fact several random people told me that popular hot spot in New Orleans are now in better shape than before Katrina. We had an amazing time with the wonderful southern people and their hospitality is so genuine! Wow!</p>

<p>Visit the fabulous Tulane!
Visit New Orleans!
Spread the Word!</p>

<p>Your newest and biggest fan!</p>

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<p>there are a ton of valedictorians and kids with 32+ act scores including 4 perfect 36 act score kids that were at orientation this past week that i talked to</p>

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<p>There are two ways of looking at the post-Katrina New Orleans. Some choose to compare the recovery to what the city was at its idyllic best. I dunno..pre-legalized gambling? Before the Fair Grounds burned? A fairer, more rational viewpoint, however, is how far the city proper has come since August, 2005. Though 80 percent of Orleans Parish was flooded, much of the Tulane campus included, residents have returned, if not to rebuilt neighborhoods to the communities across the lake, down the river and Metairie. The city itself (Orleans Parish) has rebounded to 56% of its pre-Katrina population. The greater New Orleans area (suburbs, et al) had a population of 1.4 million before Katrina and stands (according to the Census Bureau) at 1.2 million today.
It's New Orleans, therefore...not Pompeii.
Restaurants are open for business. The French Quarter awaits tourists. Tulane -- in the face of stubborn insurers that have fought the people for every nickel ("you're in good hands," my a**) -- was able to repair its flood-damaged campus (from Willow Street to Claiborne) and serve as a beacon of restoration for the entire community. I am neither a student, nor an alum, nor an employee. To be honest, I graduated from LSU. But as a native Orleanian, I am proud of Tulane's resilience and the stance they've taken in courageously looking to the future. It's an example that many in the city, the mayor included, should follow.
But don't take my word for it. New Orleans needs you to visit and see for yourself. (And drag your congressman along with you. It's the federal government's Army Corps of Engineers that caused the whole mess).</p>

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<p>I've ben down to NOLA three times since the hurricane including for Jazzfest in 2006 and Graduation inMay of this year. From a tourists perspective or a Tulane student's perspective things are pretty much back to normal. That doesn't mean that there aren't still real problems and vast swatches in the northern and eastern parts of the city that aren't still devasted and still largely deserted but it is a geographically large city with relatively low density and little highrise living.</p>

<p>The town could use the tourists and you will have fun if you go (though August is no time to be outdoors for those not used to a special kind of heat and humidity). Plan a Fall trip. Any time up until almost Christmas is fine and by the end of Februrary it is beautiful again. You can feel good about spending too much money on vacation because the town and the merchants need it and are glad to see you.</p>

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<p>Cowen may have misspoke when he said Katrina was the worst natural disaster to hit the US; he probably meant to (and should have) said it was the worst engineering disaster in US history.</p>

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<p>HL, how can you wish NOLA well and yet so clearly wish Tulane such ill as to post consistently negative and even ugly remarks--even as you speak of yourself and the school as "we," which I find ridiculous under the circumstances--here where people come to read when they are excited about going to college? It makes no sense.</p>