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Tulane University

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
6823 St Charles Ave
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
Phone
(504) 865-5000
School Information
"But we’re hardly an ivory-tower, view-from-40,000-feet kind of place. Yes, you’ll find a lot of intellectual firepower on campus. Our faculty are involved in projects as diverse as protecting the aquatic resources of the Gulf and chronicling the region’s singular musical heritage. But because of our size – just 8,610 undergrads; classes average 21 students – you won’t be looking at that academic talent from afar. The brilliant faculty who are carrying out that work also happen to be eager, nurturing educators, and they’ll be teaching your classes from the minute you arrive. "About those classes: There are 1,700 to choose from. We offer more than 70 majors in five different schools, including science and engineering, architecture, business, liberal arts and public health. Can’t pick? About a third of the students here double major." (Source: https://tulane.edu/about)
General Information
Tulane University has announced two avenues of support for anti-racist causes: symbolic actions and curriculum change. The university will be reconsidering its naming policy of on-campus spaces. The university also said that it is building on its "initiatives to develop broad-based equity, diversity and inclusion programs. It will be the expectation that all faculty and staff will participate." Additionally, a new racial equity course will be expanded to be a required part of the curriculum at Tulane. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • The university announced, "The Tulane University Leadership Institute, working in collaboration with the Office of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion and the Chief Diversity Officer, offers leaders from across the university the opportunity to develop the skills and understanding necessary to contribute to institutional anti-racism initiatives at all levels of the University." Participants will "Learn about systemic racism, racial trauma, anti-Black racism, colorism, and interlocking oppressions, and other topics foundational to an understanding of anti-racism leadership" and "Explore the history of racism and other intersectional systems of oppression at Tulane and in New Orleans," among other activities.
  • The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion offers an "Anti-Racism and EDI Teach-In" (which featured remarks by Ibram X. Kendi). The office also offers the "Racial Justice and Allyship Library Guide."
  • The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine held a "Race and Racism Workshop." The description reads, "Workshop participants will participate in interactive activities and open dialogues designed to help them grow in their awareness of self, different lived experiences, history, culture and systems of oppression. These experiences will both challenge participants’ assumptions and perspectives while supporting a collaborative learning environment, through open and honest dialogue."
  • From February to April 2022, Tulane SPHTM Student Experience hosted a series of talks titled "Critical Conversations: Dismantling Racism in Public Health", which explored topics "centered around identifying racism, the impacts it has on health, what is happening at SPHTM to address these issues, and what the next solutions are to change systems and remove barriers."
  • For AAPI Heritage Month, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion invited psychologist and "anti-racist educator" Sherry Wang from Santa Clara University to lecture to the Tulane community on "Asian American/Pacific Islander Mental Health Amidst the Twin Pandemics: Lessons Beyond COVID-19." In her talk, she explored the history of anti-API racism, characterized racial injustice as the other "pandemic" coinciding with COVID-19, and explained how people at Tulane could be "allies and co-conspirators for API communities."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • Racial equity required course will be expanded to be part of the curriculum at Tulane.
  • In 2018, Tulane began requiring all first-year undergraduate students to complete a "Race and Inclusion course. University cabinet members also recently completed a similar course, and search committee chairs have taken classes on unconscious bias to ensure candidates from diverse backgrounds have equitable opportunities."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • The university said, "Tulane is building on these initiatives to develop broad-based equity, diversity and inclusion programs. It will be the expectation that all faculty and staff will participate."
  • On November 28, 2022, Tulane School of Architecture posted a job application for Professor of Practice/Lecturer in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. The application requires submission of a statement describing one's "commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion".
Program and Research Funding
  • The university announced, "In June 2020, President Fitts committed $2.5 million annually to support racial equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives at Tulane. These funds will be used to provide additional BIPOC student support through the creation new programs and initiatives and the expansion of existing efforts. The EDI Initiative Committee is charged with soliciting funding requests, reviewing submissions received by schools and shared service units, and providing a recommendation to senior administration for implementation."
Re-Imagining Policing
  • The university police department "is also expanding anti-bias and de-escalation training and has amended and continues to review use-of-force procedures. The Chief Diversity Officer is currently reviewing several TUPD policies as well."
Resources
  • The School of Liberal Arts is starting its "yearlong series of lectures on Anti-Racism and the Disciplines" with a lecture entitled "Anti-Racism and the Economics Profession".
  • University will be hosting a workshop for faculty and staff on "integrating anti-racism and social justice into [their] learning environments."
  • Tulane hosted an "Anti-Racism and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Teach-In" to "1. Become Anti-Racist; 2. Understand How Oppression Works; 3. Know Intent vs. Impact; 4. Understand Class Marginalization, Paternalism, and Patriarchy; 5. Build Community and Organize Against Racism".
  • The School of Liberal Arts Dean’s Speaker Series for 2021-2022 was titled "Anti-Racism and the Disciplines." The description reads, "Many of the liberal arts disciplines have complicated relationships to structural racism, colonialism, and/or imperialism, which arguably are structured into the 'rules' of the disciplines themselves. Scholars working in those disciplines, including those featured in the series, are working to uncover those histories in the effort of thinking about and staging work for the next generation(s) of scholars."
  • In 2019, the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine observed the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slaves in North America and "how the practice of slavery shaped the country and informed the systemic racism with which the nation still battles today." The event was titled "The 400 Years of Inequality: Changing the Narrative", which "encouraged an open discussion surrounding the impact of slavery" on the US with the hope of "publicly acknowledging 400 years of inequality" and "[promoting] understanding and awareness while joining the community in reaffirming [Tulane's] commitment to a future of equality." To carry the 400 Years of Inequality project forward, the Anti-racism Academic Resources website was developed, which includes recommended readings, podcasts, documentaries, news, and webinars.
  • Tulane highlighted the work of student organization Students Organizing Against Racism (SOAR). SOAR is a "multicultural group on campus dedicated to anti-racist organizing and community building". One of its semesterly events is the "Tours of Truth" program, in which the organization hosts guided tours "describing the history of racism and anti-racist resistance at Tulane University".
  • Tulane's Office for Gender and Sexual Diversity (OGSD) "strives for Queer & Trans Liberation rooted in anti-racism, accessibility, and decolonization." Specifically, OGSD aims to "[center] those who hold multiple marginalized identities in the LGBTQ+ community"; be accountable with how the Tulane community "[reflects] on and [navigates] its privileged identities"; and provide resources, programs, and spaces for Tulane to "unlearn the internalized messaging of homophobia, transphobia, and sexism."
  • Tulane's Stategy for Tomorrow is a "university-wide strategic planning process to guide equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and anti-racism initiatives and track progress from July 1, 2022 through July 1, 2027." It aims to "[weave]" EDI "into the DNA of [Tulane] university." This initiative stems from Tulane's belief that in order to become a "truly great university", it must "be an equitable, diverse and inclusive community."
Symbolic Actions
  • The University will be considering policies for the naming of campus buildings and spaces.
  • The university said, "In July 2020, President Fitts charged the Building Naming Task Force with developing community-wide principles to inform decisions in naming or renaming Tulane buildings and prominent spaces."
Last updated April 7th, 2023
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