Marcia Walker-McWilliams will lead the Tulane History Project and its effort to develop a detailed history of Tulane with respect to its racial history and founding, including the impacts from slavery and segregation. Walker-McWilliams previously served as executive director of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium at the University of Chicago, taught American history and African American studies courses at several universities, and served as associate director in the Center for Civic Leadership at Rice University.

“If ChatGPT eliminates rote work, freeing academic minds to pursue new possibilities and apply their time and energy to solve novel problems, it could multiply academic potential and lead to more breakthroughs more quickly. In fields such as biomedical research, the result could be lifesaving.”

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named Tulane a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students, a recognition given to the U.S. colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected in the program last year. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Mariam Taqaddusi, who fled Afghanistan, and Islam Ahmed, who fled Egypt, are part of the Tulane Global Visiting Scholars Program, which was established to broaden and deepen global perspectives at Tulane while supporting scholars who face significant risk to their lives and well-being. Taqaddusi is affiliated with the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program and the Newcomb Institute. Ahmed is affiliated with the Department of Political Science and the Middle East and North African Studies Program.

The School of Professional Advancement (SoPA) public administration program has been named in honor of the late U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. The program reached a milestone in May when its first cohort of graduates was awarded the Master of Public Administration degree. The online program also offers graduate certificates.

The School of Professional Advancement has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to expand and enhance teacher recruitment efforts in New Orleans. Funding will support the launch of a Master of Teaching degree and fund mentor stipends and an induction program for graduates of the school’s teacher preparation programs.

About 1,875 new undergraduate students entered Tulane in fall 2022. These students are the highest achieving and most diverse in university history. They were selected from an applicant pool of 43,028, which made Tulane’s acceptance rate 8.4%. Twenty-eight were valedictorians of their high schools, and 178 had perfect GPAs. Thirty-two are Louisiana Promise students who are enrolled with their full financial need met without loans.

Laura McKinney, associate professor of sociology, and Michelle Foa, associate professor of art history, have received a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to develop a minor in environmental humanities. The interdisciplinary curriculum will give students more opportunities for deep examination of people’s relationship to the environment and draw on the expertise of humanities, social and natural sciences, and architecture faculty.