The Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking celebrated its five-year anniversary in November. The center aims to support students as they identify their changemaking path through programs in teaching, research and practices of design thinking, social entrepreneurship and social innovation. The center was founded in 2014 with a $15 million contribution from Taylor and the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation.

Lee Skinner is the new dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, effective July 1. She also has joined the faculty of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Skinner is a leading scholar of Latin American literature and was previously associate dean at Claremont McKenna College in California.

Tulane’s School of Professional Advancement, in collaboration with the university’s Center for Sport, announced its new online master’s degree and graduate certificates in sports studies. Students can receive graduate-level certifications in sport administration, sport coaching or sport security.

Dr. Giovanni Piedimonte has been named Tulane’s new vice president for research, effective Sept. 3. He also will join the pediatrics faculty in the medical school. Piedimonte was previously the Steven and Nancy Calabrese Endowed Chair for Excellence in Pediatric Care, Research and Education at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

Students from the A. B. Freeman School of Business worked with the New Orleans Pelicans to study data to determine what influences attendance at Pelicans games. Students examined dates and times of potential games at the Smoothie King Center for the 2019–20 season. The analytics will be used by the Pelicans as the team collaborates with the NBA to solidify an official game schedule. The students who participated in the semester-long project are enrolled in Tulane’s Master of Business Analytics program.