Michael Cunningham, associate provost for graduate studies and research, a Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellow and professor in the Department of Psychology, has joined the President’s Cabinet to ensure that the needs, opportunities and contributions of post­graduate students are represented at the highest level of university leadership.

Tulane is a recipient of the 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, which recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The national award is given annually by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

The Tulane Innovation Institute hired Clay Christian as its first director of commercialization intelligence and assessment and Matt Koenig as the executive director of intellectual property management. Christian was previously responsible for cultivating relationships between the School of Medicine’s research enterprise and outside collaborators. Koenig served as the director of intellectual property management for the University of Kansas.

“It’s humbling ... it makes all the hard work, and the late nights, and the trials and tribulations of the startup life, all worth it to know the impact that it’s making.” — Billy Heim (SSE ’07, B ’12), discusses the development of a graft that can regenerate a nipple and areola for breast reconstruction for breast cancer survivors. The graft was developed by NICHOLAS PASHOS (SSE ’17), alumnus of Tulane’s Bioinnovation PhD 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.