It’s no secret that Michael A. Fitts loves Tulane University. As Tulane’s president for the past decade, he relishes the opportunity to tout the school’s successes, accomplishments and triumphs, be it to civic groups, business organizations or governmental bodies.

For his annual State of the University address, the spotlight landed on Tulane’s staff and faculty, a group of employees he describes as “moving Tulane forward in a million different ways” and who are taking Tulane from “bright to brilliant.”

Those are just a few of the words that Fitts shared last fall during his State of the University addresses at the uptown, downtown and Tulane National Primate Research Center campuses. He also shared his “Top 10 List” of everything he admires about Tulane, from its world-class research enterprise to the academic caliber of the student body, and from the physical transformation of Tulane’s campuses to the Always the Audacious campaign, which has raised more than $1.7 billion from nearly 100,000 donors.

He noted that none of this would be possible without the dedicated staff and expert faculty, many of whom were recognized with awards during the events. “The big picture,” he said, “is truly an inspiring sight.”

“The State of the University is my opportunity to share this inspiration with you,” Fitts continued. “It’s a celebration of all of your accomplishments and a recognition of the myriad ways that you are each contributing to our success.”

In an exceptionally monumental year, one of Tulane’s greatest milestones was the renaming of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in honor of the woman whom Fitts called a “devoted alumna and iconic Tulanian.”

Fitts said Tulane is building international recognition as a research university on the rise, with federal research funding up by more than 75% over the last seven years and faculty garnering accolades across the globe for their work on everything from ancient societies and aging to coastal erosion and disease.

Underscoring Tulane’s ascent as a preeminent research institution, Fitts recalled a visit by the then-president and first lady of the United States to announce that the bipartisan Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health had committed up to $23 million to fund cancer research at Tulane.

Among other highlights, Fitts noted:

The acceptance rate dropped from 41% to 15% over the last decade, and new scholarships and pathway programs are expanding access to qualified students regardless of their financial backgrounds.

Tulane’s physical transformation of its uptown campus over the past year includes the opening of Steven and Jann Paul Hall, home for the School of Science and Engineering; the creation of National Pan-Hellenic Council Plots, which honor the legacy of historically Black Greek-letter organizations; expansion of Richardson Memorial Hall, home of the School of Architecture; the renovation of Newcomb Hall, home of the School of Liberal Arts; and the continued expansion of The Village, Tulane’s innovative residential living and learning community.

Tulane’s downtown campus is embarking on a historic expansion which includes new research labs at Hutchinson Memorial Building; major enhancements such as new lighting, landscaping and food options; and the planned transformation of the Tulane Medical Center building and redevelopment of the iconic Charity Hospital into the centerpiece of Tulane’s downtown home.

On the North Shore, the university recently broke ground on a new administrative building for the Tulane National Primate Research Center.

Tulane has taken major steps to harden campuses against hurricanes and weather events, including the addition of 16 megawatts of backup power to prevent disruptions to research.

In addition, a recent study measured Tulane’s annual economic impact at $5.2 billion, up from $3.1 billion five years ago