A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with some academic types from Loyola University in Chicago. Loyola has accepted a fairly large number of students from New Orleans, primarily from its sister school. One of my dinner companions has thirteen transplanted students in a survey course. He said that most of them are doing well and that a majority indicated that they intended to remain in Chicago. Of course, that was before we had a ten inch snowfall and a sub-zero day.
To survive, Tulane trims jobs, sports
Budget woes force university cutbacks amid storm recovery
By Lois Romano
The Washington Post
Published December 9, 2005
Tulane University, facing significant budget shortfalls since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, announced a plan Thursday to reduce its annual operating budget by laying off 230 faculty members, cutting seven NCAA Division 1 programs in eight sports and eliminating underperforming academic programs.
Administrators say the long-term plan--which will ultimately reduce the annual budget by $55 million--is to create a stronger and leaner undergraduate school by focusing on popular and strong programs such as architecture, business, arts and sciences, while jettisoning some engineering programs that were not as highly rated.
Full-time faculty will be required to teach undergraduates, and by keeping the school smaller, officials said they will not have to lower admissions standards. Officials also intend to create a stimulating campus environment with more activities for students who can no longer be enticed by the charms of New Orleans--but may be lured by an opportunity to rebuild a city. Starting next fall, there will be a public service requirement for graduation.
"We think these changes will be a win-win," Tulane President Scott Cowen said of the restructuring, which some experts called the most significant by a major university in decades. "What we are offering is a first-rate education and the opportunity to be a part of the biggest recovery in the last 100 years."
The actions taken by Tulane --the richest of the four main private institutions of higher learning in New Orleans--underscores the challenges faced by colleges in the Gulf Coast region as they struggle to stay viable after the storm. More than 30 schools are facing a total of $1.5 billion in damage and recovery costs after Katrina, displacing about 100,000 students. Fifteen schools remain closed.
The New Orleans colleges--a staple of the city's economy--have faced uncertainly about the future since the storm hit Aug. 29, fretting over whether enrolled students would return, and whether high school seniors would find any reason to attend college in New Orleans.
"This was a debilitating and unprecedented event, and there is no rule book on how to handle it," said Darrin Rankin, vice president for enrollment management at Dillard University, a historically black college.
University administrators have spent the past month traveling the country, imploring students to come home. Although the four New Orleans schools plan to reopen in January, some are in better shape than others.
The $400 million in damage at Dillard was so extensive that classes will be held on Tulane's campus until at least next fall. Dillard was forced to lay off 202 employees--nearly 59 percent of its workforce. Rankin said the school does not expect any of its freshman class to return to New Orleans, and fears it may lose a majority of sophomores.
Xavier University, a historically black school, and Loyola, a Jesuit school, were also forced to cut faculty and staff to function effectively. Both schools anticipate that at least 75 percent of their undergraduates will be back.
Tulane, the largest employer in New Orleans, expects 86 percent of its students to return next month. Although it did not suffer insurmountable damage, the university still faces a $200 million deficit because of recovery efforts and loss of revenue. The university's operating budget for fiscal 2005 was $593 million, according to its Web site.
The medical school will shoulder the bulk of the layoffs, losing 180 clinical faculty members.
Cowen, Tulane's president, said the changes will affect a small percentage of students. The school will continue to participate in football, baseball, women's and men's basketball, women's volleyball and women's track. And Cowen said the school is looking into offering outside students a semester at Tulane to fulfill a public service requirement and help rebuild New Orleans.
The four New Orleans colleges are trying aggressively to recruit students for next fall. Although Dillard, Loyola and Xavier are struggling to lure applicants, Tulane reports that its applications are up about 12 percent overall as of this week, with early decision applications about 5 percent less than last year. Last year, it received 18,000 applications for 1,600 slots.
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
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