News

Tulane bestows teaching awards on five faculty members

Five Tulane University faculty members received universitywide teaching awards during the 2019 Commencement ceremony — two Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellows Awards for Undergraduate Teaching, which recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching, student advising, and instructional improvement and development; two President’s Awards for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching, given to faculty members who have a sustained and compelling record of excellence in teaching and learning and an ongoing commitment to educational excellence; and an Oliver Fund Award for Excelle

University Commencement hits all the right notes

“Wherever you go, don’t forget the lessons of this place,” Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, told graduates at Tulane University Commencement on Saturday, May 18. 

More than 3,000 candidates representing all 50 states, more than 50 countries, and each of the university’s nine schools earned their academic degrees at the joyful and musical ceremony held in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. 

President Mike Fitts, who presided and conferred the degrees, noted in his remarks that Tulane Commencement is “a well-known musical event.” 

Exceptional student, artist, Newcomb Scholar will be missed

Margaret K. “Meg” Maurer of Forest Lake, Minnesota, a Newcomb Scholar and 2019 graduating senior, died in a tragic accident on March 5. The Tulane community mourns the loss of this truly exceptional person. Meg, an outstanding and dedicated student by any measure, was the recipient of numerous Newcomb College Institute and private foundation grants, collaborated with professors in their labs, and spent much of her free time in the Tulane greenhouse and local gardens.

Tulane professor to help find better treatment for respiratory disease

A Tulane University biomedical engineering professor will share in a $2.6 million grant to research better ways of managing acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS, a rapidly progressive disease caused by fluid buildup in the lungs and an overwhelming inflammatory response. 

Don and Lora Peters establish “Graduated With Honors” Wall for student-athletes

Tulane University student-athletes are known for their excellence on the field and in the classroom, and now the best of the best are receiving recognition on a wall in the James W. Wilson Intercollegiate Athletics Center. The “Graduated With Honors Wall” was made possible by the generosity of Tulane alumnus Donald Peters and his wife, Lora.

Tulane PhD student wins regional Three Minute Thesis Competition

On Feb. 16, Tulane bioinnovation PhD student Samantha Kurtz was selected as the winner of the 2019 Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Tulane researcher honored for work on AI ethics

As the role of artificial intelligence (AI) expands in daily life, so too does the need to engage in research into how to most effectively build AI technologies that align with positive values and ethics.

That is one of the areas that Tulane University researcher Nicholas Mattei specializes in and for which he was honored during the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Tulane alumni couple donates $5 million for Presidential Chair

Tulane University has received a $5 million commitment to fund a Presidential Chair from alumni Marcela Villareal de Panetta and Bernard J. Panetta II.

Ms. de Panetta is a member of the Board of Tulane and the Dean’s Council of the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her husband and fellow Tulane graduate, Bernard, is a trial lawyer.

Lisa Jackson, recipient of 2019 Tulane Distinguished Alumni Award, acts on making the world better

Protecting the planet is what Lisa Jackson said she is most passionate about.

Jackson is vice president for environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple, the American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Apple is known for its computer hardware, software and electronic communication devices.

Tulane researcher wins Early Career Award for work in child development

Sarah Gray, an assistant professor of psychology at Tulane University, is one of five recipients of a prestigious Early Career Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).

Gray and the other four winners were honored for distinguishing “themselves as researchers and scholars, as evidenced through research, publications and scholarly activities.”