Welcoming Dr. Michelle Lacey as Chair of the Department of Mathematics

The Tulane University School of Science and Engineering (SSE) is celebrating a historic milestone with the appointment of Dr. Michelle Lacey as the new chair of the Department of Mathematics. A long-tenured and highly respected member of the Tulane faculty, Dr. Lacey steps into the role as both the first woman and the first statistician to chair the department, bringing a deeply collaborative, interdisciplinary, and democratic vision to mathematical sciences at Tulane. 

"I initially didn’t really see myself in an administrative role," Dr. Lacey shared, reflecting on her path to leadership. "But after serving as our Director of Undergraduate Studies and on the departmental Executive Committee, I felt like I could step into the role and be effective. The novelty of being the first woman in this role was also something very compelling to me." 

Dr. Lacey's journey with Tulane began in 2003 when she joined the department as an assistant professor. Her path has been uniquely shaped by both the university’s history and major milestones in her personal life, including experiencing Hurricane Katrina as a junior faculty member in 2005. She was awarded tenure in 2010, a time which was particularly memorable because she received notification of her promotion two days before the birth of her son. Following further career progression and navigation of the pandemic era, she was promoted to full professor in 2023. 

As chair, Dr. Lacey is focused on navigating the unique structure of Tulane's Department of Mathematics, which houses pure mathematics, applied mathematics, and statistics under one roof. While this arrangement creates massive opportunities for students and interdisciplinary collaboration, it also means competing for limited resources.

Currently, the department stands at its smallest faculty size since before Katrina, consisting of 18 tenure-track faculty and 5 professors of practice. To revitalize their offerings, Dr. Lacey has set an ambitious strategic goal: growing the tenure-track faculty to 26 over the next five years. This growth is critical to addressing a generational gap in the department and replacing retired faculty, ensuring robust support for the department's undergraduate major, three master’s programs, and Ph.D. program. 

In addition to faculty expansion, Dr. Lacey plans to launch an internal outreach and communications committee to bolster recruitment, raise the department's public profile, and build stronger bonds with alumni. 

Central to her administrative philosophy is the concept of shared governance. Drawing from her experience as the president of Tulane’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), she is committed to maintaining a highly collaborative, non-hierarchical, and democratic department. "We are not a top-down department," she says. "I believe very strongly in giving all of our faculty a voice." 

Dr. Lacey’s career exemplifies the powerful, real-world utility of statistics and mathematics. Upon arriving at Tulane, her position was supported in part by the Tulane Cancer Center, leading to long-standing collaborations involving genomic and epigenetic modeling and analysis with researchers including Dr. Melanie Ehrlich. 

Her collaborative reach extends far beyond local labs. Holding an adjunct appointment in biostatistics, Dr. Lacey has worked with faculty in Tulane's Law School, public health, and the social sciences. Notably, she has spent a decade collaborating with the United Nations World Food Program, including fieldwork at a major Syrian refugee camp on the Jordanian border. 

In discussing the rise of AI, Dr. Lacey states, "AI is very efficient at routine data tasks, but understanding why the data is telling us what it's telling us requires human intuition and detective work.” "The role of our department is to give students the power to peek behind the curtain and understand the mathematical principles behind these algorithms, rather than just use them." 

Under Dr. Lacey's leadership, the department will continue to champion mathematics as a foundation for intellectual flexibility. She notes that Tulane math students are incredibly diverse, with many pursuing double majors in the humanities, social sciences, or arts- reflecting the rich, multicultural spirit of New Orleans itself. 

"There are stereotypes of mathematicians being aloof or nerdy," she says. "But our department has a rich cultural life. People here are involved in Mardi Gras krewes, they play music, they are in the arts, and they travel. We are far more diverse and interesting than people may think." 

As the School of Science and Engineering enters this new era, Dr. Lacey is eager to lead the Department of Mathematics toward a flourishing, visible, and highly collaborative future.