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Tulane . . . Even a hurricane couldn't stop this academic powerhouse!
Although the Tulane campus was largely spared from the flooding that engulfed New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the devastation of the city had a profound effect on the university. Now, the attractive “Green Wave” campus is back in full swing and the university has re-emerged stronger than ever. The Tulane campus was essentially closed for the fall semester following Hurricane Katrina and many wondered if the storm had succeeded in destroying one of America’s great universities. Hardly! Following Katrina, Tulane has strengthened its endowment and accepted two classes which rank among the strongest to ever attend this New Orleans powerhouse.
Thanks to a major fund raising effort during the past few years, Tulane now boasts an endowment of more than $1 billion dollars! Less than 100 American universities can make the same claim. Hi tech gurus David Filo who founded Yahoo and Jim Clark who helped found Netscape contributed $30 million each.
Although primarily known for its academics and research, athletics has long been a part of the Tulane tradition. In recent years, the Tulane stadium served as the home field for the New Orleans Saints and was also used by the NFL to host three Super Bowls.
The aftermath of Katrina was actually the second time Tulane has been closed by a catastrophic national crisis. The first time was during the Civil War when Tulane was closed for three years.
There is one distinction about Tulane which no other American university can claim. When it was first founded in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana, it was a public university. Following the financial contributions of the Tulane’s, it was renamed and became a private university. Tulane is the only American university to undergo the change from a public to private entity.
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