Dear Tulane Community:

The hallmark of a great university like Tulane is the pursuit of academic excellence. Among the ways this goal is advanced is by bringing students, faculty and staff from a broad array of backgrounds together to live, learn and discover. We create new ideas and breakthroughs because we are home to Tulanians from numerous perspectives and walks of life who engage in the widest fields of inquiry and work within a vast variety of disciplines and departments.

Being a university that welcomes and provides opportunity for all members of our community is a central element of our Core Values, which are focused on creating an environment dedicated to using knowledge for good – an institution whose members work across differences to achieve unconventional innovation that improves and saves lives. By adhering to these values, we have had much success fostering a community in which everyone, including first-generation students, veterans and people of different races, nationalities and faiths have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams and contribute to our mission. For more than a year, Tulane's leadership has been discussing how we can enhance this success.

This conversation has become more pressing in light of the recent federal guidance concerning equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives (EDI) at universities nationwide. We are monitoring the impact of these evolving guidelines on how we live out our values and advance our shared mission. As always, we will continue complying with all federal laws. At stake here is the more than $320 million we receive annually in federal funding. This federal support has allowed faculty at Tulane to make pathbreaking discoveries that create better health outcomes, save lives, advance science and technology, create innovation and support economic development. Federal funding also provides financial aid, loans, work-study programs and other forms of support that make a Tulane education possible for thousands of students from around the country who may have thought a college education was not available to them. This vital funding is now at risk.

Because federal guidance and threats of drastic funding cuts in government support have added new urgency to our conversations, we are announcing a new institutional endeavor led by Dr. Anneliese Singh and her staff, which will include a fundamental shift and transition of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity. This new office will forge partnerships with programs, schools and departments university-wide to promote success and positive outcomes for all students, faculty and staff.

Creating the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity is intended to accurately reflect the purpose and broad scope of the important and ongoing work being done to build a community aligned with our Core Values. In this new undertaking, as always, we will be guided by our principles and by the law, both of which call for opportunities equally open to all, without bias for or against any groups.

Leaders from across the university are meeting with student groups, academic units, faculty and staff throughout the university to gather feedback and to chart the path forward for the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity and all units of the university that work to ensure we remain equally accessible and supportive of all. Again, our overall goals are academic and research excellence that create a lifetime of opportunities for all students, faculty and staff and build a true community of peers that celebrates the uniqueness of our university's culture.

Michael A. Fitts, President
Robin Forman, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Patrick Norton, Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer/Treasurer