Tulanian Spring 2010

Tulanian T H E M AG A Z I N E O F

TULANE UNIVERSITY

SPRING 2010

Circle of Equals

Students conduct a course on international development where there are no easy answers.

COMMENCEMENT 2010 Risky choice pays off in rewards for this year’s graduating class.

A KOSOVO JOURNAL New nations need new laws.

SERVICE LEARNING BECOMES THE NEW STANDARD Into the ’hood, raising rooftops and sifting soil.

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12 Commencement 2010 by Nick Marinello Who dat? They dat! Graduates cross finish line.

14 Circle of Equals by Brandon Meginley, ’10 Can pure democracy work in the classroom? Students in an honors course find out.

22 A Kosovo Journal by David Marcello, L ’71 There’s a need for plainly written law in Kosovo, a new nation of competing jurisdictions and surprising gastronomical delights.

26 Service Learning Becomes the New Standard by Katherine Mangan Faculty members were hesitant at first, but Tulane now offers more than 130 public-service courses focused on helping New Orleans rebuild.

4 President’s Perspective Scott Cowen recognizes resilience of 2010 graduates.

5 Inside Track • Issues in New Orleans public education • New dean for law school • Dance for Haiti • Earthquake responders • Horse people • New tests on old drug for diabetes control • Loving Cup and American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership for President Cowen • Books teach how to cope with bullying • Women’s basketball team wins C-USA • A Tulane app for iPhone There’s an app for that!

10 Photo Riff Newcomb Dance Co. leaps in “Hummus.”

30 Giving Back Pedestrian Way dedicated on uptown campus, thanks to Benenson family.

31 The Classes Read about what your classmates and other Tulane alumni are doing.

40 New Orleans In which the lofty image on a state flag is connected to often stuck-in-the-mud New Orleans water meters.

Tulane students, many of them World War II veterans, pitch in and pick up garbage during a city collectors’ strike in 1946.

Front cover: Students experimenting with running their own class take the discussion outdoors. Inside front cover: Hot 8 Brass Band plays on stage near Hebert Hall at Wave Goodbye party for graduates and their families on May 14. Photos by Paula Burch-Celentano.

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Tulanian Editor Mary Ann Travis mtravis@tulane.edu Features Editor Nick Marinello mr4@tulane.edu “The Classes” Editor Fran Simon fsimon@tulane.edu Contributors Joseph Halm jhalm@tulane.edu Alicia Duplessis Jasmin aduples@tulane.edu Maureen King mking2@tulane.edu Arthur Nead anead@tulane.edu Ryan Rivet (UC ’02) rrivet@tulane.edu Mike Strecker mstreck@tulane.edu Art Director Melinda Whatley Viles mviles@tulane.edu

betweenThelines | backTalk Students take charge Check out what happens when camaraderie and self-direction, along with brownies and willingness to go with the flow, propel students through a course they are conducting themselves. In “Circle of Equals,” Brandon Meginley describes how principles such as shared responsibility, community buyin and equitable accountability are applied in a course on international development.

There is no “sage on the stage.” Nobody lectures. Everybody speaks freely. Students give the assignments, set the tasks and do the evaluating as they explore topics such as the shift from topdown to side-by-side assistance by developed nations in the Third World.

In “A Kosovo Journal,” David Marcello, a Tulane Law School professor and 1971 graduate, tells what it’s like training lawmakers in the brand new Balkan nation of Kosovo to write what they mean in plain language.

And in “Service Learning Becomes the New Standard,” Chronicle of Higher Education writer Katherine Morgan looks at how the public-service graduation requirement at Tulane is renewing Tulane and the city of New Orleans.

In May, Tulane bestowed academic degrees on 2,150 graduates. We can’t wait to see what happens next with them—and you. Keep in touch!

Mary Ann Travis Editor, Tulanian

University Photographer Paula Burch-Celentano pburch@tulane.edu Production Coordinator and Graphic Designer Sharon Freeman sfree@tulane.edu Graphic Designer Tracey O’Donnell tbodonn@tulane.edu President of the University Scott S. Cowen Vice President of University Communications Deborah L. Grant (PHTM ’86) Executive Director of Publications Carol Schlueter (B ’99) cjs@tulane.edu Tulanian (USPS 017-145) is a quarterly magazine pub lished by the Tulane Office of University Publications. Periodical postage at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. Send editorial correspondence to: Tulanian, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, LA 70118-5624, or e-mail tulanian@tulane.edu.

Opinions expressed in Tulanian are not necessarily those of Tulane representatives and do not necessarily reflect university policies. Material may be reprinted only with permission.

Tulane University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tulanian, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, LA 70118-5624.

Spring 2010/ Vol. 81, No. 4

WETLAND LOSS AND LEVEES I read with interest the article on Lisa Jackson in the winter 2010 Tulanian. You discussed wetland loss and stated: “Engineering failed people in another way, too. For decades, oil and gas engineers have crisscrossed marshes and wetland to extract the valuable stuff on which America runs.”

Although it may be in vogue to blame the petroleum companies, many things contribute to wetland loss. … The largest contributing factor is not the crisscrossing of the marshes, but sediment starvation. What starved the wetlands? The construction of the Mississippi River levees starved the wetlands. Prior to the levee system, whenever the Mississippi overspilled her banks, the silt, sand and clay in the river water would renourish the wetlands. Once the levees were installed, the river was constrained and the natural sediment supply into the wetlands was cut off.

Betsy Strachan Suppes, G ’86, B ’99 Johnstown, Pa. LOFTY GOALS/HIGH COST Lisa Jackson is to be commended for her achievements. Certainly the initial odds were

stacked against her. However, her comments at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco in September 2009, while perhaps suitable for that audience, were both unrealistic and impractical. These were the words of a liberal politician, not an engineer.

It is quite typical for the EPA to select lofty goals that are beyond reproach and rebuttal. Her stated priorities lack specifics and any plausible means of implementation, and are achievable only by destruction of the economy, accompanied by a massive loss of jobs. To my mind that cost is much too high, and her grandiose priorities, while clearly aligned with those of this administration, are ill considered.

Lawrence Beckman, E ’64, G ’69 Houston ROGUE WAVE ENCOUNTER My wife and I were on the Crowne Odyssey in the Mediterranean Sea somewhere very close to the recent rogue wave that occurred not too far from Barcelona, Spain, on or about June 20, 2000, when something like a 50–60 foot wave struck our ship about 1 a.m., demolishing

backTalk about 13 cabins on the fifth or sixth level.

I was thrown through the cabin wall by a wall of water coming through our porthole into the adjoining cabin, landing on top of a nice Australian man I had met the day before.

As I spluttered, spit water out, and gasped for breath, I said, “I’m sorry, sir.” He responded, with hardly a hesitation, “Quite all right, old mate.”

Nothing on the ship was disturbed other than the cabins facing out on our level.

We all thought the ship would sink, and headed, bloodied and bruised by flying glass and furniture, for the pre-advised evacuation route. Surprisingly enough, as we met people on the stairways, they were in shock as to why we were in shock.

The casino was alive and active, and the Captain thought someone was overreacting to a slight jolt from a wave. When he saw the totally destroyed 13 cabins later, he apologized for having doubted our concern.

Please forward this to Dr. Kaplan [“Rogue waves in the forecast,” Tulanian, winter 2010], and suggest … additional avenues to explore the “rogue wave” phenomenon.

William W. Watson, Law ’58 St. Joseph, La. DRAMA REVIEW Richard Schechner (G ’62) [“Back Talk,” Tulanian, winter 2010] has indeed become a national and international force in performance innovation, much deserving of mention among those who “rocked the world,” and I am honored to have been his student.

Alas, however, he did not found Tulane Drama Review. Robert W. Corrigan founded that esteemed publication as Carleton Drama Review at Carleton College. He brought it to Tulane when he joined the Tulane Theatre Faculty in the late 1950s, and the name was changed to Tulane Drama Review.

Thank you for providing us with an excellent magazine, and especially for your coverage of Tulane’s post-Katrina reemergence.

Harry Smith, G ’60, ’65 Livermore, Calif.

PHOTO BY ARTHUR NEAD.

UNCHANGED SIGHT Some things never change: Dr. Caldwell’s hair and that portable slit lamp [Tulanian, winter 2010], which was old when I finished residency in 1995!

Peter Spiegel, M ’95 Palm Springs, Calif.

HERO RECOGNITION I wish to commend President Scott Cowen for his always interesting and insightful articles in the Tulanian. In particular, his recent article titled, “Calamity’s Lessons” [winter 2010].

I became a Scott Cowen fan after reading his riveting story about how Tulane was saved before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. In my eyes, he is a real hero.

Steve Ross, B ’69 Palo Alto, Calif.

DIXON HALL STILL STANDING I was pleased to see (fall 2009, Tulanian) [“Hidden Tulane”] that Dixon Hall has survived the years. I would like to take some small credit for that. Upon entering Tulane in the fall of 1946— a 16-year-old kid out of small-town Indiana— I knew that paying my way through college would require a lot of part-time work. My first job that fall was at Dixon Hall, charged with the responsibility to see that—at least between the hours of 6 and 10 p.m.—that the hall was not destroyed. Cloaked with the full authority of the university, sitting at a card table with a gooseneck lamp and near the front entrance while wearing my green beanie, I set out to do just that. And with some success, obviously, since the hall is still standing. Those who used Dixon at night were theatre majors contemplating Broadway while they worked to stage Night Must Fall and music majors who dreamed, I suspect, of

Carnegie Hall debuts. Few (if any) seemed impressed by the fact that I was clothed with the full authority of the university and thus seldom were inclined to believe that 10 p.m. was really 10 p.m. and closing time. I was seldom able to depart until about 10:15. That meant little to them but a great deal to me—several missed bus connections and an additional hour of travel time. The university, which didn’t pay much in the way of an hourly wage, didn’t recognize the principle of portal-to-portal pay. So, after a couple of months I left for a better paying job off campus and left Dixon Hall to other caretakers. They seem to have done a good enough job.

James E. Holton, A&S ’50 Portland, Ore. MORE THAN 175 We heard from more Tulanian readers about “175 Ways Tulane Has Rocked the World,” in the fall 2010 issue. Thank you for adding to the list of accomplished Tulane graduates!

• Gen. William K. Suter (L ’62), a retired major general of the U.S. Army and former judge advocate general, has been the clerk of the U. S. Supreme Court since 1991.

• Other alumni currently serving as judges of U.S. Courts of Appeals are: 5th Circuit senior judge John M. Duhe (L ’57), on the bench since 1988; 5th Circuit judge W. Eugene Davis (L ’60), on the bench since 1983; and 5th Circuit judge Jacques L. Wiener Jr. (L ’61), on the bench since 1990.

• Zachary Richard (A&S ’72), an environmentalist, cultural activist, poet and singer/songwriter, has dedicated his career to preserving and honoring Cajun culture and music. In the early 1980s, he recorded Mardi Gras Mambo and Zack’s Bon Ton (Rounder Records). He has produced and narrated documentaries, including Against the Tide: The Story of the Cajun People of Louisiana (2000).

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Your letters are always welcome. E-mail is the best way to reach us: tulanian@tulane.edu.

You can also write us by U.S. mail: Tulanian, University Publications, Suite 219, 200 Broadway, New Orleans, LA 70118.

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president’sPerspective No ordinary class The following is excerpted from President Scott Cowen’s address during the May 15 commencement ceremony. For more on commencement, see pages 12–13.

Most of you have been here four years, give or take a year or so. Four years. That’s a long stretch: about one-sixth of the time you’ve been on the planet. It’s also—in the grand scale of things—a blink of an eye. I’d be surprised if your perception of the last four years isn’t exactly that—a mad dash and a slowly unfolding story.

When I look at you all, I see the faces I’ve become so familiar with during the last four years. I can’t help but wonder about the mix of emotions that each of you are experiencing.

Because you are no ordinary class.

No one knows this better than I do. Each of you, with the support of your families, chose to either come or return to this university in this city at a time when there was still great uncertainty.

Four years ago, New Orleans was a different place than it is today. So many of our citizens had not yet returned; so many neighborhoods had not yet been resettled.

Four years ago, the future of this institution hung in the balance. I had great faith that you would arrive in significant numbers to populate the class of 2010. I had a strong belief that you would have the character and mindset to embrace Tulane’s commitment to community engagement to enhance your educational experience while also rebuilding this city.

I had the faith and belief that you would arrive, but not the certainty. After all, you had worked hard to achieve the kind of academic credentials that made you among the most select college prospects in the country. You had options.

Yet amid all the uncertainty, you chose Tulane.

When I was growing up, adults would sometimes refer to education as “the Three R’s.” You probably know what I’m talking about: reading, writing and ’rithmetic.

I’ve come up with additional R’s that I think apply specifically to the class of 2010: Risk, Resilience, Responsibility and Resurgence.

Four years ago you took a risk in coming to

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Tulane. You stared into the face of the unknown and did not flinch.

In the years that you were here, you demonstrated a great deal of resilience, coping at times with the ambiguities and inconveniences that have always assailed those on the forefront of new adventures.

I would argue that in your years at Tulane you have been taxed with responsibilities that you would not have had to deal with in any other school. Through your public service you have learned that every individual is responsible to and can make a difference in his or her community.

You have been part of the resurgence of an American city. You have witnessed and experienced how good choices and hard work lead to real results. You have applied your minds, your hearts and your hands to this endeavor. And Tulane is stronger, New Orleans is stronger and you have been made stronger.

What a difference four years makes.

Your Tulane years will forever be tied to the renewal of this university and the rebuilding of New Orleans. Your hearts will forever beat to the rhythm of this city.

I have one more “R” word to share with you: Recognition. That is what this ceremony is about. The speeches, the terrific music, the presence of your wonderful families and friends who are with us today—all these are in recognition of your achievements.

I conclude with two pieces of advice. The first is to hold on to this moment and savor it. It marks an important, formative time of your life.

The second piece of advice is this: when you’re ready, let the moment go.

There will be many moments and milestones ahead in the years to come. Embrace each fully but do not live in the past. As you are already beginning to learn, our lives are indeed both a mad dash and a slowly unfolding story.

You are the sole author of that story. Every word of it is yours. Choose each of them well.

inside Track Romp and circumstance Referencing the traditional New Orleans second-line, members of the class of 2010 pull out handkerchiefs and wave them in celebration. As is customary, this year’s commencement ceremony combined time-honored traditions of academia with those of the Crescent City. For more on Commencement 2010, see page 12.

newsNotes | insideTrack Law School taps new dean

New Orleans public school students have a cultural identity that should be addressed in their education, say experienced teachers.

Conference contemplates black education In the waning moments of an all-day conference on black education in New Orleans, a fourth-grade teacher at Harney Elementary School reminded audience members that “education does not start or end with school,” succinctly summarizing a theme that recurred throughout the day: that community rebuilding and restoration are essential to educational reform.

“Before and After Katrina: Black Education in New Orleans,” a program organized by the African and African Diaspora Studies Program at Tulane, took place in March and brought to campus a panel of local and regional educators to contemplate historical, social and cultural considerations relating to the education of African American children in the city.

“Look at the healthcare disparity, poor housing, broken value systems, violence and safety concerns, unemployment rates—I’m wondering if we are truly surprised that our public school system is inadequate,” said Nicole Carryl, the teacher at Harney.

Earlier in the program, Joyce King, professor

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of educational policy studies at Georgia State University, voiced her concern that persistent demeaning cultural narratives about what it means to be black are impediments to successfully educating black children. She questioned the value of an education that is not rooted in the cultural and social identity of the student.

“You can graduate with the highest test score,” said King, “but if you cannot think about your own community, know yourself as a member of a community and feel some obligation and some competence to serve your community, the answer to my question is your education is not [satisfactory].”

Other issues addressed during the session included those dealing with early childhood education, charter schools, selective admission, selfdetermination of schools and the lack of federal support in rebuilding the city’s post-Katrina educational system.

The conference was made possible through combined efforts of the Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education and the Deep South Regional Humanities Center.

—Nick Marinello Nick Marinello is features editor of Tulanian and writer of the New Orleans column.

David Meyer, associate dean for academic affairs and law professor at the University of Illinois, has been named dean and Mitchell Franklin Professor of Law at Tulane Law School, effective July 1.

Meyer is a leading scholar of constitutional and family law. He has represented the United States as the national reporter on family law at the past three congresses of the International Academy of Comparative Law. Legal scholars in The Hague established the academy in 1924 to foster the study of legal systems worldwide.

Meyer earned his BA and JD from the University of Michigan. He has lectured and published extensively on family law, publishing articles in the University of Chicago Legal Forum, Minnesota Law Review, UCLA Law Review and Vanderbilt Law Review.

Meyer has been a visiting professor at George Washington University Law School and Brooklyn Law School and is a member of the American Law Institute.

“David Meyer’s appointment is the result of a national search that brought us a scholar of international renown,” Tulane President Scott Cowen said. “He has vast experience working directly with students and external constituencies, something we felt is vital in shaping the future course of our nationally ranked law program.”

Meyer will replace Stephen M. Griffin, the Rutledge C. Clement Jr. Professor in Constitutional Law and vice dean for academic affairs, who has served as interim dean at the law school since last June.

Amy Gajda, Meyer’s wife, also will join the law school faculty. A specialist on First Amendment law and privacy issues, Gajda will become an associate professor of law. She currently is an assistant professor of journalism and law at the University of Illinois.

—Mike Strecker Mike Strecker is director of public relations at Tulane.

PREVIOUS PAGE, PHOTO BY RYAN RIVET. PHOTO BY SALLY ASHER.

insideTrack | newsNotes Tribute to Haiti In the center of a dramatically lit stage, the woman slowly read the Creole poem, “Thank You Father Dessalines,” while dancers twirled around her.

The reciter of the poem was Monique Moss, dance faculty member in the Tulane Department of Theatre and Dance, and the dancers were members of the Newcomb Dance Company. Moss is a 1994 graduate of Newcomb College, and she earned a master of arts in Latin American studies at Tulane in 2009.

The performance was part of “An Evening of Dance,” held in March and dedicated to the people of Haiti.

After learning the extent of the damage caused by the January earthquake in Haiti, Moss and Barbara Hayley, professor of dance and interim chair of the department, began collaborating on a performance. Hayley choreographed the dance piece “Pearl of the Antilles,” in which Moss reads alternating lines of Creole and English from the poem written by Haitian-Creole poet Félix Morrisseau-Leroy and translated by MarieHélene Destine.

“The poem is very powerful in terms of illuminating the revolutionary struggle of the people of Haiti and their resilience, which is not unlike the resilience of the people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina,” says Hayley. “I wanted to relate the power and the hope of the people, not just the sadness.”

Haiti was known as the Pearl of the Antilles during its heyday when it was the richest French colony.

The “Evening of Dance” concert is an annual event for the Newcomb Dance Program, with all pieces choreographed by the dance faculty. This year, the performance was in Dixon Hall on the

Tulane uptown campus and served as a benefit to support the recovery of arts programs in Haiti.

Donations were accepted at three “Evening of Dance” performances to assist Ecole Nationale des Arts (ENARTS) in Port-au-Prince and Ballet Folklorique Tamboula d’Haiti, both founded by Peniel Guerrier. Guerrier has taught for several years at the New Orleans Summer Dance Festival, established 13 years ago at Tulane by Beverly Trask, associate professor of dance. Guerrier is among the artists who teach master classes in Afro Caribbean dance every year at the festival.

“The people of Haiti are the most humble, beautiful, welcoming, hospitable people you could ever meet,” says Moss. “The ENARTS studio [in Port-au-Prince] is extremely holistic and it’s not very large, but it feels enormous.”

Moss was among a group of 15 dancers who flew to Haiti in late March for a dance retreat and cultural exchange organized by Guerrier. It was an emotional return to Haiti for Moss. She found parts

of the ENARTS building still standing but other parts were ruined and the facility inoperable.

“The dance studio was destroyed,” says Moss.

“There were pieces of broken mirror everywhere and drums were scattered all over the floor.”

In spite of the conditions, the group of dancers taught classes in a nearby orphanage where the children were thrilled to participate, says Moss.

During her trip, Moss delivered money raised from the “Evening of Dance” concerts for the ENARTS program. She also presented funds accumulated from other benefits held in New Orleans for Haitian relief.

The Newcomb Dance Program raised more than $2,200 to assist in the ENARTS recovery effort. Five musicians, two teachers and an artist were among the individuals to receive aid from the department’s donation.

—Alicia Duplessis Jasmin Alicia Duplessis Jasmin is a writer in the publications office.

Monique Moss, a dance faculty member, reads a Haitian poem aloud as Newcomb dancers perform “The Pearl of Antilles,” choreographed by professor of dance Barbara Hayley.

Relief efforts Tulane students, faculty and staff responded in various ways to help with relief efforts in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in January.

On the medical front, in March, a group of volunteers, including physicians, medical students, alumni and staff members, traveled to Jacsonville, a rural Haitian community of about 1,000 inhabitants, to run a week-long urgent care clinic and start plans for a permanent clinic—the first for the town.

Jacsonville is approximately 200 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince on the island’s central plateau.

Another team from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and School of Social Work went to Haiti to conduct a needs assessment a few months after the storm. The team included Christine Duchatellier-Fowler, public health school project administrator, and her husband, Paul Fowler, a 2000 social work graduate, who had been working in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake struck.

“Before the earthquake, there was nothing for the children, and now there is less,” says Fowler.

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newsNotes | insideTrack Equestrian team is off and running There are two types of people in the world: horse people and everyone else. While that may be an oversimplification, there is a measure of truth to it. On the uptown campus, there is a group that falls decidedly into the former category—members of the Tulane Equestrian Team.

Allie Feiner, president and coach of the team, says that riding is her passion. Since she arrived at Tulane four years ago, Feiner has devoted many hours to the equestrian team that is a club sport.

This March, Tulane hosted nine other teams from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana for an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competition.

Feiner says that the successful horse show proves that the Tulane equestrian team has “gotten to a place where we’re respected. That’s an accomplishment considering where we began four years ago. I think I’m leaving the team in good hands and in a good place.”

Feiner, whose hometown is New Rochelle, N.Y., graduated in May. Her major is communication, and she plans to stay in New Orleans and search for a job. She’ll continue to help out with the equestrian team and travel to competitions.

—Ryan Rivet Ryan Rivet is a writer in the publications office.

Senior Allie Feiner says that horseback riding is a passion for her and other equestrian team members.

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‘Rediscovered’ drug may control diabetes Dr. Vivian Fonseca, chief of the endocrinology section at the School of Medicine, is the principal investigator of a team of Tulane researchers participating in a national study testing the ability of a generic drug called salsalate to control diabetes.

The multisite study is led by the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, with 17 institutions around the country, including Tulane, involved in clinical testing of the drug. The study’s results were published in the March 16 edition of The Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Salsalate has been prescribed for the joint pain of arthritis for many years,” says Fonseca, who holds the Tullis-Tulane Alumni Chair in Diabetes. “It is an anti-inflammatory agent that is chemically similar to aspirin, but it is easier on the stomach.”

The three-month-long trial, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, tracked responses to salsalate by more than 100 individuals aged 17 to 75 years. Patients who took the drug showed significantly improved blood glucose levels, an indication that salsalate may be beneficial in controlling diabetes.

Fonseca says the study “represents a novel twist to what has been described in the literature for years as a ‘side effect.’ This drug can cause low blood sugars in people with diabetes who take

Dr. Vivian Fonseca leads researchers studying an aspirin-like drug for treating diabetes.

it along with other medications.”

Similar drugs were used to treat diabetes more than a century ago in Germany, he adds. “We have ‘rediscovered’ the concept but have now applied it in a modern scientific manner in a properly conducted clinical trial.”

With continued funding from NIH, the team is initiating a second clinical trial to study the efficacy and safety of salsalate in a larger group for a longer period of time.

—Arthur Nead Arthur Nead is a media specialist in the public relations office.

Accolades for Cowen Tulane President Scott Cowen received both national and local recognition in April.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, established in 1780 and one of the world’s most prestigious honorary societies, announced that Cowen has been elected a member along with 229 other leaders in the sciences, humanities, arts, business, public affairs and the nonprofit sector. Cowen will be inducted into the new The Loving Cup, held casually by President Scott Cowen after he received the award at a ceremony class at a ceremony on Oct. 9 at the acade- in April, is presented each year by The Timesmy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Picayune newspaper.

And closer to home, The Times-Picayune newspaper awarded Cowen its Loving Cup for his civic involvement. The Loving Cup is perhaps the greatest honor any New Orleanian can receive for public service to the city.

EQUESTRIAN PHOTO BY RYAN RIVET.

insideTrack | newsNotes Books address bullying After observing elementary-age children dealing with bullying and the surrounding emotions of anger and fear, a group of social work students created books to help children cope with these challenges.

Lindsey Baldwin, Molly Bartlett, Martha Magnuson, Lisa Mosca and Allison Staiger produced two illustrated books, The Bullydog and Sammy’s Secret.

The books focus on traumatic issues children might face. The Bullydog presents bullying from the point of view of both the victim and bully, while Sammy’s Secret focuses on how to deal with fear.

The books are useful as therapeutic tools for bibliotherapy—therapy in which books, stories and poetry offer insights to individuals confronting worries and ordeals.

The social work students had field placements in New Orleans public schools and with agencies such as Save the Children and Midtown Mental Health Clinic. Based on their experiences at these sites, they decided to put together the

books for children ages 5–11 as their final professional project before their graduation in December 2009.

“We were able to teach our students that it is important to express their feelings in a healthy manner instead of keeping it inside,” says Staiger.

The group also created a facilitator’s guide to encourage discussion. Student focus groups at Johnson Elementary School in New Orleans helped the social work students refine the books and provided a way to measure the books’ effectiveness.

“All of the focus-group data showed that students felt better and were able to handle and process trauma in a healthier and more effective manner after reading and discussing the books,” says Barrett.

The group, which is searching for funding to broaden the project, presented their work and research data during the Louisiana National Association of Social Workers annual conference in March.

—Joseph Halm Joseph Halm is marketing/communications coordinator for the Tulane School of Social Work.

A season to be proud of The Tulane women’s basketball team made a victorious sweep of Conference USA, taking the regular season title and then capturing the C-USA championship on March 12.

Eight days later at the NCAA tournament, Tulane lost to the University of Georgia, 64-59, in the first round.

Regardless of the early exit from the tournament, Green Wave head coach Lisa Stockton said she is proud of the team and its 26-7 record this year. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association recognized Stockton as coach of the year and Chassity Brown earned first-team, allLouisiana honors.

—Ryan Rivet

Senior Chassity Brown averaged 13.2 points per game and had 85 steals for the season.

Tulane app A free Tulane application is now available for download in the App Store.

The application gives iPhone and iPod Touch users access to the latest information about Tulane.

The app includes New Wave, the online news page on the Tulane University website; The Hullabaloo, the student newspaper; Green Wave sports news and schedules; and the latest on campus events.

The app also offers access to campus photos and the Tulane YouTube channel.

The Tulane app was developed in partnership with Straxis Technology.

Chuck, the big, gray dog, growls at Teeny, the little, yellow dog, while Shawn, the orange dog, wonders why they can’t all get along. Readers of The Bullydog learn that even bullies like Chuck have feelings.

ILLUSTRATION BY SAM GARLAND FROM THE BULLYDOG.

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Newcomb Dance Co. members perform “Hummus” in Dixon Hall at a dress rehearsal for “An Evening of Dance” in March. Diogo de Lima, a professor of practice in theater and dance, choreographed the piece.

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? t a D Who

! t a D y e Th

uring a ceremony punctuated by comical one-liners, offerings of gratitude and even a Saints football highlight reel, perhaps the most succinct summation of this year’s commencement on May 15 in the Louisiana Superdome found its expression emblazoned atop the mortarboard of one graduate: We Dat! A riff on the now familiar chant of New Orleans Saints fans, the mortarboard’s message seemed a fitting pronouncement from graduates who were being honored for choosing to come to Tulane even as New Orleans was in the throes of recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

“Four years ago, the future of this institution hung in the balance,”said Tulane President Scott Cowen during his address. “I had great faith that you would arrive in significant numbers to populate the class of 2010 … but not the certainty.”

CNN anchor and author Anderson Cooper echoed Cowen in his keynote address. “You came here anyway. You helped this city rebuild, renew and restart.”

As the first cohort of students to complete the university’s public-service graduation

D

PAGE 12 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

requirement instituted after Katrina, members of the class of 2010 took an active role in the recovery of the city.

Cooper, who poked fun at the academic regalia worn by all the participants in the graduation (“Does anyone else feel like they are at a Harry Potter convention?”) as well as young people who aspire to be anchors and politicians (“I think you should become a real person before you become a fake one”), turned serious when talking about the graduates’ relationship with New Orleans, a city that was home to his father for nearly 20 years.

“Remember what you have learned on the streets of this city,” Cooper told the 2,150 graduates. “Remember the triumph and tragedy, the richness and poverty, and remember how you made it better.”

The spotlight briefly shifted from the graduates during a video of highlights from the NFC Championship played between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings on the same Superdome floor only four months earlier.

Following the video, Cowen presented the

Tulane president’s medal to Saints co-owner Rita Benson-LeBlanc, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who received the award on behalf of the team.

Cooper also received a medal.

“The Saints represent the drive, the perseverance and the faith through which our university and our city continue to recover and renew,” said Cowen.

Taking the lectern, Benson-LeBlanc said, “I want to commend all of you—the 2010 world champion Tulane graduates.”

The commencement ceremony, which included all of the university’s schools and colleges, featured musical performances by Dr. Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band.

Honorary degrees were awarded to Dr. Regina Benjamin, surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service and alumna of the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane; Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone; and John Ruffin, director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

—Nick Marinello

Commencement 2010 Clockwise, from top left: A sea of caps sets the stage. • Nisrine Omri, BFA graduate, sings national anthem.

• A gaggle of friends celebrate. • School of Liberal Arts professors Mike Kuczynski, Trent Holliday and Chris Rodning take in the pomp. • Dr. Regina Benjamin, B ’91, is presented an honorary degree. • Anderson Cooper praises graduates for “restarting” New Orleans. • Michael White, on clarinet, leads the band.

• Graduates get serious. • Super Bowl champions Jonathan Vilma and Gregg Williams represent the Saints in being honored. • Center: Class speaker Tim Clinton, BA recipient, applauds his fellow graduates.

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 13

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OF EQUALS

by Brandon Meginley

photography by paula burch-celentano

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 15

IN THE CIRCLE: (PREVIOUS PAGE, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP CENTER) LAUREN ELLIOTT, JOANNA SIMON, CLAIRE BARRY, STEFFANI BANGEL, SARAH SKLAW, TOMMY GRAY, AMELIA DIAL, KELLY JACQUES, LAHZIE TAKADA, ROSANNA WYATT, TOBIN FULTON, KELSEY ATHERTON, BRANDON BAILEY, JAMIE CARPENTER, JOEY VON HOVEN, HUNTER DEELY.

PAGE 16 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

A class forms a circle in the quad.

Some of the students are immersed in the discussion; others are recumbent, listening. One bespectacled student leans forward and picks at the grass, splitting each blade from the top down.

It is sunny. It is New Orleans in late March, five days after the vernal equinox. A breeze scatters photocopied literature, and a student scrambles for a paperweight. A water bottle will do.

From a distance, there is nothing that would signify the experimental nature of this particular group that forms this particular ring on this particular day. Other than an inordinate rate of shoelessness, there is nothing to suggest “alternative.” But on closer inspection, one unlikely thing does reveal itself: everyone is the same age.

So where is the professor? Well, there is none.

“Rethinking Development” is a completely student-run course, perhaps the first of its kind at Tulane University.

In April 2009, Lauren Elliott and Kelly Jacques, now seniors studying Latin American studies and international development, respectively, started to draft an extensive syllabus and a detailed proposal for a class that would critically examine traditional international development theory and practices while considering alternatives to the usual way of doing things. Their syllabus was approved by the Honors Program. The result: a bona fide, three-credit, student-run class. No professor necessary.

“It’s moving away from this structured, boxed way of being educated,” Elliott says.

The students are self-graded. There are no firm deadlines. The syllabus is malleable and the discussions are sometimes heated. The 16 undergraduates who enrolled in the course agreed to move out of the stuffy apartment of lecture-based learning and head for the open pastures of practice.

That is, they apply what they learn by teaching it to others and being active participants in their communities. It is not always easy. There is comfort in turning in papers, cramming for exams and receiving grades. There are no tests, and “papers” are periodic reflections that can be sung or written in poetic verse, if the student so chooses. And, perhaps more than any other class at Tulane, “Rethinking Development” is as much about

itself as it is about its subject matter. The ongoing speculation, day in and day out: Can we teach one another, and how well are we doing?

The first week was spent looking inward.

The students evaluated the form of the course— what does “student-run” mean? They read texts examining alternatives to mainstream pedagogy.

They drafted a classroom constitution. The document, scribbled in red and taped to the classroom whiteboard, essentially rephrases the Golden Rule so that it specifically applies to students discussing, say, interventionism, racism or their own upbringings. The constitution anticipates the emotional and intellectual responses that might come with such territory—enlightenment, but also defensiveness and frustration— and reminds the students that they “don’t have to agree with what someone says, but [must] respect his/her right to say it.”

without a net The course is not a wholly heretical affair. It received faculty support from the beginning.

“It’s exactly the kind of thing you want students to do,” says Justin Wolfe, an associate professor of history. “To grow, to learn, to move.”

Wolfe first spoke with Elliott and Jacques about the class last year. Elliott had recently returned from Mexico where she had attended Universidad de la Tierra in Chiapas. There she witnessed students teaching other students and applying their studies within their community.

Jacques had returned from Ghana, where she had started to think about alternative modes of education. Building the course—developing the syllabus, scheduling speakers, choosing readings, getting funding—was their way of applying at their own university what they were learning about learning.

“How could you not want to support that?”

Wolfe says.

So he did, by becoming an adviser. Wolfe also saw the student-run course as a new type of

seminar. Open discussion and really talking to one another are inherent parts of the learning process, he says, and while some faculty members strive for this, they often may not succeed.

Wolfe says a discussion-based, debate-oriented learning experience may be facilitated when there is not the safety net of a professor with definitive answers.

Wolfe is one of three faculty members that Elliott and Jacques approached about accepting an advisory role for the course. Nghana Lewis, associate professor of English, and David Ortiz, associate professor of sociology, also agreed to provide some remote guidance, and both have been enthusiastic about the class from its inception. The course, Lewis says, “serves as a signal to professors to recognize the need for us to always make adjustments in our own teaching methodology.”

She says a professor can often “get lost.”

“We have our goals and objectives, and in meeting those goals and objectives we can sometimes overlook the fact that we can learn from our students in the process of teaching them,” she says.

Ortiz believes that a student-run course encourages independent thought in the students, but he acknowledges that difficulties may arise along the way.

“The idea of not having an authority figure per se is a challenge,” he says, “because it can make things go more slowly [than otherwise].”

And yet, Ortiz says, “A beauty of knowing and learning is meandering those paths.”

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 17

LAUREN ELLIOT AND KELLY JACQUES CONCEIVED THE IDEA FOR THE CLASS AND DRAFTED ITS SYLLABUS. THE CHALLENGE DURING THE SEMESTER WAS TO AVOID OCCUPYING DEFAULT PROFESSORIAL ROLES.

bottom of the cone Discussion in “Rethinking Development” is remarkably consistent. It’s like a game of hot potato but the music never stops. They just keep passing the tuber. Today, out on the quad, the students ask about how nongovernmental organizations and nonprofits get their funding and from whom. The questions are often open-ended and rarely lend themselves to easy answers.

One of the students, Kelsey Atherton, a sophomore and political science major, says that “there are sometimes very interesting Faustian bargains” made between NGOs or nonprofits and their funders.

Faustian bargains?

These guys are smart and their erudition is always on display. Officially, the class is an honors course, though not everyone in the discussion ring is an honors student. Instead, they comprise a mix of backgrounds, class years and majors.

First-year students and seniors alike pick apart and debate the efficacy of NGOs, the tragedy of the commons, or the history of the market.

PAGE 18 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

These are big topics, sometimes hard to cover in one sitting, and discussions are often shaped like a cone. They start with a bottom point—a reading, say, or a film—and from this point students ask questions, building upon them as the discourse spirals outward. The burden of focusing the discussion is on whoever has presented the reading. That individual is to make sure the class returns to the bottom of the cone, the starting point, so that the discussion doesn’t become so top-heavy that it collapses. It’s not easy to do.

“Every class we make it to the same point: here is how all these things are flawed and the ways they’re flawed and what we don’t like about them and, ‘Boy, isn’t the system we’re faced with kind of overwhelming to change?’,” says Atherton.

The answer is not always apparent, or sometimes it’s not there at all.

It can be difficult to proceed past a sticking point in a teacher-less room, says Sarah Sklaw, a first-year student and history major.

“Every once in awhile I want a professor sitting in the room,” says Sklaw, “though I don’t think they need to be leading anything.”

Sometimes, she concedes, when the students get hung up on a question, “Every once in awhile we’ll just turn to Wikipedia.”

WITH NO ONE IN THE POSITION OF HAVING ALL THE ANSWERS, THE QUESTIONS BECOME THAT MORE IMPORTANT.

CLASSROOM GIVE AND TAKE: HUNTER DEELEY HOLDS COURT WHILE KELLY JACQUES, SARAH SKLAW AND LAUREN ELLIOT TAKE NOTE.

along an uncertain road

JAMIE CARPENTER (RIGHT) SEARCHES FOR WORDS WHILE JOANNA SIMON SEEMS LOST IN THOUGHT.

Elliott and Jacques describe the class as becoming, over time, more “fluid” and “adaptable” than they had expected. Students have suggested and provided their own readings based on classroom discussions; topics have been introduced into class sessions at the behest of certain students with particular niche interests. Elliott and Jacques did not anticipate a day spent on eco-tourism, but both of them encourage this kind of active participation.

“We’re used to a classroom structure where you walk into the classroom at the beginning of the semester and you’re given exactly what you’re going to do every single day and every single night until the end of that class,” says Elliott.

The syllabus that Elliott and Jacques created before the course was approved was solid.

Readings and dates were set. F. Thomas Luongo, associate dean and director of the Honors

Program, who was instrumental in getting the course approved, says that, in fact, the syllabus was more comprehensive and detailed than a lot of faculty syllabi are at an early stage.

But the coursework has become more amorphous over time. Which is not to say the students lost control. By its very nature, a student-run course is more likely to make discoveries and meet challenges along an uncertain road than seek the comfort of always arriving at a definitive answer.

“To come out of a class having more questions means that you’re considering that much more about the topic,” says Jacques.

Questions are central to the course: asking them, allowing them, embracing them. And along the way, the question of leadership has come up.

Elliott and Jacques started to feel that, as originators of the course, they were occupying default professorial roles. The other students saw this, too, and so the class devised “joint facilitations” that allowed every student, sometimes in partnership with another, to create the curriculum for a day. Their performances as facilitators would later be graded by the rest of the class.

“When Kelly and I stopped facilitating and other members of the class started rotating through, we saw more of a collective process of facilitation begin to happen,” Elliott says.

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 19

“I don’t think it’s expected of us that we all be best friends at the end of this experiment,” says Jacques. “We are working together and we want to create a very loving environment. That doesn’t dictate that everyone needs to be really close, but rather that we respect each other.”

Today, out on the quad, Elliott applauds the students for participating in a recent rally on campus. Some in the group snap their fingers in approbation. Later, one of them asks how many of his fellow classmates thought they would at one point work for a nongovernmental organization or nonprofit.

Only a few keep their hands in the grass.

“There’s a lot of groupthink going on,” says Atherton.

At the end of the class, everybody stands up, turns to the person to their right and commences a 5-minute group massage.

group think Outside the classroom, the students have developed a bond—a sort of alternative, political coed fraternity. “Rethinking Development” doesn’t end when the bell rings. Many of the students participated in demonstrations on campus to support food-service employees’ right to unionize. They approached faculty to pitch the idea of making the student-run course an ongoing offering on the university curriculum. Most attended a workshop called “Undoing Racism.”

They even had a class sleepover.

Atherton sees these extracurricular activities— except maybe the sleepover—as a natural extension of a course with political subject matter.

“Part of it seems like an attempt to gather a cadre of activists,” says Atherton. “In another class we’d be aiming for A’s, in this class we’re aiming for action that counts.”

The biweekly meetings provide a central locus for political action, but it is anyone’s guess as to whether the group will remain close when the semester concludes.

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“RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT” CLASSMATES JOIN OTHER STUDENTS IN ON-CAMPUS RALLIES SUPPORTING SODEXO FOOD SERVICE WORKERs’’ EFFORTS TO UNIONIZE.

discussion-based, debate-oriented learning is central to the classroom experience.

edict 10 “All right, let’s check in,” says Elliott.

Each class begins with comments on the current reading, or, if they have not done the reading, something general about how they are feeling.

The reports vary: tired, busy, excited.

At the end of the semester, each student will turn in a final project that will have taken him or her into the community to practice what they study and teach. Eventually, students will work at Bywater food co-ops and Ninth Ward farmers markets; others will connect Spanish-speaking communities with English language events.

Some will document, on video, the journey of the course itself.

But at this moment they have another essay to attend to and the work is making them hungry.

Good thing someone brought brownies. Edict 10 on the course constitution: “Feed people’s mind, body, spirit and hunger.” Each day, someone is required to bring a snack.

Today, the class will break into groups to discuss development in Latin America after World

War II and the conversation will somehow lead to the efficacy of large-scale subsistence farming in the United States. On a wall near the windows, the university has posted a directive: Please do not open blinds. If necessary, use caution—force is not required. One of the students gently tugs at the vinyl, light pours in, and it becomes all the more clear: no one is standing at the lectern.

In May, Brandon Meginley received a postbaccalaureate certificate in journalism from the School of Continuing Studies.

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 21

CROATIA

VOJVODINA

ROMANIA

SERBIA BOSNIA AND A HERZEGOVIN

MONTENEGRO

Pristina

KOSOVO

A Kosovo Journal

BULGARIA

ALBANIA MACEDONIA

Teaching legislative drafting in a country where myriad systems of law compete for legal superiority can be a challenge— but the food is good, the sights astounding and the people endearing.

by David Marcello, L ’71 arrived at the airport late on a Monday evening with so few other passengers that the carousel abruptly ground to a halt once all bags had been off-loaded. I walked around to get my luggage and rapidly cleared customs into the airport lobby. There, I was met by a great, bald-headed bear of a man named “Gushta,” who delivered me to my hotel.

Welcome to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, a landlocked country located due north of the Grecian peninsula. Kosovo is Eastern Europe’s newest nation, its fledgling democracy born Feb. 17, 2008, when the Assembly of Kosovo declared independence from

PAGE 22 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

Serbia, its neighbor to the north.

The capital is a kind of crossroads for international aid organizations bringing advice and funding on matters ranging from agriculture to zoning. As director of The Public Law Center, a clinical education program open to students of Tulane and Loyola–New Orleans law schools, I was invited by the National Center for State Courts to provide two weeks of training in legislative drafting for members and staff of the Kosovo Assembly. The training took place in late September and early October 2009.

Along the way I took in the sights, sounds and culture of this new and fascinating country.

No

there

The European Union takes no position on Kosovo’s status, but most EU members have recognized the nation’s independence and the euro serves as Kosovo’s official currency. A divided Security Council prevented United Nations’ recognition, but 65 U.N. member states have recognized Kosovo as an independent country.

There’s a lot of work that goes into becoming an independent republic, and part of that work involves sorting through the nuts and bolts of the legislative process.

On Tuesday morning I joined The Public

Law Center’s assistant director, Idella Wilson (L ’88), to attend a ceremony in which representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development presented a legislative drafting manual to top Kosovan government officials—the deputy prime minister and the chief legal officer of the assembly. The Public Law Center had had a hand in drafting the manual back in 2008–2009.

We began our training sessions on Tuesday afternoon before a crowd of approximately three dozen attendees. We teach “plain language” drafting—a subject that sounds so deadly dull only the heart of a law professor could soar in its presence. Plain language drafting, however, has important political implications in the newly emerging republics of Eastern Europe, as we learned from the comments of a legislative drafter during an earlier trip to the Republic of Georgia.

The Georgian drafter felt very poorly served by her legal education, which had taught her to write in grandiloquent language. “When you govern in a system run by edict rather than by the rule of law,” she explained, “you don’t want any substance in the laws. Writing in flowery language makes it easier to conceal the vacuum at the heart of legislation.” Or as Gertrude Stein said, “There is no there there.” Making it acceptable to draft in plain language makes it harder to “hide the ball” and lends support to a system based on the rule of law.

On Wednesday morning, we pulled out Mardi Gras beads, always popular among our international training participants, who get beads for successful answers to the drafting exercises.

People in Kosovo proved every bit as enthusiastic as people in New Orleans upon getting a shiny set of beads in their hands.

That evening, Mike Shepherd, the chief of party for the National Center for State Courts in Kosovo, took us to a nice Italian restaurant buried in a neighborhood a block off the highway where we would never have found it.

For dessert we drove to a park and the Villa Gamira restaurant. The route there took us past the ruins of a Serbian military installation that was located just steps up the road from the

PHOTO COURTESY IDELLA WILSON.

pshot in front of The author pauses for a sna Lake Ohrid.

St John’s Church overlooking restaurant. The facility was bombed on the night in 1999 when NATO intervened in Kosovo to stop ethnic cleansing.

Kosovo’s population of more than two million residents is 90 percent Albanian, and Islam is their predominant religion. The Serb minority is Eastern Orthodox. Kosovar Albanians initially engaged in nonviolent protests, but the KLA, or Kosovo Liberation Army, later fought fierce battles against Serbian rule and the hostilities endure.

Serbian alienation from the USAID training was apparent from the first day. Training materials had been translated from English into both Albanian and Serbian, and interpreters were available in both languages, but none of the Serbians who were invited attended the training.

During the following week, a single Serbian lady did appear late in the day on Monday, then returned on Tuesday, but by Wednesday she had left for a training session in Macedonia.

We concluded our first week of training on Thursday with a deconstruction exercise.

Participants apply plain language drafting principles to “deconstruct” an existing law, then try to improve it through rewriting. We were cautioned in advance to introduce the exercise gingerly because one of the drafters of that law was in the audience.

A weekend excursion

On Friday we drove a rental car to Ohrid (pronounced “O-krid”), Macedonia, which had been described to us as “like Tahoe” because it’s situated at the northern end of an impressive glacial lake. Our guidebook called Ohrid “the jewel of Macedonia.”

Saturday delivered rain as predicted, but that did not prevent us from making our way through the old town to numerous historic sites. We saw the medieval St. Sophia Church, then traversed a wooden boardwalk along the beach and over the lake to St. John’s Church, which sits on a promontory overlooking Lake Ohrid. We couldn’t get into St. John’s because of a burglary there earlier, but we enjoyed the view,

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 23

ares an flag sh rs ic r e m A n At right, a h a variety of banne e wit blu a balcony over Kosovo. The as n w es w flo that have the Stars and Strip red its la to flag next d after Kosovo dec Below, e . t adop om Serbia ovo’s r f e c n e d n indepe ary of Kos e on s r e iv n n a e enc g th celebratin laration of independ sovars c o e K d nds of 8, thousa ing their newly 0 0 2 , 17 .

Feb fly e streets, he flags took to th d flag as well as t ntries. adopte ting cou of suppor

Twenty-two words then set out for St. Clement’s Church, arriving at about the same time as a baptismal party. We were invited to observe but chose to leave the family to their own celebration.

We walked uphill to an old fortress that occupies the highest ground in Ohrid, then walked down to another church and a gallery of icons, at which point Idella and I concluded that we were “iconed out.”

For our evening meal we found the Taverna restaurant, which was warm and welcoming with a four-piece music group. The menu had Ohrid trout, and we ordered a very good bottle of Macedonian wine, a Bovin Vranec, which is touted as the traditional Macedonian grape. It proved more than satisfactory. We finished with a marvelous baklava of walnuts stuffed into a pastry roll rather than layered in the conventional manner.

PAGE 24 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

On Sunday, we drove south along the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid to visit the monastery of Naum. We had been warned not to drive too far because the Albanian border was only a short distance beyond the monastery. The ancient church occupied an impressive location on a rocky ridge overlooking the lake, but a hotel had been built surrounding the church, which detracted a bit from its appeal.

On our drive back north, we stopped at a site called the Bay of Bones, where a prehistoric settlement of lake dwellings had been reconstructed on a platform located about 40 yards off the shore. We took a short walk up from that prehistoric site to a more recent Roman fortress located on a high point overlooking Lake Ohrid. We could see the fortress in Ohrid, which suggested that these two fortifications might easily have managed visual communication with each other.

We began the second week’s training on Monday with a good turnout of 48 people. This group appeared less outgoing than their predecessors, so we decided to launch the Mardi Gras beads on the first day as a reward for right answers. We held on to good attendance figures throughout the three days of the training, with roughly 38 of the 48 participants who signed up on Monday morning remaining in the classroom during the next two days.

On Monday evening we found our way to Osteria Basilico, where our food was good and every dish coming out of the kitchen looked worth trying. The restaurant provided a warm atmosphere and became a kind of Old Home Week before the evening was done. Idella saw a National Center for State Courts staff member sitting at a nearby table, and he came over to chat. Near the end of our meal, Nathalie and Yordan, who had attended the prior week’s training, came over to say hello.

PHOTOS THIS PAGE: AP PHOTOS

Nathalie disagreed with one bit of “conventional wisdom” from training that prescribes that sentences should range no more than 22 to 25 words in length. Nathalie maintained that, “sentences with an average length of 22 words are far too long as a guide for plain language drafting.” Upon reflection, I had to agree, and will probably qualify my remarks in the future, perhaps by reference to the old Abe Lincoln story. Upon being asked, “How long should a man’s legs be?” Lincoln replied, “Long enough to reach the ground.”

How long should a sentence be? Long enough to get the job done—and no longer.

Nathalie and Yordan are affiliated with the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), which took on a leadership role in December 2008. With the turf comes controversy, as we witnessed firsthand that evening when our walk to dinner took us past graffiti the size of a billboard proclaiming, “EULEX: Made in Serbia.”

On Wednesday we did our deconstruction exercise, and it proved to be even more wellreceived than had been the case during the preceding week. One group worked right through the afternoon coffee break, which demonstrated a level of enthusiasm that was unprecedented in our experience with the Kosovar trainees. I said in my concluding remarks that I hoped they felt

liberated to question and reexamine traditional ways of doing things. We got an enthusiastic round of applause from participants, and then we presented them with their certificates of completion.

On Thursday morning, the training session received high marks during the exit interview with representatives from the National Center for State Courts. They particularly valued its practical nature. So much international training in their experience is heavily weighted toward theory. I’ve heard it said on some of our international training trips, “Europe is into ‘being.’

America is into ‘doing.’”

Our old friend Gushta drove us to the airport for our afternoon flights out of Kosovo. We passed a jail where he had been held as a youth at age 14. It was now a prison for adults.

Moving target

Some say that “Kosovo may be a state, but it’s not yet a nation.” Numerous sources of organic law make it difficult to determine which law is paramount.

On June 10, 1999, in the wake of NATO’s intervention, U.N. Security Resolution 1244 brought governance to Kosovo. The status of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo is no longer entirely clear, however, after the declaration of independence. Resolution 1244, which authorized the mission, remains in place along with

A handmade sign expres ses distrust of the Eu ro mission to support Ko sovo in areas of police pean Union’s and justice.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

some of the bureaucracy. The special representative of the U.N. Secretary General continues to reign supreme on paper, but not in fact. Other actors have stepped in with some claim to “guide” the country’s legal affairs.

A recent “comprehensive settlement” between Serbia and Kosovo preserves the right of Serbia to make grants directly to Kosovar Serbs and their nongovernmental organizations without any control by the Kosovo government. These grants are a device by which Serbia retains and remunerates the loyalty of Kosovar Serbs to Serbia.

Kosovo obtained a constitution on June 15, 2008, which might for most of us suffice as a paramount source of law—but not in this country, where the U.N. resolution can cause conflicts and where the U.N.-facilitated Comprehensive Settlement Proposal for the Kosovo Status asserts that it is supreme, even trumping conflicting provisions of the constitution.

In short, Kosovo suffers from a multitude of legal authorities and provisions, many of them irreconcilable, thus creating an environment where the applicable law remains a moving target and the many actors compete among themselves for legal superiority.

Kosovo faces continuing challenges, not the least of which is its economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign assistance. The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, for example, has a budget of 265 million euros through June 2010. What happens when the international aid agencies leave and take with them the revenue stream that artificially inflates Kosovo’s economy? Many questions will need to be answered over the next several years.

We can say from our own experience that Kosovo is serious about reform and eager to learn more about “best practices” in legislative drafting.

The Public Law Center has made its contribution to the rule of law in Kosovo. We’re hopeful that this fledgling democracy in southeastern Europe will surmount its challenges and help to stabilize an historically troubled region of the world.

David Marcello has served as executive director of The Public Law Center since the program began in 1988.

TULANIAN SPRING 2010 | PAGE 25

givingBack

Clem Benenson, Stephanie Terelak Benenson, Jim Benenson and Scott Cowen do the honors at the March ribbon cutting ceremony for McAlister Place Pedestrian Way. Students find the lovely place to stroll an inviting route to class.

A walk Weatherhead gift through campus advances fahievement McAlister Place Pedestrian Way provided the perfect setting for honoring an extraordinary family whose generosity has transformed the center of campus into a beautifully landscaped space. The newly opened Pedestrian Way, from Freret Street to McAlister Auditorium, features lush shrubbery and trees, pedestrian plazas, pleasant lighting and an environment that encourages walking, bicycling and small communal gatherings.

Clement Benenson, a 2004 graduate of Tulane College, and his family, through the Vesper Foundation, provided funding for completion of Phase I of the McAlister Place project.

At the Pedestrian Way dedication in March, Benenson, who last year in New Orleans married Stephanie M. Terelak, a 2004 graduate of the A. B. Freeman School of Business, expressed his family’s admiration for the university. He said, “At Tulane, they don’t just fund raise, they build a community. And they don’t just collect money, they collect ideas.”

Associated Student Body president Tim Clinton thanked the Benenson family for having the foresight to realize the benefit of closing McAlister Drive to vehicular traffic to make way for the pedestrian mall. “We needed a way

PAGE 30 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

to foster a vibrant pedestrian culture,” Clinton said, “and McAlister Place is it.”

“Turning McAlister Drive into a pedestrian mall has been part of the university’s master plan for 20 years,” said Yvette Jones, executive vice president for university relations and development. However, “Having plans is one thing, having the funding to implement them is another.”

Three generations of Benensons were on campus for the dedication ceremony, including the family’s newest member, James IV, infant son of Fiona and James Benenson III, and Sharen and Jim Benenson, parents of Clem and James III. At the close of the ceremony, which featured live music and a crawfish boil, Tulane President Scott Cowen and Board of Tulane chair Jay Lapeyre asked Jim Benenson to come to the stage. Cowen said, “Every now and then we encounter exceptional parents who forge a bond with the university that continues even after their child graduates. I want you all to know that Jim Benenson is one of those people.”

Tulane Alumni Association president Suzanne Valtierra joined the group to surprise Jim Benenson by recognizing him as an honorary alumnus. His outstanding commitment and philanthropic spirit, said Valtierra, are “notably exemplified by his generosity in helping to create a safer, friendlier and more sustainable campus through his generous

support of the McAlister Place Pedestrian Way beautification project.”

This isn’t the first time the university has had the Benensons to thank for an aesthetic transformation. Following Clem Benenson’s graduation, the family underwrote the creation of limestone monuments on Gibson Circle, providing the university with distinctive markers on St. Charles Avenue. The limestone used in the monument project came from the same quarry in Indiana where Gibson Hall’s stone was mined in the 1890s.

The Benensons’ passion for horticulture and the preservation and enhancement of landscapes is well known in their New York City neighborhood. Sharen Benenson served on the board of the Gramercy Park Trust and the Horticultural Society of New York, and she and Jim funded the restoration of the New York Botanical Garden’s Ornamental Conifer Collection.

Sharen and Jim were active members of the Parents Council when Clem was a student, and Clem currently serves on the President’s Council and the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Liberal Arts. In 2008 the Benenson Family and Vesper Foundation were inducted into the Paul Tulane Society.

—Maureen King Maureen King is a writer in the Tulane Office of Development.

s e s s a l C e th

GI garbage busters During a labor strike by city garbage collectors in fall 1946, trash began overflowing from containers and piling up on sidewalks. The mayor of New Orleans called on Tulane students to help out in the crisis. World War II had just ended and many students were veterans with experience driving large vehicles. Bar and restaurant owners along the Bourbon Street route plied the college garbage men with free drinks, recalls Bill Neff (UC ’52). Soon the T-men, turned “G-men,” were full of bourbon on Bourbon Street, says Neff. Fender scrapes occurred, but the streets were cleaner. “I was a 16-year-old frosh, and did not participate in the collection,” adds Neff.

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7 Alumni Awards Celebration Room on April 11, MEGHAN GREELEY (NC ’05), left, Baton Rouge club president, celebrates with ELIZABETH ANNE “LIZZY” BERGER (NC ’05), recipient of the Young Alumna Volunteer Award.

2. JILL HENKIN GLAZER (NC ’85) is the recipient of the Alumna Volunteer Award, and CHARLES B. WILSON (A&S ’51, M ’54) is awarded the Dermot McGlinchey Lifetime Achievement Award.

3. EDITH BROWN “JOY” CLEMENT (L ’72) receives the Tulane Alumni Association Distinguished Alumna Award. Clement has been 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge since 2001.

Honorary Alumni and Club Recognition 4. GENE KOSS, professor of art; SYLVESTER JOHNSON (UC ’97), executive director of facilities services at Tulane; and MARY KOSS (B ’79) attend the club awards ceremony and induction reception in the 1834 Club of the Lavin-Bernick Center on April 9.

5. RUSTY PICKERING (E’ 91), clubs chair, presents a Green Wave Award to THERESA SCHIEBER (NC ’95), past president of the New York club and current programming chair of the Tulane Alumni Association.

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Health and Tropical Medicine; ROBERT VOLTZ, electrical superintendent at Tulane; and CEDRIC WALKER, professor of biomedical engineering, (left to right) line up to show off their certificates after their induction as honorary members of the Tulane Alumni Association.

Beads on Broadway 7. New York City is the setting for Beads on Broadway, a fund-raising gala, on Feb. 23. ELISE LURAY (NC ’89), ALYSSA GREENBERG (Parent ’13) and NANCY REBOLD (NC ’88) are among the gala-goers at the event held at the Lighthouse at Pier 61. Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corp. of New York, was the guest speaker. He was introduced

by Tulane President Scott Cowen.

8. ROSS SCHULMAN (B ’98) and HEATHER ARON (NC ’98), like all the gala-goers, are entertained by the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys, who performed music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the event.

9. JUSTIN MARCUS (A&S ’91) may be singing “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You,” a Four Seasons’ hit, to his wife, LINDA MARCUS. Beads on Broadway, which had a Mardi Gras theme, drew Tulane alumni and friends from across the Northeast.

PREVIOUS PAGE, HULLABALOO. THIS PAGE, 1–3, SALLY ASHER; 4–6, GUILLERMO CABRERA-ROJO; 7–9 MICHAEL JURICK (A&S ’90).

theClasses | classNotes 1940s

EDMUND GLASS (A&S ’64) tells the story of his

C. RICK CONEWAY (A&S ’68) was honored

MARY JANE FLY KAHAO (NC ’45) received the

avocation—sculpting—on his new website, www.edglasssculptor.com. The site features photographs and information about his work.

by the American Society of Civil Engineers Austin Branch as Civil Engineer of the Year.

He received the honor at the Engineers Week Awards Luncheon, held in February at the Radisson Hotel in Austin, Texas.

2010 Lois Wyatt Bannon “Heart and Soul” Award from the Louisiana Association of Museums for her work with the West Baton Rouge Museum and the surrounding community. She received the award at the association’s annual meeting in Baton Rouge, La.

WALTER B. STUART IV (A&S ’68, L ’73) joined the New York office of leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as a partner in March. He continues to represent clients in litigation and arbitration matters, especially as they relate to financial, business and securities law issues.

SAM A. THREEFOOT (A&S ’43, M ’45) wrote Echoes of the Twenty-third Psalm, which has been published by Xlibris.

1950s LES BLANK (A&S ’58, G ’60), a documentary filmmaker, recently visited New Orleans to attend the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s retrospective on his career: “A Well-Spent Life: An Evening With Les Blank.” The museum showed several of his films, including A WellSpent Life, about Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb; Always for Pleasure, about New Orleans street music culture; and Del Mero Corazon and Sprout Wings and Fly. In 2007, Blank received the Edward MacDowell Medal in the Arts from the MacDowell Colony, the nation’s leading artistic residency program.

1960s JACK KUSHNER (A&S ’60) has published Coping Successfully With Changing Tides and Winds: A Neurosurgeon’s Compass. In August, he will participate in the World Forum at St. John’s College in Cambridge, England. He will serve as chair for the health symposium as well as deliver a speech entitled “Global Surveillance of the H1N1 Virus.”

PATSY SIMS (NC ’60) lives in Washington, D.C., and is the director of the MFA program in creative nonfiction at Goucher College in Baltimore. She previously taught creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

GARY J. MANNINA (A&S ’63, G ’72) was named headmaster of Coast Episcopal School in Long Beach, Miss., in July 2009.

MICHAEL M. MARVINS (A&S ’63) co-authored Texas’ Big Bend: A Photographic Adventure From the Pecos to the Rio Grande, which has been published by Bright Sky Press.

1970s

BILL PITTS (A&S ’65, L ’69) was Tulane University Law School’s 2010 Distinguished Alternative Dispute Resolution Scholar-in-Residence. Pitts delivered a lunchtime talk, spoke to an ADR class and met with students interested in related career opportunities. At the luncheon, Tulane Law School honored Pitts with a clock for his more than 30 years of service as an adjunct professor. In addition, Pitts was director of the law school’s “Intercultural Alternative Dispute Resolution” summer school program in Berlin for 10 years.

FRANCIS JOSEPH “BUD” RICHARDSON III (B ’65) plays a press reporter and press photographer in the upcoming film Secretariat, which was filmed in Louisiana. In the past three years, Richardson has produced more than 95 television programs for Acadiana Open Channel in Lafayette, La. He also films, edits and produces a weekly program called “Live the Messages,” about the visionaries of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina.

AL ANDREWS (A&S ’67, L ’71), a former Tulane basketball player, and his family own Thriv Natural Performance, based in New Orleans.

The company produces athletics apparel made of bamboo fabric. For more information, visit www.thrivnp.com.

RICHARD C. DANYSH (A&S ’71), a trial partner in Bracewell and Giuliani’s San Antonio office, has been inducted as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Founded in 1950, the college is one of the premier legal associations in America. Danysh’s work has encompassed all aspects of state and federal trials, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, and he has represented clients across a broad range of industries. Bracewell and Giuliani’s 470 lawyers practice in offices across the United States and abroad.

DAVID WEINER (A&S ’75) lives in Dallas, where he recently opened Weiner Law Firm, an appellate and legal issues practice that focuses on fixed fee and other alternative arrangements in place of hourly billing. He has been certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1989.

ROBERT ADAMS IVY (A ’76) is editor-in-chief of Architectural Record and vice president and editorial director of McGraw-Hill Construction.

He was recently named “master architect” by Alpha Rho Chi architecture fraternity for his contributions to communicating the value of design, both within and beyond the fraternity. As master architect, Ivy will serve in an honorary, mentoring role with students and alumni of the fraternity.

FREDERICK MAYER (A&S ’76, A ’82) recently played the role of Katrina-Hiroshima in Hell and High Water or Lessons for When the Sky Falls at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York. His

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PATRICIA MILLER UCHELLO (NC ’76), who also holds an MFA, continues to paint in oil on canvas. Her latest one-woman show was in March 2010 at Gallery Two in Leesburg, Va. She shares her work on her website, www.patriciauchello.com.

HUGH BLANCHARD (A&S ’78), a retired U.S. Army major working as a contractor, has been designated as a senior experimental analyst

by Computer Sciences Corp. By conducting seminars, working groups and modeling and simulation experiments, Blanchard and his colleagues work toward supporting the improvement of the U.S. Army and the Joint Services’ current and future operations. Blanchard lives in Yorktown, Va., and works with the Army at Fort Monroe, Va.

ROBERT HALE BOB THE BUILDER TULANE DEGREE: MArch, 1977

RESIDENCE: Los Angeles

PROFESSION: Architect

QUOTABLE: “It’s an antique notion that one creates a signature style. I can’t think of anything more boring.”

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EDWARD M. HOLLOWELL (M ’78) announces the publication of his new book, Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Interruption, co-authored with his wife, Sue Hallowell, who is a social worker and couples’ therapist. The Hollowells have been married for 20 years and have three children.

in the Humanities at Xavier University in New Orleans. White, along with his Original Liberty Jazz Band, has been a featured performer at Tulane commencement ceremonies for more than a decade.

1980s

JAMES A. SLOBARD (A&S ’78, M ’82) has moved to Tampa, Fla., where he practices internal medicine and geriatrics at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. He lives there with his wife, Susan Feder. Their daughter, Yelena, attends State University of New York–Buffalo.

MICHAEL WHITE (G ’79, ’83) was named 2010 Humanist of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. The annual awards are given to Louisianans who have made outstanding contributions to the study and understanding of the humanities. White is an acclaimed clarinet player, composer and jazz historian who holds the Keller Endowed Chair

“Every project I do is a collaboration, which makes each one rich and different,” says Bob Hale, a principal of Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

He leads a creative team that has a reputation for tackling challenging environmental designs.

The innovative firm was recognized as a finalist in the landscape design category for the CooperHewitt National Design Museum’s 2009 National Design Awards.

Hale lends his unique voice to the team, rooted not only in his Tulane education, but also in a 12-year collaboration with world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.

Hale continues to be actively involved with the Tulane School of Architecture. In October 2009, he spent a week on campus mentoring students as they designed and built information kiosks for a New Orleans neighborhood.

“I wanted to give expression to their ideas, bring in real-world experience and reflect upon how their ideas fit in.”

—Mary Cross Mary Cross graduated from Tulane in May with a bachelor of arts in communication.

BRUCE LANDY (M ’80), center, his wife, COLLEEN LANDY, and LARRY SHORE (M ’80) annually hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. “This unique and beautiful hike [in February this year] required the usage of ice cleats for the first three miles due to the third heaviest snowfall on record,” says Landy.

LINO GARCÍA JR. (G ’81) is professor emeritus of Spanish literature at the University of Texas–Pan American, where he teaches on a part-time basis. He has published numerous articles on Spanish and Mexican literature and made more than 55 presentations at conferences in the United States and Mexico.

García has been the director of the Annual International Symposium–Spanish since 1986 and has served as chair and assistant vice president for academic affairs. García fondly remembers Tulane professors William J. Smither, Otto Olivera, Gilberto Paolini, Alberto Vásquez and Richard Greenleaf. García can be reached at LGarcia@UTPA.Edu.

JAN GILBERT (G ’82), a nationally recognized artist living in New Orleans, had her New York debut at 571 Projects with Sur la ligne/On the Line in February and March. Photographs she took while travelling on a French exchange served as inspiration for the body of mixed

PHOTO, LEFT, BY RYAN RIVET. PHOTO, RIGHT, PROVIDED BY BRUCE LANDY.

theClasses | classNotes media work, which examines memories held in objects and places. Gilbert has exhibited in galleries, museums and cultural centers throughout the United States and abroad and has received individual artist fellowships and support from numerous foundations. Her work is included in public collections across the country.

ELIZABETH ROBERTSON QUEEN (NC ’82, L ’86) was lead claims counsel for U.S. transportation insurance specialist Canal Insurance Co. and is now founding director and legal and risk management consultant for Transportation and Insurance Law Services, USA. Queen lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with her husband, youngest two children, and Great Pyrennes dog, Jazz. She is working toward her University of London master of laws degree specializing in international business with an emphasis on insurance and maritime law.

FORD GIBSON (B ’83) is chief operating officer of Konover South. After its merger with Gibson Development Partners, the Deerfield Beach, Fla., company is one of the Southeast’s premier real estate developers. Gibson arrived in South Florida in 1990 as president of Miamibased Codina Development; in 1998, he succeeded Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as president and chief operating officer of the parent firm, Codina Group; and in 2004, he launched Gibson Development. Gibson has twice been honored by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association as South Florida’s “Developer of the Year.” He is vice chair of the FedEx Orange Bowl Committee and serves on the Urban Land Institute’s National Office Development Council.

MARILYN PELIAS (NC ’84, M ’88) has joined the surgery faculty at Tulane Lakeside Hospital in Metairie, La. Pelias completed a general surgery residency and research fellowship at Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State University. In 1994, Pelias founded a solo private practice, which grew successfully for eight years. In 2002, she returned home to New Orleans to start a private practice in general and cosmetic surgery. Following Hurricane Katrina, Pelias devoted a few

years to raising her four young children and renovating her home.

BRYAN BATT (A&S ’85) has written a book about his mother, GAYLE MACKENROTH BATT (NC ’51). She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother: A Memoir was published by Harmony Books of Crown Publishing Group in May. The DVD of season three of “Mad Men,” with Batt playing Salvatore Romano, has been released. He also appears in the 2009 film Funny People.

LEILA NADYA SADAT (L ’85) delivered the Deutsch Lecture at Tulane University Law School in March. She is the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. She is an authority on international criminal and human rights law.

MICHELE WAHLDER (NC ’85) announces the publication of Alphatudes: The Alphabet of Gratitude—26 Solutions for Life’s Little Challenges in February. Named an Indie Groundbreaking Book by Independent Publisher, Alphatudes shares practical secrets for embracing a grateful, positive outlook.

Wahlder is a life coach, career counselor and psychotherapist in Dallas. Learn more about her book at www.alphatudes.com and her company at www.lifepossibilities.com.

American Studies. The organization sponsors educational programs in Europe, Asia, South America and the United States that teach college students about the ideas of freedom and a free-market economy.

BONNIE SCHAIN HOFERT (B ’88) is living in Parkland, Fla., with her husband, Bruce, and their two children, Jordan, 9, and Rachel, 4. The couple recently opened Red Wagon Toy Store in Coral Springs, Fla. The specialty store, which sells educational and unique toys, is a venue for children’s birthday parties. The store can be found online at www.redwagontoystore.com.

SCOTT PODVIN (A&S ’89) was on the faculty of speakers at the 10th anniversary European Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum in London in November 2009.

He also spoke at the 15th annual Asset Backed Securities conference in Miami Beach, Fla., in October 2009.

1990s MICHAEL D. RUBENSTEIN (B ’90, L ’93), a shareholder in the Houston office of Liskow & Lewis, received the 2009 Camille Gravel Public Service Award from the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The award recognized his post-conviction representation of a Louisiana death row inmate. Rubenstein practices in the areas of business litigation, bankruptcy and white-collar criminal law.

CAROLINE DURHAM (NC ’87, L ’90) has been selected to serve as president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She currently works as an assistant federal defender in Minneapolis.

RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (A&S ’87, M ’92) was installed as vice president of the Louisiana Orthopaedic Association in April at the annual meeting in New Orleans. Rodriguez completed a sports medicine fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Among many other professional affiliations, he is a board member of the Clinical Orthopaedic Society.

STEVE SLATTERY (A&S ’87) was promoted to executive vice president at the Fund for

SAMANTHA SHEPHERD (NC ’90) was elected as a director on the board of the Missouri chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Members of the organization work with the legal problems of aging Americans and people with disabilities. Shepherd is a solo practitioner. Her firm is Shepherd Elder Law Group in Kansas City, Mo.

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classNotes | theClasses JONATHAN E. TURNER (A&S ’91) was elected chair of the board of regents of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He and his wife, KRISTEN WHITTLESEY TURNER (NC ’93), and their two children live in Memphis, Tenn.

Jonathan Turner is a principal at Wilson and Turner and adjunct professor in the criminology department at the University of Memphis and in the graduate business school at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

KEVIN W. BARRON (B ’92) serves as director of managed care for McLeod Health in Florence, S.C. He recently recertified as a fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Of the association’s more than 34,000 members, fewer than 2,400 have attained this certification level.

DAVID GAUS (PHTM ’92, M ’92) was one of six recipients of the Schwab Foundation’s 2010 Social Entrepreneur Award for Latin America, presented at the World Economic Forum in Cartagena, Colombia, in April. Gaus received

KRISTINE HERMAN PROTECTING AFGHAN WOMEN TULANE DEGREE: MSW, 1995

RESIDENCE: Brooklyn, N.Y.

PROFESSION: Social worker

QUOTABLE: “Violence against women in Afghanistan is a pervasive and deeply rooted problem.”

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the award for his work to develop a new model of sustainable health care in rural Latin America, which includes founding Andean Health and Development. Learn more at www.andeanhealth.org.

Katrina. The documentary, presented by the Independent Television Service, also follows up with Butler and the young people after the storm. Mullem lives in Crescent City, Calif.

MARGARET LEE PINKSTON (NC ’94), and her SUSAN HUTSON (L ’92) has been appointed independent monitor of the New Orleans police department. She keeps tabs on internal police department investigations and conducts audits and assessments. Before coming to New Orleans in April, Hutson worked for almost two years as an assistant inspector general in Los Angeles. Prior to that, she was assistant police monitor in Austin, Texas, and an assistant city attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas.

GABRIELLE MULLEM (NC ’94) produced The Music’s Going to Get You Through, a documentary about blind jazz musician Henry Butler and the music camp for visually impaired and musically talented teenagers that he conducted in New Orleans before Hurricane

Kristine Herman (pictured with an Afghan client) traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, for three months in fall 2009 to work with the attorney general’s office of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to establish the country’s first Violence Against Women Unit.

The specialized prosecution unit represents the country’s first efforts to meaningfully address widespread violence against women.

Herman helped identify the prosecutor team and developed a training curriculum, comprehensive protocols and policies.

“A key ingredient to the success of the project was community engagement from the beginning, which included focus groups with women victims of violence at confidential shelters and individual interviews with key stakeholders,” she says.

Herman currently is director of global gender initiatives at the Center for Court Innovation, a nonprofit think tank in New York.

She continues to advise the Violence Against Women Unit, which expects to expand outside Kabul to areas throughout Afghanistan.

—Fran Simon

husband, Paul Pinkston, welcomed a daughter, Teresa Nicole, on June 14, 2009.

STEVEN SINAI MEGIBOW (A&S ’95) and his wife, Aviva, announce the birth of their third daughter, Sela, who joins sisters Lana and Julia. Megibow recently founded Venture Risk Investigations, a full-service investigation, due diligence and business intelligence firm, which operates globally. The Megibow family lives on Long Island, N.Y. MELISSA BORRERO BRANDRUP (A ’97, ’98) is president-elect of the El Paso, Texas, chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

In 2008, she co-founded the nonprofit organization Eco El Paso, which focuses on design in the hot, arid climate. Previously, Brandrup worked as senior project architect for Cunningham Quill Architects in Washington, D.C., where she developed the Wooster and the Mercer Lofts, which received an Award of Merit from the Design Arlington Awards Program in January 2009.

TANYA LIN HICKS (NC ’97) received a YWCA Young Diversity Achievers Award in April. The award is given to citizens who foster diversity and, through community work, strive to eliminate racism. Hicks was nominated for the award by her colleagues at State University of New York–Upstate Medical University.

She resides in Syracuse, N.Y. CHRISTOPHER HOPKINS (L ’97) published the iPhone application “Claw,” which provides ethics rules and guidelines for lawyers. The app is available on iTunes and at www.clawapp.com. Hopkins is a shareholder in the Palm Beach, Fla., office of the nationwide law firm Butzel Long and runs the Florida litigation department. Hopkins’ wife, Evelyn, is counsel for the sugar company Florida Crystals. The job sometimes requires travel to a Chalmette, La., refinery—a good “excuse” for Christopher Hopkins to visit New Orleans.

PHOTO BY LAILUMA NASIRI.

theClasses | classNotes He says that while his wife didn’t attend Tulane, their 11-year-old son, Patrick, is a “future Tulane grad.”

ERIC M. REUSS (M ’97) was named one of the best obstetrics and gynecology doctors in Phoenix by Phoenix Magazine. He practices in Scottsdale, Ariz.

JEFFREY ROSENBLUM (A ’97) has been elected by the American Institute of Architects to its College of Fellows for his contributions to the profession. This is the highest recognition the institute can bestow upon one of its members.

SALLYE WOLF WASSERSTEIN (NC ’97) and her husband, Brent, welcomed twin boys, Truman Zev and Ryan Lev, on Jan. 21, 2010. The family lives in Houston, where Wasserstein works for the Memorial Hermann Foundation.

The babies’ grandmother is “NANI” CYNTHIA ROOSTH WOLF (NC ’68).

AMANDA MEDORI HALLAUER (NC ’98) and her husband, Todd, announce the birth of their first child, Leonel Medorion, on Sept. 15, 2009. The baby traveled with his parents to New Orleans this spring to attend his first Jazz Fest. The family lives in Washington, D.C., where Hallauer is a land-use planner and consultant specializing in conservation and sustainable development strategies for private landowners.

LAUREL BERKHEIM JOLLY ( NC ’98) and JOHANNES JOLLY (E ’99) announce the birth of their second child, Quinn Patrick, on Feb. 9, 2010. Quinn joins an older sister, Lyla.

Johannes Jolly is a Navy F/A-18 pilot, and Laurel Jolly is a genetic counselor. The family plans to move from Alabama back to California this summer.

CAREY SCOTT LOSHBAUGH (B ’98) and ALYSIA KRAVITZ LOSHBAUGH (NC ’00, PHTM ’01) announce the birth of Eva Charlotte on Oct. 12, 2009. Carey Loshbaugh is director of planning and analysis at Harrah’s New Orleans, and Alysia Loshbaugh is project/budget manager in the Tulane Office of Academic Affairs and Provost.

ELISE M. SMITH STUBBE (NC ’98) and her husband, Justin, announce the birth of their first child, Owen Manning, on March 17, 2010. The Stubbe family lives in San Antonio with their two cats and a golden retriever.

TED GARBER (TC ’99) performed at “SingerSongwriter Night” on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center on Feb. 25. A multiinstrumentalist who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, Garber recently released a new album, American Rail.

SEAN VERNAGLIA (TC ’99) and his wife, Kristen, welcomed Patrick Ryan on April 6, 2010. The baby joins his brother, Jack Joshua, 2. The family resides in Stoneham, Mass.

2000s ROBERT MANN (TC ’00) married Mindy Stemborski at Lennoxlove in East Lothian, Scotland. Celebrating the wedding were MATTHEW KUIVINEN (TC ’00), RAYMOND ROMANO (E ’00), TOBIAS SMITH (TC ’98), DAVID FUERST (B ’00),

Brandon L. Phillips says his life has come “full circle.” It’s easy to see why.

Phillips was born with the congenital heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot, a condition requiring several operations. He has wanted to be a cardiologist since grade school.

During his residency at Texas Children’s Hospital and his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the Mayo Clinic, Phillips had the opportunity to work with doctors who treated him as a child and care for children with his same condition.

In September 2009, Samaritan’s Purse Children’s Heart Project sent Phillips to Mongolia to perform open-heart operations. (Phillips is pictured with a patient he treated during that trip.)

Phillips is on the board of directors of Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charity serving seriously ill children and their families. Support from the Starlight Foundation was important to Phillips in his own childhood.

Phillips has accepted a position as a pediatric cardiologist with a private-practice pediatric cardiology group in San Antonio.

—Fran Simon

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAMARITAN’S PURSE CHILDREN’S HEART PROJECT.

KATHRYN ENSOR (B ’07), MIKE ENSOR (E ’00) and CHRISTOPHER RINTALAN (E ’00).

ETY RYBAK (B ’00) is co-founder and chief operating officer of Inside Sports and Entertainment Group in New York. The company produces events and also offers “impossible dream” packages for sporting and entertainment events, including access to superstars and “closed to the public” celebrity events.

The company has more than 10,000 clients, and annual revenue is $15 million. Rybak previously worked as a corporate sponsorship manager for the NBA and in sales for Super Star EXP. He also coaches his old high school’s wrestling team.

JOEL SABER (E ’00) and SARA JOHANSON SABER (NC ’00) announce the birth of their first child, Julia Pasqualina, on Feb. 19, 2010.

Joel Saber is an investment banking associate in the Houston office of Credit Suisse. He earned his MBA from the University of Texas– Austin in 2007.

BRANDON L. PHILLIPS CHILDREN’S HEART DOCTOR TULANE DEGREE: MD, 2004

RESIDENCE: San Antonio

PROFESSION: Pediatric cardiologist

QUOTABLE: “I’ve seen how important lifting a child’s spirits can be in the healing process.”

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classNotes | theClasses JENNIFER MARTINEZ (NC ’01) received her

DANA KLAUSNER KORNFELD (NC ’05) launched

PhD in immunology from Duke University in January 2010 and has begun a postdoctoral fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in the laboratory of Douglas R. Green.

4Sisters1Closet at the end of 2009. The ecommerce site focuses on bringing affordable, trend-driven clothing and accessories to young women while showcasing emerging designers from around the world. 4Sisters1Closet also takes “pop-up” stores to college campuses.

Prior to starting the business, Kornfield honed her fashion skills in New York at Scoop NYC, DKNY Jeans, InTouch and Life&Style.

ADRIENNE ENDRES DeRAN (NC ’02) has started “First Pig: Our Straw Bale House Blog,” to document the construction of the straw bale house that she and her husband, Craig, are building in Harford County, Md. Visit the blog at www.firstpig.blogspot.com.

CARNEY ANNE SMALL CHESTER (L ’03) and MATT CHESTER (L ’04) returned to New Or-

RYAN SHEA JOHNSON (A&S ’06) has accepted an assignment with the Peace Corps in the Kyrgyz Republic. He will teach English as a foreign language at the secondary level and serve for 27 months, until May 28, 2012.

leans in 2008. Carney Anne Chester works in the Career Development Office at Tulane Law School, counseling students on public interest and sports law opportunities. She recently completed a graduate degree from George Washington University with a focus in legislative advocacy for animal welfare issues. She serves on the Humane Society of Louisiana’s board of directors. Matt Chester works in the financial crimes unit of the U.S. attorney’s office for the eastern district of Louisiana, and as an adjunct professor at Tulane Law School.

The couple welcomed their first child, Jackson, on Dec. 30, 2009.

Orleans. Members of the wedding party included ALLISON RIBNER (UC ’06), SUZANNE SUDZINA (NC ’05) and JOSH GILMORE (TC ’06).

MAGGIE BURTOFT (NC ’06), ANGELA BRENNEKE HENDERSON (NC ’05), SARAH MOSER (UC ’06), DANIEL BERGER (TC ’06), LEILA LABENS (B ’06) and JEREMY HALL (UC ’04) also attended. The couple resides in Hanford, Calif., where Lauren Stephens is a financial analyst for Rabobank, and Adam Stephens flies an F-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy.

KEVIN S. AFGHANI (L ’04) announces the open-

EVAN BIEBER (’07) graduated from Harvard

ing of Afghani Law Firm, specializing in patent and trademark law, in Dallas. For more information, go to www.afghanipatentlaw.com.

Law School this May. Bieber has been recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholar.

KATHERINE BRITTON (NC ’04) is co-chair of the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division’s Antitrust Committee for the 2010– 2011 bar year. Britton is an antitrust attorney in Washington, D.C.

STEPHEN JACOBSON (B ’04, L ’07) and JULIA LAKE (L ’08) were married on Nov. 14, 2009,

LAUREN MATHEWS (B ’06) married ADAM STEPHENS (TC ’06) on Sept. 12, 2009, in New

RICHARD PHILLIP NERE (’08) was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and the Army Commendation Medal as an enlisted U.S. Army soldier during a deployment in Afghanistan.

He was deployed with Headquarters 3/509th Airborne Infantry Battalion, which is now at Fort Richardson in Alaska. He plans to conclude his three-year active duty service commitment there in October 2011.

at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans.

LAUREN KATHARINE RUTH (’08) is finishing JILL DEETJEN (NC ’05) of Huntington Beach, Calif., ran the Boston Marathon on April 19 to raise funds for Housing Families, a nonprofit organization in Malden, Mass. It was the fourth marathon she has run since 2008.

Deetjen works for the Capital Group.

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her second year with Teach for America in Los Angeles, where she teaches math to high school students with special needs. In August, she will begin working on a PhD in social psychology, with a certification in women’s studies, at Yale University.

In the Marigny/Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, HEATHER LANE (B ’09), right, and RICHARD MAYER (’09), left, are contributing to the art and theater scene. In April, Lane opened Byrdie’s, a ceramics teaching studio, art gallery and tea and coffee shop. And on March 26, Mayer held an official opening gala for The Shadowbox Theatre, a black box venue. The Shadowbox hosts a variety of entertainment, including improvisational comedy, theater performances and live music.

CHRIS MEINZEN (’09) has worked with the AmeriCorps National Preparedness and Response Corps at the American Red Cross Southeast Louisiana Chapter since graduation. He married Laura Plummer on June 8, 2010. Laura Meinzen is a Teach for America teacher at Higgins High School in New Orleans. Chris Meinzen will enter Tulane University School of Medicine in the fall. He says that he looks forward to returning to the academic community and plans to practice medicine for disadvantaged people in New Orleans and across the world.

CHANEL CLARKE (’10) was awarded a threeyear James A. Michener Fellowship in Creative Writing from the University of Texas Michener Center for Writers, one of the five most highly selective programs in the country. Clarke is one of 12 newly admitted fellows to receive free tuition, an annual stipend and a professional development fund. At Tulane, Clarke studied English with poet Peter Cooley.

theClasses | Deaths Dorothy Sturken Randolph, emeritus professor of social work, of New Orleans on April 11, 2010.

Ida Nelle Finklea Brackin (NC ’30) of Dothan, Ala., on March 19, 2010.

Caroline Bower Olin (NC ’32) of Santa Fe, N.M., on Dec. 16, 2009.

Genevieve Lykes Duncan (NC ’35) of Houston on Jan. 7, 2010.

May Hendrick Chidlow (NC ’37) of Shreveport, La., on March 10, 2010.

George C. Daul Sr. (A&S ’37, G ’40) of Tarbora, N.C., on June 8, 2009.

Edgar J. LeBlanc (A ’38) of North Little Rock, Ark., on Feb. 21, 2010.

Thomas H. Crouch (M ’39) of San Antonio on Nov. 30, 2009.

Shirley Walther Munch (G ’39) of Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 6, 2010.

Walter E. Blessey Sr. (E ’40, ’43) of New Orleans on Feb. 17, 2010.

George C. Goldman Jr. (A&S ’40, L ’46) of Waterproof, La., on Jan. 16, 2010.

Eddy D. Palmer (G ’40) of Long Valley, N.J., on Feb. 21, 2010.

Margaret Roemer Read (NC ’40) of New Orleans on Feb. 15, 2010.

Martin F. Schmidt (B ’40) of Louisville, Ky., on March 6, 2010.

Jack M. Simmons Jr. (M ’40) of Denver on Feb. 15, 2010.

Stanley R. Mintz (A&S ’41, M ’44) of Monroe, La., on Jan. 3, 2010.

Myron Burnstein (B ’42) of Redmond, Wash., on Jan. 16, 2010.

Morton B. Morgan (A&S ’42, M ’44) of Miami on March 2, 2010.

Warren L. Stern (A&S ’42) of New Orleans on Jan. 15, 2010.

Joseph G. Bernard Sr. (A ’43) of New Orleans on Jan. 24, 2010.

Jack Frankel (A&S ’43, M ’45) of Easthampton, Mass., on Nov. 2, 2009.

Isabel Thorpe Mealing (SW ’43) of Darien, Ga., on May 20, 2009.

N. A. Bologna (M ’44) of Greenville, Miss., on Oct. 5, 2008.

Robert J. Barnett Jr. (M ’44) of Jackson, Tenn., on Jan. 12, 2010.

Herbert H. Land Jr. (A ’44) of Monroe, La., on Jan. 19, 2010.

Thomas W. Collens Jr. (L ’45) of Covington, La., on March 13, 2010.

Margaret Tullos St. Martin (NC ’45) of Shreveport, La., on Jan. 31, 2010.

Henry M. Yonge (M ’45) of Pensacola, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2009.

Erle W. Harris Jr. (M ’46) of Shreveport, La., on Sept. 15, 2009.

Richard C. Williams (B ’46) of Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 8, 2010.

Maxine Kaplan Cassin (NC ’47, G ’49) of Baton Rouge, La., on March 11, 2010.

Robert H. Guess (E ’47) of Schenectady, N.Y., on Jan. 7, 2010.

Alphonse J. Schmitt Jr. (A&S ’47, L ’49) of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2010.

Nancy Deane Windes (NC ’47) of New Orleans on Feb. 14, 2010.

L. W. Anderson Jr. (B ’48) of Niobrara, Neb., on Jan. 22, 2010.

Thomas M. Davis Sr. (A&S ’48, M ’51) of Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 10, 2010.

Walter F. Plauche (E ’48) of New Orleans on Feb. 14, 2010.

Charles W. Ruckstuhl Jr. (E ’48, E ’71) of Metairie, La., on Jan. 13, 2010.

Dorothy F. Blakely (G ’49) of Lafayette, La., on Feb. 15, 2010.

Clive S. Cummis (A&S ’49) of Livingston, N.J., on Feb. 9, 2010.

William M. Duke (A&S ’49) of Baton Rouge, La., on Jan. 8, 2010.

William C. Jones (L ’49) of Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 7, 2010.

Edward N. Lennox (B ’49) of New Orleans on Feb. 17, 2010.

Blanche Myers Cretini (NC ’50) of Baton Rouge, La., on March 14, 2010.

Frank R. Groves Jr. (E ’50, G ’51) of Baton Rouge, La., on Feb. 14, 2010.

Ingard O. Johannesen (L ’50) of Bush, La., on Feb. 28, 2010.

Richard W. Wilson (A&S ’50) of New Orleans on Jan. 25, 2010.

George Farrell III (L ’51) of Newark, La., on March 16, 2010.

Philip A. Roussel (G ’50, ’52) of Miami Beach, Fla., on Jan. 5, 2010.

Robert J. Boudreau II (B ’51, L ’53) of Lake Charles, La., on Feb. 7, 2010.

Vernon L. Ewing Jr. (B ’51) of Metairie, La., on Feb. 21, 2010.

Judith Nott Strong (NC ’51) of Pensacola, Fla., on Feb. 11, 2010.

Raymond D. Magallanes (A&S ’52) of Biloxi, Miss., on Jan. 20, 2010.

Sachio J. Takata (A&S ’52, M ’55) of Monterey, Calif., on Feb. 14, 2010.

John T. Weiss (M ’52) of Alexandria, La., on Oct. 17, 2009.

Joseph Cassin (SW ’53) of Baton Rouge, La., on March 7, 2010.

Marie Hamel Falbaum (NC ’53) of Shreveport, La., on March 26, 2010.

John M. Lee (A&S ’54) of New Orleans on March 15, 2010.

David H. Seelig (A&S ’54, L ’59) of New Orleans on Jan. 19, 2010.

Graeme M. Ton Jr. (B ’54) of Arlington, Tenn., on Jan. 25, 2010.

Cynthia Forchheimer Cowart (NC ’55) of Mandeville, La., on March 26, 2010.

George E. Leal (B ’56) of New Orleans on Jan. 30, 2010.

Charles E. H’Doubler (M ’57) of Springfield, Mo., on Feb. 26, 2010.

Kenneth E. Peirce (M ’57) of Columbus, Ga., on Jan. 22, 2010.

JoAnn Daniel (NC ’58) of Victoria, Tenn., on Dec. 4, 2009.

George J. Keenan (M ’58) of Merced, Calif., on March 2, 2010.

L. Foster Rouse (A&S ’60) of Miami on Nov. 22, 2009.

Ronald S. Joseph (A&S ’61) of Houston on March 13, 2010.

Elsie E. Buff (UC ’62) of Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 5, 2010.

William Goldhurst (G ’62) of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 1, 2010.

Millard B. Bruce Jr. (PHTM ’63) of Frisco, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2009.

Micaela Pellettieri Phillips (NC ’63) of Houston on Feb. 26, 2010.

Harold D. Woodfin Jr. (G ’64, ’69) of Concordville, Pa., on Jan. 17, 2010.

Sarah Dianne Bond (NC ’66) of Pensacola, Fla., on Nov. 10, 2009.

Fred Clegg Strong (L ’66) of New

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Orleans on Jan. 8, 2010.

Robert M. Treser (G’ 67) of La Habra, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2010.

Russell J. Ciravola (E ’68) of Kenner, La., on March 18, 2010.

Arthur L. Guy III (A&S ’69) of Denton, Texas, on March 31, 2009.

Jayne Hershkowitz Goralsky (NC ’70) of Newark, N.J., on Nov. 11, 2009.

Robert H. Watson (A&S ’71) of Merryville, La., on Feb. 16, 2010.

Ruth Stam Greene (SW ’72) of Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 22, 2010.

Richard Seeley (PHTM ’73) of Virginia Beach, Va., on March 15, 2010.

James B. Wadley (L ’73) of Topeka, Kan., on Jan. 1, 2010.

Georgianna Pierce (G ’74) of Harvey, La., on Jan. 14, 2010.

Joshua B. Jaffe (A&S ’77) of Weston, Fla., on Sept. 2, 2009.

Marjorie McCune O’Donnell (UC ’78) of New Orleans on Jan. 24, 2010.

Roger A. Swenson (G ’78) of Metairie, La., on March 9, 2010.

Celestine C. Wauddy (SW ’78) of New Orleans on March 18, 2010.

Matthew J. Finnell (L ’79) of Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 21, 2009.

David M. Rolling (G ’79) of Dallas on Jan. 4, 2010.

William E. Wakefield III (A&S ’80) of Baton Rouge, La., on March 17, 2010.

Mark P. Peyronnin (E ’81) of Mandeville, La., on Feb. 11, 2010.

Chris T. Davies (M ’82) of Elmira, N.Y., on March 8, 2010.

James J. Wolfson (A&S ’83) of Atlanta on Jan. 6, 2010.

Eric T. Bradley (A&S ’84) of Pass Christian, Miss., on Jan. 21, 2010.

Terry E. Allbritton (L ’86) of Monroe, La., on Jan. 1, 2010.

Judy A. Pace (NC ’94) of New Orleans on Jan. 25, 2010.

Patricia Mauer Falgoust (SW ’97) of New Orleans on Jan. 20, 2010.

Daniel L. Deal (B ’99) of West Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 28, 2010.

Vikram Khoshoo (PHTM ’09) of Marrero, La., on March 2, 2010.

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newOrleans

Crescent Box

by Nick Marinello It didn’t make much sense for Edwin Ford to be in the Crescent City, but that had never stopped anyone before—or since.

The year was 1921, and Ford was in town to pay a sales call on George Earl, the superintendent of the Sewerage and Water Board. The details of the conversation are unknown but the discussion would result in an unlikely but enduring symbol of the city.

Ford, a native of Indiana, was a manufacturer of waterworks hardware. About 20 years earlier he had invented a water meter box to facilitate the monitoring of water usage. In responding to the severity of the Indiana winter, Ford had designed an enclosed, insulated box that was positioned three feet into the ground to prevent meter freeze-ups.

PAGE 40 | TULANIAN SPRING 2010

The design was effective for Indiana, but there was nothing in Ford’s fledgling product line that was suitable for either warm climates or the tenuous solidity of south Louisiana soil.

For Ford, who apparently was gifted at improvisation, this was not a deal breaker.

Earl, for his part, was overseeing a massive program to raise his city out of the muck, and was in need of, among other things, a replacement for the current meter settings that typically either choked with mud or protruded from the settling earth in a most unsightly way.

It was a match made in Heaven, or at least at the crossroads of supply and demand.

Ford went back to his factory in Wabash, sketched out the design for a meter box that could be used in frost-free settings and adjusted to grade. Named in honor of Ford’s new

municipal client, the Crescent Box was soon put into production and by 1924 constituted nearly half of the Ford Meter Box Co.’s sales.

End of story.

Or it would be, except for the curious design emblazoned on the meter box lid that has beguiled pedestrians for the past 90 years.

Look down at most any sidewalk in New Orleans and you’ll likely see the now iconic cast-iron lid depicting a crescent moon radiating shafts of light interspersed with stars.

Ford, evidently a polymath of the first order, is said to have drawn up the design for the Crescent Box lid. It’s not difficult to suss out his inspiration. The art on the lid clearly references the Indiana state flag, which had been adopted only four years earlier in 1917. That design also consists of stars and rays of light, though instead of a crescent moon, these symbols surround the central figure of a flaming torch, which is said to represent “liberty and enlightenment.”

Designed by Indiana artist Paul Hadley, the image on the Indiana flag is stately and succinct, the kind of graphic that, fluttering in the wind, inspires songs and salutes.

To his immense credit, Ford abandoned any such sense of stateliness in his composition, which is more randomly and crudely wrought and thus a more fitting symbol to adorn the ramshackle sidewalks of New Orleans. If his artwork inspires a song, it’s being played on a corner somewhere by a pickup band put together four minutes ago. If you want elegance, nobility and panache, opt for the fleur de lis.

And herein, perhaps, is the charm and mystique of the Crescent Box: it appeals to the funkier angels of our nature. Its moon and stars cast light not to illuminate but to dazzle and spellbind, to point not upward to liberty and enlightenment but downward to the infrangible, if humble, dignity of this city that exists just barely —and not always—above the muck and mud.

Nick Marinello is features editor for Tulanian.

E HOMECO T A BR AMILY WEE MIN E KE G EL D F N CN D A

a o v u l Hellabalo Hul ATHLETICS FUND-RAISER

ALL ALUMNI REUNION PARTY

HOMECOMING GAME –ARMY VS. TULANE–

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8 6:30–9:30 P.M.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8 6–9 P.M.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9

Lavin-Bernick Center, First Floor

Lavin-Bernick Center, Second Floor

Premier fund-raiser supporting Tulane student-athletes

Great food, music, fireworks and pep rally Music on the LBC Quad by Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue ‘Backatown’ Tour

KICKOFF AT 2:30 P.M. Louisiana Superdome

Tailgating begins at 11 a.m.

Celebrating reunions of the Classes of ’60, ’65, ’70, ’75, ’80, ’85, ’90, ’95, ’00, ’05 and ’10 For full and updated information visit: http://tulane.edu/homecoming

PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID

Office of University Publications 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1 New Orleans, LA 70118–5624

hiddenTulane Rainbow flower.

Irises thrive in uptown campus gardens. The short blooming season of the iris produces a burst of loveliness in hues of blue, purple and yellow. The iris is known as the “flower of eloquence.”