THE MAGAZINE OF TULANE UNIVERSITY FALL 2021
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T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T U L A N E U N I V E R S I T Y / F A L L 2 0 2 1
innovate • conserve • explore
PURPOSE-DRIVEN
The Mississippi River draws Tulane researchers to its banks
and depths. They study and explore its mystery and power to
make lives better. Soaring above the river and its boat traffic is
the Crescent City Connection, a conduit between the East and
West Banks of New Orleans.
PHOTO BY PJ HAHN
1
Contents
16
FALL 2021 / VOL. 93 / NO. 1
DEPARTMENTS
3 Letters
4 In Brief
UP FIRST M A I N F E AT U R E
8 By the Numbers,
SSE RIVER
9 Home for Equity, LOOKOUT
Lyme Infection
The new Department of River-
10 Athletics Coastal Science and Engineering
11 Student Voices looks for solutions to rising sea
Amplified, levels and sinking land, among
today’s most looming problems.
Social Network
12 New Orleans
Gridiron Handles
13 Stages of a Career
Theater professor Jenny
Mercein follows J. Michael
Miller (G ’63) in lineage of
acting teachers
14 The Beatles
and My JYA
Experience
22 28
In memory of Linda
WATER HAS ENERGY IN
Prager (NC ’62) ITS WAYS MOTION
Tulane experts address Change is afoot as
WAVEMAKERS how to live with threats we move from fossil
36 Audacious Giving of flooding in the urban fuel to renewable
environment through energy sources.
safe, equitable and
TULANIANS sustainable ways.
39 Class Notes
40 Ampersand
43 Impression
44 Impression 32 Readership Survey
AFTER IMAGES L E T U S K N O W W H AT Y O U T H I N K !
45 Farewell
Photography professor Go to tulane.it/tulanian-survey
47 Tribute AnnieLaurie Erickson
captures the strange
VIEWPOINT
48 President’s Letter
beauty of an industrialized
Louisiana landscape. Make Way
M O R E C O N T E N T AT
tulanian.tulane.edu
2 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021
Yeah, You Write
From the Editor
ABOUT THE COVER This Tulanian is all about how Tulane makes way for the future of water, land and energy:
A great egret flies above marsh
northwest of Holly Beach in south-
We innovate, conserve and explore. In “River Lookout,” scientists and engineers tell us
west Cameron Parish, Louisiana. how land may be built and a sinking coast conserved when river sediment is unleashed.
Photo by conservationist PJ Hahn. In “Water Has Its Ways,” three experts discuss innovative methods for living safely and
EDITOR sustainably with water — in New Orleans and around the world.
Mary Ann Travis
CREATIVE DIRECTOR In “Energy in Motion,” we talk to scientists and engineers who are inventing and business
Melinda Whatley Viles
school leaders who are responding to new and efficient sources of clean energy in a
ART DIRECTOR
Marian Herbert-Bruno
changing marketplace. Lastly, in “After Images,” an artist depicts the haunting beauty
of Louisiana industry with a unique photographic technique that she developed. In all
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Faith Dawson these stories, we show how Tulane continues to make way for a better world.
CONTRIBUTORS
Also, we’d love to know what you think about Tulanian. We hope you’ll take a magazine
Marianna Boyd
Barri Bronston survey in which we ask about your reading habits and how you’d evaluate how we are
Jill Dorje keeping you connected to Tulane. Go to tulane.it/tulanian-survey. Thanks!
Roger Dunaway
Angus Lind
Susan McCann
Alicia Serrano To the Editor Makin’ Groceries
Mike Strecker
[Email letters to tulanemag@tulane.edu] When I meet a new patient often I can
Leslie Tate
tell from their first utterance that they
SENIOR UNIVERSITY
PHOTOGRAPHER Interdisciplinary Collaboration are a New Orleans transplant, and this is
Paula Burch-Celentano The lead article, “Come Together,” in the before they tell me that they are on their
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS spring 2021 Tulanian gives an excellent way to “make groceries.”
Kim Rainey description of President Fitts’ visionary Michael Maloney, M ’78
Chelsea Christopher leadership. … I’m hopeful that through Denver, Colorado
VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY President Fitts’ example, interdisciplinary
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING collaboration will become a hallmark of Porch Sitting
Libby Eckhardt
the university. I suggest … that banquette is not a Yat-
PRESIDENT OF
TULANE UNIVERSITY Susan Friedlander Keith, NC ’68 ism. Rather it is/was common parlance
Michael A. Fitts Albuquerque, New Mexico among my Creole and Cajun ancestors as
Tulanian (ISSN 21619255) is published quarterly was gallery in lieu of porch. One sat on the
by the Tulane University Office of Communications
and Marketing, 31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1, New
Cover to Cover gallery and enjoyed the breeze.
Orleans, La. 70118-5624. Business and Editorial I read the Tulanian cover to cover Gary Mannina, A&S ’63, G ’72
Offices: 200 Broadway, Suite 219, New Orleans,
La. 70118-3543. Send editorial and subscription now. You should be complimented on New Orleans
correspondence to Tulane University Office of interesting and timely articles.
Communications and Marketing, 31 McAlister
Drive, Drawer 1, New Orleans, La. 70118-5624 or Bernard Pettingill, PHTM ’73 Kindred Spirits
email tulanemag@tulane.edu. Periodicals postage
is paid at New Orleans, La. 70113-9651 and Palm Beach, Florida I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Beller’s
additional mailing offices. “Gentilly Days,” [Tulanian, spring 2021]
Opinions expressed in Tulanian are not
necessarily those of Tulane representatives and NOLA/NY Accents as he is “sure stirring up some ghosts for
do not necessarily reflect university policies.
For Drs. Carmichael and Dajko: I really me” (à la Robbie Robertson).
Material may be reprinted only with permission.
Tulane University is an affirmative action/equal enjoyed your article [“Where Y’at, Jack Gordon, A&S ’86, L ’89
opportunity institution.
Dawlin’?,” Tulanian, spring 2021]. I Tampa, Florida
POSTMASTER have always been interested in the New
Send address changes to:
Tulanian magazine, Tulane Office of University
Orleans accent and how it differed from Statue of Morgus
Communications and Marketing, the New York accent. … I have come to Loved Angus Lind’s tribute to that
31 McAlister Drive, Drawer 1,
New Orleans, LA 70118-5624. believe … that the accents are completely underappreciated scientific genius
different even though the “r” is lost in Morgus in the spring 2021 Tulanian.
ulanian magazine is online at
T
tulanian.tulane.edu both. The cadence is directly opposite: Maybe Tulane could lead the effort to
The NOLA is a unique sing-song rename the 17th Street Canal in his
rhythm and the NY distinctly staccato. honor, as Morgus himself suggested.
Herbert Hochman, M ’70 Kerry Dooley, E ’76, ’79
New York, New York Baton Rouge, Louisiana
3
In Brief
QUOTED
ON CAMPUS
ELECTRIC SHUTTLE BUSES “The reason that we’re not treating COVID like
Thanks to a grant awarded by the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Office of Energy any other virus, like we treat smallpox and
Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, Tulane will
mumps, is that it became politicized.”
purchase five transit THOMAS LAVEIST, dean of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine,
buses with electric in an interview with NPR.
vehicle technology.
Charging stations will tulane.it/thomas-laveist-npr
be installed to support
them. The shuttle buses will service the LIBRARIES RESEARCH
regular university shuttle route that links
JAZZ ARCHIVE COLON CANCER AND
the uptown and downtown campuses OBESITY
EXPANDS SCOPE
and affiliate programs. The new buses will
The Hogan Jazz Archive has been Suzana Savkovic, associate professor
be part of the university’s fleet in 2022.
renamed the Hogan Archive of New of pathology and laboratory medicine
Staff will collect and analyze data on the
Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz. at the School of Medicine, and a team
performance and costs of the shuttle
The archive will expand the scope of its of researchers are investigating the
buses, with the goal of sharing Tulane’s
collections, including acquisitions that relationship between obesity and
experience with fleet managers in the
document late-20th-century and 21st- enhanced risk for colon cancer. One of
region and at other universities.
century contemporary jazz, rhythm and the emerging possibilities with regard
tulane.it/electric-shuttle-buses blues, funk, hip-hop and rock musicians in to colon cancer is that excess lipids
New Orleans and the surrounding region, accumulate in both the fat-storing
as well as the industry and culture that and non-fat-storing tissues of obese
RESEARCH
fosters and supports those artists. The individuals. The lipids are stored and are
TRANSLATIONAL archive, part of Tulane University Special seen at higher volumes in colonic tumors
SCIENCE INSTITUTE Collections, is a leading and internationally relative to normal tissues. Savkovic and
Tulane is investing $5.7 million to renowned source for research on her team were awarded a five-year, $1.6
significantly expand the Tulane University traditional New Orleans jazz and music million National Cancer Institute grant for
Translational Science Institute (TUTSI) starting in the late 19th century. this work.
into a universitywide center focused on tulane.it/jazz-archive-expands-scope tulane.it/colon-cancer-and-obesity
finding better ways to diagnose, treat and
prevent disease and translate scientific
discoveries into medical practices that
FROM CAMPUS
improve patient care and public health.
The institute will include new graduate NEW PODCASTS
degree programs to develop the next AVAILABLE
generation of clinical investigators, new On Good Authority, Tulane’s official
training programs for clinical research podcast, produced by the Office of University
coordinators and a shared “biobank” Communications and Marketing, continues
freezer farm to store and preserve patient to create new episodes, including a special
samples for use by researchers across episode featuring bestselling author and
multiple studies and institutions. TUTSI Tulane faculty member Walter Isaacson talking
will include researchers from the School with Tulane President Michael A. Fitts. Other
of Medicine, the School of Public Health episodes address topics such as eating for a
and Tropical Medicine, the School of healthy planet and voices of New Orleans and
Science and Engineering, and the School much more.
of Social Work. tulane.it/on-good-authority
tulane.it/translational-science
4 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021
COMMUNITY-MINDED
SLA MELLON FELLOWS 2021 GRADUATES
TESTED TO THE MAX
The Tulane Mellon Graduate Program
in Community-Engaged Scholarship in
the Humanities — based at the School
of Liberal Arts — will widen its scope to
include undergraduates, new community Declaring the Class of ’21 the “most tested” in Tulane
relationships through more public events history (literally and figuratively, with Tulane students
and groundbreaking work on a national
level. The expansion is made possible taking half a million COVID-19 tests this academic year
by a $1.5 million grant from The Andrew to allow for in-person learning), President Michael A. Fitts
W. Mellon Foundation. The program will
expand its local network by co-sponsoring
conferred 3,014 academic degrees during a virtual Unified
additional community events that Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 22.
connect activists, artists and scholars.
(See related story on page 38.) He said, “Class of ’21, you are survivors. You are fighters. You’ve been through the
tulane.it/sla-mellon-fellows-2021 crucible of a global pandemic. You’ve raised your voices in solidarity with racial equity.
You’ve used this moment to catapult to something greater. You’ve discovered what
you stand for, and what simply cannot stand. All the things that tested your bonds
RESEARCH only managed to forge them and bring you closer together. The pandemic taught us
TB DETECTION that our fates are intertwined — that we have an obligation to others. How will you
Researchers at the School of Medicine use that knowledge to solve the world’s biggest problems? How will you care for your
have developed a highly sensitive blood community and revel in our shared humanity to make our world better?”
test that can find traces of the bacteria Ruby Bridges, who integrated New Orleans public schools as a first-grader in
that causes tuberculosis (TB) in infants 1960, was the Commencement speaker. Bridges said that history challenges everyone
a year before they develop the deadly to meet the moment — no matter the obstacles in their path. “Make no mistake about
disease. Using only a small blood sample, it, there came a time when I became aware of the hate that surrounded me as a child.
the test detects a protein secreted by Yet, the opportunity to change a system was more powerful.”
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which In the days preceding the virtual ceremony, seven Tulane schools held individual
causes TB infection. The test can screen in-person diploma ceremonies outdoors in Yulman Stadium. The School of Medicine
for all forms of TB and rapidly evaluate held its ceremony at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
a patient’s response to treatment, said
lead study author Tony Hu, Weatherhead tulane.it/testing-commencement-2021
Presidential Chair in Biotechnology
Innovation.
A. B. Freeman School of Business graduates celebrate by taking a selfie at the in-person diploma ceremony
tulane.it/tb-detection in Yulman Stadium.
ECONOMICS
MENTAL HEALTH CARE
DISCRIMINATION
Patrick Button, associate professor
of economics at the School of Liberal
Arts, is studying discrimination in
access to mental health care for
LGBTQ+ people and marginalized
communities and whether the problem
has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The project, which was awarded a
National Science Foundation grant,
will also explore discrimination against
underrepresented groups when applying
for mortgages, develop new analytical
tools for economics research using text
data and establish a mentoring program
for underrepresented graduate and
undergraduate students in economics.
tulane.it/mental-health-discrimination
PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER 5
IN BRIEF
PHILOSOPHY ON CAMPUS
NOVELLA BY PHILOSOPHER NEWEST CLASS SETS
Richard Velkley, RECORDS
professor of philosophy The newest class of Tulane students
COVID-19
in the School of Liberal entering this fall represents the most
Arts, has published academically qualified students to be
Sarastro’s Cave: Letters admitted to the university and the most
R E S E A R C H From the Recent Past diverse class to date. This is the fifth
(Mercer University year in a row that the incoming class
Press, 2021). This has broken admissions records for
epistolary novel is a qualifications and diversity reach. About
TELEHEALTH THERAPY departure from Velkley’s 26% of the admitted students — more
A joint study conducted by the School other published works on the history of than one in four — identify as Black,
of Medicine and the School of Social modern philosophy. Sarastro’s Cave is Indigenous or people of color, up from
Work examined the effectiveness of created from letters written by a fictional 17% in 2016. The average ACT score rose
remote therapy during the first wave of professor of history at a Southern as well, to a range of 31–34 this year as
the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers university before he mysteriously compared to 29–32 five years ago. “Tulane
found that remote therapy improved disappears. A reviewer said that the novel appeals to a different kind of student,
engagement, mitigated symptoms and is “a philosophic tour de force — witty, one who seeks a variety of challenging
reduced repeated hospitalizations. intellectually absorbing, and in the end and transformative academic and social
tulane.it/telehealth-therapy deeply moving. An enlightenment tragi- opportunities,” President Michael Fitts
comedy in the grand tonal tradition of said. “They want authenticity, a learning
Mozart’s Magic Flute.” environment that allows them to work
and discover across academic disciplines,
VACCINE ENHANCEMENTS and to belong to a community that’s
Researchers at the Tulane National L AW located in one of the world’s most
Primate Research Center found that GLOBAL LEGISLATION distinctive cities.”
a vaccine currently being developed tulane.it/record-setting-class-2025
David Marcello, adjunct
induces a robust and long-lasting
professor of law and
immune response against SARS-CoV-2
executive director
in nonhuman primates, similar to the
of The Public Law ON CAMPUS
protection provided by the Moderna
vaccine. The study evaluated five different
Center at Tulane Law, DOCUMENTARY ON BLACK
is the editor of the STUDENT EXPERIENCE
adjuvants, or ingredients added to
International Legislative Raven Ancar, a School of Liberal Arts
vaccines, to determine which provides
Drafting Guideline student majoring in sociology and digital
the most protection from the virus in
(Carolina Academic media practices, has filmed and directed
nonhuman primates. Results indicated
Press, 2020). The book includes a a feature-length documentary, The Veil,
that all five adjuvants produced strong
foreword by James L. Dennis, U.S. Circuit about the experience of Black students
immune responses after two consecutive
Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the on Tulane’s campus. In January 2019,
immunizations and induced considerable
Fifth Circuit, and articles by 18 speakers during her first year at Tulane, Ancar
neutralizing antibodies and CD4 cells, the
from the annual two-week International filmed several sit-down interviews with
cells responsible for triggering the body’s
Legislative Drafting Institute, which fellow students to explore W. E. B. Du
response to infection.
Marcello has organized and conducted Bois’ notions of “the veil” and “double-
tulane.it/vaccine-enhancements since 1995. Marcello has taught legislative consciousness,” as presented in his 1903
drafting in Bulgaria, the Dominican book The Souls of Black Folks. Ancar’s
Republic, Republic of Georgia, Moldova, film probes topics of diversity, inclusion,
Make Way
Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nigeria and racism and white supremacy culture.
South Africa. The book includes photos It has been screened by the Newcomb
of institute participants, career reflections Art Museum and through other venues
and a few memorial tributes. Of editing on campus.
Visit tulane.it /tulanian-now and publishing the book, Marcello said,
tulane.it/raven-documentary
for more COVID-19 research news. “It’s a misery editing work by some of the
globe’s best writers but a great joy upon
arriving at a final product.”
6 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021
“Here’s what I think people at the top of the
income distribution fear: they fear that if you
help people at the bottom, then my share of
the pie will be smaller. … But what they fail to
realize is, what if the pie is actually bigger?”
GARY HOOVER, professor of economics and executive director of the Murphy Institute, in Inside Higher Ed, commenting about the need
for higher earners to help fix gaps in higher education attainment.
tulane.it/gary-hoover-inside-higher-ed
C U LT U R E B E A R E R S C O M M U N I C AT I O N
MONUMENT STUDY JOURNALISM
School of Architecture professors EDUCATION AWARD
Tiffany Lin and Emilie Taylor Welty, and Vicki Mayer, professor of communication
Lisa Molix, psychology professor at the at the School of Liberal Arts (SLA), was
School of Science and Engineering, will awarded the Professional Freedom &
study how members of the community Responsibility Award from the Association
react to public spaces and monuments for Education in Journalism and Mass
that memorialize contentious historical Communication. The award is bestowed
figures and events. They will use their annually on a journalist, writer, activist or
findings to develop the framework for an scholar who the group believes embodies
advanced architecture research studio the spirit of cultural studies. Mayer,
that examines strategies to bridge the who is also associate dean for academic
gap between architects and the initiatives and curriculum at SLA, is an
general public. expert in media and communication
industries, their political economies,
tulane.it/monument-study infrastructures and organizational
work cultures.
RESEARCH tulane.it/journalism-education-award
COMMUNITY-MINDED
WATER SCARCITY
FOOTPRINT HOORAY FOR ROOTS OF MUSIC
Researchers at Tulane and the University Academic Tutoring—Roots of Music, a Tulane student
of Michigan examined the water-use club, organized 100 self-care goody bags for New Orleans
impacts of individual diets in the United kids who are part of Roots of Music. Roots of Music is a
States, while considering regional nonprofit program that provides music history and theory,
variations in water scarcity. They found instrumental instruction, and ensemble performance
meat consumption is the top contributor preparation for students ages 9–14 from low-income
households. Vid Raturi, from Plainsboro, New Jersey,
For more stories
to the water scarcity footprint of the
average U.S. diet, accounting for 31% who earned her Bachelor of Science from the School of
Science and Engineering in 2020 and a Master of Science
about Tulane,
of the impacts. The study combines
the types and quantities of foods in the in May, is president of the club that provides homework
help, test preparation and mentoring to Roots of Music
subscribe to
diets of individuals, the irrigation water
required to produce those foods, and students. The club’s goal was to help the younger students
“cope with the mental health implications of COVID and
Tulane Today
the relative scarcity of water where the
irrigation occurs. isolation — as well as bring them some joy.” tulane.it/tulane-today
tulane.it/water-scarcity-footprint tulane.it/roots-of-music
7
74
BY THE NUMBERS
Up First
The Tulane School of Science and Engineering was
established in fall 2005 after Hurricane Katrina as part of the
Renewal Plan in which the Faculty of the Liberal Arts and
Sciences and the School of Engineering were reorganized into
two schools, the School of Liberal Arts (SLA) and the School
of Science and Engineering (SSE). Kimberly L. Foster is the
current dean of SSE.
Seventy-four graduates of the Class of 2021 of the School of Science and Engineering
received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in May. The school also awarded the Bachelor
of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD to 540 other degree candidates.
12 120
There are 12 academic departments
in the School of Science and
Engineering, including biomedical
engineering, cell and molecular biology,
chemical and biomolecular engineering,
One hundred and twenty
chemistry, computer science, earth and
research faculty members
environmental sciences, ecology and
are associated with SSE and
evolutionary biology, mathematics,
affiliated with one or more
neuroscience, physics and engineering physics, psychology,
Tulane interdisciplinary centers
and river-coastal science and engineering.
and institutes, including centers
for aging, anatomical and move-
ment sciences, bioinformatics and
$12 million
genomics, computational science,
polymer reaction monitoring and
characterization, stem cell re-
search and regenerative medicine,
cancer, hypertension and renal
As of Jan. 15, 2021, the School of Science and Engineering had received excellence and vector-borne
nearly $12 million in external research support for fiscal year 2021, an infectious diseases, and the
increase of more than $2 million from the 2020 mid-year total. brain, ByWater and biodiversity
research institutes.
8 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021ON CAMPUS RESEARCH
LYME
INFECTION
BY LESLIE TATE
T
ulane researchers found the
bacterium that causes Lyme
disease in the brain tissue of a
woman who had long suffered
neurocognitive impairment after her
diagnosis and treatment for the tick-borne
disease. The presence of the corkscrew-
shaped Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes
in the former Lyme disease patient’s
brain and spinal cord were evidence of a
persistent infection.
The 69-year-old woman, who experi-
enced progressively debilitating neurolog-
ical symptoms throughout her illness, had
first experienced the classic symptoms of
NEW HOME Lyme disease 15 years prior to her death.
Using highly sensitive methods of
FOR EQUITY
detection validated with nonhuman primate
samples at the Tulane National Primate
Research Center, the research team con-
cluded that at the time of her death, the
BY ALICIA SERRANO woman’s central nervous system still har-
T
wo centers dedicated to fostering equitable social, cultural and academic bored intact spirochetes in spite of aggres-
programming so that all students can thrive during their years at Tulane sive antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease.
have a new campus home. She experienced continual neurological
The Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Intercultural Life and the Center decline including a severe movement dis-
for Academic Equity are now located in the Richardson Building on the Academic order and personality changes, and even-
Quad on the uptown campus. tually succumbed to Lewy body dementia.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity, Lewy body dementia is associated with
along with Religious Life, were renamed the Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Inter- abnormal protein deposits in the nerve
cultural Life to honor Barber-Pierre, assistant vice president for student affairs, who has cells of the brain that can cause impair-
worked at Tulane for more than three decades. ment in thinking, movement and mood,
Paula Booke, director of the Center for Academic Equity, said, Carolyn Barber-Pierre leading to a severe form of dementia.
“Bringing the Center for Academic Equity, a part of Newcomb-Tulane is the namesake of the This is the first time researchers have
College, and the Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Intercultural Life Center for Intercultural identified a possible correlation between
together creates a world of possibilities for our students.”
Life. She’s pictured in the Lyme disease infection and Lewy body
center’s new home in the
Barber-Pierre also was named a Tulane Trailblazer as part of an Richardson Building, where dementia.
initiative established by Tulane President Michael Fitts to celebrate the the Center for Academic Monica Embers, associate professor of
contributions of people from diverse backgrounds who have made a Equity is also located. microbiology and immunology at Tulane,
substantial and lasting impact. is the lead author of the study published
Barber-Pierre said that her longevity at Tulane is because of the students. “I have in Frontiers in Neurology.
been inspired by young people who want so much to succeed.”
She said she was most passionate about creating an equitable experience for students
of color, drawing from her own college experiences. “We will be interested
“I was an (undergraduate) student of color at a predominately white institution, and in investigating the
I knew some of the challenges that BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color]
students have. I wanted to work on creating a space that focused on providing services, role that B. burgdorferi
advocacy and programming where they truly could feel that they were a part of this may play in severe
campus community,” she said. “To have alumni come back and say, ‘If it wasn’t for you, neurological disease.”
I would have never made it,’ for me, that’s more important than any title.”
MONICA EMBERS
National Primate Research Center
9UP FIRST ATHLETICS
READY FOR A NEW SEASON
BY BARRI BRONSTON
C
Jays, Dublin has already made a name for season, including a home opener against
orey Dublin, a left guard on himself. In four seasons of competition, the Oklahoma Sooners in Yulman Stadium
the Green Wave football team, he never missed a game. That translates on Sept. 4.
would never wish for a global into 49 consecutive games, including three Preseason, he was selected for a spot
pandemic. postseason bowls. on College Football News’ All-American
After all, when COVID-19 swept “I’ve been very lucky and very blessed,” Athletic Conference team and the Phil
across the United States and beyond in he said. “I’ve been fortunate to be sur- Steele All-ACC First Team.
2020, it turned the college sports world rounded by such good people and such an Regardless of where his future takes
upside down. Some conferences canceled amazing training and sports medicine staff.” him, he said he wouldn’t trade his Tulane
their football seasons altogether. Others Dublin described the COVID-19 season experience for the world.
shortened their schedules. Games were as “organized chaos,” never knowing from “As a New Orleans native, it has been an
postponed right and left. one week to the next what game day would honor to attend Tulane,” said Dublin, who
The NCAA responded by giving all bring. Miraculously, Tulane played a full is studying for his MBA. “These past four
fall sport student-athletes an extra year of season, albeit with cutouts of fans in the years have been nothing short of incredible.
eligibility — a decision that couldn’t have stands and piped-in fan noise and music. From earning my finance degree to winning
worked out better for Dublin, an all-AAC He didn’t want his Tulane career to end back-to-back bowl games, I will forever
lineman and honor business student who that way and looks forward to a normal cherish my time at Tulane.”
felt an extra year of play would boost his
chances for an NFL career.
“They’re calling us Super Seniors,” Corey Dublin, No. 64, in the Oct. 26, 2019, game against Navy in Annapolis, Maryland. Now in his fifth year on
Dublin, 22, said of the group of seniors the team, Dublin never missed a game during his first four seasons.
who are returning for a fifth year.
“I wanted to take advantage of the extra
year and really work on my skills. I do hope
to play in the NFL, and I think the extra
year will really showcase my talents.”
A New Orleans native who played
high school football for the Jesuit Blue
10 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021RESEARCH SOCIAL NETWORK
Through social media, people post their
thoughts on the spring ’21 virtual Unified
Commencement and the in-person
diploma ceremonies held outdoors in
Yulman Stadium in May.
Tulane did a great job
during a very difficult
time. Kudos to the
administration
on down.
Marjory Goldman
Proud to be a member of
STUDENT health policy, this volume has been indexed
in the Library of Congress and is available
the Tulane family!!!
Roll Wave!!
VOICES
both digitally and in print.
Funded by Newcomb-Tulane College
Lindsey Arrington-Parnell
and partnered with the Tulane depart-
AMPLIFIED ments of Political Science and Economics,
the School of Public Health and Tropical
Medicine, and student societies at univer-
Cannot wait to celebrate
BY MAX WEBER
sities across the U.S. and U.K., the journal these history making
When we commit to elevating is dedicated not only to publishing student
graduates!
research, but to amplifying it across the
the perspectives of all people, we world. Juthica Jhangiani
spark important conversations Mark Vail, professor of political science
that strengthen the academic and the journal’s faculty adviser, said the
community as a whole. journal strikes “the delicate but crucial This was awesome!
balance between giving voice to the dis-
The second line
T
tinctive perspectives of ambitious under-
he Tulane Journal of Policy and
Political Economy, a student-run
graduate students while doing so on a made me cry.
scale that allows for a real presence in the
publication focused exclusively
on undergraduate research, is
broader scholarly community.” Thank you!!!
With its editorial rigor and national
guided by this principle. scope, the Tulane Journal of Policy and @larapinto1995
Founded in early 2020 by six Tulane Political Economy is transforming the field
undergraduates, the journal has grown from
a passion project into an internationally
of undergraduate publishing, building
a more accessible — and equitable —
Love this! Everything
recognized publication. Managed by a staff environment for student researchers. old is new again. I
of 72 Tulane students and professors, the
journal combines a rigorous peer-review Max Weber is a senior in the School of graduated with my
process — including a review panel of 50 Liberal Arts and the journal’s founding Newcomb College class,
Tulane faculty — with a national outreach editor-in-chief.
program to connect with undergrads
on campus, just us ... fun,
throughout the global academic community. After a year of work, the intimate, amazing!!
After a year of work, the journal journal released its inaugural Have fun y’all!
released its inaugural edition in early 2021, edition in early 2021,
receiving 82 submissions from 38 univer- @dcn8vquilter
sities across four continents. Featuring
receiving 82 submissions
research on topics ranging from Eastern from 38 universities across
European cybersecurity to reproductive four continents.
11UP FIRST NEW ORLEANS
“TICK” UPTON
he could run as a boy.” Not that I was ever
“THE fast. But while the memory still works. …
FLYING As a boy I heard a lot about the old
“PAPA” FELTS DUTCHMAN”
Tulane players from my Dad and years later
ZIMMERMAN
from my newspaper colleague “Pie” Dufour.
I was regaled with stories about the Rose
Bowl team of 1932 and the Sugar Bowl
team of 1934, the inaugural Sugar Bowl
game against Temple, now a regular foe in
the American Athletic Conference. Not
“BABY GRAND”
surprisingly many nicknames came from
SCAFIDE
the typewriters of sportswriters Fred Digby
“LEFTY” HAYNES and later Bill Keefe and Harry Martinez.
There were names such as “Monk”
Simons, “Lefty” Haynes, “Foots” deColi-
gny, “Tick” Upton, Nollie “Papa” Felts,
Don “The Flying Dutchman” Zimmer-
man, “Frenchy” De Fraites. And lineman
John “Baby Grand” Scafide. A graduate of
GRIDIRON HANDLES St. Stanislaus, this Rock-a-Chaw returned
to his native Bay St. Louis, Mississippi,
after Tulane and served 16 years as mayor
BY ANGUS LIND, A&S ’66 of the city.
As the years went by, around the South
W
ith the familiar thump of Hopscotching around in no particular you had Ole Miss names such as “Wimpy”
helmets hitting helmets order, good examples of their craftiness Winther, “Squirrel” Griffing, “Bruiser”
and shoulder pads, we were running back Red Grange, the “Gal- Kinard, “Cowboy” Woodruff, “Eagle” Day,
know that Tulane football loping Ghost” of the University of Illinois and a running back known as Dulymus
season is already underway and spectators and Chicago Bears fame; quarterback McAllister. You know him as “Deuce” of
are back in the stands not only at Yulman “Slingin’” Sammy Baugh of TCU and New Orleans Saints fame. Auburn had
Stadium but all around the country. Washington lore; “Hopalong” Cassady “Cadillac” Williams, LSU had “Booger”
A big “Hullabaloo” and “Boola Boola” — not the movie cowboy who rode his McFarland, Alabama had “Snake” Stabler
autumn salute for that. “Boola Boola?” horse “Topper” — but the fabled running and “Broadway” Joe Namath.
Well, it’s an ancient Yale University song back of Ohio State and the Detroit Lions. Back on Willow Street a little earlier
more than 120 years old, typical of cheers Sportswriters could not resist the obvious there were “Bullet” Joe Bullard, Gene “The
from bygone gridiron eras when the sport when Howard Cassady came along. And Mouse” Newton and thanks to Tulane
of football was glorified by colorful sports- last was running back “Crazylegs” Hirsch, play-by-play man “Bronco” Bruce Miller,
writers who were true wordsmiths with who carried the ball for Michigan, Wis- who coined one of my favorites, running
vivid imaginations. Fun-loving, work hard/ consin and the Los Angeles Rams. back “Long Gone” Dupre.
play hard typewriter jockeys, their stories None of those players or teams were Roll Wave!
frequently embellished what had happened from the Deep South but down here there
in the game. were nicknames beaucoup, which brings
But one thing they did with great flair about a touch of nostalgia, heightened
was to bestow nicknames on seemingly by — in my case — age. As the legendary Fullback Felts, tackle Upton, halfback Zimmerman,
guard Scafide and tight end Haynes played in the
as many players as possible. Naturally, the sportswriter Red Smith said, “It is well 1932 Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in Pasadena,
stars of the day were in that number. known that the older a man gets, the faster California.
12 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021 1932 JAMBALAYA YEARBOOK PHOTOS COURTESY TULANE SPECIAL COLLECTIONSTHEATRE
STAGES OF Mercein was part of a group that devised the theater
piece “Roleplay,” which was created in response to the
climate survey on sexual violence and harassment at
A CAREER Tulane. A student-generated piece, it was performed
in 2019. A documentary about the process was filmed.
Mercein is the producer of the film, which is now in
BY MARY ANN TRAVIS post-production.
The students theatrically embodied their authentic
Before she knew she wanted to be an experience, said Mercein, sometimes with humor. The
actor, Jenny Mercein knew she wanted to play looks at factors that contribute to a toxic environ-
be a teacher. Jenny Mercein ment leading to things like racism, homophobia and
sexual violence. The play empowers students to use
N
ow an assistant professor of theatre in the Tulane School of their own voice to create change.
Liberal Arts, Mercein is grateful for the twists and turns that “It is generating a tremendous amount of buzz,” said Mercein.
led to her becoming a teacher and an actor. Later this year, the play script will be released by Dramatic Publishing.
Mercein joined Tulane in 2016. She earned her under- “We’re publishing the play in such a way that we’re empowering other
graduate degree from Yale University and an MFA from the University universities to use what we created as a skeletal framework. My biggest
of Washington. goal is that this spawns a movement across universities.
As she prepared to move to New York City after she graduated from “What’s so remarkable about the project is that the problem of sexual
college, Mercein’s Yale mentor told her, “Go to the Actors Center and violence is not — and discrimination is not — unique to Tulane in any
talk to Michael Miller.” way, shape or form. This is an epidemic across the country. What the film
J. Michael Miller earned a PhD in theatre from Tulane in 1963. By the will show is that what is unique to Tulane is that Tulane had the courage
time Mercein moved to New York in 1995, Miller had founded and retired to confront it head on and to empower the students to use their voice to
from the distinguished graduate acting program at the Tisch School of try to create positive change. The film is ultimately uplifting and shows
the Arts at New York University. He’d established the Actors Center for Tulane in a beautiful light because it shows Tulane as being courageous
training actors at all stages of their careers. to look at these issues, and it shows Tulane students as being incredibly
“His concept was that training for an actor should be ongoing,” said innovative and creative.”
Mercein.
For actors, “our instrument is our body — both our physical body and
our psychological body — and that’s always changing. As we grow older,
as our life experiences change, our instrument changes,” said Mercein.
At first, Miller, aware of Mercein’s inexperience and youth, allowed
her only to take voice and bodywork classes. He would tell her, “No, you
are not ready” for acting.
Eventually Miller welcomed Mercein to the Actors Center acting
classes. She has since worked onstage and in Shakespeare festivals as
well as television and film.
Mercein said that at the Actors Center under Miller’s mentorship she
learned “the sense of the lineage in our profession of acting teachers.”
The voice and body principles that she learned at the Actors Center
“are core to my teaching now,” said Mercein.
“I feel like the greatest gift Michael gave to me was the idea that the
knowledge is passed down intergenerationally.
“I would not have ended up teaching, which is so fundamentally
important to me and brings me the most joy, were it not for Michael’s
support. And I love the pure coincidence that I ended up following in
Michael’s footsteps and coming to Tulane.”
Miller is soon to publish a memoir. “I’m excited to read it and hear
his perspective about how his journey from Tulane led up to NYU,” said
Mercein.
Along with recent roles in TV shows such the locally shot “NCIS:
New Orleans” and “Your Honor,” and the Southern Rep Theatre produc-
tion of “August: Osage County,” Mercein has performed in solo pieces
that she’s written. “That’s always been something I like to impart to my J. Michael Miller appears on the cover of the November 1960 Tulanian. He’s applying
students too: it’s important to be a self-generative artist.” makeup before a performance in a Tulane production of “Waiting for Godot.”
13UP FIRST
IN THE MIST OF MEMORY
THE BEATLES AND MY
JYA EXPERIENCE
BY JOEL GARDNER, A&S ’62
A recollection of a ‘what-if ’ rock ’n’ roll encounter
in a Hamburg, Germany, Reeperbahn club 60 years ago.
M
emory is reliably unreliable, as I’ve learned over a half But the music! It was the rock ’n’ roll I’d
century of interviewing, as a journalist and oral historian. grown up on, from Eddie Cochran to Ray
In the mist of my own memory, I can still conjure up the Charles and Carl Perkins by way of Little
high points of my life. I may not remember where I put Richard, with “Bésame Mucho” thrown in
my keys, but I can replay scenes of one of the most important years of for a breather. Linda and I, of course, were
my life, my Junior Year Abroad in Paris in 1961. I can still summon up way overdressed for a rock club, Linda in
Phedre and Berenice, Bud Powell and Ella Fitzgerald. And, though I heels and me in coat and tie, the standard
didn’t know it at the time, seeing the Beatles. JYA uniforms of that era.
On spring break, four of us from the Paris contingent and two adults After they played Gary U.S. Bonds’
found ourselves in Hamburg, Germany. The students were Linda Prager, song “New Orleans,” I told Linda we
whom I’d been dating; Denni Mack, Anne Tomlinson and me. The should talk to them; after all, they looked
adults were Linda’s mom, Sylvia, who had come to check me out, and to be our age, and I was curious as to how
her recently widowed friend, Lee Kasle. and why they were playing American
The travel books portrayed Hamburg as a sort of Disneyland of lowlife, music and doing it so well. She demurred,
centered around a notorious street called the Reeperbahn, so of course, and I understood. We were expected to be
that’s where we went after dinner. Somewhere along the way, a young upright young Americans, and seemingly
German man, a student, joined us and struck up a conversation. the only thing upright about the band was
He suggested that we go to a club nearby, where, he said, a good their position on the stage.
English rock ’n’ roll band was playing. I was dubious. After all, I’d been We stayed for a couple of hours, and
raised on rock ’n’ roll, from Alan Freed to Poppa Stoppa, and had just I’m not sure I remember them taking a
spent two years in one of its cradle cities. The place was called the Top break. I left exhilarated, tired from the
Ten and was suitably seedy, which was nothing new to me after Decatur dancing, and by the time we got back to
Street, where in those days the aroma of malt from the Jax brewery settled Paris a week or so later, I’d stored the eve-
over sailors’ bars. ning’s events among my memories.
We walked into a room of smoke and music. Five men, about our age, I’m not sure when I first heard Beatles
were on the stage. In their leather jackets and jeans, with DA haircuts, records. It may have been 1963, when Beat-
they looked most like the tough kids I’d known in high school. I know lemania struck Britain, or 1964, when it
now that it consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, exploded in the U.S., most famously on the
and Stuart Sutcliffe playing guitar and Pete Best on drums. “Ed Sullivan Show.” At first I didn’t make
the connection; after all, original songs
14 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021STUDY ABROAD
were not part of their Hamburg repertoire.
We walked into But then as I heard their recordings of
“My Bonnie” and, yes, “Bésame Mucho,”
a room of smoke I began to guess.
The first blow-by-blow history of the
and music. Five group came out in 1967 or ’68, and it listed
all the dates and places they’d played,
men, about our from Liverpool to Hamburg and beyond.
On the April night we’d been there, they
age, were on had indeed played the Top Ten. At the
time, I had the ticket from the club, and
the stage. Stuart Sutcliffe and Beatles (left to
right) Pete Best, Paul McCartney (at
I remember pulling it from my carefully
piano), George Harrison and John chronological collection of receipts and
Lennon perform live onstage at the staring at it with a bit of awe. Alas, I hav-
Top Ten Club in Hamburg, Germany, in en’t seen the ticket since 1976. It lived in
1961. Author Joel Gardner was there.
my steamer trunk, but that’s long since
gone, though most of its contents are in a
box in my garage.
Years later, I told Linda who it was that
we’d seen, and she didn’t remember the
club or the band. She couldn’t wait to tell
her eldest son, who was a Beatles fanatic.
I have always retained the fantasy that
we did talk with them, that they visited us
when they came to Paris later that year,
that I hit it off best with John (of course),
that I visited them in Liverpool when
I traveled to England before returning
home, that John and Paul came to visit
me in Los Angeles when they played the
Hollywood Bowl. Hard to believe that
only one of those who became the Beatles
we know — Paul — remains. Best is still
alive but is an unfortunate (and bitter)
footnote. John and Stu, the two closest
friends, are both gone, and so is George.
But here I am 60 years later, and I’m still
obsessed with the two hours or so I spent
in a club in Hamburg.
In memory of Linda Prager (NC ’62),
1941–2011.
Joel R. Gardner is a writer and oral
historian based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
He has degrees in French (from Tulane) and
journalism (from UCLA), and his publica-
tions range from books and scholarly articles
to restaurant and music reviews.
PHOTO BY ELLEN PIEL - K & K/ REDFERNS (GETTY IMAGES) 15RIVER 16 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021 PHOTO BY PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO
R
RIVER
Lookout
The new Department of River-Coastal Science
and Engineering looks for solutions to rising
sea levels and sinking land, among today’s
most looming problems.
BY M A RY A N N T RAV I S
17T
here’s a new department at as Jakarta, Indonesia, and Dhaka, Bangla- “But the problems in the coming cen-
Tulane in the School of Sci- desh, located in endangered coastal zones, tury with climate change, sea-level rise
ence and Engineering that’s and Mexico City, vulnerable to flooding. and so forth require a combined or ‘con-
addressing some of the most In some cases, these cities are in deltas vergence research’ approach,’’ said Allison.
existential issues of our time: rising sea like New Orleans and are particularly at “The federal government and agencies like
levels and sinking land. risk from rising sea levels and subsidence. the National Science Foundation have
Professor and Chair Mead Allison’s “What we’re trying to build in the picked up on that. Convergence research
work on the flow of sediment and water department is a great incubator of ideas. is the new buzzword.”
through riverine and deltaic coastal We’re going to build something that we And Tulane with its welding together
systems underpins the four-year-old think is the best in the world to address of science and engineering in the School of
Department of River-Coastal Science problems that coastal and riverine systems Science and Engineering is “looking pretty
and Engineering. So does the research and the populations that live in them are smart,” said Allison. From an application
and educational leadership of Professor facing. In some cases, that may be basic point of view, convergence research is a
Ehab Meselhe, Research Professor Barbara research; in some cases, it may be applied.” powerful way to solve complex real-world
Kleiss and others. Engineering has always been the problems. “We are trying to solve prob-
The new department offers a blending applied discipline focused on problem lems like, how are coastal systems going
of basic science and applied science with solving. Science has been more theoretical to be sustainable in the face of rising sea
an interdisciplinary approach that gives about trying to understand things in a levels and increasing storm frequencies
students the tools, knowledge and under- basic sense. and intensities?”
standing to make real-world connections
in communities and attack real-world
research-oriented problems.
“This new generation of students is “We’re going to build something
all about solving practical problems,” said
Allison. that we think is the best in the
A five-year Bachelor of Science in
Environmental Engineering and Master world to address problems that
of Architecture in Landscape that Allison
has proposed, along with Iñaki Alday, dean coastal and riverine systems
of the School of Architecture, could be a
departmental offering soon. Graduates of and the populations that live
that program would be grounded in the
principles of science and engineering and
in them are facing.”
would gain experience participating in an
Mead Allison, professor and chair of river-coastal science
architectural design studio.
and engineering
“These are the kinds of novel things
that are starting to roll out of this depart-
ment that are only going to snowball as our
O
faculty increases,” said Allison. With this
program, “what we’ve done is bring back ne answer to that question may be found in the flow of
elements of an environmental engineering sediment in the Mississippi River, which is a key factor in
program that we had at Tulane, but it’s efforts to restore the coast of Louisiana. Diversion projects
packaged in a very 21st-century way.” downriver from New Orleans have been authorized to punch
“We’re going to be a very specialized holes in levees to allow sediment to be released to build land. “The idea
department,” he added. “We’re focusing is to replicate the natural process of water and sediment spilling out to
on a certain area of the Earth.” rebuild the wetlands,” said Allison.
That area of the Earth — rivers and At the same time, the shipping channels must be maintained and even
coasts — is more than the Gulf Coast of deepened to allow commercial boats — getting larger all the time to com-
the United States. pete in the global economy — to navigate the river to move massive cargo.
“Certainly, the Gulf Coast is in the Throw into the mix the complex water control system of other Mis-
front trenches,” said Allison, “but there sissippi River levees, pumps and barriers, the Bonnet Carre spillway and
are communities around the world in the the upriver Old River Control Structure that protect the city of New
front trenches.” These include mega cities Orleans from flooding, and some of the complexity of the department’s
of more than 10 million in population, such field of inquiry begins to take shape.
18 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021“Our models look at the interaction
between water, salt and sediment
and how they may collectively
impact marine mammals like
dolphins or oysters or other key
species that are important from
both an economic as well as
environmental point of view.”
Ehab Mesehle, professor of river-coastal science and engineering
Observations
and Modeling
Allison grew up on the Chesapeake Bay. Allison and Meselhe have worked Previous pages: A man walks his dog on the
He fished and went clamming. He then together on research projects for agencies Mississippi River levee near Oak Street in New
Orleans in March 2018 when the river’s level had
trained as a geologist and oceanographer such as the Louisiana Coastal Protection risen above 15 feet. Below: A sediment deposit
at State University of New York–Stony and Restoration Authority and the Army map, created by Ehab Meselhe’s lab group through
Brook. He’s always been interested in the Corps of Engineers for about 15 years. computer modeling, predicts the effects of the
proposed Mid Barataria sediment diversion project.
geologic “rock record” of a region and what Meselhe’s computer models are a way
it tells us about the modern system, from to evaluate restoration projects. “We want
river basins to deltaic coastal areas, and to see the impact of restoration projects on
how it’s “all an interconnected system.” the health of the ecosystem, and [deter-
Allison approaches his work from an mine] are they sustainable?” said Meselhe.
observational perspective. His models “look at how the water moves
“The type of work I do is tracking how and sediment transport.” They also look
these systems operate and evolve over at water quality and interaction between
time,” he said. “We have boats and field physical and ecological processes.
gear and spend a lot of time in the field.” “Our models look at the interaction
Allison and Meselhe, a professor of between water, salt and sediment and how
river-coastal science and engineering, are they may collectively impact marine mam-
the first two faculty members of the new mals like dolphins or oysters or other key
department. Allison does the field obser- species that are important from both an
vations, and Meselhe does the numerical economic as well as environmental point
modeling. The two researchers are “very of view,” said Meselhe.
complementary,” said Allison. Meselhe is from a small town in Egypt
Meselhe develops and applies computer on the banks of another iconic river of the
models to create pictures, or windows, that world — the Nile. He earned his PhD in
look 50 to 80 years into the future. They civil and environmental engineering, with
also provide an easily grasped graphic an emphasis on water resources, from the
visualization of the past. Anyone can see University of Iowa.
that the land mass on the Louisiana coast Coming from a dry desert climate,
of 50 years ago “ain’t dere no more.” Meselhe said that he likes the wetness of
“Models don’t work unless you have Louisiana. “I like rainy days,” he said. “I
observational data to calibrate them with,” like water because I learned how scarce it
said Allison. “And I’m also interested in can be. Yes, water excess can be dangerous.
bettering our understanding of the fun- And flooding can be dangerous, but water
damental processes that are working in scarcity can be just as severe of a problem.”
these systems.”
19Interdisciplinary Study
Research Professor of River-Coastal Science and Engi-
neering Barbara Kleiss, too, has an affinity for rivers, the
Mississippi in particular. She was raised in Northern
Illinois. When she was very young, she went to the banks
of the Mississippi River with her dad. “I remember stand-
ing there and talking about, ‘What if we could get on a
boat and go down the river?’ I’ve been fascinated with the
Mississippi ever since.”
Kleiss’ PhD is in wetland biogeochemistry from Loui- “Students get this exposure to
siana State University. “I’ve always worked on either rivers
or floodplains of rivers and their wetlands,” Kleiss said. everything from geology to
As a researcher, she’s spent a lot of time understanding
the water chemistry of the rivers in the Mississippi alluvial fish to computer modeling to
plain — from the top to the bottom. She has collected and
analyzed data from the whole drainage area of the Lower water chemistry. They learn
Mississippi, especially sediment deposition in rivers.
Kleiss has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers,
how the problems that need
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S.
Geological Survey.
to be addressed in today’s
One of the best weeks of her career, she said, is when
she waded in Lake Itasca in Minnesota at the head of
world require all of those
the Mississippi on a Wednesday and a week later boarded
an oil tanker going out the Southwest Pass into the Gulf
disciplines.”
of Mexico. Barbara Kleiss, research professor of river-coastal
“I love the river. I take every chance I get to do some- science and engineering
thing with it. It’s majestic and fearsome,” Kleiss said.
A current project that Kleiss is directing involves
Tulane graduate students doing fieldwork at Cat Island
National Wildlife Refuge near St. Francisville, Louisiana.
Last fall, during low water, they spread white feldspar clay
on the floodplain forest floor, creating a “marker horizon.”
In the summer, they’ll be going back to the site to measure Kick-Starting
the amount of sediment that this year’s flood will have
deposited on top of the white clay. the Discussion
“This is part of a series of experiments that will help Aware that the land of New Orleans is She has endowed the Charlotte Beyer
us understand the role of the Mississippi River floodplain sinking, the Louisiana coast is slipping Hubbell Chair in River-Coastal Science
forests or the ‘batture’ play in the sediment budget of the away and seas are rising, Charlotte Beyer and Engineering. A search for a well-
Lower Mississippi,” Kleiss said. These experiments are all Hubbell wants to do something. established researcher and accomplished
important to coastal restoration. “If we don’t have a planet that’s livable, faculty member to boost the fledgling
She joined the Tulane faculty about four years ago does anything else really matter?” she said. department is now in progress. Hubbell
to lead the River Science and Engineering Certificate Hubbell has been interested in envi- also established an Excellence Fund for
Program. Through an educational partnership agreement ronmental issues since 1985. She moved the department to support equipment for
with the Corps, the program reaches out and provides to Iowa after she graduated from New- labs and fieldwork, a network of Lower
graduate-level coursework to practicing river scientists comb College in 1971 and joined VISTA, Mississippi experimental stations, and
and managers around the country. The certificate program a domestic Peace Corps program. She then travel funds for research and student-
enrolls about 35 to 40 students each semester. They are earned a law degree from the University linked conference attendance. The
taught by Tulane faculty as well as experienced scientists of Iowa. She has served on the board of Excellence Fund also supports the Lower
from the Corps and other agencies. the Nature Conservancy and started the Mississippi River Science Symposium,
The students in the class are a “cool mixture,” said Iowa Environmental Council. She also which held its inaugural meeting virtually
Kleiss, of federal employees and Tulane students. was appointed by the Iowa governor to a in March. Among the 180 participants
The faculty, too, are a mix of scientists and engineers. four-year term on the state Environmental were scientists and engineers from
The students “get this exposure to everything from geol- Protection Commission overseeing the organizations such as the Army Corps
ogy to fish to computer modeling to water chemistry. Department of Natural Resources. of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey,
They learn how the problems that need to be addressed in When she was left a significant bequest the Lower Mississippi River Forecast
today’s world require all of those disciplines,” said Kleiss. from her grandmother’s estate, Hubbell Center of the National Weather Service,
“What we emphasize in almost every class is the need for decided the funds should stay in her native the Nature Conservancy — and Tulane
true, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary study.” New Orleans — and with Tulane. faculty. The theme of the meeting was
20 Tulanian Magazine fall 2021You can also read
