Save Tulane Engineering

Dr. Ash · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 45 Location: New F'n Orleans

Howdy, Mike, Dr. H!

$1k a year for the rest of my life if EECS is restored.

Ashley Morris

fy · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Atlanta, GA

I pledge $1000 this year (2005) and 1.5% of my salary for at least the next 10 years, given that CS is kept.

Fan Yang
CS 2002

bagnetto · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

$100

Robert Bagnetto Civil Engineering 1982

I see my friend Mike Doran has already pledged. Way to go Mike!
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Robert Bagnetto

MVDoran · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 6

Good to hear from Robert Bagnetto. I hope you and your family are well. Please contact more alumni to get involved. Give me a shout if you can.

colindavis · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 2 Location: New Orleans

My company, AngelFish Product Design, will donate $1000/yr for life if Mech. E. is retained at Tulane. I don't mean to devalue any other Eng. degrees, but I'm located in N.O. and I need ME's for intern's and future employees!

Colin Davis
'96 Mech. Eng.
'04 MBA

wckirby · Joined: 10 Dec 2005 Posts: 355 Location: New Orleans

As soon as my FEMA check arrives, I'll put more in.

Clay Kirby
11th generation New Orleanian
4th generation Tulanian
Pissed off Mechanical Engineering student

Matt Pang · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Boston, MA

I'll Pledge $100 a year for life if they keep our departments, sorry it's not more, but I'm still in law school.

Matt Pang
EE 04

jmlevy · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I will pledge $2,000 per year in perpetuity for each year that the EECS department continues to exist.

I have never been a particularly engaged alum but have always felt proud of and grateful for the superior education I received at Tulane. This complacency, if it is widespread, may be somewhat responsible for the arbitrariness and callousness of the decision made by Dr. Cowen and his administration.

The past few days have been a great reminder that the reason I received such a great education at Tulane has a great deal more to do with the people who make up the institution than the institution itself. When I reflect on my Tulane experience, I remember and value the academic and life lessons, support, and counsel I received from Drs. Johnette Hassell and Mark Benard, not from the institution. By discarding these people and destroying what they spent several decades to build, Tulane is destroying any remaining bond I may feel towards the institution.

Jean-Marc Levy
BS 83

vanbuski · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I will pledge $1000 per year for life if the Tulane School of Engineering is saved.

William Van Buskirk
Dean of Engineering '91-'98

cfryer · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I will pledge $500.00 a year if the engineering school is saved...at least

James A. Lancaster · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 17 Location: Uptown (NOLA)

I'll post 1.5% of my annual salary, at LEAST, to the fund that keeps engineering at Tulane, and round up to $1000 this year ('05). I do not think this means the School of Engineering, necessarily, but at least the departments and the faculty, the true life-blood of the SoE. I'm not so delusional that I don't believe there is some redundancy in administration at Tulane, however, there was nothing redundant or ill-conceived about EECS, Mechanical, and Civ/Env.

A salary percentage guarantees to increase with the cost of living, and will certainly pay off as the years go by. It's like a 401k, but for a more important cause.

I'm glad to see so many students and alums up in arms about this. It's also encouraging to see professors equally outraged and not just taking this as they silently try to move on in their lives. It's the ability to stand up and fight when you're down that shows true grit and character and integrity in this world. This is proof that those qualities exist in Tulane Engineers.

Regardless of what the national (peer) rankings show, anyone who has been in Tulane Engineering can attest to the rigor of the curriculum, and the intangibles of its learning environment. Having easily accessible professors is the keystone of the School, and coincidentally, what Dr. Cowen wishes to improve through the rest of Tulane. What's more important than the accessibility, is that the professors are never too busy to have non-academic time with students, whether that be at school sponsored events, or at the professors' homes. There is a sense of family and familiarity, like everyone has a purpose in their education, while at Tulane. I certainly developed my sense of purpose, and it was borne out of the people I encountered there. Tulane engineers are not your common number crunching nerds from any-ole engineering school. They are a breed different, thinking beyond the scope of the problems presented to far-reaching implications and issues.

I'm proud to be a Tulane Engineer.
I'm proud of my bretheren, as well. No matter the department, all engineers at Tulane are showing their solidarity as they stand together in the face of adversity. What affects EECS, Mechanical, and Civ/Env, also affects ChemE and BME, and we all recognize that.

This all leads me to wonder if Dr. Cowen had any Tulane Engineers on the board trying to problem solve the school out of this dilema. I understand that budgets had to be cut. However, is it more effective to strategically cut whole programs, or cut strategically across the board? Perhaps, cut back the engineering departments by half, but to do away with them entirely is a mistake that will come back to haunt the University.

-James A. Lancaster
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Civil '03

johnmayeaux · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I'll pledge $1,000 a year for life if CS Department remains.

My wife pledges $1,000 a year for life if the MechE Department remains.

I never in my life thought I'd see this happen. JH, this is even worse than anything proposed by Eamon Kelly in the Kearney report days. But I guess we all know there has always been a bias against the engineering school at Tulane.

While some of these departments are relatively small, the alumni have gone on to do great things. These alumni build our computers, write our software, build our bridges, design our cars, invent new products and many other things for the better of society. How many such productive members of society do you think the liberal arts school is graduating?

I understand that finances are an undeniable part of running a university. But Cowen (1) fails to make the case for engineering not carrying its weight, and (2) fails to recognize that universities also have a greater duty to society to educate students. If Tulane's only goal is to make money, then why don't we just put a University of Phoenix sign, become a for-profit institution and do an IPO?

My sympathy goes out to all of the students and faculty whose lives will be changed forever by this move. I owe my life and my career to the lifetime of knowledge and experiences I gained while at Tulane. In particular, my sincerest thanks go out to Drs. Hassell and Bernard. Tulane may destroy your department, but they will destroy the gifts of knowledge and friendship you so generously gave to your students for so many years.

Best of luck to SaveTulaneEngineering.org in your very worthy efforts.

John E. Mayeaux
CS BSM 96
MBA 97
Founding President of TECHS

kloechner · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 1 Location: MA

I'll admit I haven't been a very active alum, but I feel that this decision has betrayed all alums of the Tulane School of Engineering. I pledge 2% of my salary for life if all of Tulane's Engineering programs are retained. I will put a scholarship in my will, if EECS is retained. Let's keep fighting for what we believe in.

Kevin Loechner
BSCS '01

jeremyshaffer · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 3

I am still in grad school up at Carnegie Mellon in Computer Engineering. I would pledge $250 with more once I go get a real job.
-Jeremy Shaffer
EECS '99

amayalambert · Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I pledge a minimum $500 per year for the rest of my life as long as the conditions set forth by the Save Tulane Engineering Board are met. I am at a loss for what has happened to our beloved city...
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Amaya D. Lambert
BME '00