New academic year brings new experiences and long-time traditions

As the 2024 academic year kicks off at Tulane University, incoming and returning students are being met with a mix of new experiences and long-held traditions.

“You are quite literally at the start of something new: new beginnings, new friends and new opportunities,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts told the incoming Class of 2027 at the 2023 President’s Convocation for New Students. Convocation, held August 20, is the ceremonial welcome for new Tulanians and is the first of many beloved Tulane traditions.

The academically accomplished and diverse class of about 1,850 students hails from 49 states and 35 countries. In addition to President Michael A. Fitts, Mollye Demosthenidy, the new dean of Newcomb-Tulane College (NTC), also was among those who addressed the class.

At the ceremony, Fitts advised students to start conversations with others as they can create impactful, lifelong connections and possibilities during their time at Tulane.

“I can’t wait to meet you, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say, and I’d love to watch you change the world. Welcome to Tulane University, and welcome home,” he said.

There is much to be excited about on the uptown campus. The new River and Lake residence halls house nearly 700 students and opened with multi-functional living, learning and gathering spaces. There is also a new Tulane Police Department station on the corner of Broadway and Zimple and a recently reopened natatorium at Reily Student Recreation Center. In a few months, Steven and Jann Paul Hall will open as the new home of the School of Science and Engineering, and the renovation of Richardson Memorial Hall, home of the School of Architecture, is ongoing.

The downtown campus is bustling as well. A major renovation of the School of Medicine’s research labs in the Hutchinson Building is underway, and the university’s most ambitious project to date — the rebirth of the iconic Charity Hospital building — is moving forward. As the anchor tenant occupying one-third of the million-square-foot space of Charity — as well as the redevelopment of the Tulane Downtown Hospital complex — the university will bring a long-abandoned block back to vibrant life with several Tulane schools, a new nursing program, and the Innovation Institute alongside apartments, retail and restaurants that will welcome and engage the community.
 

For the first time, incoming Tulane students were able to take part in the new, reimagined orientation experience called Hullabaloo Hello. The program is a celebratory welcome to Tulane that begins the moment new students arrive on campus and combines move-in, orientation programming, signature events and more. The celebration continued throughout the first two weeks of classes and concluded on Sept. 3. Throughout these first two weeks of classes, there was a parade of opportunities for students to continue to build community with their classmates, reconnect with campus resources and explore the city of New Orleans.

Classes began Monday, August 21.