Tulane Commencement and Receptions

UPCOMING RECEPTION – CHICAGO!

On Tuesday, June 16 I will be hosting a reception for all Chicago area TSA alumni at:

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Blackbird Restaurant, 619 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL

Please RSVP to Wendy Sack at 504.314.2355 or wdsack@tulane.edu.  I will speak about TSA and our plans for the future.  I hope that you will be able to attend. Visit our TSA website to download an invitation.

COMMENCEMENT

Saturday, May 16 was a festive day for Tulane University and the Tulane School of Architecture.  I encourage you to take a look at the videos from the Unified Ceremony at the Superdome in the morning:

http://tulane.edu/grads/streaming.cfm

And the famous “Common Cement” address by Ellen DeGeneres

The TSA Commencement ceremony was held at Dixon Hall in the afternoon followed by a reception at Richardson Memorial Hall.  William McDonough FAIA received one of four honorary doctorates from Tulane earlier in the day.  I had nominated him in recognition of his important contributions to sustainability in the United States and beyond and for his pro bono work with Brad Pitt and the Make It Right Foundation.  He offered words of inspiring insight to our graduating students.  Our ceremony concluded with a wonderful graduation speech from a student selected by her peers:  Katherine Champagne from Houma, Louisiana.

One of the related highlights of the end of the year was thesis.  I was impressed with the range of projects as well as the engaging discussions during three packed days of thesis reviews.  I invited a diverse group of outside reviewers, and John Klingman invited many local architects as well (several of whom are also alumni).  We are grateful to all of these individuals.  I will send a comprehensive list of our local reviewers in a follow-up newsletter when John returns from a two-week research trip to Japan, but for now I can include our out of town guests:

Final Reviews & Thesis Reviews

Brian Andrews, University of Nevada Las Vegas & Los Angeles (TSA alumnus)
Craig Barton, University of Virginia (chair)
Kristi Dykema, Louisiana State University
Deborah Gans, Pratt Institute
Margaret Griffin, SCI-ARC and Griffin-Enright Architects, Los Angeles
Patrcia Heyda, Washington University (TSA alumna)
Patricia Kucker, University of Cincinnati
Ben Ledbetter, New Haven (former TSA faculty member)
Wendy Redfield, North Carolina State University
Mark Robbins, Syracuse University (dean)
Peter Waldman, University of Virginia
Mabel Wilson, Columbia University
Adrienne Yancone, University of Pennsylvania
Adam Yarinsky, ARO Architects, NYC

We also held an exhibition for eight selected thesis projects at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.  I started this new tradition in collaboration with our friends at the Ogden as a way to broaden the exposure of our students and our program to the community as a whole and to celebrate excellence.  The whole event was widely publicized, free, and open to the public – including the exhibition, reception, and discussion led by two distinguished architects.  It was a tremendous success, and we will continue this each year going forward.  Please see the invitation on our TSA website.

San Francisco and the AIA National Convention

Speaking of events, Kathy and Graham Green and Laura and John Williams (all Tulane alumni) collaborated on conceiving and hosting an absolutely wonderful reception for all of their fellow alumni from the Bay Area and those attending the Convention.  We had over 100 alumni (and a few local parents) in attendance, and everyone believes that this is a record.  I know that many in attendance had a chance to thank them personally for their generosity in hosting this for everyone else’s benefit – and if you have a chance to thank them again in the future, please do so.  Beyond the numbers, it was a beautiful event in the location that they chose, the food and wine, and most importantly in the way they brought together alumni of all ages in a festive and warm atmosphere.  I am including the reference from my earlier notice on this as a reminder of things to come.  

We plan to have a similar event next year, building on the success of San Francisco.  This set a new standard for what we ought to be doing each year as the AIA moves around the country.  Mark your calendars.  The AIA Convention is going to be in Miami during June 10-12, 2010, and in all likelihood, our party will be on Thursday evening, June 10!

Thursday, April 30 5:30 – 7:30 PM

TSA Alumni Reception, AIA Convention in San Francisco, The City Club of San Francisco – Library Room, 155 Sansome Street

You may download an invitation to this event, and we would ask that you rsvp to Wendy Sack by April 15 (so we can get a good feel for the numbers in advance – wdsack@tulane.edu).  This should be a fantastic event in an historic downtown club, hosted TSA alumni Kathy and Graham Green (TSA ’78 & ’79) and Laura and John Williams (TSA ’79).  For those who attend this reception, please join me in thanking the Greene’s and Williams’ for their generosity in bringing us all together.

Other News

In my next newsletter I will be announcing three new full-time faculty who we have hired to start in the fall semester as well as three promotions to Professor of Practice.

Other Receptions coming up

Tuesday, June 16, 2009, Chicago, Illinois

Wednesday, September 16, 2009, New York City, Location to be announced

Homecoming 2009, October 9-10, 2009

Please mark your calendars!

Alumni Newsletter

I will be starting a yearly print version of an alumni newsletter.  If you have news to report and/or an image to include, please send these to Natalie Williams at natalie@tulane.edu by May 31.  My goal is to keep in touch with all of you – in person, via email newsletters (as I have done throughout this first year) and in print medium as well.  I have heard a number of alumni who wish to see more consistent contact from the school.  I trust that everyone sees that we are making great progress in this regard.

Alumni Travel in my first year

New Orleans

Atlanta

Washington, DC

New York

Boston

San Juan

Savannah

Los Angeles

Portland, Oregon

San Francisco

Miami (5/27-28)

Washington, DC (6/4)

Chicago (6/17)

New York (6/24-26)

New York Alumni Reception 09 (9/16/09)

More to follow!

Kenneth Schwartz, FAIA 

Dean