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UNION, JUSTICE, CONFIDENCE
The Louisiana Decision (Part 3)

The following White Paper was first distributed July, 2003 to Louisiana legislators, media outlets, political organizations, concerned citizens and gubernatorial candidates to stimulate a public debate about Tulane's legislative scholarship program and its status as a private institution.

TWO PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES REGARDING

Tulane University of Louisiana:

1) The Legislative Scholarship Program; and
2) Is Tulane Private or Public?

A.  Recent Legislative Action

In 1996, Representative David Vitter of Metairie proposed an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution, House Bill 41, that was designed to eliminate Tulane University's property tax concessions and the Tulane scholarships that are awarded each year by members of the State Legislature [1]. State Senator John J. Hainkel, Jr., a Tulane graduate, stated he would like to see the program abolished outright, thereby putting Tulane "on an equal footing" with other private institutions of higher learning, such as Loyola and Xavier universities [2].

Although Vitter's bill failed in the House 44-57, the vote indicated substantial opposition to the scholarship program.

In 2002, Representative Alexander Heaton of New Orleans introduced House Bill B7 which had the same objective as Representative Vitter's. However, House Bill B7 languished in committee and never reached the House floor. A similar amendment, House Bill 651, was subsequently filed by Representative Gary Smith of Norco for the 2003 legislative session and met the same fate in committee.

  1. Ed Anderson, "Tulane scholarships survive; School will also keep property tax breaks," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 30, 1996, p. A-2.

  2. Joan Treadway, "Tulane plan isn't OK with all," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 2, 1996, p. A-1.
B.  Background

In lieu of paying taxes to the state, Tulane University of Louisiana is obligated by an old Louisiana law to place scholarship waivers into the hands of all the state legislators and the mayor of New Orleans, who then recommend the awardees. The original effect of the law was to make a college education available to qualified citizens who could not afford the cost. However, lawsuits to make the names of scholarship recipients public revealed that many judges and legislators as well as their relatives were the beneficiaries of Tulane scholarship gifts, some for as long as five years. These same judges and legislators have gone on, respectively, to sit in cases in which Tulane was a party, or engage in legislative processes in which Tulane had an interest. Questions of judicial impartiality and legislative ethics have been raised by the influence exerted by the receipt of these scholarship gifts. The scheme reeks of wholesale bribery at state expense inasmuch as a part of Tulane's uncollected taxes is, in effect, returned to the hands of Louisiana's legislators in the form of scholarship waivers now valued at more than $33,000 each.

C.  Influence in the Courts

In a series of 1995 articles, The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported on the practice of awarding Tulane's legislative scholarships to the family members of judges and other public officials [3,4]. The gifts appeared substantial enough to influence judicial outcomes in a number of cases to which Tulane was a party, as in the case of Schwarz v. Tulane [5].

Dr. Stephen Schwarz had been recommended for tenure as a result of his six-year review by the Department of Engineering, his School's Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the Dean of his School. Nevertheless, in violation of university regulations published in Tulane's Faculty Handbook [6], he was terminated, and on December 20, 1993 he filed suit.

Judge Max N. Tobias Jr., who presided over the lawsuit, received both his BA and JD degrees from Tulane and since 1994 held an appointment at Tulane Law School as an adjunct professor. Similarly, Orleans Parish Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patricia R. Murray, who subsequently affirmed Judge Tobias' ruling in favor of Tulane, received both her BA and JD degrees from Tulane and since 1994 also held an appointment at Tulane Law School as an adjunct professor. Both judges taught in the Tulane course Trial Advocacy [7]. However, Judge Murray's association with Tulane went beyond academic affiliation.

As reported in The Times-Picayune on Oct. 15, 1995, when Judge Murray was a student she received three years of Tulane scholarships via Henry Braden (p. A-17) and another year of scholarship via Michael O'Keefe (p. A-25). At 2003 tuition rates, these would be valued at about $113,000. A gift of that magnitude calls into question any judge's ability to remain neutral.

Two other judges were also involved in Schwarz's appeal. They were Judges Joan Armstrong and Moon Landrieu, whose families both benefited from Tulane scholarships. According to The Times-Picayune (Oct. 15, 1995, p. A-18), Anna Armstrong, a daughter of Judge Armstrong, received a Tulane scholarship for the 1992-93 academic year, Gary Landrieu, a nephew of Judge Landrieu, received Tulane scholarships from 1976 to 1981 (Ibid., p. A-29), and Sherri Dazet Landrieu, a daughter-in-law, received Tulane scholarships from 1983 to 1985 and the 1986-87 academic year (Ibid., July 25, 1995, p. A-1).

The fact that all four judges involved in Schwarz v. Tulane were associated in one way or another with the defendant illustrates the effectiveness of forging links to present and future judges and legislators. It is no secret that many judges assigned to Tulane cases have close ties to the university. The failure of these judges to recuse themselves in the face of an apparent conflict of interest is a matter of genuine concern. Clearly, the indebtedness created by the financial benefits derived from Tulane's legislative scholarship program is difficult to reconcile with the ability of the recipients to remain impartial.

  1. "The Legislative Scholarship Scandal at Tulane," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 23, 1995, p. A-1.

  2. "The Tulane Scholarship Scandal Part II," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 15, 1995, p. A-1.

  3. Schwarz v. Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, 699 So.2d 895 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1997). Case filed Dec. 20, 1993.

  4. 1976 Faculty Handbook, p. 25; also, 1995 Faculty Handbook, p. III-1.

  5. Tulane Law School Catalog, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98.
D.  Other Financial Inducements

The Community Rights Counsel, a judicial watchdog agency, has publicized information about trips for judges paid for by various organizations for the period of 1992 through 1997 [8]. According to its data on Louisiana's four major law schools, only Tulane sponsored trips for judges throughout the U.S. and abroad.

During the 1992-97 period, Loyola University sponsored 4 trips for judges to its campus in New Orleans to lecture or participate in seminar programs, Louisiana State University sponsored 9 trips for judges to its campus in Baton Rouge for the same purpose, and Southern University did not appear to have sponsored any trips for judges.

In contrast, Tulane University sponsored 35 trips for judges: 18 to its campus in New Orleans to lecture or participate in seminar programs, 5 to other locations in the U.S. to attend conferences or seminars, and 12 to Italy, France, England, and Greece, to participate in various teaching programs. All of Tulane's foreign travel went to judges of courts that serve Tulane in federal matters: the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Furthermore, Tulane's expenditures to influence the judiciary is paralleled by its spending to maintain political influence. For example, in fiscal 2001, Tulane spent $592,943 for "[d]irect contact with legislators, their staffs, government officials, or a legislative body," and similar sums were spent for lobbying in previous years [9].

The extent of Tulane's judicial sponsorship shows that it aggressively pursues a policy of financing travel for judges. From 2000 to 2004, Tulane announced the funding of foreign travel for 19 judges [10]. The recipients of trips to England, Greece and Italy include U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Harry Blackmun (1992), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1999, 2002), William Rehnquist (1995, 1997, 2004) and Antonin Scalia (1987, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2004) [10].

On April 6, 2001, after Justice Scalia had spent the day at Tulane, the dean of the School of Law exclaimed: "We think of Justice Scalia as one of our own." [11] That comment reflects the importance that Tulane attaches to the establishment of strong ties to the judiciary. Justice Scalia is assigned to oversee the Federal Fifth Circuit.

In addition, there are many other sponsored trips for judges that are not publicly reported. For example, in 1999, five judges from the Federal District Court and Appellate Court were invited to participate as faculty in Tulane's annual three-day seminar program know as "By the Bay," which is held at the family resort location of Point Clear, Alabama [12].

  1. Pamela Coyle, "Group slams judicial trips; New database details U.S. Judges' travels," The Times-Picayune, August 5, 2000, p. A-1. See also: The Community Rights Counsel, http://www.tripsforjudges.org.

  2. Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, IRS Form 990 for 2001 (also, 1997-2000); Schedule A, Part VI-B, line g.

  3. See catalogs: Tulane Law School Summer School Abroad 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

  4. The Tulane Hullabaloo News, April 6, 2001.

  5. "Faculty," http://www.law.tulane.edu/cle/bythebays99/faculty.htm, accessed 6/26/01.
E.  Closing the Chapter on Discrimination

In 1961, two young black women, Barbara Marie Guillory and Pearlie Hardin Elloie, applied for admission to Tulane's Graduate School and School of Social Work, respectively. The deans of these schools advised the women that their applications were acceptable but that it was not legally possible for the university to admit Negroes [13]. The women sued, and in the court of U.S. District Judge J. Skelly Wright, they prevailed [14].

Tulane appealed Judge Wright's decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which remanded the case to the lower court for trial with another judge — Judge Frank B. Ellis, who then ruled in Tulane's favor on every major issue. The following is an excerpt of Judge Ellis' opinion, rendered December 5, 1962 [15]. The ruling remains valid to this date.

“Defendant's position is that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Tulane University because it is a "private individual" under the doctrine of the Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 3 S.Ct. 18, 27 L.Ed. 835, enunciating the proposition that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to private individuals.”

“The source of Tulane's present policy is the act of donation of one Paul Tulane, a philanthropist and early benefactor of the University. That act, which prompted the incorporation of the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund on May 29, 1882, restricted the use of the funds to "young white persons." A later gift by one Sophie Newcomb included a similar restriction. The necessity of the Administrators' compliance with the terms of Paul Tulane's donation is embraced in its corporate charter as well as the statutory law of the State of Louisiana by Act 43 of 1884, LSA-R.S. Tit. 17, c. 6 note included in the Louisiana Constitution by Art. 269 of 1888. Thus, although the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund are on official record as desiring otherwise, the Administrators stand on the position that they are legally bound to restrict admissions to Tulane University to white persons and, moreover, that this restriction is constitutionally permissible because Tulane University of Louisiana is a "private school".” [15]

When Tulane administrators reviewed these findings they agreed that, whereas the decision handed down was the most favorable that could be expected, they did not wish to continue defense of the suit in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court for fear that the higher court might rule that there is sufficient state involvement to bring Tulane under the Fourteenth Amendment [16]. Thus, beginning in February 1963, Tulane opted to admit black students, and Barbara Marie Guillory and Pearlie Hardin Elloie were among the first to register [16]. This policy gave Tulane the freedom to discriminate at its own discretion, and it inhibited any action that would challenge the university's right as a private institution to disregard the non-discrimination requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Although Barbara Marie Guillory and Pearlie Hardin Elloie were among the first blacks to attend Tulane, they were not the first to seek admission. In 1952, Mack J. Spears, a black public school principal in New Orleans, was denied admission to Tulane's Graduate School despite his academic qualifications [17], and in 1956, Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial, a black attorney, was denied permission to audit courses offered to practicing lawyers by Tulane Law School [18].

  1. John P. Dyer, Tulane: The Biography of a University, 1834 - 1965, Harper & Row Publishers, New York and London, 1st Ed., 1966, page 287.

  2. Guillory v. Administrators of Tulane University of LA., 203 F.Supp. 855 (1962).

  3. Guillory v. Administrators of Tulane University of LA., 212 F.Supp. 674, 676, 687 (1962).

  4. Clarence L. Mohr and Joseph E. Gordon, Tulane: The Emergence of a Modern University, 1945 - 1980, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 2001, p. 234.  Note: This explanation is refuted by evidence presented by Cheryl Cunningham which indicates that the admission of the black students was facilitated by a $6 million grant from the Ford Foundation in 1964 that was contingent on Tulane's certification that it was a desegregated university.  See: Cheryl V. Cunningham, The Desegregation of Tulane University, M.A. thesis, University of New Orleans, 1982, p. 9 and FN 20 & 21 to Chap. 1.

  5. Ibid., p. 135.

  6. Ibid., p. 139.  Note: Earnest N. "Dutch" Morial graduated from the Law School of Louisiana State University in 1954.  He served as assistant U.S. attorney, juvenile court judge, state legislator, state appellete court judge, and was elected Mayor of New Orleans in 1977.  See: "Morial Exhibit at Amistad," Tulane University NewWave, July 8, 2008, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/newssplash_0708.cfm, accessed 07/08/08.
F.  The Issue of Private vs. Public

“The complete history of Tulane University indicates that it is now, as it always was, a public institution.”   Those words by Judge J. Skelly Wright in 1962 formed the basis of his opinion in the Guillory case. His argument is so well researched and elegantly presented, that it is appended to this document for the reader to review [14].

Tulane's "metamorphosis" into a private entity apparently began around 1882 as a means of removing the university from the reach of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Embracing the segregationist views of two financial donors, Paul Tulane and Sophi Newcomb, the Administrators unilaterally declared the university to be "private" and later claimed that this action was recognized by the constitutional amendment of 1888. That amendment merely ratified Act 43 of 1884, which provided tax immunity for "public property." Judge Wright characterized Tulane's claim as "patent nonsense." [14]

That the state legislature has not challenged Tulane's claims as a private entity is a paradox unique to Louisiana politics that possibly reflects residual problems with diversity.

G.  Tax Concessions on Revenue-Producing Properties

The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR), a public watchdog group, made public a March 1994 report by the Louisiana Tax Commission that appraised the tax value of known Tulane-owned property not used for educational purposes as $23.5 million [19]. In addition, a 1996 study by the BGR determined that Tulane owned about $115 million in tax-exempt property [20]. Because Tulane shields information about the commercial property it owns, the true figure may be higher [21]. In 1998, Tulane's Senior Vice President for Operations and Chief Financial Officer, Anthony P. Lorino, acknowledged that, aside from land owned in Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes, Tulane also owned property in 21 other parishes and four other states [22].

In 1996, 5th Municipal District Assessor Thomas L. Arnold billed Tulane for taxes on undeveloped land valued at $8.1 million near English Turn on the West Bank, arguing that Tulane was holding the property as a commercial investment taxable under state law. That law notwithstanding, the state court to which Tulane appealed ruled that, absent a constitutional provision requiring the taxation of property held for commercial purposes by nonprofit educational associations, Tulane remained exempt from such taxes [23].  Other typical local real-estate transactions follow.

In 1993, Tulane acquired Tidewater Place, a 24-story building at 1440 Canal Street into which it relocated many of its offices and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine while continuing to lease shops and office space to other tenants and governmental agencies [24].  Shops were eventually displaced as renovations progressed.

In 1995, Tulane sold an 80% share of its University Hospital and Clinic to Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. for $132 million [25].

In 1996, Tulane sold the Gallier House Museum, a National Historic Landmark located in the French Quarter, to the Christian Women's Exchange for an undisclosed sum [26].

In January 1997, Tulane acquired the psychiatric facility at DePaul Hospital at 1040 Calhoun Street and renamed it the "DePaul-Tulane Behavioral Health Center."  Outpatient Clinical Services of DePaul-Tulane Behavioral Health Center was later relocated to the downtown hospital of Tulane Medical Center [27].

The Clarion Hotel, located at 1300 Canal Street in New Orleans, was formerly Tulane's Hawthorne Hall, a residence facility that Tulane sold in 1998 for an undisclosed sum [28].

Tulane sold a portion of its 250 acres in Vermillion Parish (Tulane Property # 47149) to three attorneys on July 24, 1998. One of the buyers was Michael K. Fitzpatrick of the Law Firm of Porteous, [John] Hainkel and Johnson [29].

In 1999, Tulane sold two parcels it owned in square 43 on Veterans Memorial Highway in Metairie to Ronnie Lamarque Properties for $2 million [30].

In December 2000, Tulane sold its title interest to the property at 969 Camp Street (Confederate Museum building) to the UNO Foundation for $425,000 in connection with the Foundation's plans for its Ogden museum complex [31].

In 2001, Tulane purchased Uptown Square shopping center at Broadway, near River Road in New Orleans for an undisclosed sum from Episcopal Housing for Seniors [32].  Since then, Tulane has been attempting to circumvent zoning laws that would prevent it from constructing residence halls.  In 2003, Tulane hired Collette Creppell, executive director of the New Orleans Planning Commission, to help in the development of this and other properties.  Creppell had been employed by Tulane before she was installed as chief of the City Planning Commission in 2001 [33].  Soon after Tulane hired Creppell, it announced its expansion strategy for the Uptown Square property [34].

Tulane's plan for what it now calls "University Square" includes a 109-room hotel and conference center, a 14-story dormitory, buildings to house administrators, health-care, child-care and retail services, and garage space for 1060 cars.  Although the neighbors were not pleased, the New Orleans Planning Commission was ready to waive zoning restrictions that prevented construction of a high-rise dormitory in that residential neighborhood [35].  One neighborhood association sued the City Council over its failure to observe zoning laws and other restrictions when it finally approved the Tulane project [36].

Tulane's other ambition is to create an exclusive high school that would employ its own personnel and be financed by the state [37].  Activists have labeled the plan racist because the new school would primarily benefit the children of Tulane professors at the expense of other public schools that are seriously underfunded [38].  Despite employment practices by Tulane that would conflict with policies negotiated between the Orleans Parish School Board and the American Federation of Teachers for school employees, some school board members endorsed Tulane's participation in establishing a new high school [39].

With the prospect of further access to public funding, Tulane began to insinuate itself into the New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS) with devices such as a new Internet library resource "offered only to educators in the New Orleans Public School District..." [40].  Although Tulane does not have a school of education, it began "testing the waters" by sending student observers into various public schools and by enlisting the cooperation of Kathy Riedlinger, principal of Lusher Extension School [41].  It also installed a business program into the John McDonogh High School curriculum [41].

Exercising powers newly afforded him by Senate Act 193, Superintendent of Schools Anthony Amato quietly negotiated with Tulane to make it a "partner" in a new Lusher High School that would be housed in an uptown school building (Sophie B. Wright Middle School), whose current students would be displaced [42].  Public outrage following disclosure of this "under-the-radar" scheme was a factor that contributed to Amato's abrupt resignation [42].

Well-organized Lusher parents, determined to sever the school's relationship with a dysfunctional central administration now in crisis, drafted a proposal to convert Lusher into a publicly-supported charter school administered by a private board selected by the school's parents.  In a move toward self-imposed privatization, Lusher teachers overwhelmingly agreed to give up their representation by the teachers' union in exchange for a system of accountability to an untried administrative board with which they will now have to negotiate salaries, working conditions and benefits and depend upon to resolve disputes and grievances [43].  Presumably, the new Lusher board will be empowered to set student enrollment qualifications, hire and dismiss teachers at will, receive private funding, expand to upper grade levels, create alternative programs, and enter into relationships with other academic institutions.
August 23, 2005
— Post Katrina —

New Orleans had been under a compulsory evacuation order when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005.  Then came the breaches of the levee system protecting the city and the floods that destroyed scores of neighborhoods, businesses and institutions, leaving New Orleans with an uncertain future.  With the population dispersed and the public school system shattered, Tulane quickly moved to implement its plan to acquire Lusher School, turn it into a publicly-supported charter school, and expand its grades through high school.  The takeover would provide for the education of the children of returning faculty displaced by the storm.

The political resources brought to bear to secure Lusher could serve as a model of how things are done in a closed political environment.  New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin placed Tulane President Scott S. Cowen in charge of "fixing" New Orleans' foundering public school system [44] and appointed him to head the Committee on Education of his Bring New Orleans Back Commission [45].  As chair of the Education Committee, Cowen had direct access to Governor Kathleen Blanco's Louisiana Recovery Authority, which controlled financing for the rebuilding of New Orleans [46].  Joining Cowen's Education Committee was Phyllis Landrieu, a member of the Orleans Parish School Board and its future president [47].  Another school board member, Heidi Daniels, is the wife of Tulane's executive director of state and local affairs, Flozell Daniels Jr. [48,49].

Conspicuous by their subordinate role in the educational decision-making process were representatives of local universities with established departments of education at the elementary level.  For example, the College of Education at the University of New Orleans has an extensive program of teacher training at the undergraduate and graduate levels and its dean, Dr. James Meza, has served as Executive Director of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education [50].  In contrast, Tulane has neither a school of education, nor does it offer formal courses in teacher preparation [51].  The political forces that dictated Mayor Nagin's choices of committee leadership awaits illumination from observers privy to the behind-the-scenes activities of the mayor's commission.

From their temporary headquarters in Houston, Texas, Tulane administrators continued their campaign to acquire control over Lusher School and issued a fait accompli in the form of an October 5, 2005 press release describing the new K-12 charter school and their intention to supplement the teaching staff with Teach For America volunteers [52,53].  On September 15, 2005, the proposal to establish Lusher as a charter school and expand its grades through high school had been approved by the Orleans Parish School Board at a meeting held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana [48], and by October 28, 2005, the Orleans Parish School Board approved the use of Alcee Fortier High School for Lusher's middle and upper grades [49], thus completing the acquisition process.  Tulane had pledged $1.5 million as an immediate source of operating funds [48], and this was matched by $1.75 million from the state [52,54].  Tulane's "Bold Renewal" plan for Tulane University, which included the dismissal of many tenured professors, was not announced until December 8, 2005 [55-59].

With the privatization of Lusher, Tulane succeeded in avoiding collective-bargaining with teachers, and it implemented an authoritarian hierarchy in which employees would serve at the pleasure of their superiors, termed a "performance-based" policy [47].  Although there was a surplus of certified veteran teachers who were unemployed post-Katrina [60,61], Tulane and Lusher principal, Kathy Riedlinger, opted to employ teachers tolerant of anti-union principles and Teach For America recruits. The latter are noted for their youth and enthusiasm, brief (generally two-year) commitment to service, and their minimal training in educational pedagogy [62].  The Teach For America program is funded by the U.S. Government, and Tulane has a direct connection to it through Walter S. Isaacson, a member of Tulane's Board of Governors [53] who also chairs the Teach For America Board of Directors [63].  Thirty Tulane graduates participated in the Teach for America program in the two years preceding Nov. 2006 [64].  The unique challenge facing inexperienced teachers in one Recovery School District school has been described [65].

Dismissing the role played by the five local universities that actually operate departments of education (University of New Orleans, Loyola, Dillard, Xavier and Southern University at New Orleans), Isaacson, himself a Tulane graduate, declared Cowen to be "the hero when it comes to New Orleans education." [53]  Cowen made it clear that, "his only focus when it came to public education was to find a school available in January 2006 for the children of Tulane faculty and staff." [66]  However, despite this narrow focus, he was honored with the prestigious Shofar Award of New York's Central Synagogue for his leadership in rebuilding "the city's public education system" as well as "[h]is determination to save the City of New Orleans..." [67].  The reality is that by the end of 2006, the lack of concern for children of the city's poor resulted in a failure to meet the educational needs of many students and caused the flight of many teachers from some of the city's dysfunctional state-run schools. [68].

With a selective enrollment policy and first preference given to the children of professional staff at Tulane, Loyola, Dillard and Xavier Universities [69], places at Lusher Charter Schools were rapidly filled, forcing some parents in the Lusher district who were not connected with those universities to look elsewhere for schools to educate their children [70].  About 44% of Lusher's students were children from families of Tulane employees [71].

What remained was repairing the storm-damaged facilities that Lusher Charter Schools would occupy, particularly the Alcee Fortier High School building, which was in disrepair even before the storm and which required an estimated $10-15 million to refurbish [72].  This was solved by soliciting Johnson Controls Inc. to repair Lusher's elementary school and assist with the fund-raising needed to renovate the upper-grade facility.  Johnson Controls complied [73].  The engineering company was eager to make amends to a city shaken by a corruption scandal that involved an earlier $81 million contract with City Hall [74,75], and it saw an opportunity to become a major player in the reconstruction of other storm-damaged New Orleans' institutions, businesses and infrastructure [73,76].  Both Tulane and Johnson Controls understand how to profit from investments and how to wield power for their financial advantage, so their alliance seemed natural.  On the other hand, New Orleans' elected officials appeared ineffective and demoralized when they relinquished power to the traditional elite and accepted a firm so recently mired in corruption. The reelection of Mayor Ray Nagin on May 20, 2006 suggests a level of comfort by the white and business communities with the existing city administration [77].

From a political process unique to New Orleans, of the $52 million in FEMA money allocated for all schools in Orleans Parish, $16 million was used to renovate Alcee Fortier High School building for the upper grades of Tulane-affiliated Lusher Charter School [78].  Kathy Riedlinger was subsequently elevated to the position of CEO, new principals were hired for Lusher Charter School, and both she and the school prospered.  In 2009, Riedlinger will receive a salary of $203,556 as well as a $5,000 car allowance and possible bonus of $10,000 [79], which has drawn criticism from some New Orleans school teachers [80].

As far as the future of public education is concerned, the Bush administration, eager to promote privatization of the public schools, awarded $20.9 million in September, 2005 and $23.9 million in June, 2006 to the state of Louisiana, much of it earmarked for charter school development in Hurricane-Katrina affected areas [81].  The teachers union is being eliminated or marginalized by charter schools, and the "recovery-district schools" will largely be operated by the state.  That leaves only a handful of schools that will, for now, be retaining their collective bargaining rights [82].  More than a year after Katrina, Judge Ethel Simms-Julien denied a complaint that about 7,000 fired New Orleans public school employees were not given proper consideration for jobs after the state took over 107 of the city's 128 public schools.[83].  The apparent goal of undermining unionization was assisted by the importation of about 200 Filipino teachers to Louisiana following Katrina [84].

On December 6, 2006 Tulane announced the establishment of the Scott Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives [85], ostensibly to assist the state with educational policy decisions and perhaps collaborate in government-funded projects [86].  On February 14, 2007 construction began on the $1.9-million, 11,000-square-foot Goldring Performance Arts Center at Lusher Charter School [87].

Nat LaCour, New Orleans, Aug. 30, 2007 Nat LaCour
The Privatization of Education: How New Orleans Went from a Public School System to a Charter-School City

From an interview of Nat LaCour by Amy Goodman for Democracy Now! August 30, 2007 in New Orleans, (9 min, 30 sec).  LaCour is Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers and former President, United Teachers of New Orleans.  For a video and transcript of the interview, see Democracynow.org, http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/30/145226&mode=thread&tid=25, accessed 09/22/07.
 

Many events in post-Katrina New Orleans mirror what Naomi Klein prophetically described as "Disaster Capitalism" [88].  Kline's reference was to the acquisition of public assets and the privatization of natural and social resources by corporations in disaster-stricken countries in exchange for desperately-needed financial assistance from outside sources.  Reconstruction in Katrina-stricken New Orleans appears to be following a similar pattern, driven by the desire of the city's controlling elite to establish a social and economic order that would best serve its private interests.  Its authority is derived from the wealth and lineage of its members and is reflected by the motto of the secretive Krewe of Comus: Sic volo, sic jubeo, "As I wish, thus I command."  For its part, Tulane has made it clear that it intends to play an increasingly important political role in the hurricane-weakened local economy through an ambitious program known as "Civic Engagement" [89].

Naomi Kline's prophesy was given life by Walter Isaacson, who grew up in New Orleans and saw a silver lining when Hurricane Katrina washed away what was one of the nation's worst school systems.  "This will be the greatest opportunity for educational entrepreneurs, charter schools, competition and parental choice in America," exclaimed Paul Vallas, new superintendent of the New Orleans Recovery School District [90].  By 2007, following Isaacson's vision for educational rebirth, about 60% of all public schools in New Orleans had been privatized as charter schools under a plan he describes as "a voucher system in all but name."

The drive of politicians and entrepreneurs to privatize the public schools in New Orleans has been remarkable:

“A state board of education committee recommended the approval Wednesday [Dec. 5, 2007] of eight [new] charter schools to open in New Orleans next year...”

“District Superintendent Paul Vallas said the new charters could be "incubated" in existing schools — meaning they would move into existing district-operated campuses and, in effect, take them over.”
  • Darran Simon, "BESE panel backs 8 new charters; Number in N.O. could rise to 49," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 6, 2007, Metro, p. 1.
In 2009, the Louisiana state Legislature eliminated the cap on the number of charter schools in the state in reponse to the $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds made available to the states as education grants.
  • Sarah Carr, "State removes cap on charter schools; It could help La. get share of federal grant," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 30, 2009, Metro, p. 1.
“New Orleans public schools now feature completely decentralized hiring: Seniority guarantees nothing, collective bargaining does not exist, and teachers keep their jobs only at the discretion of their principals.”
  • Sarah Carr, "RSD to lay off dozens of teachers today; Veterans claim they are crowded out," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 3, 2009, National, p. 1.  See comments of a former high school principal and a public school advocate.
By 2012, publicly-funded charter schools in New Orleans are expected to outnumber traditional public schools by three-to-one.
  • Sarah Carr, "Charter numbers expected to grow; 19 groups apply to operate 24 schools," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 2, 2009, National, p. 1.
See also: Additional references to the privatization of New Orleans schools.

Privatized charter schools are primarily supported by public funds but are variably assisted by private philanthropy to help pay for additional resources, faculty enhancement and the improvement of facilities.  Some of the charter schools will be operated by for-profit companies such as Edison Schools or the nonprofit, KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) organization, and partnerships are being established with agencies such as the defense contractor Lockheed-Martin, Shell Oil, the National Guard, Microsoft and the Catholic School Network.  In addition, the prominent involvement of Teach for America, the federal program that Isaacson heads, is seen to be instrumental to the success of these new schools.  Isaacson is so enthusiastic about this "entrepreneurial free-for-all," he envisions that it could "transform urban education nationwide," although he recognizes that the best of these schools could become magnets for the brightest students and those with the most committed parents [90].

On December 10, 2008, Civil District Court Judge Ethel Simms-Julien certified a class-action lawsuit that would allow the more than 8,500 former Orleans Parish School Board employees to seek monetary damages for claims of wrongful termination and breach of contract [91].  Among other issues, the lawsuit cites evidence that, just weeks after Katrina, Louisiana State education officials received over $445 million in emergency federal funding to help restart the public schools.  The public school employees were terminated despite the congressional assistance [91].

On June 20, 2012, Civil District Court Judge Ethel Simms-Julien ruled that the Orleans Parish School Board and the state had wrongfully fired thousands of the city's teachers and other school employees after Hurricane Katrina, and that those employees were entitled to be compensated for lost wages and benefits [92].  However, justice delayed is justice denied.  Not only will the lower court's decision be appealed, but during the already intervening years, the teachers unions have been rendered irrelevant, teachers have lost their bargaining rights, and the schools have largely become privatized at the public's expense.

On January 15, 2014, Louisiana's Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that the Orleans Parish School Board had wrongly terminated more than 7,000 teachers after Hurricane Katrina without due process or the right to be rehired as jobs became available in the years following the storm.  The class action case applied to all School Board employees who were tenured as of August 29, 2005.  They were awarded two to three years of back pay, with benefits for those who had them at the time.

On May 15, 2014, Benjamin Franklin High School teachers became part of the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO), an affilliate of the American Federation of Teachers.  A year earlier, Morris Jeff Community School voted to join the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE), another of the state's teachers' unions.  Morris Jeff was the first charter teacher group to formally organize since the Orleans Parish School Board decided not to renew a collective bargaining agreement for the city's schools after Hurricane Katrina.

On October 31, 2014, The Louisiana Supreme Court completely reversed the findings of the lower two State Courts, ruling that, "The Teacher Tenure Laws did not envision, nor provide for, the circumstance where a massive hurricane wipes out an entire school district, resulting in the elimination of the vast majority of teaching positions in that district."  This was a stunning defeat for the 7,500 New Orleans public school employees who lost their jobs after Hurricane Katrina, and on March 9, 2015, attorneys for the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

March 10, 2015

In 2002, the 17-story Texaco Building at 1501 Canal Street, valued at $5 million, was donated to Tulane which later sold it for substantially less to a real estate broker [93].  Initially built in 1951, the building was the New Orleans headquarters of Texaco, Inc. until 1983, when Texaco moved its headquarters elsewhere in the Central Business District.  The property then became the home of Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine until 2000, when Tulane relocated that school to renovated quarters at Tidewater Place, supra.  In 2004, a developer offered to purchase the building from the current brokers for $2.1 million and convert it into a luxury hotel and "Brazilian-themed entertainment palace."  However, that plan was abandoned because of the expense of asbestos abatement, setting the stage for the sale of the tower in 2005 to another investor [93].  For the years the Texaco Building was held by Tulane, New Orleans was deprived of tax revenue from its assessed value.

In 2003, Tulane announced its intention to purchase the former Krauss Department Store building in the 1200 block of Canal Street for an undisclosed sum [94].  The sale price to a previous potential buyer in 2001 was $7.75 million [95].  Although Tulane initially planned to renovate the facility at a cost of about $25 million, six months later it backed out of its purchase agreement, opting instead to rent seven to nine floors of the 22-story office tower at 1555 Poydras Street [94].

In 2004, Tulane announced plans to open a commercial "design center staffed by university architecture faculty and students," that would compete with architectural firms in the production of architectural drawings [96].

In 2005, Tulane University acquired Lakeside Hospital in Metairie, thus expanding its medical business in the Jefferson Parish market [97].  Tulane already operates nine satellite clinics in Covington, Slidell, Marrero, and Metairie [98] and plans to furnish health care to a 250-unit "continuing care retirement community" being developed at the site of the former St. Thomas public housing project in New Orleans, where a Wal-Mart Super Center has been built [99].  With the aid of public money, Tulane is also enlarging its sphere of medical expertise delivery to countries in South America through its new "Center for Evidence-Based Global Health" [100].  Post-Katrina, the St. Thomas area witnessed an acceleration of "mixed-income" development — a code word for the soft gentrification whose effect is to keep the poor, mostly black residents who were displaced from the area from ever returning.  In 2006, developers announced plans to convert the nearby Sara Mayo Hospital into condominiums [101], while government agencies have indicated their intentions to demolish the C.J. Peete, Lafitte, St. Bernard and B.W. Cooper low-cost public housing complexes and redevelop them as mixed-income housing [102].

Tulane owns 5 acres of riverfront property behind the Convention Center expansion site, and in 2004 it negotiated to purchase an adjoining 3.44 acre parcel valued at $1.3 million in connection with its plans to develop a $50 million RiverSphere educational center and theme park [103].  In 2005, Tulane received $500,000 from the federal govenment for this project [104].  Following Hurricane Katrina, Tulane shifted its aquatic interest to a new likely object of public funding and created an Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, recruiting as its head the environmental lobbyist Mark S. Davis of the Baton Rouge based Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana [105].  Tulane also developed a 7.7-acre West Bank artists retreat called A Studio in the Woods, which has been used as a day outing site for Lusher students [106].

Just months following Hurricane Katrina, Tulane purchased a condominium belonging to Papillon Associates for $13.2 million [107].  Located in the Lower Garden District and purported to be for graduate students, Papillon Apartments (see PDF) rents for about $1,000 to $1,500 per month, is not restricted to students and appears to be an untaxed real estate investment.  Papillon rents are comparable to those of similar apartments in the same area offered by non-tax-exempt landlords [108], while graduate student housing on the Tulane campus is about $670 to $740 per month, based on a four-month academic semester [109].  Tulane has also implemented new policies designed to discourage students from living in off-campus housing.  According to one student, the new rules are an attempt to create "a residential university [that] will provide increased revenue from housing fees going directly into the university's pockets" [110].  In addition to student resentment of Tulane's two-year, on-campus housing requirement are objections to its policy of allowing police to search student's rooms at will, in violation of their right to privacy [111].

In 2007, the 15-story Murphy Exploration Building at 131 South Robertson Street and its adjoining 233-car parking garage in downtown New Orleans was donated to Tulane by Murphy Oil Corporation [112].  The building will house Tulane's administrative offices, fundraising department, and a $5 million robotic human simulation center for experimental use [112].

In 2009, the storm-damaged building that housed the former Ruth's Chris Steak House at 711 N. Broad Street, appraised at $600,000 in 2006, was donated to Tulane, which will convert it to a community clinic with the aid of a $1 million grant from the state of Louisiana [113].

For many of the tax-sheltered business activities mentioned above, ranking Tulane administrators serve as executive officers over subordinates who function as managers.  A modern Tulane University, Inc. appears to have emerged from its academic origins to become a real estate corporation, medical business, and government contractor whose tax exemptions based on its educational activities continue to enrich administrators at the expense of the public fisc.

  1. "Property Taxes In New Orleans: Who Pays? Who Doesn't? and Why?" Bureau of Governmental Research, October, 1996.

  2. Bruce Eggler, "N.O. trying to make nonprofits pay taxes; Strategy could yield millions in revenue," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 12, 1999, p. B-1.

  3. Tulane's commercial holdings include portions of such properties as the legendary Fairmont (formerly, Roosevelt) Hotel on Baronne Street [See: City of New Orleans Property Database, http://hi.mayorofno.com/servlet/user/PropertySearch (accessed April 10, 2004)] and Brennan's Restaurant at 417 Royal Street, which property Tulane held since 1920 and sold in 1984 [See: Brennan's, http://www.brennansneworleans.com/royalstreet.html (accessed January 31, 2004)].

  4. Alison Jordan, "University officials contemplate best use for property," Tulane Hullabaloo, Online Edition, January 30, 1998.

  5. Mark Schleifstein, "Vacant land remains tax-free; Tulane beats assessor in court," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 25, 1998, p. B-1.

  6. Ronette King, "Tidewater donates building to Tulane," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 5, 1993, p. C-1.  See also: "Real Estate Transfers," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 19, 1993 p. R-16.  See also: "Building for the Future," Tulane Medicine, "Encore," Spring, 1999.

  7. John Pope, "Tulane sells chunk of hospital to chain," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 18, 1995, p. C-1.

  8. "Gallier House Changes Owners," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 6, 1996, p. F-1.

  9. "DE PAUL HOSP (NEW ORLEANS, LA) http://www.hospital-data.com/DE-PAUL-HOSP-NEW-ORLEANS.html, accessed Aug. 3, 2004.  See also: "DePaul Home Page," http://www.depaultulane.com/..., accessed Aug. 3, 2004.  See also: "Anxiety Disorder Screenings Slated," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 6, 1997, p. B-4.  See also: Tulane Medical Center, "DePaul Home Page," http://www.depaultulane.com/..., accessed 09/29/07.

  10. Greg Thomas, "Dorm to become hotel," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, April 23, 1998, p. C-1.

  11. Recorded August 5, 1998 by the Clerk of Court, Vermillion Parish, LA, pp. 2236-2238.

  12. "Real Estate Transfers: East Jefferson," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 10, 1999, p. R-18.

  13. Doug MacCash, "Art vs. artifacts; Faced with possible eviction, the Confederate Museum is digging in for a fight against its building's new owner — Ogden Museum of Southern Art," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 8, 2001, p. A-1.

  14. Judd Shellito, "Develop Uptown Square property with care," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 14, 2001, p. B-4.  See also: Elizabeth Wotawa, "Tulane squares away new property purchase," Tulane Hullabaloo, September 28, 2001.  See also: "Uptown Upgrade," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 27, 2002, p. C-1.  See also: "Strategic Planning - Creating Tulane's Future," http://www.tulane.edu/~strplan/accomplishments00-01.shtml, accessed 8/30/03.

  15. Bruce Eggler, "N.O. Planning Commission chief resigns; Creppell hired in Morial's term," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 16, 2003, p. B-1.  See also: Frank Donze & Bruce Eggler, "New Orleans Politics ... Planning chief leaves city post to become university architect ...," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 20, 2003, p. B-1.

  16. Leslie Williams, "Tulane unveils new expansion plan; Uptown Square plan calls for apartments, administrative space," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 19, 2003, p. C-1.

  17. Bruce Eggler, "Tall order," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 25, 2004, p. B-1.  See also: Bruce Eggler, "Planners defer vote on 2 hot issues; Locals blast plan for condo, campus," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 28, 2004, p. B-1.

  18. Bruce Eggler, "Council OKs Tulane's plan to expand; Some fear new satellite campus will dwarf houses, clog streets," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, April 16, 2004, p. B-1.  See also: Bruce Eggler, "Tulane project OK challenged; Suit claims decision based on flawed study," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 28, 2004, p. B-1.  [Note that, in the aftermath of Katrina, Tulane suspended further development of the Uptown Square project pending a reasessment of its finances and priorities.  See: Greg Thomas, "Tulane rethinks divisive project; Katrina weighs in on Uptown Square," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 5, 2007, p. B-1.  See also: Fran Simon, "Univerity Square Gives Room to Grow," Tulane University NewWave, October 17, 2007, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/101707_universitysquare.cfm, accessed 10/17/07].

  19. Brian Thevenot, "Talks begin on Lusher high school; Some ask about financing for Tulane-school partnership plan," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 25, 2003, p. A-1.  See also: "Tulane University Neighborhood Relations," http://www2.tulane.edu/neighbors/lusher_photos.cfm, accessed 10/25/03.  See also: Catherine Fox, "Tulane and Lusher move to create potential magnet high school," Tulane Hullabaloo, Vol. 94, No. 17, February 13, 2004.

  20. Richard Slawsky, "At what price?  Activist calls Lusher H.S. plan racist," The Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, November 15, 2004.  See also: Brian Thevenot, "Drawn Apart; New Orleans public magnet schools represent both an answer to failed integration and a new kind of segregation — by class and academic ability," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 18, 2004, p. A-1.  See also: Walter Umrani, "Can anyone explain to me how a school with the state's highest achievers can exist in the very same district that has the state's lowest-scoring schools?" Gambit Weekly, New Orleans, May 3, 2005.

  21. Aesha Rasheed, "Board considers adding 2 schools; Military magnet, Lusher high urged," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 6, 2004, p. A-1.  See also: Una Anderson, "Orleans schools welcome true collaboration," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 14, 2004, p. B-6.

  22. NOPS Possibilities, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Tulane University, December, 2003.  (A newsletter widely distributed to public school personnel.)

  23. See: "Tulane Teacher Preparation and Certification Program and New Orleans Public Schools," http://teacher.tulane.edu/visitation.pdf, accessed 5/20/04.  See also: Kimberly Melton and Brian Thevenot, "Magnet high set to open in a year; Lusher school slated for Uptown location," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 20, 2004, p. A-1 ("Yvette Jones, vice president of external affairs for Tulane said the project is still in its planning stages on the university's side of the equation.").  See also: the 1/3-page advertisement, "Advanced Practices in Entrepreneurship," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 16, 2004, p. A-24, and December 19, 2004, p. A-16.

  24. Brian Thevenot, "Lusher High plans not by book; Admissions, location are topics of dispute," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 10, 2005, p. A-1.  See also: Edmund W. Lewis, "Genocide and gentrification," The Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, August 30, 2004.  See also: Richard Slawsky, "At what price? Activist calls Lusher H.S. plan racist," The Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, November 15, 2004.  See also: Brian Thevenot, "Besieged Amato calls it quits; Schools chief suffered utter loss of support," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, April 13, 2005, p. A-1.

  25. Brian Thevenot, "Parents propose making Lusher a charter; District would cede administrative control," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 17, 2005, p. A-1.  See also: Brian Thevenot, "Lusher faculty approve charter proposal; Parents next to vote on conversion plan," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 18, 2005, p. B-1.  See also: Brian Thevenot, "Parents back plan to convert Lusher into a charter school; Board has 60 days to make a decision," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 23, 2005, p. B-1.  Note: The unanticipated loss of system-dependent health-care and life insurance benefits eventually caught retiring charter school teachers by surprise.  See: Sarah Carr, "Retiring teachers face snag on benefits; They must return to a system school," The Times-Picayune, January 7, 2008, National, p. 1.  See also: Sarah Carr, "Retiring teachers run into trouble; Charter schools don't offer same benefits," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 13, 2008, Metro, p. 1.

  26. Gabrielle Birkner, "Tulane, After the Deluge," The Jewish Week, New York, January 13, 2006, http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11894, accessed 01/30/06.

  27. Bring New Orleans Back Fund, http://www.bringneworleansback.org/..., accessed 01/12/06.

  28. Frank Donze and Gordon Russell, "4 Months to Decide; Nagin panel says hardest hit areas must prove viability, city's footprint may shrink; Full buyouts proposed for those forced to move; New housing to be developed in vast swaths of New Orleans' higher ground," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 11, 2006 p. A-1.  See also: Gordon Russell and Frank Donze, "Rebuilding proposal gets mixed reception; Critics vocal, but many prefer to watch and wait," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 12, 2006 p. A-1.

  29. Steve Ritea, "Nagin's schools panel issues reforms; Networks would cut role of central office," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 18, 2006, p. B-1.

  30. Susan Finch, "Orleans school board approves Lusher charter application; Unity dissipates quickly at first post-storm meeting," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September, 16, 2005.

  31. Steve Ritea, "Lusher middle to move into Fortier High; Charter school preps for January growth," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, November 3, 2005, p. B-1.

  32. College of Education, University of New Orleans, http://ed.uno.edu/edPages/deanMessage.php, accessed 03/24/06.

  33. Louisiana Approved Teacher Preparation Program Providers, http://www.teachlouisiana.net/recruitment/ApprovedPrograms.asp, accessed 02/10/06.  See also: Suzanne Johnson, "Schools of Thought," Tulane University Magazine - News, Summer, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6746, accessed 11/22/06.

  34. "Tulane University to Launch New Charter School" [Press Release], Tulane University, October 5, 2005, http://www.tulane.edu/pressreleases/100505lusher.html, accessed 12/08/05.

  35. Tabitha Edgens, "Tulane, Lusher to launch charter school, Tulane Hullabaloo, October 30, 2005, http://www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 11/04/05.

  36. Steve Ritea, "State gets grant for charter schools; state hopes to use money for repairs," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 6, 2005, p. B-6.

  37. Kate Schafer, "Tulane announces drastic changes to university," Tulane Hullabaloo, December 11, 2005, http://www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 12/13/05.

  38. John Pope, "Tulane's president rode out the storm on the floor of the rec center, then went to work: How to reinvent a major university in a post-Katrina world?" The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 13, 2005, p. A-1.

  39. Tulane University, "Tulane University — A Plan for Renewal," December 22, 2005, http://renewal.tulane.edu/renewalplan.pdf, accessed 01/12/06.

  40. John Pope, "Tulane lays off 200 more workers; Faculty members are spared this time," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 13, 2006, p. B-1.

  41. David Epstein, "Professors Left Behind by 'Bold Renewal'," Inside Higher Ed, December 12, 2005 (http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/12/12/tulane), accessed 12/26/05.  See also: David Epstein, "Did Katrina Blow Away Layoff Guidelines?," Inside Higher Ed, February 1, 2006 (http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/02/01/tulane), accessed 02/20/06.

  42. Steve Ritea, "Board reaffirms school firings; 7,500 employees set to lose their positions," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 16, 2006, p. B-1.

  43. Steve Ritea, "Teachers union loses its force in storm's wake; When state took over schools, collective bargaining diminished," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 6, 2006, p. A-1.

  44. Teach For America, http://www.teachforamerica.org, accessed 02/27/06.  See also: Justin Pope, "Teach for America surging in popularity," The Associated Press, June 18, 2006.  See also: Darran Simon, "Teach for America to double numbers; Influx of new teachers will be coming to N.O.," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 14, 2008, Metro, p. 3.

  45. "National Board of Directors," Teach For America, http://www.teachforamerica.org/board.html, accessed 02/27/06.

  46. "Fran Simon, "Tulanians Teach for America," Tulane University Magazine - News, February 28, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6960, accessed 11/28/06.  See also: Elizabeth Giegerich, "Tulane trains teachers; Teach For America recruiting on campus," Tulane Hullabaloo [Archives], November 17, 2006, http://media.www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 01/16/07.

  47. Sarah Carr, "Schwarz teachers were determined despite challenges," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 28, 2009, National, p. 1.

  48. Suzanne Johnson, "Schools of Thought," Tulane University Magazine - News, Summer, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6746, accessed 11/22/06.

  49. Michael Strecker, "Tulane President Receives Prestigious Honor," Tulane University Magazine - News, February 28, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6963, accessed 11/28/06.  The honor was repeated with an honorary degree from the Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, June 7, 2009.  See: "Honory Degree," Tulane University, NewWave, June 2, 2009, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/newssplash_0609.cfm, accessed 06/08/09.

  50. Steve Ritea, "Teacher shortage looms in N.O.; 11 schools to reopen for next semester," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 2, 2006, p. B-1.

  51. Lusher Charter School Registration Form http://pandora.tcs.tulane.edu/lusher/index.cfm?/group=2, accessed 03/14/06.  See also: Pam Radtke Russell, "Recruiting after Katrina 'exasperating;'  Persuading people to take jobs in New Orleans post-Katrina proves a difficult task for recruiters," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, April 23, 2006, Money, p. 1.

  52. Steve Ritea, "Lawsuit precedes news of school openings; 13 children denied spots, attorney says," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 31, 2006, p. B-1.

  53. Sam Winston, "A Headstart for Kids; Local colleges and universities get into the act of K-12 education reform in New Orleans," Gambit Weekly, New Orleans, August 15, 2006, http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2006-08-15/news_feat.php, accessed 07/10/07.

  54. Mary Ann Travis, "Lusher Opens in Partnership With Tulane," Tulane University Magazine - News, February 1, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6222, accessed 02/03/06.

  55. John Schmid, "Corporate catalyst for stricken cities; Johnson Controls has a blueprint to revive urban centers across the country while expanding its business" [First of two parts], Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 7, 2006, http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=383530, accessed 03/14/06.

  56. Gordon Russell and Frank Donze, "4 indicted in probe of Morial-era deal; Contract used to steal cash, Letten says," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 17, 2005, p. A-1.  See also: "A disturbing picture" [Editorial], The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 19, 2005, p. B-6.  See also: Michelle Krupa, "Haydel gets 2 years in RTA rip-off; Letten keeping the heat on Morial associates," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 7, 2006, p. B-1.

  57. Gordon Russell, "Graft inquiry nets 6th guilty plea; Defendant accused of pocketing kickbacks," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 26, 2006, p. A-1.  See also: Gordon Russell, "Morial casts shadow in pals' trial; Feds try to minimize mention of ex-mayor," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, January 7, 2007, p. A-1.

  58. John Schmid, "Taking an offbeat approach; Johnson Controls has high hopes for a jazz-meets-jobs training center in New Orleans" [Second of two parts], Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 8, 2006, http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=383656, accessed 03/14/06.

  59. Gordon Russell, Frank Donze and Michelle Krupa, "IT'S NAGIN; 'It's time for us to be one New Orleans'," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 21, 2006, p. A-1.  See also: Michelle Krupa, "Broad appeal aided Nagin in the runoff; Higher turnout, white support gave mayor the edge Saturday," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 22, 2006, p. A-1.  See also: Mary Judice and Rebecca Mowbray, "Business leaders angry over Nagin's 'postcard'; They want to see commitment to reviving the N.O. economy," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 23, 2006, p. A-1.

  60. American Federation of Teachers, "NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY: How the New Orleans School Takeover Experiment Devalues Experienced Teachers," (PDF) Washington, DC, June 2007, ref. 38, p. 34, http://www.aft.org/presscenter/releases/downloads/NoExperReport_07.pdf, accessed 06/22/07.  Note: State Superintendent of Education, Paul Pastorek, recognized Lusher as one of the city's most politically-connected schools.  See: Sarah Carr and Darran Simon, "New Orleans schools set for building boom; Nearly $700 million cash already in hand," The Times-Picayune, August 17, 2008, National, p. 1.

  61. Brian Thevenot, "Lusher chief's pay skyrockets after Katrina," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 17, 2009, National, p. 1.  See also: Brian Thevenot, "Principals' pay reaches new heights; N.O. Charters shell out more as school leaders' duties expand," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 17, 2009, National, p. 1.

  62. Kim G. Minor, "'We was robbed!'" [Letter] The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 20, 2009, Metro, p. 4.

  63. Allen Powell II, "New charter schools get help from grant; Top U.S. official visits Belle Chasse school," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 13, 2006, p. B-1.

  64. Steve Ritea, "BESE approves operating plan for N.O. Schools; Takeover draws audience barbs and some official olive branches," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 13, 2006, p. A-1.  See especially: Steve Ritea, "Teachers union contract in jeopardy; School Board refuses 45-day extension," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 15, 2006, p. A-1.

  65. Steve Ritea, "Judge rebuffs school employees; Suit sought to give them dibs on new jobs," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 9, 2006, p. B-1.  See also: Valerie Faciane, "Hearing set for schools lawsuit; N.O. Judge to consider challenge to takeover," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 23, 2006, p. B-1.  See also: Darran Simon, "Campaign to hire teachers launched; Recovery district needs personnel," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 3, 2007, Metro, p. 1.

  66. Sarah Carr, "Recruiting agency accused of extortion; Filipinos say they paid dearly to teach in La." The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 2, 2009, National, p. 1.

  67. Carol J. Schlueter, "Tulane Toasts New Center—With a Twist," Tulane University Magazine - News, December 7, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6985, accessed 12/07/06.  See also: John Pope, "Tulane gains link to public schools; Institute to deliver expertise, resources," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 9, 2006, p. B-1.

  68. John Pope, "Tulane, FEMA team up in tuition deal," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 21, 2006, p. B-1.

  69. "Big Easy Beat," Tulane Hullabaloo, February 16, 2007, http://www.thehullabaloo.com/home/archives/..., accessed 02/23/07.

  70. Naomi Klein, "The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," The Nation magazine, May 2, 2005.  Listen also to Klein's interview, reproduced on Tulanelink in "Old-Line Families Plot the Future."

  71. Fran Simon, "Center for Public Service Up and Running," Tulane University Magazine - News, August 22, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6724, accessed 03/21/07.  See also: Tulane University, "Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Through Higher Education," [Conference Announcement], http://cps.tulane.edu/summit, accessed 03/21/07.  See also: Tulane University, "Center for Public Service," http://cps.tulane.edu, accessed 03/21/07.

  72. Walter Isaacson, "The Greatest Education Lab; How Katrina opened the way for an influx of school reformers," Time Magazine, Vol. 170, No. 12, September 17, 2007, p. 47.

  73. "Judge Authorizes a Class-Action Lawsuit on Behalf of NOPS Employees Fired After Katrina," [Editorial], The Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, December 15, 2008.  See also: New Orleans Public Schools Employees Justice, http://www.nopsejustice.com, accessed 12/16/08.

  74. Bruce Eggler, "Judge rules in favor of fired teachers; Thousands lost jobs after Katrina," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 21, 2012, National, p. 1

  75. City of New Orleans Property Database, http://hi.mayorofno.com/servlet/user/PropertySearch, accessed Sept. 10, 2004.  See also: "Tulane Disease Detectives; Building for the Future," Tulane Medicine, Spring, 1999.  See also: Greg Thomas, "Developer has big plans for reviving building; Office tower may become hotel," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, November 13, 2004, p. C-1.  See also: Greg Thomas, "Canal St. may be on road to rebirth," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, November 14, 2004, p. F-6.  See also: Greg Thomas, "Texaco building hotel no-go; Costly asbestos fix repels developer," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 9, 2005, p. C-1.  See also: Greg Thomas, "Texaco office tower set to change hands; Buyer would own 20% of market," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 24, 2005, p. C-1.

  76. Greg Thomas, "Tulane may buy Krauss building; Conversion to offices, classrooms planned," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 6, 2003, p. C-1.  See also: "Tulane Resumes Shopping; School scraps plan to turn Krauss store into classrooms," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 19, 2004, p. C-1.  See also: Greg Thomas, "Tulane Firms Up Long-Term Lease Deal; University near closing on biggest CBD office space rental in 10 years," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 13, 2004, p. C-1.  See also: Deon Roberts," Two Corporate Realty deals in New Orleans strengthen Class A rates," CityBusiness, New Orleans, March 21, 2005.

  77. Greg Thomas, "Developer examining sites for medical center; Wirth, former Krauss buildings top list for $100 million project," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, October 16, 2001, p. C-1.

  78. Deon Roberts, "Tulane trying to close deal on community center," CityBusiness, New Orleans, June 21, 2004.  See also: Deon Roberts, "City of New Orleans offers affordable home designs for smaller land parcels," CityBusiness, New Orleans, June 14, 2004. [One Tulane School of Architecture professor, Eugene Eean McNaughton, who owns an architectural firm that will be paid for the work, assigned his advanced students to design special homes for the narrow sites.]

  79. Ronette King, "Tulane taking over OB/GYN at Lakeside," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 11, 2004, p. C-1.  See also: Mary Judice, "Tulane, Lakeside merger complete; University to move women's care to site," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 2, 2005, p. C-1.  See also: "Signs of Health," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 12, 2005, p. C-1.  See also: Martin Covert: "Ad Reporter; Tulane-Lakeside," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 14, 2005, p. B-2.

  80. John Pope, "Tulane, Ochsner focus on Veterans," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 5, 1994, p. C-1.  See also: http://www.mcl.tulane.edu/cancer/links.tulane.html and http://www.tuhc.com/Map.asp, accessed August 16, 2004.  Note also that since 2000, Tulane has affiliated itself with oncology clinics in five other Louisiana cities and in Pensacola, Florida for the purpose of participating in clinical trials funded by the National Cancer Instutute.  See: http://hometowntour.tulane.edu/2000/alexandria.shtml, accessed 08/04/06; and http://www.som.tulane.edu/cancer/acction.html, accessed 08/04/06.  Note: In 2008, Tulane opened a new clinic in New Orleans East with a $1.4 million grant from the Qatar Katrina Fund administered by Sheikh Nassar Bin Hamad M. Al-Khalifa.  See: Jennifer Evans, "Eastern New Orleans gets new adult clinic; Tulane site to help fill health care gap," The Times-Picayune, August 18, 2008, Metro, p. 1.   See also: Arthur Nead, "Tulane Expands Community Health Care," Tulane University NewWave, August 20, 2008, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/082008_noeast_clinic.cfm, accessed 08/20/08.

  81. Bruce Eggler, "St. Thomas design deal in works; Second phase will include 3 complexes," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, February 11, 2004, p. B-1.  See also: Historic Restoration, Inc. ("The HRI Group") http://www.hrihci.com/index.html, accessed 6/3/04.

  82. Ana Gershanik, "Tulane opens global health center," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 16, 2004, p. 6A1.

  83. Greg Thomas, "Condominiums planned for abandoned hospital; Home values are increasing in Irish Channel," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 19, 2006, p. C-1.

  84. Bill Quigley, "Robin Hood in Reverse: Corporate and Government Looting of the Gulf Coast," The Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, November 20, 2006, http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20061120e, accessed 11/20/06.

  85. Greg Thomas, "Developer's bid lands ex-casino site; Convention Center; Tulane wanted it too," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, August 4, 2004, p. C-1.

  86. Bruce Alpert and Bill Walsh, "On the Hill: News from the Louisiana delegation in the nation's capital" ... "Still chugging along," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 24, 2005, p. A-5.

  87. "Lawyer tapped to lead Tulane's water resources law institute; Focus will be on post-storm changes," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, November 14, 2006, p. B-8.

  88. Katy Reckdahl, "Sustaining N.O.; Lusher Charter High students find out how to do the job," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, September 22, 2007, Metro, p. 1.  See also: Carol J. Schlueter, "Studio Welcomes Visitors to the Woods," NewWave, Tulane University, October 12, 2007, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/101207_woods.cfm, accessed 10/12/07.

  89. "NEW ORLEANS REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 10, 2005, Inside Out, p. 21.  Note that broker, Mariposa Condominiums LLC, netted at least $3 million in that transaction.  See also: "Tulane buys apartments; Complex to house grad students," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 7, 2005, Money, p. 1.

  90. "New Orleans apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist," Craigslist, http://neworleans.craigslist.org/apa/, accessed 07/12/07.

  91. "Arrive! Residence Halls: Graduate Housing Programs," Tulane University, http://housing.tulane.edu/arrive/opt_grad.html, accessed 07/10/07.

  92. Andrew Mateskon, "Halt new policies," [Letter], Tulane Hullabaloo, September 28, 2007, http://media.www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 09/28/07.  For complaint over rules that discourage living in fraternity houses, see: "Office of Student Affairs out of touch," [Editorial], Tulane Hullabaloo, October 5, 2007, http://www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 10/08/07.

  93. Jeff Silberman, "The tyrants among us: HRL's grave injustices," [Views], Tulane Hullabaloo, October 3, 2008, http://www.thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 10/03//08.

  94. Mike Strecker, "Murphy Oil Corporation Donates Downtown Building to Tulane University," Tulane University [News Release], December 14, 2007, http://tulane.edu/news/releases/121407_murphy.cfm, accessed 12/14/07.  See also: John Pope, "Murphy Oil donates CBD building to Tulane; With reduced staff, the gift made sense," The Times-Picayune, December 16, 2007, Money, p. 1.

  95. "Original Ruth's Chris to Serve Up Health Care," Tulane University NewWave, July 10, 2009, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/071009_ruths_chris.cfm, accessed 07/10/09.  See also: Amber Sandoval-Griffin, "Location to feature flu shots, not filets; Steakhouse building to become clinic," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, July 11, 2009, National, p. 1.
H.  Interstate Commerce and Foreign Development

According to the constitutional amendment of 1884, Act 43, Section 6, Tulane administrators are obligated to develop the University of Louisiana within the city of New Orleans and for benefit of Louisiana residents.

". . . [T]he said Administrators hereby agree and bind themselves . . . to develop, foster and maintain, to best of their ability and judgment, the University of Louisiana, hereafter to be known as the "Tulane University of Louisiana," and upon the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment aforesaid, to perpetually use the powers conferred by this act, and all power vested in them, for the purpose of creating and maintaining in the city of New Orleans a great University, devoted to the . . . advancement of the youth of this State . . ." [114]. (From Sec. 6. Bold emphasis added.)

In a flagrant breach of these requirements, Louisiana residents now comprise only 15% of Tulane's student body (down from 65% in 1950) [115], and instead of devoting its full attention to Louisiana, Tulane aggressively pursues educational and commercial ventures in other states and countries.

On August 28, 2002, classes began for 200 students at Tulane's newest campus location in Biloxi, Mississippi to teach gambling-related courses [116,117]. This venture, with a startup cost of about $500,000 [118,119] has grown rapidly, and in 2003 Tulane hired one of the co-founders of Grand Casino to teach a casino management course. Places for this class were essentially filled as soon as registration opened [120]. Tulane's offerings in Mississippi have been so successful, that Tulane plans to expand operations there by offering bachelor's degree programs to graduates of a local two-year community college [121].

Tulane has also established business teaching partnerships in Taiwan, China, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru [122], and in 2002 it opened yet another instructional campus in Houston, Texas [123].  The Houston campus has been so successful that by 2004 there were 100 students in its business administration program, and Tulane announced plans to offer master's degrees in engineering [124].

Especially noteworthy is Tulane's outreach to China. The US/China Institute of Tulane University intends to introduce US technology, equipment, management practice and regulations applicable to the natural gas industry of Mainland China, where a major pipeline to deliver gas from west China to its eastern coast is scheduled for completion in 2003 [125]. Tulane's long range goal in China appears to be as a major broker in the development of China's potentially vast market for energy resources in partnership with leading energy industrialists [126].

Tulane has also sought and been awarded architectural contracts for city planning projects in China [127].

Such projects, while profitable for those who created them, are of questionable value to the state or to the defined purposes of Act 43. Louisiana lawmakers must consider whether tax dollars should continue to be diverted from programs in public education to help support the national and international business ambitions of Tulane University, which the preamble to Act 43 appears to expressly forbid [114].

". . . Under the terms of this action, as proposed by said [Tulane] Board, the property of said Board, and the revenues thereof, will not be used for the purpose of private or corporate income or profit, but will be exclusively dedicated to school purposes, and to the service of the State in maintaining and developing the University of Louisiana, an institution recognized in the Constitution, therefore entitling the said property of said Board to exemption from all taxation, both State, parochial and municipal; . . ." [114]. (From the preamble. Bold emphasis added.)
  1. Act No. 43: Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, effective May 10, 1884.

  2. Josh Peter, "Away game," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 15, 2003, p. A-1.

  3. Martin Covert, "More Tulane," The Times-Picayune, Sept. 1, 2002, p. B-2.

  4. "Classes start at Tulane," The Sun Herald, Biloxi, MS (Posted Aug. 28, 2002), http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/3956951.htm, accessed Oct. 6, 2002.

  5. Lynn Rice, "Crossing state lines," Tulane Hullabaloo, Vol. 92, No. 8, 2001, http://hullabaloo.tulane.org/index.php/20011019/news/300/, accessed Oct. 10, 2002.

  6. Coleman Warner, "Tulane gets OK for Gulf Coast branch; Casino courses among offerings," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Jan. 19, 2002, p. B-1.

  7. "Tulane Casino Course In High Demand on Gulf Coast; All But 3 Slots Filled By Registration Date," TheNewOrleansChannel.com, April 4, 2003.

  8. Theo Lutz, "Community college credits applicable to Tulane degree," Tulane Hullabaloo, Feb. 7, 2003.

  9. "Tulane University," BusinessWeek Online, International Programs (http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/exec_ed/99execmba66.htm), accessed Oct. 22, 2002.  See also: http://www.freeman.tulane.edu/emba/welcome.htm, accessed June 21, 2003.  See also: James Varney, "Tulane decides degree no stamp of approval," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Aug. 1, 2004, p. A-8.  See also: Student Handbook (www.sph.tulane.edu/sphtm_handbook.pdf).  See also: Ana Gershanik, "Peruvian hospital teams with Tulane," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Dec. 9, 2004, p. 8A1.

  10. Houston Executive MBA Program, http://www.freeman.tulane.edu/emba/Houston/Houston.htm, accessed June 21, 2003.

  11. Stewart Yerton, "Houston or Bust?  Houston is drawing energy interests like a magnet, inevitably draining places like New Orleans of talent and energy jobs.  Even Tulane University has moved a program westward." The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, May 30, 2004, p. F-1.

  12. Office of Fossil Energy, United States Department of Energy, Grant No. 75-02SW52061.

  13. US/CHINA Energy & Environmental Technology Center, "CHINA EETC Annual Report," http://www.tulane.edu/~uschina/EETC3/report/report1.html, accessed Oct. 22, 2002.

  14. Coleman Warner, "Profesor aids China in design of cities; Foreign mayors hear N.O. land-use lessons," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Nov. 25, 2003, p. B-1.  See also: Coleman Warner, "Higher Education Notes" ... "Tulane professor, aids give Chinese city new blueprint," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2004, p. B-1.  See also: Coleman Warner, "Chinese team studies local planning; Tulane experts teach lessons on land use," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 28, 2004, p. B-1.  See also: Coleman Warner, "Higher Education Notes" ... "Chinese mayors visit Tulane," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Aug. 13, 2005, p. B-1.
I.  The Question of Legality

An imperative that legislators must consider is whether the public support of Tulane is altogether legal. The Attorney General's Office has stated unambiguously that it is illegal for public funds to be used for a private purpose [128]. While Attorney General Opinion 03-0111 of March 17, 2003 was in reference to the Ogden Museum and UNO Foundation — both private institutions — that opinion and the law upon which it is based clearly applies to other private institutions, including Tulane University.

"First, any expenditures of funds for the purpose of salaries to the private corporation known as Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Inc. or the UNO Foundation is prohibited. See Attorney General Opinion 93-164. It is the opinion of our office that public funds can only be used for ordinary operating expenses of maintaining the public building, not the salaries, benefits or other emoluments to employees of the non-profit corporation. The "Museum" is not a political subdivision of either the state or a part of LSU. It has no special authorization by statute to operate and is not a creature of local governmental authority. Therefore, any expenditures of public funds towards the salaries, benefits or other compensation of private employees are prohibited under Article VII, Section 14. ". . . Moreover, ". . . what is prohibited directly cannot be accomplished indirectly." [128] (Bold emphasis added)
  1. Louisiana Department of Justice, Attorney General Opinion 03-0111, March 17, 2003, p. 13.
J.  Conclusion

According to the constitutional amendment of 1884, Act 43, Section 2, the state has the authority to revoke the franchise that placed control of the University of Louisiana into the hands of the Administrators of the Tulane Education[al] Fund in the event that the Administrators failed to comply with the provisions outlined in that instrument. The dismal failure of Tulane to adhere to the purposes of that act, combined with the above-outlined train of abuses of the powers entrusted to it by that act, begs for the return of the Tulane University of Louisiana to state control.

". . . [I]f the "Tulane University of Louisiana," as herein established, should cease to use the property, and exercise the privileges, franchises and immunities, now under the control and administration of, and enjoyed by the University of Louisiana, as now constituted and transferred by this Act, for the exclusive purposes intended by this Act, then and in that event the State of Louisiana shall have the right to resume the custody, control and administration of said property, and the exercise of said privileges, franchises and immunities." [114]. (From Sec. 2. Bold emphasis added.)

In conclusion, the state of Louisiana can no longer justify subsidizing the operation of Tulane University as a private corporation with tax concessions and direct grants, particularly as only 15% of Tulane's student population is composed of Louisiana residents. Tulane has neglected to meet its various obligations as set forth in the legislative act that transferred control of the University of Louisiana to the Tulane Board, and it has demonstrated through commercial activities outside of Louisiana a lack of fiscal responsibility to utilize funds granted it by the state for the primary benefit of Louisiana citizens. Moreover, public support of the salaries and benefits of private employees in institutions such as Tulane has been declared illegal.

As required by the terms stipulated in Act 43 of the constitutional amendment of 1884, control of Tulane University of Louisiana must be returned to the state to be administered by and for the benefit of the citizens of Louisiana.

Carl Bernofsky
July 10, 2003
revised: June 25, 2012
 
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