ROTC and the Military

The Battalion Headquarters of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps is located at Tulane University and serves student enlistees from ten area schools and universities [1].  Tulane is also home to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and its local affiliates [2]. 

In 2004, Tulane's ROTC scholarship program was $1.6 million — second only to Notre Dame's [3].

In 2006, Tulane recruited retired Navy captain, Keith Amacker, to develop a new degree program in homeland security [4].  It also entered into a partnership agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to find more effective ways for dealing with natural disasters [5].  The relationship will include scholarships to FEMA employees in the form of "tuition discounts," a strategy that has served Tulane well with Louisiana politicians [6].

Tulane's relationship with FEMA dates back to at least 2000, when it received a grant from that agency to determine whether its four residence halls — then designated as shelters — could withstand a category 4 storm [7].  In 2009, Tulane announced that it will receive about $95 million from FEMA in supplementary assistance for its rebuilding program [8].

In 2007, Tulane's Naval ROTC Unit hosted its 35th annual Mardi Gras Drill Meet, the country's largest collegiate military drill competition, with ROTC units from 38 universities participating on Tulane's campus [9].  The unit has operated continuously since its inception in 1943 [10].

Endnotes
  1. For an excellent historical perspective of Tulane's involvement with the armed services and the campus unrest issues of 1969, see: Clarence L. Mohr and Joseph E. Gordon, Tulane: The Emergence of a Modern University, 1945-1980, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 2001, especially Chapter 6, Section III, pp. 361-390.

  2. In 2009, Tulane sponsored a Homeland Security Workshop on its Mississippi Gulf Coast campus in Biloxi [11].  Subsequently, Tulane announced a new program to provide master's degrees in homeland security on its New Orleans campus [12].  The program is part of a new Disaster Management Leadership Academy, backed by a $2.1 million federal grant and headquartered in Tulane's Payson Center for International Development.  Keith Amacker is director of the homeland security studies program [12].
References
  1. "Army ROTC at Loyola University," http://www.loyno.edu/armyrotc/index.htm, accessed July 31, 2004.

  2. "Tulane Naval ROTC," http://www.tulane.edu/~nrotc/, accessed July 19, 2004.

  3. Ashley Lord, "Tulane employee [Sherry Riedlinger] receives highest civilian award," Tulane Hullabaloo, Vol. 20, No. 18, February 20, 2004.

  4. John Pope, "Homeland security program proposed; Naval offer plans program at Tulane," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 26, 2006, p. B-1.  See also: Fran Simon, "Program Targets Terrorism, Disaster Management," Tulane University Magazine - News, February 2, 2007, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7097, accessed 02/02/07.

  5. Michael Strecker, "Tulane University and FEMA Announce Partnership," Tulane University Magazine - News, December 19, 2006, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7012, accessed 12/19/06.  See also: John Pope, "Tulane, FEMA team up in tuition deal," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, December 21, 2006, p. B-1.

  6. See: Tulanelink, "Southern Hospitality, Tulane Style."

  7. Nick Marinello, "FEMA funds a disaster-resistant Tulane," Tulane University Magazine - News, November 1, 2000, http://www2.tulane.edu/EditorialNewsDetails.cfm?EditorialID=463, accessed 07/15/07.

  8. "Tulane receives FEMA windfall; Nearly $33 million to pay for storm fixes," The Times-Picayune, July 22, 2009, Metro, p. 1.  Note: Tulane received $16 million for 'long-term mitigation measures' to Howard Tilton Memorial Library.  See: Casey Rasch, "FEMA grants money," Tulane Hullabaloo, September 11, 2009, http://thehullabaloo.com/..., accessed 09/14/09.

  9. Fran Simon, "Marching at the Mardi Gras Meet," Tulane University Magazine - News, February 21, 2007, http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7138, accessed 02/21/07.

  10. Fran Simon, "Alumni Reconnect with Tulane and New Orleans," Tulane University NewWave, October 30, 2007, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/103007_alumni.cfm, accessed 10/30/07.

  11. "Business Calendar; Workshop," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, March 1, 2009, Money, p. 99.

  12. John Pope, "Tulane will offer degree in disaster; Policy experts will help shape program," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 22, 2009, Metro, p. 1.   See also: "Degree in Disaster," [Editorial] The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, June 23, 2009, Metro, p. 4.  See also: Alicia Duplessis Jasmin, "Homeland Security Hits Master's Level," Tulane University NewWave, July 15, 2009, http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/071509_homeland_security.cfm, accessed 07/15/09.