Pillars of Distinction
Our goal at the School of Liberal Arts is to foster and promote innovative scholarship, creative inquiry and transformative research. We believe that a holistic education founded on dynamic relationships between students and faculty is essential to generating new ways of learning and working together. As we embrace our potential to lead conversations that matter, we've identified four distinctive pillars that characterize our identity and will inform our continued growth and next stage of excellence.
A Global Liberal Arts — Being in a major port city with global cultural recognition has its advantages: we have our eyes on the world from our home in New Orleans. We strive to build and expand on a global liberal arts curriculum and faculty. Our location underlies our great potential, and as we elevate our global studies programs, enhance language education and study abroad options, and establish partnerships with international educational and arts institutions, the School of Liberal Arts explores and capitalizes on its complex framework where local and global interact.
An R1 Research University with a Liberal Arts College Approach — We champion our unique setting as a liberal arts college within an R1 research university. Our faculty is causing conversations through groundbreaking interdisciplinary research, while supporting students in the classroom and in independent research of their own. We will build upon this duality in material ways, by increasing support for liberal arts research, linking faculty positions to strategies for leadership, recruiting and retaining top researchers, and developing new and dynamic undergraduate curricula and distinctive graduate programs.
Our Location in New Orleans and the Gulf South — A proud, rich relationship with the community informs our distinctive academic strengths. Tulane University's roots in the region have run deep since its founding in 1834, and been strengthened by our sustained encouragement of student engagement with the city and surrounding areas. As we forge ahead in this partnership, we will chart the next level of service-learning and collaboration and advance our relevant disciplines, including Environmental Studies, Creative Industries, Public Policy, Urban Studies and Social Policy & Practice.
Educating Next Generation Leaders for Careers of the Future — Crafting a liberal arts education that serves the next generation and prepares them for the careers of the future is at the heart of our work. We’re proving the value of degrees in the humanities, social sciences and fine & performing arts on virtually every industry and movement, from inspiring different ways of thinking in STEM to informing how to confront social justice issues. At the same time, the Tulane School of Liberal Arts is reimagining the future of college admissions to be a more equitable, innovative process that welcomes fresh perspectives and explores new areas of study.