Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine: The Collaboration Issue, Summer 2022

Message from the Editors

Our seventh issue of the Tulane School of Liberal Arts Magazine was an exhilarating challenge. From shifts within our editorial team to the ongoing production and supply chain disruptions caused by Hurricane Ida, then the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid-19, much of this past school year has been unpredictable. So when it came time to develop this issue, we knew it would be an issue like no other. But we also felt excitement knowing it was an opportunity to take advantage, both critically and creatively.

From the student perspective, the best way to define collaboration might be to frame it as the process of two or more individuals working together towards the completion of a task, like the oft-referenced, even notorious, group project. But for our purposes, a more appropriate definition would be two or more people or organizations working together to achieve shared goals. And while we did become resourceful and imaginative in our collaborative efforts to execute this publication, the more meaningful inspiration behind the theme of this issue is in the partnerships our stories explore within its pages.

This magazine spotlights recent and exciting work happening as a result of our passionate, innovative leaders—in their classrooms and in their fields—seeking ever-evolving ways to engage and challenge their students. Our contributors and interviewees range in background from members of our school’s leadership team to professors, researchers and students at every level, to community artists, small business owners and distinguished alumni. And our perpetual focus on the crucial duality of a global liberal arts with a service-oriented education in the city of New Orleans is reflected in the stories on every page.

From the co-teaching across disciplines to the cross-campus connections between our economics faculty and the School of Public Health and the city- and region-spanning partnerships coming out of numerous departments, these articles illuminate how our students are learning: to analyze critically, communicate effectively, strategize accordingly and execute collaboratively. Together, they work towards meaningful, diverse outcomes in their time at Tulane. Together, we work to guide and equip these students for whatever comes next. Together, this knitting of pursuits, voices and perspectives is
The Collaboration Issue.

— J.A.