Tulane President Mike Fitts takes the opportunity to “let our world-class faculty and staff know where we are succeeding, where we are improving and how we are building the future together.”

Fitts presents Avian "Mr. Dependable" Washington with a Tulane Spirit Award.

The crowd is treated to music by the Free Agents Brass Band.

Faculty and staff stream into the Lavin-Bernick Center for a reception.

A member of the Free Agents Brass Band keeps things lively.

Lisa O'Dwyer, left, and Theresa Smith enjoy the taco bar during the reception.

Tulane event planner Caroline Keyes accepts her door prize —a 3-month membership to the Reily Center.

Tulane study: combined antibiotics more effective against Lyme disease

Tulane receives $5 million in scholarship support

New study has found a way to stop key lung cancer protein

Cowen Institute awarded grant to create the New Orleans College & Career Attainment Network

Study: Wetlands offer greater cumulative benefit for flood control

Temporary buildings that will facilitate in-person learning and dining are constructed on Berger Family Lawn near the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life and The Commons.

Some of the buildings are still under construction; when complete, they will be climate-controlled and ADA accessible.

Temporary classroom buildings have been built on Monroe Quad, with Monroe Hall in the background.

A temporary building goes up near Weinmann Hall.

Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are already in practice on campus.

In Norman Mayer Memorial Hall, a document camera is part of the classroom technology setup.

A classroom in Norman Mayer displays some of its technology enhancements.

An overhead mic will capture classroom discussions for remote students.

Desks in the School of Social Work are placed at intervals to observe physical distancing.

At the School of Social Work, staff arrange decals for desk placement. From left: Amber Beezley (University Planning), Kelly Venable Carroll (Campus Services) and Meredith Beers (Emergency Preparedness).

Decals on chairs in McAlister Auditorium show students where to sit.

A technology team installs wiring in a classroom in Goldring-Woldenberg Business Complex.

Staff outfit Qatar Ballroom in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life with space for desks and chairs. From left: Kevin Morgan (University Planning), Kelly Venable Carroll (Campus Services), Kate Simon (Campus Services), and Amber Beezley (University Planning).

Kendall Cram Lecture Hall in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life is being repurposed for classroom space.

Elevators display guidelines for occupancy.

Classrooms will observe entrance/exit protocols as well as maximum occupancy.

Plexiglass barriers have been placed in study areas in the Latin American Library. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Tables and chairs are spaced out and signs are placed throughout the library to promote social distancing. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Decals have been placed on furniture to show where students cannot sit. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Water bottle filling stations and water fountains have been taped off. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Plexiglass protective barriers have been installed in many study areas in the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library and other campus libraries. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Before students arrive, Tulane accessories, including a second-line umbrella, are placed on the bleachers of the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Socially distanced and wearing masks, students wait for the ceremony to begin. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Chloe Chace from London checks her phone before silencing it at the start of the event. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

A performance of the alma mater by the Tulane Chorus accompanied by the Tulane University Marching Band welcomes students at the start of the virtual celebration. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Larger-than-life video versions of Newcomb-Tulane College Dean Lee Skinner, Provost Robin Forman, Tulane President Michael Fitts and Vice President of Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission Satyajit Dattagupta are introduced to the Class of 2024. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Through video and photography of campus life, the celebration highlights various opportunities awaiting the new Tulanians. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

With second-line umbrellas bouncing, New Student Orientation Leaders (aka Wave Leaders) set the tone for the semester ahead as the ceremony concludes. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

To date, Only the Audacious has engaged more than 60,200 alumni and raised more than $125 million in scholarship funding to help make a Tulane education more accessible to qualified students regardless of their economic background.

Almost a quarter of all funds raised so far — more than $322.5 million — support cutting-edge research to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges in infectious diseases, cancer diagnostics, climate change science, data analytics, health disparities and much more.

The campaign has funded 9 of 10 Presidential Chairs to attract some of the world’s most renowned faculty members in biomedicine, coastal restoration, health equity, nanotechnology and emerging fields of discovery. Pictured at right, Tony Hu, PhD, Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation.

Building The Commons, a $55 million state-of-the-art dining facility in the heart of the uptown campus that is also a central meeting, studying and gathering place for students and the unified home of the Newcomb Institute.

Construction of the $73 million Yulman Stadium, which brought Green Wave football back home to campus for the first time in decades. 

Construction of Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex, a $35 million project to unite the A.B. Freeman School of Business’s two buildings with more than 80,000 square feet of new or renovated space.

Founding Mussafer Hall, an undergraduate center for career programming, academic advising and success coaching.