University Jobs Lure Graduates

From fields as diverse as environmental health sciences to fine arts and finance, some members of the graduating class of 2008 are moving from Tulane's classrooms to employment at the university.

Melissa Owsiany of Chapel Hill, N.C., is one of several May graduates hired for full-time positions following graduation.

Owsiany earned a master of science in public health in environmental toxicology and risk assessment. She now works with the Tulane Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) program administered by the environmental health sciences department in the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

"I've been working with the program for the past two semesters as a research assistant, and I hope to one day become the HEAL coordinator," says Owsiany. "I'm currently responsible for data management where I make sure that all the clinical tests done are recorded in the system."

The HEAL program studies the effects of mold and other indoor allergens on children with asthma in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Environmental health sciences professor LuAnn White hired Owsiany. White says, "Our students represent a highly capable workforce and provide the expertise we cannot find elsewhere in the city in our post-Katrina world.

"Melissa has been an asset to HEAL from the first day she joined the project. She immediately grasps research issues, is meticulous in managing the data issue and is diligent in her work."

Megan Hillerud of Edmondton, Alberta, Canada, a master of fine arts degree recipient, will begin teaching classes as an adjunct professor in the Newcomb Art Department in the fall. She will teach the foundations of art course that focuses on glass blowing and glass sculpting.

"I hadn't taught before I became a graduate student," says Hillerud, who explains that teaching a course is part of the graduate program requirements. "I sincerely enjoy teaching, and if I can continue working on my own art and teach at the same time, I could probably do this for the next 20 years."

Adam Solan, a Bronx, N.Y., native who received his bachelor's degree in finance and economics, is working as an investment research analyst in Tulane's new investment office in Norwalk, Conn.

Solan says he found out about the position when it was posted on the job board of the A. B. Freeman School of Business.

"I really value my Tulane education and I always thought about what I would do after graduation to stay linked to the university," says Solan. "I knew I would always stay connected as a career mentor at Tulane, but this opportunity allows me to be better connected in a more intricate way at the university."

Solan will work under the supervision of Tulane's chief investment officer, Jeremy Crigler.