The Business of Partnerships

Tulane and Xavier University formed a partnership about ten years ago that has grown in importance for both of those institutions. Xavier has the particular distinction of sending more African Americans to medical school than any other historically black college in the country. Tulane and Xavier recognized a lot of commonalties and forged some joint partnerships, one of which is a center for biological and environmental research. Because New Orleans' major industries are oil, gas, and petrochemicals, we also feel we have an obligation to make sure that we are cognizant of the environment and conducting research in a responsible way.

Another Tulane and Xavier partnership, called the Urban Center, will make those universities more prominent players in our urban community. Because we are a part of the community, we need to support it beyond financial backing brought in by students' tuition dollars. We need to actually forge alliances with the community. What started off as an urban initiative between Tulane and Xavier has now become an actual center that is starting to work with the New Orleans housing authority. The Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC, was not happy with the progress New Orleans was making with its housing authority -- HANO. One of our faculty members stepped up to the plate and said, "I think we can make a difference." The faculty member has since selected a couple of target projects and worked with the residents in public housing through entrepreneurship classes and tutoring programs. Teen pregnancy and the transmission of various diseases are major concerns as well, allowing collaboration with Tulane's. School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, School of Social Work, and Center for Bio-environmental Research.

[Bob Gayle]
New Orleans is very targeted and systematic in its approach to attracting new businesses. The retention and expansion of existing business is very important. You've got to pay attention to existing business. Opportunities such as the Naval Information Technology Center come along very rarely, so we must take advantage of existing industries and try to grow them. We still have oil and gas here, and we must continue to look after and expand those industries.

New Orleans suffered at the hands of the mid-'80s' oil bust. During the 1960s and '70s, people insisted that New Orleans didn't need to diversify because oil was gold. But after the oil bust, many workers lost their jobs and the economy suffered greatly. Today, New Orleanians better understand the need to diversify. To be competitive the city has to revitalize its infrastructure and work together. This community has taken awhile to implement some strategies because they've had it good for so long.

Return to Reinventing New Orleans