1951-The Tulane Story (Video)

Transcript

[film noise, scratches]
[orchestral music]
- [Narrator] This is the story of a university,
the only privately endowed, non-denominational institution
with a full university program in a vast Southern area.
The Tulane story is one of free enterprise in higher education.
The same type of free enterprise that permitted
Paul Tulane, for whom the university is named,
to become one of the wealthiest
merchants of New Orleans in the 19th century.
But the story began long before these buildings
were constructed,
and even before Paul Tulane amassed his fortune.
It goes back to 1834, when New Orleans was a city
scourged by such diseases as cholera and yellow fever.
To combat these pestilences, seven young doctors in that year
organized the Medical College of Louisiana.
Later, this college expanded to become
the University of Louisiana,
offering studies in law, commerce, and engineering,
filling the demand in New Orleans
for trained men in business and the professions.
In 1882,
Paul Tulane contributed more than a million dollars.
The sum, worth several times as much then as it is today,
to establish an institution of higher learning for young men.
The self-perpetuating Board of Administrators was appointed
for the fund.
This board received control
of the property of the University of Louisiana.
Thus, Tulane University came into being.
Situated in a beautiful residential
section of New Orleans, some 85 buildings
stand on a campus of more than 100 acres.
All students are taught here except those in the junior,
senior, and postgraduate classes of the School of Medicine.
These are instructed in the Hutchinson Memorial Building
in the downtown section of the city.
♪♪
In the beginning,
this institution was created to educate young men.
But what of the education of young women?
That was a much debated subject in the late 1800s.
Mrs. Josephine Louise Newcomb provided an answer.
In 1886, she donated $100,000 for creation
of a woman's college to be named in honor of
her late daughter, Harriet Sophie Newcomb.
This gift was supplemented at Mrs. Newcomb’s death
by a final request of $2,700,000.
The original Newcomb College was situated several miles
from the present Tulane campus.
But in 1918,
the Tulane grounds were enlarged by the purchase
of additional land
and the college was moved to its present location.
The erection of these buildings was then begun,
and a unique educational pattern was established.
Newcomb became a coordinate college of Tulane,
the first such undertaking in the history of higher education.
Under this organization, Newcomb shares university facilities.
Yet, advantages of a separate women's college exist
since Newcomb retains its individuality
through separate buildings and campus
within the university grounds.
This type of organization was to be followed
in later years by Radcliffe, Barnard, and Pembroke.
Today, young women may study music, the fine arts,
languages, and other liberal arts courses at Newcomb.
But yet,
if they wish to specialize in fields not available at Newcomb,
they may study in one of the many professional courses
offered by other colleges of the University.
♪♪
Fourteen students attended the first medical lectures
back in the 1830s.
Today, Tulane's 13 colleges and divisions
provide study and research for 7000 students.
♪♪
Students may register for study in one of many fields
that provide
the training necessary to serve contemporary society.
Basis for this study is a Liberal Arts Program,
foundation of a Tulane education for many decades.
The College of Arts and Sciences for men and Newcomb College
for women, prepares students to fulfill
the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
They also give the broad foundation needed and required
for professional study and specialization.
Philosophy and the other humanities...
music and the fine arts stimulate the senses,
imagination, and critical judgment of the students,
and enable them to evaluate and appreciate the culture
of which they are a part.
♪♪
In other fields,
the students may investigate the social orders of the past,
those which have most influenced our civilization of today.
They will learn to compare and contrast the older civilization
with contemporary society,
and then study the transformation
to better understand the social problems of our times.
From studies of the basic natural laws,
will grow an appreciation
of the phenomena of the universe in which man exists.
Through lectures,
demonstrations, and research, the various kinds of matter,
their composition, properties, and transformation
take on new meaning,
while the laws governing their inter-relationship
gain significance.
♪♪
But the students horizons are not limited to this planet.
For in some studies, they learn of the relationship of Earth
to other astronomical bodies of the universe.
♪♪
Other Tulane divisions offer specialized courses in law,
social work, commerce, engineering, and medicine.
With a background of Roman law
and the later influence of English law,
the Tulane Law School emphasizes civil law studies
and comparisons of the two.
♪♪
In support of this program, the school has developed
an internationally famous law library of 50,000 volumes,
rich in opportunity for this study
and in other fields as well.
Among the college's more recent undertakings
is the Law Science Institute.
It is aimed at promoting the use of scientific knowledge
and methods in legal proceedings.
♪♪
The college's quarterly publication,
edited by faculty and students, is known throughout the country.
Its articles deal with research and opinions on various phases
of jurisprudence.
Supplementing library and classroom study,
the Law School conducts
moot court competitions for all students.
Under this program, an elimination system
begins in the freshman year and continues
throughout the period of study.
In the senior year, a final case is tried to determine
the winner of the college's moot court competition.
This program gives the student actual courtroom experience.
Judges from courts of the area are often invited to preside.
A young and vigorous law faculty guides the students
in these competitions.
The faculty prides itself on its close relationship
with the student.
♪♪
The Tulane School of Social Work was the first of its kind
in the South and today is best known in its field.
It was founded more than a quarter century ago with a grant
from the Rockefeller Foundation
and conducts a two year program on the graduate level.
The school combines classroom theory, field work, and library
research in training students for social welfare work.
Advantageously located in the
metropolitan area, which offers a wealth of opportunity
for field work.
The school cooperates
closely with social agencies of New Orleans.
These agencies represent a wide range of activities
and methods of work.
Through them, much material for the study of case
work and community organization becomes available.
This program gives the student experience
under the direction of professional social workers.
It provides also a broad view of the field
of social welfare.
♪♪
Classroom and field work are
supplemented by research in a library section,
especially maintained for the School of Social Work.
♪♪
The first of all business courses in
the United States was offered at Tulane a century ago.
Today,
Tulane’s College of Commerce and Business Administration,
founded and financed in early years
by businessmen, offers complete training in the field.
Metropolitan New Orleans has long
been the key trading point in the Americas,
and its area is rapidly becoming industrialized.
The college here thus offers an ideal opportunity
to make inquiries into specific business enterprises.
In addition to its undergraduate teaching program,
the college has established a research division
to study actual problems of the world of commerce,
and offers graduate courses leading to a master's degree.
♪♪
Visits to industrial plants are a vital part
of the college's training of young men and women.
Because of the strategic location of New Orleans
as a gateway to the Americas,
the college emphasizes foreign trade and stresses
the economic unity of the hemisphere.
♪♪
Typical of Tulane's
development through the years is the College of Engineering.
It began in 1851 with one course.
In 1895, it expanded to a school of technology.
The present college came into being in 1914.
It offers courses in
chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering.
In its electrical engineering laboratories, students learn
to supervise and direct the processes of generation,
transmission, and distribution of electrical energy.
♪♪
In the laboratories of the Chemical Engineering School,
other students are prepared to meet the manufacturing
and processing demands of chemical industries.
But the college's basic aim prevails
throughout all divisions.
The preparation of these students
to shoulder their responsibility
in the industrial development of the South.
One of the college's most notable achievements
was made almost a half century ago.
It was here that pumps were designed for later use
in major hydraulic projects in the Panama Canal,
the Netherlands, and the Far East.
♪♪
In the School of Architecture,
students receive a basic knowledge of materials
and design,
a broad understanding of construction techniques,
and an opportunity to develop the cultural interests
and social concepts of educated citizens.
Alert to contemporary problems, the school cooperates
with surrounding communities in planning
and designing modern buildings.
The survey for the Planning
and Zoning Commission of New Orleans,
suggesting a 50 year development program for the city,
was one of its community contributions.
♪♪
University College, the night division of Tulane,
has geared its classes
to the educational and cultural needs of the community.
Offering a great variety of subjects,
the college attracts not only young students,
but many of middle age and beyond.
Its enrollment is the largest of any division
of the university.
The use of contemporary
teaching methods and audiovisual aid techniques are emphasized
in its program of adult education.
♪♪
Tulane's oldest division,
The School of Medicine, is adjacent
to one of the world's largest hospitals.
The students enjoy exceptional opportunity
for clinical study at the hospital.
The wards and clinics have been given in perpetuity
for the instruction of students in all divisions of medicine
and surgery.
♪♪
More than a century old, the traditionally outstanding
medical school accepts only one of 25 applicants.
Its four year curriculum emphasizes
the training of well-prepared general practitioners.
While the Division of Graduate Medicine
offers courses of more specialized character,
the school's alumni are scattered
throughout the nation and all parts of the globe.
Their work in all fields of medicine reflects
Tulane's influence in private practice, public health,
teaching, and research.
One of the school's outstanding departments
is that of Tropical Medicine and Public Health,
a study unique in this country.
Specializing in the study of tropical diseases, of which
the dread malaria born by these mosquitoes is one of many,
the department attracts students from throughout the world.
♪♪
This map shows where
Tulane graduates in this program are benefiting humanity.
But for any doctor, diagnosis and surgery will be
two of the most important phases of his work in later years.
At Tulane, students have adequate opportunity
to learn from lectures and from observation
of members of Tulane's world famous medical staff.
♪♪
In addition to its teaching program, Tulane has extended
a number of services into the community and region.
Many of its faculty members are on the staffs
of various hospitals in New Orleans.
The school conducts clinics in numerous fields,
clinics visited by 20,000 patients each year.
Among other activities of the school
is the provision of a consultation service
and training for residents in some of the specialties
at state charity hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Each year, the Division of Graduate Medicine offers
intensive refresher courses for practicing doctors
and hundreds from throughout the South attend to learn
the latest developments in particular fields.
In addition to this, the medical school
is responsible for treatment and care of several hundred
bed patients at Charity Hospital.
These are but a few of the many services offered by Tulane
in the eternal battle against disease.
♪♪
One of the most vital
functions of any university is its research program.
In every division, Tulane fosters and encourages
research by its faculty members and qualified students.
Widely varied, the programs range from studies
of the body's nervous system
to a review of humanistic scholarship in the South.
From sociological studies of race relations
to zoological surveys of wildlife of the area.
From control of the destructive water hyacinth
to educational processes
in early French settlements, and to many other topics.
Representative of such investigation
is the study of radioactive isotopes, one of the phases
in a broad biophysics research program.
As a member of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies,
Tulane receives regular shipments
from the National Laboratory in Tennessee
and joins the search for application of atomic energy
to constructive uses.
Discoveries of the power of steam, petroleum,
and electricity
transform the world through the Industrial Revolution
of the 19th century.
The more recent discovery of the forces buried within the atom
may have even greater effect
on the life of modern man and within our own lifetime.
As a source of limitless power, atomic energy
may transform the structure of industry.
As a research tool, it has already led
to new discoveries in the basic sciences and in medicine.
♪♪
In the medical school, isotopic solutions
are now being used in special studies of cancer,
infectious diseases, and heart diseases.
One of their most important uses is in a research technique
in which the solutions are introduced
into the body and placed in the bodily processes.
More than 180 research programs are conducted
in all colleges and divisions of the university.
Many of them are financed by gifts and grants
from philanthropic organizations.
These programs call for a current annual expenditure
of $700,000.
♪♪
Graduate study is an integral part
of Tulane's educational program
and the present Graduate School awards more than 40 master's
degrees and 15 doctorates in various fields.
Center of extensive research activity is the Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library,
one of the South's truly distinguished libraries.
Its collection of more than 500,000 volumes
provides scholars with a wealth of material for reference,
information, and research.
♪♪
Through the contributions of friends of the university,
the library has become
a repository for many rare and unique volumes.
Typical is this Mayan manuscript more than five centuries old.
It is a part of the Middle American Research Institute
collection in the library.
♪♪
The Middle American Research Institute studies
the civilizations of Latin America and preserves material
for research by present and future generations.
In addition to publishing many scientific articles,
the Institute has conducted nearly 30 expeditions into Latin
America for excavation and research.
♪♪
Here then is Tulane today,
more than a century after it was founded.
Its hundred acre campus, green the year round
and with flowers always in bloom along the paths and walks,
offers an ideal setting for study.
A thousand faculty and staff members
teach and conduct research to further the educational,
cultural, and social growth of the people of the South.
More than a thousand courses are available
for a student body of 7000, attending small classes
that permit individual attention by the faculty.
Ideally situated in New Orleans, the hub of the Americas,
it offers to each generation in turn the foundation
on which to build a full life: work, play,
companionship, the spirit of friendly competition.
Tulane faces its future and the future of the world
with confidence.
Its destiny rests with you who believe in the principles
for which it stands.
♪♪
[singing]
[film noise, scratches]

Description

This black and white film with sound gives a wonderful snapshot of Tulane University in 1951, the year it was created, as well as presenting a history of each department within the university as it reviews all that the university has to offer. The film begins with a brief history lesson on the founding of the university as a medical college, then discusses Paul Tulane's and Josephine Louise Newcomb's donations to establish Tulane University and Newcomb College, respectively. The narration then moves on to discuss in depth each of the colleges and schools (Liberal Arts and Sciences, Law, Social Work, Commerce, Engineering, Architecture, University College, Medicine) that make up the university. Footage of buildings, campus, professors, students and campus life is used to highlight the informative narration about each college. The 22-minute photographic profile features student activities such as registration, studying, music-playing, dance, film, sculpture, and classroom equipment operation, such as using the telescope in astronomy. Other highlights involve a discussion of recent scientific experiments including the use of radioactive isotopes, graduate studies, the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, a rare volume and the Tulane Codex, and the Middle American Research Institute. The film concludes with footage of a procession of robed students at graduation, a few seconds of students playing tennis and a Tulane football game, and fades out with the Tulane Alma Mater playing over a screenshot of the Tulane seal. Produced by Roy Trahan. Shot on single-perf. B+W print. Composite optical soundtrack. B-wind. 1951 Kodak date code.

In collections

Audiovisuals

Details

Title: 1951-The Tulane Story (Video)
Creator: Tulane University
Transcriber: Velasquez, Alan
Date Created: 1951
Description: This black and white film with sound gives a wonderful snapshot of Tulane University in 1951, the year it was created, as well as presenting a history of each department within the university as it reviews all that the university has to offer. The film begins with a brief history lesson on the founding of the university as a medical college, then discusses Paul Tulane's and Josephine Louise Newcomb's donations to establish Tulane University and Newcomb College, respectively. The narration then moves on to discuss in depth each of the colleges and schools (Liberal Arts and Sciences, Law, Social Work, Commerce, Engineering, Architecture, University College, Medicine) that make up the university. Footage of buildings, campus, professors, students and campus life is used to highlight the informative narration about each college. The 22-minute photographic profile features student activities such as registration, studying, music-playing, dance, film, sculpture, and classroom equipment operation, such as using the telescope in astronomy. Other highlights involve a discussion of recent scientific experiments including the use of radioactive isotopes, graduate studies, the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, a rare volume and the Tulane Codex, and the Middle American Research Institute. The film concludes with footage of a procession of robed students at graduation, a few seconds of students playing tennis and a Tulane football game, and fades out with the Tulane Alma Mater playing over a screenshot of the Tulane seal. Produced by Roy Trahan. Shot on single-perf. B+W print. Composite optical soundtrack. B-wind. 1951 Kodak date code.
Extent: 22 min., 51 sec.
Form: Black and white, 16mm film
Type of Resource: moving image
Genre: Historical films
Topical Subject(s): Teachers
Motion pictures
Students
Universities & colleges
Geographic Subject(s): New Orleans (La.)
Publisher: Tulane University Digital Library
Language: eng
Identifier (Local): 1951-TheTulaneStory_reformat.mp4
Rights: Physical rights are retained by the University Archives, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Contact: specialcollections@tulane.edu