- Learning & Growing
- In the Field
- Faculty
In the Field
- Day at the Capitol visit
- UPCEA, SoPA/Tulane committee chair
- AI Conference - Pics here
- UPCEA conference - Media + Design associate program director Rebecca Carr and faculty member AJ Durand led a roundtable discussion titled "Creating Neurodiverse-Affirming Adult Learning Spaces" at the UPCEA Conference in New Orleans, alongside Tulane SoPA Humanities and Social Sciences Program Director Delila Omerbasic. The discussion centered around neurodivergence as an inclusive term that values neurological differences. The roundtable discussed methods for creating inclusive and supportive learning environments and engaged participants in a discussion about strategies and practices to focus on flexibility, varied communication and engagement expectations, strengths-based assessment, and support for student well-being in an online environment. Note: SoPA LD&D team also spoke on various panels at this conference and Ilianna Kwaske served as Co-Chair.
- AIGA Design Educator’s Conference (DEC) - Media + Design associate program director Rebecca Carr and faculty member AJ Durand presented a panel session titled "Neurodiversity Affirming Design Pedagogy” at the AIGA Design Educator’s Conference (DEC) in June 2025. The presentation, which was co-authored by Tulane SoPA Humanities and Social Sciences Program Director Delila Omerbasic, covered neurodivergent traits as they may appear in the classroom and a brief introduction to FUniversal Design for Learning (UDL) with an emphasis on course infrastructure and teaching virtual online sessions.
- Michelle Jackson, SoPA faculty, Empowers Young Entrepreneurs Through Tulane Innovation Programs - Story
Faculty
- Mike Wallace served as a panelist on “Iran and the New Middle East Battlefield: What’s Happening and What You Should Know” at Limmud New Orleans (March 2026).
- Mike Wallace As Co-Founder and Co-Director (Co-Chair) of Pracademic Affairs (now hosted by Homeland Security Today), released the 5th Edition (October 2025) and the 6th Edition (January 2026), including co-authoring the “Welcome from the Editors” for the 6th Edition. This pioneering eJournal continues to bridge academic research and real-world practice in emergency management and homeland security.
- Sukari Ivestar - in her first year as a Social Entrepreneurship Professor with the Taylor Center she authored and served as Project Lead on a $150,000 green infrastructure grant funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered through the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF), supporting community-led stormwater interventions such as bioswales and rain gardens. In parallel, I developed a social enterprise focused on scalable, community-based climate adaptation, aiming to extend this work beyond Lower Plaquemines Parish through applied research and design.
- Sukari Ivestar - with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), coordinated housing recovery efforts, contributing to the construction of new homes for residents still recovering from Hurricane Ida. I also coordinated the planting of 35 trees to restore canopy loss and improve long-term flood mitigation. She can send you images of the newly constructed homes and recent tree-planting efforts (and contrast them with images of a storm-ravaged community that saw 80% of its homes destroyed during Ida, which saw a storm surge of 15 feet) to support potential inclusion.
- Sukari Ivestar - invited to participate in the Taproot Earth international convening in Puerto Rico and now serve on the initiative’s Stewardship Council, contributing to regional strategy on energy transition and community resilience. I also serve on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Work Group for Louisiana’s 2029 Coastal Master Plan.
- Kinesiology instructor Jacinda Roach serves as “PI” for MS REACH, a 5-year CDC-funded project to address health issues and rates of chronic disease among women across 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast counties
- Halima Leak Francis moderated Unearthing Our Stories Tulane History Project panel, an event about preserving and documenting campus and community history across Louisiana. - photos here
- Dr. Brian McNamara published Loper Bright and the Assault on Expertise with the Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy
- Spirit of Tulane Award - Halima Leak Francis, Ph.D
- Brooke Grant wins Tulane President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching
- Richard Mihans spoke at CYALL (Conference for Young Adult Literature Louisiana)
- Mihans’ article about Spring 2023 children’s literature course book publishing project has been officially accepted for publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
- Javier Pineda, Adjunct Faculty, presented his teaching and research at Tulane’s TRICS (Tulane Research, Innovation & Creativity Summit) Conference in April 2026. He introduced the Human-AI-Human (HAH) model: an interdisciplinary framework that integrates generative AI into HR education through structured, high-stakes simulations.
- Ambika Prasad, Associate Director and Professor of Practice, BSLS program, joined the editorial board of the Journal of Human Resource Management for a three-year term (September 2025–2028). Additionally, Ambika, in collaboration with Mallory M. Caterine (School of Liberal Arts), received acceptance to present their work, The Artful Leader: Teaching Leadership Through Art, Classical Texts, and Community, at the Twenty-First International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at the University of Galway (July 2026). The project also received grant support from Tulane’s Center for Public Service, recognizing its integration of leadership pedagogy, arts-based inquiry, and community engagement.
Credits:
Created with images by Zamrznuti tonovi - "Woman who uses a wheelchair is winning the office chair race with her colleagues" • palangsi - "Futuristic lady in renaissance rococo fashion wearing glowing headphones and avant Garde reflective sunglasses" • Mariko - "Modern Sustainable Architecture in Contemporary Downtown, Futuristic Design, Innovative Materials, Creative Historical Facade Renovation, Congress Hall, Office Building, Old Town Residential District"