~13,000 studentsNone (university website, RA phone trees, and chartered buses; pre-Tulane Emergency Notification)
Confirmed Timeline
Alert Sequence
4 messages in sequence
Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.
INITIAL ALERTPA System
Approximate reconstruction·659 chars
[Welcome to Tulane University, Class of 2009. I regret that the first instruction I must give you is to leave. Hurricane Katrina is approaching the Gulf Coast and the National Hurricane Center forecast track now includes New Orleans. Tulane is canceling all weekend orientation activities. Students who arrived this morning with families: please re-pack essential items, return to your vehicles, and evacuate the city with your family today. Students without family transportation: report to Reily Student Recreation Center for further instructions. The university will communicate further information through the Tulane website and your resident assistants.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Freshman Convocation took place the morning of Saturday, August 27, 2005 at McAlister Auditorium on Tulane's Uptown campus
President Scott Cowen welcomed the Class of 2009 and immediately asked everyone to leave — a moment widely covered in Tulane retrospectives
Tulane's initial public plan was to close the university until September 1; this was extended to September 7 the next day, and ultimately the entire fall 2005 semester was canceled
There was no centralized SMS or email broadcast system at Tulane in August 2005; communication relied on the university website (tulane.edu), the Tulane operator, resident assistants going door to door, and news media
UPDATEPhone
Approximate reconstruction·633 chars
[Tulane University: mandatory evacuation. The City of New Orleans has issued a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Hurricane Katrina. All Tulane students must evacuate today. Chartered buses to Jackson State University in Mississippi are loading at Reily Student Recreation Center; meet there immediately if you do not have alternate transportation. Bring essential items only. The Tulane football team and women's soccer team will be transported as part of this evacuation. The university anticipates a return within a few days once the storm passes. Updates will be communicated through the Tulane website and resident assistants.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Mayor Ray Nagin issued the City of New Orleans's first-ever mandatory evacuation order on the morning of Sunday, August 28, 2005
Tulane chartered buses and transported approximately 400 students (some reports closer to 700) and approximately 100 faculty and staff to Jackson State University in Mississippi
The Tulane football team and women's soccer team evacuated as part of this convoy and sheltered at Jackson State
Twelve busloads of Tulane evacuees reached Jackson State by the evening of August 28 and spent days sleeping on the gym floor
UPDATEPhone
Approximate reconstruction·601 chars
[Tulane evacuees at Jackson State University: Jackson State has lost power and running water. Tulane is arranging onward evacuation. Football team and student-athletes will be transported to Dallas; remaining students will be transported to Atlanta. New Orleans is flooding from levee failures and Tulane cannot return for the foreseeable future. The fall 2005 semester is in question. Students who evacuated independently: contact Tulane through the website or call the Tulane operator when you have access to power and a phone. Family members seeking information should call the Tulane main number.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana at approximately 6:10 AM CDT on August 29, 2005; the New Orleans levees failed later that day
Jackson State University lost power and running water in the days after the storm; Tulane evacuees were further evacuated to Dallas and Atlanta
Tulane's communication with its dispersed student body relied almost entirely on the university website (tulane.edu), email, and the main operator phone line — there was no SMS broadcast capability
Tulane's medical center on the downtown campus suffered major flooding after the levee failures
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction·567 chars
[Tulane University announces the suspension of the fall 2005 semester. The university has reached agreements with hundreds of host institutions to accept Tulane students as visiting students for the fall semester. Tuition paid to Tulane will be honored at receiving institutions. The university intends to reopen for the spring 2006 semester in January. Updates and a list of host institutions will be posted on tulane.edu. Students should consult the website and check their Tulane email regularly. Tulane will hold a memorial and welcome-back event upon reopening.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Tulane formally suspended the fall 2005 semester in mid-September 2005 and announced the host-institution arrangement
Tulane.edu became the primary public information channel; the university also operated a toll-free phone line for families
Tulane reopened for the spring semester on January 17, 2006 with the majority of pre-Katrina students returning
President Cowen announced the Tulane Renewal Plan on December 8, 2005, restructuring five schools, eliminating several PhD programs and varsity athletics, and instituting a public-service graduation requirement for undergraduates
Context
Background
Tulane University's experience of Hurricane Katrina is one of the most consequential institutional responses to a natural disaster in modern U.S. higher-education history, and a foundational case for understanding why universities built mass-notification systems after 2007. On the morning of Saturday, August 27, 2005 — move-in day for the Tulane class of 2009 — President Scott Cowen welcomed the incoming class at Freshman Convocation in McAlister Auditorium and immediately asked everyone to leave. On Sunday, August 28, after Mayor Ray Nagin's first-ever mandatory evacuation order for New Orleans, Tulane chartered buses and transported approximately 400 students and 100 faculty and staff to Jackson State University in Mississippi. Students slept on the hardwood floor of the Jackson State student center. After Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29 and Jackson State lost power and water, Tulane organized a second evacuation, sending the football team and athletes to Dallas and the remaining students to Atlanta. Tulane's downtown medical center was flooded after the levee failures. Tulane suspended its entire fall 2005 semester and arranged with hundreds of universities across the country to accept its 13,000 students as visiting students with full tuition reciprocity. The Tulane Renewal Plan, announced by President Cowen on December 8, 2005, restructured five schools, eliminated several PhD programs and most varsity athletics, and instituted a public-service requirement for all undergraduates — one of the most dramatic institutional restructurings ever undertaken by a major U.S. research university. Tulane reopened on January 17, 2006 with the majority of pre-Katrina students returning. In 2005, Tulane had no SMS or email mass-notification system; communication relied on the university website (tulane.edu), the Tulane operator phone line, resident-assistant phone trees, and news media. The case is foundational to understanding the pre-2008 communication environment in which Hurricane Katrina, Virginia Tech, and the broader push for emergency-notification standardization all converged.
Analysis
Key Findings
01President Scott Cowen welcomed the Tulane Class of 2009 at Freshman Convocation on August 27, 2005 and immediately asked everyone to leave ahead of Hurricane Katrina
02Tulane chartered buses and transported approximately 400 students and 100 faculty and staff to Jackson State University in Mississippi on August 28; a second evacuation moved them to Dallas and Atlanta after Jackson State lost power and water
03Tulane suspended its entire fall 2005 semester and dispersed its 13,000 students to hundreds of host institutions across the United States with full tuition reciprocity
04Tulane had no SMS or email mass-notification system in August 2005; communication relied on the university website, the Tulane operator, resident-assistant phone trees, and news media
05The Tulane Renewal Plan announced December 8, 2005 restructured five schools, eliminated several PhD programs and most varsity athletics, and instituted a public-service requirement for undergraduates — one of the most dramatic institutional restructurings in modern U.S. higher-education history
Outcome
No Tulane student deaths from the storm or evacuation; all students were accounted for. Approximately 400 students and 100 faculty/staff sheltered at Jackson State University in Mississippi, then were further evacuated to Dallas and Atlanta after losing power and water on August 29. Tulane suspended its entire fall 2005 semester and dispersed its 13,000 students to host institutions across the United States. Tulane reopened on January 17, 2006 with most pre-Katrina students returning. The university's [Renewal Plan, announced December 8, 2005](https://tulanehullabaloo.com/70080/data/20-years-later-impact-of-katrina-is-still-obvious-at-tulane/), restructured five schools, eliminated several PhD programs and athletics, and required all undergraduates to complete a public-service requirement.