commUNITY 2025
Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Dixon Hall + Newcomb Quad
About the Event
The purpose of commUNITY 2025 is to anchor the academic year in Tulane’s core value of Welcoming Community by fostering relationships across cultural, social, and institutional lines. Unlike other welcome events, commUNITY is not orientation-focused but is a collective celebration of belonging that centers student, faculty, and staff voices, our local identity, and the shared responsibility of Welcoming Community by all Tulanians. Through messages from student leaders, artists, and changemakers, the event sets an intentional tone for the year rooted in connection and care. It brings together campus, New Orleans, and national communities in one space to honor who we are, where we are, and who we can become together. commUNITY 2025 is both a welcome and a charge: to lead with empathy, build across difference, and uphold Tulane as a place where everyone is welcome and can thrive and succeed. By using this to further remind and introduce all Tulanians to the many resources and partners throughout Tulane dedicated to Tulane’s community, this event further serves to connect our offices & services to the broader Tulane community.
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Sunni Patterson
Local Address – Celebrated New Orleans poet sharing reflections rooted in local culture and community. Sunni has taught and spoken at Xavier and Loyola and connects Tulane with the broader New Orleans educational landscape.
Amanda Nguyen
National Keynote – Founder of Rise and nationally recognized advocate for justice, dignity, and belonging. Amanda’s leadership in the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights exemplifies Tulane’s core value of Welcoming Community.
Featured Student Speakers
Luke Broussard
Class of 2026
TUA Co-Chair
Kioja Johnson
Class of 2026
TUA Co-Chair
Bethany Milner
Class of 2025
Sunjukta Vaidhyanathan
Class of 2026
Abby Bix
Class of 2025
Asher Force
Class of 2026
Student Name
Class of XXXX
Celebration & Activities
Food Trucks
Diva Dawg, Crepes A La Cart, Kona Ice
Mocktail Bar
Zero-proof drinks available throughout the celebration
A Place to Dance
Enjoy music from our DJ and dance with friends
Photo Booth
Capture fun memories with friends and colleagues
Swag Bags
First 100 guests receive special event swag
Resource Tables
Information and resources from campus partners
Accessibility and Contact
This event is wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation will be provided. For additional accommodations, please contact aeooffice@tulane.edu.
For general questions or more information about commUNITY 2025, contact the Office of Academic Excellence & Opportunity at aeooffice@tulane.edu.
Event Co-Sponsors
The A.B. Freeman School of Business
The Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Intercultural Life
The Center for Public Service
The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
The Department of English and the Creative Writing Fund
The Newcomb Institute
Newcomb Tulane College
The Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity
The Office of International Scholars and Students and TU Global
The Office of the President
The Office of the Provost
Student Affairs
The School of Law
The School of Medicine
The School of Science and Engineering
Tulane University Libraries
The Tulane University Police Department
