March 7, 2004

Hon. Emile "Peppi" Bruneau
145 Robert E. Lee Boulevard
Suite 206
New Orleans, LA  70124

Re:   Tulane University

Dear Mr. Bruneau:

        Thank you for your thoughtful letter of March 4, 2004.  The cost to the state for reconstituting
Tulane as a public entity can, in part, be resolved by increasing the tuition on all out-of-state students,
although not to the level now charged by Tulane.  Tulane has an out-of-state enrollment of about 85%; 
LSU has far less.

        The state now subsidizes Tulane with salaries for professors, research grants, and contracts for 
medical services.  That need not change.  The difference is that subsidies would now be used solely for 
state-oriented purposes rather than to help support the out-of-state activities in which Tulane is now 
engaged.  Salaries of LSU professors could be raised and salaries of their colleagues on the Tulane 
campus lowered, where necessary, to make them more equitable.

        Tulane facilities used primarily for non-academic functions need not be sold but reorganized as
a separate business.  While Tulane has taken pains to link its business and academic functions with as 
many threads as possible, in the final analysis these are links that are readily severed.  Tulane's 
commercial properties could continue to be managed by Tulane Corporation or a similar entity.

        Then, there is the matter of the approximately $650 million in endowment that the state could 
use to implement the restructuring process.

        Another consideration is that of the Comprehensive Cancer Center.  I am told that, in the 1970's, 
competitiveness between the LSU and Tulane medical faculties contributed to the loss of that important 
designation.  Although there is much more cooperation between LSU and Tulane nowadays, the true 
melding of their resources would greatly improve the chances of bringing a Comprehensive Cancer 
Center to New Orleans — and with it a greatly increased potential for federal funding for medical 
research and patient care.

        This hasty discussion is not intended to be exhaustive, but it does point to the financial 
feasibility of the reconstitution plan.  Riding on the coattails of its educational function, Tulane 
presently pays no taxes on its commercial activities, a situation that only encourages an increasingly 
business-minded administration.  That arrangement needs to end, for when academics becomes a servant 
to commerce, the purpose of the academy to the state is subverted.

                                                                             Yours  truly,

                                                                           s/ Carl Bernofsky
 
                                                                             Carl Bernofsky
                                                                             (504) 486-4639