The University dates from 1834 as the
Medical College of Louisiana. With the
addition of a law department, it became
The University of Louisiana in 1847, a
public university. 1851, saw
the establishment of an Academic Department, the forerunner of the College of Arts and Sciences.It closed during the Civil War; after reopening, it went
through a period of financial challenges. Paul Tulane donated extensive real
estate within New Orleans for the support of education; this donation led to the establishment of a Tulane Educational Fund
(TEF), whose board of administrators sought to support the University of Louisiana instead of establishing a new university. In
response, the Louisiana state legislature transferred control of the University of Louisiana to the administrators of the TEF in
1884. This act created the Tulane University of Louisiana.In 1885, a Graduate Division started, the predecessor to the Graduate School. One year
later, gifts from Josephine Louise Newcomb totalling over $3.6 million led to the establishment of H. Sophie Newcomb College
within Tulane University. Newcomb was the first coordinate college for women in the United States.In 1894 a College of Technology formed, the forerunner to the College of Engineering. In
the same year the university moved to its present-day uptown campus on St. Charles Avenue, five miles by streetcar from downtown.An Architecture Department originated within the College of Technology in 1907. One year
later, Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy appeared, both temporarily: Dentistry ended in 1928, and Pharmacy six years later.In 1914, Tulane established a College of Commerce, the first business school in the South.1925 saw the formal establishment of the Graduate School. Two years later, the
University set up a School of Social Work .University College dates from 1942. The School of Architecture grew out of Engineering
in 1950. The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine dates from 1967.The student-run radio station of the university, WTUL-FM, began broadcasting on campus in 1971.The
Jambalaya, Tulane's yearbook, published annually since 1897, published its last edition (Volume 99) in 1995, after
problems due to mismanagement.In 2001 the Tulane Center for Gene Therapy started as the first major center in the U.S.
to focus on research using adult stem cells.In July 2004, Tulane received two $30 million donations to its endowment, the largest individual or combined gifts in the university's history. The
donations came from Jim Clark, a member of the university's Board, and
David Filo, a graduate of its School of Engineering. The gifts had particular
significance, since Tulane had had one of the lowest endowmsnts ($722 million as of June 2004) among the 62 members of the Association of American Universities.