Leaders & Lagniappe Lecture Series Returns to Tulane in November

David Gladow dgladow@tulane.edu

The Dean’s Leaders and Lagniappe Lecture series returns to Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine this fall with an exciting lineup for the 2026-27 school year.

Now in its fourth year, the series welcomes public health leaders from the U.S. and internationally to downtown New Orleans at Tidewater’s Diboll Auditorium for a lively talk with Dean Thomas LaVeist.

LaVeist launched the series to initiate discussion on campus about the innovations, ideas, and values of distinguished leaders in public health.

“We are thrilled to once again have an opportunity to inspire future generations of the public health workforce through their exposure to the type of leadership on display through this series,” LaVeist said. “Our aspiration continues to be connecting these future leaders with current ones, building a bridge to a better tomorrow.” 

The series resumes Wednesday, Nov. 11, at noon, featuring two university leaders: Kerry Mitchell, chair and associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and assistant dean of Student Affairs at St. George’s University, and Melinda Pettigrew, dean and Mayo Chair in Public Health from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

True to its name, the series will also once again resume with its combined emphasis on the arts and public health programming in the adjacent Diboll Gallery, with exhibitions from local artists sponsored by the Collins C. Diboll Foundation rotating as the series progresses. Each lecture will serve as a showcase for some New Orleans lagniappe, defined as “something given as a bonus or extra gift.” 

November’s talk will overlap with Sarah Singh’s exhibition, “Discerning the Familiar,” which debuted in September.

Future panelists include Stephen C. Alder, Jonathan Mermin, David Tillman, and Andrea Baccarelli. Upcoming exhibitions include showings from Nora Lovell and the Violence Prevention Institute.

All discussions will be available for viewing both online and in person. Interested attendees can RSVP (for in-person or via Zoom) or view the full calendar at this website.