Tulane University announced today that it’s naming its School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine after alumna Celia Scott Weatherhead in recognition of her historic total lifetime giving of more than $160 million to the university.
Weatherhead’s cumulative history of donations is the largest ever for Tulane and represents her legacy of support for leading faculty and top students. She and her late husband Albert previously established the Weatherhead Presidential Chairs, allowing the university to recruit outstanding faculty in emerging fields. In addition, the Weatherheads funded the Weatherhead Scholars Program, which provides scholarships for students who are committed to public service.
Included in Celia Weatherhead’s support is a new donation, which a spokesperson described as the largest single gift in Tulane history, that will boost the university’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine “with the goal of establishing it as the premier school of its kind in the United States and one of the top such schools in the world,” according to the university.
“Today, we make history with one of the greatest milestones ever announced at Tulane,” said President Michael A. Fitts, in the release. “Improving the health of all members of our society – regardless of their economic background – has long been a driving passion of Celia’s. Now her extraordinary and inspirational generosity will continue to drive excellence in education, research and innovation while securing the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine as a leading institution focused on saving lives both locally and around the globe.”
This new contribution, the amount of which Tulane did not disclose, will provide seed funding to develop research clusters in areas such as cancer control, climate change and health, health equity, health policy, infectious disease epidemiology, public health workforce development, and applications of artificial intelligence to the study of population health.
It also will be used to further strengthen the faculty and enhance student support, especially in the form of scholarships. And a portion of the gift will help advance Tulane’s plan to expand its downtown campus.
“President Fitts’ plans to use research and discovery as economic drivers for the New Orleans region, and Dean Thomas LaVeist’s passionate resolve to confront and ameliorate health inequities holds the greatest promise to bring about positive change,” Weatherhead said in the announcement. “I am thrilled to support the university’s goals and long-term strategy for educating public health professionals, empowering groundbreaking research and building a healthier world, starting with the city of New Orleans, but aiming for global results.”
Weatherhead, who earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre in 1965 from Tulane’s Newcomb College, currently serves on the Public Health Dean’s Advisory Council, the school’s top advisory board and is an emeritus member of the Board of Tulane, the university’s main governing body. In 2023, she was awarded the Dermot McGlinchey Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors alumni who’ve demonstrated service, involvement and commitment to Tulane and their hometown communities.
The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine will become only the second of Tulane’s 10 schools and colleges to be named, joining the A. B. Freeman School of Business.