Tulane alum David Mussafer has granted the school a $5 million gift that will allow for the creation of the Center for Student Success. What used to be the building for the School of Social Work will be renovated as Mussafer Hall and will contain the Academic Advising Center, Career Services and the Success Center. This nearly 16,000-square-foot building will have an approximately 7,500-square-foot extension added to it in 2017.

This new centralized location will be a great advantage to all Tulane students. Academic advising and career services have previously been somewhat out of the way for most students, and having all of these services in one building will make lives much simpler and easier. This can be especially helpful to students who might not have as much career support in their specific school.

The combination of these programs could benefit the services as much as the students. A singular building would hopefully encourage collaboration between the three offices. The bridge between academics and employment is sometimes a difficult one for students to cross, especially in today’s job market, and increased interaction between programs can help students better understand what to take from an academic education into a work environment.

It is also nice to see that Tulane donors are sponsoring academic causes as well as typical funding for athletics programs. Academic programs benefit the whole of the school and are applicable to every student, as opposed to some sports programs that provide special services for only a select number of the student body. This center will be a fantastic asset for students and is an excellent use of alumni funding.