Tulane University’s search for a new vice president of student affairs concluded this August with the appointment of Sarah Cunningham. The search for a new vice president began after J. Davidson “Dusty” Porter stepped down last June. 

Cunningham worked in student affairs offices at various universities across the country, including Johns Hopkins University, University of Florida, George Mason University and Slippery Rock University. Before joining the Tulane community, Cunningham served as the vice president of student development at Saint Louis University.  

Cunningham came from a family of public school teachers and administrators and “fell into” a career in student affairs.  

As vice president of student affairs, Cunningham plans to embrace Tulane’s qualities of innovation and community.  

“Tulane represents the best attributes of all the institutions that I have worked at. Students here have this intellectual kind of curiosity and appetite for knowledge,” Cunningham said. “There’s this commitment to giving back, and there’s a sense of community here where students want to connect to each other, and they want to get to know each other and be a part of something bigger than themselves.” 

Cunningham said that she anticipates spending her first six months at Tulane getting to know the community by hosting monthly opportunities for students to share their experiences.