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Francine Stock

Digital Media Coordinator,  Newcomb Art Department

Fancine Stock
 Francine Stock with her husband Christian and daughter Vivienne, August 2005.

When Hurricane Katrina landed, Francine Stock had just become a new mother. Her daughter, Vivienne, was only five and a half weeks old when Francine and her husband evacuated New Orleans in the dark of night. At the time, Francine was preparing to return from maternity leave to her role as Digital Media Coordinator for the School of Architecture. “I had just bought some new clothes to wear for my return to work and they were all pressed and hanging, ready. Little did I know I would not return to New Orleans til almost Halloween.”

With no daycare options, Francine initially brought baby Vivie with her to work when Tulane reopened in December. Now, two decades later, that same little girl is a junior at Tulane.

Despite the upheaval, Francine felt proud to be part of the School of Architecture. Dean Reed Kroloff kept faculty and staff connected through a massive group phone call, and she worked with him on a Graham Foundation grant to digitize decades of Tulane’s slides of New Orleans. “The project helped anchor me to the city during those first years of recovery. It was not at all easy to live here, but I was grateful to be engaged in important work.”

Richardson Memorial Hall, home to the School of Architecture, was spared major damage, allowing faculty to quickly focus on recovery projects for New Orleans. Francine shared her experiences nationally, presenting Disaster Planning in the Digital Age to the Visual Resources Association, and expanded her teaching with a seminar that paired archival research with student photography to document modernist buildings at risk of demolition, preserving their memory for the future.

Looking back, Francine remains deeply inspired by Tulane’s leadership. “[Former] President Cowen led the university through those troubled times with such strength and vision. I remember thinking the situation would have been much better for New Orleans had he been President of the U.S., Governor of Louisiana, or Mayor of New Orleans. He took such good care of the Tulane community, and by extension, New Orleans.”