RAMP 43rd Annual Conference
Feb 5 - 7, 2026
New Orleans, LA
Reimagining Research: AI As A Partner In Educational Transformation
RAMP was in New Orleans!
More details about Registration to come.
New Orleans (NOLA): A City Like No Other!
Experience the unmatched beauty of New Orleans—where history, music, food, and celebration come together as the heartbeat if a city like no other. From the lively sounds of jazz in the French Quarter to stunning Creole architecture, mouthwatering cuisine, and world-famous festivals, NOLA captivates at every turn. Whether you're strolling under the oak trees, savoring beignets, or dancing in a second line parade, there's no place quite like this place. New Orleans has several nicknames, two of which are the "Big Easy" and “Crescent City” and is known for its round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live-music scene and spicy, singular cuisine reflecting its history as a melting pot of French, African and American cultures. Embodying its festive spirit is Mardi Gras, the late-winter carnival famed for raucous costumed parades and street parties. The name of New Orleans derives from the original French name, La Nouvelle-Orléans, which was given to the city in honor of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who served as Louis XV's regent from 1715 to 1723.
New Orleans is in the Mississippi River Delta, south of Lake Pontchartrain, on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 105 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. New Orleans has been described as the "most interesting" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Additionally, New Orleans has increasingly been known as "Hollywood South" due to its prominent role in the film industry and in pop culture.
The Central Business District is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi. Most streets in this area fan out from a central point. Major streets include Canal Street, Poydras Street, Tulane Avenue and Loyola Avenue. Canal Street divides the traditional "downtown" area from the "uptown" area. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the "uptown" and "downtown" portions. Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East and Algiers.
New Orleans is a center for higher learning. It has the highest concentration of colleges and universities in Louisiana, and one of the highest in the Southern United States, with over 50,000 students enrolled in the region's eleven two- and four-year degree-granting institutions. New Orleans has the third highest concentration of historically black collegiate institutions in the U.S. Higher education institutions in New Orleans include Dillard University, Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Southern University at New Orleans, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, University of Holy Cross, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Delgado Community College, and William Carey College School of Nursing.
New Orleans is in the Mississippi River Delta, south of Lake Pontchartrain, on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 105 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. New Orleans has been described as the "most interesting" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Additionally, New Orleans has increasingly been known as "Hollywood South" due to its prominent role in the film industry and in pop culture.
The Central Business District is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi. Most streets in this area fan out from a central point. Major streets include Canal Street, Poydras Street, Tulane Avenue and Loyola Avenue. Canal Street divides the traditional "downtown" area from the "uptown" area. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the "uptown" and "downtown" portions. Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East and Algiers.
New Orleans is a center for higher learning. It has the highest concentration of colleges and universities in Louisiana, and one of the highest in the Southern United States, with over 50,000 students enrolled in the region's eleven two- and four-year degree-granting institutions. New Orleans has the third highest concentration of historically black collegiate institutions in the U.S. Higher education institutions in New Orleans include Dillard University, Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Southern University at New Orleans, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, University of Holy Cross, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Delgado Community College, and William Carey College School of Nursing.
Host Institution
Dillard University, New Orleans’s oldest HBCU, will be the host institution for the 43rd Annual RAMP Conference. It is the only University in America with a program in African American material culture and the first HBCU to offer a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts. Dillard University was born of two institutions that served as equity-building engines in the south – New Orleans University and Straight University. On June 6, 1930, the newly formed board of trustees for the new institution proposed a charter for the opening of Dillard University, named for James Hardy Dillard, an educational reformer who promoted racial harmony. Opening its doors in 1935, Dillard University was established to serve as an educational center of excellence in the South. The campus, which remains in its original location, had the unique attribute of being the first HBCU with a sound architectural plan. The new liberal arts university subscribed to the DuBoisian notion of disciplining the mind and stimulating both “the creation of ideas and the development of the higher qualities of the individual.” The University’s seal, which was designed by Dillard, includes the motto “Ex Fide Fortis,” an anchor to represent steadiness, and scales to represent justice. The motto was originally translated by Dillard as “From Confidence Courage.”
