Director

Leslie G. Parr, Ph.D., teaches photojournalism courses and the history of photography in Loyola's School of Mass Communication. Dr. Parr earned a Ph. D. in United States History from Tulane University and an M.F.A. in photography, also from Tulane. She is the Shawn M. Donnelley professor for Nonprofit Communications.

Dr. Parr has worked professionally as a photojournalist and writer and has published three books. She completed an online photography project for The Journal of American History about Hurricane Katrina, and has taught four Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities teacher institutes for advanced study.

Dr. Parr most recently was chosen as one of the New Orleans Jazz and Festival official photographers. Her photographs have appeared in many publications and galleries.

Office: CM 306, 504-865-3649, email: parr@loyno.edu

   The first time that Dr. Nystrom came to New Orleans was in the spring of 1999 to do research for his master's thesis on the White League. Like so many who now live in the city today, he has been consumed by this most interesting town ever since, particular its life and cultire in the ninteenth and early twentieth centuries. Nystrom recieved a doctorate in history from the University of Georgia in 2004 and has taught history at Virginia Tech, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Mississippi where he held a joint appointment between history and southern studies. 

 His new book, New Orleans after the Civil War: Race, Politics, and a New Birth of Freedom will be released in March, 2010 by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Nystrom is currently working on a combined book and documentary film project titled Making Groceries: Corner Markets and the Food Culture of Italian New Orleans. This new project will explore the cultural and historical forces that shaped important elements of the city's identity in the century between 1850 and 195. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and published essays. 

Dr. Nystrom joined the Loyola faculty in the fall of 2009 as a specialist in the Civil War Era, fulfilling a long-term dream of working in the city and at a job that he loves. In his "spare" time, he enjoys entertaining friends with his perfect (for him) wife Jessica, painting, and sharing his vision of the potential that is New Orleans with anyone willing to listen. 

Office: Bobbet 430, 504-865-2568, email: jnystrom@loyno.edu