Weekly Update from the President

Dear Member of the Loyola University Community,

This week I would like to bring you up to date on several very important issues in the life of the university.

1) SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation Status Report:

The first step of our SACS reaccreditation effort has been concluded. I am happy to report that SACS congratulated us “on a job well done under extremely difficult conditions.” Of the 80 principles we have demonstrated compliance with 75 of them. (On average most schools are found not to be in compliance with more than seven or eight principles after this first off-site committee review.) We also received a very positive review of our business and financial reporting. We will submit focus reports in January to document that we are in compliance.

In addition to the focus reports our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is due to SACS at the end of January. The purpose of an institution’s QEP is to enhance student learning. The theme of our plan, “Thinking Critically, Acting Justly,” is especially important at this time in the life of Loyola and New Orleans.

The QEP is being currently being updated to address the changed environment caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We will have Town Hall meetings to discuss the QEP throughout the month of January 2006. Faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to come and add their ideas to the discussion.

We will have an on-site committee visit the campus March 14-16 to evaluate our QEP and reach closure on these four principles. The entire campus community is asked to be ready to meet with this committee if asked.

I am very grateful to John Cornwell, Brenda Joyner, and Walter Harris for their leadership on this project.

2) The staff at the Whelan Child Care Center have worked diligently to get the center cleaned, reorganized and ready to open in January. The center has been approved for reopening by the fire marshall and health department. We are now waiting to hear from licensing to get permission to reopen.

3) Bush-Clinton Fund: On n Wednesday, 7 December, Loyola University received a donation from the relief fund established by former presidents Bush and Clinton. Both former presidents see higher education as vital to the recovery and the future of the region. The former presidents presented me with a check for Loyola University in the amount of $430,000. The amount was based on a number of factors such as the number of students on Pell grants, physical damage to a campus, and an institution’s financial health.

4) Federal support: We were delighted to learn that Congress has passed, and President Bush has signed, a bill that gives Loyola $250,000 toward the renovation of our chemistry labs. I want to thank the Louisiana Congressional delegation for their support. I also want to thank Professor Kurt Birdwhistell and Dean Frank Scully for their work on this and their travel to D.C. to visit the delegation. I want to thank the members of the IA staff who worked on this and, of course, I am grateful to Mr. Tommy Screen, my assistant for government relations, for efforts on this project.

5) Housing: We continue to move ahead on the faculty/staff trailers in Kenner. We need the final approval of the Kenner City council which, I hope, will come on the 15 th. In the meantime the Shaw group has been notified by FEMA that they can complete the design for the project. If we get the approval on the 15 th, they will begin construction on the 16 th.

Student Affairs has been working to maximize our on-campus housing and is working to develop off-campus housing options as well. I want to thank Dr. Tom Smith and Mr. Robbie Reed for their work in this area. I have also asked Dr. David Estes to devote his full-time energy to helping Tom and Robbie.

As always, I hope this information is helpful and I that it finds you well.

With prayers and best wishes,

Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.

8 December 2005

Posted on December 9, 2005