Weekly Update from the President

Dear Members of the Loyola Community,

This week I would like to update you on the results of our Katrina Relief Fund. We do not yet know the full financial impact of Katrina on the University since our revenue is tied to our enrollment. Because we are in uncharted waters with our revenue, and because we made the commitment to pay our full time faculty and staff, we made the Relief Fund a priority this Fall.

I am pleased to report that to date we have raised $1.2 million. We hope to reach our goal of $2 million by the end of December.

The Relief Fund includes several major gifts: a $250,000 challenge grant from trustee and alumnus Shawn Donnelley; a $300,000 anonymous gift from a couple in Houston; a $100,000 gift from an alum of Georgetown University; and a $250,000 gift from the Samuel Newhouse Foundation and The Times Picayune. We have also received numerous gifts in the $5- $25,000 range as well as individual gifts at all levels. About $30,000 has come in online through our Katrina Relief Fund website. New donors from across the nation have responded to this appeal. I especially want to thank faculty and staff members for their generosity.

Gifts have also come in as a result of our 16 city tour organized by the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations and phonathons organized by the Office of the Annual Fund using Loyola student callers at Georgetown and an outside fundraising firm. In early December, volunteers on campus will be phoning potential donors. If you wish to assist, please call Lucy Warburton (861-5534) or Darla Rushing (864-7197).

I am both grateful and inspired by the generosity of our alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and new friends who have supported the university in this time of need. We will continue our strong effort to reach out to alumni and friends for assistance in this new era in the history of the university and the city.

With prayers and best wishes,

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

President

21 November 2005

Posted on November 29, 2005