Weekly Update from the President

Dear Members of the University Community,

Last week the recovery and new life of the University continued. The Council of Deans met in Houston and will meet again in New Orleans to finalize plans for the Spring semester. Also the Board of Trustees held its first meeting of the year in Houston.

The Provost, Deans, and all the members of Academic Affairs are preparing a full course offering for the Spring semester. The Provost and the Deans are working with departments to reach faculty members and students. Also, information will be available on the web to help with registration. Academic Advisors are contacting students to answer questions. We are also asking to hear from staff members by November 1. These contacts will help us prepare for a very full spring time!

The Board of Trustees met last week for the first time this academic year. Originally we had planned to devote the meeting to discuss the Strategic Plan that had been developed from the work of the faculty in recent years and the Task Force, led by Provost Harris, last year. In some way, the idea for the meeting could not have been more timely. The Board did focus on strategic planning at this meeting but in a very different context than we had imagined when we set up the meeting. In light of the earlier work on planning that had been done and the changed context since Katrina, the Board has instructed me, as President, to develop, by its December meeting, a focused three year strategic blueprint to guide the University through this event and into the immediate future. The goal is to achieve stability and direction for the University in our new post Katrina world and city. I have begun working on this blueprint drawing on ideas from the past planning along with the realities of our current context. I will work on it with the Provost, Vice Presidents, and Deans before taking it to the Board in their December meeting.

Also last week we concluded the search for a new Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Ms. Victoria Frank comes to us from Fontbonne University and she will begin work in December. Ms. Frank is from the St. Louis area and comes with experience at Fontbonne, Webster, and Washington universities. I look forward to working with her and I think she will be a wonderful addition to our community.

I know that this Friday will begin the re-entry for those who will be returning to campus. I will not be able to be there as I will be making my way down the east coast visiting alums, students, and families. You will be returning to a city that has changed enormously since you left. Our challenge is to imagine a city that will change even more, for the better, in the future. I am excited to be a part of Loyola and a part of that change.

I look forward to seeing you on January 9 th when we begin classes on St. Charles Avenue!

With prayers and best wishes,

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

President

19 October 2005

Posted on October 19, 2005