March 9, 2001

Danahar accepts presidency at Southwest State

To Loyola faculty and staff,

Please join me in congratulating David C. Danahar who has been elected president of Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota. Dr. Danahar's appointment will be effective July 2001.

Dr. Danahar began his tenure at Loyola University New Orleans in 1992 as vice president for academic affairs. In 1994 he was named provost in addition to his position as vice president for academic affairs. Prior to joining Loyola, Dr. Danahar served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut for seven years. Before working in Jesuit higher education, he spent fifteen years at State University of New York in Oswego where he held teaching and several administrative positions including professor of history; chair, Board of Directors, Honors College; acting associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and director of General Education. Dr. Danahar earned his bachelor's degree in history from Manhattan College; and a master's degree and doctorate in history from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. In addition, he also studied at Oxford University and the University of Vienna. His teaching and research areas of specialty include modern European history, the Habsburg Empire and Modern Italy.

Part of the Minnesota State University System, Southwest State University was founded in 1963 and has a total enrollment of 4,572 students. The Minnesota State University System has a total enrollment of more than 140,000 students. Southwest State University is one of seven four-year campuses of the thirty-five campuses composing the Minnesota State University System. Southwest State University is recognized as a high-quality liberal arts college that offers strong career planning for its students. Currently the university offers forty-three majors in its undergraduate programs and masters degree programs in business administration and education. U.S. News and World Report designated Southwest State as the top regional public liberal arts college in the Midwest for the last four years. The university prides itself on the personal attention its students receive from faculty and staff. With a faculty to student ratio of 1 to 18, the average class size is 23 students.

When I met David for the first time in Spring 1995 during a visit to campus, I asked him what he was looking for in Loyola¹s new president. He replied, ³Someone who can understand Loyola¹s potential and is willing to take some calculated risks to achieve it.² Little did I realize the great adventure David and I were starting that day. He has been a great mentor and friend to me during the last five and one-half years. We have wrestled with ideas and strategies, always with mutual respect and the shared goal of leading Loyola to achieve its potential. In the academic realm, which I have always delegated to his steady hands, David has provided consummate leadership under which we have seen the quality of our academic programs, faculty and students rise to a new, superior level that enabled Loyola to draw closer to the national recognition it deserves.

Please join me in congratulating David on his new appointment. We will celebrate his service at Loyola and wish him well with a reception in early May.

After nine years of service, David will be taking some sabbatical time starting in early April. Dr. Lydia Voigt, currently associate provost, has agreed to serve as interim provost once David begins his sabbatical. I appreciate Lydia¹s generosity in agreeing to take this responsibility at the university. We will begin a search for a new Provost and Academic Vice President in September 2001 following the appropriate protocol outlined in the Faculty Handbook.

Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., President