Summer 2001

Fr. Carter to lead Immaculate Conception

Loyola's chancellor and former president, the Rev. James C. Carter, S. J., has been named pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, one of New Orleans' oldest churches, by Most Reverend Francis B. Schulte, archbishop of New Orleans. The appointment is effective August 1, 2001. The parish, founded by Jesuit Order in 1857, is located at 130 Baronne Street. Carter will follow the well-loved Rev. Harry Tompson, who died this year.

Carter was the longest tenured president of Loyola University, serving the university for over 20 years. Carter is also recognized as a theologian, nuclear physicist and civic leader. He has served in his current post, as chancellor, since 1995. As chancellor, Carter has been involved in advancement work for Loyola, including working with alumni, donors and the community. In addition, he has conducted numerous spiritual retreats.

Carter received his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He also holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Spring Hill College, a master's degree from Fordham University and a S.T.L. from Woodstock College. His field of research is nuclear and elementary particle theories. He has published many articles in the fields of nuclear physics and in theology.

Reflecting a varied career, Carter has received numerous honor and awards. In 1974, he received the Palmes Academiques, the same year, as an alumnus of St. Stanislaus High School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, he was elected to the school's Hall of Fame. Carter has been honored with the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith's Torch of Liberty Award in 1983. In 1994, he received the Whitney M. Young Award, presented by the Urban League. Loyola presented Carter an Honorary Doctorate in 1995.

As a civic activist, he has served as division director of the United Way, a director at New Orleans Public Service, Inc., and as president of the Metropolitan Area Committee. Carter served as Interim Executive Director of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in 1996 and he is currently co-chair of the New Orleans region of the board of the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Carter has a long personal history at Loyola. He came to the university first as a student in 1944. He returned in 1960 to teach physics as an instructor, later becoming an assistant and associate professor of physics. He was appointed provost and academic vice president in 1970 and in 1974, was named the 14th president of university. He made the transition on August 1, 1995, into the newly-created position of chancellor. Carter will continue teaching courses on science and religion at Loyola, some of the most popular courses at the university.

Under Carter's presidential tenure of vision and persistence, Loyola flourished. Undergraduate, graduate and Institute of Ministry extension classes saw a steady increase in enrollment. A large percentage of students now come from all over the United States as well as over 48 countries. Carter has remarked that he is most proud, however, of the "building of a first-rate faculty which helped to improve the student body enormously." The current faculty-student ratio is 12-to-1 and over 90 percent have doctorate or terminal degrees. Perhaps his finest accomplishment for the future was the laying of the groundwork for the J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Memorial Library, which opened to students in 1999.

Carter and another Loyola Jesuit have followed parallel career paths, that is, going from the Loyola presidency to serve as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church. The Rev. Albert H. Biever, S.J., the university's first president and the Jesuit credited with founding and establishing Loyola University in its current location, was also the first pastor at Immaculate Conception Church. In 1904, Fr. Biever, who was also a scientist, began his work at Loyola and obtained a charter from the state of Louisiana in 1912.

Upon announcement of his new position, Fr. Carter said, "After much reflection and prayer, I am thrilled with this assignment. This is an ideal opportunity to continue to build on the work Fr. Tompson started and to provide New Orleans with a vital downtown parish. He served the needs of the homeless and other underserved groups in the city."

As pastor at Immaculate Conception, Carter will continue work on a new project the parish has recently put into place. The parish, working with the Jesuits and a group of lay persons, are turning a closed furniture store into a free-tuition Catholic school. Children from families who live below the poverty level are the targeted students for the school.

"Once that work is on firm footing, I would like to explore the possibility of working with adult literacy. As a university president, I met people of all faiths and Immaculate Conception would be an ideal place to foster ecumenical dialogue," Carter said.