Magis Moment: March 2022

A Message from the Vice President of University Advancement

Two recent happenings at Loyola have me reflecting on change and continuity in the life of the university. In mid-February, Fr. Leo Nicoll, S.J., a legendary Loyola Jesuit and history professor, passed away after a long life.  Around the same time, Loyola announced that Tania Tetlow would be leaving for the presidency of Fordham University and will be succeeded at Loyola on an interim basis by Fr. Justin Daffron, S.J. as we do a national search for a new president.

I’ve been at Loyola long enough to know that though some of the people here feel permanent at any given time, of course they aren’t. Fr. Nicoll was my honors history professor in the 1980s, and he was still at Loyola when I returned to work here in 2004. Fr. Nicoll felt as permanent a part of my life as anyone at Loyola, but the effect of his humility and his profound homilies at Mass—his whole way of being—was a counterpoint, a testament to how temporary our chances at goodness are in this life.

Loyola University is 110 years old this year. Its mission is almost 500 years old—older if we remember Jesus’ missioning of his disciples to make the world a place of love, truth, and beauty. People have made Loyola what it is, but Loyola helps shape its people—students, faculty, staff—who spend time here. There is a recognizable Loyola way of being: caring, unpretentious, problem-solving, sometimes quirky, creative, curious, and seeking humor where we can find it.

We all are looking forward to working with Fr. Daffron. In just a couple of years here as vice president of mission and identity, he already has shown he “gets” Loyola and is ready to make his own contributions to the university’s history. Please pray or send good wishes for his success in caring for our cherished and enduring university.

AMDG,
Chris Wiseman ’88