Dear Members of the Loyola University Community,

Change is seldom easy for human beings or institutions. But there are moments in time when change is necessary because the surrounding environment has changed. The environment for Loyola has certainly changed since 29 August 2005. While our campus escaped significant damage from Katrina the effects of the hurricane on New Orleans and the Gulf South have been profound, and they have affected Loyola as well. The national perceptions of those changes have affected the immediate future of the University and our work to recruit new students to come to New Orleans.

Realizing the changing environment the Board of Trustees charged me with developing a plan for Loyola’s future: a future in which our undergraduate population would be smaller than we have been accustomed to. The Board gave me this charge in its December meeting.

Since that time I have to fulfill this charge to the best of my ability. I saw this as more than a task of getting Loyola to the right size. That would be a task only of survival. I saw this task as a moment to make choices about our future in this new environment and how Loyola could become a stronger university.

I developed ideas that shape the vision of this plan in conversations with the vice presidents, deans, and representatives from the University Senate, Administrative Staff Senate, and Student Government Association. I also built the vision upon all the work on planning that has been done in recent years. The vision provides a framework for the strategic goals and for my recommendations to the Board on existing programs. I asked the Provost, Walter Harris, and his staff to conduct a program review to analyze how we allocate our resources. The allocation of resources is a question of stewardship. In a finite world, we need to make choices about how we will use the resources we have.

I know that a number of people have expressed concerns about the program review. After reviewing everything, I am confident in the analysis and the work that Dr. Harris and his staff did in this area. As the Board has expressed confidence in my administration, I want to express my clear confidence in Provost Harris and his staff for the work they have done.

I also want to be clear that “numbers” were not the only factor that drove my recommendations. Centrality to the mission of the University, particularly the Jesuit tradition in the liberal arts and sciences, was a key element that helped me sort the numbers and my recommendations.

During the time of comment and feedback we were given lots of suggestions. However, there were few suggestions that gave me alternative ways to close the budget gap we face. I can understand, as I know firsthand how difficult this exercise can be.

I know that some people wanted more time for input. I would simply point out that it took a great deal of time to pull this plan together. Originally, the Board wanted a plan by its February meeting. I asked to have until the May meeting to complete my work so there would be some time for consultation. While time has been short, there has been time for input and comment, and I think we have done this as well as any other university in New Orleans.

I also know that there are those who would have us do nothing and simply wait. To do this would be debilitating. I have had the experience of working at institutions that hemorrhaged money on an annual basis. Such situations proved to be very limiting and demoralizing for these institutions. The problems need to be addressed and corrected. I also believe that our opportunity to address our issues will not only resolve the problems, so that they do not linger, but strengthen the University as we meet the future.

We have a great deal of work ahead of us. The program discontinuation is only one element of the overall plan. It is part of a short term effort to achieve enrollment stability. Beyond the discontinuations the plan sets out strategic goals for the next five years. These are more long term goals that will need to be worked out and achieved. I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students in developing plans to achieve these goals and attaining them. I think that one can argue that a university is a constellation of communities: faculty, staff, students, alumni and administration. Each is an important constitutive element of the university. No one element comprises the whole of the university but every element is necessary for the life of the university. The work ahead of us, for Loyola, is the work of moving our university to achieve its promise as the center of Jesuit intellectual and spiritual life in the southern tier of the United States.

The work of planning and moving the University forward is the work which involves all of us and it is a work that is greater than any of us. As ideas become more and more powerful in shaping our societies and economies, universities play an increasingly important role in the life of our society. Our work here has importance far beyond Loyola. Our work is important for the betterment of our city and region. It is a work, I believe, that is part of God’s hopes for the making of a better world. I believe it is a work worth doing, and I look forward to working together with you.

With prayers and best wishes,

Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D. 22 May, 2006
President