Loyno Magazine - Winter 2018

WINTER 2018

BOTTLED UP Tim Gantz ’84 lives out Jesuit values by creating plastic bottle schools in Guatemala

To Thine Own

Self Be True

Loyola students win big at the Shakespeare Film Festival

GOING DIGITAL Loyola rolls out online and continuing education programs across multiple colleges to offer a signature Loyola education in a virtual environment

WINTER 2018

10 COVER STORY

Online by Design Loyola expands and improves its online course offerings to better accommodate all students, wherever they are.

2 President’s Message 3 Know & Tell 4 News Roundup 6 Creative Class 7 The Loyola Effect 8 Local Flavor 9 On the Scene 20 Message in a Bottle: Tim Gantz ’84 24 A Midsummer Night's Team

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Capacity for Tenacity

Infused with the spirit of “Tenacious Ignatius,” the Faith in the Future campaign races toward the finish line.

Heart of Maroon & Gold

Former Loyola employee donates $10 million to fund scholarships.

“A Moveable Feast”

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28 Hurricane Heroes 36 So Long, Farewell 40 Institutional Advancement 44 Alumni Events 48 Class Notes 49 Alumni Profile: Kendall Cousin Jr. ’15 47 Alumni Profile: John Levendis ’97 58 Alumni Profile: Eboni Williams, J.D. ’07 59 Bon Temps 60 Out in the Streets 61 Do This 62 Community Engagement 63 Then & Now 64 How Loyola Shaped Me WINTER 2018 | loyno

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

WINTER 2018 Vol. 28, No. 1 Editor Eve C. Peyton Designers Hollie Garrison Linda Lien-Ribardi University Photographer Kyle Encar Contributing Writers Mackenzie Becker ’18 Mairéad Cahill ’18 Fallon Chiasson ’19 Angelique Dyer ’11 Fritz Esker ’00 Will Glass Autumn Cafiero Giusti ’00 Sarah Ravits Director of Creative Services Allee Parker Associate Director of Public Affairs Patricia Murret Dear Loyola community, THE START OF A NEW YEAR IS ALWAYS FULL OF HOPE AND THE EXCITEMENT OF CHANGE. For me, it marks a new beginning as I prepare to depart Loyola University New Orleans in June after 14 years as president and guide the transition to our next leader, who will carry forward the mission set by St. Ignatius — preparing our students to go forth and set the world on fire.

Leaving Loyola has caused me to reflect on the resilience and creativity of our beloved New Orleans. Our city weathered the storm of Katrina, only to rise to the distinction of being named the world’s No. 1 City to Visit by the New York Times.

The fighter in me appreciates that everyone loves a comeback — and Loyola has certainly risen to the occasion. We have come together as a community to reimagine our future as a leading Catholic, Jesuit university — and worked together to ensure traditions while breaking new ground.

Our Faith in the Future campaign is nearly complete, and we need your help more than ever before to finish strong. Aptly named “Tenacious Ignatius,” our marketing messages emphasize that we are ever-grateful for the generosity of our donors, no matter what the gift.

Our students are excelling in all disciplines, and now with the introduction of new online programs, we will be able to extend our classroom experience and mission even further. Designed for the adult learner, these new online programs enable degree completion and widen professional development opportunities through cutting-edge certificate programs open to students and alumni.

This is an exciting time at Loyola, and we look forward to seeing what the future will bring!

Executive Director of Development Stephanie Hotard ’04, M.B.A. ’10 Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement Laurie Eichelberger Leiva ’03 Assistant Vice President for Donor Services Claire Simno ’72 Vice President for Institutional Advancement Chris Wiseman ’88, Ph.D. Vice President for Marketing and Communications Laura F. Frerichs University President The Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D. LOYNO Magazine is published twice per year.

View online at loyno.edu/magazine Send address changes to: Loyola University New Orleans Office of Marketing + Communications 6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 212 New Orleans, LA 70118 Correspondence may be sent to: Editor, LOYNO Magazine 6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 212 New Orleans, LA 70118 phone (504) 861-5859 fax (504) 861-5784 email magazine@loyno.edu Submissions of stories and photographs are welcome.

The Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D. University President

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Loyola University New Orleans has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and in the activities it operates the policy of not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.

know&tell Loyno news worth howling about

In October 2017, Loyola celebrated Disability Awareness Month with a variety of events focused on creating awareness of the challenges posed by physical,

emotional, and social disabilities. We were honored to welcome Steve Gleason, former New Orleans Saints player, one of our 2014 honorary degree recipients, and

as the month’s keynote speaker.

champion for those living with ALS, During his speech, Gleason told his story of both defeat and triumph as he continues his “no white flags” approach to fighting ALS. Beyond his faith that there is a way to heal, it is his mission to show that patients can not only live but thrive after this diagnosis.

Loyola has been named among

The Princeton Review’s Best 382 Colleges!

We were singled out in Top 20 rankings five times, including No. 11 in the nation for “lots of race-class interaction” and No. 5 for Best College Newspaper, as well as a score of 93 out of 100 for Quality of Life, a measure of how happy students are with their lives outside the classroom!

The rankings for U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2018 are out, and Loyola

Loyola jumped three spots from No. 12 to No. 9 in the Best Value ranking, a measure that demonstrates affordability and ranks high once again!

access among universities with high academic opportunities and achievement.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner to campus for a Loyola was excited to welcome

free event on Nov. 2, 2017. He was interviewed on the stage of Roussel Hall by the founding editor of American Theatre magazine, Jim O’Quinn, and hosted an exclusive Q & A masterclass just for Loyola students. His visit to Loyola happened at the same time as the first-time theatrical collaboration between Loyola’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society for the New Orleans’ premiere of his remarkable musical, Caroline, or Change, which eloquently probes issues of race, identity, and history.

In a strong effort to increase first-year retention at Loyola, the

Success Coaching program was created in partnership with the Student Success Center and InsideTrack, a education management and student services provider.

All first-year students have the chance to meet one-on-one with a success coach and work with them to make sure they have the tools and resources they need to have a great academic and social experience at Loyola.

Norman C. Francis, J.D. ’55, H ’82, president

emeritus of Xavier University of Louisiana, was honored in November

portrait in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery as part of 2017 with a

its annual Recent Acquisitions exhibition.

The portrait of the educator and lawyer is featured among images of individuals who made a “significant impact” on the nation’s history and culture!

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news roundup Broadening Perspectives Teaching the Teachers Five students earn Gilman Scholarships to study abroad Five Loyola undergraduate students were selected from a national pool of more than 1,000 applicants from 386 colleges and universities across the United States to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study or intern abroad during spring 2018.

The Gilman Scholarship Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, which is designed to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries to promote friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations.

The selected students were the only students from Louisiana universities to receive the honor this year.

The students receiving the award are Dea Devlin, a New York native and environmental studies and philosophy junior who received a $5,000 scholarship to study in Ecuador; Leslie Galvez, a South Carolina native and environmental biology junior who received a $3,000 scholarship to study in Ecuador; Marjunique Louis, a Louisiana native and journalism junior who received $3,500 to study in China; Shavon Fletcher, a Louisiana native

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and philosophy pre-law junior who received $4,500 to study in Ecuador; and Oanh Nguyen, a Louisiana native and psychology senior who received $2,500 to study in the Netherlands.

The scholarship requires that each student design an original service project to help promote study abroad. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process that demands they write a project proposal, and they must use the award to defray eligible study or intern abroad costs. These costs include program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance, international airfare, and passport and visa fees.

“The Gilman Scholarships provide opportunities to students who may not otherwise be able to study abroad and helped diversify not only the kind of students who are studying abroad but also the locations where they study,” Debbie Danna, director of the Center for International Education at Loyola, says. “This year, 100 percent of the Loyola University New Orleans students who applied received this important honor, which demands both academic strength and commitment to a followon service project either during their travel or upon their return.”

Loyola and other local organizations awarded $13M grant to recruit and train teachers

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a nearly $13 million grant to a group of New Orleans universities and nonprofits to recruit, prepare, and develop nearly 900 highly effective, culturally competent teachers from diverse backgrounds by 2020.

The project establishes a unique and innovative partnership of teacher training programs, including two local universities – Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola – and four New Orleans education nonprofits – Teach for America Greater New Orleans, teachNOLA, Relay Graduate School of Education, and New Schools for New Orleans. The partners will work together to address teacher pipeline challenges across the city, implementing their unique teacher preparation models to meet the needs of schools with high concentrations of high-need students while collaborating on best practices and problem-solving.

“The partnership that this award will help foster is an important step for our city,” Dr. Renée Akbar, chair and associate professor of Xavier University’s Division of Education and Counseling, says. “We will come together across the full range of ways

teachers are prepared to work in our city’s schools – residencies, university programs, and alternative routes.”

Loyola will recruit and train teachers over the course of the grant through its recently launched master of arts in teaching program, which prepares teachers to apply for certification in grades 6-12. The yearlong program emphasizes competency-based skills, realworld applications, and includes significant advising and coaching for teachers.

“Expanding pipelines that will allow New Orleans to meet rising demand for excellent teachers is an urgent challenge,” says David B. Borofsky, Ed.D., interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Loyola, adding that Loyola is pleased to help educate the next generation of educational leaders.

In addition to the individual organizational efforts, the partners will collaborate on specific activities to increase the number of teachers of color, enhance the cultural competency of their teachers, and participate in structured collaborations to learn from local and national experts and one another.

The Maroon Wins Again

College Media Association names school paper No. 2 in the nation

In October 2017, the College Media Association named Loyola’s 94-yearold student-run newspaper, The Maroon, the No. 2 Best College Media Outlet of the Year in the nation. In judging the Best College Media Outlet award, the CMA judges considered excellence in delivering information through multiple channels, including the printed page, video, audio, web, social, and mobile.

The CMA announced its Pinnacle awards Oct. 27, 2017, in Atlanta. In addition to the No. 2 designation, The Maroon also won second place for Best Mobile App/Plug-In, third place for Best Advertising Rate Card/Media Kit, and two honorable mentions for Best Online Ad and Best Editorial Illustration during the 2016-2017 academic year.

These five new national awards will be added to the School of Mass Communication’s collection, which has amassed more than 200 awards in the past three years, including a national Pacemaker Award, considered the “Pulitzer Prize of college journalism.”

“The Maroon has a long history of excellence, and through these competitions, our students are not only showing their professional worth but pushing themselves to develop their capabilities and achieve ‘personal bests,’” Dr. Sonya Duhé, director of the School of Mass Communication at Loyola, says. “Seeing our students win again and again on a national level shows us that they are developing the fortitude and skills they need for

professional success in a competitive and changing environment.”

“Being named the No. 2 College Media Outlet in the nation is an exceptional honor and thrill for The Maroon, which has been a leader in the college news industry throughout its nearly 100-year history – and in recent years has broken records while winning national prizes,” adds student media adviser and instructor Michael Giusti ’00, M.B.A. ’12. “The award acknowledges that we are not only a great newspaper – it recognizes The Maroon as ‘the whole package,’ a leader in the print, video and digital space, which is more important now than ever. We are thrilled to see The Maroon conquer new territory and continue its longstanding tradition of excellence.”

The Maroon began reaching new heights two years ago with a recordbreaking year that garnered 93 awards earned by students including the Pacemaker Award. Last year also brought a plethora of prizes – and the student newspaper’s secondhighest number of awards yet - with 75 awards earned during the 2015-2016 academic year by Loyola students working for The Maroon.

“It’s great to get recognized at the national level, especially since we're competing against publications at much larger schools,” Loyola journalism senior Nick Reimann, editor-in-chief for The Maroon, says.

“It’s safe to say The Maroon really punches above its weight,”

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CREATIVE CLASS

AHEAD OF THE

GAME

BY FRITZ ESKER ’00

Game as Art, part of Loyola’s game studies minor, encourages students to take a look at the aesthetics and cultural value of one of their favorite pastimes.

THE DEFINITION OF “ART” HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME. For many years, people considered film to be mere entertainment and not a serious art form like literature or theatre. But now, colleges across the country offer film studies and filmmaking courses.

A similar evolution is happening with how people view gaming and, more specifically, video games. At Loyola, communications professor Dr. David Myers is teaching a class called Game as Art as part of Loyola’s game studies minor.

As an academic, Myers’ research is gamerelated; he had incorporated gaming topics in other classes he taught before the Game as Art class. He has written a book called The Nature of Computer Games and is working on another called Play Redux: The Anti-Aesthetic of Computer Games. When Loyola launched its game studies minor, Myers was eager to turn one of his passions into a class.

The Game as Art class is one of the two core courses (along with How to Do Things With Videogames) of the game studies minor, which gives students a rigorous analysis of digital media and its growing influence on human behavior, values, and institutions. The other four courses to complete the 18-credit-hour

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requirement can be chosen from a variety of electives on media, technology, sports, and gaming.

“Games have cultural value and some insight into the human brain,” Myers says. “There’s been increasing interest in academia to see what’s going on here [with games]. Why is it so pervasive? What effects does it have? What does it mean for our culture as a whole?”

The class is a seminar course. It does not teach students how to make a video game, although there are separate courses with game design components at Loyola, and for students interested in game programming, Loyola recently announced a bachelor of science degree in computer science with a focus on game programming.

In Game as Art, however, students read different theories of art and aesthetics, then think critically to determine if those theories can be applied to video games.

Time in the class also is devoted to tracing the history of games from board games to text-based computer adventure games like Zork to the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the more advanced Nintendo and PlayStation games of today. Even in the short

span of time since the Game as Art class started in 2013, games have changed. Myers says when he first began teaching the class, students were interested in games like World of Warcraft, but now story-based games are more popular.

Even though the students enjoy games, many of them still have been influenced by societal attitudes that games aren’t as meaningful or artistic as other forms of media. While it’s hard for students not to be influenced by these attitudes, many of them are clearly fond of video games, which they have played for their entire lives. They see value in them. The course teaches them how to make a serious aesthetic argument in favor of video games as art.

“The students have a feeling that games are important, but they don’t have the vocabulary or the background to explain why,” Myers says.

One of the most rewarding components of the class for Myers is watching his students’ perceptions of games as art change as the course progresses.

“It has been a guilty pleasure for them in the past,” he says. “But they see that there’s maybe more to it than they originally thought.”

THE

LOYOLA EFFECT

ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA,

FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

St. Ignatius of Loyola was a soldier in the Spanish army in the 1500s. While he was bedridden and recovering from an injury he sustained in battle, he read about the lives of Jesus and the saints and discovered his own love for God. As his faith grew, his goal became to do good work all over the world. He founded the Jesuit Order in 1540.

Loyola University New Orleans was chartered in 1912, 372 years after St. Ignatius founded the Jesuit Order. And in 2014, Loyola launched the Faith in the Future campaign to continue to follow in St. Ignatius’ footsteps to do good work for our students and campus community.

Faith in the Future strives to give

students access to the education and resources they need to succeed.

Here are some of the things that the campaign has funded: 42 NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS totaling over $20M

81 NEW FAITH IN THE FUTURE ENDOWMENTS

totaling over $11M for faculty positions, scholarships, and academic programs

20 NEW CHAIRS AND PROFESSORSHIPS

totaling over $2.5M

$13,637,496 RAISED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS

Pan-American Life Student Success Center, Monroe Hall, the Benson Jesuit Center, and more

19 NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAM ENDOWMENTS totaling over $800K

The Faith in the Future campaign has raised over $83M so far, making it

$83.4M CAMPAIGN IN LOYOLA'S HISTORY THE LARGEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL

To join the drive to surpass our $100 million goal, visit campaign.loyno.edu WINTER 2018 | loyno

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LOCAL FLAVOR

FILM STAR Loyola enjoys its close-up as the setting for Happy Death Day. THIS YEAR, LOYOLA KILLED IT. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. New Orleans is known as “Hollywood South” – a perfect place for blockbuster films to be shot on location with a small-town feel and big-city scenery. Major films produced here include 21 Jump Street, Jurassic World, Logan, and 12 Years a Slave.

And this year, Loyola got to be a part of that movie-making magic by hosting the filming of Happy Death Day, a thriller that premiered at No. 1 at the box office and has since grossed $115 million worldwide.

The film follows the story of a college student who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of one of her classmates. She goes throughout her day with the feeling that something is off, and she’s right – that night, someone in a creepy mask kills her. She then wakes up in her classmate’s bed again and realizes she’s reliving her (truly awful) birthday – repeatedly.

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The movie was filmed almost entirely on Loyola’s campus, in locations such as Biever Hall and the sculpture garden in between Bobet and Marquette halls. Students had the opportunity to see the film industry at work without ever leaving campus.

Dr. Jon Vogl, extraordinary professor in digital filmmaking, is thrilled about the involvement that the students had in the filming process.

“They filmed on multiple locations around campus, invited students to their set and production meetings, visited our film classes, and interviewed many of our film students for internship positions,” Vogl says. “Working

BY MACKENZIE BECKER ’18 PHOTO CREDIT: UNIVERSAL PICTURES

with Blumhouse and Universal Studios was a great experience for the university and gave our students a personal look into the inner workings of a professional film production.”

Universal Studios arranged a free preview screening of the movie for Loyola students, staff, and faculty, which was held on Oct. 12, 2017, at the Prytania Theatre. Economics and marketing junior Camille Mena Pacheco loved having the opportunity to have a first look at the movie.

“I had to wait in line for a few hours because so many people wanted to come, but I made it into the front row,” she says. “It was amazing to see the places I see every day on the big screen.”

PHOTO CREDIT: PATTI PERRET

ON THE SCENE

BY MACKENZIE BECKER ’18

Kathryn Rose Wood ’10, M.M.T. ’12, brings awareness to mental health issues through music.

Kathryn Rose Wood ’10 (music therapy), M.M.T. ’12, has turned sorrow into joy. In 2015, Wood lost her brother Preston to suicide. After several months of emotional confusion and pain, she began channeling her grief into music – and has been using that music to better her community ever since.

After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music therapy from Loyola, Wood began work as a clinical music therapist. For the past several years, she has been working with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. In this role, Wood provides services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“What we achieve in music therapy groups, in regard to cognitive processing, development of fine and gross motor skills, and improved positive social interaction, is truly hard to match with any other therapy,” Wood says.

In September 2017, Wood chaired an inaugural benefit concert called Music for Mental Health: An Evening of Health and Discussion at the Mint Museum’s performance venue space. This event featured live music performances, as well as panel discussions, in honor of National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Four of the five performers for the event were former Loyola students – Mia Borders ’10 (English writing), Kei Slaughter ’09 (music therapy), Alfred Banks, and Wood herself. All proceeds, save for those the Mint collected for

its venue services, were donated to the New Orleans affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI GNO. Wood is grateful to Loyola for helping her become involved in the New Orleans community from the get-go.

“The community involvement opportunities through the music therapy field placements and through Loyola’s LUCAP and Mission and Ministry programs helped me to get very connected to New Orleans very quickly,” Wood says. “Loyola emphasizes the need for the students to be directly involved with our city, to give back what they’re receiving, and to use their education in a way that will serve individuals who may not be able to serve themselves.”

Wood also released her first solo album, In the Ashes, in October 2017. Wood’s intention for the album is to provide a therapeutic release to those who may be considering suicide, facing mental illness, or grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. The first single from this album, “Lullaby (to Preston),” was well-publicized by national organizations such as American Songwriter Magazine, National Alliance on Mental Illness, To Write Love on Her Arms, and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network.

In an article Wood wrote for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, she said: “As cathartic as music was for me to write, I wanted to ensure I was sharing my songs with others for their healing. If music could help me feel hope and a little less pain, maybe it could do the same for others. That is the power of music, isn’t it?”

g k n i t S ri d r o h C t h g i R THE

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ANNA VILLANUEVA ’17 earned her doctor of nursing practice degree from Loyola's School of Nursing, an early adopter of online learning. She now works as a family nurse practitioner with Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans.

Loyola expands and improves its online course offerings to better accommodate all students, wherever they are.

ONLIN

BY AUTUMN CAFIERO GIUSTI ’00

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BY

NE

DESIGN WINTER 2018 | loyno

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Critical thinking is a daily exercise for Loyola students.

It takes place all over campus, from the benches of the Peace Quad to the classrooms of Bobet Hall.

At least that’s how it is for the traditional Loyola student.

But for the single parent living on the Northshore, the busy professional putting in long hours at the office, the brave men and women in the military, or the curious learner who lives in a remote rural setting, an immersive, on-campus experience isn’t always possible. What is possible is for that same level of critical thinking to take place in a virtual setting.

To that end, the university is rolling out nine degree programs this spring that students can complete entirely online.

The programs will be across multiple colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Music and Fine Arts, and Nursing and Health. Faculty members also are taking steps to incorporate Loyola’s signature learning experience into a virtual environment.

DAX RUSSO is taking advantage of Loyola's online criminal justice program. He is currently a captain at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

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T

here’s an epidemic of enthusiasm at Loyola right now, and part of it is this online initiative,”

says Patricia Pearce, associate professor and interim dean of the College of Nursing and Health (formerly the College of Graduate and Professional Studies). Pearce is a co-sponsor in Loyola’s new online endeavor and has taught online for 18 years, including six years of online teaching in the School of Nursing at Loyola.

Pearce explains that there are three types of students: those who want to take all their classes online, those who want to attend all their classes on campus, and those who want a mix of both.

“The university is poised to offer online the quality education we share with our students in person,” says Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David B. Borofsky, Ed.D. “Our unique blend of Jesuit education and New Orleans education provides our students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow within themselves and to better understand the world around them through our expert faculty and in-depth curricula. We are confident we will positively extend what we do to the online world!”

Online classes across multiple disciplines have been available to Loyola students for several years. But what makes this spring’s rollout different is that this is the first time these nine degree programs will be completely available online.

The university also plans to add more online degrees over the next year, including several new degrees that the university has never offered before.

Through the online programs, the university hopes to reach a new segment of students who otherwise might not have access to a Loyola degree. The programs also will provide more options and greater flexibility for traditional, on-campus students who might be juggling jobs and internships with their course load.

Each class course included a detailed syllabus – sometimes 100 pages long – spelling out precisely what students needed to do to complete the course. Each session included a video featuring presentations from Loyola professors, scholars, and other experts in the field.

Before the start of each course, the university used to ship all of the course materials – including the syllabus, textbook, VHS videos, and course book – to the various LIMEX centers.

Hurricane Katrina forced LIM to stop shipping books and eventually to move all of its printed materials online instead. LIM also started distributing videos by DVD instead of “We’re just leveraging the online technology VHS. Those videos have moved online in the for students who prefer to have an online past couple of years. education experience,” Pearce says.

“All of this experience with our extension program prepared us to offer our online program,” Ryan says.

Similarly, Pearce recalls that during that time, former nursing school director Dr. Billie Ann Wilson did distance outreach to nurses The concept of distance learning is nothing new throughout Louisiana. to Loyola. In fact, before most people even knew “She used to record lectures and ship them what the internet was, Loyola was giving students off to people so they could access the same an opportunity to take classes from afar, without kind of information as if they were on the having to set foot on campus. ground at Loyola,” Pearce says.

The Loyola Institute for Ministry and the Although Loyola courses weren’t available School of Nursing were early adopters of distance online until the 2000s, the experience learning in the 1980s. prepared both LIM and the nursing school to LIM’s earliest distance learning program came eventually offer Loyola degrees and certificates in response to curriculum demands from Catholic in a digital format. bishops around Louisiana and elsewhere in the “Developing these learning designs really U.S. in the 1980s. anticipated the kind of work you needed to “They wanted the program we were offering on do with online courses because you had to campus, but they wanted it in their diocese,” says develop the entire course ahead of time and be Dr. Tom Ryan, director of LIM and the Marjorie R. very explicit about goals and assignments and Morvant Professor in Theology and Ministry. learning activities,” Ryan says.

To meet that need, the university developed When the nine new online programs the Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension, or become available this spring, they will join five LIMEX, program to provide a distance learning existing online graduate degree programs, all option to students in other locations, a choice of which are available through the College of that continues to be available. Each course Nursing and the Loyola Institute for Ministry. consists of 10 three-hour sessions that Loyola The programs are doctor of nursing practice, faculty members designed, along with a book master of science in nursing, master of science that contains course lectures. Because these in nursing bridge, master of pastoral studies, instructors can’t be physically present to teach and master of religious education. their courses, the university hires and trains “I think this is an exciting time for Loyola people to facilitate the coursework at designated as we offer courses that address unmet LIMEX locations – usually church parishes – needs and reach out to people who have been throughout the state, around the country, and educationally underserved,” Ryan says. “Online around the world. is a way for Loyola to live out its mission in new Distance-learning students would meet at these ways and have it reach new audiences.” locations once a week for a three-hour session.

Early Distance Learning

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NEW ONLINE PROGRAMS COLLEGE

DEGREE

PROGRAM

Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Business Business Dual

Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Arts Master's Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Business Adm. Master's Master's

Computer Info. Systems Entrepreneurship Computer Info. Systems Management Science Criminology and Justice Criminology and Justice Interdisciplinary Studies Mass Communication Management Business Administration Business Administration and Pastoral Studies

Building the Virtual Classroom Just because classes are online doesn’t preclude instructors from incorporating the same levels of critical thinking, discussion, evaluation, review, and reflection as in a brickand-mortar classroom. Instructors who will be teaching the courses are required to enroll in a five-week online faculty training course to learn how to effectively incorporate those elements into their online classes.

Even for instructors who are already teaching online, the new programs present an opportunity for them to rethink their classes and objectives, says Ashley Francis, director of graduate programs in the College of Business and visiting assistant professor of marketing and management. Francis has been working with Pearce, Borofsky, and Dean of Libraries Deborah Poole to lead the charge in getting the online programs ready and running for the spring semester.

“These courses that exist on the ground may have to be adjusted for an online platform delivery but still with the same outcomes and quality,” Francis says. “In fact, we see this as an opportunity to increase student-faculty engagement because there will be a lot more direct communication between student and faculty member.”

Part of Project Magis and the university’s master plan to help students successfully transition to college, the new online programs

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grew out of an increasing demand for distancelearning opportunities for adult learners.

The university library was on the ground in the early days of online learning and is the home of Blackboard training and administration.

“Library faculty and staff are engaged in all aspects of online learning, from instructors to design to ensuring the online resources are available to students,” Poole says, adding that those resources include textbooks, readings, and media streaming.

Members of the library are project managers for closed captioning the Blackboard Collaborate platform and open educational resources and e-textbooks.

This spring, the library will offer a new course, information literacy and research, which is required in the new adult part-time Interdisciplinary Studies Program.

In developing the new programs, the university followed the online teaching model set by fellow Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities member Creighton University, which provided support to Loyola during the program development process.

Loyola was able to create a five-week faculty training program that focuses on how students learn and how teachers teach in an online platform, and some best practices – incorporating reflection, critical thinking, and ethics into an online platform.

“It’s a university-wide effort, and we could not do it without the participation and vision of Loyola’s faculty and staff,” Poole says.

The university also brought in nationally

recognized designer Camille Funk, director of Instructional Design and Learning Innovation at the University of California, Irvine, and chief academic officer for eDesign Shop, along with her course design team, to help instructors create a methodology and template that will be standard across every online program. Funk previously has worked on developing online courses and programs at the University of Southern California, Auburn, Brigham Young University, and George Washington University.

“We’re really focusing on best practices in teaching and the quality assurance of our courses online,” Poole says. “So it’s not just like any criminology or communications course. It’s a Loyola course.”

The new programs will continue to rely on the Blackboard learning platform to facilitate each week’s lectures, readings, discussions, and assignments. In December, the university’s current Blackboard platform received upgrades to better accommodate the new programs.

The university also has worked to make sure its Jesuit mission and identity is fully integrated into the online courses. And much like on-campus classes, class sizes will be kept small and capped at about 25 students.

“The modality doesn’t make much difference in how we deliver the information,” Pearce says. “Online simply presents the information in a different manner. And it’s a lot of fun.”

Learning How to Teach Online … Online A few years ago when English Department instructor Peyton Burgess was planning a trip to Ireland, he faced a dilemma with his teaching responsibilities. He wanted to make the trip, but he didn’t want to lose his opportunity to teach his critical reading and writing course.

He approached the university about the possibility of teaching the course online, and so began Burgess’ foray into online learning at Loyola.

“I saw it as where a lot of universities would be headed in the future,” he says. “And to me, it’s not about choosing one over the other as far as traditional on-campus versus online.

On-campus and online both have their own advantages in delivery. And our faculty are talented and dedicated enough to use both venues effectively.”

In addition to teaching English, Burgess is now an instructional designer in Monroe Library and chairs the Standing Committee on Online Education. He also was charged with teaching the online faculty-training course for instructors. More than 40 instructors enrolled in the course this fall.

“The big, obvious change now is that we’re trying to create a more reliable format and expectations regarding how the student experiences the courses,” Burgess says.

“We’re going to be working a lot more closely with instructors to build courses before the courses run.”

Whereas in the past, the online education committee would review an online course after it already ran, the committee flipped the process around this time to involve instructional designers from the beginning to provide more support for instructors during the course-building process.

A lot of the tools instructors are learning through training and course development can also apply to traditional on-campus courses.

“The fact that the university is depending on a pool of professors who are superknowledgeable about their subject but also have a variety of skills to communicate that knowledge will make us a more dynamic place to learn – whether it’s online or on campus,” Burgess says.

Burgess acknowledges that although he enjoyed immersing himself in college and grad school full time, not everyone can do that: “This allows people who can’t have that opportunity to still access what Loyola has to offer and to do it in a meaningful way.”

ALEXIS RIVERA, currently a deputy assigned to the Crime Lab at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, is working to complete her criminal justice degree.

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“A MOVEABLE FEAST”

BY ANGELIQUE DYER ’11

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A new scholarship fund makes studying abroad more accessible to all students.

Ernest Hemingway wrote, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” It’s a quote that’s often used when speaking about Paris, this "moveable feast" that remains in your mind and your memory forever. It’s also a quote I would use to describe my own experience as an American in Paris.

I was lucky enough to have lived in Paris for a month as a young 19-year-old Loyola student, taking two courses in the Americans in Paris study abroad program. I never imagined myself studying abroad – it wasn’t on my “college to-do list.” Graduating on time. Making my family proud. Getting an amazing public relations internship.

Those were high on my list. But two French classes and a student loan later, I was packing my bags and my newly diagnosed anxiety disorder for a plane headed to Paris, France, for a month. Even if it wasn’t an urgent goal, it had long been a dream of mine to visit Paris, the city that brought comfort and joy to a few of my favorite figures – James Baldwin and Josephine Baker – and the same city that reminded me of my own home, New Orleans.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DR. MARY MCCAY ENDOWMENT FOR STUDY ABROAD, VISIT spark.loyno.edu/mccay 18

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“My favorite thing about the Paris study abroad program is bringing students there who have never been,” says Brad Petitfils, senior director of Student Success and Institutional Research and Effectiveness and director of Loyola’s study abroad program in Paris. “There are many social justice lessons still unfolding on the streets of Paris, and when we take the students there, they’re able to see what’s happening in the different neighborhoods. They learn a lot in four weeks. And they have fun.”

In my capacity as a Loyola staff member, I now often reinforce to students that studying abroad is one of the “can’t miss” moments in college. It was the time I was able to not only get a few extra credits so I only had to take 12 hours my last semester in college but also the time I was able to study the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and discover the goodness that is Édith Piaf in their native land. I saw Picasso’s creations up close, traveled across Paris just to hear the Dalai Lama speak, and cried over the beauty of Claude Monet’s home in Giverny. I have a journal filled to the brim with writings and thoughts I can easily turn into a book. I practiced my French and ate a ridiculous amount of croissants and baguettes. But most important, I learned about myself. And I believe that’s the most important part of traveling.

One person who helped me break out of my comfort zone was Dr. Mary McCay, the fearless and intriguing director of the program and my travel writing professor in Paris. It was in her class that I developed the courage and space to write what I felt as I walked the streets of Paris, allowing it to become a "moveable feast" in my life. She also filled our walks to museums and cemeteries with endless facts about Paris and the French, and, like little children at story time, we hung on to her every word. She also insisted that in Paris, my name was not Angelique but Angeline. And I went along with it.

“Mary started the program and has been doing it for many years,” Petitfils says. “She knows so much about that city. She was in Paris in the midst of the 1968 riots that changed so much about French life at the time. She was involved in the Vietnam protests. She is a living testament to part of Parisian history.”

I recount all these memories of my month in Paris and remain grateful for all the people who helped get me there and helped keep me there. My parents, for graciously cosigning on a loan for the program. Petitfils; Robert Bell, director of Learning Resources; Alice Kornovich, assistant professor of French; and McCay, the woman and educator who has inspired and lifted up students at Loyola and abroad for decades. As she retires and passes on the reins of the program to Petitfils, a generous donor has created the Dr. Mary McCay Endowment for Study Abroad to help students take their

educational experience beyond St. Charles Avenue. The fund supports scholarships in the two programs that McCay started in her career at Loyola: the Paris program and the Summer Abroad Program in Ireland.

... most important, I learned about myself.

And I believe that's the most important part of traveling.

The scholarship, which I know would have been a godsend for me in 2009, has already helped students travel and learn in both Paris and Dublin. Two students I met on a recent weeklong trip to Paris, Carolena Albert, a popular and commercial music senior, and Gabriel Borges, a food studies junior, were the recipients of the scholarship for 2017. Both of them reminded me a little bit of myself while I

was studying abroad – curious and scared and excited and eager all at the same time. Because of the scholarship, Albert and Borges were able to travel and study and even go to a music conference in Cannes during their time away, and both came back with a new perspective on life and their place in the world.

“Studying abroad in Paris was a unique and enriching experience,” Albert says. “I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but I am so glad that I made this decision in the duration of my college career. I loved going to a new place every day after classes, trying new foods, comparing the differences in personalities, and being able to incorporate the topics of the classes into our everyday activities.”

For Borges, it was his first time out of the country, and while he said he was shocked when he got the scholarship, the opportunity to have an educational experience like the one he had was not lost on him. “The best thing was meeting some new people in Paris,” he says. “And we still talk. That was the coolest part about the trip. I learned a lot from the people I met.”

The classes he was able to take – Petitfils’ Educating France and the coordinator of the popular and commercial music degree program and assistant professor Kate Duncan’s Music of the People – allowed him to explore the city a bit deeper, seeking out street performers and going to live shows.

Studying abroad is a privilege and a transformative experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. With the Dr. Mary McCay Endowment for Study Abroad in place, I only hope that more students will get the chance to create their own "moveable feast" wherever they choose to study.

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MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

BY SARAH RAVITS

Tim Gantz ’84 is making a difference in Guatemala, one empty plastic bottle at a time.

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JESUIT-EDUCATED STUDENTS ARE BUILT. Of commitment to social equality and access. Global mindset. Worldly perspective.

Environmental justice.

Building blocks inalienable, like soul.

They don’t receive lectures so much as construction. And so they enter the world with it upon their essence—build. Work. The lifeblood of a creator.

And when they decide to do it, to create meaningful change, they’re trained so fiercely, their internal tools so sharpened, that they don’t need much to make their impact.

Just some plastic bottles.

As the result of a 30-year war in Guatemala, during which an estimated 50,000 people lost their lives, the country is in dire need of aid to repair its infrastructure and heal from its tragic history.

As the third-world country continues to struggle with recovery, trash collection is limited and there are no recycling programs in place.

But one initiative that has helped Guatemalan citizens — especially its children— is the sustainable, cost-effective creative development of “bottle schools.” A bottle school is an educational institution constructed out of eco-bricks. Children in Guatemalan villages, aided by volunteers from all over, collect inorganic trash, including plastic bags, chip packets, and polystyrene, and stuff them into plastic bottles until they are hard as bricks. These building blocks are then sandwiched in between chicken wire and covered with cement to form the walls of the school.

Tim Gantz ’84 (communication) is one such committed volunteer who has helped facilitate the construction of these valuable educational centers. The owner of a lawn care company, this Denver-based entrepreneur, husband, and father participates in what is dubbed “voluntourism,” which he explains is “the practice of traveling and giving back your time and resources to those in need at home in the U.S. and countries in need.”

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aised by hardworking Mennonites in Pennsylvania, Gantz was the first person in his family to attend college. He chose Loyola because he felt that its values were compatible with his own: “The work ethic and value system were certainly in place as I approached higher education,” he says. “Loyola offered me a solid foundation of education that has followed me throughout my life.” Plus, he notes, “Jesuit education has a long history of contribution to society.”

Gantz’s background and his undergraduate education were “two powerful value systems that combined to make me the person I am today.” He is proud to dedicate his spare time to helping children in need obtain places of learning.

“The positive outcome for the children around the world is a brighter future,” he says. “Work and helping others was instilled in my upbringing. For me, this value system cannot be strong and healthy without the component of contribution back to the community. With success comes the balance of offering resources and time back to those in need.”

The sense of volunteerism and charity work led Gantz to Guatemala. There, he helped build bottle schools and foster a greater unity among its citizens.

“It takes around 6,500 eco-bricks to build a two-classroom school,” he explains. “This means that everybody in the community must participate to turn the dream of a bottle school into reality.”

The construction of bottle schools also helps boost morale. “The entire community has ownership because they build the bottle school with their own hands,” Gantz says.

“Kids of all ages will be able to say something that no child in a developed country can say: ‘I built my school.’”

For him personally, it is an opportunity to combine “fun, freedom, and fulfillment in my life,” he explains. “It’s a great fit for me.”

He says that volunteers working with local children develop a great sense of appreciation and support for one another.

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“The language barrier falls as the hugs and smiles from the children say more than the spoken word,” he says. “The reward is to help those with the innocent thirst of knowledge.

Now they have a structure to learn in. The gift that is carried home with all of us is the shared empowerment to heal from the past and work together to build the future.”

Volunteer organizations have built more than 100 bottle schools over the past several years. “But,” Gantz says, “there are many more needed. These children are the future leaders of Guatemala, and hopefully by all our hands working together, we can grow and thrive in a peaceful, loving global community.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN HELP, EMAIL TIM GANTZ: timgantz5280@gmail.com

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R E M M U S D I M A M A e t S NIGHt’

BY FALLON CHIASSON ’19

Two students win big at the Shakespeare Film Festival.

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THIS ABOVE ALL: TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE. That’s the unsolicited advice Polonius offers his son Laertes in Shakespeare’s greatest play – Hamlet. It’s one of some uncountable number of English phrases that originated somewhere in the bard’s mind.

And while most phrases of its ubiquity have a tendency to approach platitude, freed from its Elizabethan connotations, this phrase continues to serve as a pretty decent mission statement for anyone who feels passion.

Like Shakespeare’s characters, we are, all of us, driven by passion. Scientists, artists, writers, engineers. Passion drives anyone who wants to show something to the world, open the minds of others – create meaning.

It is passion that drove senior English major Caterina Picone and digital filmmaking student Nick Ramey, a junior, to create Ophelia, the film that won first place in the Best Film Inspired by Shakespeare category at the 2017 Shakespeare Film Festival.

Gifts to the Faith in the Future

campaign helped Caterina Picone ’18 and Nick Ramey ’19 travel to England to attend the Shakespeare Film Festival.

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phelia was merely an idea five years ago.

While in high school, Picone was inspired to rewrite Shakespeare's Hamlet into a contemporary piece. In 2015, she enrolled in Introduction to Digital Filmmaking at Loyola, taught by Grammy Award-winning director Jim Gabour, a class that required students to write, direct, and produce a short film as their final project.

Picone knew that this course would provide a forum for her high school ideas to come to life. She partnered with Ramey, one of Loyola’s top digital filmmaking students, who agreed to shoot and co-direct the film — even though both of them knew the project was ambitious for an introduction class.

This, the cross-collaboration of our various disciplines, is what Loyola has spent so much time building in the past few years.

And here we see it – two ambitious students came together from different fields and points of view to create a masterpiece.

Ramey and Picone had never worked together before. They had little to no budget and were on their own for the expenses, crew, and logistics. But they shared an ambition – a passion.

“We created the film with the intention of making a captivating and emotional story, and our ideas clicked very early on,” Ramey says.

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The class encouraged students to use other students as actors and the New Orleans community as the set. Ramey and Picone sought out their own resources, doing much of the filming on the New Orleans Lakefront. And their enthusiasm and personal ambition proved to be worthwhile:

Ophelia won first place out of 250 other short film entries from more than 40 countries.

Picone and Ramey were able to travel to the festival – Picone’s first time on an airplane – held at Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, thanks to grants from Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the university's English and digital filmmaking departments. At the festival, the distinguished British actor and director Sir Kenneth Branagh presented the award to the Loyola students.

The screening, Ramey says, “was intimate, and the setting was historic. It wasn’t glamorous but rather humbling. I think we have learned a great deal from the other films we watched and the people we met.”

There are no definite next steps for his future in film; Ramey says: “I will just continue to create images and learn more about my art form. Whether another award comes or not is irrelevant, so long as I get to do what I love.”

We created the film with the intention of making a captivating and emotional story, and our ideas clicked very early on.

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e n a c i Hur r

s e o r He

Putting our faith into action after a catastrophic hurricane season, the Loyola community organized a blood drive, bake sales, housing, office space, and ongoing donation drives to help with hurricane relief efforts.

BY SARAH RAVITS

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In the Crescent City, we know the importance of relying on the “kindness of strangers.” But as a Jesuit institution, we don’t really think in terms of “strangers” – we strive, always, to be men and women with and for others. So when hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria devastated communities in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico this summer, the Loyola community — in particular, the students themselves — quickly rallied to support displaced families and contribute to ongoing relief efforts.

After Hurricane Harvey, Student Government Association President Ben Weil, a music industry studies senior, helped facilitate a five-day event after being approached by two fellow students he describes as “super-heroes,” political science junior Rula Thabata and music senior Herlinda Castagnoli.

The SGA immediately contacted several other student groups, including the University Honors Program, Women in Politics, LUCAP, Black Student Union, Multicultural Leadership Council, Alpha Kappa Psi, Loyola Society for Civic Engagement, L.O.V.E., and all of Greek life — Panhellenic, Inter-fraternal Council, and NPHC. Collectively they organized Harvey Relief Week, which kicked off on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2017.

“As president, I made sure that the SGA would work hard on Harvey relief,” Weil says. “Each day featured a new event where students could write letters of encouragement to Texas, donate, and pledge support.”

From the kickoff to its finale on Sept. 8, 2017, members of the Loyola community donated nonperishable goods, hygiene products, and other useful items, which were collected in bins that had been conveniently set up across campus and in residence halls, offices, and lobbies. Another highlight included a bake sale, hosted by the Honors Society, which accepted cash and Venmo donations.

Loyola Dining also reached out by donating proceeds from its participation in the inaugural Muffuletta Festival.

Phoebe Cook, general manager of Loyola Dining, says: “In conjunction with Loyola University’s SGA’s efforts to assist in Hurricane Harvey relief, we jumped at the chance to donate 100 percent of our proceeds we gathered from participating in the first Muffuletta Festival to show our support for those affected by the historic storm.” She estimates that this event alone raised $1,300.

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By the end of the week, students had raised more than $2,000, in addition to filling up eight boxes with supplies, backpacks, clothes, diapers, and toiletries and two boxes of canned food goods.

The Office of Mission and Ministry assisted in determining the optimal organizations to receive the donations: Global Giving and a fund for displaced students at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston. Food donations were given to Second Harvest, the New Orleans anti-hunger network whose mission is to end hunger by providing food access, advocacy, education and disaster response. Toiletries, hygienic products, and other supplies were sent to St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Metairie, which pledged to bring the items directly to Houston.

Director of Student Involvement Dale O'Neill, Ph.D., says her goal is to create a vibrant and thriving campus life, where students learn both in and outside of the classroom and demonstrate a Jesuit mission of going “above and beyond” to help others in need. The hurricane relief efforts aligned with her vision of compassion and charity.

“Our students are continually inspired by these Jesuit ideals and are continually finding ways to be for and with others,” she says.

Prior to Harvey Relief Week, on campus on Aug. 30, 2017, Loyola music industry studies sophomore Alaina Bryan organized a blood drive, which attracted more than 200 volunteers.

O'Neill notes that Loyola has hosted the Blood Center of New Orleans for the past 15 years but says this was its most successful effort yet. “Pints collected exceeded the drive goal by nearly 30 percent,” she says. “All blood collected at this drive was sent to aid the hurricane response effort.”

Even students who are normally nervous around needles put their fears aside for the greater good. Music industry studies freshman Ryan Busse says: “I heard it was going to Harvey victims. I have always wanted to donate blood, but I am notoriously squeamish.

But I felt like now was as good a time as ever to donate.”

Dina Roudeze, who works in Student Affairs, agreed: “I haven’t donated in a long time. But because it’s going to

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Hurricane Harvey victims, I wanted to be a part of it. I have some family and friends there. I wanted to contribute.”

The Department of Student Involvement continues to work with student organizations to coordinate ongoing efforts. O'Neill says the Student Affairs staff has continued to reach out to students from the Houston area to offer support and resources.

Additionally, the College of Law has helped displaced students find homes in efforts facilitated

by Dean and Judge Adrian G. Duplantier Professor of Law Madeleine Landrieu, J.D. ’87, H ’05. In August, she jumped into action by urging alumni and law deans around the country to donate financial contributions to support those who had been affected.

Houston holds a special place in the hearts of New Orleanians because of its residents’ generosity during Katrina, but those who were affected by Irma in Florida and Maria in Puerto Rico are also receiving support from Loyola students.

In October, Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity hosted a bake sale for victims of Hurricane Irma. Additionally, the

Organization for Latin American Students collected donations in a three-day donation drive for Puerto Rican recovery from Hurricane Maria. The Theta Phi Alpha sorority hosted a Halloween Carnival, donating proceeds to Puerto Rican recovery efforts, and on Nov. 15, 2017, the Multicultural Leadership Council hosted a Cultural Night consisting of performances, food, and information on various cultures around the globe; proceeds were donated to Puerto Rico.

“These students will continue to raise awareness and funds for those affected by natural disasters,” O'Neill says. “We were truly inspired by the large amount of donations that faculty, staff, and students provided.”

Loyola President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., pledges ongoing support through a variety of ways, including providing office space for Academic Affairs and housing law school leadership and finding homes at universities for displaced students.

Wildes says: “We are aware that many universities are still assessing their needs and look forward to partnering with them in the weeks and months to come to aid where we can. Please consider and reach out to Loyola University New Orleans as needs are presented.”

y b g n i Stand

James Rinando ’02 raises $10,000 for Hurricane Harvey relief.

One call to action took form in a fashion statement that celebrates the city’s iconic street tiles.

Dr. James Rinando ’02 (biology) is a native of Houston who moved back to his hometown after completing his studies.

Initially, Rinando, a physician, wanted to help by offering medical assistance, but he and his wife were occupied with their brandnew baby. Instead, he found a way to help via social media by selling T-shirts that were emblazoned with the phrase “Stand Bayou City.”

With his simple yet clever inspirational message, Rinando was shocked to see that the efforts quickly picked up across social media channels. “I thought maybe I would raise a few hundred dollars,” he says. Instead, the effort helped raise more than $10,000 for the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund (via the Greater Houston Community Foundation).

Rinando notes that his time at Loyola was instrumental in shaping him into a charitable individual who looks out for others. He also says that the supportive relationship between New Orleans and Houston has continued to inspire him.

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CAPACITY FOR TENACITY Infused with the spirit of “Tenacious Ignatius,” the Faith in the Future campaign races toward the finish line.

BY WILL GLASS

He had weapons, yes. And supplies and men. Some of the resources he needed to fight.

THERE WAS A MAN. A SOLDIER. OUTNUMBERED.

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He charged headfirst anyway.

So then, as his body healed, he also would begin to contemplate the healing of his mind and spirit in what we may now look upon as perhaps the archetypal moment of cura personalis – “care for the whole person” – a principal tenet of his religious order.

Into battle, as he had into life.

And yes, he would found a religious order.

And afterward, injured and bedridden, as he would into faith.

Because this man was Ignatius of Loyola, and his order would be called the Society of Jesus.

But not all and not enough.

He would read about the lives and works of saints, redefining in himself what chivalry and justice had meant.

The Jesuits.

That’s where our Faith in the Future campaign has come in.

Over the course of the campaign, scholarships have hit record numbers.

Facilities have been renovated. Programs have grown. And donors have committed over $83 million.

That number is a record. A big one.

But the campaign isn’t finished.

THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL AREAS OF NEED ON OUR CAMPUS, SO WE’RE PUSHING ON TO THE $100 MILLION GOAL, thriving on the tenacious spirit of St. Ignatius – and we’re counting on your support.

The Multimedia Center and the J. Michael Early Studio The spirit of St. Ignatius is tenacity. His order has focused on the hard stuff – the realdeal, in-the-mud missionary work – for almost 500 years. There is a reason the Jesuits are often referred to as “God’s Marines.”

They offer shelter and resources to refugees. They set up schools and development centers in poor and marginalized communities all over the world.

They do this work not in spite of its difficulty but because of its difficulty. Because there is capital-T Truth in devoting one’s life to scraping brightness from toil and hardship.

And that Truth is this – that by giving themselves to others, by being men for others, they offer people opportunities for passions and successes they’d never have dreamed of otherwise.

And the world becomes better.

The work of Ignatius’ order is, at its core, to offer people resources. Time.

Opportunity. The Jesuits bring with them, on their hardest-of-the-hard, Special Forces missionary assignments, the greatest of all gifts – the freedom to discern.

They go beyond simply teaching methodologies of inward focus and contemplation to discern one’s truest path – they ensure the freedom and space to do so.

This commitment to the development of one’s mind and spirit is visible in the institutions that live as part of Ignatius’s legacy.

We see his tenacity every day on our campus as our Jesuit-educated students discern their true paths and follow them fearlessly.

We see a wild passion for learning. An immeasurable diversity of interests. A hunger for serious, critical contemplation.

And we see you.

THIS SPIRIT OF ST. IGNATIUS, THESE STUDENTS – THEY’RE YOU.

The Chapel for the Tom Benson Jesuit Center

You were the musician. The athlete. The honors kid. The club president. The class clown. And you are, like each one of us, just a single piece of a bigger picture. A picture of kindness. Passion. Drive. And tenacity.

Our Faith in the Future campaign was built upon this core idea of Ignatius' character.

It was designed to give our students the supplies and resources they need to charge headfirst into battle.

Because we are, all of us, outnumbered.

Our ambitions, our passions, our goals and dreams – alone, they are difficult to achieve.

And it is rare that we do.

But if we turn to community, if we help one another, lift and support one another, respect those who came before us, and help leave steppingstones for those who come after us, we all achieve even greater things than we set out to accomplish.

This class of students is next. They are in their formative years, the throes of discernment. They are doers, makers, and passion-finders searching for an outlet – a way to change the world. And as a class, they’re one of our most academically impressive.

But they need those resources. That freedom. And the strength of community.

The Law Advocacy Center

Wolf Pack Athletics facilities Music and Fine Arts programs and facilities The University Honors Program The Center for Entrepreneurship & Community Development Monroe Hall The Career Services Center

You were these students. You used facilities and resources that were funded by gifts from those who came before you.

Your gifts have enabled us to offer our students the chances you had. You have offered these students new opportunities and new challenges within the rigors of a Jesuit university education (see The Loyola Effect on p. 7, actually, for a full breakdown of the campaign’s successes).

So for that, we wanted to say thank you.

Really, sincerely: Thank you.

And while we continue to be incredibly grateful for you, there’s one man who’s just, wow, so excited – Ignatius himself. He’s so grateful for you, in fact, that as part of our campaign, he just had to walk around campus and see for himself some of the great things the campaign has done.

On the next two pages, hear from the man himself, and follow him as he shows you some of the ways your commitment has had a direct impact on our students and their opportunities.

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Special thanks go to former trustee and 2015 Integritas Vitae Award winner

John P. Laborde, H ’96, who, along with many other generous contributions to Loyola, donated our beloved Iggy statue.

HEY – I’M IGGY.

The first thing you should know about me is that I’m kind of a big deal around here at Loyola. I don’t want to brag, but, like, everyone loves me. They rub my feet for good luck and give me free T-shirts and stuff, so yeah. Big man on campus.

OK. Second thing – I founded the Jesuit Order, which means Loyola’s Jesuit traditions are very important to me. It also means I’m really old, but please, let’s focus on the matter at hand.

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From my perch in the Peace Quad, I see a lot. I see students discerning their true passion and following it with tenacity. I see critical, ethical thinking and commitment to justice.

I see, truly, God in all things on our campus.

Because here, above all, God means kindness.

Commitment. Equality. Love. Family.

And gratitude.

Every day, from my little podium, I watch new generations of students thrive on opportunities made possible by those who came before them. Made possible by donors like you.

But now I get to do something special. I get to leave my platform and take a closer look at these things our community is grateful for. I get to see firsthand the facilities and opportunities these students are using to set the world on fire.

And I want you to come with me. To walk in my footsteps. I mean, figuratively – my feet don’t really move.

Just come with me on this journey, and as long as you don’t get too distracted by my dashing good looks, I think you’ll be able to see the immediate effects of your support on our community.

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1 Iggy is grateful to be able to study all night in the library as he prepares for his finals.

The J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library was made possible through the Thresholds campaign and has been an award-winning facility for the past 20 years. (He’s also excited to grab a sweet treat from the front desk when midnight rolls around!)

2 Iggy is exploring a new interest — botany.

Our greenhouse, which biology students use to complete nationally recognized research, is located on top of Monroe Hall and was made possible by a wonderful gift from the Azby Fund.

3 Iggy is grateful for sick beats. This stateof-the-art recording studio, provided by gifts from donors, allows students to learn the business and create their masterpieces before they even graduate.

4 Iggy is thankful for a beautiful campus — and the people who keep it that way. Loyola Fund gifts help support the hard work that maintains our buildings and grounds.

5 Breaking news: Iggy loves you. Iggy is thankful that so many young broadcasters began their careers at Loyola and that the gifts to the J. Michael Early Studio will fund and create a state-of-the-art professional news studio that will be a hallmark of communications education, integrating multiple platforms of digital media.

6 Iggy is in the stands supporting the New Orleans Saints! Iggy is grateful for Saints owners and executives Tom and Gayle Benson. The Bensons are our Faith in the Future campaign's leading donors, with an $8 million gift in 2010 for Loyola's Jesuit Center and a $5 million gift of scholarships in 2013.

If you’ve already given a gift to the campaign, thank you again so much. We hope you can see here just how immediate your impact has been.

If you haven’t yet given or want to give again, please remember that we’re trying to reach 500 gifts in 24 hours on Loyola Loyal Day, April 11-12, 2018, and that leading donors have the chance to memorialize their gifts by naming a classroom, a program, an auditorium, or several other key areas of Loyola.

To offer our students the same opportunities you had, please visit ALUMNI.LOYNO.EDU/ LOYOLALOYALDAY and consider making a gift to the Faith in the Future priority that matters most to you.

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So Long, Farewell As College of Business Dean Dr. Bill Locander and College of Nursing and Health Interim Dean Dr. Patricia Pearce prepare to retire, they offer some parting words of wisdom about their time at Loyola.

I think it’s what everybody should look for – meaningful work. It doesn’t make any difference what your title is. It really doesn’t. Find your own space, and grow into it.

I’m really interested in people being able to express themselves. So I like to open up space for people to grow. And that’s probably the best effort I’ve made – to open up space for faculty and students to grow and to fulfill their own personal passions.

– W ILLIAM B. LOCANDER, PH.D. College of Business Dean

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It’s about the small pieces that everybody contributes to the big picture. And we have to always keep in mind that there is a big picture; it’s not just all about each of us individually – it’s about the whole thing.

I don’t need to have the accolades. I think that if I can help my faculty and my students and anyone else move along with the work that they’re doing, they’ll start shining, and I shine in the reflection of that.

– PATRICIA F. PEARCE, MPH, PH.D., FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP College of Nursing and Health Interim Dean WINTER 2018 | loyno

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He art of

Maroon&Gold

BY FRITZ ESKER ’00

Maedell Braud, former Loyola employee, donates $10 million to fund scholarships.

Maedell Hoover Braud made an indelible mark on the Loyola New Orleans community and everyone who knew her during her tenure as a Loyola staffer from 1948 to 1980.

Sadly, Braud passed away in 2017, but her $10 million gift to the university ensures that her impact on the Loyola community will continue for decades to come.

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Braud’s gift will establish the MurphyBraud Scholarship Endowment Funds at Loyola. Named for her late husband’s family, the donation will create $5 million in a new scholarship endowment for undergraduates and $5 million in a new scholarship endowment for students at the College of Law. The scholarships, which will begin in fall 2019, will be awarded based on students’ financial need and academic strength.

“I’m not a bit surprised that she left all that money to Loyola,” says Mary Ellen Arceneaux, Braud’s longtime co-worker in the office of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “She loved Loyola.”

Fr. Leo A. Nicoll, S.J., former assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,

says the scholarships will enable Loyola to attract more top students. By enrolling more of these students, the university will strengthen its reputation and, in turn, make more students want to attend Loyola.

The $10 million also helps put Loyola’s Faith in the Future capital campaign at over $83 million of its $100 million goal.

After six record-setting years, the Faith in the Future campaign is the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in university history. “[Braud’s gift] will be a big help in achieving that goal,” Nicoll says.

Braud, a devout Catholic and lifelong resident of New Orleans, worked as an administrative assistant to the dean of

the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, she was honored by the university for her years of dedicated service with an honorary master’s of education degree in administration.

Even after she retired, Braud’s passion for Loyola never dwindled. She was a regular presence at Loyola events and was inducted into the Society of St. Ignatius, which recognizes lifetime giving. Her previous donations included three rooms in Loyola’s J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library in honor of her beloved parents. Her late husband, Sidney Braud ’39 (history), J.D. ’41, was educated by the Jesuits both here and at Jesuit High School. The Brauds’

last wishes were that the scholarships established would be named in memory of Sidney’s mother, father, and grandfather.

The humility and generosity of Maedell Braud’s final gift is emblematic of how she lived her life. Those who worked with her described her as a friendly, hardworking presence on campus.

Arceneaux notes that Braud’s tenure at Loyola was during a different technological era. Registration and communication were done face-to-face. There used to be a lot more foot traffic in the dean’s office than there is now. As a result, Braud was wellknown by most members of the Loyola community during her time there.

“Everybody knew her – the faculty knew her; the staff knew her,” Arceneaux says.

“She was the mainstay in that office.”

Now, through her gift, she will continue to be a presence on campus, helping to make a Loyola education accessible to all students.

“Maedell was extremely dedicated to the Jesuits, especially the deans she worked for,” says Loyola President Emeritus James C. Carter, S.J., Ph.D. “She was very professional and extremely helpful. Any time I had a problem as an adviser, I could call her and get an answer. If I was faced with a complicated case, she had a solution.

She never left you with the feeling you were imposing on her time. She was there to help.”

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NEW BEGINNINGS The Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees welcomes four new or returning members.

Anne Barrios Gauthier, a local community activist and philanthropist, serves as a trustee of the Wendell & Anne Gauthier Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting the areas of music and visual arts, as well as Catholic education. A graduate of the University of Louisiana Lafayette, Gauthier is a past member of the Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees and current chair of the university’s ongoing Faith in the Future campaign. In December 2016, she received Loyola’s Integritas Vitae Award, one of the university’s highest honors. She resides in Metairie.

Marguerite L. “Peggy” Adams, J.D. ’81, has been a business lawyer with the law firm Liskow & Lewis for 35 years. Her practice includes commercial real estate acquisition and development as well as estate planning.

Adams received her B.A. in 1972 from Auburn University and her J.D. in 1981 from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she was articles editor of Loyola Law Review. She resides in New Orleans.

Sharonda Williams, J.D. ’01, currently serves as special counsel at Fishman Haygood following a distinguished career in public service and private practice. Williams served as city attorney for the city of New Orleans from May 2013 to November 2015 and as chief deputy city attorney from October 2011 until May 2013. Prior to joining the city of New Orleans legal staff, she was a partner in the general litigation section of a major New Orleans law firm, where she handled cases including construction disputes, medical malpractice, insurance coverage disputes, entertainment law contract negotiations, intellectual property licensing issues, and bankruptcy adversary proceedings. Williams graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University in 1994 and earned her law degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2001, where she was a member of Loyola Law Review. She resides in New Orleans.

The Board of Trustees at Loyola University New Orleans helps to shape general, educational, and financial policies in an effort to ensure strong and sound management and advance the university’s mission. This corporate governance group oversees fiscal affairs; determines and reviews university goals and aims of educational programs; and determines or approves policies related to the instruction, extracurricular activities, and campus and residential life of students, among other responsibilities.

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Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees also includes the following members:

Paul Pastorek ’76 (finance), J.D. ’79, the managing partner of Pastorek Partners LLC, will serve as board chair. Other officers for the 2017-2018 term include Geocent founder and CEO Bobby Savoie, who will serve as vice chair, and New Orleans Jesuit Community rector, the Rev. Francis W. “Billy” Huete, S.J., who will serve as secretary treasurer. University President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., also serves as an officer on the board.

Dr. James Meza Jr. ’70 (business) is professor emeritus of education and dean emeritus of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of New Orleans and serves as the executive director of the Louisiana Superintendent’s Academy. He has over 40 years of experience in both teaching and leadership positions at the K-12 and higher education levels and has been recognized nationally for his work in the charter school movement in Louisiana.

At UNO, Meza served as professor and dean for more than 21 years. During his tenure, he secured more than $50 million to study education reform and published over 40 journal articles on the subject, specifically education reform focused on children of low-income families in Louisiana and nationwide.

Meza is founder of the Capital OneUNO Charter School Network. He is also a former Jefferson Parish Public School System superintendent and served as the executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and as the interim state superintendent of education for Louisiana. Meza has served as a faculty member at Nicholls State

University, principal of Cabrini High School, and a teacher at E.D. White and Isidore Newman High School. At the national level, Meza was the founding chair of the National Policy Board for the Accelerated Schools at Stanford University. Meza is also a retired colonel in the Louisiana Army National Guard, with 32 years of service. After graduating from Loyola, Meza received a master's degree in education from Nicholls State University and a doctorate in education administration from UNO. He currently serves on the board of directors of Holy Cross School in New Orleans and the presidential advisory board of Xavier University and was a member of the Louisiana Serve Commission and the Southern University System Board of Supervisors. He is a founding board member of Edward Hynes Elementary School and Benjamin Franklin High School. In recognition of his exceptional civic and humanitarian contributions to the New Orleans area, he was named a recipient of the New Orleans Council for Community and Justice’s annual Weiss Award in 2013. New Orleans CityBusiness also awarded him its Innovator of the Year award. At Loyola, Meza was a pitcher on the baseball team and was inducted into the Wolf Pack Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. His son, James Meza III, is a 1997 alumnus of the College of Law. Meza resides in New Orleans.

Janet Boles Michael L. Braden, S.J. James A. Caillier, Ed.D. James C. Carter, S.J., Ph.D. Edgar L. Chase III Margaret M. Condron Dennis C. Cuneo Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. Sally Forman S. Derby Gisclair Rachel Kent Stephen J. Landry Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. Rita LeBlanc Joseph E. Mahoney James R. McBride Timothy McMahon, S.J. Henry R. Muñoz III Gerald L. Ray William Roberti Rhonda Sharkawy Ileana Suquet Mario Alberto Torres, S.J Carol Gisevius Waguespack Jeremy Zipple, S.J.

Trustees emeriti include: Adelaide W. Benjamin Donna D. Fraiche Theodore “Ted” Frois John P. Laborde Anthony Laciura John B. Levert Jr. Rita Odenheimer Jerome J. Reso Jr. Jeanne Wolf WINTER 2018 | loyno

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t r A& l Sou

BY ANGELIQUE DYER ’11

Drs. Richard Ranney Mize and Emel Songu Mize, longtime supporters of the arts in New Orleans and Loyola’s College of Music and Fine Arts, are awarded the 2017 Integritas Vitae Award.

UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS of the majestically decorated Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel in December 2017, a couple important to both the Greater New Orleans community and the Loyola community, Drs. Richard Ranney Mize and Emel Songu Mize, were awarded the university’s highest honor, the 2017 Integritas Vitae Award.

The award, translated simply as “a life of integrity,” is presented annually to an individual – or in this case, individuals – who exemplifies the qualities Loyola seeks to instill in its students, such as high moral character and commitment to selfless

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service. The Mizes, renowned scientists and retired professors of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and enthusiastic supports of the performing arts, have lived a life of integrity both separately and together. They are known throughout the Greater New Orleans area and higher education community as educators, scientists, and community leaders with a special interest in the performing arts. In 2011, the couple was honored by Gambit Weekly as co-recipients of the newspaper’s Classical Arts Patron Award by Gambit, Tribute to the Classical Arts.

As lifelong supporters of the arts, they have contributed their talents, time, and skills over a nearly 20-year period to supporting the Loyola College of Music and Fine Arts; Musical Arts Society of New Orleans; the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra; the New Orleans Opera Association; and WWNO, the local NPR-affiliate radio station and classical radio station of New Orleans.

Their passion for medicine and the arts, two fields usually not seen working in tandem, has expanded beyond their service on boards and fundraising committees. The Mizes established the Medicine in the Arts group at LSUHSC to promote interest in the humanities and performing arts to medical students and faculty. They also cofounded the Seibel Society, a music society supporting promising visiting soloists who perform with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Ranney Mize, who was a crucial player in the development of the LPO, was an active member of the

New Orleans Regional Performance Arts Cooperative, a group that contributed to the cause of restoring the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.

“The Integritas Vitae Award recognizes individuals of strong moral character who for years have espoused our Jesuit ideals and shined a light through their good works and selfless service,” Loyola President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., says.

“We are pleased this year to honor Dr. Richard Ranney Mize and Dr. Emel Songu Mize, who have done so much to support the people and organizations of our region, including Loyola.”

The Mizes, both highly celebrated in their respective fields, are legends in the halls of LSUHSC. Dr. Emel Songu Mize, who served at LSUHSC from 1992 until her retirement in

2011, is professor emerita of pharmacology.

Her research at LSUHSC focused on cardiovascular system function, specifically mechanisms of hypertension, blood vessel function, and the pathologies involved in contraction and relaxation of arteries. She uncovered the altered mechanisms in the functioning of an enzyme that is crucial in the vascular smooth muscle contractionrelaxation process in hypertension. Dr. Ranney Mize is a chair emeritus of cell biology and anatomy and co-director emeritus of the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Neuroscience at LSUHC. Throughout his academic career, he studied transmitter-specific synaptic circuits in the visual system and activity-dependent modifications of that circuitry, which occur during brain development.

“Emel and Ranney have been true champions for music and the arts in New Orleans,” says Vice President of Institutional Advancement Chris Wiseman ’88 (political science), Ph.D. “With their leadership on Loyola’s Music and Fine Arts Visiting Committee, they helped to grow Loyola’s role as an indispensable center for arts programming and education in our region.”

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Alumni

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Events

Alumni Weekend

1 Dr. Kenneth ’79 and Mary Richeaux kick off Alumni Weekend at the Friday Welcome Picnic.

2 Jane Maher Robbins ’68 and Lynn Fitzpatrick Mann ’68 enjoy drinks at a New Orleans Cocktail Seminar presented by Philip Greene, J.D. ’86 3 The Golden Wolves members of the class of 1967 celebrate their 50th reunion during the Golden Wolves Society Dinner.

4 Dr. Jorge Echenique ’78 receives the Adjutor Hominum Award at the Annual Alumni Association Jazz Brunch.

5 Iggy gets all dressed up for the occasion.

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Crawfish Boils

1 Members of the Atlanta Alumni Chapter gather for the annual crawfish boil hosted by Michael Blackstock ’98.

2 Jade Domingue ’15; Maria Todd ’16; David Zelaya ’12; and Candace Walker ’06, M.S. ’14, in Atlanta 3 Lee, left, and Charlie ’88 Favret enjoy the Austin Crawfish Boil, with alumni and friends, held at Shoal Creek Saloon.

4 Members of the Dallas Alumni Chapter gather for the annual crawfish boil hosted by Matthew Kropp ’06.

5 Loyola young alumni in Washington, D.C., at the annual Louisiana State Society Crawfish Boil 6 Pete Junge; Carol Smith ’86; Amber Rabo ’94; Jason Murphy ’95, M.B.A. ’98; and Parker Bigley ’95 enjoy crawfish and camaraderie at the Houston Alumni Chapter crawfish boil.

7 Tom White ’69, Jim White ’68, Maria Giordano ’90, and Christopher Gee enjoy crawfish at the Louisiana Seafood Co. Boiling Wagon in Nashville, Tenn.

8 Members of the New York City Alumni Chapter gather for the annual crawfish boil hosted by Chris Lee ’98 at his bar, the Parkside Lounge.

9 The Loyola community, friends, and families celebrate the graduating class of 2017 at the annual Senior Crawfish Boil.

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Wolf Pack Weekend

Alumni, parents, and friends were welcomed back to campus for Wolf Pack Weekend this past September.

Save the date for the next Wolf Pack Weekend on

Sept. 28-30, 2018.

WWII Museum Networking Happy Hour

Over 100 alumni and guests gathered at the National World War II Museum to network, tour the Road to Berlin and the Road to Tokyo exhibits, and welcome a group of WWII veterans visiting the museum for the first time.

D.C. Happy Hour

Alumni in the Washington, D.C., area gathered at the Daily Grill for a networking happy hour in September 2017.

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Fr. Carter’s Birthday

A great time was had by all as we celebrated the 90th birthday of beloved President Emeritus the Rev. James Carter, S.J., Ph.D., H ’95.

Dean Landrieu Welcome Reception

Retired Xavier President Norman Francis, J.D. ’55, H ’82; retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Harry T. Lemmon, J.D. ’63, H ’02; College of Law Dean Madeleine Landrieu, J.D. ’87, H ’05; retired Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero Jr., J.D. ’54, H ’91; and the Hon. Moon Landrieu ’52, J.D. ’54, H ’79, H ’05, at the College of Law Open House.

Golf Tournament

Northshore Mass & Dinner

Fans and alumni gather for the 20th annual Wolf Pack Athletics Golf Tournament in April 2017.

The Northshore Chapter celebrated the Feast of St. Ignatius with its annual Alumni Mass and Dinner at St. Joseph’s Abbey and Bosco’s Italian Café in Mandeville.

Sports Complex Court Blessing

Wolf Pack supporters pack the seats at the University Sports Complex renovations rollout and court blessing.

Young Alumni Pack Spring Social

The Young Alumni Pack Spring Social was held at Second Line Brewery in May 2017.

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Class Notes 1940s Ben Martinez ’42, D.Pharm. , a World War II veteran, starred in the documentary The Arsenal of Democracy, which opened June 10, 2017, at the National World War II Museum. He was profiled in USA Today for his role in the documentary, which chronicles the beginnings of U.S. involvement in the war.

1960s Donald O. Jansen ’61 (business administration), J.D. ’63, was inducted into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils and was designated an accredited estate planner (distinguished). He is currently assistant general counsel at the University of Texas System and director and treasurer of the American Women Writers National Museum, founded by his wife, the Hon. Janice Law, in Washington, D.C.

1970s John Finan Jr., M.B.A. ’70, chair of the Loyola Board of Trustees, has been named a 2017 recipient of the Catholic Health Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as CEO of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System and lifelong contributions to Catholic health care. Finan was presented with

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the award on June 12, 2017, during the awards banquet at the 2017 Catholic Health Assembly in New Orleans. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given each year to a leader in Catholic health care who has inspired and mentored many others and whose leadership extends past the Catholic health ministry to influence and impact the community at large. Finan has more than 40 years of experience in health care leadership and has served as the CEO of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Louisiana since 1996. He leads the largest Catholic health system in the state, serving over 40 percent of the population. He is known nationally for his leadership, having served as former chair of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Health Association, chair of the Board of Governors at the Clinical Center at the NIH, member of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees, and vice chair of the Board of Mercy Health System in St. Louis. Locally, in addition to his work with Loyola, he is chair of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and a member of the boards of the Public Affairs Research Council and Blueprint Louisiana.

Dr. James A. “Jimmy” Duplass ’70 (secondary education), M.Ed. ’72, recently released a book, The Idea of a Social Studies Education: The Role of Philosophical Counseling, with Routledge.

Janice Foulks ’70 (elementary education), M.E. ’72, was honored at the Rosary Alumnae Association’s Legacy Brunch

with the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Award for outstanding service to the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Kathleen Hayden ’72 (communication) recently retired after 40 years of service with the Federal Communications Commission as a compliance agent. She’s enjoying her retirement, which she is devoting to training guide dog puppies for Gallant Hearts Guide Dog Center.

Chris Wegmann ’75 (general business) was hired as vice president and market manager for Entercom New Orleans.

He will oversee WWL (AM/ FM), WLMG-FM (Magic 101.9), WKBU-FM (95.7 The Bayou), WEZB-FM (B97), WWWL-AM (Hot 103.7), and the New Orleans Saints Radio Network.

Prior to joining Entercom, he served as president of the Radio Division of Radio One. He has managed stations in New Orleans; Austin, Texas; Pittsburgh; Houston; and Atlanta and is a past member of Nielsen Audio’s Radio Advisory Board, as well as a past board member for numerous state broadcaster associations, including Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington.

Marc F. Eagan ’77 (general business) of Eagan Insurance Agency LLC was named a 2017 Money Maker by New Orleans CityBusiness. He was honored at a luncheon on Oct. 18, 2017, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Mike Fitzwilliam ’77 (secondary education) just published a book titled Do You Know How Picayune Got Its Name?? He also won the Member of the Year

Award from the Hilda Hoffmann Memorial Archive.

Charles H. Gaudreau ’77 (management) was ordained a priest in the Old Independent Catholic Church on May 5, 2017.

Jimmy Smith ’78 (journalism), who spent 42 years with New Orleans’ once-daily newspaper as a sportswriter and columnist writing about a wide variety of professional, college, and amateur sports, was inducted into the St. Bernard Parish Sports Hall of Fame on April 8, 2017. Smith, who grew up in Arabi, La., began his professional newspaper career in 1973, when he was a senior at Chalmette High School.

1980s Givonna Joseph ’80 (music therapy) was named a Southerner of the Year by Southern Living for her work on OperaCréole.

Lisa Trapani Shumate ’80 (communication), Houston Public Media associate vice president and general manager, was elected to a second term on the PBS Board of Directors and elected to serve as professional vice chair.

Keith Horcasitas ’81 (social work) had an article published in Where Y’at magazine titled “Coping With the Loss of a Loved One.” Norman Francis, J.D. ’55, H ’82, Xavier University president emeritus, will have his portrait in the Smithsonian to honor

ALUMNI PROFILE

Living the Dream

BY SARAH RAVITS

Kendall Cousin Jr. ’15 takes on the international music industry.

SHORTLY AFTER GRADUATING, Kendall Cousin Jr. ’15 (music industry studies) left New Orleans to join the staff at a major record label in Los Angeles.

Working as an international marketing coordinator at Capitol Records, he says, is his “dream job.” He began his career as a Universal Music Group college and marketing representative. “I put in a lot of work with them for three years through my M.B.A. program in 2017,” he explains.

Networking and learning from his peers after he completed his program helped land him the job at Capitol.

A native of Mandeville, La., Cousin says he’s always aspired to work in the “international realm” but realized he was stuck in a domestic state of mind.

“The biggest challenge has been changing how I think in order to be successful in this

position,” he says. “I am expected to not only know the music market in the United States but in every other country in the world.”

Additionally, he says, his career path requires knowledge and understanding of other cultures, religions, holidays, trends, and daily life in foreign countries.

Despite the substantial learning curve in his position, he embraces the challenges and is constantly learning from his colleagues and supervisors: “I spend a massive amount of my time learning from the heads of the company and doing my own personal research to learn and absorb every bit of information I can,” he says.

His favorite aspect of the job is working with a diverse group of people. “My team is small but mighty,” he says. “The majority of the team members are from outside of the U.S. The music industry

is at a tipping point, and I get to work in an exciting time.”

He credits his experience at Loyola for truly shaping him into the ambitious person he is today.

“I was an Ignacio Volunteer, where I worked my way up from a volunteer to team leader to staff member,” he recalls. “This program taught me cultural intelligence that directly impacts my everyday life. Ignacio Volunteers gave me my first out-of-country experience, which I am forever grateful for.”

Cousin also incorporates Loyola's Jesuit values into his life. “Magis is at the core of it all, the will to strive for excellence,” he says. “Cura personalis is something I always keep in mind when working with our artists because it is important to remember that every one of our artists are people first, with hopes, dreams, and aspirations, all of which have been entrusted to me.”

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Class Notes

his “significant contribution” to the nation’s history and culture. (See p. 3.)

Pat Seiter ’82 (philosophy) was ranked Lawyer of the Year in Baton Rouge in Health Care Law by his peers in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Seiter, who has been practicing law since 1985, is a partner and Health Care Practice Team leader at Taylor Porter, where he represents and advises health care clients in a wide range of business, transactional, and regulatory matters. He also was honored as Lawyer of the Year in 2013 and 2016.

Tara C. Hernandez ’87 (finance) was named a 2017 Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness and was honored at a luncheon on Nov. 2, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency.

Clay P. Kearney, M.B.A. ’87, of Stratos Wealth Partners was named a 2017 Money Maker by New Orleans CityBusiness. He was honored at a luncheon on Oct. 18, 2017, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Christine O’Brien ’87 (marketing and management), vice president of sales and account management for UnitedHealthcare, was named One to Watch in the field of health care by New Orleans CityBusiness. She also was named a 2017 Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness and was honored at a luncheon on Nov. 2, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency.

E. Paige Sensenbrenner ’83 (general studies), J.D. ’87, Adams and Reese’s New Orleans office senior partner in charge, has been named a sustaining member of the Product Liability Advisory Council Inc. He was formally inducted into the

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organization during its 2017 Fall Conference, and he presented on genomics during that event.

Sensenbrenner also serves as outside general counsel for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.

Joy Johnson Allen ’88 (music therapy) recently relocated to Boston to serve as the new chair of music therapy at Berklee College of Music.

Clay Gilbert Edward Dixon ’81 (history), M.R.S. ’88, has been appointed the director of Library Services of the Graduate Theological Union’s Flora Lamson Hewlett Library. He’s served as interim director since 2016 and has been the library’s head of collection development since 2000. He has more than 26 years of professional experience in technical and public services at a variety of public and private institutions.

Daneeta Loretta Jackson ’88 (English) had two short films screened at the New Orleans Film Festival in October 2017.

Nicabob is a narrative short tackling the phenomenon of “teens and screens.” Requiem for Tyrin is a rapid-response documentary “that questions why black lives matter so little in New Orleans.” The latter film was made with generous support from the Magnifying Glass Fellowship.

Casey Candebat ’89 (music performance) starred as the lead in Orpheus at the New Orleans Opera in November 2017.

Jennifer Daniels ’89 (economics and marketing) was recently named the dean of Language and Literature at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale Campus.

Daniels, who has served as

interim dean for the past year, also holds a master of fine arts degree in poetry and a master of arts degree in literature from George Mason University. She served as adjunct faculty for several years before officially joining the Annandale faculty in 2001. She also served as associate dean of the division and was assistant dean of the English Department from 2004 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2014. She is affiliated with the American Academy of Poets, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the Modern Language Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English, among others. She is also the author of the 2016 book of poetry Wedding Pulls (Hub City Press); has published works in numerous anthologies and journals; and has presented readings in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

Gerlda Hines ’89 (accounting and management) was named chief of staff and chief financial officer for Georgia Human Services Agency. She has more than 25 years of financial management experience and more than 10 years in state government. In addition to being a certified public accountant, she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of CPAs, the Government Finance Officers Association, and the Georgia Fiscal Management Council.

Jorge Riopedre ’89 (communication) is president of Casa de Salud, a clinic in St. Louis that serves people who are uninsured with a focus on immigrants and refugees. He just finished a capital campaign that will make possible the renovation of a second clinic building that will house the

organization’s Mental Health Collaborative. The building, located on the medical campus of St. Louis University, will provide space for four partner organizations that will deliver behavioral health services, as well as space for individual practitioners who will receive free office space and back office services in exchange for donating a portion of their caseload to Casa’s patients. The MHC also will work with local and regional universities to provide service learning experiences.

Nicole S. Tygier ’86 (philosophy), J.D. ’89, a partner at Wagar Richard Kutcher Tygier & Luminais LLP, was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 24th edition of The Best Lawyers in America for her work in real estate law.

1990s Laura Shattuck ’91 (political science), a partner at Nusbaum & Parrino in Westport, Conn., was recently recognized by two organizations for her work in family law: America’s Top 100 Attorneys gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award, and America’s Most Honored Professionals named her as being in the top 1 percent in her field.

Maria Pardo Huete ’92 (political science) was named director of development and community relations for the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.

A community activist, Huete has served as president of the Junior League of New Orleans and chaired the Julia Jump fundraiser in 2014 and 2015.

Weddings & Engagements

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1 Christopher Bournes ’11 (political science) married Carolina Carmenes Cavia on April 29, 2017. The ceremony was held at the Florida home of the groom’s parents, with Fr. Raymond Ruiz officiating. The bride was attended by Agata Augulevic of Dubai as maid of honor. The best man was Jordan Deshotels ’11 of New Orleans. The bride supports service delivery for the New York region at GE Healthcare, and the groom, who also holds a master’s degree in international economics from Northeastern University in Boston, is an Army Reserve officer and a global supply manager at Apple in Cupertino, Calif. The couple honeymooned in London, Spain, and Morocco and resides in the Bay Area of California.

2 Henry R. Munoz III ’81 (communication), a member of the Loyola Board of Trustees, and Kyle J. Ferari were married May 6, 2017, on the island of Bermuda.

The wedding ceremony itself was partially officiated by film star Melanie Griffith and former Vice President Joe Biden, and Henry surprised Kyle by hiring one of his musical idols, MTV VJ Downtown Julie Brown, to serve as DJ of the celebration. The couple resides in San Antonio; New York City; and Washington, D.C. Henry is the director of Munoz and Co. in San Antonio and was elected chairman of the Democratic National Finance Committee, and Kyle serves as a board member of the Latino Victory Project.

3 Malia Dartez-Nowlin ’14 (communication) and Destini Dartez-Nowlin were married Oct. 6, 2017, at Sutro Baths in San Francisco.

4 Diandra Kirk ’11 (psychology), M.S. ’14, married Wayne Connor ’11 (economics), J.D. ’15, at Felicity Church in New Orleans on Oct. 14, 2017, in the presence of family and friends. The newlyweds currently live in Washington, D.C., where Wayne is an assistant general counsel at the Library of Congress and Diandra is a compensation analyst at George Washington University.

5 Meghan Gatto ’06 (communication) and Travers Mackel ’98 (communication) became engaged in July 2017 during a weekend beach trip. Meg is an anchor and reporter at FOX 8 in New Orleans while Travers works as an investigative reporter at crosstown rival WDSU-TV. They’re planning a spring 2018 wedding in New Orleans, which they hope will be attended by many of their fellow Loyola alumni!

6 Theresa Ryan ’00 (communication) and Oscar Pineda are planning a spring 2018 wedding in New Orleans.

PHOTO CREDIT: Renata Bueche Photography

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Class Notes

Mark Lagrange, M.B.A. ’92, of Northwestern Mutual was named a 2017 Money Maker by New Orleans CityBusiness. He was honored at a luncheon on Oct. 18, 2017, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Heather McHale ’92 (psychology), the senior vice president of global human resources for Marchon Eyewear Inc., was named “One of the Most Influential Women in Optical 2017”

by Vision Monday.

Martin Pousson ’94 (English) won the PEN Center USA 2017 Literary Award for Fiction for his book Black Sheep Boy. Julie Bourbon ’92 (English), M.P.S. ’96, has opened Bourbon Communications, a full-service communications firm that helps businesses and nonprofits with print, web, social media, and all other communications needs.

Amy Boyle Collins ’96 (communication), a former Alumni Board member, was named a 2017 Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness and was honored at a luncheon on Nov. 2, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency.

Essence Harris Banks ’97 (English) was named a 2017 Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness and was honored at a luncheon on Nov. 2, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency.

Amy Winchester ’97 (finance) joined Gulf Coast Wealth Management as a financial adviser, where she will assist clients with a wide array of financial needs. She is a 2011 fellow of the prestigious Loyola University Institute of Politics and a 2012 graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy in New Orleans. For almost 10 years, Winchester has been the field

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entertainment coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, which includes hosting various artists for the national anthem performance and halftime shows, as well as escorting VIPs for award presentations at all the home football games.

Brianna C. Lopez ’98 (advertising) has been promoted to head of industry and consumer brand for Amazon Studios.

Her scope will include driving strategic planning for Amazon Prime Video brand campaigns, the Amazon pilot seasons, and Emmy and Golden Globe awards initiatives for Amazon Original Series. An industry veteran, she joined the Amazon team over three years ago as senior brand manager and has owned strategic planning and campaigns for some of the biggest series and programs, including the successful launch of The Man in the High Castle, which is the moststreamed scripted Amazon Original Series ever.

Stephen Stuart ’98 (accounting) has been promoted to the position of vice president and research director for the Bureau of Governmental Research. He has been with BGR for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of the organization and the local and regional public policy issues that frame its work. He most recently served as BGR’s senior analyst and, in that capacity, served as principal author on many BGR reports, including some that earned national recognition by the Governmental Research Association.

John Dale ’99 (finance) was named to the 2018 Best Lawyers in America list for his work in litigation-bankruptcy and bankruptcy and debtor

rights/insolvency and reorganization law. He practices with GableGotwals in the firm’s Tulsa, Okla., office.

Cecilia Ann Evans ’99 (fine arts) had two of her drawings displayed in the Emeritus Gallery at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She was a participant in a program called The Drawing Project that conducts classes at locations such as the Riverview Senior Housing apartments where she lives. The exhibit, Crossing the Line: Drawing Practices With and for Older Adults, ran through Aug. 13, 2017.

Jim Podboy ’99 (psychology) has been selected as the regional attaché for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in East Africa.

He relocated this fall from Washington, D.C., along with his wife, Kari Josselet Podboy ’01 (music therapy), and twin 9-year-old daughters in order to manage the DHS portfolio for the 16 East African countries while residing in Nairobi, Kenya. The family had been previously stationed in Saudi Arabia with DHS while Podboy served as the deputy attaché for the kingdom.

2000s Shaneika Dabney-Henderson ’00 (communication) is an Emmy-nominated senior producer at NFL Network, where she works on the daily show and the new weekly show 21st & Prime featuring Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Previously, she worked as a producer at CNN and HLN from 2009 to 2014.

Ryan Holmes ’01 (music education) is the University of Miami’s new associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students. He previously was the assistant vice president for student support at the University of Texas at El Paso and has worked in higher education since 2002.

He has served in the past as the graduate coordinator for Black Student Involvement & Community Advocacy at the University of Maryland, the director of off-campus communities at La Salle University, and assistant dean of students and director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution at UTEP. He began his new position July 31, 2017.

Joseph Jones ’01 (economics) was elected to the City Council in Windsor Heights, Iowa, in November 2017.

Luis E. Rivera ’01 (political science), an attorney at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt PA, is now nationally certified as a consumer bankruptcy specialist from the American Board of Certification, making him one of only 12 attorneys in Florida who hold dual certifications in business bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification.

Rivera has broad experience in business litigation, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, and insolvency counseling. In addition to his law practice, he serves as a U.S. bankruptcy trustee for the Middle District of Florida.

As a trustee, Rivera is routinely involved in the liquidation of business enterprises, including the recovery and sale of assets; the investigation, development, and prosecution of litigation to recover funds for creditors; and the reconciliation and payment of claims held by creditors.

Rivera is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been

Births & Adoptions 1

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1 Jodi Hink ’96 (drama) welcomed her son, Teague Patrick Hink, on Aug. 6, 2016.

2 Rosie Nguyen Dao ’08 (mass communication) and her husband, Joseph Stahl, welcomed their first child, Jacob Chau Stahl, on April 7, 2017. He weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces.

3 Stephen Hanemann, J.D. ’02, and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their “little firecracker,” Katherine “Kate” Lola Hanemann on July 4, 2017. She was 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and joins big brother, Taylor.

4 Angie Brocato Hoffer ’99 (communication), M.C.M. ’03, associate dean of the Loyola College of Business, and her husband, Richard, welcomed their son, Edward “Eddie” Joseph Hoffer, who weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces.

He was born on Jan. 24, 2017, and officially adopted on Aug. 3, 2017.

7

5 Christine Minero Rigamer ’10 (English and communication) and David Rigamer ’10 (economics) welcomed their first child, Leo Charles Rigamer, on April 14, 2017. Leo was 20.5 inches long and weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

6 Nicole Wroten Craw ’07 (communication) and her husband, Stefan, welcomed Margot Elizabeth Craw on June 8, 2017. She joins big brother, Cooper. They reside in Beavercreek, Ohio.

7 Katie Ide ’05 (communication) and her husband, Josh Crank, welcomed Charlie Patrick Crank, on Oct. 26, 2017. He was 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and 21.25 inches long.

He joins big brother, Louie.

8 NOT PICTURED: Sidney “Joey” Levet, M.B.A. ’17, and his wife, Kirsten, welcomed their first child, Christian Joseph Levet, on June 23, 2017. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 19.25 inches long.

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Class Notes

recognized by Florida Super Lawyers magazine for eight consecutive years (2009-2016) for his work in business litigation.

In 2015, he was honored by the Southwest Florida Bankruptcy Bar as the recipient of the Alexander L. Paskay Professionalism Award. He also was selected to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s inaugural 40 Under 40 class.

Maj. Robert Allen ’03 (social sciences) was appointed as the executive officer for the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 1/141 Field Artillery Battalion in New Orleans.

The “141” is the oldest active field artillery battalion outside the original 13 colonies and has fought in every major engagement since the Mexican American War to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Allen is also the law enforcement intelligence analyst for Marine Forces North and has served as an investigator and police officer, functioning in multiple command, management, and training positions. He has almost 30 years of education and experience in the security, law enforcement, and intelligence fields.

Joe Lopinto ’02 (criminal justice), J.D. ’04, was named interim sheriff of Jefferson Parish. Lopinto is an attorney and a former Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy and detective, as well as a state representative. He left the Louisiana state Legislature in 2016 to join the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office as chief of operations.

James Rinando ’02 (biology), a doctor living in Houston, created a novelty T-shirt that said “Stand Bayou City” and donated the proceeds — more than $10,000 — to Hurricane Harvey relief.

(See p. 30.)

Erin Rodgers ’04 (music industry studies) became a found-

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ing partner of Jordan Rodgers Selvera PLLC, a Houston-based law firm focused on entertainment law.

Kerry Cahill ’05 (drama), an actress on The Walking Dead, is working in partnership with Help Heal Veterans to launch a craft kit for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in memory of her father, Michael Cahill, who was killed in the terrorist attack on Fort Hood while trying to charge the shooter and save veterans.

Annelise Cassar ’06 (music industry studies), the music director of Chalmette High School Voices, recently had four of her students advance to the second round of the Donald W. Wood Sr. Vocal Competition.

Maxwell Eaton ’07 (philosophy) will open a new salad and cold-pressed juice café, Max Well, in New Orleans near Audubon Park. The restaurant will feature an organic, plantbased menu.

Catherine Lacey ’07 (English) recently released her second novel, The Answers, which received a glowing review in the New York Times and was called “This Summer’s Must Read” by Vogue. Her debut novel, Nobody Is Ever Missing, won a 2016 Whiting Award. The Whiting Awards are given annually to “emerging writers of exceptional talent.” She was also named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists. After a book tour for The Answers, she will be the University of Mississippi’s John Grisham Writer in Residence through 2018.

Jennifer Schmidt, M.S.N. ’07, has been promoted to associate chief nursing officer at Tulane Health System, serving as the on-site senior nursing leader for

the Tulane Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children campus while also coordinating patient care activities throughout the health system. She previously was director of Tulane’s women’s and children’s services. Schmidt has been with the health care system for more than 20 years, serving in increasingly larger roles.

Jon Arlan ’08 (English) had his recent book, Mountain Lines: A Journey Through the French Alps, named a recommended travel book for summer reading by the New York Times.

Kathryn Bodin ’08 (communication) was named One to Watch: Health Care by New Orleans CityBusiness. She is the director of both primary care and specialty clinic operations at Ochsner Medical Center— West Bank and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Marigny deMauriac, M.S. ’08, of Edward Jones was named a 2017 Money Maker by New Orleans CityBusiness. She was honored at a luncheon on Oct. 18, 2017, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Jonathan Kurtz ’09 (biological sciences), Ph.D., moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2018 to become the immunology lead at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Md. In this new role, he will lead his own team of research scientists studying host-pathogen interactions of high-consequence viral agents (such as Ebola, Marburg virus, Lassa fever).

Warren M. Surcouf III, M.B.A. ’09, a commercial sales and leasing agent for Property One Inc., was named One to Watch: Real Estate by New Orleans CityBusiness. He is part of

Property One’s retail group and has experience overseeing and planning various events in the New Orleans area. He is a business consultant and founding member of Corsair Consulting, which has served as project manager for the Metairie Business Development District and Fat City Friends organizations. He currently serves on the board of the American Diabetes Association and was a board member for the ReNEW Charter Schools and the chair of the development committee from 2014 to 2016. He was also the vice president of development for the Young Leadership Council and served as project leader for its Wednesday at the Square concert series from 2009 to 2014.

2010s Samia Asmel ’10 (music industry studies) will be joining Amazon Studios. She will be working on global PRO video licensing. Prior to this, she performed the same role at Universal Studios.

Virginia Ryan ’10 (sociology) was hired as justice system administrator at the Sheriff’s Office in New Orleans. Ryan has worked for the Orleans Public Defenders Office for the past seven years and was hired to help oversee efforts to reduce the jail population of Orleans Parish. She will help identify detainees who can be safely released, work to secure appropriate housing for detainees when the jail reaches capacity, help speed up court proceedings that have been delayed, and help to reduce ethnic and

ALUMNI PROFILE

Inspired by his own Loyola education, Dr. John Levendis ’97 returned to teach.

DURING ONE OF HIS FINAL SEMESTERS AS AN UNDERGRADUATE AT LOYOLA, Dr. John Levendis ’97 (economics), the Dr. John V. Connor Professor in Economics and Finance and associate professor of economics at Loyola, says he was “tossing around the idea of being a professor” but wasn’t 100 percent sure.

The young economics major and New Orleans native had found his time at Loyola to be intellectually stimulating and says that one of his favorite instructors, Deborah Walker, asked him to substitute for one of her classes when he was an upperclassmen.

After spending a “couple of months” diligently preparing for just a one-hour lesson plan, Levendis says it was both a “humbling and exhilarating” experience.

“I knew right then that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he says.

A major part of the inspiration, he says, was the ability to explain things and “see the light bulbs go off” among his peers.

“Just to see people illuminated — when they get it —is very gratifying,” he says. “I have to think that everyone who’s a teacher

Continuing the Legacy

BY SARAH RAVITS

lives for those moments when someone finally gets it. I am still chasing that high.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree, Levendis attended the University of Iowa, where he received his master’s degrees in economics and mathematics in 2000 and 2003 and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics in 2004. He taught at the University of Iowa, Cornell College, and Southeastern Louisiana University before returning to Loyola. Since returning to his alma mater, he has won numerous awards including Outstanding M.B.A. Professor and Outstanding

Service in 2016 and Outstanding Researcher in 2007, 2009, and 2012.

As an undergrad, he says he was “fortunate to work with professors who would push me as far as I needed to be pushed,” a legacy that he strives to continue as an educator himself.

He finds economics fascinating because it allows him to appreciate the “spontaneous order. … Society is sort of organized spontaneously, and markets help that,” he says. “All of society working through the market determines prices.”

Levendis teaches principles of macro- and microeconomics and hopes to pass along the same enthusiasm that his professors instilled in him. Current projects include researching the gendered wage gap and examining stock market volatility. “My interests vary,” he says, “but one of the best things about working at Loyola is that you can research what you find stimulating.”

When he is not working or researching, Levendis enjoys spending time with his wife, Catherine, and their young son, Jack.

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Class Notes

racial disparities within the criminal justice system.

John McCann ’12 (marketing), the owner of Navé, a lifestyle fashion brand that provides bold, unique clothing; seeks to empower people; and allows them to pay it forward to one another by handcrafting an inspirational quote into each garment, announced that Navé had the first public launch of its new clothing line, Dream.

Samantha Montano ’12 (psychology), Ph.D., was just honored in the Paris Review for her book collection on late19th- and early-20th-century disasters. Says the Paris Review: “She aims to preserve an increasingly relevant piece of the historical record in a time of rapid climate change: ‘We do not want the stories of how people have survived disasters to be a secret. We want that information to be shared.’”

Kathryn Rose Wood ’10 (music therapy), M.M.T. ’12, a New Orleans-based musician, songwriter, and clinical music therapist, chaired an inaugural benefit concert, Music for Mental Health: An Evening of Song and Discussion, on Sept. 22 at the Mint Museum’s performance space. The concert included live music performances and panel discussions from New Orleans musicians and mental health advocates in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Month. Proceeds were donated to the New Orleans affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She also released her debut album, In the Ashes, which she wrote after losing her 19-year-old brother, Preston, to suicide in 2015.

The album contains the single “Lullaby (to Preston),” which was named a “Daily Discovery” by American Songwriter Magazine and received positive attention

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from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, To Write Love on Her Arms, and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network.

Another single, “Big Steel Wings,” was featured as the May 2017 theme song for the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ website. She celebrated the album’s release with a party at Gasa Gasa on Oct. 8, 2017. (See p. 9.)

Michael A. McCall-Delgado ’13 (history) is the strategic researcher for the Amalgamated Transit Union, or ATU, in Washington, D.C. He recently was interviewed by the Washington Post regarding his report for the ATU that criticizes the District of Columbia’s intention to use private contractors in its attempt to revamp the city’s mass transit system.

Ganiyu Jimoh, M.S. ’14, is serving as chief of operations for the Baton Rouge Constables Office and recently released a book, African Students and Their Determination for Education, which was inspired by the hardships he and others faced trying to pursue an education in Nigeria. Half of the proceeds from the sales of his book will go to his home village to buy school buses, and half will go to a new community center in Baton Rouge where teachers will volunteer their time to help kids with their schoolwork.

James H. Johnson ’00 (English), J.D. ’14, joined Perrier & Lacoste in New Orleans as an associate.

Kimberly Kilpatrick Uddo, D.N.P. ’14, was named a 2017 Woman of the Year by New Orleans CityBusiness and was honored at a luncheon on Nov. 2, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency.

Kendall Cousin ’15 (music industry studies) was hired as an international marketing

coordinator at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. (See p. 49.)

Emily Williams ’15 (finance) is attending the University of Utah law school.

Gloria Cosenza ’16 (voice performance) joined Loyola University New Orleans as an admissions counselor. She will focus on recruiting transfer students.

Dominic Minix ’16 (music industry studies) was featured in Gambit’s music issue. He serves as guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader for Yung Vul.

Lauren Vega ’17 (visual arts and art history) joined Loyola University New Orleans as an admissions counselor. Her territory includes Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and parts of Louisiana.

Elyse Harrison ’17 (psychology) joined Loyola University New Orleans as an admissions counselor. Her territory includes parts of Louisiana and all of Texas.

Send us your milestones.

New job? New baby? Got married?

We want to share in your joy! Send us your wedding, birth, or job announcements, along with photos, at magazine@loyno.edu

In Memoriam Earl A. Schmidt ’34 Merle Herbert Lachin ’41 Phyllis Bunol Jones ’42 Dr. Anton Reel Jr., D.D.S. ’45 Elmer H. Scott ’45 Dr. John C. Hardin Jr., D.D.S. ’46 Clayton A. Schexnaildre ’47 Edwin T. Brown III, D.D.S. ’48 Sister Mary L. Desmond, D.Pharm. ’48 Walter E. Driscoll Jr., D.Pharm. ’49 Charles G. Glueck ’49 Anthony R. Lentini ’49 Dr. Joseph P. Martinez III ’49 Victor Cieutat ’50 Harold P. Crane Jr. ’50 John R. Saussaye ’50 Irma M. Stiegler ’50 Betty Loch Constans ’51 Floyd E. del Corral ’51 Rollins B. Rosenzweig, D.D.S. ’51 The Hon. Denald A. Beslin, J.D. ’52 J. Kenneth Leithman ’52 Alvin J. Seeger ’52 Roland P. Constantin ’53 Maurice A. Guillerman ’53 Clare V. Rodriguez ’53 Joseph E. Berrigan Jr., J.D. ’54 Charles P. Raborn, M.D., D.Pharm. ’54 Louise Lange Stewart ’54 Anna L. Miller ’51, ’55 Ronald L. Redmann Sr. ’55 Dr. Ebb A. Berry III ’56 Clarence B. Parent Jr., D.D.S. ’56 Harold S. Barker Jr. ’57 Mary “Mae Beth” Puissegur Gallagher ’57 Howard F. O’Gorman Jr., D.D.S. ’57 Colleen A. McDermott Connolly, M.E. ’58 Ronald J. Danos ’58 Carl A. Gumpert Sr., D.D.S. ’58 William M. Hardy, D.D.S. ’58 Frank E. Johnson III ’58 Janssen G. Trauth ’58 Rose Macaluso Barras ’59 Anna Cherrie Epps, Ph.D., M.S. ’59 W.J. “Jim” McAnelly Jr., J.D. ’59 Robert W. Walsh ’59 James A. Buisson III ’60 George J. Cassard III ’60 Ann Marie LeBlanc Conner ’60 Howard P. Vollenweider Sr. ’60 Catherine A. Cardinale, M.S. ’61

Robert L. Wilkie Sr. ’61 Charles R. Cottone ’62 Gail Webre Jock ’62 John M. Rigney ’62 Irwin R. Sanders, J.D. ’62 Herbert I. Weyer ’63 Robert A. Treadaway ’64 Leo H. Zibilich ’60, ’65 John A. Gereighty Jr. ’66 Olga Tercero Guillot ’66 Robert J. Kinler ’66, J.D. ’66 Marguerite J. Stuart ’63, ’66 Elva J. Templeton, M.A. ’66 Perry J. Booth III, D.D.S. ’67 Maurice E. Burch Jr. ’67 Lynette Martin Leduff ’67 Eileen M. Kuebel Weber ’67 Joseph M. Nielsen ’55, J.D. ’68 Shirley Kennedy Akers, M.A. ’69 Richard A. Brown Jr. ’69 Joseph N. Greiner Jr. ’69 Maurice G. Legrand ’52, ’69 Charlotte Simms Marshall ’69 Clifford L. Brown ’60, M.E. ’70 Gloria Galbo Fontenot ’70 Carol A. Francis, M.Ed. ’70 Robert M. Schoenfeld, J.D. ’70 William J. Vosper Jr., J.D. ’70 Mary A. del Marmol ’71 Richard L. Abbrecht Jr. ’69, M.B.A. ’72 Robert J. Almeida ’72 Gene D. Fowler, J.D. ’72 Brig. Gen. Ralph J. Melancon, J.D. ’72 Adolfo Bello Jr. ’73 Alberto L. Ferrer Jr. ’73 Sherman L. Andry ’74 Peter L. Schillesci ’74 Jack T. Kellogg ’76 Brad G. Theard, J.D. ’76 Raul A. Davalos ’77 Russell A. Hidding ’77 Alexandra C. Miles, J.D. ’77 Janet C. Zelden, M.Ed. ’77 Gloria Washington Moore ’78 Thomas A. Voltz Jr. ’78 James D. Tufts III, J.D. ’80 Theresa A. Beckler, J.D. ’81 Marilyn R. Bourgeois Valentino, D.Pharm. ’82 Steven R. Gentile ’83 Marisa Roa Saborio ’81, ’83 Sister Camille M. Simoneaux, C.S.J., ’60, M.B.A. ’84

Sandra Coleman-Lewis, M.E. ’85 Robert J. Zarbin, J.D. ’86 Carol A. Ridder, M.R.E. ’87 Robert H. McTague III ’90 Melanie Smith ’90 Raymond C. Waguespack ’90 Michael Wallace ’90 Tiffany C. Conner ’91 David H. D’Antoni ’91 Amy L. Mize Christmas ’94 Samuel S. Dalton, J.D. ’54, H ’94 Gregory Gresenz, M.P.S. ’95 Salvatore A. Di Francesco, M.P.S. ’99 Annette M. Kulasa, M.P.S. ’00 Anthony L. Halsema, C.P.S. ’01 Peter A. Ierardi, J.D. ’02 Justin A. Shank ’02 Ray D. Gibson, C.P.S. ’05 Julie E. Deshotels Jardell, J.D. ’07

“ God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” + Psalm 46:1

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Fair and Balanced

BY FRITZ ESKER ’00

FOX News’ Eboni K. Williams, J.D. ’07, comes back to campus to talk about her career, her book, and the importance of the media in a democracy.

ONE OF LOYOLA COLLEGE OF LAW'S most distinguished graduates, TV host and analyst Eboni K. Williams, J.D. ’07, returned to Loyola on Oct. 23, 2017, to speak to students at the College of Law. During her visit to her alma mater, Williams discussed her career and the unconventional path she has taken to professional success. After earning her J.D., she was not even aware being a legal analyst on TV was a career option. She worked at a civil litigation firm in Charlotte, N.C., for a year.

But she quickly realized that this was not what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

In many ways, it was a frightening realization. “[I thought], ‘I’ve invested in this legal education, and now I don’t know what to do with it,” Williams says.

She became a public defender for two years and then switched to private practice.

During that time, she worked on some cases that dealt with sports and entertainment law.

A friend suggested that she would be good at discussing legal issues on the news. She did a case analysis for a radio show, and more offers soon followed, this time from television.

Now, Williams has worked for networks including the NFL Network, HLN, CBS News, and FOX News (her current employer). She is

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the co-host of The FOX News Specialists and The Curtis and Eboni Show on WABC Radio in New York City.

“I’ve always loved the law, and I still love the law, but with the media, I knew my reach could be broader and faster,” Williams says.

She is also the proud author of a book, Pretty Powerful: Appearance, Substance, and Success. Her former boss at FOX, Roger Ailes, recommended that she write a book.

Many TV news analysts have written political books. But Williams wanted hers to be different, so she drew upon her personal experiences. At a time when stories of sexual harassment are front and center in the news cycle, Williams’ book is especially relevant as she devotes the last chapter to sexual harassment and how women can protect themselves from it in the workplace.

In the modern era, journalists face other forms of harassment, too. After Williams criticized President Donald Trump’s response to white supremacist marches in Charlottesville, Va., she received death threats. She says the threats saddened her but that America’s strength comes from diverse perspectives. When people are intolerant of differing opinions, it weakens the country.

Williams was quick to add, however, that

many Trump supporters contacted her and said that while they disagreed, they understood where she was coming from and appreciated her thoughts.

Many Americans accuse journalists of unfair bias, but Williams says that none of her employers in the TV or radio industries ever asked her to promote an agenda. Her opinions have always been her own, and she’s never been prodded to take a position by bosses. She adds, though, that it is a good idea for viewers and readers to “maintain a healthy skepticism” when consuming news and other information.

When asked to reflect upon how her Loyola education helped her grow, Williams says participating in Loyola’s Moot Court was a seminal experience for her. It made her realize she was talented at debating and organizing complex thoughts in a way others could understand. She didn’t realize it at the time, but these skills would serve her well in her TV career.

“There’s no better prep for doing battle with O’Reilly, Hannity, and the folks at FOX than Moot Court,” Williams says.

s p t m e Bon

History freshman ETHAN SCHMIDT watches the solar eclipse with his dad, Loyola web developer ERIC SCHMIDT, on Aug. 21, 2017. The Physics Department handed out eclipse glasses and set up pinhole viewers and filter-equipped telescopes on the quad outside Monroe Hall to help everyone safely view the eclipse.

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OUT IN THE STREETS

Biological Imperative Students and professors get down and dirty to gather scientific data in New Orleans City Park.

BY MAIRÉAD CAHILL ’18

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LOYOLA STUDENTS AND FACULTY HAVE BEEN GETTING OUT OF THE CLASSROOM and into the dirt as “citizen scientists” to lead BioBlitz campaigns of City Park.

“Citizen science is a form of crowdsourcing in that it involves residents of all types in the gathering of scientific data to be used toward a common goal that impacts everyone,” Dr. Robert A. Thomas, professor, distinguished scholar chair in environmental communication, and director of the Loyola Center for Environmental Communication, explains. “With the help of volunteers and scientists, park management and city leaders will gain a better understanding of the biodiversity at one of the nation’s largest public parks.”

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Students have been accompanying professors and other experts in the BioBlitz New Orleans City Park campaign to research the full range of species in the park, which boasts a diverse landscape of lagoons, historic oak trees, fishing ponds, fields, and botanic gardens.

The aim is to identify as many species as possible and enlarge an existing list of wildlife in the park. Data gathered will build upon existing data collected by the Louisiana Master Naturalist program and will be used by City Park to prepare for the future.

“City Park is a 1,300-acre urban oasis in the middle of our city,” Dr. Aimée Thomas, lecturer and assistant professor of biological sciences, says. “I mean, it’s bigger than Central Park if you really break it down and compare, and it’s a perfect location close to campus. ...

One of our goals is to help City Park become better-informed about its flora and fauna so park leaders can make informed decisions about the management of their land.”

More than 20 experts from Loyola, University of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University, and Tulane, as well as the Audubon Institute, the Lake Foundation, New Orleans Botanical Gardens, and New Orleans City Park, have led groups focused on specific topics, from birds to butterflies, but their work is not done yet.

The BioBlitz project has had two volunteer days in the park already, one in July 2017 and the most recent one last October.

Loyola students and faculty will be heading back to the park this semester to continue their blitz.

“For the students to be involved in the project, it’s a way to deepen their understanding of what they are learning in the classroom, and it’s important because it’s contributing to our understanding of organisms in our ecosystem,” Aimée Thomas says.

Anyone interested in taking part in a future BioBlitz of City Park can email bioblitz@loyno. edu for more information.

Are you an employer looking for new talent? You already know that Loyola students and alumni have the indemand skills employers are seeking – critical thinking, communication skills, team skills, problem-solving skills, and a solid work ethic. The new employer relations team in the Career Development Center can help you find your next intern or summer or permanent employee. Contact Career Development Center Senior Director Roberta Kaskel at (504) 865-3860 or rekaskel@loyno.edu to develop an individual strategy for your business or organization.

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Alumni now have the ability to In 2017, we surpassed our Loyola Loyal register as new users through Day goal of 400 gifts in 24 hours! This the Loyola Online Community. year, we hope to do even more with Members will be able to your help. We hope you will support easily update their contact Loyola's mission on Loyola Loyal Day information with Loyola, search 2018, April 11-12, by helping us reach for classmates, and direct our goal of 500 gifts! Visit message fellow alumni through alumni.loyno.edu/LoyolaLoyalDay the Loyola Online Community.

Enrollment is free! Register now at spark.loyno.edu. For additional information, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at (504) 861-5454 or send an email to alumni@loyno.edu WINTER 2018 | loyno

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Pet Project

BY FALLON CHIASSON ’19

Loyola faculty and alumni care for homeless and abandoned animals at Zeus’ Rescues, a nonprofit no-kill animal shelter.

YOU’VE SEEN THE SPCA COMMERCIALS. Sarah McLachlan has broken your heart a thousand times.

Man’s best friend – your best friend – staring wide-eyed into the camera. And hurting.

And that song.

The emotional gut-punch of the realization is too much to bear. Who is going to help these animals?

Well, in New Orleans, Zeus’ Rescues will.

It’s an Uptown dog and cat adoption facility that works to find forever homes for pets – and that could not survive without the fundraising, grant-writing, and volunteer efforts of certain Loyola faculty and alumni.

Loyola Theatre Arts and Dance professor Kellie Grengs is a volunteer board member at Zeus’ Rescues. Grengs manages all of the incoming donations from private individuals and foundations for the rescue while also working its social networks. She says the most fulfilling part about her volunteer work is the ability “to raise money for animals, to be their voice, and to make sure they get the best care possible as they are prepared for their forever homes.”

As a small nonprofit, Zeus’ Rescues receives no city or state funding – even during times of crisis. This past summer, Grengs wrote numerous grants to support the rescue. As a result of her efforts, Zeus’ Rescues was awarded $1,000 by Entergy New Orleans and $1,000 by Bissell Pet Foundation. During the Baton Rouge area flooding in 2016, Grengs was able to secure over $30,000 in emergency grant funds for the 300 animals that were rescued by and transferred to Zeus’ Rescues.

“Without the outpouring of support and donations from the community,” Grengs says, “we could have never achieved that success.”

Zeus’ Rescues has taken in animals affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and has been receiving dogs from Puerto Rico who otherwise would have been euthanized.

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In addition to the active rescuing and rehoming of pets, Zeus’ Rescues is committed to community-building and pet education with a focus on children and the elderly. Zeus’ Rescues provides “classrooms” where youth in the community can interact with animals and understand their importance and value.

Patrons also can check out dogs to take on walks or lounge in the free-range cat room.

Zeus’ Place, the pet grooming and boarding facility named in honor of the same hound, helps to support Zeus’ Rescues. Loyola alumnae Natalie Csintyan ’16 (theatre) and Katie Bandit ’16 (theatre) currently work at Zeus’ Place. Both organizations hope to eradicate pet homelessness and euthanasia within the New Orleans metro area.

According to its website, Zeus’ Rescues had 375 animals on hand from January

to December 2016. Most of these pets are transferred to Zeus’ Place from other organizations while some are stray pets or surrendered by their owners. By December 31, 2016, Zeus’ Rescues had no animals on hand. Over the course of the year, 366 of those animals were adopted; the remaining nine unfortunately died in care or had to be humanely euthanized for medical reasons.

Grengs’ favorite quote is from the International Fund for Animal Welfare: “When a community begins working together to ensure its animals are cared for, they are able to improve the lives of dogs, cats, and people in the short- and long-term.”

Sarah McLachlan might still tug our heartstrings, but Zeus’ Rescues is working every day to make our community a little bit better – for all creatures, great and small.

VISIT ZEUS' RESCUES

2520 NAPOLEON AVENUE 10 A.M. TO 4 P.M. DAILY ZEUSRESCUES.ORG

THEN & NOW

Rave Review

New Orleans Review celebrates 50 years of publication.

BY MACKENZIE BECKER ’18

NOW Over the course of 50 years, the THEN

New Orleans Review was founded at Loyola in 1968 by English faculty member and poet Miller Williams, who was its first editor. At its start, the literary magazine accepted submissions of poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, and book reviews.

It initially was published quarterly by a faculty editor with the help of student interns and was created to position New Orleans as an international city – and to fill in gaps that the Loyola academic community saw in the critical study of culture. It was committed to bringing in authors from all over the world, as well as focusing on important cultural happenings in New Orleans, such as the publication of John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. John Biguenet, now chair of the Department of English, was the editor of New Orleans Review from 1980 to 1992, along with Dr. John Mosier.

magazine has grown and transformed in time with the growth and transformation of New Orleans and the world. Under the care of its current editor, professor Mark Yakich, the magazine has not only continued as a print publication but has begun to publish online, as well. The physical magazine is now printed annually and is complemented by pieces published electronically at neworleansreview.org Yakich also has made it a goal to transform the magazine into something that people want to hold on to and keep on their bookshelves. Drawing on his background as an artist, he thinks critically about the magazine’s format and has transformed it from a simple periodical into something closer to a book.

For issues 40.1 and 40.2, he chose to place the pieces in seven chapbooks in a collectible slipcase.

In 2018, for the 50th anniversary of the magazine, a “Best of New Orleans Review” collection will be published, containing selections from the magazine’s 50 years of print issues.

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HOW LOYOLA SHAPED ME

v

Head of the Class Dr. Kenneth St. Charles ’85 (management)

As president of St. Augustine High School, I routinely have an opportunity to discuss college choices with our students, and I am always excited when a student tells me he is considering enrolling at Loyola University. It is always a delight to be back on the campus and to see all of the improvements and updates. I strongly encourage our young men to consider continuing their studies at Loyola.

I never had a “dream job” [in mind] when I was in college. I majored in business management, and I knew that I wanted to work with people, but I never had a specific occupation, career, or dream job. I have been fortunate to work in the education field for the majority of my career, and I truly have a passion for serving underrepresented students and helping them to find the resources so that they can get a good education.

I try to arrive at school before our students so that I can welcome them as they are being dropped off by their parents. Being able to greet the students with a smile, a handshake, and a brief good morning hopefully means as much to them as it does to me. It certainly helps to get my day off to a great start.

Both as a student and as a former Loyola employee, I had several opportunities to experience firsthand Loyola’s commitment to social justice issues. My passion in working to ensure that financially disadvantaged students who have high academic potential are able to have access to higher education opportunities began when I was a Loyola student and has guided and influenced me throughout my career.

I truly have a job that I love, and my days are usually very exciting and fast-paced. Whenever my day is not going well or is becoming too routine, these brief interactions with students really remind me as to the importance and real reason I am so passionate about my position, which is to ensure that our students are successful and are able to have the same experiences that I was so fortunate to have when I was a St. Augustine High School student.

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I am most proud of my immediate family. I am married to my best friend, Lori Robinson St. Charles, and we have two beautiful and intelligent daughters, Taylor and Kennedy.

My pride in my family and my commitment to ensure their happiness drives me constantly to be the best that I can be. My wife and I have been married for 29 years, and I can truly say that we

have grown stronger and closer over the years to the point where we cherish each other’s love more than material things.

The young students at St. Augustine High School who I am so very fortunate to serve are a perfect example of my expectations for life being fulfilled. As the president of the school, I get to preside over the annual commencement exercise and present high school diplomas to these young men. Being able to see the sense of accomplishment in each of these young men as they prepare for the next phase of their lives is a great reality check and gives me a sense of pride that my life after college has been well-spent.

DR. ST. CHARLES IS THE PRESIDENT OF ST. AUGUSTINE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS. He is an alumnus of both St. Augustine and Loyola and has worked for both of his alma maters.

The spirit of St. Ignatius is tenacity.

It is a wild passion for learning. An immeasurable diversity of interests. A hunger for serious, critical contemplation. We see this tenacity every day on our campus as our Jesuiteducated students discern their true paths and follow them fearlessly.

And this spirit of St. Ignatius, these students – they’re you.

You were the musician. The athlete. The honors kid. The club president. The class clown.

And you are, like each one of us, just a single piece of a bigger picture. A picture of kindness. Passion. Drive. And tenacity.

With our new Tenacious Ignatius campaign, you can follow Iggy as he sees firsthand the facilities and opportunities these students are using to set the world on fire – all made possible by friends of Loyola. To help create more opportunities for our students, visit campaign.loyno.edu

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