Antwan Turpeau (MSW ‘10), co-founder of Struggling Youths Equal Successful Adults, an organization that supports youth who are aging out of the foster care system

Many young people who are emancipated from foster care upon reaching adulthood find themselves suddenly alone and facing an uncertain future. Nobody knows that better than Antwan Turpeau (MSW ‘10), who was a ward of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for 11 years. And that’s why he, along with two other former foster children, started an organization to support youth who are aging out of foster care. Struggling Youths Equal Successful Adults, or SYESA, provides mentoring, road maps, and motivation to help foster youth overcome obstacles and develop life skills that will point them in a positive direction.

Turpeau and his cofounders know the challenges these young people face. Turpeau says he has lived in more foster homes than he can count, battled with illegal substances, and engaged in gang and criminal activities for survival. He says he, too, benefitted from people coming into his life at the right time and helping him rise above his challenges. This included a mentor who befriended him when he was in a group home at age 10 and continues to be an important part of his life today, as well as the foster mom who gave him his first stable home at age 16 and became his family. He lived with her until he was 21, and they remained close until her death three years ago.

Turpeau eventually decided to focus on his education. He attended college, graduating with a degree in psychology, and went to work managing a psychiatric hospital and residential treatment center for boys and girls. He later decided to pursue a master’s in social work at Loyola. He says his goal was to develop an organization like SYESA, and Loyola gave him the leadership skills and academic background to make it happen.

SYESA’s Success by 25 program targets youth who are leaving the system and, therefore, losing resources and connections to positive adults. The program extends support until age 25, so participants don’t “fall off the cliff.” SYESA holds support groups and educational workshops, provides clothes and food, and matches participants with life coaches, many of whom have had a successful transition out of foster care. The coaches work on establishing long- and short-term goals for education, housing, and employment.

State Representative Sara Feigenholtz recently introduced a resolution in the Illinois General Assembly recognizing them for being the state’s first former foster children to create a non-profit youth organization.

Turpeau says much of his success is due to positive adults realizing his potential and helping him see it, too. That’s what he hopes SYESA can bring to people who are trying to make it after leaving a lifetime of foster care.

“I had a crazy life growing up,” he says. “But I had support, and that helped me get where I am today. I am highly blessed.”

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Spring 2012).

Professor Sammy Danna (right) with School of Communication Dean Don Heider (middle) and WLUW-FM Station Manager Danielle (Basci) Gunn.

When Sammy Danna was an undergraduate student at University of Louisiana-Monroe studying speech, drama, and radio-television education, he remembers being stressed over a play he was to present in class. However, he also remembers what his professor said that helped him put the assignment in perspective, words that he has kept with him for his 50+ year career.

“[He said] ‘You know what? About 90 percent of the things that people worry about don’t come to pass’…I remember him saying that and not believing him at the time,” he laughs. “But now I look back and have to come to the realization that enough is enough. Most of the worries will not come to pass.”

Danna would know. After 43 years as a professor at Loyola, Sammy Danna, PhD, professor of communication, is retiring. Aside from educating countless Loyola students in communication, advertising, public speaking, and media law classes, both as a part-time and full professor (beginning in 1980), Danna helped launch WLUW-FM 88.7 in the late 1970s, and he is the author of more than 70 articles, monographs, and book chapters.

Danna not only contributed valuable work at Loyola, he also taught journalism, speech, and drama at two high schools in Monroe, Louisiana (his hometown), taught speech 101 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University-Normal, and Quincy University, and he taught the first radio/television course at Quincy as well. In addition to teaching others, he gained a PhD in speech and drama from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and three master’s degrees: a MA from Louisiana State University in speech, drama, and radio-television education, a MEd from University of Louisiana at Monroe in secondary and higher education, and a MDiv from the Catholic Theological Union in ministerial theology, here in Chicago.

Though Danna says he has been through a lot during his long career, in hindsight, it has been a success.

“There have been ups and downs, let’s make no bones about that, as there have been with anybody’s careers and life and marriages or whatever,” he says. “But overall it has been a grand experience.”

Many of those ups and downs have come with one of his most notable achievements at Loyola: helping launch WLUW-FM, and remaining the faculty advisor to the station until 1994. Danna helped produce Loyola’s original two radio stations, WLUC, a closed carrier station at the Lake Shore Campus and WLT, a closed circuit station at the Water Tower Campus, but devoted a good amount of time, money, and energy to bringing WLUW to life in 1979. He put up some of his own money to find a station, supervised the construction of the radio antennae and studio (when it was in Lewis Towers), and acted as director of the station for two years after its inception. Danna says it was tough to get students initially interested in participating in the station, since the programming started a little slow, mostly with symphonic music and religious programs. As the station format evolved, however, more students got involved and began to prosper, including Wayne Magdziarz.

Magdziarz, who is the current Loyola chief of staff and vice president of capital planning, was the general manager of WLUW in the 1980s, and says Danna was an irreplaceable advisor.

“Dr. Danna has always had a passion for student learning. Whether in the classroom or outside of it, his genuine commitment to his students and their success at Loyola was always his top priority,” says Madgziarz. “Loyola has been lucky to have him!”

Danna says the feeling is mutual.

“[The best part has] really been the students, and knowing many of the students well,” Danna says. “What I’ve been able to give them, which I found out is more than I thought, over the years…at the same time that they have in turn imparted a lot more to me than I’ve been able to give to them.”

Now, however, Danna is giving back to himself. After teaching one last public speaking course next fall, he plans to go home to Louisiana to “wind down a bit,” as well as focus on his next few projects. He is currently compiling the history of WLUW, writing books on women’s health marketer Lydia Pinkham, a history of the soda fountain, and the changing image in men in advertising. All are extensions of papers he presented at the National Association of Pop Culture conference.

As someone with a career that spans half a century, and a legacy at Loyola to boot, what would Danna tell someone hoping to follow in his shoes? He says the key is to take off the stress, and focus on what is achievable.

“The whole world is not dependent on you,” he says. “Do what you can do, and go from there.”

Danna’s retirement party will be held May 24 in the School of Communication, 51 E. Pearson. The reception will run from 5:30-7 p.m. The reception is free to attend, and open to communication alumni, former students, and WLUW alumni. To register for the reception, and to submit your favorite memory of Professor Danna, please click here.

Volunteers help out at the Erie Family Health Center in North Lawndale on Alumni Service Day.

A commitment to Jesuit values doesn’t end when you graduate. The annual Alumni Service Day brings together graduates of Loyola and other Jesuit universities to remind them of the value of serving others. This year’s Alumni Service Day, held Saturday, April 12, spread more than 200 alumni, friends, and family throughout Chicago, where they picked up trash, spruced up dilapidated sites, and found creative ways to lend a helping hand.

Clara Dina Hinojosa, assistant director of Alumni and Special Events, says the service day draws former Loyolans back into their alma mater’s mission and better familiarizes them with the communities in which they reside.

“When people are able to do community service as a group, they can get to know the agencies in their own neighborhoods and see how they might be able to contribute to the growing needs those agencies and schools serve,” Hinojosa says.

Volunteers selected their site from a list of 14, which ranged from schools and community groups located in Austin, Uptown, Edgewater, and other neighborhoods in all parts of the city. “Sometimes people picked locations because of the proximity to them or because of the mission of the organization,” Hinojosa says.

Loyola’s Latino Alumni Board painted stairwells and sanitized children’s toys at Casa Infantil, a Hispanic social service agency in Logan Square that provides childcare and pre-school prep to low-income families. The African American Alumni Network prepped for renovations by clearing out the basement at the Chicago Jesuit Academy, a college prep school for young men on the West Side.

Mike Hartnett, BA ’89, helped out at the Erie Family Health Center in North Lawndale on Alumni Service Day. He and his family have ties to not only Loyola but Mundelein College, Loyola Academy, and St. Ignatius that go back generations. “Being invited each year to spend a day with fellow graduates only serves to remind me what an amazing education I received at Loyola,” Hartnett says.

For the first time ever, Santa Clara University, Seattle University, and Marquette University partnered with Loyola for the day. Each school sponsored their own site and invited alumni currently living in the Chicago area to join.

The group members worked throughout the morning at each of the sites and concluded over a picnic lunch. The day ended with laughs and reminiscing about college times, but also with the exchanging of business cards.

“Service projects are opportunities for people to get to know each other in a more casual setting, rather than a formal networking event,” Hinojosa explains.

Looking ahead to next year’s service day, Hinojosa says she wants a more inclusive event. Although students are invited to participate, and a small percentage do, she would like to see faculty, staff, students, and alumni all working together instead of having separate service days.

“How rich that could be for all these people to come together and meet one another, share information, and foster formal relationships and continue those relationships with great Jesuit pride,” Hinojosa says.

To check out the Storify for Alumni Service Day, click here.

Clean-cut with a wide smile, Robles, a junior secondary education major, can talk with ease about complicated immigration policies, procedures, and news. He is an avid tennis player, a part of the club tennis team, and teaches lessons on the side. He is a member of the Student Alliance for Immigration Reform (SAIR), and is a passionate advocate for the DREAM Act. He also participates in the cooking club and social dance club–when he has time, he says with a laugh.

But being arrested is exactly what has brought him to where he is today.

Over two years ago, Robles was in his second year studying at Harper College, a community college in Palatine, where he grew up. He and his family moved to the United States from Mexico seven years ago, living with an aunt and uncle in hopes of better opportunities. They lived in Chicago, and then Palatine where, despite not having documents, Robles and his brother lived a normal life, attending high school, playing sports, and giving tennis lessons to local kids. Over spring break from Harper, Robles and his brother decided to visit a friend attending school in Boston. They thought they were safe taking a train, but when they made a stop near the Buffalo/Toronto border things didn’t go as planned.

The border patrol entered the train, asked for identification, and Robles and his brother could only offer their Mexican consulate cards, and an expired visa. They were pulled off the train, and sent to a local county jail, as all the nearby immigration detention centers were full.

The brothers had to stay the weekend—immigration bail can’t be posted until a weekday—but thanks to money raised by one of their high school teachers, they were able to make bail and go back to Illinois. Despite being sent home, as of last summer the boys had two options: closure, where the federal government would drop the case and they would continue to “fly under the radar” or deferred action, which means they would receive a work permit, a drivers license, and a social security number, but also a deportation order–meaning each year they would have to renew their deferred action, facing an annual threat of deportation. But in summer 2011, they found an ally: Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.

Durbin, who is a chief proponent of the federal DREAM Act, found out about the Robles brothers’ case from the boys’ lawyers (who were representing them pro-bono through funding from the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC). After hearing the brothers speak at an NIJC luncheon, Durbin’s office discussed their case with homeland security. They were able to secure the boys deferred action regarding the deportation order (meaning they would not face the annual threat of deportation), which is extremely rare.

“It felt like winning the lottery,” Robles says.

Robles says it was like a weight was immediately lifted off his shoulders–the fear of being deported, not being able to work, and being arrested was gone. The most exciting moment, he says, was getting his drivers license, as previously they were not legally allowed to drive.

“I wanted to drive with that thing out the window!” he says.

With the threat of deportation gone, Robles has had the chance to move on with his own life, and become an advocate for others who have gone through what he did. Robles and his brother have both decided to pursue their education further, his brother attending University of Illinois-Chicago to study architecture and Robles at Loyola studying education. Robles says he was drawn to Loyola because of the aid that private universities can offer students–since he is not a citizen, he can’t receive federal aid, so he is financing his education through private grants, scholarships, and working as a tennis coach. Ed Moore, director of scholarships, has helped Robles gain aid to finance his education at Loyola, and says that he respects his work on campus.

“He is so involved with service and working, and helping the community and students, so that is really where I have come to admire him,” says Moore. “He has really [faced hardships] in pursuing his education, and is such a nice young man to begin with, such a delight to work with.”

Robles has not wasted his time at Loyola. In addition to his studies, he has been active in supporting the DREAM Act, both at a federal and local level. Robles campaigned in Springfield last spring for the Illinois DREAM Act, which passed months later and was signed into law this spring. The Illinois DREAM Act created a scholarship fund for undocumented students who graduated from Illinois high schools.

Despite the success in Illinois, Robles says the lobbying has not been easy. He says he has run into many people who have misconceptions of undocumented immigrants, including (but not limited to) they are criminals, do not pay taxes, and are not learning English–all of which are sweeping generalizations. He also points out that many people underestimate the complexity of becoming a citizen. “You can’t just go in and take a test, and come out a citizen, there is a huge process even to be eligible to take the test,” he says.  “The test is like the end of the road.” Overall, he says “it was frustrating to see how little your representatives know about an issue.”

The federal law would offer the opportunity for citizenship to students who graduate from college, or enlist in the military, have been in the country an extended period of time without criminal activity, and have good moral character. Robles says he believes this is a good indication that people who will benefit the country become citizens. “It’s a pretty solid way to filter people, I think,” he says.

In addition to relaying his experience to lawmakers, Robles has found another ally and opportunity to tell his story here on campus. This summer he will be interning with the Office of First-Year Experience, helping to plan fall 2012 convocation, which will focus on immigrant rights. Incoming freshmen will read Enrique’s Journey, by Sophia Nazario, the true story of a young boy from Honduras making the treacherous immigrant trek to America to find his mother. Justin Daffron, S.J., associate provost for academic services, who recruited Robles for this role, praises him for beating the odds and continuing his education.

“Carlos is an inspiring student given his background, which presents a number of challenges. He is working to advance the DREAM Act to help similar students who are in jeopardy of being able to continue to work and live in the United States,” Daffron says. “It’s the type of social action that is what is best about Carlos and is what is most inspiring about a place like Loyola.”

Robles agrees, saying “It’s good to know the school I go to is supportive of who I am and the issues that I face.”

This work has also inspired him to change his career trajectory. Though Robles originally hoped to be a teacher, working through his own legal battles has inspired him to pursue a career in law. He hopes to teach for a few years, and then enter law school to get a degree specializing in immigration law, always remaining an advocate for those who are hoping to become citizens of the United States.

“By the time I am a lawyer, hopefully there will be some legislation passed so there will be work I can do to help people,” he says.

Currently, Robles and his brother are considered “aliens with work authorization”, meaning they are allowed to work and drive, but cannot leave the country. Their only opportunity for citizenship is for the DREAM Act to pass or to get married. However, he says he is happy to be in America, and feels lucky he can work to help others who are even less fortunate than him.

“We are in a special position,” he says. “We should take advantage of that.”

Commencement by the Numbers:

• 1,224 – Total number of graduate, law, and business students who have applied for graduation
• 1,776 – Total number of undergraduate students who have applied for graduation
• 11 – Ceremonies
• 4 – Honorary degrees
• 3 – Alums serving as Commencement speakers: William M. Daley (BA ’70), former White House chief of staff; Justice Virginia M. Kendall (JD ’92), U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; and Thaddeus Wong (BBA ’96), owner of @properties
• 10 – Ceremonies to be streamed on the web
• 3 – Commencement ceremonies that feature a lone bagpiper leading graduates to and from their seats

To view the full list of Commencement 2012 speakers, click here. Also, be sure to check out the Commencement 2012 photo gallery, which will be updated throughout Commencement weekend.

It will also be the inscription on the park bench that will soon be dedicated to the tragically deceased Loyola student.

“She had a life force that was obvious in all facets of her humanity,” David Whitacre says. “Her intellect, her will, energy, creativity, passion, and reverence; anybody who encountered her could see that.”

Whitacre, who would have been a part of the class of 2012 graduating this week, tragically passed away in October of 2009, in a bicycle accident at the corner of Damen and Wellington, near Hamlin Park in Roscoe Village. Now, a bench is being put in Hamlin Park to commemorate her life, and a memorial service will be held to dedicate the bench on June 3, from noon to 1 p.m.

For the last two and a half years, a ghost bike (a painted white bike that acts as a memorial for anyone killed in a bicycle accident) has been locked at the corner of Damen and Wellington, constantly adorned in flowers, notes, and mementos from those grieving her death. Her father says this has been a place for those who knew her to find comfort, but he has been looking for a way to mark this spot more permanently.

“The ghost bike has been a visible center of grief and remembrance. The problem is that it is clearly a temporary device, given that it is temporal in nature,” he says. “It made sense to try to create a mark of greater permanence.”

He decided a bench in the nearby park would be the best solution to this problem, but he also wanted to offer a time for those who have been grieving to come together. The service, which he stresses starts right at noon (as baseball teams changed their schedule to accommodate this event), will include three readings reflecting on her life and death written by himself, and four songs will be played. He says that people can bring blankets to sit on, and flowers and notes to leave with the bench, if they feel so inclined.

Mr. Whitacre feels that this is a way for those who have been grieving to come together after the fact of her death, and celebrate his daughter’s life; the girl who was an avid biker, fluent in French, and who worked at Metropolis Coffee Company in hopes of pursuing a career in the coffee business.

“I think it is hard because when you are in the process of dealing with deep trauma and grief, people are forced to put together a memorial while they are in grief… it is hard to walk away from that and feel resolved,” he says. “This is a second chance, two and a half years later, to reflect on the loss and to come back to it and speak to her collectively.”

The memorial service will be held at Hamlin Park from noon to 1 p.m. on June 3, 2012.

Dr. Gorn’s distinguished record of scholarship, excellence in teaching, and student mentorship reflects his interest in urban and American culture, particularly the history of various social groups in American cities since 1800. Currently a professor of history and American civilization at Brown University, he has also served as chair of the Department of American Civilization.

Dr. Gorn’s work is interdisciplinary and intersects with numerous other fields, including American studies, African-American studies, ethnic studies, gender and women’s studies, and urban studies. His four major books examine various aspects of urban life and city cultures in the 19^th- and 20^th-century United States, including Dillinger’s Wild Ride: The Year That Made America’s Public Enemy Number One (2009); Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America (2001); A Brief History of American Sports, co-authored with Warren Goldstein (1993; reissued 2004); and The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America (1986; 2nd edition, 2010). Dr. Gorn has also edited another eight volumes and published and reprinted more than 50 articles in a wide variety of scholarly and media publications.

The Gagliano Chair is named for Joseph A. Gagliano, professor emeritus of history, who served on Loyola’s faculty for more than 30 years. A historian of Latin America, Professor Gagliano also served in a number of administrative roles during his tenure, including chair of the Department of History and associate dean of The Graduate School.

Dr. Gorn received a BA and MA from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD from Yale University. He is the recipient of the Miami University Distinguished Educator Award, and he has served as the Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in North American Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland; the Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow at the Huntington Library; a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow; a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the Newberry Library; and a Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Fellow.

Provost John Pelissero would like to thank the members of the search committee for their work associated with this position. Please join him in congratulating Dr. Gorn on his appointment and in welcoming him to the Loyola community.

Unfortunately, today marks Jessica’s last day writing for the site, as she prepares to graduate from Loyola on Friday and start her new job as a news writing intern for WGN-TV’s weekday morning newscast. As driven as any student I’ve met in my nearly 7 years at Loyola, Jessica was able to excel at her University Marketing and Communication internship while balancing her academic work and also working part-time as an editorial intern for the Chicago Tribune (from September 2011 to December 2011) and a producing intern at Politics Tonight at WGN-TV/CLTV (January 2012 to May 2012). She also contributed immensely to the School of Communication’s Loyola Student Dispatch, as the site’s first editor, and Loyola News Chicago.

Jessica’s excellent work was also recognized recently by the School of Communication (SOC) as she collected an Outstanding Journalism Major award for the second consecutive year. In addition to her SOC honors, Jessica is also a Political Science Honors Program inductee and a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honors Society.

Though we say good bye to her today and wish her well in the next stage of her life, we look forward to working with Jessica in her new role at WGN-TV. We also encourage those of you on Twitter to follow her at @ReynoldsJessica if you’re interested in politics, Italy, Arkansas, shopping, wine, or just comical banter.

Jessica, all of us at University Marketing and Communication are proud of you and we thank you for your excellent work. Our next intern has some significant shoes to fill!

Water bottle refilling stations like the one pictured above are about to become more popular thanks to the University's recently announced water bottle ban.

Loyola students should add “reusable water bottle” to their packing lists for the 2012-13 school year.

Beginning in 2013, no plastic water bottles will be sold on campus, following a two year “UnCap Loyola” campaign, pioneered by the Student Environmental Alliance (SEA) and the United Student Government Association (USGA). After two years of educational and advocacy efforts by these two groups, the student body voted in favor of the ban through a referendum on USGA election ballots this spring, and plastic water bottle sales will be phased out through the 2012-13 school year.

Alexandra Vecchio, a junior environmental studies and sociology major and president of SEA for 2012-13, has been working on the campaign for more than two years, and says what really pushed the issue into the forefront of her agenda is that bottled water is not just about environmental impact–it is also about social justice.

“It’s not about the plastic bottle,” she says. “Really it’s what is inside the bottle. That water is coming from a community water source…people are paying a corporation for what they already had access to.”

Vecchio says this aspect of bottled water came to light for her, and other members of SEA, two years ago at a water colloquium hosted by the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (CUERP) in April 2010. The students in SEA realized this was an issue they wanted to pursue and decided to start the UnCap campaign. After speaking with students at Seattle University, who banned bottled water on their campus in September 2010, they began hosting educational events around campus, from documentary film screenings to tap water challenges, and circulating a student petition to ban bottled water on campus (which garnered more than 900 signatures). At the same time, they began discussing this issue with the administration, and in spring 2011 found an ally in another student organization–USGA.

Julia Poirier, former chair of the justice committee and current president of USGA, says USGA had been discussing this issue for almost a year before they partnered with SEA, as they saw the UnCap Loyola movement grow. However, Poirier, who acted as the student link between SEA and USGA, says USGA was able to help in a more logistical way, working with administrators, facilities, and Aramark on how this plan could be implemented.

Robert Kelly, PhD, vice president of student development, was an administrator who played a big role in communicating with students on this issue. What convinced him and other administrators to jump on board was that the movement was largely student-driven, and demonstrated students were utilizing many tools to prove their point.

“They have had two really good years,” he says. “It was really the effort of the students to combine what they do in the class, and talking with other leaders from other campuses and finding out what was happening on the national scene. When we saw that, we decided we probably wanted to [support them]. They are integrating the academic, personal, and spiritual.”

However, the campaign was not without push back. Vecchio points out that people were confused as to why plastic soda bottles would not be included in a ban. She points out that this is where many students confuse this as a purely environmental issue, whereas their focus was on how the privatization of water is a social justice issue as well as an environmental problem. “Privatizing water fails to acknowledge that water is a public good,” she says. “When you lose access to that, people are losing access to their basic human right.” Another issue she says frequently came up, was that this would take away students’ right to choose if they wanted to buy bottled water or not. However, she pointed out that “Loyola has a mission statement that stands for certain ideals,” social justice being one of the main components of that mission. She says that by choosing to come to Loyola, students come in knowing these ideals. “You as an individual can make whatever choice you want,” but Loyola is an institution that has its own mission to uphold, she points out.

In USGA, Poirier says the concerns were more about how more of the student body would be able to be educated on these issues, so more people would understand the reasoning behind the decision. Despite these concerns, in December 2011 USGA passed an act to support the water bottle ban, and to put the issue to student vote as a referendum on USGA elections in March.  During this time, SEA doubled their education efforts, devoting a Solutions to Environmental Problems (STEP) class to the issue and hosting World Water Week in early March. Finally in March 2012, students spoke: the referendum to ban plastic water bottle sales passed with 56 percent of the vote.

The ban will take place in two phases. The first phase will begin in fall 2012, with water bottles gone from dining halls and services, such as Rambler Room and Union Station, and the second phase will begin in spring 2013 with water bottles gone from vending machines.

However, the vote doesn’t signal the end of the UnCap efforts. In the future, Vecchio says SEA is going to continue their education efforts as they have in the past to help more students understand the nuances of the issue. She also says that every incoming freshman will be given a reusable water bottle, to ensure that every Loyola student has a reusable bottle to fill. On the USGA side, Poirier says they are hoping to work during the summer to address the logistics of ensuring students have access to water across Loyola’s campus. They are hoping to increase the number of water refill stations, ensure that water fountains are properly working, and implement more creative strategies, such as drop-off sites with drinking glasses. Currently, there are 35 refill stations between Loyola’s Water Tower and Lake Shore campuses.

Loyola joins more than 90 schools nationwide that have banned bottled water on campus, or are planning to do so. This announcement also comes on the heels of Loyola’s inclusion in The Princeton Review‘s 2012 Guide to 322 Green Colleges.

For more information, visit the Loyola website or the UnCap Loyola website.

Dr. Andress brings to Loyola nearly 20 years of experience in Jesuit higher education, including eight years as an academic administrator at Saint Louis University (SLU). Currently, Dr. Andress serves as the associate dean for graduate affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences at SLU. He also spent a year as the associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate School, and from 2004–09, he served as chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Prior to his administrative posts, Dr. Andress held faculty appointments at SLU, Middlebury College, Alfred University, Colby College, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, FAS-Johannes Gutenberg Universität, and the University of Illinois.

“Loyola University Chicago is experiencing dynamic growth, and you can feel the energy when you’re on campus and talking with faculty, staff, students, and administrators. They’re doing an amazing job of turning the Jesuit ideal of a transformative education into reality,” says Dr. Andress. “As dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, I very much look forward to working together with my new colleagues to fine-tune this educational endeavor through the avenues of teaching and research, and through service that nurtures justice.”

As an administrator at SLU, Dr. Andress established a Board of Graduate Education and a Graduate Faculty Membership Committee; participated in alumni outreach and fundraising; and developed funding policies for undergraduate and graduate research, as well as for graduate student study abroad. Academically, he was also involved in important initiatives aimed at reducing time-to-degree, increasing completion rates, assessing outcomes, and exploring evolving modalities of educational instruction. Under his leadership, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages grew by 30 percent under a new strategic plan. He also successfully implemented new programs and initiatives, including the Global Villa, a residential learning community centered in intercultural competence.

An accomplished scholar of German cultural studies whose work has been widely published, Dr. Andress holds both an MA and PhD in German literature from the University of Illinois and a BA in German from Rockford College.

“I am confident that Dr. Andress will bring his collaborative leadership style to serve both the college and the University in this important capacity,” says John Pelissero, PhD, Loyola’s provost. “His view of the liberal arts and sciences resonates strongly with Loyola’s Jesuit tradition of learning and knowledge, ethical leadership, and faith and justice. Coupled with his significant experience at Saint Louis University, Dr. Andress is well-positioned to continue moving the College of Arts and Sciences forward.”

Image courtesy of www.harborsideinternational.com.

Loyola University Chicago Athletics has announced that it will host its 27th Annual Loyola Ramblers Golf Outing on Thursday, August 2, at Harborside International Golf Center in Chicago. The event provides participants with a round of golf on one of the top courses in the Chicagoland area, food, drink, and fun, all in support of Loyola Athletics.

This year’s outing will feature a shotgun start beginning at 12:30 p.m. In addition to a round of golf, each participant will also receive lunch, dinner, and drinks, all for the affordable cost of $250.

Located just 16 minutes from downtown Chicago, Harborside brings championship style links golf to Chicago’s doorstep. No other course in the area can combine the rugged links exterior with sculpted fairways and manicured greens that make Harborside the top choice for people to enjoy traditional links golf.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available, with all proceeds going to support Loyola student-athletes.

Those interested in playing in the Loyola Ramblers Golf Outing should click here or contact Brian Sisson at 773.508.WOLF or bsisson@luc.edu. Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities can contact Pat Conway at 773.508.2766 or pconway@luc.edu.

Doug Stapleton, Incubus, 2010. Collage on board

The Grand Spectacle: Collages by Doug Stapleton, currently on exhibit in the Loyola University Museum of Art’s Harlan J. Berk Ltd. Works on Paper Gallery, has been extended and will run through May 27, 2012.

A Chicago artist, Stapleton cuts images from art books and combines them with contemporary imagery to set up visually ambiguous narratives. The exhibition contains more than 50 collages, which draw on symbols and metaphors from art history, language, popular culture, and religion. These figurative collages respond to the grand spectacle and drama of western art history, often creating surreal juxtapositions of past and present. One such example, Logo, is a collage that absurdly presents a classical sculpture wearing a Nike athletic shirt. Collages like Incubus (pictured) and The Golden Child position art historical images of Christ at the center of fantastical dramas involving mythical characters or a riot of flowers.

Stapleton’s unique and diverse background informs the way he constructs his collages. In addition to being a visual artist, Stapleton is a performance artist, curator, and educator. He is an assistant curator of art with the Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery and a former artistic associate with The Seldoms, a Chicago-based contemporary dance company.

For more on LUMA and its current exhibitions, click here.

Student receiving prayer beads from a monk while studying abroad.

Loyola is known for its commitment to social justice, but often the good deeds of students and employees go overlooked – until now.

A new website launched by the Office of the Provost is showing how Loyola lives up to its motto of “being a person for others.”

Courses, clubs, and articles relating to societal problems are accessible on Loyola’s new social justice website, which is the brainchild of Kathleen Maas Weigert, Carolyn Farrell, BVM, professorship in women and leadership and assistant to the provost for social justice initiatives. “Without the technical talents of Chris Abplanalp and Steve Ravenscraft and the research-writing skills of my assistant, Kelly Silay (CAS ’12), this would not have been possible,” says Maas Weigert.

Maas Weigert says the site’s purpose is twofold: “to lift up all the terrific social justice work being done at this University that most people don’t know about” and “to provide resources for advancing social justice.”

When Maas Weigert assumed her role in the provost’s office last April, she told John Pelissero, PhD, provost, her top priority was to create a web portal highlighting Loyola’s concrete commitments to social justice.

A year later, here it is. But in order for the website to be sustainable, it needs a steady supply of content. Maas Weigert encourages anyone working to correct a societal wrong to submit photos and videos portraying their work.

“We want people to see the doing of social justice as well as the thinking about it and the spiritual engagement with it,” she says.

Students can also contribute as bloggers and reflect about the rewards and challenges of pushing for change, whether through service-learning courses, course research, membership in campus organizations, or community volunteering.

When asked why she thinks Loyola has not previously had a platform for publicizing social justice in action, Maas Weigert speculated, “People just do it without really thinking of the fact that not everybody knows.”

Humility is a common trait of Loyola students, but showcasing actions allows those passionate about a topic to find partners in the struggle.

“With all the problems in the world, we need to coalesce this energy to address them,” Maas Weigert says.

To submit content to the site or to become a student blogger, e-mail socialjustice@luc.edu. The website address is blogs.luc.edu/socialjustice.

“The major is for students who want to be in the helping profession; that is, helping individuals, families, and communities…through direct service, policy, and programs or even through advocacy,” says Layla Suleiman Gonzalez, PhD, director of the human services program. “The options run the gamut.”

Though it may seem like an ambiguous field to someone not familiar with it, Suleiman Gonzalez says she looks at the field in three dimensions. The first is that it covers a variety of populations, from pre-birth to geriatrics to post-mortem: “the entire life,” she points out. The second is the nature of the services ranges from ensuring basic human needs are met, such as hunger and homelessness, to offering more systematic change, through advocacy and prevention. The third is that it can contain a variety of settings. “From city, state, to national levels, from community all the way to international… it’s not just about direct service, there is a need for managers, researchers, policy development, and marketing to resource development,” points out Suleiman Gonzalez. “Roles could be played from accountants to event planners.”

At Loyola, human services is an interdisciplinary major, meaning it draws courses from the fields of political science, social work, sociology, criminal justice, and psychology. Currently, those enrolled in the major follow one of three concentrations: child and adolescent psychology, mental health, gerontology, and aging. But students have the opportunity to tailor the major to their interests, with elective class offerings ranging from African American Politics to World Cultures, and nearly every subject in between.

Suleiman Gonzalez points out that because it is interdisciplinary, the major works extremely well as a double major with one of the departments courses are drawn from, but she also said the industry is changing and growing to encompass more disciplines. One area she pointed out is biology, as the 2013 MCAT is including more questions on the link between health and human services than ever before. Another area she mentioned is communication, as non-profits and advocacy groups are looking for better public relations and marketing to spread their message.

Junior human services and communications major and sociology minor, and incoming student body president Julia Poirier says the connection between advocacy and communications is what drew her to the major.

“It is exactly what I wanted in my two majors; I just didn’t [originally] know it existed,” she says.

Poirier says she was bouncing around majors until she had a conversation with a student enrolled in the program. When she found out it offered  a way to study several different areas at once, she changed her major the next day.

“I really appreciated that it was composed of five majors because I take interest in each of them,” she says. “You can take what is most valuable about each and combine into one. It offers a broad overview of different social issues and how different people see them.”

She also points out that there is a big emphasis on experiential learning: “they really force you to step out of your comfort zone and try different aspects of the field,” she says. Suleiman Gonzalez also points out that by the end of the program, students complete more than 325 internship hours in two to three settings, which from Poirier’s perspective, means that students are able to discern their interests before graduation.

“You acquire so many hours, you really get your feet wet,” Poirier says.

Suleiman herself is a veteran of the human services field working in the Illinois Department of Human Services as director of strategic planning and performance, as a principal at Suleiman and Associates, and as an assistant professor of education policy studies and research at DePaul University, where she got her JD. However, she began her career at Loyola as an undergraduate student studying applied psychology, and later returned to Loyola to earn her PhD in developmental psychology. She points out that the major fits perfectly with Loyola’s commitment to social justice and service.

“I think it embodies the very message and the very goal of the education that we do here at Loyola, which is about social justice,” she says. “It embodies the Ignation philosophy of social justice.”

Academy-award winner Sean Penn, who a day earlier was awarded the 2012 Peace Summit Award for his humanitarian work in Haiti, attended the TIBETcenter's morning event and introduced the Dalai Lama.

To view a photo gallery of the day’s events, click here.

To watch the video, click here.

When His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama spoke to Loyolans on Thursday, he insisted the key to obtaining world peace is to first find peace within one’s self. Addressing a sold-out crowd in the Gentile Arena, the Dalai Lama coated seriousness with lighthearted humor to convey his messages of tolerance, compassion, and self-discipline.

Staying true to Buddhism beliefs, the Dalai Lama stressed genuine happiness is not achieved through material goods as those provide only an artificial satisfaction. ”Happiness is not money, or a big family, or a big house, or in America, a big car,” he said, adding, “not power, not great knowledge.”

The Dalai Lama urged “realistic self-confidence” elicits feelings of affection and compassion toward others, as happiness and satisfaction are traits that develop within one’s self. “Concern for others’ well-being is the source of inner strength,” he said.

Loyola President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., opened the lecture by formally introducing Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, explaining how “his teachings on compassion, generosity, and mindfulness resonate around the world. . . especially with our students,” and joking about how that was evident by the fact tickets for the event went within 24 hours.

Frank Fennell, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, then awarded an honorary degree to the Dalai Lama for his commitments to interfaith dialogue and a “lifelong devotion to peace and nonviolence.” To complement the academic honor, Fr. Garanzini crowned the Dalai Lama with a maroon visor with a gold “L” to replace the solid maroon one he was wearing.

Much of his speech focused on the necessity of a free exchange of ideas without discrimination, specifically concerning religious and spiritual diversity. “The need for different views, even contradictory views,” is important, he said, explaining how opposing beliefs allow individuals to see weaknesses in their own truths, analyze them, and learn as a result.

The Dalai Lama urged expelling hatred and fear from one’s soul because those heavy, negative emotions are constantly “eating at our immune system.”

When addressing poverty, the Dalai Lama said the gap between the rich and the poor in America “seems quite big.” For affirmation of his assumption, he asked the audience to demonstrate with their hands how much of a class disparty existed in the United States. Those who participated had their arms stretched wide.

The Dalai Lama denounced corruption, explaining, “If you have the opportunity to exploit someone, you shouldn’t do it,” — a common law of humanity that often seems disregarded, due to what he diagnosed as a lack of self-discipline.

Although a wide-ranging lecture, the central message of the Dalai Lama’s 40-minute speech encouraged each person to first discover their own harmony before expecting to add good to the world. After he spoke, students asked questions submitted prior to the event. Most concerned how to advocate for peace, deal with weaknesses, and promote religious tolerance, but one question dug deeper.

A student asked the Dalai Lama how he felt about the self-annihilating protests of Tibetans. The Dalai Lama said it was “too sensitive” of a subject, and the student walked away without an answer.

While in a train of thought answering a question, the Dalai Lama spotted Dean Fennell standing to the side on stage, where he had been for about 20 minutes, and insisted, “he needs a chair!” The Dalai Lama then patted the space next to him on the couch and Fennell sat beside him for the rest of the time. The Dalai Lama held his hand for nearly the remainder of the event, showing his warmth and compassion for others.

The Dalai Lama also spoke to a sold-out Gentile Arena crowd earlier in the morning for an event hosted by the TIBETcenter of Chicago. At that speech, the Dalai Lama focused on the topic of “nonviolence” and took questions from students who had been chosen as winners of an essay contest. Each of the students was also given a chance to read their essay on stage to the packed audience. Academy-award winner Sean Penn, who a day earlier was granted the 2012 Peace Summit Award for his humanitarian work in Haiti, attended the morning event and introduced the Dalai Lama.

Though some may see this as a downgrade from the top prize, Director for the Center of Experiential Learning Patrick Green, is thrilled with the ranking.

“That blew my expectations,” he says.  ”This award recognizes that Loyola is truly serving the community and we do that in a number of ways.”

Green, who put together the application for the award along with Megan Barry, director for the Center for Community Service and Action, pointed out that no university has won the Presidential Award two years in a row, and none of the other universities that won the top award last year were also finalists this year, except for Loyola. He says this honor speaks volumes about Loyola’s continued growth and commitment to community service.

“It is really one of the top honors and a statement about Loyola’s commitment to service learning and community service,” he says. “It is also a statement on how faculty, staff, and students engage in service in many ways throughout the University.”

“Service is embedded in the University and woven in the fabric of the University,” he adds.

Since the award began in 2006, Loyola has been honored every year it submitted an application–four years overall, and two years either as an awardee or finalist. Green says this tradition of success is a challenge to do better and continue to find more ways to improve service opportunities within the University, as well as in the Chicago community.

“This is a great challenge to the University to listen to the needs of the community around us, and to address the community’s priorities and serve those needs as defined by the community. That is when we can truly address the social justice mission of the University,” he points out.

He also mentioned that he would like to see more publicity and recognition of the extensive service work student organizations do, that often goes unnoticed by the larger Loyola population. He points out that this could be used to continue to build on existing projects and create growth in different service organizations.

“Students do an amazing job of community service, but people are not aware of the great work that they are doing,” he says. “How it is being recorded? If we can’t document the impact that is being done in the community, that is information and knowledge that is lost.”

Ultimately, Green says he is proud of Loyola’s continued excellence within community service and service-learning in higher education.

“They want to spread the award to a variety of institutions, so I think the fact that we got finalist is a statement of how Loyola University Chicago continues to be a model of institutionalizing service and service learning,” he says.

To find out more about the award, visit the award website here.

For those without tickets, Loyola’s student radio station, WLUW-FM, will broadcast the address live on 88.7 FM or WLUW.org. The University will also record the address and post the video on igNation, Loyola’s multimedia hub, days after the event.

For information related to parking on campus today, please click here.

Photo courtesy of Terry Farmer

By: Bill Behrns, Assistant AD – Communications

The 1963 Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team, which won the NCAA Championship that season, was honored at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, on April 19.

John Egan, Jerry Harkness, and Rich Rochelle, members of the 1963 team, were on hand along with current Loyola head coach Porter Moser, student-athletes Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. M. Grace Calhoun, and Vice President for Student Development Dr. Robert Kelly, as a resolution was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in support of the induction of the 1963 team and head coach George Ireland into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Senate and House of the 97^th General Assembly of the State of Illinois, through S.R. 638 and H.R. 920, urged the relevant authorities to nominate and induct both Head Coach George Ireland and the 1963 NCAA champion Loyola Ramblers into the Naismith Hall of Fame, on this, the 50-year anniversary of its milestone achievements.

In addition to the passing of the resolutions, the honored guests were treated to a tour of the Capitol and had opportunities to meet with Senators John Cullerton and John Mulroe, who both have degrees from Loyola, as well as Loyola graduate and House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. In addressing the House, Harkness gave a moving speech that stressed the importance of sports and how the games can provide so much more to people than just the actual competition itself.

“It was somewhat ironic going back to Springfield 50 years later,” Egan says. “After we won the championship, they passed a resolution that was actually sponsored by my uncle that honored the team. It was nice to go back and thank them for honoring us both then and now. The whole event was impressive. I thought it would be a perfunctory event, but it was far from it. Everyone made us feel special even after all these years.”

Led by Harkness, a two-time All-American, the 1963 Loyola squad captured the hearts of basketball fans across the country by staging one of the most dramatic comebacks in NCAA tournament history in the championship game versus Cincinnati. Down 15 points with less than 15 minutes to play in regulation, the Ramblers rallied to defeat the Bearcats in overtime, 60-58, and, to this day, Loyola remains the only school from the State of Illinois to have won an NCAA Division I title in men’s basketball.

However, the Ramblers’ biggest accomplishment may have been the role they played in the civil rights movement. The first NCAA team to start four African-American players, Loyola played one of the biggest NCAA tournament games ever that year and it had nothing to do with the action on the court. During the NCAA regional round, because Loyola’s team was integrated, Mississippi State University (MSU) was not allowed to play the contest due to state rules forbidding games against such teams. But MSU snuck out of town under the cover of darkness, and the game of basketball was forever changed on March 15, 1963.

For more on the 1963 team, click here.

The standard hamburgers and hot dogs have been replaced by grub from Potbelly, Qdoba, Taco Burrito King, and Connie’s Pizza. For dessert, try the “waffle on a stick,” which can be dipped in fudge and then coated with your choice of sugary toppings. Instead of just listening to music, attendees can take center stage during live-band karaoke, snap shots with friends in the photo booth, or test your steadiness in a game of life-sized Jenga.

Oh, and there’s a rock-climbing wall.

Dana Bozeman, program director for WTC Campus Life, says the added treats are meant to spark interaction between students and staff so people actually stick around to partake in the party.

“It’s called a block party, but it seems to be more of a stop, grab some food, and leave event,” she says, adding that incentives will be offered to students so they don’t dine and dash.

The first 100 to show up on Wednesday receive free t-shirts. The brave souls who belt it out in karaoke will be entered in drawings for iTunes gift cards. The chance to win free Loyola gear is likely as there will be a drawing nearly every 15 minutes, Bozeman says. At the end of the day, everyone who ate and stayed will have the chance to win an iPad 2.

Bozeman wants students to come out and enjoy the last week of school before hitting the books for final exams.

“The block party is a stress reliever and a celebration of all that our students have done in the past semester,” she says.

Whether rain or shine, the block party will carry on. In the case of poor weather, the festivities will be moved inside the Terry Student Center, including the rock-climbing wall.

The Water Tower Campus Block Party will be located in the block from Rush to State and Chicago to Pearson from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. A Loyola ID is required.

Isaac is one of the 17 students from Chicago Public Schools who chose to spend spring break learning in the lab instead of lounging on the couch. Project Exploration, a non-profit science education organization that works to ensure communities traditionally underrepresented in the sciences — particularly minority youth and girls — have access to personalized experiences with science and scientists, partnered with Loyola recently for a four-day program that gave middle school and high school students a taste of options available to them after graduation.

From Monday, April 2, through Wednesday, April 4, the students worked alongside six Loyola forensic science majors who volunteered their time after hearing about the program from Garry Bombard, program director of forensics.

Carlos Moncada, a junior, was eager to volunteer.

Moncada taught the teens about physical forensics, such as fingerprints, impressions of bruising, and those other items “you see when you’re watching a court case on TV and someone holds up a bag of evidence.” Moncada even let the students play with broken glass, with their task being to piece together the original form.

Amaris Alanis Ribeiro, manager of programs at Project Exploration, says the younger students enjoyed interacting with the college-aged volunteers who not only lead instructional activities but serve as real-life role models.

“By working with the Loyola students, it helps our kids see, ‘Hey, they’re not just scientists, but students,’” Ribeiro says, adding that it allows the group to gain a realistic view of the college experience. “It’s about mentoring and shadowing for the next step after high school.”

The students worked hands-on in the labs at the Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy for the first three days of the program, but by day four, it was time for a break. On Thursday, April 5, they visited Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus for an admissions information session, a tour, and lunch in Simpson Dining Hall.

Although he already tutors three of the participating students through his work-study job at Instituto, Moncada chose to volunteer with Project Exploration because he empathizes with the teens.

“Most are minority students, middle to lower-income. That’s my background. When you come from that kind of situation, it’s hard to find family members pushing you past high school,” he says. “It’s important when we have students like that — with even a little interest in going to college — we foster that desire and get it to grow.”

Unlike many college students, eighth grader Isaac knows exactly what he wants to do when he grows up. “Latent prints,” he says. “Prints that are not visible to the naked eye.”

There’s plenty of time before Isaac needs to start sending in college applications, but right now his heart is set on one school. “I want to go to Loyola, graduate, and make my career in latent print and in chemistry.”

Ribeiro hopes to bring CPS students back to Loyola next year for more learning in and out of the classroom through Project Exploration.

Other Loyola undergrads involved with Project Exploration include: Katelyn Hargrave, Mary McMillin, Zachary Parsons, Emilia Baginski, and Kechia Caridine. For more information about Project Exploration, please visit www.projectexploration.org.

Denzel Kane (left), a senior at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, learned live on TV that he was one of the 15 prestigious Cristo Rey Scholarship winners. Justin Daffron, S.J., (right) delivered the news in person.

Figuring out how to pay for college is the impending doom clouding the futures of many 18-year-olds. But on Monday, April 2, Loyola alleviated that burden for Denzel Kane, a senior at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the fairytale moment unfolded on live television.

It started as just another day at the KSTP studio for Kane, who works as a production assistant for the morning talk show Twin Cities Live as part of a work-study program with his high school. He was manning the camera as the anchors asked the guest ways to save for life’s big expenses.

On a whim, the anchors encouraged Kane to come on set and share his narrative. The day’s cost-cutting segment came on the heels of a previous week’s episode, where Kane voiced concerns about paying for his dream school, Loyola University Chicago, as part of a profile story that highlighted his four years of employment with the station.

Kane went on stage, and the financial expert started to offer tips before mentioning there was someone who could help Kane out a bit more.

That’s when Justin Daffron, S.J., associate provost of academic services, walked on set and told Kane some of the best news of his life.

Kane had received one of the 15 prestigious Cristo Rey Scholarships, which covers full tuition for all eight semesters of undergraduate studies. After Father Daffron announced the good news, Kane’s mom, step-dad, and other studio staff emerged onto the set, wearing the classic maroon and gold t-shirts. Kane’s mom handed the future Loyolan his own Loyola hat and sweatshirt.

Looking back on the event, Kane says he was sideswiped by the news, which was completely “unexpected.”

Recalling how he felt when Father Daffron appeared, Kane says, “In the moment, all I could help thinking was, ‘I hope I got it, I hope I got it.’ My heart was pounding, but finally after hearing those golden words, a sign of relief followed and the weight of paying for college was lifted not only from my shoulders but my mother’s as well.”

As a member of the Class of 2016, Kane will arrive at Loyola in the fall to pursue a BBA in Sport Management, followed by an MBA and MS in Integrated Marketing.

Father Daffron points to Kane’s ability to successfully manage a job, school, and extracurriculars as the reason he earned this honor. “The selection committee was greatly impressed by his application,” he says. As a first generation college student, Kane is determined to utilize all resources available to him through the Cristo Rey program.

A fan of the University’s promise, “Preparing people to lead extraordinary lives,” Kane says he was attracted to Loyola for its “diversity of cultures and ethnic groups combined with their variety of degrees and programs.”

Father Daffron enjoyed surprising Kane in such a setting, in front of close coworkers and family. What stood out most of all to Father Daffron was Kane’s gratitude.

“I was impressed that he thanked the alumni of Loyola on air,” Father Daffron says, adding, “Denzel realizes that he is fortunate, and we are fortunate he will be at Loyola.”

To watch Denzel’s live reaction, click here.

For more on the weekend, including a full list of scheduled events and student profiles, visit LUC.edu/excellenceweekend.

What ultimately sold you on coming to Loyola?
CHICAGO! How can you not fall in love with the city of Chicago? Not only was Loyola in one of the world’s greatest cities, but it was also the perfect size, has a strong reputation, and I instantly felt at home once I stepped on campus.

What do you like most about Loyola?
My favorite things about Loyola include: being in Chicago and right on the lake, having classes right off of Michigan Avenue, the enthusiastic business professors, and the focus on ethics and Jesuit values. However, my absolute favorite part of Loyola is ((dop)) and SAGA. The students and staff members of ((dop)) and SAGA are truly one-of-a-kind individuals and they have made my experience at Loyola extraordinary, and I think they add to every other student’s Loyola experience through events and programs on campus.

How did you get involved in research/service at Loyola?
I have always been a busy person so I began looking for ways to get involved from day one. I started off by attending every organization, volunteer, internship, job fair I could find. After I started getting more heavily involved at Loyola, it became easier to find these opportunities thanks to staff members and professors who went out of their way to help me get connected with service and leadership opportunities.

What was your “ah ha” moment here?
My “ah ha” moment at Loyola sounds a little crazy, but it was the day I convinced the SAGA staff to bring in live wolves for the University’s Spirit Week. A friend and I had been joking all year that live wolves would be a great way to bring spirit to Loyola and randomly suggested it to the staff. Most of them thought the idea was insane and didn’t really consider it as a reasonable option, but a month later, only a week or so before the start of Spirit Week, the Friday night event planned for the week fell through and my supervisors in SAGA came to me and asked me to find a wolf by the end of the day. I spent the next few hours frantically searching on Google and calling zoos asking if anyone in the country would bring a live wolf to Loyola for students to take photos with, and crazily enough, I found someone who would do it. After working with risk management, a contract was finally signed and live wolves officially became a part of Loyola’s Spirit Week. The event went off without a hitch and was highly attended and talked about, and we decided it should be a new Spirit Week tradition. Pulling off this event showed me that you really can make a difference if you are passionate about it and are willing to put in the effort, because that’s the only way I ever could have transformed my crazy idea into a realistic campus tradition.

What ultimately sold you on coming to Loyola?
Being from the east coast, I really wanted the opportunity to expand my horizons and experience something new. I came on a visit after being recruited for volleyball and fell in love with the city.

How did you get involved in research/service at Loyola?
I was mostly involved with just the volleyball team for my first few years, but after learning how to manage my time better and having some rewarding volunteer experience, I wanted to find more opportunities to get involved. My friend told me about the Sigma Chi colony starting at Loyola and I thought it would be a great way to give back to the community through service projects.

What do you think are the highlights of your experience at Loyola?
Various volleyball matches have been personal highlights for me as I am extremely passionate about competition on the court. Off the court, my time with the friends I have made here at Loyola has made my overall experience very enjoyable.

What can be done on campus, in classrooms, etc., to make you more enthused in other learning opportunities at Loyola inside and outside of the classroom?
Overall I think Loyola lacks a little in a unified school spirit. Whether it’s athletics or clubs, I would really love to see students excited about being a Rambler.

What advice would you give students, either currently at Loyola or thinking of coming here, about how to get the best out of their education?
Seek out organizations and opportunities that will give you the most out of your college experience. It’s easy to be complacent and get the bare minimum at Loyola if you do not take action to improve your own time here.

To select the nation’s top teachers, The Princeton Review partnered with RateMyProfessors.com, a popular site where students write professor reviews. Originally referencing surveys from hundreds of thousands of students, those involved in the selection process narrowed the list down to 1,000 educators. From there, further input was collected from school administrators and students and from surveys given to and interviews with the professors under consideration. The editors of The Princeton Review boiled down the qualified candidates to the 300 profiled in the book, which was published on April 3, 2012.

Only 122 universities are represented in the book, and the closet one to Loyola is University of Wisconsin-Madison. Other Jesuit schools are distinguished, including Georgetown, Loyola New Orleans, and Loyola Marymount.

The five professors selected are honored to be recognized for their work, but they say high standards of teaching are the norm at Loyola.

Lavelle believes the fact that Loyola is the only Illinois school featured is striking and shows “outstanding teaching as a paramount aim of Loyola’s instructors.” He adds, “I am blessed by having such great colleagues, everyone of whom I know is no less dedicated to their profession.”

In the humblest of fashions, Lavelle predicts his “three primary ingredients” for good teaching led to the recognition: communication, consistent standards, and caring. He believes the role of teachers is to level with students and educate the individual, while always remembering that “teaching is really a sacred trust.”

Fletcher insists the attitude of the University is centered on good teaching, which is evident in and outside of the classroom. She calls Loyola a “door-opening culture,” where compassion is fostered between students and faculty.

“The students here are enthusiastic and giving. It makes you want to give back to them,” Fletcher adds.

Fletcher’s teaching philosophy is “to allow students to learn from their mistakes and improve,” so she encourages rewrites and do-overs until errors are corrected and the learning goal is perfected, which keeps students continuing through course material with high morale. “The old model of grading students on a particular paper, pointing out what they did wrong, and then moving on, is a punishing one that can leave students resentful and dispirited,” she adds.

Adams says students have always said they admire her passion and enthusiasm for anthropology. “I put a lot of energy into mentoring students, since I credit my own pursuit of a career in anthropology to the inspiring mentoring I received from one of my own undergraduate professors,” she says. Her goals include getting students to think critically and teach them to teach themselves.

Since being announced in the book, Adams has received numerous congratulatory posts on her Facebook page from former students who praise her efforts and thank her for the impact she’s made on their lives.

Inside Loyola congratulates all the professors mentioned in The Princeton Review’s best professors project.

Annemarie Barrett, a Gannon Scholar, is involved with the Loyola Anti-War Network, the Climate Action Team, and she has also served as a student representative, for two years, on the Shareholder Advocacy Committee (SAC). Barrett is a member of the Maroon and Gold Society and she works as the student co-director of the Alternative Break Immersion (ABI) program in Campus Ministry and she is also a Loyola ABI Companion.

How did you get involved in research/service at Loyola?
In the second semester of my first year at Loyola, I was invited to join Loyola’s Shareholder Advocacy Committee (SAC). I was a part of the Loyola Anti-War Network and I wanted to better understand the history of Loyola’s investments and how they related to the socially responsible mission of the University. The SAC is comprised of students, faculty, and staff who work together, along with other institutions and non-profit organizations, to utilize our power as shareholders in order to make the practices of companies that we invest in more just.

What do you think are the highlights of your experience at Loyola?
As a member of the SAC, I was able to travel with other students to communities in West Virginia and Washington, DC to see firsthand the sites of the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachia region and engage in the movement to demand alternatives to our country’s dependency on these destructive practices. Also, this past spring, I studied and served for four months, through the Casa de la Solidaridad program, in San Salvador, El Salvador.

What do you think differentiates Loyola from other universities?
The other day in my classroom, another student and I asked if we could make announcements before we began the class. The professor agreed, and so the other student shared the schedule for Hunger Week, while I shared information about the Alternative Break Immersion program. Soon after, other students in the class raised their hands hoping to announce other upcoming opportunities, some about medical brigades traveling abroad and another about a project dealing with worker’s rights. After we finished the exhaustive announcements, our professor remarked that this is why he loves Loyola, because at other universities the announcements that students make aren’t at all like the announcements and the work that students are involved in here. According to the professor, here, students care and commit to social justice and service. I came to Loyola because I wanted to be a part of a community of people committed to social justice and service, and that is exactly what I have found.

What was your “ah ha” moment here?
I think my “ah ha” moment came after I returned to Loyola from being abroad in El Salvador. In El Salvador I became friends with people who have worked their whole lives wanting an education, only to drop out because they can no longer afford it, or never could afford it in the first place. They looked me in the eyes and told me that when I go back to Chicago, I better pursue my education, because if I have these opportunities, I better take advantage of them. This gets me out of bed in the morning. This has affected how I look at my education; it is not about grades, but I’ve begun to ask myself, what am I learning? This is so obvious, but it took me slowing down and listening to those Salvadoran friends to really internalize what my education can be.

Jake Brusha (middle), with Professor John Goheen looking over his shoulder.

A Mexican journalist seeking political asylum in the United States after being targeted by drug cartels. A twenty-something nun working in Chicago only years after being a college co-ed. A whimsical journey through a semester abroad in Rome set to an original song. What do these stories have in common? Each were made into documentaries and movies by Loyola students and faculty and were honored with awards at the 2012 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts.

The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an annual international festival celebrating broadcast and media talent, both at the student and faculty level. They offer awards in eight categories, and Loyola had winners in the Student Video Competition, Student Documentary Competition, and Faculty Documentary Competition: Short Form Category. Read on to hear about their accomplishments.

Senior communication studies and international film and media studies major Kayla Branch
3rd place, Student Documentary Competition: Young Nun

Branch was originally supposed to do a short documentary on the project Sister Alicia Torres was working on. However, when Branch found out that Torres is in her mid-20s, she decided to turn the camera on the young woman behind the robes. The documentary Young Nun follows the life of Torres, a nun here in Chicago, who was an undergraduate student at Loyola several years ago.  Branch is currently using the film as a sample of her work for job applications. She is hoping to get a job in videography or video editing.

Watch her video here.

Senior communications major, with minors in spanish and film, Jake Brusha
1st place, Student Video Competition Music Video: “Rome Has Fallen”

Brusha says during his semester abroad at the Rome Center, he filmed anything that interested him. Now that footage has earned him a first-place prize from BEA. Brusha, who created the music video for his former band Point Place, set video of iconic Roman destinations and local streets alongside staged footage of the band playing and recording the song. Brusha says he is surprised he won, because he wasn’t personally impressed by his work, though many others were. He is currently the Director of Media Arts with NewInk Design, where he produces promos and short commercials for clients, and eventually he hopes to work in television or movies.

Watch his video here.

Instructor at the School of Communication, John C.P. Goheen
Best of Competition, Faculty Documentary Competition Short Form Category: Witness: Fort Hancock

Many have heard of the violence by drug cartels against journalists in Mexico, but John C.P. Goheen has put a face to that violence on film. Goheen filmed the life of a Mexican print journalist who dared write about the activity of local drug lords and the Mexican military. As a result, the journalist’s life, and his son’s life, was threatened, and he feels the only way to stay safe is to seek political asylum in the United States. The short film, done for the series Witness on Al Jazeera English, follows the journalist as he applies for political asylum in light of his harrowing experiences and the effect of the violence on the Texas border town where he now lives. Goheen, who has a long standing relationship with Al Jazeera English, says this story seemed pertinent and compelling, and was happy to see his work recognized by peers. The documentary was originally broadcast on Al Jazeera in June, and now can be seen online.

Watch his video here.

For more information on the BEA Festival of Media Arts, click here.

With a ribbon-cutting ceremony, visits by the president of the University, local Aldermen, and two major news outlets, Felice’s Roman Style Pizza celebrated its official opening on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus. Incoming President of Felice’s and junior economics and finance major Patrick Hendrickson says the event was a good culmination to the work that has gone into opening the restaurant and an even better start to the future of the restaurant.

“It was really good to see all the people who helped us succeed be there to celebrate the opening of Felice’s,” he says.

The event was emceed by incoming Loyola Limited CEO Ryan Cisler, and featured speeches by 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore, 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman, and Father Garanzini. Behind the scenes, outgoing Loyola Limited CEO Jonathan Ferrara and outgoing Director of Operations Vallen Tousis prepared and served a meal of pasta, salad, and pizza to event guests. Hendrickson mentions many staff members who played a hand in helping Felice’s succeed were present, as well as current and former Loyola Limited students. He says it was good to have Loyola Limited alumni there so they could see the progress made since the company was started in 2010.

“It was really nice to see a lot of former Loyola Limited employees there as well, people who put a lot of effort into creating Loyola Limited, so they could see what their effort has turned into,” he points out.

Now the celebration is over, however, what does the future for Felice’s look like? Hendrickson says the goal is to focus on improving service and bringing more options to the menu.

“We are hoping to really streamline and fine tune operations to provide Loyola students and community with a really good atmosphere and a great place go,” he says.”We will also be instituting some new recipes, pizza ideas, soups, and salads, so we can offer a variety of things in our store that may not be offered at other pizza places.”

In addition, he says they are hoping to work with non-profits and student groups to offer fundraising opportunities, as well as catering opportunities, especially to faculty and staff within the University. Upcoming, they are working with a Loyola Big Brothers Big Sisters group to provide pizza for a group of local elementary school kids spending time on campus for a field trip.

Along with the grand opening and success thus far, Felice’s has been getting a good amount of local, and even international attention for their efforts. WMAQ-TV (NBC) and WLS-TV (ABC) were present at the grand opening, and Monocle 24, a European magazine and radio station, also did a feature on the restaurant, pointing to Loyola Limited as a forerunner on the trend of hands-on undergraduate business experience. Hendrickson says the combination of students working to make campus life better for other students, is part of the reason for media attention.

“One of the reasons we are getting so much interest is that we directly affect students lives on campus,” he says. “We are trying to become a student hang out, and I think it really draws a connection from the students to the business.”

For more information on Felice’s, visit their website here.

Robert Seal, Dean of University Libraries, says anyone even slightly familiar with the Titanic’s story will be fascinated by Kristof’s lecture and the other happenings of the week.

On Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m., the 1958 British film, A Night To Remember, will be shown on the fourth floor of the Information Commons. This black-and-white movie was the first of its kind of tell the horrifying accounts of that fateful night.

Live in quintessential British fashion like the aristocrats in the ship’s First Class by savoring tea, biscuits and other scrumptious treats on Wednesday, April 11, at 2 p.m. in the foyer of the Klarchek Information Commons. Free of charge, students, faculty, and staff can drop by to snack, sip, and test their knowledge of Titanic facts by playing an interactive trivia game.

Two main events, centered around the history of the Titanic, will close out the week.

On Friday, April 13, Kristof will share his tales of deep-sea diving and show footage of the wreckage, which vividly portrays the ship’s mystique, despite how it’s covered in seaweed and other ocean residue. The “Exploring the RMS Titanic” lecture is free for Loyola students, faculty and staff and $10 for the general public. It will begin at 7 p.m. in Mundelein Auditorium.

The next evening, Saturday, April 14, a black-tie optional fundraising dinner for the Libraries’ special collection will be held on the fourth floor of the Information Commons. The menu, music, and entertainment of the evening will create a scene reminiscent of how First Class voyagers spent the final hours aboard the decadent ship. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served on the IC patio overlooking Lake Michigan, creating a feeling of being seabound.

Robert Bucholz, PhD, a Loyola history professor and expert in early modern European history, will serve as the master of ceremonies and explain why the Titanic manifests in our consciousnesses in his lecture titled ““Titanic: The Eternal Crossing.”

All proceeds from the fundraising dinner will be used to buy rare books in U.S. and British history and literature for Loyola’s libraries. Tickets for any of the events can be purchased by visiting www.luc.edu/Titanic.

Although campus resembled a ghost town over spring break, students of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) were here to show thanks on behalf of the whole student body for the patient and cautious drivers of Loyola’s shuttle services.

The NRHH felt it was “only right” to acknowledge the work of the 8-RIDE and shuttle drivers, who sacrifice long hours for a service students use on a regular basis for safety and convenience, says Kelly Bartusiak, president of the NRHH.

“These men and women not only provide students with a safe form of transportation between campuses during the late night hours but also in a myriad of different weather conditions,” Bartusiak adds.

Colorfully-painted banners that read, “NRHH loves 8-RIDE” and “Have you thanked your shuttle driver today?,” hung from the windows of residence halls over spring break, serving as public thank-you cards for all the drivers. Hand-delivered by members of NRHH, each driver received a work-relevant care package that included a granola bar, a bottle of Gatorade, and a pair of hand warmers that will come in handy on those cold winter nights (if we have anymore).

Paul Kyriakides, the Free Enterprise Systems 8-RIDE coordinator, says the public recognition was “a pleasant surprise for the drivers and greatly appreciated.”

Because of the accessibility and general reliability the shuttles offer to students, Bartusiak says she doesn’t think the drivers get all the credit that’s well deserved from encountering all the “busy, stressed, impatient attitudes on a daily basis.”

The three government leaders visited Loyola to mark the official start of Illinois’s participation in the Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP), which makes the state eligible for $2 million in annual grants to restore and conserve coastlines.

Illinois is the last of 34 states eligible for the program to approve funding for coastal conservation, which was first signed into law in 1972. Illinois has more than 63 miles of coast along Lake Michigan, and the state’s coast is one of the most densely populated and urbanized areas on the Great Lakes. The conservancy projects, which still have to be decided on, will be carried out by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and could cover issues such as restoring coastline and fighting erosion.

Though there are no set plans for coastal conservancy projects along Loyola’s Lake Michigan border yet, Aaron Durnbaugh, director of sustainability at Loyola, says with the introduction of this new program, Loyolans should consider the benefits Lake Michigan offers and the issues that threaten this resource.

“What a Loyola student should think about when it comes to Lake Michigan is that it is an awesome resource we are so lucky to have,” he says. “We sit in this jealously regarded location where we don’t have to worry about access to clean water, access to beaches, and places to bike.”

“However, we can’t take it for granted,” he adds. “We need to think of water conservation and pollution, and invasive species, and be aware of those as a risk and a threat.”

He says that while Loyola won’t have to worry about rising water levels, like some oceanic coasts, there are other parts of the nation and world that have far less access to fresh water, and may increasingly rely on the Great Lakes for their water needs. Even the Chicago suburbs get water from aquifers and rely on complex treatment plants to get quality water, says Durnbaugh.

In addition to announcing the CZMP, Quinn, Durbin, and Lepchenko were debriefed on Loyola’s sustainable facilities and programs. Durnbaugh says Loyola’s ability to hold storm water on-site, and funnel it back into the Lake Michigan basin, was a big hit with Quinn who values storm water conservancy because it helps protect the Chicago River. The officials were also impressed with Loyola’s new Cuneo Hall and the biodiesel program.

For more information on CZMP, visit the IDNR website here.

About 400 recipients of Loyola's merit scholarships were recognized at the Scholars Night banquet at the Field Museum on Saturday, March 24. Image courtesy of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.

Campus was very crowded the weekend of March24-25 when nearly 1,200 prospective students visited to see if Loyola is where they want to spend their next four years. Each spring, the University hosts Loyola Weekend for admitted students who want to test the waters before packing their bags and moving to the Jesuit school on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Lori Greene, director of undergraduate admission, says more than 3,350 students and their families visited campus to tour residence halls, meet faculty, staff, and current students, and get a taste of student life. Greene says the weekend’s purpose is to help students determine if Loyola’s the right fit.

“Many are in the final stages prior to making their college choice by the national candidate’s reply date of May 1,” Greene says, adding, “This is a great time to be on campus, get questions answered, and see if they want to be members of the Loyola Class of 2016.”

About 400 recipients of Loyola’s merit scholarships were recognized at the Scholars Night banquet at the Field Museum on Saturday, March 24.

The weekend’s events were broken up by professional school. Students seeking degrees in business, communication, education, and nursing congregated on Saturday, touring campus and meeting other rising freshmen. The College of Arts & Sciences and social work held their events on Sunday.

There were separate programs for the parents on the verge of sending their kids off to the big city. Tips for helping their children succeed were offered, and dates for upcoming deadlines were reiterated.

Representatives from registered student organizations and Greek life shared their missions with students during the Student Organization Showcase in Halas Sports Center both Saturday and Sunday.

Students who fell in love with Loyola at first sight were able to pay their enrollment and housing deposits that weekend at the University’s Student Services HUB in Sullivan Center. For those who need a little more time to decide, deposits can be submitted online at LUC.edu/undergrad/deposit/ until May 1.

The Staff Council is hosting Pizza with the President, a town hall forum that offers faculty and staff the opportunity to ask Father Garanzini any questions about the University over a pizza lunch.  There will be an event on the Water Tower Campus on Tuesday, April 3, noon to 2 p.m., at Lewis Towers, Regents Hall, and on the Lake Shore Campus on Wednesday, April 4, noon to 2 p.m., at Simpson MPR. Director of the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution and member of the Staff Council Tim Love, says this is an opportunity for faculty and staff to expand on issues that may have been mentioned in other venues, but never fully discussed.

“I think it is a nice time to be able to bring any questions to the president. Father Garanzini is very open to dialogue about the state of the University. Unfortunately when he does the address there isn’t a prolonged opportunity for a dialogue,” Love says. “However, he recognizes the importance of all of us who make up the University community being engaged in [asking questions].”

Love says the event, which has been going on for the past several years, usually fosters questions about facilities, strategic planning, and campus partners, as well as other topics that are important to faculty and staff, but may not make it into the larger State of the University ddresses. In addition, he says he anticipates there to be discussion about shared governance, the University’s stance on recent healthcare debates, and the next steps in construction. However, he stresses that this is an opportunity for any and all questions.

“A very very open forum for whatever is on people’s minds because they have direct access,” he says. “It’s a place where people don’t feel inhibited from asking questions from a guy who makes all the big decisions.”

In addition to conversation, there will be plenty of pizza from Pete’s Pizza in Edgewater, including gluten-free and vegetarian options at both campuses.

Love says an event like this is important to have because it gives a voice to faculty and staff, and creates a more open environment for everyone involved in the University.

“It is important for the entire University community, in order to best serve our students and to remain a great place to work for all of our stakeholders,” he says. “It is important for staff and faculty to occasionally sit together and reflect on how things are going and how they are going in the future.”

“In the end that is a hallmark of our Jesuit identity: the ability to discern and reflect on our work and its importance,” he adds. “In order for us to live out that identity, it is important for us to do this.”

For more information on Pizza with the President, contact Tim Love at tlove@luc.edu.

Due to overwhelming student demand, tickets to the April 26 afternoon lecture by His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama sold out to Loyola undergraduate and graduate students in less than 24 hours.

Regrettably, this means we do not have any tickets available to sell to faculty, staff, and alumni. Tickets may still be available for the morning program, which will also be held on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus, but will be hosted by the TIBETcenter of Chicago. Please visit the TIBETcenter’s website directly to inquire about the availability of tickets for that separate event.

We are delighted that so many of our students are enthusiastic about the opportunity to attend this event with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, who has spent a large amount of time in recent years reaching out to students at educational institutions throughout the world. We are equally grateful to all the faculty and staff at Loyola who have contributed this year to educational programs and activities intended to raise student awareness of, and interest in, the significance of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Loyola University Chicago.

We are honored to host his visit to campus and we encourage your participation in the many educational activities leading up to his visit on April 26. We hope to be able to record his speech to our students, which we would then post online at LUC.edu/dalailama in early May.

Sincerely,

The Dalai Lama Coordinating Committee

LIFT-Chicago, along with several other Loyola organizations, is hosting Poverty Awareness Week, March 26-31.

Recent data suggests 1 in 2 Americans is either in, or at the brink of, poverty.

At Loyola, that figure is not going unnoticed. LIFT-Chicago, along with several other Loyola organizations, is hosting Poverty Awareness Week, March 26-31. The week will feature a documentary screening, panel discussion, and monologue reading, among other events, in order to raise awareness about the problem of poverty and motivate Loyola students to act against this problem in Chicago.

Junior LIFT student activist Nick Passarelli says the week was started last year as a way for LIFT, a fully functioning non-profit social service agency, to take its presence from its offices onto campus.

“We wanted to help people be a part of the solution,” he says. “We wanted to bring the issues that we confront everyday to a broader audience and create a discussion involving our peers, faculty, and staff on these issues.”

At LIFT, which has offices in Pilsen, Evanston, and Uptown (though Loyola students work primarily at the Uptown location), volunteers sit with clients and help them navigate through the bureaucratic structure of social services, including welfare and unemployment, among many others. Passarelli points out that one of the aims of the week is to “re-perceive” poverty, to understand that people who need these services can be nearly anyone: from a mother of four, to a debt-ridden former student with a masters degree.

In order to help re-perceive the notion of poverty, and the ideas behind it, LIFT invited members of the Loyola community to anonymously submit their ideas of what it means to live out the “American dream.” These stories were read as monologues by LIFT members at a discussion on Monday, March 26. Passarelli says the forum served as a platform for discussion about what the American dream means to different people, why this is, and how it can be changed.

Another aim is to help people understand the complexities and challenges of social services for the poor. Members of the Loyola community can step into the shoes of someone in poverty attempting to navigate social services at LIFTopolis, a simulation on Saturday, March 31. Participants (who pre-register here) will be given a new identity and asked to achieve a set of objectives by working their way through the necessary social services. Afterwards, the participants will be given a chance to debrief about their experience and reflect on the hardships that face someone in this situation.

In addition to these events, there is a weeklong food and toiletry drive, a showing of the documentary The End of Poverty, and a panel discussion that will explore the idea of opportunity.

Passarelli says the purpose of Poverty Awareness Week is to educate and mobilize people to action.

“I think the main goal is to implicate people and hold them accountable for what the perceptions of these issues are and implement change once [they] know what the issues are,” he says. “We want to create life-long advocates for change, create new ways [people] can talk about poverty, and spread that throughout their personal networks.”

He adds that the work done at LIFT is translatable to any major: every area of study has a unique perspective and course of action to solve the problems of poverty.

“The work we do is really interdisciplinary,” he says. “Whether you are going to be a social worker or a policy maker, or reflecting these things in a future business deal, there are a lot of ways you can implement these issues into your future.”

Overall, Poverty Awareness Week aims to show students how they can make a difference in the fight against poverty, this week, and beyond.

“We want to make this an issue that does not end in one week,” Passarelli says. “We are hoping this will spark some interest or get people fired up to make them feel like they can make a change.”

To find out more information about Poverty Awareness Week, visit the website here.

As you fill out the electronic ballot that will be e-mailed to your Loyola account on Tuesday, March 27, remember which campaign has your best interests in mind. To ease your decision-making process, Inside Loyola asked the four pairs running to complete candidate questionnaires. We’ve summarized their responses to give you the pinpointed information about the backgrounds and priorities of the four squads.

Matt Razek & Tori Spears
Experience –  
Razek: USGA Speaker of the Senate (two terms); has been on USGA for three years; Student Ambassador Executive Board Member; Intern in the Dean of Students Office; Student Representative on the Board of Trustees Advancement Committee, Homecoming 2012 Planning Committee, Student Center Name Game Committee, Director of Campus Ministry Search Committee, Board of Trustees Jesuit and Catholic Identity Committee, Director of Student Leadership Development Search Committee; Resident Assistant; etc. 
Spears: USGA Undesignated Senator on the Residence Life and Dining Committee; Delta Sigma Pi, Professional Business Fraternity; Residence Hall Association Northside Area Council Program Coordinator; National Residence Hall Honorary; etc.

Goals - 
1. Increasing Shuttle and 8-RIDE Services
Shuttle service on the weekend by reducing the number of buses during non-peak times. Expand the hours and radius of 8-RIDE services, including vans at the Water Tower Campus.
2. Improvement to Dining Facilities
Develop a better partnership with Aramark to improve food quality and options. Increase sustainable practices relating to the dining halls. 
3. Raising Graduation and Retention Rates
Work with the Office of the Provost to reduce academic major credit hours to ~40-45 per field of study so that all students graduate within four years and not forced to go a fifth year, when all financial aid is lost.

Eftiola Trebicka & Nicholas Ramirez
Experience - 
Trebicka: Junior Senator for USGA; Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Student Representative for the Library Board, University Core Curriculum Committee, Academic Affairs University Policy Committee, and Council for Student Success; First-Year Companion. 
Ramirez: USGA Senator; Member of the Facilities and Transportation Committee; Peer Mentor for the Cristo Rey Scholars Program.

Goals -
1. Improve USGA Communication and Transparency
Publicize what USGA does for students. Collaborate more frequently with other student organizations.
2. Provide Holistic Care for Students to Ensure Success
Make sure students enjoy their time in and outside of the classroom. Relocate the Wellness Center. Develop better programs concerning alcohol education. 
3. Improve the value of the Loyola Degree
Help more students graduate in four years. Increase access to advising and career services.

Matthew Smith & Derek Gliwa
Experience –
Smith: Freshman Companion; Student Ambassador. 
Gliwa: Various clubs and groups at Loyola.

Goals –
1. Instill life in Student Government
Believe they can bring fresh perspectives to USGA, as the two candidates are not ingrained in the group’s workings. 
2. Feel the pulse of the student body
Reach as many students as possible to evaluate their needs. 
3. Raise awareness of USGA’s role in policymaking
Increase interaction between students and USGA.

Julia Poirier & Sarah McDowell
Experience - 
Poirier: Justice Chair for USGA; has been on USGA for three years; Student Representative for the Community Engagement Committee, Constitutional Review Committee, Transportation and Facilities Committee, and Social Events Committee; LIFT Student Advocate; Feeding Illinois Development and Communication Intern; Interfaith Implementation Committee; Chief Communications Officer of Women in Leadership; Communications and PR Director of Oxfam Loyola.
McDowell: Has been on USGA for two years; Chair of the Residence Life and Dining Committee; Chair of the temporary Social Events Committee; Peer Mentor for First-Year Students.

1. Tuition
Promote student dialogue surrounding tuition increases as they hinder a student’s finances.
2. Improving the Dining Halls
Increase healthy options and sustainable practices in dining halls. Provide more options in the Terry Food Court. 
3. Increasing Diversity
More difference regarding the socioeconomic, religious, racial ethic, and gender make-up of Loyola’s student body. Create a more inclusive campus.

Voting for this year’s Unified Student Government Association (USGA) election begins Tuesday, March 27, when electronic ballots are e-mailed out to students. The polls will close at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 28. To learn more about any of the candidates, visit LUC.edu/usga.

Tonight, there will be at a debate between all the presidential candidates at 7 p.m. in the Convergence Studio in the School of Communication. See a live stream of the debate on the digital screen located in CFSU.

Throughout the month of March (and continuing through the beginning of April), several organizations have sponsored events spreading awareness and appreciation for Women’s History Month.  Two events still on the horizon are the Women’s Leadership Reception and the Women’s Leadership Conference. Find out the details below.

Women’s Leadership Reception: March 29, 5:30-7:00 p.m., Beane Hall
At the beginning of the year, people across the Loyola community were asked to nominate women who have provided exemplary service and leadership to other women at Loyola. After receiving more than 50 nominations, Lisa Harris, chair of the WTC women’s history month committee and Liz Hernandez, chair of Gannon Scholars, among others, whittled the nominations down to four praiseworthy individuals, one undergraduate, one graduate student, one faculty member, and one staff member. Harris says though there was stiff competition, these women have been exceptional in their work at Loyola.

“They really rose above and beyond dedication and support to other women,” she says. “They own leadership above and beyond job descriptions and their role as a student leader.  They are really acting as a woman for others, really playing out the Jesuit role.”

Having four official winners is a change from previous years, where anyone who was nominated was recognized, and there were separate events on the Water Tower Campus and Lake Shore Campus. Though everyone is still invited to attend the event this year, Harris emphasized that the recognition will be a bit more ceremonial, which is appropriate for the esteem of what these women have accomplished. Here at Loyola, she says there is a great community and she hopes this will speak to that.

“There is a unique bond there. We can all come together as women, helping others develop into strong women, to be surrounded by a community that values and uplifts women,” she says. “This is an important way to let women know that we recognize that they foster this community.”

For more information, visit the Women’s History Month website here.

Women’s Leadership Conference: April 20, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., The Westin Michigan Avenue
Women have the opportunity to celebrate their passions and identities in many Women’s History Month events, but in late April they have the chance to put what they have learned to work at the Women’s Leadership Conference.

The event originally started in 2008, as a culmination for women who completed the Women’s Leadership certificate through Loyola’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS). Since then, according to Carolyn Gosselin, program director at SCPS, the event has grown to a 150 person day of workshops, speakers, and networking.

The conference, whose theme this year is “Resilience,” includes a morning inspirational speaker, a panel of women discussing their leadership journey, a luncheon with a keynote speaker, afternoon workshops on different issues facing women and leadership, and a final opportunity to network with fellow conference attendees. This year the keynote speaker is Dr. Diane Osgood of Osgood Sustainability Consulting, who is a global expert in food sustainability and human rights issues. In addition, she advises Fortune 500 companies and is a senior adviser for the Clinton Global Initiative.

Gosselin, who emphasized that the conference is open to anyone–undergraduate students to working professionals– says what this conference offers is an educational context that offers tools women can apply to their lives immediately.

“It is more than just being spoken to, we offer an opportunity to educate the women as well,” she says. “You are not only getting knowledge from speakers, but you’re walking away with tactical information you can bring to the office Monday morning and apply.”

For more information, visit the Women’s Leadership Conference website here.

More than 1,000 students gathered at the quad located between Dumbach Hall and Cudahy Science Hall to watch at least 15 people simultaneously pull maroon and gold sheets off the statue to reveal its magnificent, all-green exterior.

The freebies passed out to students included highly coveted cowbells, the sounds of which mimicked chains tapping a kettle, which created an ambiance that seemed to bring the statue to life. Clanking and cheering erupted from the crowd as onlookers anticipated the unveiling.

Leading up to the big moment, University leaders including Robert Kelly, PhD, vice president for student development, Grace Calhoun, PhD, athletic director, Father Garanzini, and student leaders touted the community’s generosity and how the statue serves as a continual reminder of Loyola’s values.

“The statue, for us, is now a visual, tangible rallying point on campus that’s meaningful and reminds us that as we’re prosperous, how important it is to give back,” says Shena Keith, director of annual giving. “We’re recipients of much generosity given to us, and if we don’t continue that momentum of helping others, we wouldn’t be who we are today at Loyola.”

Father Garanzini commissioned the sculpture after he saw a similar statue at the Ibero-American University, a Jesuit school in Mexico City.

The wolves and kettle in Loyola’s crest represent prosperity and generosity, Keith explains, which are two actions attained when donors selflessly contribute to the University.

It was Keith’s idea to give away cowbells, and like the notorious Saturday Night Live skit, Keith says, “We need a little more kettle.”

That’s where you come in. Students are invited to play the Name Game and submit their ideas for the three locations by filling out this survey.

Bryan Goodwin, director of student centers, says the Name Game was introduced as a way to “celebrate the construction process” rather than viewing it simply as an obstacle on campus. The naming contest is somewhat of a tradeoff for the students inconvenienced by the construction who won’t be around to enjoy the new facilities in the future.

“For graduating seniors who may be bummed out that they won’t be here next year when the building opens, this is a great way to leave a legacy and it makes for compelling stories to tell when they come back as alumni,” Goodwin says.

Students can suggest as many names as they’d like before the March 30 deadline. Once the forms close, the Name Game Committee, which is comprised of staff members, USGA student reps, and other student leaders, will deliberate to choose the best three to five names per space. The entire student body will then vote through an e-mailed ballot the week of April 9.

The committee will select finalists that represent the people who will use the new building. Goodwin says, “If the student body isn’t captivated by the finalists, we didn’t do our job.”

Official winners will be announced at the Weekend of Excellence, on Saturday, April 21.

Contest winners will select between $500 worth of textbooks, airfare, or Groupon credit. Finalists will show creativity, originality, and timelessness, Goodwin says. Also, incorporating “Loyola” or “Chicago” is a plus. If multiple entries of the same name are submitted, the person who submitted the name first will be linked to the entry, according to contest rules.

The Name Game gives all current Loyola students the chance to leave their own names behind long after they’ve gone.

“We fully anticipate these names being in the building years, and we want students to take that seriously,” Goodwin adds.

Brian Schmisek, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies. He will officially join the University in July.

Dear Colleagues,

Father Garanzini and I wish to share the good news that Brian Schmisek, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS). Dr. Schmisek, who comes to Loyola from the University of Dallas where he currently serves as the dean and associate professor in the School of Ministry, succeeds Robert Ludwig, PhD, who will return to the faculty at the end of this academic year after nearly eight years leading IPS.

The President and I wish to extend our sincere appreciation to the search committee that was chaired by Kevin Gillespie, S.J., associate provost for University Centers of Excellence. The committee members included Robert O’Gorman and Heidi Russell from the Institute of Pastoral Studies, John Hardt from Mission and Identity, Janet Sisler from the Gannon Center, and IPS alum Carol Lackie (MA ’07). Father Garanzini and I also want to express our appreciation to Dr. Ludwig for his advice and support of the process to choose his successor.

During Dr. Schmisek’s time at the University of Dallas, the School of Ministry experienced an era of unprecedented growth. With his leadership, the school introduced an undergraduate degree in pastoral ministry, a master’s degree in Catholic school teaching, other new programs and concentrations, off-site options, the annual University of Dallas Ministry Conference, cooperative alliances with various institutions, summer terms in Rome, and a number of online programs. In addition to serving as the dean, Dr. Schmisek also continued both his teaching and scholarship, having published material each of the last several years. Prior to the University of Dallas, Dr. Schmisek served in a number of capacities with the Diocese of Shreveport, Loyola University New Orleans, Christ the King Catholic Church (Evergreen, Colorado), The Smithsonian Institute of America, The Catholic University of America, Washington International School, and the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Schmisek looks forward to bringing his entrepreneurial, strategic, and fundraising skills to the leadership of IPS to develop new academic initiatives; engage faculty, students, and alumni; and to continue his predecessor’s good work of building strong relationships across a wide network of constituencies. Dr. Schmisek earned his PhD in biblical studies at The Catholic University of America. He earned an MA in classics from The University of Mississippi, another MA in theology from The Catholic University of America, and a BA in philosophy from North Dakota State University.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Schmisek to his new leadership role at Loyola University Chicago. He will officially join the University in July.

Sincerely,

John P. Pelissero, PhD
Provost

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Head to the South Norville Atrium (LSC) or Terry Student Center (WTC) for free kettle corn, a coupon with discounts at local businesses, and the chance to write a thank-you note to a donor.
• 4 p.m. — Gather between Dumbach Hall and Cudahy Hall for the unveiling of the Los Lobos de Loyola statue. The first 1,000 students will receive Wolf and Kettle Day cowbells.
• 10:15 p.m. — Late-night studiers at the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons will get a surprise.

Tomorrow, any senior who has donated $20.12 or more is invited to the Senior Donor Reception, which will be held at 9 p.m. in Gentile Arena. The event features a craft beer and bacon tasting, appetizers, and photo booths. Seniors can make their gift online or at the door of the event.

For more information on Generosity Week, click here. For more information on Wolf and Kettle Day, click here.

So where does the other 26 percent come from? Donors.  This week, dubbed Generosity Week, seeks to say thank you to those donors, as well as spread awareness about the benefits of stewardship to current students.

This is the first year there is an entire week devoted to generosity.  Keith says it seemed important to bring several ongoing events together in order to show the variety of ways people are giving to Loyola, and how people can follow in that tradition in the future.

“It all started last year with Wolf+Kettle Day. That was so successful and we were so happy with the turn out,” she says. “It really was an awareness event for the whole Loyola community on the importance and impact of giving… we’re asking everyone to stop and say thank you to those generous donors.”

As mentioned before, the revenue from tuition only covers 74 percent of what it takes to finance a student’s education at Loyola, which includes costs from lights to the labs, from computers to faculty salaries, and much more. The difference is made up from donors, which can be anyone including alumni, parents, friends of Loyola, faculty, staff, students, corporations, foundations, and even Loyola, which gives millions in financial aid every year. Though some groups give more than others, Keith points out that any gift, big or small, can make a difference.

Though there are events every day of this week, the highlights come on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is Wolf+Kettle Day, an annual event started last year that celebrates giving. Students can head to the South Norville Atrium or Terry Student Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for raffle prizes, coupon books, and the chance to write a thank you note to a donor. Then at 4 p.m., head to the plaza between Dumbach Hall and Cudahy Hall for the unveiling of the Los Lobos de Loyola statue, a representation of the wolf and kettle on Loyola’s crest. The first 1,000 students in attendance will receive Wolf+Kettle Day cowbells.  Finally, a surprise is in store for late-night studiers at the Klarchek Information Commons, but Keith says students will have to wait until Wednesday night to find out what it is. Then on Thursday, any senior who has donated $20.12 or more is invited to the Senior Donor Reception. The event features a craft beer and bacon tasting, appetizers, and photo-booths. Students can give that gift here.

These events are put on by the Student Philanthropy Committee, who get coupons from vendors, plan Generosity Week events, and several other giving events throughout the year. Keith says it is a great networking opportunity and interested students can find out more information on the Student Philanthropy Program’s Facebook Page, here.

For a full listing of Generosity Week events, visit the website.

At 8 p.m., 16 male contestants representing different student organizations will begin strutting their stuff in hopes of winning the crown. The pageant’s purpose is twofold: to entertain people as they watch guys go all out to impress the judges and to inform audience members about the global water crisis.

“A lot of people come, not necessarily knowing what the cause is about, but through the event, we’re able to educate the Loyola community,” says Iliana Alvarenga, a sophomore and vice president of UNICEF.

Between rounds and during intermission, UNICEF leaders will share statistics that tell the ghastly effects of clean water shortages, such as how about 4,000 children die every day from water-related diseases.

There is no official ticket needed for attending the Mr. Rambler pageant, but there is a suggested donation of $5 to $7 dollars at the door. All funds raised this year will go to Togo, Vietnam, Mauritania, and Cameroon, the four countries benefitting from this year’s Tap Project.

Judges for the 2012 Mr. Rambler Pageant include Bastiaan Vanacker, assistant professor of communication, Anthony Cardoza, professor of history, and LU Wolf, Loyola’s mascot.

Since UNICEF’s Tap Project launched in 2007, nearly $3 million has been raised across the United States, says Fiona Kan, a junior and the advertising chair for Loyola’s UNICEF chapter.

“The main goal of UNICEF is to reduce the number of children dying everyday from water and other factors,” Kan says, adding, “We believe we can make it to zero.”

UNICEF is hosting two other events during the week. The Benefit Dessert will be on Wednesday from 7-10 p.m. in Mundelein Auditorium. On Thursday, the group will show a film that explains the global water epidemic in Simpson Multipurpose Room, beginning at 6 p.m.

Monica Zabinski, a junior majoring in criminal justice and psychology, embarked on an immersion trip to get more out of spring break than just fun and relaxation.

“I wanted to give of myself and do something unique,” Zabinski says, who spent the week at Glenmary Farm in Vanceburg, Kentucky, located in Appalachia, repairing dilapidated buildings, visiting with nursing home residents, and diving right into the local scene.

Students in the nine ABI groups adjusted their living standards to their respective environments, which were a mix of urban and extremely rural regions of the United States.

“We weren’t only doing mission work, but becoming a part of the community,” Zabinski says.

Patrick Eccles, chaplain and service immersion coordinator, says immersion trips give students a hands-on means of learning how affected communities encounter injustice.

But students on these trips don’t expect to simply grace a community with their presence and metamorphose it within a week.

“With only 10 days, we don’t have any illusions that we can go into these places and fix the situation of communities we don’t know,” says Annemarie Barrett, a senior and ABI student worker who attended the trip to Baltimore, Maryland in 2010.

Barrett explains the goal of ABI trips is for students to meet the people, learn the community’s history and culture, and use that knowledge to transform their own views of the world.

“Our hope is that, upon return, students can connect their experiences with efforts that are already happening on campus and at home,” Barrett adds.

Each night during an ABI trip, students take a moment to either individually or collaboratively reflect on the sights seen and lessons learned through volunteering and their conversations held with locals.

Motivated by the theological reflection and spiritual examination, “ABIers return to campus considering how they wish to integrate the new awareness they’ve gained into their everyday lives,” Eccles says.

Students say the motivation to spark change is often found during these times of thoughtfulness.

“Going on this trip brought me back to what I truly believe in, and made me reflect on what I stood for and what I wanted to do with my next step . . . what I believe,” Zabinski says.

The ABI program incorporates religion each step of the way, but Eccles insists it’s “respectful of all faith traditions,” and any participant “should be open to the religious experience of others in the program as well as of host organizations.”

Intrigued by the religious aspect of the immersion program, Steven Patzke, a sophomore studying theology and philosophy, chose to spend spring break at Bethlehem Farm in Pence Springs, West Virginia, also located in Appalachia.

Between putting a tin roof on a home and constructing a new linoleum floor for a family’s s trailer, Patzke and his comrades alternated the cooking and cleaning responsibilities of their communal-living quarters and worked alongside West Virginians to stock a thrift store’s food pantry.

Patzke says he found a new appreciation for “simplicity-style living,” which includes no cell phones (due to lack of reception) and less dependence on waterworks. He took at least one “bucket shower,” and tried to abide by the farm’s motto for using the toilet: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down.”

Before this trip, Patzke had repeatedly heard the common criticism, “Why are we sending money overseas when people need it here?” He now realizes the argument’s legitimacy.

“I was in awe by the number of people living in substandard conditions, with little sense of hygiene or how to take care of what is their own,” Patzke says. “They really need help our government isn’t always able to provide.”

Zabinski had the same epiphany, and realized the importance of charity work at home.

“I think a lot of people tend to overlook the needs here in the U.S. and the needs a few hours away or even within our own city,” she says, adding, “Even though we’re such an amazing country, we still have a lot of problems.”

In addition to the domestic ABI trips hosted over spring break, Campus Ministry is also sponsoring five international trips this summer.

Jones currently lives and works outside of Des Moines, Iowa, and chairs the Department of Art & Design at Grand View University. She teaches courses in printmaking, book arts, typography, and the history of graphic design, among others. Before relocating to Iowa in 2001, Jones spent most of her professional career in Chicago. In addition to her teaching at the Institute of Art & Design and Robert Morris College, she worked independently as an illustrator with clients such as the Chicago Tribune, Playboy, Scott Foresman, and Albert Whitman & Co. Her work has been exhibited widely in the United States, and she is represented by the Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago.

Jones received an MFA in printmaking from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and a BFA in art history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She first moved to Chicago after college, where she found herself wandering the streets and inspired by urban life. Jones came to identify with the voyeuristic city-dwellers of 19th-century Paris, embodying the flâneuse as both spectator and spectacle. Perceptions of city life here in Chicago continue to inform her work today as she attempts to reconcile her insider and outsider perspectives.

The exhibition opens on Thursday evening, March 15, with a reception from 5-6:30 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Ralph Arnold Fine Arts Annex at 1131 W. Sheridan Road, on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus in Rogers Park. The exhibition runs through April 21, 2012.

The Annex is open to members of the Loyola community, with valid identification, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and the general public on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., and by appointment. For more information on exhibitions at the Annex, please contact boxoffice@luc.edu or 773.508.3847, or visit blogs.LUC.edu/artsalive.

Do you have a best friend at work?

With this question in mind, and a focus on supporting University initiatives that drive employee retention, engagement, and diversity, the Loyola University Chicago Mentoring Experience (LUC&ME) was created.

The Staff Council and Human Resources’s training and development department teamed up to develop the program as a resource for assisting new hires in successfully transitioning to their roles at the University. Each new hire, with typically less than six months of experience with the University, is matched with a more experienced Loyolan. Richards adds that these partnerships are not necessarily between people in similar departments, but rather paired by personal interests and goals.

Over the six month duration of the program, the mentor and mentees will talk several times, choosing how often and in what setting is most comfortable to them. There are also workshops on the first Thursday of every month during the program that support different aspects of the professional relationship, including focuses on “goal setting” and “communication skills.” Other program resources include guidance from the program’s coordinator, suggested group outings, and a copy of the book, Making the Most of Being Mentored by Gordon Shea.

A pilot program, with 10 mentors and mentees, was originally run in spring 2010, and was so successful, that it has been running as a full program ever since.

New mentees are often recruited at new employee orientations, Richards says, but there is a special emphasis on including people of various ethnic backgrounds and women who are in non-traditional fields. Richards says Loyola is interested in increasing diversity, and LUC & ME is a tool that supports that effort.

Loyola, similar to many other organizations, is interested in increasing its diversity, in order to tap into a richer pool of talents, ideas, and perspectives to address new challenges. While the spring 2012 program is full, another program is scheduled to run during fall 2012. Anyone interested in serving as a mentor or a mentee can get involved by filling out the interest form on the LUC & ME website or by contacting Jorene Richards at jrich1@luc.edu.

Richards points out that being a part of the LUC & ME program is beneficial both to the mentor, mentee, and Loyola at large.

“When people feel like they have a friend at work, it affects how engaged and productive they are,” she says. “Mentees learn to develop [their] network, find new resources, and accelerate their transition into a new job.” Mentors benefit from practicing skills like coaching, and they gain satisfaction from helping someone succeed she adds.

Occasionally, the benefits can even extend beyond the workplace. Richards notes that in the 2011 program a mentee taught the mentor to play piano, because the mentor had always wanted to learn.

“She probably never thought she would get piano lessons out of this too,” Richards laughs.

Professor Gathii joins Loyola University Chicago with a distinguished record of scholarship, teaching, and practice in the field of international law. He is currently associate dean for research and scholarship and the Governor George E. Pataki professor of international commercial law at Albany Law School in New York. He has served as the Crowe and Dunlev visiting international law professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and as an assistant professor at Rutgers Business School.

“We are thrilled to have an international scholar as superb as James joining us at Loyola,” says David Yellen, dean of Loyola’s School of Law. “Our students will benefit tremendously from his broad range of expertise, especially in international trade and economic law, as well as human rights.”

Professor Gathii is an independent expert member of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment, and Human Rights Violations in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He is a founding member of the Third World Approaches to International Law network. He serves as co-chair of the African Interest Group of the American Society of International Law and is a member of the International Law Association’s Study Committee on the Meaning of War, and the Global Faculty of the Trade Policy Training Institute (TRAPCA) in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Wing-Tat Lee Chair was created to honor the generosity of Wing-Tat Lee, a Hong Kong businessman who provided the funds for the endowment in 1987. In addition to researching, teaching, and publishing in the area of international law, the Wing Tat-Lee Chair will develop and plan international programs and conferences at the law school as well as facilitate international law student and faculty exchanges for Loyola.

Professor Gathii received his LLB (Hons.) from the University of Nairobi and his SJD from Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Human Rights Law Journal. He is widely published in the areas of international trade and economic law, as well as in public international law. He is the author of two books, African Regional Trade Agreements as Legal Regimes (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and War, Commerce and International Law (Oxford University Press, 2010). He is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and writes a regular column in the Nairobi Law Monthly.

Undergrads Jacob Runkel and Angelica Krajewski are busily preparing to present their work at the upcoming National Conference for Undergraduate Research.

Angelica Krajewski’s research on Polish memoirs has been published in an international journal, and she is revising her current work to be presented at a national conference and journal. Jacob Runkel is finishing up his research on micro-enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa and working toward submitting his work to a national journal. Both are busily preparing to present their work at an upcoming prestigious national conference.

PhD candidates? Paid research fellows?

Actually, both are Loyola undergraduate students; Krajewski, a junior international studies and English major, and Runkel, a sophomore finance and international business major. Despite only being enrolled in higher education for less than three years, both are presenting their research at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR), March 29-31 at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. Not only were they among 300 students selected out of more than 3,500 applicants, they are also the only students accepted from any of the Chicago-area universities.

The journey began for these two students during their respective freshman year Arts and Society learning communities, while in philosophy professor Dan Vaillancourt’s “aesthetics” class. At the end of the course, Vaillancourt says he always extends an invitation to mentor any student who is interested in helping him with, and branching off of, his research. Both Krajewski and Runkel took him up on the offer.

“They bring something to the table that I don’t have,” he says. “Their work with me is absolutely essential.”

The two students are humanities and business majors, and their research is focused on passions they honed in college.

Krajewski’s research is focused on Polish memoirs, an interest inspired by a memoir she wrote in Vaillancourt’s class on her mother’s childhood in Poland. For her research, Krajewski is reading as much Polish literature as she can in order to find overarching themes in the works, and she says she has been surprised at the diversity of even one nation’s literature. Vaillancourt also pointed out that her ability to speak and read Polish fluently has vastly enhanced the research, in that she can include works written solely in Polish.

Krajewski and Vaillancourt co-authored a 7,000-word article, which was published in the International Journal of the Humanities. Vaillancourt later presented another of their co-authored articles at the annual meeting of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, and it has been accepted for publication in the Polish Review. Currently they are working on revisions. Krajewski says having an article published in such a renowned journal “feels unreal,” but the opportunity to explore her Polish heritage has been the standout experience.

“The knowledge I have gained about what my cultural ancestors thought was important has been priceless,” she says. “I have corrected misconceptions about Poland that I didn’t know I had. I’ve also had the opportunity to read what I consider to be some of the most beautiful literary works ever written.”

Runkel, on the other hand, is researching micro-enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa, an interest, he says, that wasn’t on his agenda until he began his project. Now that he has begun his research, however, he calls micro-enterprises his “beat.”

“There are people behind that name and there are people behind those people,” he says. “Micro-enterprise is so much more than business, it is something that gets ignored. Someone who sells crops in the market in Kenya is as much a business as McDonald’s.”

Runkel’s research is set up as a comparative study between six different micro-enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. He is hoping to study what they did right, and wrong, in order to recommend best practices. He is even thinking of starting a micro-enterprise here at Loyola with what he has learned.

Though he admits that the research has been hard, Runkel says he has been enlightened by his work; something that will extend far beyond his work as an undergrad.

“With globalization you will start to see these individuals that are impoverished fall behind,” he says. “That is not okay with me, I don’t believe it has to be that way. These individuals have the ability to do great things. I don’t want to see anyone’s potential go to waste.”

As if being accepted at NCUR wasn’t prestigious enough, both Krajewski and Runkel are Provost Fellows: a competitive  program that gives a stipend to Loyola undergraduate students interested in pursuing research. Co-director for the Provost Fellowship, Kelly Christopher, says these students especially stand out because of their unique research topics.

“What is really great about these two students, is they are doing work outside of the hard sciences,” says Christopher.

Vaillancourt points out the Provost Fellowship offers an unparalleled opportunity for undergraduate students.

“It raises the student work to another level, to a professional level,” he says.  He explains that during a normal semester in a typical class, students will write their papers, take their exams, and throw their work away at the end. Research, on the other hand, offers a way to take that knowledge and apply it to the real world.

“They are offering a service to society; they are creating knowledge for other people,” he says. “It develops their own skill at a level that cannot be done in the classroom.”

“This type of work, even if you don’t go into research, is transformative for the students,” he adds.

Students at St. Dorothy School work together in small groups.

Loyola’s Center for Catholic School Effectiveness (CCSE), housed within the School of Education, has released the first National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, in collaboration with the Roche Center for Catholic Education, housed within the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, and the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). This landmark document offers critical school effectiveness standards to more than 7,000 schools across the country.

“I commend everyone for their hard work on this vital project,” says David Prasse, PhD, dean of the School of Education, Loyola University Chicago. “I know that dioceses and Catholic schools across the country will benefit greatly from the guidance that this final document provides.”

This initiative provides national defining characteristics, performance standards, and benchmarks that will enable all sponsors of Catholic elementary and secondary schools to assess, strengthen, and sustain their operations. The document will ultimately help determine how well a school is fulfilling its obligation to those who benefit from its services (students, parents/guardians, families, faculty, and staff), as well as to school donors and contributors, the Catholic Church, and the local community.

“These standards and benchmarks should be looked upon as all-encompassing school effectiveness standards that give a common framework of universal characteristics of Catholic identity and agreed-upon criteria for Catholic school excellence,” says Lorraine Ozar, PhD, director of the CCSE and an associate professor in Loyola’s School of Education. “They have been developed and vetted by a national task force of Catholic school educators and supporters through a collaborative process that began in October 2009 at the Catholic Higher Education Collaborative conference in Chicago.”

The Standards and Benchmarks
The final document contains three types of statements grounded in Church teachings, best practices, and proven success of those committed to the future of Catholic elementary and secondary education in the United States.

The Defining Characteristics flow directly from Church teachings and define the deep Catholic identity of Catholic schools. These nine characteristics serve as the platform on which the standards and benchmarks rest. The defining characteristics authenticate the standards and benchmarks, justifying their existence and providing their meaning.

The Standards describe policies, programs, structures, and processes that should be present in mission-driven, program-effective, well-managed, and responsibly governed Catholic schools. The standards address four domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality.

The Benchmarks provide observable, measurable descriptors for each standard. Benchmarks provide a solid basis for future development of more detailed self-assessment and diagnostic instruments, data collection and reporting structures, and accreditation tools, as appropriate at the local, diocesan, regional, and national levels.

To view the standards and benchmarks in their entirety, please visit www.catholicschoolstandards.org or LUC.edu/CCSE.

“These standards and benchmarks provide a vital framework for Catholic schools to continue to provide excellence in education for years to come. We are grateful to the many people who contributed to this important effort,” says Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president and CEO of Loyola University Chicago.

Standards and Benchmarks Timeline
Commencing in fall 2009, the task force developed a first draft of the document that was reviewed by participants at the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education’s national conference in October 2010. A second draft was made available for open review at the NCEA’s national convention in April 2011. Finally, a task force of select domain experts, leaders in Catholic education, including bishops and pastors, and other key stakeholders provided feedback that led to the document available today.

“Over three years, the task force focused on creating a foundational document that would be practical and useful at many levels, and be based on a collaborative process involving all stakeholders,” says Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, executive director for the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education, Lynch School of Education, Boston College. “The task force did just that. This document is a game-changer for Catholic schools and is accessible to all. It clarifies the brand, supports the work of advocacy, and provides Catholic Institutions of Higher Education a blueprint for professional programs for Catholic school personnel.”

Dr. Karen Ristau, president of NCEA, whose organization represents nearly 7,000 Catholic elementary and secondary schools nationwide, applauds the work of the educational leaders who created the standards.

“The energy and vision behind the National Standards are exceptional. While we have had documents about Catholic education in the past, this one is quite specific in its definitions of exactly what comprises a Catholic school. This foundational document will ensure Catholic schools keep the promise they make to families and the community,” says Dr. Ristau.

While in Morocco, Loyola alum Erin Atwell worked on a variety of health initiatives, including teaching a middle school health class, organizing a regional HIV/AIDS skit competition for youth, and helping develop a women’s health center with adolescent girls in the community.

Loyola’s commitment to social justice was once-again manifested in January with the announcement that Loyola is ranked 17th for the amount of alumni serving in the Peace Corps among mid-sized universities. Loyola currently has 26 alumni serving in the Peace Corps, and since its inception in 1961, more than 415 Loyola alumni have served in the Peace Corps around the world.

So where have these globe-trotting, social-justice seeking Loyolans gone, and what have they done? Below, you’ll learn more about where some of Loyola’s Peace Corps volunteers went, what they did, and where they are now, including the story of the first-ever Peace Corps member from Loyola, Martin J. Gleason.

• After graduating from Mundelein College with a BA in history and minors in English and secondary education in 1964, Suzanne Kelly, who is from Chicago, moved a continent south to serve as a public health worker in Sao Benta do Una, in Brazil. Kelly says John F. Kennedy’s words “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” and her Catholic upbringing pushed her to move forward on this life-changing venture. Once in Brazil, Kelly says she did a myriad of health jobs, from checking in on patients after procedures to vaccinating children. In addition to teaching her Portuguese, Kelly says the experience was humbling, and she will never forget the resilience of people there, though they faced the difficult cycle of poverty. Today, Kelly is a retired high school administrator in New England with two adopted Colombian children, who volunteers as an ESL teacher on the side. She says she is fortunate to have had such a life-changing experience.

• Rose Maria LaRocca was born and raised in Chicago, but after graduating in 1969 with a degree in English literature from the College of Arts and Sciences, she packed up and headed to work as a teacher-trainer in Uganda. While in Africa, LaRocca set up conferences for students working against STD and HIV and worked with a government program to develop workshops for teachers and administrators on the government’s Presidential Initiative on AIDS Strategy for Communication to Youth (PIASCY). LaRocca credits professors at Loyola who encouraged her to ask questions and open her mind for pushing her to pursue the experience. LaRocca now works in high-rise property management in Chicago, but says she keeps a part of her experience with her at all times. “I left a little piece of my heart in Africa and took a bit of Africa’s heart with me,” she says.

• Claire Donze says there was no “aha” moment when it came to deciding to join the Peace Corps; it was simply always something she had wanted to do. So after she graduated from Loyola in 2011 with a degree in English and international studies, she applied and was sent to the Guizhou Province in China (the least developed province) to teach English to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. She says in her education at Loyola there was always “a focus on the widespread purpose or importance” of what was being taught in her classes, and that perspective helped her see the importance of the world outside the classroom. Donze also said that every person she had talked to who had served in the Peace Corps had a phenomenal experience, and thus far she says her own has been the same. She says she hopes to go to graduate school for environmental science when she gets back from China.

• It is apparent that John Casey’s experience has stuck with him: he began a recent e-mail with “Namaste.” This is likely because Casey worked as an English teacher and teacher/trainer in a small village in Nepal from 1988 to 1990. Casey originally got the travel bug when visiting friends at the Rome Center during his first year out of college, while he was teaching at St. Benedict’s High School. Casey, who graduated with an English degree in 1987, loved the experience of traveling abroad and applied to the Peace Corps soon after. He says the experience offered him a fantastic opportunity to explore the world and learn about other cultures, and himself, all while creating a worldwide group of friends. He also says the Jesuit connection even prevailed in Nepal: while working, he met a Jesuit priest who was living in Nepal after opening a school. He says the priest was genuinely interested in his Loyola experience, and had done amazing work with the school he opened. Casey now works as an elementary school counselor and case manager for a Chicago Public School in the West Humboldt Park area.

• What inspired Erin Atwell to join the Peace Corps, where she served in Morocco? An experience on a different continent: South America, to be exact, where she studied abroad for a semester in Santiago, Chile.  Atwell, who graduated from Loyola in 2007 with a degree in international studies and a minor in Spanish, was inspired to go to Chile because of her undergraduate volunteering through Loyola4Chicago at Centro Romero, a social service agency for immigrants, as well as the Jesuit curriculum that emphasizes social justice. While in Chile, she took classes on poverty and spirituality, and realized that she wanted to serve in the Peace Corps after graduation. While in Morocco, Atwell worked on a variety of health initiatives, including teaching a middle school health class and organizing a regional HIV/AIDS skit competition for youth. She also helped develop a women’s health center with adolescent girls in the community. Atwell says her experience in Morocco affected her in “more ways than [she] can describe.” One major way is her current career path: after getting her master’s degree in international political economy and development at Fordham University, she is currently an intern with Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda. She will be there for six months, focusing on strengthening the agriculture and economy.

• Though Kevin Giglinto got his MBA from Loyola’s Graduate School of Business in 1994, a year later, his degree took him to Romania, as a business development advisor for the Peace Corps. Giglinto says he had always been interested in learning through other cultures, and he had been interested in the work the Peace Corps was doing in Eastern Europe at the time. After finishing his final year of classes at Loyola, Giglinto was about to go to a pub on St. Patrick’s Day, when he got a call asking if he would go to Romania in May. He enthusiastically responded yes, then (in his words) took out an atlas to make sure he knew where Romania was. His work in Romania, however, helped him quickly understand the lay of the land. Giglinto says he worked within a network of business development centers with state-owned companies that were transitioning to private or public ownership, and new start-ups diving into the business world for the first time. He says his Loyola education helped him, especially in the area of ethics, which could get a little murky in Romania. He is currently the Vice President for Sales and Marketing for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

• On March 1, 1961, President Kennedy signed the executive order that officially began the start of the Peace Corps. Nine months later, Martin J. Gleason was on a plane, heading to Nigeria to begin his work with the Peace Corps, making him the first Loyola student to join the Peace Corps. Originally, Gleason had attended Loyola for his undergraduate degree in political science, graduating in 1958, and had immediately gone to Loyola Law School, where he graduated with his JD in spring of 1961. In the time between graduation and departing, Gleason passed the bar in Illinois and attended Peace Corps training at Michigan State University.  Gleason says President Kennedy, as well as his Jesuit education that emphasized “doing,” “serving,” and “men and women for others” prompted him to join the Peace Corps. Once in Nigeria, which had just been liberated from British rule, he worked with a newly opened university where he lectured on social sciences, and later assisted in the opening of their law school. But this wasn’t the end of Gleason’s Peace Corps experience. After returning from Nigeria, he was hired as a paid staff member at the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington DC, where he helped develop further programs in Southern and Eastern Africa, frequently traveling to Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and what was then Tanganyika. Subsequently, Gleason enjoyed a robust domestic and international political career in several fields, including working on Hubert Humphrey’s political campaign, as the chief of public affairs officer at Columbia University, and most recently as an adviser in the Office of the President in Kabul, Afghanistan. Gleason says the Peace Corps experience broadened his perspective and gave him an “enduring appreciation for the diversity and complexity of the world.” He also says his Loyola experience prepared him for his work in Nigeria by opening his mind to the larger world. Today, Gleason lives with his family in Washington DC and one of his daughters is a current senior at Loyola.

To find out more about Loyola’s new ranking, click here.

But this path won’t become the norm if Loyola English professor Paul Jay has anything to say about it.

Which he does, and did, in his recent article for Inside Higher Ed, titled “Fear of Being Useful” which he co-wrote with UIC professor Gerald Graff. His viewpoints have been making quite a buzz in the higher education world.

In the article, Jay points out that students and professors in the largely academia-geared humanities world tend to ignore the more practical skills that the humanities can bring to other professions. Though there have been more and more programs set up to harness the skills that humanities students have in fields other than academics, there is a “disdain for such utility.” According to Jay, however, this attitude only hurts themselves.

He lists critical thinking, rhetoric and composition, the ability to make arguments in creative ways, and the courage to confront ambiguity, among many others, is becoming increasingly valued in other fields. In an email interview, he notes that students need to think of an unconventional post-grad path as an expansion of opportunities, rather than a disservice to the traditional ideas

“The humanities teach students useful skills that make them increasingly attractive to a range of employers, and that we who teach and administer in the humanities should not be shy or embarrassed or think it’s a betrayal of some high ideal about the humanities to articulate their value in practical terms,” he says. “We can value literature, philosophy, history, religion, and the classics for their own sake, we can think of the value of the humanities in terms of cultural literacy and at the same time we can value the humanities for the concrete skills they teach.

“One does not cancel out the other,” he adds.

He calls this compromise a “critical vocationalism” which is “an attitude…receptive to taking advantage of opportunities in the private and public sectors for humanities graduates that enable those graduates to apply their training in meaningful and satisfying ways.”

But where exactly are these opportunities? Jay says the skills and training that comes with a humanities degree is becoming increasingly valuable in fields such as business, journalism, the arts, politics,  and non-profits.  In fact, one expert quoted points out over 40 percent of people running Fortune 500 companies are liberal arts graduates. Most of all, Jay points out that humanities degrees can prepare students for an “unpredictable variety of occupations”, which in a difficult economy may be the best option.

Jay, who originally started studying sociology but ended up as an English major at UC-Santa Cruz went through the same dilemma. Though Jay ended up choosing the academic path, he says  if a student came into his office asking what path they should follow, he would tell them this:

“You have to sell yourself, your values and your skills. You’ve got a great general foundation in independent, critical thinking, reading, writing, etc., and a breadth of knowledge and an understanding, and appreciation, of diversity. Now you need to find the world you want to work in and learn everything about it you can.”

For more on Paul Jay, check out his bio here, and to read his article, click here.

It is a great honor for Loyola University Chicago to partner with the TIBETcenter of Chicago in hosting His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama on Thursday, April 26, 2012 from 1:30–3 p.m. on the Lake Shore campus in the Gentile Arena. The Dalai Lama will be awarded an honorary Loyola degree and will address the Loyola community on the topic of interfaith collaboration.  This program is a private event for Loyola students, faculty, staff, alumni, and their guests. There is also an event open to the public and organized by the TIBETcenter of Chicago that same morning in the Gentile Arena.

Due to the heightened security measures that will be in place on April 26, ticket holders must arrive at the Gentile arena by noon in order to clear security. We have been advised that guests who have not cleared security by 1 p.m. are not guaranteed entry into the Gentile Arena that day.

Tickets for this event will be handled via an online ticketing system that allows you to print your tickets at home. This system is the only avenue through which you can purchase tickets, and tickets can only be purchased with a credit card (Rambler bucks cannot be used to purchase tickets). There will be no will-call window at the Gentile Arena on April 26.

Tickets will be available for purchase in the following waves:

Ticket prices are detailed below, and individuals may purchase up to two tickets at any level they desire.

• $10 – upper bowl bleacher seating, reserved by section
• $15 – lower bowl reserved seating
• $25 – main floor reserved seating – back half
• $50 – main floor reserved seating – front half
• $100 – first four rows on main floor

You will receive an email from LUC-Events@luc.edu notifying you when ticket sales open and giving you a unique identifier to use when purchasing your tickets. Ticket purchases are limited to two (2) tickets per individual. The event ticket prices are set at a level to cover the costs of this event, and to meet the requirements of the contract we have to host His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama at no expense to the host institution. You will be asked to confirm your identity by entering the required information below at the time of purchase:

• Legal name (as it appears on your passport or drivers license)
• Unique identifier (sent to you via email the night before tickets go on sale)
• Date of birth
• Daytime phone number
• Affiliation (student, faculty, staff, alumni, etc.)

All event information, including specifics regarding security and parking, is online at www.LUC.edu/dalailama. Additional updates regarding this exciting event will be circulated in the weeks ahead. Questions can be directed to LUC-events@luc.edu.

Sincerely,

The Dalai Lama Coordinating Committee

Loyola seniors Megan Drissell and Charlie Treinen embarking on post-grad journey in order to raise $6,000 for Partners in Health.

Most students’ post-graduation plans include applying for jobs or heading to grad school.

Seniors Megan Drissell and Charlie Treinen?  Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in August.

The duo is embarking on this atypical post-grad journey in order to raise $6,000 for Partners in Health, a non-profit that seeks to provide sustainable medical care in some of the poorest regions of the world.

It all started with a happenstance conversation the two had after Drissell won the John F. Grant award for Bioethics in Fall of 2011 (which Treinen had encouraged her to apply for) and was trying to figure out what to do with her $3,000 award.  Drissell, an active outdoors adventurer, mentioned she had always joked about climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro, but had never had the time or resources to do it.  Treinen, whose family climbs, says he had been talking about climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro with a friend, but plans had fallen through.  The two seniors, both headed toward medical school, decided this was their opportunity to finally conquer the mountain, and put a capstone on their careers at Loyola.

Aside from both being pre-med, both students are passionate about the social justice side of medicine, with a focus on global healthcare. Because of this, the two decided to add another aspect to their capstone climb: fundraising money for the non-profit Partners in Health.

“Just kind of fell into place,” says Drissel. “We wanted to do something bigger with it, since we are both very passionate about global health. It was a a perfect way to tie everything together.”

Treinen adds that Partners in Health fell in line perfectly with the mission of the trip.

“Not a lot of people in medicine know about Partners In Health,” he points out. “It concerns things that not everybody wants to care about, [in] that they work to really solve the root of the problems as well as providing great healthcare.”

“That is a great thing,” he adds.

The two originally became friends during their semester abroad at the John Felice Rome Center, which is where Treinen says their awareness of global issues began to take root.

“We really learned to value the rest of the world,” he says. “It is hard when you’re in America, it can be a struggle to value other cultures.  Studying abroad, I think, gave both of us an international focus.”

Treinen, who is a pre-med Biology major from Nebraska, says he became especially interested in these topics while in theology professor Aana Marie Vigen’s class “Topics in Moral Problems: Medical Issues” last semester. He said the focus on inequalities in health systems and the morality behind medical issues turned his pre-med path upside down.

“It changed everything really. I had always had a vague goal in practicing medicine, but didn’t want to specialize…I  didn’t have any direction,” he says. ”This class really just changed everything about how I thought about practicing medicine. I want to use the opportunities I have for the people who need it the most.”

Drissel, on the other hand, has always had an interest in inequalities in healthcare, stemming from a project on UNICEF at her high school in St. Louis. However, Drisell, who is a pre-med religious studies major with minors in bioethics, womens studies and anthropology, has more of an interest in urban healthcare and hopes to enroll in a dual-degree program that would give her both her masters in public health as well as her MD, or possibly a PhD in Medical Anthropology.

Since the pair is prepared for  how the trip and philanthropy will fit into their life plans, now the focus is how to physically climb a mountain. Treinen is planning to visit Austria in early summer in order to train, as well as shadow physicians.  Drissel is an avid outdoors enthusiast, and has grown up in a family of Eagle Scouts.  She is also training for a half-marathon in May. Despite this training, neither have extensive mountain climbing experience and neither have been to Tanzania, so Drissell points out that their main focus is to get in shape.

“We don’t know what to expect, so the best we can do is [have] the best physical endurance,” she says.

With a goal of raising $6,000 in six months, the pair are in the process of planning several events to bring in donations. They are hoping to do a benefit concerts at Metropolis and Red Line Tap, in addition to other smaller fund-raising efforts.  In addition, anyone can donate anytime through their blog, TwoForTumaini.Blogspot.Com.

The pair decided to title their trip “Two for Tumaini”, “tumaini” being the Swahili word for “hope”. Drissel points out that though climbing a mountain is difficult, the intangible motivations, like the hope for better health care systems and hope for people benefiting from Partners in Health, will push them to meet their goals.

“We are doing this for a cause; that will definitely help,” she says.

For more information on their trip or to donate to their fund-raising efforts, visit their blog here, or their Facebook page here.

While speaking to the packed crowd comprised mostly of faculty and staff in the Sullivan Center’s Galvin Auditorium Wednesday, Father Garanzini assured Loyola’s finances “have continued to be very stable,” primarily due to the school’s private sector categorization, mentioning public universities generally have not fared as well in the post-recession climate. He said Loyola’s budget, enrollment and recruitment numbers, and endowment were slightly less than anticipated but still laudable.

Loyola’s current retention rate is 87.3 percent, Garanzini said. He explained, on average, the University loses about 12 percent of students after the freshman year and 10 percent after the sophomore year.

Fortunately, first-year applicants are up, and the academic standards for incoming students are higher than years past, he said.

Garanzini also said the four-year graduation rate is at 53 percent. To heighten this number and improve the overall satisfaction of students, the University administration will consider strengthening academic advising at a departmental level, limiting the increases in departmental course requirements, and potentially requiring internships for all students — “because being in Chicago provides a real advantage” that students at other Jesuit schools don’t have, Garanzini explained.

The president also questioned the value of the double major, describing it as “perhaps a luxury [students] can’t afford. . . if it keeps you here into a fifth year,” which results in a total loss of financial aid, he said.

When segueing to construction projects, one of the most complained about topics among Loyolans, Garanzini joked, “If I could put a fence up” to inconvenience you — he trailed off, but as the crowd erupted in laughter, he said the only people unaffected by the construction are probably “students who live on Winthrop who have classes only in the Life Science Building.”

Garanzini said construction fences will likely start coming down by summer.

The reason for the boom in capital projects, including the new student center, Cuneo Hall, and construction on Kenmore Avenue, is largely thanks to the sale of the Loyola University Health System (LUHS) in Maywood, Ill.

“What we got off our books was the indebtedness of the medical center,” Garanzini said, explaining the University’s bond rating rose as a result. The reason there is so much construction occurring simultaneously is because “we borrowed ahead.”

Garanzini said capital costs for current projects should be paid off within seven years.

The latest news that stirred up students was the University’s announcement several weeks ago that tuition for the fall 2012 semester would rise 2.75 percent. Garanzini expressed empathy for students and families who are already financially strapped, but he described the increase as a painful byproduct of the American economy.

“A 3 percent increase in tuition allows us to pay our staff and faculty 3 percent more,” he said. “It’s the cost of living adjusted in tuition and the cost of living adjusted in salaries.”

As tuition increases, so does a student’s dependence on financial aid.

Garanzini said Loyola has “one of the highest percentages of Pell Grant eligible student bodies in the education system” with 34 percent of undergraduates qualifying as recipients of the need-based Federal Pell Grant funds, which are individually valued at a maximum of $5,550 this academic year and awarded to low-income students. Many of Loyola’s Pell Grant recipients are first-generation college students, he added.

Garanzini still has one more State of the University address to give. It will be on Tuesday, March 13 at the Health Sciences Campus.

Elizabeth Coffman, PhD, filming her documentary "Veins in the Gulf"

Want to know the best way to illuminate a problem or phenomenon affecting our society? Make a movie about it.

That’s exactly what Elizabeth Coffman did, PhD, who’s the director of Loyola’s International Film & Media Studies program and producer of Veins in the Gulf, a documentary about Louisiana’s disappearing coastline. 

Coffman and three other female cinematographers will share the hazards, frustrations, and benefits of independent documentary filmmaking tonight, February 29, during a panel discussion at 7 p.m. on the 4th floor of the Klarchek Information Commons at the Lake Shore Campus.

“This really is the age of the documentary,” Coffman says. “Because the tools, distribution channels, and other costs have come down, it makes the storytelling process much more accessible.”

Promoting her film at banquets and screenings throughout the U.S., Coffman has met many women pioneering documentary filmmaking and believes it’s inspiring to showcase their talent at the University. Although held on February’s Leap Year Day, the panel kicks off Women’s History Month spanning all of March.

The Women and Documentary Film panel will feature Coffman, who will moderate, and the following filmmakers, who will explain and show a brief excerpt from their respective films:

• Ruth Leitman, director and producer of Tony and Janina’s American Wedding, a feature film that details a Polish American family’s tribulations through the U.S. immigration system, “telling the untold human rights story of post Sept. 11, that every undocumented immigrant in America faces today,” the film’s website explains.
• Danielle Beverly, an instructor at Marquette University, was at the Sundance Film festival last year for Project Rebirth, for which she served as a field producer. Her own film, Learning to Swallow, premiered at the Silverdocs Film Festival previously.
• Bren Murphy, PhD, associated professor at Loyola’s School of Communication, will discuss her film, A Question of Habit, co-produced with the Joan and Bill Hank Center. The film, which screened at the New York Film festival and recently aired on Chicago’s WTTW, tracks the history of religious women in popular culture.

“Feature documentaries as well as feature-length documentaries are still important for social justice purposes and getting certain non-fiction stories out to the world,” Coffman says, explaining that anyone interested in social justice storytelling now has the necessary tools as their disposable thanks to modern technology.

Future filmmakers will pick up some helpful tips from the panelists, like how to finance a film without compromising journalistic integrity.

“When you’re producing or writing a documentary, you want to make sure — even if you’re interested in some advocacy or social justice purpose — you maintain journalistic ethics in storytelling, and it doesn’t become simply a marketing piece,” Coffman urges. “Be able to get all sides of the story, and do that in a fair and balanced way, then often the social justice avenue will prevail.”

Whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker or someone who just likes learning about the world, attend tonight’s Women and Documentary film panel to hear how these filmmakers tell the stories of our often overlooked surroundings.

The event is free and open to the public.

At the Health Sciences Campus address, Dr. Richard Gamelli, senior vice president and provost of health sciences, will also provide an update and participate in the Q&A session with Father Garanzini.

Tuesday, February 28
Kasbeer Hall, 15th Floor, Corboy Law Center (Water Tower Campus)
3:30–4:30 p.m. – Address/Q&A
4:30–5:30 p.m. – Reception

Wednesday, February 29
Galvin Auditorium, Sullivan Center (Lake Shore Campus)
4:30–5:30 p.m. – Address/Q&A
5:30–6:30 p.m. – Reception

Tuesday, March 13
Tobin Hall, Stritch School of Medicine (Health Sciences Campus)
4:30–5:30 p.m. – Address/Q&A
5:30–6:30 p.m. – Reception

For those who are unable to attend in-person, the Lake Shore Campus address will be streamed live on the Inside Loyola news site and the digital screens located in the Centennial Forum Student Union and the Terry Student Center. Please note that the Lake Shore Campus address will be the only address streamed live.

Joe Perrino, CEO of Home Run Inn pizza, speaks at a Family Business Center event.

Running a family business requires more work than just balancing budget sheets and checking inventory.

Home Run Inn pizza, a Chicago family-owned and operated business, celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, and the company credits Loyola’s Family Business Center for helping it reach this milestone.

“Loyola’s Family Business Center provides a peer to peer network for the family owners of Home Run Inn to understand the unique challenges they face working together,” says Andrew Keyt, executive director of the Family Business Center.

Home Run Inn’s thin-crust, frozen pizzas are found in grocery store freezer aisles in more than 20 states, and it’s the number one selling frozen pizza in the Chicagoland market, the company reports. Home Run Inn pizza also has eight restaurants in the Chicago area.

Joe Perrino, the CEO of Home Run Inn, says managing a family business is about “creating legacy and a sense of belonging.”

The plans for Home Run Inn pizza started with Mary and Vincent Grittani in 1923, when a winning run from a neighborhood baseball game shattered the front window of their tavern, located in the city’s South Side. Thus, the name Home Run Inn was adopted.

In 1942, Mary and Vincent’s daughter, Loretta married Nick Perrino, who had just returned home from World War II and was looking for a job to support his new family. He eventually partnered with his mother-in-law, and they created the signature recipe of Home Run Inn pizza and began serving it to customers at their bar, according to a press release about Home Run Inn’s anniversary.

Home Run Inn was one of the first companies to enter the frozen pizza business in the 1950s. Now, Nick and Loretta’s son, Joe, serves as president and CEO of Home Run Inn, and under his leadership, the company has expanded its delivery distribution throughout the United States.

When the Perrino family began its partnership with the Family Business Center 12 years ago, the first goal was to determine the differences between being family members and business partners.

From the get-go, the Family Business Center united the Perrino family by asking them whether if it’s the business that kept them together or the family.

It’s the family, Perrino says, adding that after working with Loyola, Home Run Inn’s focus has become keeping the family legacy in tact, “whether it was the pizza business or any other type of endeavors.”

Keyt says the Family Business Center is not a consulting firm. Instead, it’s more of an educational hub that uses case studies, seminars, monthly peer groups, and coaching from staff members and other leaders within family businesses. In addition, it’s a confidential member community that relies upon one another for shared experiences and insights.

“The Perrino family embodies everything we try to teach here at the Family Business Center,” Keyt says, adding, “We believe other families should look up to Home Run Inn as they plan to perpetuate their legacies and their family businesses.”

Perrino says the strides made by his family are a result of the center’s advice on the best practices for succession to the next generation.

“Every family business would benefit form an institution like the Loyola Family Business Center in Chicago,” says Perrino, in a press release announcing the company’s 65^th anniversary. “Through this network of education and support, Home Run Inn continues to reinforce harmony within and prepare future family members for their roles to ensure growth and success.”

Sporting your best semi-formal attire, dance the night away and catchup with friends over savory Italian treats  in the luxurious settings of The Drake Hotel. Tickets were only $5 for individuals and $8 for couples. As of Thursday night, tickets were sold out.

Included in the price is a dinner buffet loaded with chicken paella, pasta assortments, goat cheese and sausage pizza, and more Italian antipasti, all prepared by The Drake Hotel’s head chef. Expect mini-Tiramisu and cream puffs served with chocolate sauce for dessert.

Three ballrooms at The Drake Hotel are reserved for the gala: the Gold Coast room, with a sizable dance space and floor-to-ceiling windows with breathtaking views of Michigan Avenue and the lake; The Drake Room, the main dining hall able to accommodate 500; and the French Room, where the buffet spread will be displayed.

Sponsoring the Gala di San Valentino is an annual tradition for the University’s Italian Club. The group, officially named “Italiola,” is hosting the banquet with Student Activities and Greek Affairs, who helped finance the extravagant night.

San Valentino (Saint Valentine) is, of course, the inspiration for St. Valentine’s Day and the gala, but very little is actually known about him, says Matthew Zundel, senior and president of Italiola.

“The romantic aspect was only attached to his name from Chaucer in the 14th century,” Zundel says, explaining the Italians celebrate the day more as a “Festa di San Valentino” in certain cities where he’s a patron saint, rather than the hyper-commercialized traditions. But generally, urban Italy does commercialize the holiday similarly to America.

If you’re a lover of Italian culture, stay tuned for more of the Italian Club’s events for this semester. Zundel says the next big celebration is St. Joseph’s Day during the weekend of March 19, for which the group will set up a table on campus and offer Italian food so students can experience one of Italy’s main cultural festivities of the year.

The club is also planning a “Gelato Crawl” throughout Chicago once the weather stabilizes.

If the names Rossellini, de Sica, or Fellini spark your interests, attend the Italian Film Series co-sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and Literature held every few Wednesdays on the Lake Shore Campus.

Parli Italiano? For those wanting to practice speaking Italian, the club hosts various sessions during the semester.

For more information about the Gala di San Valentino or the Italian Club’s future happenings, e-mail lucitalianclub@gmail.com.

Students taking part in Greeks for a Good Cause pause for a photo break during their work with Habitat for Humanity.

Greek life is getting some new life with the addition of two new sororities and two new fraternities in the last two years.

Adrienne Jaroch, coordinator for sorority and fraternity life, says the recent additions to campus were actually a part of an expansion plan that has been ongoing for two and a half years, beginning with an increase in sorority life.

“The new member classes [in Fall 2009] were almost as large as the active members,” she says. “The interest from women was even more than we could accommodate.”

Because of this the Panhellenic Council began to look for new chapters to join campus. After sifting through 16 bids from different sororities, they settled on Chi Omega to colonize for Fall 2010. After more than 89 girls decided to pledge, they voted to bring in another sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, in Fall 2011.

Liz-Marie Micula, junior marketing major and president of Alpha Delta Pi, says being the new Greek on campus  was an adjustment, but not as hard as she thought it was going to be.

“Everyone has been helpful, some girls have even personally reached out to me, especially Chi Omega who said if you need help with this, let us know, we went through what you are going through,” she says. “Everyone has been willing to help, all the fraternities have been really sweet as well.”

Micula, who transferred to Loyola from Oakton Community College, says when she first arrived on campus Greek life didn’t seem to be that significant. Now that she has rushed, however, she recognizes its growing presence at Loyola.

“To be honest when I first got here, I will say that it doesn’t have a strong presence from the outside perspective, that it is not something that is majorly advertised,” she says. “Now that I am on the inside I see all the work that goes into it and now it is a bigger part of my life. I think that is great, with more expansion we will see more change.”

In the meantime, the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) saw the success of these new sororities and decided to bring in a new chapter as well.

“They were really just looking for new energy, to bring in a new organization would revive the IFC a little bit,” Jaroch says.

After reviewing 15 different applications, the IFC decided to invite Sigma Chi to colonize because of their close national headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, and Jaroch says they have done “such a phenomenal job very rapidly evolving into a strong community” and posted the highest Greek overall GPA for the Fall 2011 semester.

But the fraternity expansion doesn’t stop there. Starting the week of February 13, officially, Delta Sigma Phi kicked off the recolonization process.

Delta Sigma Phi used to be a staple fraternity on campus until participation in Greek life started to wane in the late 80′s and they closed their Loyola chapter in the early 90′s due to lack of interest. Eighteen years later, with the interest back on the rise,  Assistant Director for New Chapter Development at Delta Sigma Phi Andy Bremer, says the time seemed perfect to get back involved at Loyola.

“They really like the direction we were going with new chapter development,” he says. “We were just a really good fit because of the values of our organization and the values of the University, and creating unique experiences at the campus.”

Bremer says Delta Sigma Phi is doing a referrals-based recruitment this semester, which means there will be one-on-one interviews leading to small-group events, in order to identify strong candidates to be a part of Delta Sigma Phi’s ”founding fathers” class. He hopes to establish Delta Sigma Phi as a fraternity comprised of campus leaders, and one that can partner with other student groups to create a strong connection between Greek life and other student organizations. This is indicative of a new direction that Greek life has been moving toward in recent years, he says, and one that fits in well with Loyola’s values.

“Especially in the last few years there has been a huge emphasis in higher education to start new chapters because the culture of fraternities went through a period where values were not conducive to our chapter,” he says. “Now they are trying to create a national movement, a type of fraternity not restricted by traditions… creating an opportunity for people to make this an experience they want it to be.”

Despite the rapid expansion, bringing a fraternity or sorority to campus is not a simple process. Jaroch explains that Panhellic and IFC must first vote whether to bring more chapters on campus, and Loyola has not been looking to expand until very recently. After the decision, they send out a letter letting prospective sororities/fraternities know they are looking to expand. From there, different organizations send packets of information, which the expansion committee sifts through. After narrowing the candidates down to three finalists, representatives from each Greek organization come on campus and give a presentation. Finally, after determining which organization has the most potential for leadership, support from other chapters, and values in line with Loyola’s, they offer an invitation to that organization to start the colonization process.

In addition to attention to new chapters on campus, the established Greek life has undergone a change as well. Jaroch points out that in past years, they have generally kept to themselves, “flew under the radar,” and were simply “existing” rather than interacting.

Now she says Greeks are “more known for the good things that are happening, and overall the organizations are doing some phenomenal things.”

She pointed to a Fall 2011 charity dodgeball event in which Chi Omega raised more than $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation, which is enough to grant one wish. In addition, she said she is looking forward to the “Stepping, Strolling, and Saluting” event put on by the Multicultural Greeks this spring. Jaroch notes that this division of sorority and fraternity life has been solidifying, and may also see growth in upcoming years.

“At this point, we are definitely having discussions [about expansion], but we are really focusing on other things that take a lot of time and energy, one organization a semester is all we can handle,” she says. “But there is potential growth.”

Jaroch says that Greek life at Loyola specifically may be attractive for Greek organizations because Loyola hasn’t been open for colonization for a long time, and there are several other local college chapters that can help with the growing pains of bringing a new chapter to a campus. But she also points out that Greek involvement on a national level is rising, both in terms of students joining and universities welcoming the process.

“I think there is a misconception that universities are trying to stifle Greek communities,” she says. “I think actually the opportunities they bring to the Loyola community foster healthy competition. The new chapters will do things right and do things well, which will bring something to their community.”

For more information on Greek life at Loyola, visit the Student Activities and Greek Affairs website here. For more information about Delta Sigma Phi recruitment, visit the IFC website here or their Facebook page here.

The blessed ashes placed on attendees’ foreheads during the Ash Wednesday services come from palm branches burned on Palm Sunday the previous year. Wearing ashes on the forehead represents human morality and penance, and this particular religious gesture has been a common practice for centuries.

Loyola will host eight ash distribution services on the Lake Shore Campus. Each will last about 25 minutes. The services and Masses will begin at the following times:

• 9:15 a.m., Service, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 10:15 a.m., Service, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• Noon, Mass, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 1:30 p.m., Service, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 3:30 p.m., Service, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 5 p.m., Mass, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 7 p.m., Service, Madonna della Strada Chapel
• 9 p.m., Mass, Madonna della Strada Chapel

There will be three ash distribution services at the Water Tower Campus. The times are as follows:

• 11:30 a.m., Mass, Saint James Chapel at the corner of Rush and Pearson
• 5:15 p.m., Mass, Kasbeer Hall at the Corboy Law Center, WTC
• 8 p.m., Service, Kasbeer Hall at the Corboy Law Center, WTC

Communion will not be given at the services.

Throughout the Lenten season, Sacramental Life is hosting activities for daily reflection, prayer, and almsgiving. On Thursday evenings, attend Mass at the Ignatius House Chapel at 9:30 p.m. There will also be Soup and Substance luncheons each week, with the first on February 24 from noon to 1:3o p.m. on the fourth floor of the Klarchek Information Commons.

For the full list of the Lent 2012 schedule of events, please click here.

The Department of Campus Safety will conduct a test for those who have registered for the Loyola Alert system on Wednesday, February 22, at noon.

Those who have registered for Loyola Alert can expect to receive a phone call, text message, and/or an e-mail, depending on what they have personally signed up for.

If you are already registered, please visit LUC.edu/alert to verify that your information is correct. If you haven’t already registered, please do.

We strongly encourage everyone to register. We will ONLY use this system for critical emergencies, including:

• Barricade/hostage incidents
• Severe and threatening weather incidents
• National civil emergencies
• Terrorist or other violent acts
• Health emergencies as ordered by public health authorities

Anyone who believes they are signed up for Loyola Alert, but does not receive any or all of the delivery methods they signed up for after the test, should first go to LUC.edu/alert and verify that their information is correct. If the information is correct and they did not receive communication, they should send an e-mail to asksafety@luc.edu so that the Department of Campus Safety can look into it. If you experience a delay in receiving the messages, please notify asksafety@luc.edu as well.

For more information, please review the FAQ by clicking here or contact Robert Fine, director of campus safety, at rfine@luc.edu or 773.508.2398.

HEAVEN+HELL is the newest collaboration between the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) and Intuit: The Center For Intuitive and Cultural Art. The works of art, which depict, and are inspired by, life after death, will be on display at both museums. LUMA will host the heavenly art, while Intuit will host works on hell.

In addition to the unique split-gallery setting, these works of art are created by folk, self-taught, and outsider artists. Exhibition co-curator Molly Tarbell says this adds a unique perspective to the exhibition and LUMA, where most of the artists featured are mainstream.

“The work in this exhibition is spiritual in content—with representations and meditations on the afterlife and biblical messages—but it also incorporates work by artists who were deeply spiritual themselves. Many of the artists in this exhibition received visions, which prompted them to begin to create their art,” she says. “By featuring work by people who are outside of the mainstream, we hope to demonstrate that spirituality in art often exists in a very raw form.”

These un-trained artists bring a new medium to the usual content of the gallery, Tarbell points out.

“One thing that is so compelling about this exhibition is the variety of materials and forms the artists use. Artists use a range of mediums, from traditional mediums such as oil, acrylic, canvas, and colored pencil, to non-traditional ones such as glitter, sand, industrial materials, and found objects.”

There are several pieces in the exhibition that she feels are exemplary of this unprocessed style. A pulpit painted by Ronald and Jessie Cooper depicts scenes of heaven and hell, combined with text that underscores their message. A two-paneled painting by William Blayney mashes together crowded scenes with copyright notices and textual references, which Tarbell describes as “intense.” She also points out that there are several different takes on angels throughout the exhibition, from wooden carvings wrapped in cigarette foil by Kenny Tucker to stone angels carved by Raymond Coins and William Edmonson (Edmonson was the first solo African-American artist to have an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City).

Tarbell also points out that some of the art was not even created by people who identify themselves as “artists”– instead, their inspiration came to them in visions and they use the product to spread the Gospel.

In essence, Tarbell says this exhibition provides a new perspective on the LUMA mission.

“LUMA’s mission is to explore the spiritual in art of all faiths, cultures, and societies,” she says. “The work in this exhibition is spiritual in content—with representations and meditations on the afterlife and biblical messages—but it also incorporates work by artists who were deeply spiritual themselves.”

HEAVEN+HELL runs February 10 through June 30, 2012. For more on the exhibition visit the LUMA website here or the Intuit website here.

Rebecca Scanlon, Chief of Operations, Casey Foley, EMS Director, and Stephen Hsieh, Executive Supervisor

In the moment of an emergency on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus, those in distress don’t have to wait for an ambulance to arrive. EMT-B certified student volunteers for Loyola’s Emergency Medical Services (LUCEMS) are on-call around the clock to provide rapid response in crisis situations before or in lieu of outside paramedics.

To ensure the sustenance of this truly lifesaving program, Dr. Pat Foley (BS ’68), MD, who practices family medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, recently gave $33,000 to LUCEMS after working with the University’s Planned Giving office. Dr. Foley, who is the father of EMS Director and Loyola senior Casey Foley, cashed out his insurance policy to establish the endowment so that Casey and his comrades could continue their work and to publicize LUCEMS in hopes that other alumni will donate.

“I’m always impressed that Casey and his fellow EMS students would dedicate time and service to run this all-volunteer program that offers a real service to the community,” Dr. Foley says, adding, “And on a rather meager budget.”

Casey, a psychology major with minors in anthropology and bioethics, says most of the endowment will “be set aside and allowed to grow,” but a small amount will fund operations for this year and next.

Casey joined the EMS staff in August 2008, when the program launched. He explains, “I was always interested in emergency medicine in hospital settings, but never really knew much about the role of non-hospital emergency medical technicians.”

That is, until he attended a LUCEMS informational meeting, and after learning what EMTs actually do, Casey eagerly signed up for the EMT-B certification training course and has been in the LUCEMS since.

LUCEMS currently has 55 active responders, all of whom are students, who work Monday-Friday, 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. the next morning, and 24/7 on Saturdays and Sundays. At least two EMTs are on duty at all times. The program’s headquarters are located in Rockhurst Hall, and functions are supervised by the Department of Campus Safety.

Becky Scanlon, chief of operations for LUCEMS, says that since August 2010, volunteers have treated a total of 374 patients. In the fall 2011 semester alone, LUCEMS responded to 149 calls “ranging from medical emergencies to traumatic injuries to cardiac problems and anything else one can think of,” Scanlon, a senior majoring in political science and international studies, says. Of the 149 calls, 73 were transferred to an advanced level of care (i.e. Chicago Fire Department) while the other 76 were treated on the scene.

In addition to providing emergency response, LUCEMS offers free, periodic CPR courses and has trained 400 people since August 2010.

When Dr. Foley decided to donate to LUCEMS, he contacted Planned Giving and began working with Leigh Peterson, the department’s assistant director, who guided him through the two-month long process. Dr. Foley appreciates that the University offers assistance with large-scale donations, and he encourages alumni or parents to contact Planned Giving if they have a specific program in mind to which they want to contribute.

Dr. Foley is glad to give to LUCEMS because of its value to the Loyolans and the pragmatic experience it gives its volunteers, particularly Casey.

Dr. Foley says, “I was happy for him. . . for finding an extracurricular he enjoys so much, and I want to support that.”

Students interested in joining the LUCEMS team can become a certified EMT-B, licensed in Illinois, first by taking the course offered by the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and then passing the state or national exam for certification. After receiving certification, students must attend a LUCEMS orientation session, held at the start of each semester, before they can start saving lives.

Casey assures students of any major can join the LUCEMS team. He adds, “Knowing basic medical knowledge and critical thinking can be utilized by anyone.”

Jeannette Pierce, head of references services at the Cudahy Library and Klarchek Information Commons, says this award was created to recognize students’ work beyond the classroom.

Pierce adds, “This award hopes to highlight some of the best of this scholarship, and also emphasize the relationship between that work and the library resources that made it possible.”

Eligible submissions are original research papers 2,100 to 7,000 words in length, written by only one author, that were completed within calender year 2011 as part of a Loyola course. Applicants must be currently enrolled in the University.

Additionally, a bibliography or works cited page should be attached to the paper, and the majority of sources used must be from the Loyola University Libraries. These can include, but are not limited to, primary sources, books, newspaper or journal articles, statistics from data archives, or government documents. Interlibrary loans are also acceptable.

To complement their paper, students must submit a one- to two-page statement detailing their research process, what types of library resources and services were used, what was conducting an extensive research project like, and any difficulties encountered during the process.

Students must also submit a brief letter from the Loyola professor who taught the class for which the research paper was written. The letter should explain the quality of the paper’s research and writing, and verify the applicant was enrolled in the course and wrote the paper to fulfill course requirements. The course name, number, and semester must be in the text.

The papers will be judged by a panel of librarians, Loyola professors, and members of the Friends of Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. Librarians on the selection committee are: Dr. Elizabeth Myers, director of the Women & Leadership Archives; Stephen Macksey, reference librarian; and Dr. Yolande Wersching, head of the Lewis Library.

All materials must be submitted either in print or electronically to Carol Franklin, library administration in Cudahy Library, room 133 or by e-mail to cfrankl@luc.edu by the deadline, March 2, 2012, at 5 p.m. Again, only undergraduate students currently enrolled in the University as of spring 2012 are eligible.

Winners will be notified April 13, 2012.

Pierce says, “The Libraries are excited about providing students with this additional opportunity for recognition that they can share with their faculty, friends, and family, and include on their resumes or applications for grants, fellowships, or graduate study.”

For a list of all the application materials, click here.

A native of Elgin, Illinois, Durnbaugh is acquainted with the land and resources of the greater Chicagoland area. Durnbaugh earned a bachelor’s of science in environmental studies and biology at Manchester College in Northern Indiana, and eventually pursued a master’s degree in geography from Northeastern Illinois University. Currently serving as the vice-chair for Chicago Wilderness and a member of the Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests Task Force, Durnbaugh has worked for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance and the Northern Ireland Children’s Holiday Scheme, a charitable organization that facilities friendship and reconciliation between Protestant and Catholic youth in Belfast.

Durnbaugh recently spoke with Inside Loyola about his personal and professional background, his excitement for working with Loyola’s leadership, and to preview his goals for the University’s sustainability work.

What sparked your interest in natural resources and environmental sustainability?
I’ve always had an interest in the outdoors and natural areas. Growing up in the Fox River Valley, there were a lot of great areas to explore… forest reserves, parks, and other habitats. I spent a lot of time playing in those places. As an early foray into ecological economics in elementary school, I would go catch crayfish in a local creek and sell them at a nearby pet shop.

As Deputy Commissioner of the Environment for the City of Chicago, what were some of your job duties?
I oversaw policy and programs protecting natural resources and maintaining water quality citywide. Specific programs included Greencorps Chicago, the city’s community gardening program, and the Chicago Conservation Corps, the city’s environmental volunteer program that works in schools and with community leaders to spark conservation action locally, like doing energy-efficiency, community-food, or water- or air-quality projects.

I also managed the Chicago Center for Green Technology, which serves as a training ground for green buildings and sustainable technologies, and the Calumet Initiative which rehabilitated and revitalized the landscape and biodiversity of the Calumet Open Space Reserve.

Other programs dealing with urban nature and ecosystems included Sustainable Backyards program, educating and encouraging people to plant trees, native plants, and create compost bins or barrels through rebates and other incentives and the Urban Forest Agenda, which worked to coordinate the stewardship of the nearly four million trees growing in Chicago.

In a 2011 article from The New York Times, you illustrated some of the changes Chicago must undergo due to global warming. Could you again explain how the city has — and continues — to prepare?
Most recently, I was very involved with the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the City of Chicago’s sustainability plan, coordinating the city’s climate adaption work. This includes considering and preparing for both gradual climate changes and more extreme weather and the impacts this will make on infrastructure, ecosystems, and people. Many people are aware of the forecasted increase in more large rain or snow events and heat waves and we worked with emergency response personnel to make sure they have the resources they need.

The gradual impacts of climate change involve increased temperatures over a longer period of time, which wear and tear on infrastructure. There are opportunities to consider different construction materials and practices, as well as how we monitor and maintain buildings, roads, and other heavy infrastructure.

My role was to bring city, county, state, and federal departments together with researchers who could provide climate forecasts and facilitate discussions on how to adjust management accordingly.

How will you construct the University’s Sustainability Plan?
I want it to be a process everybody has a voice in, so we can create solutions together. I hope everyone feels like they have influence in what those changes can be. Ultimately, that’s what sustainability is – a very transparent and open process that includes all the stakeholders and their long-term goals. There is strong support from President Garanzini and University leadership, as well as lots of great work underway by staff, faculty, local community, and student-led groups.

What are the little things someone can start doing now to lessen their impact on the environment?
In the Chicago area, a building’s energy use is to blame for 65 to 70 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions so everyone can be more intentional and reduce our energy use. Turn down the thermostat a few degrees, and turn the lights off when you leave a room. Plug appliances into power strips and turn the strip off when you leave the room. Use more efficient light bulbs, equipment, and appliances.

There are lots of other opportunities to be thoughtful and actively care for creation. Visit the Office of Sustainability’s website at LUC.edu/sustainability as we will be updating it with opportunities and tips for a sustainable Loyola.

Image courtesy of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts's Flickr photostream.

Betrayal, deception, and treachery is all in a typical weekend for Loyola theatre students.

Not in their personal lives of course, but as a part of the newest theater production of Shakespeare’s comedy Measure for Measure, which debuted on Thursday night in the Mullady Theatre.

The dark comedy follows the story of Isabella, a virtuous nun and sister of Claudio, a man who has been thrown in jail by a strict judge named Angelo, bent on improving a moral code he deems neglected. Isabella vows to save her innocent brother while revealing the hypocrisy of Angelo.

The original play is set in Vienna, and the Loyola production is as well. But instead of 15th century Vienna, the play is set in the 1930s, just before World War II breaks out and fascism takes over Europe. Victoria Bain, student dramaturg, says the choice was made consciously in order to modernize the play, and deepen the connection between tensions prior to the beginning of the war and the tensions throughout the plot of the play.

“As the play continues, there is kind of this rising tension between the characters and political climate,” she says. “The thought was to set it in this era where tensions were rising.”

In addition to modernizing the play’s setting, Bain says she and her mentoring dramaturg Peter Kanelos worked hard to research the context and the text of the play in order to understand what each line, reference, and joke meant to the play. They passed this knowledge onto the actors, and she says she is pleased at how well they have been able to convey the meanings of some of Shakespeare’s more difficult diction.

“For this production, the actors are really doing great in their intentions and explaining what each word means, not in plain English, but by saying it with their actions and how they present themselves,” she says.

Loyola theatre students have the opportunity to test out their interpretation against two other local Illinois universities at the first ever 3U SHAK3SF3ST (#3ushak3sf3st on Twitter), a three-weekend festival that features the Bard’s work as interpreted by three different universities.  The first weekend, Loyola is hosting Western Illinois as they perform The War of the Roses–an adaptation of all parts of Henry VI and Bradley University as they perform The Tempest. In subsequent weekends, Loyola will travel to each of those universities to perform Measure for Measure for college audiences around Illinois.

The audience has an opportunity to participate in 3U SHAK3SF3ST as well, by purchasing a “groundlings” pass, which offers admission to all three shows during the weekend for only $10. The name refers to  the crowd that gathered in the “pit” in front of the stage at plays in Shakespeare’s time.

Measure for Measure will run through February 17 with Thursday through Saturday shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $7 to $15. Book your seat today! 3USHAK3SF3ST will take place the weekend of February 17. For more information on Measure for Measure, visit the Arts Alive blog here. For more information on 3U SHAK3SF3ST visit the website, here.

“Many students come to Loyola because of its strong academic reputation and may not know much about the founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, or the Jesuit traditions that are key to distinguishing Loyola as a University,” says Chris Murphy, director of staff mission formation, in a press release announcing Ignatian Heritage Week. “We hope this focused week will engage students and the Loyola community in deepening its appreciation and passing on the heritage of a Jesuit education.”

Ignatian Heritage Week will kick off on Sunday with the traditional masses at 10:30 a.m., 5 p.m., and 9 p.m. in the Madonna della Strada Chapel at the Lake Shore Campus. A Mass will also be held at 7 p.m. in the Saint James Chapel at the Water Tower Campus.

On Sunday night, Loyola graduate students (only) can mingle with the Jesuits, to learn who they are and what exactly they do, over a drink or two. The event titled, “Jesuits on Tap,” will begin at 8:15 p.m. in the Terry Student Center, room 303.

All students can enjoy “Java with the Jesuits” on Monday from 10 a.m. to noon in the Corboy Law Center lobby and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Centennial Forum Student Union. Meet the men you see around campus, and hear their perspectives of the University’s involvement in education and social justice.

On Monday at 4 p.m., Michael A. Zampelli, S.J., PhD, from Santa Clara University, will deliver the keynote Ignatius of Loyola Lecture titled, “Deep of Thought and Depth of Imagination: Challenging Superficiality,” in McCormick Lounge in Coffey Hall at the Lake Shore Campus. A reception will follow the event.

Tuesday’s events include the “Eco-Spirituality Examen” lecture by Nancy Tuchman, PhD, vice provost, and in the evening, a movie viewing about contemporary impressions of Ignatian Spirituality.

On Wednesday at noon, EVOKE will host the “This I Believe” Panel where students, staff, and administrators will discuss what motivates classmates, professors, and all members of Loyola’s campus.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., head up to the 11th floor of BVM Hall to enjoy free pizza and answer the question of “Jesu-what?” by speaking with Tim Breen, S.J., who will provide insight into the lesser-known Jesuit ways of life.

Plenty of other exciting and engaging events are occurring throughout the week. To check out the full schedule, please click here.

Take advantage of the week’s happenings and find out how you fit in the enriched history of the Jesuit tradition.

From February 5 to March 31, Loyola’s Division of Facilities Management is  regularly weighing all the recyclables collected on campus and comparing the results with those of more than 500 colleges and universities for the eight-week, nationwide RecycleMania competition. At the end of the contest, schools are ranked in three categories: most recyclables on a per capita basis, best recyclable-to-trash ratio, and least amount of combined trash and recyclables.

Loyola is only competing in the main category, which is the total weight recycled and the weight recycled per capita, says William Curtin, director of environmental studies. Loyola is unable to provide accurate weights of the trash that is collected because the small trash compactors and commercial containers on campus are picked up by a city garbage truck on route, not Loyola’s own, Curtin explains.

During the RecycleMania competition, Loyola is focused on reducing its waste, says Gina Lettiere, director for the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy. “We’re taking it back to that first ‘R.’ We want people to be conscious of those items that are not recyclable, and think about how to reduce those products from ending up in a landfill.”

Throughout RecycleMania’s run, information and statistics about recycling are being displayed around campus and on the digital screens. To complement the contest’s run, the University’s Consumption Reduction and Recycling program is hosting sorting competitions for recyclables in the Centennial Forum Student Union, Simpson lobby, and Baumhart lobby. Also, trivia  questions will appear on the Inside Loyola news site, and University departments and residence halls are competing to see who has the best recycling practices.

Last year, Loyola collected 299 tons of recyclables, an average of 24 tons per month, and ranked 73 out of 363 higher-education institutions in the recycling weights category, according to the University’s website.

Lettiere stresses the importance of participants knowing exactly what is and what is not recyclable.

What is recyclable: paper, newspaper, magazines, cardboard, food boxboard, cans, tin foil, plastics #1-5 and 7, and glass bottles.

What is NOT recyclable: plastic bags, Styrofoam, plastic #6, paper towels, napkins, tissues, food and candy wrappers, and any greasy cups, containers, or pizza boxes.

A few little known facts about recycling:

• Paper towels, napkins, and tissues are not recyclable because the fibers are too short
• Plastic caps do not have to be removed from bottles before you toss them in the blue bins; the caps are recyclable, too
• Paper is kept separate from other recyclables because it is taken to its own recycling center, as it’s worth more money than other recyclables

The University is also collecting small electronics and print cartridges for the next several weeks. Drop off old cell phones, MP3 players, graphing calculators, digital cameras, and other small devices in the designated recycle bins on both campuses. The locations are:

Lake Shore Campus: Flanner Hall first floor by the chemistry office, the east lobby of Quinlan Life Sciences Center, and the Digital Media Lab in the Klarchek Information Commons.

Water Tower Campus: Corboy Law Center Digital Media Lab, room 608 and the Terry Student Center in Baumhart Hall.

Recycled electronics do not count toward Loyola’s RecycleMania rankings, explains Lettiere, but the University wants to raise awareness about the collective bins for people needing to get aged appliances off their hands. A new Illinois law that went into effect in January forbids tossing unwanted electronic devices into the trash or kicking them to the curb due to environmental concerns, so the University is providing a convenient outlet for disposal, Lettiere says.

To find out more information about RecycleMania 2012, please visit the University’s Consumption Reduction & Recycling Program’s website.

A new sculpture by artist C. Francisco “Pancho” Cardenas Martinez (not pictured) will be installed on the Lake Shore Campus, in conjunction with Wolf and Kettle Day, in March.

Story courtesy of the January/February Inside Loyola print issue

A new sculpture, Los Lobos de Loyola, will be installed at the Lake Shore Campus in conjunction with Wolf and Kettle Day, in March. The artwork pays homage to St. Ignatius of Loyola and celebrates generosity, a value central to the University’s mission.

The 8-foot-tall sculpture depicts two wolves flanking a kettle, similar to the image in Loyola’s crest.

President and CEO Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., commissioned the sculpture after he saw a similar statue at the Ibero-American University, a Jesuit school in Mexico City. “Bringing a sculpture to campus that features the symbols found in the St. Ignatius coat-of-arms celebrates Loyola’s proud heritage and will be a welcome addition to the campus,” says Father Garanzini.

Mexican artist C. Francisco “Pancho” Cardenas Martinez created the wolf and kettle statue.

Loyola’s sculpture will be displayed in the plaza between Dumbach Hall and Cudahy Science Hall until it moves to the West Quad lawn between Cudahy Science and Halas Sports Center.

Kana Wibbenmeyer, assistant vice president of facilities, believes the sculpture will be a wonderful showpiece for the campus, especially because of its connection to Loyola. “Unlike current sculptures on campus, this one speaks directly to the University’s identity and it will have a special meaning to students,” she says.

The statue will be unveiled on March 21, when Loyola hosts its second-annual Wolf and Kettle Day to celebrate generosity through giving. This date marks the point in the academic year when tuition funds deplete and support from generous donors begins.

A pint-sized Darth Vader uses the Force when he discovers the all-new 2012 Passat in the driveway. This award-winning commercial first aired during the 2011 Big Game. Still image courtesy of Volkswagen YouTube video that is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0.

More than 110 million people are expected to watch Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, either to see the New York Giants and the New England Patriots face off, or for the heartwarming, humorous, and sometimes horrid commercials. According to NBC Sports, a 30-second advertising slot for this year’s game cost $3.5 million on average, meaning more than $116,666 dollars per second.

Herb Ritchell, the School of Communication’s professional in residence and program director of advertising and public relations, says companies dish out big dollars for Super Bowl slots for reasons other than the fact the game draws the biggest television audience in the world.

As media becomes increasingly fragmented, companies are forced to buy advertisements on multiple platforms in order to reach large audiences. But the Super Bowl unites spectators of various viewing preferences, “so for a mass advertiser, it’s the way to go,” Ritchell explains.

But do companies actually benefit financially from the costly game day ads? Ritchell says having a Super Bowl commercial is really more about building image than boosting profits. ”Most will use the spectacle with a huge audience first to entertain, then to remind people about their brand.” With most Super Bowl ads, companies want to stick in the minds of consumers rather than immediately sell a product, Ritchell adds.

However, some companies do see economic returns. Ritchell says CareerBuilder, for example, has repeatedly reported an influx of applicants following the airing of their commercials. Ritchell predicts several companies will use Super Bowl 2012 to introduce new products, particularly automotive companies unveiling new models.

The hype generated by Super Bowl advertisements doesn’t just excite the consumers. “Everybody gets pumped when you’re a Super Bowl advertiser,” Ritchell says, adding that employees of these advertisers tend to have higher morale leading up to game day, and a honeymoon effect after the ad airs. “Everyone works just a little bit harder,” he says.

Robby DeGraff, a senior majoring in advertising and public relations at Loyola, is an intern for one of this year’s Super Bowl advertisers, Cars.com. DeGraff specifically helped with “Cars Cares,” the charitable component related to Cars.com’s commercial on Sunday. In addition to selecting one of the organization’s included in the promotion, the Cameras for Kids Foundation, DeGraff will monitor Cars.com’s Twitter buzz during Sunday’s game to gauge audience reaction.

Ritchell says a trend for this year’s commercials is that many were pre-released on YouTube. Volkswagen, whose smash 2011 commercial featured a little boy dressed as Darth Vader persistently trying to start the Passat’s engine with “The Force,” debuted their 2012 commercial online days before the game.

Honda has already received much flack and praise for its Ferris Bueller-themed commercial released Monday, which features Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on responsibilities to drive around Los Angeles (not the movie’s location, Chicago) in his CR-V. Clothing retailer H&M has already previewed their commercial featuring soccer star David Beckham, and Cars.com’s commercial is also available for viewing.

Even though practically all Super Bowl commercials are pretested on small groups before the final product airs, companies put the finalized ad online before the game simply to perpetuate the publicity, Ritchell says.

In case you can’t wait until Sunday, USA Today has aggregated the commercials currently available for your entertainment.

A Loyolan chats with a vendor at the University's 2012 HealthDays fair.

On Thursday, the University rolled out plans for its 2012 Wellness Program, which offers a number of incentives to employees who participate in healthy lifestyle activities and medical assessments that will be hosted throughout the year. Also, as part of this year’s program, each month’s Wellness Wednesdays lunch and learn session will be themed to a specific aspect of physical health, and employees will be able to manage their progress with Blue Cross Blue Shield’s personal online and telephone services.

February is appropriately themed, “Heart Health Month.” To kick off the month, Health Solutions, a Blue Cross Blue Shield partner, will conduct free biometric screenings for all employees at the Water Tower, Lake Shore, and Health Sciences campuses. The biometric screening involves height, weight, and blood pressure measures and a finger-stick blood test. The results will be given on site.

Screenings will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (WTC and LSC) and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (HSC) on the following days:

Water Tower Campus: February 8 & 9, Beane Hall
Lake Shore Campus: February 14 & 16, Simpson Living Learning Center, Multipurpose Room
Health Sciences Campus: February 20 & 21, Stritch School of Medicine Building, Room 160

Sign up by visiting: www.hsscreeningreg.com. Login: loyola; Password: healthy

Deborah Meister, director of compensation, benefits, and HRIS for Human Resources, encourages all employees to take advantage of the free biometric screening because, “It starts their year off right. It allows someone to share their information with their doctor, so the doctor then has statistics to use when working with a patient throughout the year.”

Participating in February’s biometric screening is just one of the five ways employees can earn a $50 Cash Wellness Award (Note: you must participate in the Loyola Advantage Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Health Plan to be eligible for the $50 cash reward). Employees will be eligible for the reward if they participate in two of the following five wellness initiatives: biometric screening, health risk assessment, annual physical, mammogram, and annual dental exam. The rewards will be paid out through payroll checks quarterly, beginning in April. To learn more, including how to submit your information to Human Resources, visit LUC.edu/hr/wellness.

Employees can also navigate their path to healthy living thanks to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Care Connection, which provides an online Personal Health Manager. Employees will be able to go online to read healthy recipes and health articles, ask a medical professional about a health issue, attend a virtual smoking cessation course, and access many other resources. Employees can also earn Blue Points for logging healthy activities into the system. You can access the Personal Health Manager by visiting www.bcbsil.com. More information on the system is also available at LUC.edu/hr/wellness.

In addition to the biometric screenings, employees can sign up for Weight Watchers for a reduced corporate rate of $35.95 per month. The classes will occur during lunchtimes on all three campuses. Loyola will reimburse employees who meet 80 percent participation during the 13-week course. Reimbursement, which will be 50 percent of each month’s cost, will be distributed after completion of the 13-week course. Click here to learn how to enroll.

The University chose to adopt monthly themes for the Wellness Wednesday Lunch and Learn presentations as a way to keep people engaged, says Meister. “People might not be interested in every topic, but certainly there’s at least one topic over the year that will interest them.” She adds, “By separating the programs, we’ll be able to really zero in on one area each month.”

March is National Nutrition Month, so the University will host programs centered around its theme, “Nutrition in a Nutshell.” For a list featuring each month’s theme, click here.

For more information about the 2012 Wellness Program, please visit LUC.edu/hr/wellness.

Children involved with the Africa Circle of Hope Foundation gather with this cameras.

Ordinarily when kids snap a picture, it may end up e-mailed to a relative or hanging on the family refrigerator.

For the children who are involved with the Africa Circle of Hope Foundation, however, their photos will be displayed in the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) as part of the This Is Home: Youth Document Life in a Nairobi Slum exhibition opening February 3 in the museum’s Push Pin Gallery.

But their story is not the average adolescent’s.

The children live in the Mahare slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Africa Circle of Hope Foundation Vice President and Loyola Professor Kay Felkins describes the place as an informal settlement, with raw sewage running down the roads, and where crime and violence are commonplace. The children have faced many difficulties in their lives, many of them orphans, and have struggled with poverty, HIV/AIDS, and limited opportunities. In light of these hardships, Felkins says their optimism is impressive.

“As the exhibition shows, these children are remarkably resilient with strong faith and genuine appreciation for what little they have,” she says. “These young people have dreams and we want to help them reach their dreams and develop their potential.”

Felkins has been able to do this through her work with Africa Circle of Hope Foundation, which she co-founded, and their partner in Nairobi, Good Samaritan Children’s Home. The foundation works with the home to provide scholarships for school uniforms, fees, and tuition costs in hopes of giving these students a chance to get ahead. Felkins says the optimism of the home’s director motivated her to want to make a difference.

“I was also inspired by the dedication and faith of the founder and director of Good Samaritan, Mercy Thuo,” she says. “As Mercy says, ‘We live in the slums but our minds do not have to be in the slums. Education is the way out.’ These children have had a hard life and they deserve a chance to get an education and have an opportunity for a better future.”

Aside from fundraising for these students, Felkins got the idea for the photography project after a recent trip to the region where she witnessed first-hand the students’ fascination with cameras and taking pictures of themselves. She brought back disposable cameras and journals for 10 students at Good Samaritan and asked them to document their lives. For many, it was their first time holding a camera.

Felkins brought back the photos and showed them to School of Communication Manager of Technology Jamason Chen, who suggested a display in LUMA and volunteered to curate the exhibition. Felkins says the students were excited just to have the chance to take photographs, but were elated when they found out they would be displayed in a museum in the United States. Many of the students who took the photos are now in secondary school and beginning their way out of the slums, but she is bringing cameras back to Good Samaritan when she goes back to Nairobi in May in hopes of giving more students the chance to document their lives.

For Felkins, a professor in the School of Communication, this project and the Africa Circle of Hope Foundation have been a huge part of her experience as an educator and communications professional.

“This experience and others I have had in Kenya over almost 10 years have enriched my life and my teaching by giving me the opportunity to take my research and communication skills into the world,” she says. “My research and project development in Kenya is also part of my responsibility to the mission of Loyola University Chicago with ‘education in the service of humanity.’”

In the future, she hopes to create connections between the School of Communication and the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, focusing on communications and storytelling about the largely under-reported on region.

For now however, putting a camera and journal in the hands of these kids is the first step toward a better future.

“As the exhibition shows, these children are remarkably resilient with strong faith and genuine appreciation for what little they have,” she says. “These young people have dreams and we want to help them reach their dreams and develop their potential.”

Lisa Reiter, director of campus ministry at Saint Louis University since 2005, has been named the new Director of Campus Ministry at Loyola University Chicago.

2/1/12

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Reiter as the new Director of Campus Ministry, effective Monday, March 19, 2012.

Lisa Reiter began her professional ministry as a Youth Minister at St. Pius X Parish in Cedar Rapids, IA, before moving to the Marianist Retreat Center in Eureka, MO, where she served as Retreat Director. She started at Saint Louis University as a Campus Minister, later being named Associate Director of Campus Ministry and finally serving as Director of Campus Ministry at Saint Louis University since 2005.

Lisa received her undergraduate degree from Loras College, Dubuque, IA, her Masters Degree in Adult Christian Community Development from Regis University, Denver, CO, and will be defending her doctoral dissertation in Higher Education Leadership and Administration at Saint Louis University later this spring. Her dissertation topic is The Role of the Chief Student Affairs Officer in Promoting Jesuit Mission.

While Loyola is a Jesuit, Catholic institution, it prides itself in welcoming and serving students from a variety of faith traditions. The Department of Campus Ministry is dedicated to helping students deepen and further their relationship with God. All students are encouraged to participate in worship and prayer in their own faith traditions, and to collaborate with all students, regardless of faith tradition, in service and other activities that bring students of various faith traditions together. Lisa will have the chief responsibilities for coordinating these interfaith activities.

Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., president of the university, commented, “Lisa established herself as a competent and capable administrator at Saint Louis University. She appreciates the importance of a campus ministry program at a Jesuit, Catholic institution, has a deep understanding of Ignatian Spirituality and Jesuit higher education, and is well positioned to grow our program here at Loyola. We are very fortunate to have her leading our Campus Ministry team.”

Matt Razek, a student member of the Director of Campus Ministry Search Committee, said, “Lisa relates well to students. She’s approachable, very likeable, and I think she will do a great job as our new Director of Campus Ministry.  She values student opinion and works to include students wherever possible.” Lisa, after accepting her appointment stated, “I am thrilled to be coming to Loyola University Chicago. The Department of Campus Ministry has a strong foundation in serving the faith life of students. My hope is to build upon that foundation, and to support students in discovering the wisdom of their faith tradition and bringing that wisdom into dialogue, so that students have a spiritual and moral foundation to address the suffering of this world, and to work to create a just social order.” Lisa is dedicated to expanding faith formation programs and enhancing the ministry environment for students. She will work tirelessly to support and positively impact each student’s development, individual experience at Loyola, and success. She is committed as well to creating a vibrant and effective Catholic Ministry program.

I wish to thank the members of the Director of Campus Ministry Search Committee for their hard work and commitment and to thank all of you who participated in the selection process. I also want to thank Janet Sisler, who is serving as Interim Director of Campus Ministry until Lisa arrives. The Division of Student Development and partners will be hosting a reception to thank Janet Sisler for her contributions and welcome Lisa to the University later in March.

Please join me in welcoming Lisa to Loyola.

Robert Kelly, PhD
Vice President for Student Development

Physics instructor Wiletta Greene-Johnson, PhD (center), talking with two students outside of the Cudahy Science building.

Grammy-winning songwriter and physics professor usually don’t find a place on the same resume.

But for Loyola physics professor Willetta Greene-Johnson, PhD, conducting is part of her career and extracurricular: as a professor, she teaches courses on electricity and other physics principles, and as a musician, she conducts, arranges, produces, and performs classical music around Chicago.

One of Dr. Greene-Johnson’s most recent concert appearances included her arrangements for Concert III – The journey, the dream, Chicago Sinfonietta’s annual concert honoring Dr. Martin Luther King on January 15 and 16.

But how did this math and science whiz end up conducting one of Chicago’s most prestigious musical groups?

As it turns out, physics was her back up plan; music was her first love.

“As a child I really enjoyed music,” she says. “In second grade they played a piece, which I now realize was Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and there was something about the bigness of that music that really impacted, that went zoom zoom zoom on the inside of me. It says, hello I am here! And that began my love of orchestra.”

Dr. Greene-Johnson continued playing music throughout her youth, singing, learning piano and cello, and dabbling in guitar and clarinet. Though she wanted to major in performance in college, her parents, both scientists, pushed her in a more practical direction.

“My parents wanted me to eat,” she laughs. “A music degree wasn’t as shoppable as a science degree.”

In response, Johnson, who says she had always had a natural gift for understanding science and math, received her BS in physics from Stanford University, and later received her PhD from the University of Chicago in theoretical physics, but continued fine tuning her musical talents and finding connections between her academic interests and musical passion.

Today, Dr. Greene-Johnson has been able to find connections between physics and music that have deepened her comprehension of both topics.

“When I go to the studio I actually understand the waveforms of the recording and can understand the process, which we have learned in physics,” she says. “That side [also] pops up when I see the waveforms. It turns out that there are some analogies between standing strings in guitar and quantum physics: if you trap a lot of energy in a small space only certain things can exist, every time you move your finger you are changing a boundary condition.”

Despite this connection, she laughs and says most people (both scientists and musicians) can get confused, and sometimes it is better to keep the two separate. But she says she is happy to be at a place like Loyola, where unique teaching methods are encouraged.

In addition to teaching and personally practicing music, Dr. Greene-Johnson also started her own contractual music group, Strategic Music, Inc. and conducts the choir at her south-side church, the Apostolic Church of God. Mai-Ann Chen, conductor for the Chicago Sinfonietta, chose Dr. Greene-Johnson’s choir to perform three of her arrangements with the Sinfonietta orchestra, and invited her to conduct one of the arrangements.

Dr. Greene-Johnson (though her favorite piece is Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, second movement) says her musical tastes range from the Black Eyed Peas to rock guitar (“the angrier the better” she says), and she saw this same wide range in the music that the Sinfonietta performs.

“My collaboration is a very good match; they are also committed to diversity and introducing new works within the constraints of their classical training and reaching out to other kinds of music,” she says. “This match is good for me, as that is what I also aim to do.”

In the future, Dr. Greene-Johnson says she hopes to go back to school to study conducting, plan a trip to Ireland to study Celtic music (which she describes as “beautifully coordinated”), and continue her work with Strategic Music, Inc.

For now, however, she is happy to strike a balance between her scientific and musical background.

“Music is as much about culture as it is about physical notes and sound compression waves,” she says.

Though murder is commonplace on the front page of many newspapers, one Chicago-based photojournalist seeks to go beneath the statistics and headlines to the story behind the communities ripped apart by youth violence. Carlos Javier Ortiz in his photo exhibition, Too Young To Die has captured the aftermath of youth violence in some of the most violent areas in the nation, the city of Chicago included.  His project has been in the works for five years, and this past Friday, Loyola’s School of Communication became the newest host of his work thus far.

Dean of the School of Communication Don Heider says Ortiz’s work came to his attention when acting as a juror for a series of grants for the Chicago Community Trust.  He says he was immediately struck by Ortiz’s dedication to the topic.

“We were very impressed with his work, that he had been working for several years to document the aftermath and the effects of youth violence in Chicago in a more in depth and meaningful way than we get in media today,” he says.

The photographs are visually striking and emotionally stirring; a collection of images that provoke questions and  provide a literal snapshot of the communities and families dealing with violence in their neighborhood. However, the subject matter and photographs are a figurative and literal step away from the School of Communication’s exhibitions in the past. Last semester featured the pop-art advertisements of commercial artist Laurie Rubin, which provided an example of how a professional could indulge in their artistic side while making a living. Though the tone of the two exhibitions is different, Dean Heider says Ortiz’s work sends the same message.

“Carlos is the same way, he is an artist but he is not a commercial artist,” he says. “He is doing more documentary work, but he is doing what he is passionate about.”

Cheryl Manley, events coordinator for the School of Communication, also points out that this exhibition is salient for the School of Communication. She says that Ortiz frequently goes to the scene of these crimes to photograph the aftermath, and consequently has been kicked out of many investigations, which begs the question of when people are allowed to document police proceedings. The issue at hand is Illinois’s eavesdropping law, which prohibits the audio recording of public police activity, and was discussed at a panel hosted by the School of Communication last Wednesday.

The School of Communication hosted an opening reception for the exhibition last Friday in the SOC lobby, where Ortiz answered questions about his work. In addition, guests were invited to write their thoughts about the photographs and the issue of youth violence on Post-It notes, which will be displayed as part of the exhibition.

This is also the first of a series of exhibitions that Dean Heider is hoping to do on the issue of youth violence in Chicago, including a screening of the film Woke Up Black in February and a possible panel of journalists who report on this issue later in the year. Dean Heider says this topic is one that doesn’t seem to go away, yet is continuously ignored in the media.

“It is not going away, it does not seem to be getting better,” he says. “Kids are dying in Chicago and I think it is good for us to be located in Chicago but a part of Chicago, and a part of the dialogue about what is happening in our city, and what we can do to stem the tide of violence.”

For more information on the events, visit the School of Communication website.

Print out your resumes and spend the evenings of January 30-February 2 learning how to get hired for entry-level jobs in journalism, advertising, public relations, and other communication fields. Loyola staff, alumni, and field professionals will be in Regents Hall on the 16th floor of Lewis Towers each of those days from 4-6 p.m. to offer advice about resumes,  interviews, and the importance of marketing yourself in person and on the web.

Cheryl Manley, office assistant and event coordinator for the SOC, says each two-hour long workshop will begin with a panel discussion and conclude with individualized instruction for students. “The first hour will be informative with heavy note taking, but the second half will be Q&A and small group meetings that will lead to more personalized information for a student’s career search,” she adds.

Edelman, ABC, Groupon, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun-Times are just some of the companies that have confirmed their attendance at these workshops.

Here’s the complete SOC Career Week schedule with event descriptions:

Monday, January 30 – “Resumes and Cover Letters”
Industry professionals will meet with students one-on-one to review these two job application necessities. Bring plenty of copies of both documents to have them edited to perfection.

Tuesday, January 31 – “Bragging Rights… And Wrongs”
Learn what’s missing and should be missing (hint, hint) from your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Online branding professionals will teach students the best practices for building a strong, web presence. Bringing your laptop is advised.

Wednesday, February 1 – “Ready, Set, Interview”
You may look great on paper, but seal the deal by mastering the art of the interview. Loyola’s improv group, the 45 Kings, will provide some comedic relief by showing ways to NOT get the job. Attendees will then practice their skills in several four-minute, speed dating style interviews with potential employers.

Thursday, February 2 – “Look the Part, Get the Job”
Five student models will sport their interview-appropriate attire that was purchased on a college student budget. Notable Chicago hair and clothing stylists will explain what looks make for a positive first impression.

Manley recommends students bring resumes and dress professionally for each of the workshops. Food from nearby eateries such as Flaco’s Tacos, Wow Bao, and other Water Tower Campus favorites will be served at each event.

The social media-focused “Bragging Rights…and Wrongs” is brand new this year. Heather Trulock, career counselor at the Career Development Center, believes it’s a timely topic and warns, “It’s not just enough to be online” anymore. She adds, “Because there are more candidates than open positions, having a strong branded online presence is essential in differentiating yourself from the competition and landing your dream job or internship.”

On Tuesday, February 7, students can impress potential employers with their new job-seeking skills at the SOC Career Fair from 3-5:30 p.m. in Kasbeer Hall in the Corboy Law Center, located at 25 E. Pearson.

Martin Gahbauer, employer relations coordinator for the Career Development Center, confirms that 20 companies have signed up for the fair, including Chicago Public Media (WBEZ), Groupon, and Walker Sands Communications. He says it’s typical for others to register last-minute.

Businesses will pursue candidates for full-time positions and part-time internships, so students of all class levels are encouraged to attend.

Gahbauer advises job-seeking students to “have their resumes in hand, have done research on the companies and positions they are interested in, and be dressed smartly in business attire.”

The SOC Career Week/Fair has yielded success stories in the past. Dene Brown, a 2011 graduate, was a Career Week makeover model last year. Brown was a then long-time employee at Victoria’s Secret, and her wardrobe consisted of sweatpants, low-cut shirts, and graphic tees. During Career Week, she scored an interview at a mid-size advertising agency in the north suburbs. The interview, which was scheduled the day after the makeover fashion show, went swimmingly, and Brown got the job. She credits the makeover for much of her success and says she learned a valuable lesson during that week: “Let your creativity speak through your words and work — not your hair and clothes.”

The four workshops during the SOC’s Career Week are open to undergraduate students from any school. However, the Career Fair is restricted to students with SOC majors/minors.

According to Tim Cunningham, student community liaison officer, the videos came out of a desire to find a new way to bring the safety message to students. In addition, Cunningham says the last campus safety video was a little outdated, to say the least.

“I found a VHS copy of the campus safety video that was made here in 1988; everyone looks like they are in a John Hughes movie,” he says. “Hopefully we do not go another 23 years before we make another safety video.”

Rest assured, these videos are up-to-date. Written, directed, and produced by Loyola theater students, the videos are split into four chapters that each deal with a different aspect of safety on and around campus: Residence Hall Safety, Secure Your Belongings, Internet Security, and Mitch Rambles Off Campus. Instead of a lecturing tone, the videos feature situational-vignettes, starring the character Mitch (senior Paul Dunna), a Loyola student who does not always make the safest decisions; a mysterious hooded criminal who is always there to catch Mitch unawares; and Amy (senior Kelsey Ping), a guardian angel character who saves Mitch from various predicaments around campus.

The subjects of the video are beyond the usual “don’t walk in dark alleys alone at night” and “don’t leave your bag unattended.” Campus Safety also explores best practices in terms of Facebook (both in terms of identity theft and what future employers may discern from your pictures) and drinking off campus, among other topics. Cunningham says the videos were a collaboration between several different Loyola departments, which lent range to the topics covered and ensured the safety messages are the same across the board.

“It wasn’t one person’s idea of being safe on campus,” he says. “It was more of a unified response about how to stay safe on campus.”

Though there are no set plans, Cunningham says the videos will serve several purposes around campus. In the future, the videos may be sent out with crime alerts, play on the digital screens, and be incorporated into University 101 curriculum. In addition, it may serve as filler between movies on the Residence Life-run movie channel.

Though the videos are split into four parts, Cunningham says that one video isn’t necessarily more important to watch over another; they all offer advice that would be helpful at some point during a student’s time at Loyola.

“Our biggest concern is to be proactive on educating students,” he says. “[Each video] has their place: someone who is a commuter doesn’t necessarily need to watch the residence life video, but maybe sometime down the line they may move on-campus or have an apartment, and then it would be helpful.”

“Everything in those videos can be a benefit to anyone,” he adds.

Watch the Campus Safety videos here. For more information or to give feedback on the videos, visit the Campus Safety website here.

The conference, which will last from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., consists of a series of workshops that will teach students how to market themselves professionally and how to establish one’s self as an ally for social justice. With the variety of workshops being offered, there will be topics relevant for students of all years and majors, says Shannon Howes, director of student leadership development.

The day will consist of educational sessions, a lunch and keynote address, and closing remarks, during which time attendees have the chance of winning prizes, including a Kindle and VISA or Target gift cards.

Beginning at 9 a.m., all attendees will gather in Simpson Multipurpose Room for registration, where coffee and bagels will be served. After opening remarks from Robert Kelly, PhD, vice president for student development, students will break off to attend separate workshops, all of which are located in various venues on the Lake Shore Campus (A detailed schedule will be provided at registration).

Four sessions will be offered during each of the three workshop time slots, which last one hour and 20 minutes. Each student can choose the ones most applicable to his/her aspirations. The 12 sessions being offered include You are the Core of Social Justice, Strategies for Effective Time Management, and a session about Icebreakers, Energizers, and Team-Building activities.

The Student Leadership Institute is beneficial for students of all ages, but for seniors about to emerge into the job market, there is a “Career Track” being offered which includes the workshops: Transferable Skills, Being a Leader in a Bigger Pond, and Managing Your Supervisor. Howes says this track was designed for students “looking to their next step past graduation.” The Career Track sessions, which will be lead by staff from the University’s Career Center, offer practical guidance for the working world.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Mia Henry, director of the Chicago Freedom School.

Howes said Henry was selected as this year’s keynote speaker because, “Her message and the work that she does is consistent with the values of the University: empowering young people to make a difference, raise awareness about social justice, and what role people can play in addressing any issues in injustice and what steps we can take to make change.”

In addition to becoming leadership literate, conference participants will earn nearly half of the requirements for Loyola’s Leadership Development Certificate, a designation students receive after completing at least seven of the dozen workshops offered by the Student Leadership Development office throughout the semester.

Pre-registration for the free event is not required. However, students who are certain they will attend should e-mail leadership@luc.edu so that conference administrators have a more accurate headcount for meals.

For more information about the Student Leadership Institute, please visit click here.

Elizabeth Mhangami (BA ‘07) founded Vanavevhu, an organization dedicated to helping children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in her home country of Zimbabwe.

“The 10 years I lived here were spent figuring out how to get back home,” says Elizabeth Mhangami (BA ’07). Mhangami moved from her hometown of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to the United States in 1999, a year after her high school graduation. She moved back to Bulawayo in 2009, where she now works as the founder and executive director of Vanavevhu, an organization that assists children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic.

Vanavevhu, which means “children of the soil,” is based in Chicago, although it operates in Bulawayo. The seed of the idea that became Vanavevhu had started to grow in Mhangami’s mind in 2003. That year, through the Rotary club in Chicago, Mhangami organized an effort to send medical supplies to Zimbabwe in light of the country’s mounting political and economic troubles.

“It was important to me to be involved in what was going on at home,” says Mhangami. “I was a citizen in the diaspora with access to resources.”

But Mhangami soon began to question the ways she could and should contribute to her home country. “I started studying political science, post-colonial Africa, and dependency and aid, and I started questioning what my role was,” she says. “I started wanting to be effective in a way that would be more empowering than handouts.”

Mhangami transferred from Harold Washington to Loyola in 2005 and began focusing her studies on the transition of women from informal to formal actors on the international political stage.

“Through reading and gathering all this knowledge, I began to identify my position and my politics,” Mhangami says. “I came to read about children who were heads of household as a result of AIDS. Zimbabwe was becoming the country in sub-Saharan Africa with the highest number of orphans.” According to Mhangami, the phenomenon of child-headed households was first recorded in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. It became clear to her that AIDS was creating a similar community in Zimbabwe.

After graduating from Loyola in 2007, Mhangami pursued a master’s degree in women’s and gender studies at DePaul. She registered Vanavevhu in Chicago. “I named the organization before I knew what I would be doing,” she says. “I started finding where my purpose could be.”

In 2008, Mhangami traveled to Zimbabwe to do research for her thesis. It was the first time she’d been back in nearly a decade. “I started assessing how practical it would be for me to move back,” she says. “Zimbabwe had just had a pretty violent election, and that helped me make the decision.” She moved in December of 2009.

“I was one of those kids who grew up in Zimbabwe watching MTV ,” Mhangami recalls. “When I was told I was coming to America, I was excited. I thought it would be like Fresh Prince or Saved by the Bell. But when I got there, I learned there’s no place like home.”

Vanavevhu now works with 11 households supporting 60 dependents. The youth who are heads of their household range in age from 14 to 22. Eight are girls and three are boys, and they are largely the firstborn. Some have been taking care of themselves and their siblings for as long as six years.

“We select the households we work with by looking for youth who have been involved in entrepreneurial activities or informal trade on their own,” says Mhangami. “They’ve been able to take care of their families and survive—especially in 2007–8, when the country saw hyperinflation rates—without descending into illegal activities. These youth managed to do what work was available with little education and few skills, and they made enough money to continue.”

John Rex-Waller, CEO of National Surgical Hospitals, is active on the board of Vanavevhu in Chicago. He was born in Zambia and raised in Zimbabwe, and he connected with Mhangami through the Rotary club project that sent supplies in 2003. “I watched the idea develop,” he says, of Vanavevhu. “When she was ready to move, I wanted to help in any way I could to get the business on the ground.”

Rex-Waller, who met with the Vanavevhu youth during a visit in April, was impressed by their resolve. “They’re incredible. One of the kids was taking his incapacitated father to the hospital in a wheelbarrow, because he couldn’t walk,” he says. “Relatives would come in and take what they wanted from the household, but they couldn’t afford to look after the kids. So the kids just said, what now? They put their siblings through school and fed them. They have had a really tough time, but there’s no sense of victimization there. They just figure it out.”

Vanavevhu works to educate the youth and sharpen their existing practical skills. It provides childcare support and resources for food and utilities, valued at about $100 per month.

Originally, Mhangami thought that, with the financial support of Vanavevhu, the youth might be able to return to school, but she found that their experiences as heads of household made it difficult for them to go back to their old routines. “They’re not your conventional teenagers anymore,” says Mhangami.” The idea of putting that child back into the school system—especially in Zimbabwe, which is very top-down and authoritative—doesn’t work. A child who has been making life choices on her own and supporting a family is not going to thrive there.” Many of the youth no longer talk to friends they had in school and suffer additionally under the stigma of being an orphan.

“We took this as an opportunity to be creative and to provide them with a different sort of education,” says Mhangami. She borrowed from her experience at Loyola, where she ran a project called Rogers Park Yes—a youth entrepreneurship program.

“I borrowed that curriculum, contextualizing it to teach business development and entrepreneurial skills,” she says. Vanavevhu started a market garden, through which the youth learn agriculture and sell vegetables to the local community. They began candle-making and beekeeping projects. Mhangami hopes they will eventually be able to start a for-profit beekeeping enterprise producing honey and beeswax candles. Because there are three or four power cuts a week, every household buys candles.

The agricultural industry has also suffered.

“We no longer produce sugar; we import it,” says Mhangami. “Honey would contribute to the rebuilding of the economy. These are local products that can be consumed, and the youth are making something of themselves in a difficult environment.”

The youth come in to Vanavevhu Mondays through Thursdays from 10 to 4. For the first two hours, they work in the garden, making beds, watering plants, or planting crops. In the afternoon, they split into two cohorts—one that has been with the organization for over a year, and a newer group. The older group works on small business courses, making candles, and doing beekeeping. They then sell the candles they’ve made, putting coursework into practice and trying to make a little money.

“What’s fun about Vanavevhu is how theory is being turned into practice, which is really exciting to me, having spent so much time in academia,” says Mhangami. The second, newer cohort is in security and stability training this year. They learn about hygiene, sexual responsibility, children’s rights, and budgeting and banking. They also participate in an intensive outreach program, in which Vanavevhu staff visit their homes every Friday to assess how they’re using groceries and dealing with health issues (some of the youngest siblings are HIV-positive). Vanavevhu also does social and emotional assessment of the youth, with the eventual goal of helping the head of the household reintegrate into the community.

Mhangami is pleased with the progress so far. “There have been challenges along the way, but our project has been really successful,” she says. “We have youth that have been so isolated from mainstream society, and just getting them to trust us as quickly as we have is a success.”

Rachel Slager, a Vanavevhu volunteer who spent three months in Zimbabwe, says she has been inspired by Mhangami. “She said she didn’t want to create a food program or apply a Band-Aid; she wanted to solve the problems,” Slager says. “I was compelled by her vision to create long-term solutions, to start small and ensure a measurable impact.”

Mhangami hopes the organization will continue to expand, adding new households and cohorts annually, as well as staff to support them. She also hopes Vanavevhu can start offering small business training to other underserved youth, aside from those that are heads of household. “The education system in Zimbabwe has deteriorated in the past 10 years,” Mhangami says. “A lot of kids are going to school, but what they’re getting isn’t practical in this environment. Entrepreneurial and practical skills will allow them, I hope, to start their own businesses.”

Mhangami has found the transition back to living in Zimbabwe to be challenging as well as rewarding. “The difficulty comes from living in a country that doesn’t look like the one you grew up in,” she says. “Driving down the streets, you look at a fountain in a park, and you remember the plumes of water that used to go up every 10 minutes. It doesn’t do that anymore.”

John Rex-Waller’s return to Zimbabwe this past April was his first in 30 years. His impressions are similar. “What struck me was the infrastructure, which is in desperate need of repair,” he says. “Roads need repair. Streetlights don’t work. Parking meters are rusting on the pavement; there are power outages. I remember Bulawayo as this pristine, wide-streeted place, but when I went back, it was all different.”

But he also sees reasons to hope.

“The optimism of the people in spite of what they’ve gone through is remarkable,” says Rex-Waller. “And now that the economy is dollarized, it’s expensive, but it’s stable.”

Mhangami is similarly optimistic. “I’m very lucky to be living at home in a moment of transition,” she says. “I can go to bed knowing that I’ve contributed to the rebuilding of a country. It’s satisfying. The political situation continues to rage
on—and depending on where you stand, it can look like things aren’t getting better. We are at the edge of either falling completely into utter chaos, or seeing ourselves come out of this in a positive way, and there are positive stories to tell. People are coming back. There is hope.”

Carlisle Rex-Waller, who is active in Vanavevhu and is married to John, underlines the aspirations of Mhangami and the organization. “What I would say, or reiterate, is what a terrific group of kids Elizabeth has recruited and what a wonderful rapport she has with them,” she says. “Despite the many challenges they have faced and that lie ahead, there is such a positive dynamic that one cannot help but feel very hopeful.”

Elizabeth Mhangami is now working on capacity-building, finding avenues of support, and recruiting people with the expertise to help make Vanavevhu
self-sustaining.

To learn more about the organization or to donate or become a volunteer, visit www.Vanavevhu.org.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Gitelson, an expert on political parties and elections, describes the current presidential race as a “circus… in the context of who’s been ahead at any given point in time” and as the “bloodiest” primary/caucus season he’s ever seen. Nearly all the candidates still vying for the nomination have seen the spotlight at some point in the past six months, but most moments of promise were short-lived thanks to attack advertisements from rivals or gaffes during the debates.

Romney is the only candidate who has consistently hovered at the top, withstanding jabs from GOP competitors who question his commitment to conservative values and criticize his role at the private-equity firm Bain Capital, where he is accused of laying off workers to boost the company’s profits.

For South Carolina, Gitelson predicts that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum will be Romney’s biggest competitor in the battle for the conservative vote, while Representative Ron Paul of Texas will likely be the top pick among 18- to 29-year-olds, as he was in Iowa and New Hampshire.

According to Politico, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has risen rapidly in the polls just days before the vote, as he tours the state touting his conservative conviction over that of the more moderate Romney. If Gingrich’s campaign keeps gaining momentum, he could lead the pack in Saturday’s race.

Gitelson says Romney could still solidify the nomination in South Carolina if he captures a sizable chunk of the state’s evangelical voter bloc. “If he’s able to carve into some of that support, it may be after South Carolina that he and his supporters say, ‘This race is over’.”

But don’t discount Florida or the Super Tuesday states, Gitelson warns. Sunshine State voters, who will hit the polls on January 31, are comprised of staunch conservatives and people who have migrated from other regions of the country, particularly senior citizens, meaning Floridians have different priorities than those in the earlier primary states.

On March 6, which is termed Super Tuesday, 10 states will have their respective primary or caucus, including Gingrich’s home state of Georgia and Romney’s home state, Massachusetts. Eight other states will host primaries between the Florida and Super Tuesday votes, but Gitelson believes the two aforementioned contests will be most telling.

The Illinois primary will be Tuesday, March 20, although the GOP’s nominee will likely be decided by this time.

Even if Romney’s winning streak continues through Florida, don’t expect Santorum, Paul, and Gingrich to concede instantaneously.

“As long as you have money, you can stay in the race,” Gitelson says.

Gitelson explains it was important for Santorum to place what was initially reported as second in Iowa so he could boost campaign momentum and, consequently, receive more monetary contributions. A recount of the vote tallies, which was released Thursday, shows Santorum topped Romney by 34 votes, although this count is not definite because results from eight of Iowa’s precincts couldn’t be verified.

Although Gingrich’s popularity has faltered, he’s still in the race and his Super PAC has spent millions of dollars on TV advertisements attacking Romney and selling Gingrich as the candidate more likely to defeat incumbent President Barack Obama in November.

If Romney is officially crowned as the nominee at the Republican National Convention beginning August 27 in Tampa, Florida, he’ll have to continue defending himself against the countless attacks and accusations brought forward by his Republican rivals.

Gitelson says Obama staffers are likely compiling “every clip of any statement by Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Santorum, Paul… that suggests Romney has been inconsistent,” to use as fodder for the general election.

When asked about Romney’s chances of defeating Obama on November 6, Gitelson says either candidate has a shot at winning, considering “the U.S. has just undergone the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression.” But he assures, “Obama has a difficult task ahead of him.”

I am pleased to tell you that Chris Murphy, M.Div, ACSW, has joined our work in Mission and Identity. Chris’s portfolio is twofold in its attention.  He will serve as Director of Staff Mission Formation, a role in which he creates and coordinates staff mission programming including staff orientations, retreats, and the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life program in addition to a variety of other initiatives.

Chris will also serve as the Faculty and Staff Chaplain. In this capacity, he serves as a resource to department chairs, department directors, deans, vice presidents, and faculty and staff more broadly. In short, Chris can be a resource to the University community in times of crisis. He comes with training and experience in assisting those of us facing life’s contingencies, including the feelings of loss and grief and the experience of illness and death. Chris has substantive training and experience in pastoral counseling. He has worked as an oncology chaplain in the clinical setting and comes to this role with a Masters of Divinity degree and as a trained social worker as well.

Chris’s office is located in the Granada Center, 335B, on the Lake Shore Campus. He can be reached by phone at 773.508.7431 and by e-mail at cmurph3@luc.edu.

It is my sincere hope that Chris can serve as a resource to you as we all share in the work of fostering a culture in which the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis can continue to take root in our University community. Please let us know how we might be of service to you.

Gratefully yours,

John Hardt, PhD
Assistant to the President, Mission and Identity

Herman Boone will share his experiences, depicted in Remember the Titans, with Loyolans when he visits campus on Saturday, January 21. Photo courtesy of Scott Giglio/FDU Public Relations

A heartwarming story about an African-American high school football coach in the South leading his newly-integrated team to a state championship title seems like something from a Walt Disney film — and it is, but it was first the real-life story of Herman Boone, who will share his experiences depicted in Remember the Titans with Loyolans when he visits campus on Saturday, January 21, as part of Loyola’s Spirit Week.

All Loyola students are invited to come meet the man who not only boosted his 1971  football team from Alexandria, Virgina to a second-place ranking nationally, but proved racial differences are no hindrance to camaraderie. The event will occur from 8-10 p.m. in the Sullivan Center Auditorium at the Lake Shore Campus.

Lindsy Fagerstrom, executive director of Loyola’s student-run Department of Programming, says their organization chose to bring Herman Boone to campus because they wanted a speaker with an athletic background and someone who has made strides in social justice.

“The topic of his lecture not only fits perfectly with Loyola’s Jesuit values, but also the athletic theme of the weekend,” Fagerstrom says.

In his speech, Boone will highlight his achievements as a coach and a mediator for his team at T.C. Williams High School and explain how individual, pioneering actions can correct a societal error.

Boone’s appearance will be the “anchor” to Spirit Week 2012, which spans January 19-21, says Matt Gebhardt, coordinator for Student Activities and Greek Affairs. There will be student tailgating prior to the men’s and women’s basketball games versus Valparaiso on Thursday evening and tailgating for the men’s volleyball game versus Penn State on Friday.

On Saturday, before Boone’s lecture,  the men’s and women’s basketball teams will face Butler, and students can once again tailgate in the Gentile Center concourse.

All Spirit Week events, including Herman Boone’s lecture, are free for Loyola students. However, to attend the athletic events, students must pick up tickets in the Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics, Terry Student Center, or Centennial Forum Student Union on January 18 or 19.

For a complete schedule of Spirit Week 2012 events, visit LUC.edu/spiritweek.

(detail) How We Met, David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge

Though the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is located on Michigan Ave., its newest and most innovative exhibition is hosted in a remote location–cyberspace.

Closer by the Minute, a year-long installation hosted at LUC.edu/closerbytheminute, is a series of videos created by filmmakers and video artist husband-wife team David and Hi-Jin Hodge. Each month, through September, a new video piece will be released, exploring diverse personal, societal, and metaphysical interest, provoking questions about life and change through many perspectives and the video medium. Then, from September to December, all of the videos will be available together.

Pam Ambrose, director of cultural affairs at Loyola and director of LUMA, says she was first introduced to the Hodges’ work when they had an installation in the 2006 LUMA exhibition The Missing Piece: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. The Hodges created a visual art experience that surrounded the viewer with a mounted display of video iPods, each playing a recording of someone talking about the idea of impermanence (Impermenance-Embracing Change).  Ambrose, who says she ordinarily isn’t a fan of technological art, was intrigued and continued to follow their work. A few years later she found out about Closer by the Minute and was fascinated by the questions that were posed.

“The issues they deal with [are ones] that in contemporary society we ask ourselves a lot. Maybe now in this decade, more than any other decade [ever],” she says. “How do we want to be remembered? What contribution do we want to make in the world?…How do we remember things, events in our lives that have significance to us? And also the eternal question: how do we address our final days on Earth?”

“I saw these questions and the videos as a direct connection to the LUMA mission,” she adds.

Throughout the year, this online installation will feature videos that discuss diverse issues including love, oil dependence, competition, fleeting tourism, and death (to name a few). To kick off the exhibition, the January installation, titled How We Met features 30 videos of couples retelling the story of their relationship, from their first meeting to where they are now. February’s installation, I win, features David and Hi-Jin Hodge saying  “I win” back and forth to each other in different fluctuations to the point, from the perspective of Ambrose, of negating the others’ winning, and provoking the question of what is being won.

But the installations won’t only feature interviews. June’s installation Watertime features a time lapse of the ocean outside the artists’ house (in the San Francisco area) with one shot taken each day of the same stretch of ocean for an entire year, providing a natural example of permanent change. Life on Wheels, the installation for September, explores our society’s dependence on the car, both as logistical transportation and integral cultural object.

“All in all, each of these nine questions explore and are metaphors for life,” says Ambrose. “They are extremely important.”

Ambrose initially thought to host the exhibit in nine rooms, with audience members watching one video then moving onto the next.  However, she said having a video exhibition provides the opportunity for an atypical viewing experience.

“In this case the medium is the message,” she says. “If we were doing an [online] exhibition of paintings, what we would show is images in the exhibition with text. In that regard it is a replica only. In this case [Closer by the Minute], we are showing people talking that have been taped, through video and through film. It makes perfect sense that we would view it [online], in contrast to a sculpture or painting that would be needed to see in person, that couldn’t be experienced in any other way.”

In addition, she added this exhibition offers another way to address LUMA’s focus on spirituality, a contrast from the permanent Martin D’Arcy Collection that focuses on depictions of religious figures. Closer by the Minute provides a perspective that focuses on life questions, rather than dogma.

“The Hodges are great questioners, they ask great questions,” Ambrose points out. “You look at these videos, or the interviews, and you start to ask the questions yourself.”

To view the exhibition click here. To view more of the Hodge’s work, visit their website here. To find out more about LUMA, click here.

Poet and civil rights activist Nikki Giovanni will visit Loyola on February 1. Photo courtesy of www.nikki-giovanni.com.

On Monday, January 16, Loyola University Chicago students, faculty, and staff will have the day off in memory of Martin Luther King Jr., but some will spend the holiday working in Chicago’s lower-income communities. This day of service complements the University’s annual MLK luncheon and keynote lecture, occurring Wednesday, February 1, which will feature poet and civil rights activist Nikki Giovanni.

The MLK luncheon runs from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Kasbeer Hall at 25 E. Pearson on the Water Tower Campus. Giovanni’s keynote address will occur later that same evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., on the 4^th floor of the Klarchek Information Commons at the Lake Shore Campus. Tickets are not required for either event, but space is limited so attendees are advised to arrive early.

Giovanni has spent her life as a voice for civil rights and equality — issues that resonate with members of the Loyola community who take the University’s mission to heart. In her appearances at Loyola, Giovanni will share her captivating stories and inspire individuals in the audience to embark on their own path toward making a difference.

“In many ways, Giovanni symbolizes the struggles and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” says Sadika Sulaiman Hara, director of the Department of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

The luncheon and lecture are sponsored by the Department of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Campus Ministry, and Water Tower Campus Life. The University-wide MLK Planning Committee organized the events.

On MLK Jr. Day, the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) will volunteer with City Year, an AmeriCorps program, to repaint and renovate facilities at the Henry Ford Powerhouse High School, Bethune School of Excellence, and the North Lawndale YMCA on Chicago’s west side, according to Mary Bird, director of public service programs for the Loyola School of Law. BLSA and other law students will join more than 800 other volunteers for this project.

Law students will also volunteer to teach children about exercise and nutrition at the MLK Healthy Kids Challenge on Saturday, January 21, at Christ the King Jesuit High School in the Austin neighborhood. Loyola law students will share a well-balanced lunch with the children as well.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Patrick Kraft, PhD, says this is the fourth year that Loyola basketball has hosted an appreciation night, and it is an integral part of recognizing the work that faculty and staff do to help the players.

“First and foremost we are an academic institution and we have scholar-athletes, we are proud of how they do academically and athletics are just a little part of it,” he says. “Academics play a major part in what we do.”

For a discounted price of $10 for adults and $5 for children, faculty and staff members will enjoy a game against Horizon League rival, Valparaiso, and be recognized throughout the game through videos featuring players expressing gratitude.  In addition, they will also have  the opportunity to participate in in-game promotions, like the PNC treasure chest, Pepsi half-court shot, fan of the game, and name that movie.

For Kraft, the game also is a chance for faculty and staff to be a part of the Loyola basketball tradition, saying they have the opportunity “to come out and cheer, and be a part of the excitement within Gentile Arena.”

Ultimately, the night will serve as a way to continue to tie together Loyola pride in academics and athletics.

“We are proud our athletes are very good students and we want that to continue,” Kraft says.

Faculty and staff should call (773-508-9653) or go to the box office in person to purchase tickets ahead of time. Discounted tickets can also be purchased on game day. To find out more information, visit the Loyola athletics site here.

Wayne Duehn (MSW ‘64), PhD, a leading figure in social work and social work education

Wayne Duehn, PhD
MSW ‘64 • Professor Emeritus, Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington

Wayne Duehn, PhD, grew up in rural Minnesota. He earned his BA at North Central College in Naperville, his MSW at Loyola, and his PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, and then moved to The University of Texas at Arlington, where he has been a faculty member since 1970, specializing in human sexuality and sexual abuse.

Man with a plan
I was always interested in social work. I chose Loyola because it had the best clinical program in the Chicago area. I knew I was always going to work with people, and service to the community was important to me.

On the right foot
I had the best foundation at Loyola. Our class had wonderful camaraderie, and the faculty was supportive. My first casework class in clinical practice was with Fr. Biestek [the late Felix P. Beistek, S.J., a Loyola professor for over 30 years]. He was nationally known, and I couldn’t have had a better way to get into the field.

Witnessing a revolution
I entered into my specific field completely by accident. In my studies in St. Louis, I had the opportunity to be a research associate at the Masters and Johnson Institute—they were really the first sex researchers in the nation. It was a topic of conversation around the country. Even social work itself was an emerging field—my PhD in social work from Washington University was the first one they ever awarded.

Double duty
When I came to Texas, I began to teach one of the first social work courses on human sexuality, and, in my practice, I began seeing both victims and offenders of sexual abuse. Social work is a profession—it’s not just about gaining knowledge; it’s about doing. I’ve been really involved in clinical practice, and that has enhanced my teaching. It actually made teaching easier, because I could bring real examples into the classroom to demonstrate the theoretical principles.

Pioneering spirit
I’m proud to have advanced the field of child protective services, providing knowledge about the dynamics of abuse, neglect, and prevention.I believe I was a frontrunner in trauma-informed practice, which means dealing with the aftermath of traumatic experience.

The changing landscape
Sexuality in general has been a taboo subject, and, for years, sexual abuse was not spoken about. I’ve seen an increase in community awareness, and through advocacy, caregivers are now more able to recognize signs and symptoms. The stigma of reporting abuse and neglect is not as great as it once was, and our clinical skills have evolved.

Alternate reality
If I had to go back and choose another path, I would want to be a lawyer—an advocate for children.

Life these days
I’m still actively consulting and doing training throughout the country. I’m out on the road once a week. I do have more time to spend with my granddaughter, work in my backyard, and play with my Great Dane, Bismarck.

Bismarck, you say?
My “down” command to my dog is, “sink,” and he hits the floor and lies very still. The only thing he can’t control is his tail.

Family life
I met my wife, Barbara, at North Central. We’re celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this year. I have a daughter in telecommunications and a granddaughter who’s a pistol, and I’m trying to spoil her rotten.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Scholars participating in the Democracy, Culture, and Catholicism International Research Project visit Macchu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca site in Peru.

How does Catholicism facilitate or inhibit democracy? How does the answer vary in different cultural contexts? These questions are the focus of a study that has been under way through Loyola’s Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage for about a year and a half. Thirty-two scholars from Chicago, Peru, Lithuania, and Indonesia, representing 17 academic fields, are studying the complex relationship between Catholicism and democracy in different cultural contexts. They have presented their initial findings at colloquia in those nations, and the results have been illuminating. Eleven of the researchers are Loyolans.

“The comparisons and contrasts are fascinating,” says Michael Schuck, director of the Hank Center and an associate professor in the Department of Theology. “In Lithuania, the Catholic church embraced democratic principles under Soviet oppression. In the post-Soviet era, the church is more reticent with the results of democracy—political freedoms are not always in line with moral teachings of the Church, despite the official recognition of democracy as a good thing.”

Census information indicates that over 80 percent of Lithuanians are Catholic. In Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, Catholics represent just 3 percent of the population. “The Catholics in Indonesia are stalwart defenders of democracy,” says Schuck. “There’s a reason—they’re a minority, and democratic principles protect them. The research has been very clear about the commitment of the Indonesian Catholic church to citizenship and absolute value of democracy.” Schuck describes this phenomenon as one of the clearest and most striking conclusions to emerge from collective research.

In contrast, between 80 and 90 percent of Peruvians are Catholic, and the history of the Church in that country is particularly thorny.

“In a post-colonial context, where a Catholic hierarchy tended to be reliant on the landed aristocracy, this kept a large part of the population in poverty,” says Schuck. “There was poor land distribution, causing revolutions in Peru and throughout South America in the 1960s and ‘70s. Peru is now a democracy, of course, and you have Jesuits on the ground who are promoting the rights of the poor, and then you have Catholics in the First Estate—part of the old order—who are grudging of that.”

According to Schuck, Catholic radicals and liberals often disagree with the official church in Peru. “Lithuanian Catholics, for example, are less prone to conflict with the Church,” Schuck says. “Peruvian Catholics are quicker to speak critically of the hierarchy.”

Schuck believes that the differing and complex manifestations of democracy and Catholicism are what make both systems fascinating and vibrant in our world. “Catholicism doesn’t just mean the Pope and Rome,” he says. “In the real world, it’s played out locally. It’s not a hierarchical monolith; it’s a wonderful mix.”

In June 2012, the researchers participating in the Democracy, Culture, and Catholicism International Research Project will present their completed research in Rome.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Elizabeth Coffman, PhD, faculty member in the School of Communication and maker of the documentary film Veins in the Gulf.

The Louisiana coast is the fastest disappearing landmass in the world. According to Elizabeth Coffman, PhD, a football field’s worth of land disappears there every 45 minutes.

“Protecting the coastal area and starting to restore it are vital,” Coffman says. “This is the first coastal area to go under, but it won’t be the last.”

Coffman, a faculty member in the School of Communication, and Ted Hardin, with whom she made the documentary Veins in the Gulf and with whom she is the co-founder of media company Long Distance Productions, were introduced to the story of the disappearing wetlands seven or eight years ago, before Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast. Coffman, a Florida native, was teaching at the University of Tampa with Louisiana poet Martha Serpas, who is the guide and narrator of the documentary.

“She introduced us to many of the participants in the film, who run the gamut from politics to the media to other writers to environmental scientists,” says Coffman.

When Katrina hit in 2005, the area was suddenly the focus of national attention. “We started following the story of wetland loss after Katrina and Rita, and then when Gustave and Ike hit a few years later, we started more seriously following the community trying to save their homes,” says Coffman.

The challenges facing the Louisiana coast are numerous and complex. “For example, when you build levees, you destroy wetlands,” says Coffman. But without levees, people’s homes are in danger. And sea level rise will only continue.

Veins in the Gulf shows imagery of the Louisiana coast now and in the past and features levee board politicians, water specialists, engineers, and musicians speaking about their home, their perspective on the imminent challenges, and proposed solutions. “We’re on everybody’s side, and we’re letting the community tell the story,” Coffman says. Solutions, however, are as complex as the problems they face.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 again thrust the coast into the national spotlight. “It took us a few years to understand how these competing interests intersect,” Coffman says. “Oil companies’ activities in the marsh lead to erosion, but oil companies have also given significant funds to research and preservation. Plus, a majority of people are employed by oil and seafood. It’s not as simple as to say, oh, the oil company is the bad guy. It’s not binary. People want to keep their jobs; they don’t want the oil company to leave, but they don’t want it to pollute the seafood and the environment. Really, we are looking at a very vulnerable area.”

One solution proposed in the documentary is the piping of sediment through pipelines, which is then dumped on the coast. “This is what the local communities want financed to slow down coastal land loss, and it’s been demonstrated to work,” Coffman says. “This is a conversation among people in political office, levee directors, environmental scientists—it’s really collaborative problem solving.” A copy of the film was given to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Coffman hopes the documentary will make the case for the pipeline sediment solution, as well as draw further attention and funding to the issue.

Coffman is hopeful about the future of the area, and she holds the outcome close to her heart. “One of the documentary’s main subjects is Kerry St. Pe’, who has led conservation efforts in southern Louisiana for decades. He has a long commitment to restoring and saving his home,” Coffman says. “He suffered a stroke while making this film. The stroke was mild, but it was enough to slow him down and affect his speech. Seeing the commitment of people like Kerry, as well as that of people who may have seemed like they were on the other side of the fence—politicians or people who work for oil—seeing how people came together and committed to this issue, regardless of the disasters, was, to me, emotionally gripping.”

Coffman believes that the unflappable commitment of those who live in the area will be the thing that ultimately leads to a solution. “They know how intertwined the culture is with the landscape, and they want to keep both from disappearing,” Coffman says. “These people aren’t leaving.”

To learn more about the documentary and its subject, visit www.veinsinthegulf.com

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Thomas Mackey (BSN ‘74) works with the Clinton Health Access Initiative to help train nurses in Rwanda.

Alum in the Field

Current faculty and students aren’t the only Loyolans working for improved nursing education around the world. Alumnus Thomas Mackey (BSN ’74), a longtime nursing professor at the University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, is working with a team of educators from around the country to enhance medical and nursing education in Rwanda. The nursing part of the initiative, organized through a partnership between the Rwandan government and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, aims to send American professors to live and work in Rwanda in order to educate and upgrade the certification level, over the course of seven years, of all of the country’s 6,600 nurses.

Mackey, who is spearheading the efforts of the nursing component for the University of Texas School of Nursing, has long been committed to health care overseas. In the late 1960s, he spent two years doing medical work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the aftermath of a 1964 rebellion.

“I was a 19-year-old kid delivering babies. I was learning what I was doing by looking at medical books,” Mackey recalls.

The experience was both shockingly different from what he had known in the U.S. and hugely formative. Mackey remained involved in international activities, and has since been to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.

When he was approached, because of his interests and experience (he also speaks French and Swahili), about the new collaboration in Rwanda, he initially had his doubts.

“I was skeptical at first because of the lack of support I experienced in the Congo,” he says. But he went to visit anyway, and was surprised to find that the country and its infrastructure far exceeded his expectations. He became convinced that the health initiative could be successful. The first U.S. educators are expected to be on the ground in Rwanda in the spring of 2012.

Mackey, who received the Damen Award from Loyola in 2007, is facilitating the nursing component from the University of Texas for the time being, although he says he may find himself spending a year in Rwanda at some point.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Through the School of Communication, Loyola students are exposed to a number of student-media options that allow them to hone their journalism, editorial, and design/layout skills. A new publication, LU Chameleon, debuted back in November.

Student media on campus has gotten a little more colorful with the introduction of LU Chameleon, Loyola’s first ever alternative-themed publication, which debuted back in November.

Kim DeGuzman, sophomore journalism major and LU Chameleon editor-in-chief, says the idea for an alternative publication came from assessing what was addressed in campus media and, more importantly, what wasn’t.

Though originally DeGuzman wanted to pursue a “campus life” magazine, modeled after a similar publication at University of Nevada-Reno (where DeGuzman is from), Ralph Braseth, director of student media, said she should look for a niche that wasn’t already covered on campus. When he suggested an alternative-themed publication, DeGuzman wasn’t thrilled–until she realized alternative topics weren’t being covered on Loyola’s campus at all.

“I wasn’t too into the alternative theme, but when I realized we don’t have anything like this, that’s different, that is like, wow. That is kinda scary,” she says. “So [I thought] we will take this and run with this.”

DeGuzman decided the Chameleon would cover six themes (arts and entertainment, environment, feminism and gender, LGBTQA and sexuality, politics and social justice issues, and religion and spirituality) in a weekly, webzine format, with new content coming out each Friday. In addition, every day of the school week bloggers discuss a range of topics, from sexuality to fashion to religion.

The content runs the gamut, ranging from risque to family-friendly. Recent posts include an opinion piece on the dangers of the environmental movement, but also included a profile of Jesuit Father Jerome Overbeck and fashion inspired by the 1940′s decade. Though DeGuzman says the Chameleon has only had positive feedback, she anticipates backlash  for some of the more provocative content.  Luckily she says her writers know how to artfully discuss delicate issues.

“We don’t censor what we say…but our contributors know not to blatantly offend anyone. But basically everyone has been great,” she says.

Regardless, she points out that Loyola is a diverse campus, and the issues need to be discussed, rather than swept  under the rug.

“A college campus is a diverse place, and just because Loyola is Catholic doesn’t make it any less diverse,” she says. “Some of the people may just not realize it.”

DeGuzman also pointed out that LU Chameleon staff is mostly comprised of first- and second-year students, recruited from the introductory communication classes, as well as student organizations that are geared toward alternative themes. She says LU Chameleon is a way for younger students to get involved in a campus publication in a less intimidating setting.

“I think it is kind of unique because most of the other publications are run by juniors and seniors,” she says. “A lot of first-year students told me they felt really intimidated trying to get into that whole groove because these are people who are older and so used to doing what they are doing.”

“The articles that we published [for the first issue], that was some students first bylines in college,” she adds. “So I’m pretty sure they were excited about that.”

In the future, DeGuzman would like to see even more student involvement, increased coverage of diverse issues, and this year she would like to expand to be a monthly printed magazine.

For now, however, she and the staff of LU Chameleon are uncovering the diversity that the University has to offer.

“Loyola isn’t exactly what you think it is,” she says. “There are awesome things around every corner.”

Check out the LU Chameleon website here and follow them on Twitter. To get involved, e-mail Kim DeGuzman at kadeguzman.24@gmail.com.

Back in October, the Center for Integrated Risk Management and Corporate Governance co-sponsored the first of two seminars (pictured above) dedicated to the topic, "supply chain risk." Recently, the Graduate School of Business also announced the introduction of a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program, which will debut in the fall of 2012.

The Graduate School of Business has found another way to be on the cutting edge of management, with the new Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program debuting fall of 2012.

Maciek Nowak, director of the supply chain management program and professor in the Graduate School of Business, says supply chain management is a quickly growing field with a need for educated professionals.

“In the last 10 years, there has been a push to professionalize supply chain management,” he says. “Given that Chicago is this really international supply chain hub, there was really a need for educating these professionals.”

The program, which consists of 14 to 18 courses, will address how to work with all different parts of a supply chain, including synchronizing various partners, coordinating complex purchasing contracts, and coordinating multiple transportation modes. On a daily basis, Nowak points out that people could be a materials manager, bringing in the raw materials from around the world, or a transportation manager, who ensures that goods efficiently make their way from facilities to distribution, in addition to many other roles.

In addition, Nowak points out that there will be an emphasis on the ethics behind supply chain management.

Nowak asks, “In terms of working with foreign suppliers, when we are sourcing our product, in emerging economies, are we taking advantage of the people there? How do we keep that from happening? How do we make sure that we are not [negatively] leaving a mark environmentally?”

The program is also only one of two supply chain management programs in the Chicagoland area and the only Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited program in the state of Illinois. Nowak says he is excited to be on the cutting edge of a new career field and is excited to give Loyola students the chance to get on board early.

“I think being in Chicago and being in this very vibrant hub of supply chain activity, there are so many opportunities for jobs, for developing a strong career in supply chain in this community,” he says. “Having a specialized degree can open so many doors here in Chicago, as well as nationally and abroad.”

To find out more about the program, visit the program website here.

Nurses from Indonesia and Vietnam study at Loyola in order to become certified to teach other health workers in their home countries.

According to a 2006 World Health Organization report, there is a shortage of close to 4.3 million health workers around the globe. Loyola is striving to combat this shortage not only through the education of doctors, nurses, and support workers that takes place on campus every year, but also through an innovative new international program. A cohort of nurses from Vietnam and Indonesia are working toward a Master of Science in Nursing degree at Loyola in the hope that they will then be able to better address health care challenges in their home countries.

“Almost every student says he or she is accustomed to many patients and not many nurses educated at the baccalaureate level,” says P. Ann Solari-Twadell, PhD, RN , MPA, FAAN , a School of Nursing professor currently teaching Advanced Theory and Concepts.

The five Indonesian and six Vietnamese students, who work in health care where they live, first came to Loyola for a five-week course session and orientation to the program this past summer.

Patty McNally, EdD, MSM, of the Stritch School of Medicine, taught the first class—Leading Self and Others—to the international students. She describes the experience as both challenging and rewarding.

“It was an absolute delight,” McNally says. “We worked from a book introducing them to many concepts: recognizing who they are in their communities, what skills they bring, investigating emotional intelligence. They were engaged and intrigued to hear the role of the nurse in American society—here, nurses are largely recognized as an integral part of the health care team, perhaps more than in their home countries.”

After the five weeks at Loyola, the students returned home and now take their courses online for the remaining two years of the program. Solari-Twadell teaches her class at 7 a.m., which, for the students in both Indonesia and Vietnam, is 7 p.m.

“The focus of this course is to help them to think in a new way,” Solari-Twadell says. “So they choose a concept that is important to their work and will complete an analysis of that concept. For example, one student works in the community and has a particular interest in HIV . One works in pediatrics and is interested in how families of newborns are cared for. A couple are in medical surgical settings.”

The other part of the course focuses on nursing theory, and the students are also taking another class on nursing informatics.

“I have great admiration for the students,” says Solari-Twadell. “They are doing advanced studies in another language. They are challenged to comprehend and integrate this new knowledge into not only their settings, but into the health care culture and nursing education in their countries.”

Upon completion of the program, the students will be qualified to teach advanced nursing, thus passing on the knowledge and expertise gained to other health workers in their respective nations.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Amy Le (BA ’03) takes her first orders at the debut of her food truck, DucknRoll. Visit ducknrolltruck.com to learn more. Photo by Mark Beane

In Los Angeles and New York, food trucks have been a booming industry for the past couple of years. When Amy Le (BA ’03), who has long been passionate about the food industry and about starting her own business, visited LA, saw food trucks there, and experienced the food truck culture and community, she knew it was time to close her eyes and leap. “There are a lot of young chefs experimenting and contributing to this really cool culinary culture,” she says. “I wanted to be a part of it. And now is the time.” Le’s Chicago-based food truck, DucknRoll, opened for business in late October.

Le, who graduated from Loyola in 2003 with a communications degree, grew up in the restaurant business. Her mother owned two Chinese restaurants in St. Louis, and Le learned from a young age about the many roles and mechanisms that keep a restaurant afloat.

“From the time I could, I was washing dishes and working in the front and back of the house,” Le says. She also worked as a server and bartender in the tough job market she faced after graduation.

Le eventually started working for a Pioneer Press newspaper covering local news and Chicago politics. After five years there, she decided to leave print journalism to focus on online ventures.

“I felt that was the direction things were heading,” she says. She started as a blogger covering real estate, wanting to get more experience working for Internet companies. “Then I heard that GrubHub was looking for a social media manager, which would allow me to go back to my first passion, which is food.” GrubHub, then a startup with a handful of employees, is a Chicago-based company that allows customers to search for local restaurants and order delivery or takeout online. “I think I was employee number 15, and now they have over 200,” says Le. She worked for the company managing their social media presence and doing PR. “That was an incredible experience,” she says. “I got a chance to work with and help independent restaurant owners, and it combined my two career paths (communications and the restaurant business).”

It was hard for Le to leave GrubHub, but she felt the time was right, and she went with the support of her employers. “They are very supportive when it comes to helping out entrepreneurs,” she says. “When I went in to let Mike and Matt [Evans and Maloney, co-founders of GrubHub] know I was leaving to start my own business, it was bittersweet. But they knew I’d always wanted to do some sort of venture of my own.”

According to Le, there are just under 50 food trucks operating in Chicago, whereas in New York and LA there are hundreds. “I wanted to develop mine first, before the market is saturated,” she says.” That’s a big factor in the timing.”

She also understands the risks. “It’s kind of crazy, because we’re in a recession right now. The economy’s down—to make that decision to quit my job at a fast-growing Internet company to open my own business—it was a hard one.” Having grown up in her mother’s restaurants, Le knows the industry is a tricky one. “Very few restaurants actually make it—less than 4 percent,” she says. “It’s long hours. It’s a lot of work.”

But Le believes the rewards outweigh the challenges, and her mother, after some initial skepticism, helped her develop the concept and the plan for DucknRoll.

“When I first told my mother, she panicked. But she knew I’d wanted to do it for a long time,” Le says. Le’s business partner, Bing Zhou, owner of Chen’s and Koi Chinese & Sushi in Chicago, brought expertise in navigating the restaurant landscape and knowledge of Chinese cooking.

DucknRoll’s menu is inspired by Vietnamese bánh mi sandwiches and features duck as a prominent ingredient. The menu has a pan-Asian influence and is partially a tribute to Le’s mother, who immigrated to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee, sometimes serving Vietnamese food alongside the Chinese menu items that were her own restaurants’ main offerings.

“Duck represents good luck in many Asian cultures,” says Le. “It’s served at special holidays and events. This is a tribute to my mother and all the hard work she’s done.”

Le is excited about DucknRoll and being the co-owner of her own company, and she acknowledges the challenges as well. “Starting your own business is tough,” she says. “The challenge is that you have to expect the unexpected. There are a lot of things you can’t predict or control; you have to be adjustable to the unpredictable.” The food truck has had its own share of speed bumps and swerves as it’s moved into operation, but Le is glad to be doing what she believes is a natural career progression. “I didn’t take one straight path to get here, but it’s all connected,” she says. And at the root of it is a love and passion for food.

Story courtesy of Loyola magazine (Fall 2011).

Click here to choose from four options.

Dear Members of the Loyola Community,

As we gather with family and friends this month to reflect on the blessings of Advent, Hanukkah, a recently begun Islamic New Year, and other religious celebrations, we remember all that we have been given this year. We are grateful for the opportunity to teach, inspire, and to transform—and ourselves be transformed—by our interactions with students who, like us, seek to grow in faith and in knowledge. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to faculty, staff, administrators, and all members of the Loyola University Chicago community for your many contributions to our shared mission this semester and year.

I wish you and your family a very blessed holiday season and New Year. Also, I look forward to seeing you at our annual Christmas luncheon, which will take place this Wednesday, December 21, at 11:30 a.m. in the newly renovated Gentile Arena on the Lake Shore Campus.

Merry Christmas,

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President and CEO, Loyola University Chicago

Ann Marie Morgan, associate dean of students, and Lisa Harris, a graduate assistant, accompanied students as they attended keynote addresses and workshop sessions related to the theme of this year’s conference, “The Gritty Reality: Feel it, Think it, Engage it.” The learning goal was to inspire students to grasp the unfavorable realities of our world, think critically about those problems, and brainstorm solutions.

Allison Nicotera, a junior international studies major, says her biggest takeaway from the weekend was “to find what I am most passionate about and pursue it will my whole heart, and know that I have the support of the Jesuit community as long as I am working for social justice.”

This inspirational feeling resonated with other students who attended.

“Having a passion for social justice can sometimes feel overwhelming because there are so many important issues that are large and complex and can seem almost impossible to fix,” says Loretta Truman, a junior psychology and international studies major. At the conference she learned, “I don’t have to feel burdened by all the world’s problems. Sometimes, the biggest impacts are made from finding one issue you are passionate about and sticking with it.”

Or finding two issues, in the case of this conference. Passing the DREAM Act and closing the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly called the School of the Americas, were the focus of the weekend. WHINSEC is a military facility in Fort Benning, Georgia, that has become infamous for training graduates who have committed torture and other human rights abuses in Latin America.

Truman chose to attend the conference because she supports the DREAM Act and she believes “the manner in which the U.S. is operating WHINSEC is morally wrong and it should be closed.”

Students spent Monday, November 14, knocking on congressional office doors  and sharing their thoughts on these highly-debated topics.

Loyola’s group visited the offices of three congressmen: Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IND), Rep. Luiz Gutierrez (D-IL), and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO). The students lobbied for passage of the DREAM Act and the Latin American Military Training Review Act, which would suspend operations on the SOA/WHINSEC so torture manuals and human rights abuses linked to the school could be investigated.

“All the staffers we met with were very nice and open to discussion on the issues we brought up,” Truman says.

Nicotera says that during her stint as a lobbyist, she was “continually reminded that the government should be working for us, the people of the U.S., and be doing what we want.”

All students who attended the trip reported having a newfound appreciation for lobbying.

“The notion of contacting my representative in Congress never crossed my mind,” Truman says. “I am now aware of the difference it can make, and I am sure that I will do it again.”

University employees can mix and mingle amid holiday decor while indulging in festive foods at the luncheon, which Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., will host. There will be snacks, games, door prizes, and more to entertain attendees and give them a well-deserved break.

“We all work hard throughout the year, and this is an opportunity to come together as a community and meet the individuals we know only as an e-mail address or a name on the phone,” says Gary Soltys, human resources manager.

All employees will receive a name tag at registration and a raffle ticket form for drawings for door prizes, which in the past have included gift cards, electronics, and tickets to sporting events or concerts.

From 11:30a.m. until noon, there will be a reception at which hot chocolate, fresh apple cider, eggnog, various cheeses, and mixed nuts will be served. The actual buffet lunch will include honey and brown sugar ham, roasted turkey, carved roast beef and traditional side dishes like stuffing, salads, and a cranberry orange relish. Tasty vegetarian options will also be available.

Loyola encourages employees from all Chicago-based campuses to partake in the festivities. There will be courtesy parking in the Main Parking Structure at the Lake Shore Campus. Shuttle service will also be provided for those coming from, and returning to, the Water Tower and Health Sciences campuses.

This is the first year Loyola has invited staff and faculty from the Health Sciences Division to attend the event, Soltys says, adding, “We look forward to having those individuals join the celebration.”

As part of the festivities, Staff Council and Human Resources will host the annual Holiday Spirit Contest. This year, several University departments will decorate miniature holiday sleighs that will be judged in two categories: Most Festive and Best Integration of Sustainability.

Lauren Sanchez, academic advisor and member of Staff Council, explains that sustainability was selected as a category because it’s currently a “hot topic” as the University continues to promote green initiatives in its curriculum, student activities, and construction.

“The basis of the category means using recyclable materials” to create the sleigh, or by using “anything they didn’t necessarily have to go out and buy,” Sanchez says.

The sleighs will be on display during the reception. Judges will be selected from offices not participating in the contest. The top winner in each category will receive a $100 gift certificate for a staff party at Giordano’s Pizza. The deadline for submitting contest entries has already passed.

For more information about the Christmas luncheon, contact Gary Soltys at gsoltys@luc.edu or 773.508.3140.

Freshman biology and music major Julie Kim (pictured) won a scholarship from a drawing after attending three Credit Savvy sessions offered by the Office of Financial Aid.

Being financially responsible usually pays off in the end, but for one Loyola student that pay off was a $500 scholarship.

Freshman biology and music major Julie Kim won a scholarship from a drawing after attending three Credit Savvy sessions: a series of workshops put on by the Office of Financial Aid that focus on promoting financial literacy.

The Credit Savvy series is a part of the Money Matters program, a series of workshops and seminars on how to be financially savvy on a college student budget. Associate Director for Client Services in the Office of Financial Aid Jeanne Locarnini, MEd,  says the need for the program came from the realization that incoming students were not financially literate.

“What we have sort of realized through the financial aid office with students, is that when they are coming into the institution there is definitely a gap with money management abilities,” she says.

In fact, she found by her estimates only about one  in ten students who attended sessions this fall had a credit card, and knew how a credit score affected their future.

“There is very limited understanding of what it means to have basic things, like having a credit card,” she says.

Money Matters hopes to change that. First started in spring of 2011, the program offers a variety of evergreen workshops (ex: Scholarships: Where Are They And How Do I Apply?) as well as a focused series on one aspect of finances students need to understand. This semester the series was focused on credit, and next semester Locarnini says the focus will be deciphering financial aid awards. In addition to becoming more financially literate, once again students have the opportunity to win a scholarship if they attend all three sessions. Locarnini also says there is the possibility of awarding more scholarships if higher numbers of students attend.

Money Matters is also gearing up to add new features to better educate students in the future. Locarnini is hoping to add an educational partnership with PNC Bank as well as a peer counseling program.

In addition, Locarnini says she would really like to see more groups take advantage of their availability to plan programs. She says in the past they have worked with student groups and graduate programs with specifically tailored financial workshops to each group, and would like to continue to do this in the future.

In the meantime, the student who won the scholarship, Julie Kim, is happy to report that she has learned to handle money better and now has an extra pot of cash to boot.

“Not only will this scholarship help with tuition and books, I have learned a great deal about credits cards, financing money, and other various topics that will be useful in the near future,” she says. “I now have better understanding of how I should manage my money in an efficient way.”

To learn more about the Money Matters series, visit the program website here.

Poland, Boleslaw Parasion, 2010, wood, painted

The Nativity, or crèche, is a hallmark of the Christmas season, but the iconic Christmas scene can have different looks depending on where you land on the globe.

The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is celebrating this Christmas diversity with their annual exhibition, Art and Faith of the Crèche: The Collection of James and Emilia Govan.  The exhibition, which started in 2007, features an extensive collection of crèches from 89 countries and 18 U.S. states. Each crèche reflects the culture it was created in, from one made entirely of beads and featuring safari animals from Zimbabwe to one that includes a procession with Pope John Paul from Italy.

In addition to enjoying the different crèches, LUMA is offering museum-lovers another way to get in on the Christmas spirit: sponsoring a crèche. For $100, anyone can sponsor a crèche from the country (or state) of their choosing. This will include either the sponsor’s name, or the name of someone they would like to memorialize, on the specific crèche’s wall label.

“We found that people loved picking out a crèche that means something to them,” says LUMA Curatorial Assistant Lisa Stuchly. “We thought we would let people have the opportunity to put their name on the wall label…and it has been a great way for us to raise funds for the exhibition and the collection.”

But LUMA is focusing on more than just Christmas this holiday season. Museum-goers can also enjoy Modernist Style: Hanukkah Lamp and the Jewish Experience, an exhibition that features Hanukkah lamps created after World War II. Stuchly says this exhibition, which features more than 50 lamps, offers a breadth of pieces that showcase a large collection.

“It’s another holiday that we can show off a collection,” she says. “It shows an interest in really in-depth collecting. It is also a nice complement to our crèche exhibition,” she adds.

Ultimately, Stuchly notes the two holiday collections can provide another perspective to the meanings we hold in holiday decorations.

“It is interesting what traditions are kept and how we express them in the form of objects,” she says.

For more information on these two holiday exhibitions, check out the LUMA website here. If you would like more information on how to sponsor a creche, visit the exhibition page here.

On Friday, December 9, enjoy a massage or sip free Argo Tea at the Be Chill Bash, occurring from 11 a.m. ’til 3 p.m. in CFSU. Alex Carron, special events student director for the Department of Programming, says there will also be an oxygen bar with different smells meant to energize and relax, ornament decorating, and cookies. All events are free for students.

The traditional late-night Finals Breakfast at Lake Shore Campus will occur Tuesday, December 13, from 9:30-11:30 p.m. in the newly-renovated Gentile Arena. Students can forget about their stress while indulging in waffles, bacon, eggs, and other signature breakfast items that will be served by Loyola faculty and staff members. The event is sponsored by Student Activities & Greek Affairs.

The Water Tower Campus Finals Breakfast will be Wednesday, December 14, from 9-11 p.m. in the Terry Student Center food court.

Because the Wellness Center wants students to stay healthy during those sleepless nights of finals, on Wednesday, December 14, from 11 a.m. ’til 3 p.m., they will host the Study Day Stress Break in CFSU with free chair massages, chocolate meditation, and a make-your-own stress ball station. Students can even spend some quality time with man’s best friend; “Therapy dogs” will be there for students to pet and play with.

“Because many staff from the Wellness Center help out, students also have a chance to speak with professionals in a more informal setting” about managing stress levels, says Kevin Meier, health educator at the Wellness Center.

All students are encouraged to take advantage of the relaxation activities (and free food) available at these events. Inside Loyola wishes students the best of luck on final exams.

Pictured left to right: Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.; Mrs. Light and Dr. Terry R. Light; Francis Cardinal George; John and Herta Cuneo; Linda Brubaker, MD, and William Brubaker.

On Saturday, November 19, the 61st annual Stritch Award Dinner raised money for medical school scholarships and honored Loyola patrons who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and generosity.

The Stritch Medal, the Stritch School of Medicine’s (SSOM) highest honor, was given to to Terry R. Light, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Light, who is a native of Glencoe, Illinois, joined the SSOM in 1980, where he began building the orthopaedic department to the powerhouse education institution it is today. In addition to practicing and teaching, he has also volunteered around the globe in locations such as Haiti, China, Nigeria, Egypt, Vietnam, and Lithuania.

“Terry has made a profound impact on the world. His expertise and skill at treating patients is only overshadowed by his care and compassion for them as people,” says Richard L. Gamelli, MD, FACS, senior vice president and provost of the Health Sciences Division, Loyola University Chicago.

The Sword of Loyola, given to outstanding leaders for contributions in a field other than medicine was given to John F. and Herta Cuneo. As the president and vice-president, respectively, of the Cuneo Foundation, the Cuneos have donated millions toward furthering the mission of Loyola and the SSOM. In 2000, they gave a significant gift to the SSOM and the Stritch building was renamed The John and Herta Cuneo Center. They also donated their estate in Vernon Hills to Loyola, which was the largest gift in the school’s history.

The Cuneos have always been active in supporting institutions in Chicago and beyond, donating money to places like Gordon Technical High School, Chicago Food Depository, and Children’s Home + Aid, among others.

In addition, 31 local young adults were honored for their work with the Stritch Junior League, an organization that provides community service around Chicago. These teens’ families sponsor a table, and then the young adults (typically juniors in high school) do community service at places like Misericordia and Chicago Food Depository. They are then honored individually at the dinner. Evie Polsley, media specialist at Loyola University Health System, says this program is a prime example of the Stritch Dinner’s pairing of service and philanthropy.

“It is a wonderful thing,” she says. “Not only does it help the school, it also exposes these kids to the harsh realities that they would not have experienced–what life is like out there for people who are struggling.”

Running for 60 years, the Stritch Award Dinner is the oldest black-tie gala in Chicago. It was originally started in the 1950s when medical schools were closing due to lack of funding. According to Polsley, John Cuneo’s father was actually the first to start the Stritch Dinner, as a way to keep the school afloat and continuing its mission. She says this still echoes, as his son received the award this dinner.

“The essence of Stritch is really reflected in Stritch Dinner,” she says. “The service, the faculty… it really is about giving this opportunity to everybody.”

For more information on the Stritch Award Dinner, click here.

Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, (right) with Richard L. Gamelli, MD, FACS, at the recent Stritch Award Dinner. Photo by John Riley

Dear Loyola Community,

Father Garanzini and I are pleased to announce that Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, has been named dean of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. As you know, Dr. Brubaker was asked to assume the role as interim dean in May 2011, when the new Health Sciences Division was established. We are grateful for her leadership during this important transition.

Dr. Brubaker has been a member of the faculty since 2000, when she was recruited to begin the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Program. Prior to serving as interim dean, she served as the senior associate dean for clinical and translational research. Dr. Brubaker is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, with a conjoint appointment in the Department of Urology, and she directs the Division of Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Brubaker earned a BA, with honors, from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MS in clinical research design and statistical analysis from the University of Michigan. She received her medical degree from Rush University, where she also completed her residency and fellowship training.

Dr. Brubaker is a prolific researcher with several NIH grants and a large list of publications. She has served as the president of both the American Urogynecologic Society and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons. She is the associate editor of the Journal of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery as well as a member of the editorial boards for Obstetrics and Gynecology and Neurourology and Urodynamics.

Dr. Brubaker is a champion of Loyola’s education and research mission and a true advocate for our students in the Stritch School of Medicine. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Brubaker on her well-deserved appointment.

Sincerely,

Richard L. Gamelli, MD, FACS
Senior Vice President and Provost of Health Sciences

The game tips off in the new Gentile Arena at 7 p.m. and will be a Chicago showdown layered in history.

“In essence it is the two Catholic universities in the city, and both programs have storied traditions,” says Bill Behrns. “Loyola has the 1963 national championship, DePaul made it to the Final Four in 1979 under the legendary Ray Meyer.”

“It’s a series that has a long standing tradition to it,” he adds.

Long standing may even be an understatement. This is the 55^th time that Loyola and DePaul are going head to head, and it is the first time since 1980 that the Blue Demons will be heading to Rogers Park to play the Ramblers. Behrns says that while the Gentile Arena was first being built, the Ramblers were a bit “nomadic,” playing games across the city  in venues like the UIC Pavilion and what’s now the Allstate Arena. During this time, they played DePaul several times, but not on true home turf.

This game brings DePaul back up the Red Line, and the Ramblers are celebrating the match-up in true Loyola and Chicago style. Pat Kraft, senior associate athletic director, points out several key activities that will make this game something to remember. Before the game, Jim Cornelison (better known as the Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer) will sing the National Anthem, and at halftime the banner from the 1963 national championship will be raised to the rafters.  In addition, the first 1,000 students will get free t-shirts.

In addition, two hours before tip-off, students can hang out in the “Rockstar Lounge” the area above the student section with tables, bag toss games, and a DJ, which Kraft hopes will create a buzz before the game.

Though Loyola and DePaul have an extensive history, Behrns points out that games like this offer a great opportunity for healthy competition.

“There is a rivalry, but no bitterness,” says Behrns. “It is a great game to have games like this in the city, not only for the students at both schools but for alumni in the area.”

But a lack of bitterness doesn’t mean the game isn’t a competition, and Kraft expects the atmosphere to be intense.

“This is a true college basketball arena,” he says. “When we get 1,000 plus students, this place will rock, and it will create a very difficult home court.”

Students can pick up a free ticket to the game with their student I.D. at the Norville Center, Terry Student Center, or Centennial Forum Student Union. For more information on the game, and to purchase tickets, visit the Loyola men’s basketball website here. To view a video promoting the current men’s basketball season, click here.

Sean Vera (right) and Rob Kelly, PhD, VP for student development, lead the first-year students through the Cudahy Library doors during the annual Convocation Walk.

Whether it’s presiding over a Unified Student Government Association (USGA) meeting or facilitating discussion at an alcohol awareness forum, Sean Vera is always on campus. Vera, USGA president, is a native New Yorker who left the Big Apple to thrive as a student and leader at Loyola University Chicago. In addition to his role as USGA president, Vera, a senior political science major, has served on hall council, as president of College Republicans, and as a senator, committeeman, and webmaster for USGA. Vera recently spoke with Inside Loyola to tell us more about himself and his plans for the future.

What factors most influenced your decision to attend Loyola?
I knew two things when I started my college search: my ideal school would be Jesuit and away from home. When I was making my final decision, I came to Chicago to tour Loyola and I was hooked. I loved the location by the lake, being in a big city, and the Jesuit Catholic tradition Loyola provides.

What are your plans after graduation?
Politics have always been a passion of mine. However, I have also become extremely interested in student development and policy in higher education. Part of the reason is because I love working with other college students, but also as I’ve worked with many staff and administrators from the Division of Student Development here at Loyola in my time as USGA president, I’m impressed by not only their love for Loyola, but their love for their individual roles.

How has Loyola prepared you for your dream career?
In a number of different ways. Loyola has prepared me with its quality academic offerings, but there’s more to it than what goes on inside the classroom. I am still amazed every day by the support and thoughtfulness that members of this campus regularly show one another. The fire of everyone’s passion is it and burning brightly here at Loyola, and it is lighting that passion that has helped me prepare most for my future.

When you’re not running USGA, how do you spend your free time?
I enjoy writing opinion pieces, thought reflections, and personal stories. I also enjoy graphic design, reading, singing, dancing, and spending time with friends. There are a few TV shows I really enjoy: Glee, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Good Wife. Recently, I started tracing my family tree. So far, I’ve been able to trace some of my ancestors as far back as the 1600s in places such as what is now Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Scotland.

What advice do you have for Loyola underclassmen on leadership or life?
I don’t think I’ve been alive long enough to pass on weighty wisdom, but if I had to give advice, it would be to take advantage of the resources here. This is probably the only time in our lives when we’ll be able to do just about whatever we want and have so many people and resources ready to back us up. So feel free to take a class just for the heck of it, and have fun. Always be intellectually curious. Question your assumptions, open yourself up to new possibilities, and then be ready to take that conviction, compassion, and love and turn it into action to make our communities, and ultimately our world, a better place.

Tonight, Monday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m., the University Orchestra and Choir will perform at the Christmas Chapel Concert in Madonna della Strada Chapel. On Thursday, December 8 at 7:30 p.m., student musicians will perform holiday hits at the University’s annual Joyola! concert, taking place in Mundelein Auditorium.

At the Christmas Chapel Concert, student vocalists and musicians will share the stage and perform Christmas classics. Come listen to the most beautiful and peaceful music while reflecting on the reason for the season. The event is free, but there is a suggested $5 donation. To reserve your seat for this festive event, please click here. Additional donations can also be made online through the website. All proceeds collected from the night will go to “Harmony, Hope, and Healing,” a music program for underserved or homeless men, women, and children that allows for the expression of creativity and serves as a therapeutic activity.

Colin Holman, director of orchestral activities, says the ensemble’s musical selection will include two movements from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet suite and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Also, toward the end of the concert, the orchestra and the choir will join with the audience for a sing-a-long.

For any Scrooges out there, Joyola! is another concert that will ignite your Christmas cheer. Wear the ugliest holiday sweater you can find and come out to sing along to popular and jazzy tunes like “The Christmas Song” and Richard Roger’s “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. This event is free to the public, but there is a $5 suggested donation that will benefit the Chicago-based “Harmony, Hope, and Healing” charity. To reserve your seat for this highly anticipated show, click here.

All members of the community are invited to attend and enjoy the musical talents of Loyola’s students.

Getting back to basics was the theme of the night as Jim Rohr, chairman and CEO of PNC Bank, spoke to a crowd of more than 170 during Loyola’s latest Dean’s Speaker Series. The event, held November 30 at the University Club of Chicago, marked the ninth chapter in the School of Business Administration’s series and the first for Dean Kathleen Getz, PhD.

Rohr’s speech, “Rebuilding a Strong Banking Sector,” addressed the prevailing skepticism of financial industries as well as a plan for regrowth.

“Where are we going from here?” Rohr began, as he stood before a group of Loyola students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends in the club’s Michigan Room. “Banks must adapt to a new environment.”

Rohr cast his opening statement in the context of recent change, drawing on the recollection that six years ago, Blockbuster was still a major player in business, while Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy.

That rapid change, he said, should give consumers reason to believe in the American economy. For instance, Rohr stated that unemployment has softened, capital expenditure has picked up, housing is getting better, loans are improving subtly, and there is still massive liquidity at home.

“We’re moving up, albeit very slowly,” Rohr said. “But simple strategies from the past can take us forward in the future.”

Those strategies focused largely on three key issues: practicing fiscal discipline, competing more effectively in the global economy, and continuing to educate and innovate. Rohr placed particular emphasis on the third.

“Education today is more important than it ever has been,” he said, citing a correlation between the drop in America’s share of world output (down from 29 percent in 1981 to 21 percent in 2011), which is largely hinged on skills-based employment, and the decline in high school graduation rates (down from 77.1 percent in 1970 to 68.8 percent in 2007).

“This is within our control, and Loyola is certainly working to help change that,” Rohr said. “There is no university you could be more proud of in terms of ethics and what you’re contributing to this region.”

To wrap up the evening, Dean Getz commended the audience for their insightful questions—which ranged in topic from recent regulatory effects on banking surcharges to the crisis in the eurozone—and thanked Rohr for his balanced “optimism and realism.”

“I particularly appreciated that your speech focused on a strong grounding in values,” she said. “Values have to drive everything that we do.”

Loyola’s next Dean’s Speaker Series will be in April. More information and reservations will be available at LUC.edu/sba.

Click here to choose from four options.

Loyola's Emergency Medical Services have been called 85 times this year, 35 of which were for alcohol-related incidents.

This year, Loyola’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have been called 85 times, and 35 of those were for alcohol-related incidents.

In light of this statistic, the Unified Student Government Association (USGA) Residence Life and Dining Committee, Department of Campus Safety, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR), and the Wellness Center hosted a forum in October to discuss alcohol use on campus, University policy, and provide a place for students to air their concerns.

Speakers at the event included two Loyola students, as well as student body president Sean Vera, Vice President of Student Development Robert Kelly, Health Educator Kevin Meier, Dean of Students Jane Neufeld, OSCCR Coordinator Dana Broadnax, and Student Communication Liaison Officer for Campus Safety Tim Cunningham.

Each administrator briefly spoke on the alcohol policy in place and the need for responsible consumption. One policy that was especially focused on was the Good Samaritan Policy, which says that if a student calls the Loyola EMS for a fellow student and stays with the student until an ambulance comes, they will not face disciplinary action. The requirements are essentially: must call for help, must stay with the victim, must talk with OSCCR about the incident afterward.

Brendan Keady, a sophomore, spoke about a time earlier this year where he was in an alcohol-induced coma for three days before he woke up. Luckily, he has no lasting liver or brain damage, but he said he is off alcohol for good. When asked later how the incident had affected him, he said he was completely sober, and would not drink again.

Students were concerned about the policy for several reasons, however. One student asked if they call for a friend if they can be taken to the hospital as well.  Another student asked what would happen if they were the “sober friend” at a party that got busted–would they as the “sober friend” also be in trouble?

Administrators generally responded that not consuming or being in the presence of alcohol was the best policy. Bill Meier noted that the Good Samaritan Policy is not a “get out of jail free” card, and students could still be taken to the hospital if too intoxicated. In response to the next question, Dana Broadnax responded that the policy states that if students are in the presence of alcohol under 21 you can get in trouble.

Junior USGA Senator Sarah McDowell, who coordinated the event, says the problem isn’t necessarily drinking but a lack of care that conflicts with the student promise.

“One of the main things that we wanted to address was responsibility. It’s not that we were preaching to not drink exactly, but we are urging students that do drink to drink more responsibly and put the student promise to use: care for yourself, care for others, and care for the community,” she says in an e-mail interview. “Thus one of the main problems is that students aren’t looking out for themselves or other people as much as they should when they get involved in drinking.”

From here, McDowell says that USGA is hoping to do more education on the Good Samaritan policy and responsible drinking, but plans are “still in the works.” In addition, she says the University is also hoping to continue with education focused on the Good Samaritan policy.

To find out more about the Good Samaritan policy, visit the policy page by clicking here.

Tassos Malliaris, the Walter F. Mullady professor of economics and finance at Loyola, will serve as one of the conference commentators.

Financial news currently dominates the headlines, but between the debt ceiling, federal budget talks, and the European debt crisis, the news can get overwhelming–and confusing.

But what if Chicago’s top financial experts explained and commented on the news? This Thursday (12/1), that is the case here at Loyola.  The Center for Integrated Risk Management and Corporate Governance is hosting a conference called “Economy Policy At A Crossroad: What’s Next?” from 4-6 p.m., in Beane Hall, Lewis Towers.

Director for the Center for Integrated Risk Management and Corporate Governance, Donald R. Schwartz, says the conference is pertinent given the many current economic issues.

“It is very, very timely given the events that are going on in the economy right now in terms of monetary policy, fiscal policy, European policy,” he says.

The event, moderated by George Kaufman, the John F. Smith professor of finance and economics, features two presentation speakers and three commentators.  The first two speakers, who will introduce and explain the current financial news, are Robert Chirinko, professor at University of Illinois-Chicago and research fellow at the Center for Economic Studies in Munich, Germany, and Daniel Sullivan, director of research and an executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

In addition to Tassos Malliaris, the Walter F. Mullady professor of economics and finance at Loyola, the commentators include Michael Moskow, vice chairman and senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and John Silvia, chief economist for Wells Fargo Securities. Schwartz points out that the financial experts are a huge draw for the conference.

“It is a timely subject with very top-flight discussions in a financial center of the United States,” he says.

The Center for Integrated Risk Management and Corporate Governance has been working to bring events like this to campus since its inception in 2007. The center was started as a partnership between the business and law school to bring attention to the ethics of business and tie in the mission of Loyola.

Schwartz says the mission of the center is four-fold: encourage ethical leadership, offer high quality curriculum, promote research, and offer symposiums. The center puts on symposiums and professional events one to two times per year, and receives funding from the CME Group Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the CME group.

Schwartz is excited about this upcoming event because it offers another opportunity to foster the center’s mission, while bringing financial experts to Loyola’s campus for the benefit of business students.

“We do events like this to advance not only our mission, but Loyola’s School of Business Administration,” he says.  “We want to be one of the leaders in this area.”

For more information about the Center for Integrated Risk Management and Corporate Governance and the upcoming “Economy Policy At A Crossroad: What’s Next?” conference, go to there website here.

While he is away, LUMA is asking for everyone’s help in an effort to try to keep tabs on Caspar’s whereabouts. Part of LUMA’s permanent Martin D’Arcy Collection of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Art, Caspar (pictured above) is easily identified by his small crown, green thigh-length tunic, red tights, and stylish poulaines (pointed shoes).

How to Locate Caspar
First, visit LUC.edu/luma/caspar to download a traveling version of the sculpture. Once he is downloaded, cut him out and take him on an adventure, but be sure to get a photo of him along for the ride. Next, e-mail your photo to mlange@luc.edu, upload your Caspar photo at Facebook.com/LoyolaUniversityMuseumofArt, or tweet it and include @LUMACaspar in the message.

To learn more about Caspar or the Martin D’Arcy Collection, click here.

The LunchTime News crew (from left): Lexi Mangan, Abigail Kleckler, Maura Guthrie, Mike Byra, Meredith Garretson, Beth Konrad, and Danielle Gunn.

Loyola journalism students are hitting the airwaves to share stories about what’s happening on campus and throughout the world. Loyola’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) launched the WLUW LunchTime News in September to provide student journalists on-air experience and to fill a void left when the University’s radio station eliminated its news program earlier this year.

Abby Klecker, junior journalism major and president of SPJ, currently heads the LunchTime News with guidance from Beth Konrad, broadcast professional in residence and faculty advisor to SPJ. The five-minute newscast, which airs live at noon and is repeated at 1 p.m. each Monday-Friday on WLUW 88.7FM, features the top news of the day (international, national, or local), a segment about campus events, a weather preview, sports, and a “kicker,” a light-hearted story that typically appears at the end of a radio or television newscast.

The previous WLUW newscast was an hourlong show that aired once a week, but it ended several months ago because students “didn’t stick with it,” Klecker says, adding that it was likely due to the show’s length. For a while, WLUW was strictly music, which was disappointing to many journalism students.

“Loyola’s Society of Professional Journalists decided we should have news on our school’s radio station,” Klecker says. So she and Konrad recruited about 10 students for their daily, five-minute show. ”It was an easy way to get people involved, but not get them overwhelmed,” she adds.

Preparation for the WLUW LunchTime News show begins around 10 a.m. each weekday. The students who produce the newscast, which is about four per show, set up in the makeshift newsroom that is Konrad’s office. Because the students don’t have wire services, they sift through the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times and view local broadcast news channels to determine the day’s stories until finally selecting about six to rewrite for the radio.

Kleckler says all stories are finalized and arranged by 11:40 a.m. so the crew has time to do a quick run-through before heading across the street to the WLUW studio in Terry Student Center.

At noon sharp, the anchors hit the air with scripts in hand. After about two to three minutes of news, they turn the mic over to the Loyola news correspondent; on MWF, it’s Karis (Hustad) on Campus, and on TuTh, it’s Tahera (Rahmen) Tells All. Then it’s back to the anchors for weather, Chicago and Loyola sports, and the kicker.

Putting together the newscast is exceptional training for aspiring journalists or students interested in communication careers.

“In the real world, journalism is so fast paced and high-energy,” Klecker says. “We only have a short amount of time to put together the newscast, so it’s a great experience for what’s to come.”

Because of the newscast’s success, next semester the LunchTime News will be produced during a three-credit hour course. Students interested in getting involved should register for the COMM 383: Radio Practicum-Section 201 in LOCUS. Currently, the description says it will be taught by B Rockwell, but Konrad will lead the course, which counts as an elective for School of Communication majors. Also, next semester students will move out of Konrad’s office and use SOC room 001 to produce the newscast .

Konrad praises the group of students who “piloted this program without credit, without any pay,” but simply because of their love for the artform. “They really have stepped up to the plate, and the newscast has just gotten better every single day.”

To listen to LunchTime News, tune in to WLUW 88.7FM Monday-Friday at noon or 1 p.m. or listen live at WLUW.org.

Dear Members of the Loyola Community,

This week’s Thanksgiving holiday offers a special opportunity to reflect on our many blessings and to be grateful for the gifts we have received. We are mindful of the impact that extended unemployment and financial insecurity have on many in our country and our world. Thanksgiving is an invitation to rededicate ourselves to using our gifts to promote a just society and to care in a unique way for the most vulnerable members of our communities.

I thank you for your many contributions to our mission of providing a transformative experience in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition for all our students. We are blessed with an enthusiastic and talented student body, and they, like us, are generously supported by our trustees, regents, alumni, benefactors, and friends in this important work.

I wish you and yours a joyful Thanksgiving holiday.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President and CEO, Loyola University Chicago

So what exactly is the threat so many people are speaking out against? Why does Loyola have a passion for fighting this? Who are the Loyola students behind the grant? Eric Weems, director of student financial assistance, has the story behind the Loyola efforts.

With the precarious economic state our country is in, Congress is constantly reviewing federal spending and deciding what to keep, reduce, or cut entirely. Pell Grants are one expenditure on the chopping block.

“The real underlying issue is that the federal budget and, to a lesser extent, the state budget are both in a place where decisions are being made as to where to allocate those funds,” Weems says. “The purpose of the advocacy that is being done, is all about telling the story for students who are reliant on the grants.”

Weems says it is important to send a clear message to the people in Congress that students need this aid. For this reason, students need to be “advocates for their own financial aid.”

“The congressperson is always going to be the most interested in their constituency; to ensure that their voice is being represented,” Weems explains.

This is where the petition comes in. Its purpose is to ensure that Congress hears the voices of those who the Pell Grants affect because, as Weems points out: “Anything that occurs is potentially going to have a real impact on new students having the choice to choose post-secondary education.”

But Weems also says that there are more Loyola signatures on the petition than there are undergraduate students receiving Pell Grants at Loyola. So why does everyone else care?

Weems attributes the high percent of Loyola signatures to Loyola’s commitment to Jesuit values of social justice and service to others. He mentioned that students recognize and appreciate the diversity that Pell Grants bring to the student body. And Loyola isn’t the only Jesuit institution to have a large showing.

“If you look down the list of schools, there is a long list of Jesuit schools and I think this speaks to our commitment to social justice,” Weems says. “It isn’t them saying ‘I am worried about myself,’ they are saying ‘I am worried about all the individuals who are using this for our education and I want to have my voice to say, this is an important expenditure that the U.S. makes in investing in students.’”

This issue doesn’t come without controversy. Many have raised the concern that by subsidizing education costs, the federal government is allowing universities to continue to raise tuition prices because they know the federal government provides a safety net for low-income students. Weems says this is false.

“The decision [about] tuition, I would say has very little to do with the amount of financial aid,” he says.

Weems points out that though Pell Grants have stayed the same over the last four years, and MAP Grants have actually been cut, tuition has increased. And though tuition has increased, so has financial assistance provided by the University, which already provides a significantly higher portion of aid to students.

“Only through all of the combined resources of financial aid were students able to make the decision they need to make to attend Loyola,” Weems says. “We are kicking in a large portion of the financial aid: 6 or 7 times more than what [federal grants] are providing.”

With over one-third of Loyola students receiving Pell, there is no typical student recipient of the grant. But one thing is for certain: they are a vital part of the Loyola community. Here are the stories of a few Loyola students who rely on these grants.

• Adilla Menayang, sophomore, journalism major, international film and media studies minor: Adilla is an international student from Indonesia. In addition to being a full time resident assistant in Holy Cross Hall, Adilla is on the educational board of UNICEF. In the past, Adilla has also been involved with AFS, an international study abroad program where he helped new students adjust to Chicago life, he has written for the ChicagoNow blog, ChiU, and he has volunteered at Centro Romero through Loyola4Chicago. Adilla credits the Pell Grant for enabling him to study journalism in the U.S. “Indonesia has only been independent of the dictatorship since the 90’s, which is one of the reasons that I wanted to go abroad,” Adilla says. “I knew that I would get a better experience with media in Chicago.” In addition, Adilla points out that Indonesian incomes are much lower on average than incomes in the U.S. and he already has several financial backers that help him pay for his education outside of what he and his parents contribute. “If I don’t receive these grants, there is more money to work for,” he says. “[Without the grants] you will never know if you have enough money for next semester.”

• Taylor Dahlgren, sophomore, international studies major, Spanish minor: Taylor, from Mauston, Wisconsin, volunteers at Circle K (an organization that volunteers on and off campus), as well as UNICEF, and Global Business Brigades (a organizations that works with sustainable development in Latin American countries). She also works off campus at Centro Romero, a Hispanic community center on Clark Street. Taylor notes that being able to go to Loyola has offered her an opportunity to expand her horizons. “Since I didn’t grow up in Chicago, being able to be at a university like Loyola I’ve been able see the world from a different perspective,” she says. “Whereas schools near my hometown didn’t offer anything like that.” Taylor says that losing Pell Grants would make finances more difficult. “If we didn’t have [Pell Grants] any more I would have to find other ways of covering that money, which isn’t very likely,” she says. “It would be tough.”

• Hillary Chang, sophomore, biology major, history and Asian studies minor:  Hillary is a first-generation college student who commutes from Skokie, Illinois. Despite the commute, Hillary strives to be involved on campus, volunteering as a Big for Big Brothers Big Sisters through Loyola4Chicago and working as a teacher’s aid for the Southeast Asia Center. With a younger sister soon on her way to college, Hillary says that Pell Grants enable her family to pay for both of their educations. Hillary hopes to continue her schooling past Loyola and says that without Pell Grants, the loans would be insurmountable. “I am hoping to get into medical school one day,” she says. “[To pay for] that is loan upon loan which can add up down the road.” Hilary also notes that her mother is a first-generation American who moved to the United States to give her children the chance to have a better life. “[Without Pell Grants] my mom coming here wouldn’t have helped anything because my sister and I would have nothing to show for it.” Hilary points out that her story is only one example. “Especially in this economy, the image that people have of students that get Pell is not the face they expect at all,” she says. “It is really important to have them so students who wouldn’t be able to get this education can.”

Want to add your support to Pell Grant funding? Sign the Student Aid Alliance petition by clicking here, and find out more about the issue by clicking here.

George McGraw oversees construction of a water well in the Gele Community of South Sudan. Photo by Liz Levacy, DigDeep Water

George McGraw (BA ’09) is conquering social injustice in developing countries by assisting communities in their quest for water. McGraw is the founder and director of DigDeep, a non-profit campaign protecting and promoting the right to water through the construction of well projects, sanitation and hygiene training, and additional education and policy work.

McGraw discovered his passion for the right to water as a student at Loyola. In the spring of 2009, he was enrolled in the Political Science Honors Seminar focused on international human rights. As part of the capstone course, he was required to conduct a research project that explored a tenet of international law. The night before his thesis proposal was due, McGraw was at square one so he impulsively chose to research the right to water. The next day, McGraw turned in his thesis outline to Alexandru Grigorescu, associate professor in the political science department.

“Grigorescu handed back my paper with a big question mark on it,” McGraw says. That’s because no fundamental right to water existed in any regulatory treaties or covenants, Grigorescu explained to him.

McGraw was in disbelief that such a necessity was not protected by the international community. So he spent that semester examining ways to change it. His paper, a framework for resolving restricted access to water–a problem that plagues developing countries–eventually transformed into a boots-on-the-ground project applicable to the real world.

After graduating from Loyola, McGraw attended the United Nations University of Peace in Costa Rica to study international law and conflict management. He then worked for the UN Development Program, where he worked on the 2011 Human Development Report for Afghanistan. He was in charge of the water access reports, an area which he noticed abject failure in the project initiatives.

That’s when McGraw had an epiphany and thought, “If I just create a small and sustainable organization that focuses on promoting human dignity, a philosophy, and a legal basis for protection of the human person, I bet we could make an impact in a way that’s more lasting.”

DigDeep, the Los Angeles-based organization, lifted off in March. The group’s efforts are primarily focused on South Sudan, the world’s newest democracy, which celebrated its independence on July 9, 2011.

When McGraw began his political science major at Loyola, his initial aspirations had him in a business suit on Capitol Hill after graduation, not in the ball cap, white cotton tee, and blue jeans he sports while trekking through the muddy grounds of South Sudan. However, McGraw still frequently spruces up in a jacket and tie for the other part of his mission: promoting the right to water.

“When we go to a country and start our work, we meet with local government officials and figure out the legal protection for human rights,” McGraw says. “Then we start lobbying,” which he says is a much slower and more challenging process than just digging a well.

McGraw advises other Loyolans looking to start their own non-profit to go for it and ignore the limitations.

“If you have a passion to help other human beings, that’s naturally infectious,” he says, adding, “You can convince anyone to join with you in your efforts to help other people.”

To learn more about DigDeep, visit www.digdeepwater.org or their “Field Notes” blog at http://digdeeph2o.tumblr.com/.

On Friday, December 2, the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is hosting a fundraiser for DigDeep from 6-9 p.m. in their gallery located at 820 N. Michigan Ave. Tickets can be purchased here.

From L to R: Shannon Howes, Megan Barry, Cliff Golz, Father Garanzini, Ann Marie Morgan, Melissa Bagdon, Rabia Khan, Romando Nash, and Nicole Remy.

Staff members who go above and beyond to make Loyola its best were acknowledged Tuesday night at the 2011 Staff Recognition and Excellence Awards. Five individuals and one campus department took home awards as thank yous for their hard work and dedication to improving the University community.

The evening’s big winner was Megan Barry, director of the Center for Community Service and Action, who was named Staff Member of the Year. Barry is honored to be included among the previous winners of this award and “humbled to learn that [her] contributions to the university are considered as significant” as those of previous awardees.

“My work connecting Loyola students and the local community through service is something I deeply value,” Berry says, adding that she enjoys working at a “university where service to humanity is essential to the mission.”

The other award recipients were:

• Rising Star: Shannon Howes, Student Life
• Team Spirit: Residence Life
• Student Service: Katrina Weizer, First- and Second-Year Advising
• Megs Landon: Cliff Golz, Off-Campus Student Life
• Kay Egan: Ann Marie Morgan, Water Tower Campus Student Life

About 160 people attended the event, which was held in Regents Hall, located on the 16th floor of Lewis Towers.

Robbie Jones, senior academic advisor for the School of Education, and Jorene Richards, manager of training and development for Human Resources, orchestrated the awards ceremony, which was sponsored by Human Resources and Staff Council.

“Staff Council would like to thank all the nominators for taking the time to recognize a staff member that is doing outstanding work at Loyola,” Jones says. “We appreciate the work that the staff is doing, and we are proud that we can recognize even a few. We hope that supervisors, co-workers, and students continue to nominate staff members for future awards.”

For more on the Staff Recognition and Excellence Awards, please click here.

For the second consecutive year, Loyola University Chicago has been named one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Workplaces. The University ranked 18th among businesses in the large company category, maintaining its position from 2010.

This year, more than 1,200 University employees participated in the survey, which was administered this summer by WorkplaceDynamics LLC, an independent research company hired by the newspaper. Questions focused on categories such as employee appreciation, pay and benefits, and senior management.

Tom Kelly, senior vice president of administrative services and chief human resource officer, says, “The University is thrilled to once again be recognized in the Tribune’s rankings. We believe this is a great place to work and our faculty and staff members consistently report they are engaged and energized by Loyola’s mission, image, reputation, and the respect and care they experience within the campus community.” Kelly adds that University administrators appreciate the input and want to address their concerns at the institutional, divisional, and college/school level.

One improvement Loyola has made, based on faculty and staff input from surveys like this one, deals with pay and benefits. ”In the past year, we increased the University’s overall retirement contribution and scheme to more closely match our peer and aspirant schools,” Kelly says.

Down the road, Loyola will continue to work on improving collaboration among  different departments. ”Faculty and staff tell us that they have a strong sense of teamwork within their own work group, but don’t experience the same level of cooperation, communication, and shared priorities across the University,” Kelly explains.

In the 24-question survey, faculty and staff overwhelming expressed that they “felt a part of something” and “felt genuinely appreciated” in their roles at the University.

Inside Loyola recently spoke to faculty and staff members to learn more about their feelings toward Loyola.

Arthur J. Lurigio, PhD, professor and associate dean for faculty for the College of Arts and Sciences, believes Loyola is “a highly welcoming and supportive work environment.” During his 22 years as a professor and administrator, Lurigio has “always felt respected, valued, and appreciated as a member of a broader community of teachers, scholars, and advocates for social justice.”

Sarah Malouf, associate director for alumni relations, says she loves working for Loyola because it’s an academic institution with a mission she believes in. “Even among the rest of the Jesuit institutions where being a ‘person for others’ is at the forefront of the educational principles, there’s something fundamentally different about Loyola University Chicago,” she says. Malouf loved Loyola during her time as a student, both as an undergraduate and graduate, and she says being an employee is just as rewarding.

“Loyola is a place where I am challenged to see beyond my own work, beyond my own life,” Malouf says.

The University, along with other top workplace winners, was officially recognized at a congratulatory event on Monday, November 14, in the Chase Auditorium, 10 S. Dearborn, Chicago.

To learn more about the Top Workplaces program and other ranked organizations, click here. On the site, you can also access a feature article from today’s Top Workplaces special section, which includes an interview with Father Garanzini (and other leaders) discussing what it takes to make employees happy. To access that article, click here.

Through workshops and programs available throughout the entire year, the department offers a place for students to gain confidence, training, and experience to fine-tune their specific leadership style and translate it to the rest of life.

One ongoing opportunity for students to partake in whether they have just started down the path to leadership or have been leading for awhile is the Student Leader Certificate, a certification program that trains students to recognize their leadership style and best take advantage of their leadership qualities. Students take the three core workshops (Leadership Foundations, Being REAL, and Leadership in Action), four elective workshops, and write a reflective essay about their experience. Students can complete these in any order and over as long a period of time they would like. However, Shannon Howes, director of student leadership development, says going to a few in a short period of time may be best.

“In attending a number of them, you start to make some better connections between the sessions,” she says.

However, students can also attend the sessions without working toward the certificate. Howes says that many students can find immediate benefits that tie the workshops to their daily lives, whether in the classroom or in extracurricular activities. And even if they only attend one or two, Howes points out that it will stick for the long haul.

“I think the benefits of engaging in any of the workshops are building the skills that students can use in the future,” she says.

In addition to the Student Leadership Certificate program, SLD offers the Student Leadership Institute, a one-day program occurring January 28, 2012, that takes students through a crash-course in leadership tactics, scenarios, and styles, which can also count toward the Student Leadership Certificate requirements. Incoming students can take part in LEAD, a pre-welcome week retreat.

Outside of training and honing leadership skills, SLD also offers opportunities and a database of actual leadership positions on campus. Students can apply later this year to go to the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference, which is an annual conference that brings students from each of the Jesuit universities together to improve leadership at each school. In summer of 2012 it will be held at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts. The office of SLD also has a student staff that assists in leadership initiatives throughout the year, and students can apply to be on this staff later this year. There is also an online database of all the student leadership opportunities on campus on the SLD website.

In addition to year-long opportunities, SLD is offering chances to get involved during Leadership Week, November 13-18, with five full days of events both for students looking to get started on their leadership journey and for those hoping to use their leadership skills in the future.

The week includes several different workshops on how to fine tune and utilize leadership skills. Events include “Leadership in the City” which includes a trip to the Chicago Cultural Center, and two showings of “Waiting For Superman” with discussions afterward. Howes pointed out the “Paving Your Way To Leadership” workshop, which is a program that brings student leaders from across the university in to talk to about their experiences and provide information about upcoming applications for leadership, as one that is good for less experienced students. She also pointed out “Self-Market Workshop” as a good one for older students, who are soon to graduate and would like advice on how to present themselves in a way that makes them the best job candidate. You can find a full listing of events from the SLD website here.

Ultimately, Howes says the goal of the various programs and workshops is to universalize leadership to students.

“We want to communicate the message that everyone has the capabilities to be involved in leadership,” she says.

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., President and CEO
“It has been a real pleasure working with Kevin for the last two years at Loyola. He is a capable and supportive administrator who cares deeply about people, especially students and faculty. Kevin has deep insight into the challenges we face today in higher education, and he is dedicated to fostering the central mission of a Jesuit institution, which is finding God in our work, in one another, and in the creation that surrounds us. He will bring a great energy and wisdom to St. Joseph’s and to Philadelphia. We will miss him here at Loyola.”

John Pelissero, Provost and Executive Vice President
Although I’m sorry to see him leave after only two years, I’m very happy that Fr. Gillespie has been selected to lead St. Joseph’s as its next president. I know that the skills, vision, and values that he demonstrated as associate provost for university centers and the dean of Social Work at Loyola will make a positive impression on the St. Joseph’s community.”

Inside Loyola also reached out to Father Gillespie, who says, “I couldn’t be more pleased or excited about going home to St. Joseph’s. I not only went to school there, I grew up in the nearby suburbs, and have served on the board of directors for five years. I plan on doing a lot of listening my first few months and prioritize where my energy is spent around students and faculty. I thank everyone at Loyola for their support. It has been a real blessing and genuine honor to meet so many wonderful people here at Loyola and call them not only colleagues, but friends.  I plan on calling on many friends here before I begin my new presidency next July, 2012.”

Father Gillespie will be missed by all of Loyola’s faculty, administrators, staff, and students, but we will take pride in watching his accomplishments as President of St. Joseph’s. Father Gillespie is the third leader from Loyola who has been elected a university President in the last five years. Richard Salmi, S.J., former VP of student affairs, was appointed President of Spring Hill College in Alabama in 2009 and Christine Wiseman, former provost, was appointed President to St. Xavier University in 2010.

For more information on Father Gillespie’s appointment, please click here.

Reymond Ramos, president of the Loyola Armed Forces Club, speaks at Friday's press conference to welcome the Portrait of a Soldier exhibition. Behind Ramos is Aaron Greer (left), School of Communication associate professor and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (right).

Today is Veterans Day, and the lakeside campuses are holding two important events to honor our nation’s heroes.

Earlier this morning, on the Water Tower Campus (WTC) in the lobby of the Terry Student Center, a one-week traveling exhibition called Portrait of a Soldier, which features sketched drawings of deceased Illinois soldiers, made its Loyola debut. Artist Cameron Schilling began sketching the images of the soldiers in 2001, after September 11, as a tribute to the families of fallen soldiers. In 2006, the exhibition began and has been displayed in more than 70 locations across the state of Illinois since. The exhibition will remain on the WTC through Thursday, November 17. For more on the exhibition, click here.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn stopped by the campus to hold a press conference to introduce and dedicate the exhibition, something he has done at the beginning of every opening for Portrait of a Soldier.

The event featured remarks by Governor Quinn, Phil Hale, Loyola’s vice president for government affairs, Erica Borggren, the director of Illinois’s Department of Veterans Affairs, Reymond Ramos, president of Loyola’s Armed Forces Club, Aaron Greer, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Communication who discussed his documentary project A Day in the Life of America’s Veterans 11.11.11, and three Gold Star family members who shared stories of their lost loved ones. Also in attendance were a number of Loyola employees who served in the armed forces, including David Prasse, dean of the School of Education, Bill Laird, senior vice president  for finance, CFO, and treasurer, Ray Benton, PhD, chair of the marketing department, School of Business Administration, and Robert Fine, director of campus safety.

The University’s second event, a flag raising ceremony at the flag poles near the Lake Shore Campus shuttle bus stop, was held at 12:20 p.m. today. The ceremony, which was sponsored by the University’s Armed Forces Club, also included a short color guard ceremony by the Army ROTC.

Finally, as mentioned above, today marks the launch of an impressive project that we reported on back in August involving School of Communication professors John Goheen and Aaron Greer. Click here to learn about their film project, A Day in the Life of America’s Veterans 11.11.11.

Labeled as the No. 6 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, Loyola University Chicago was the underdog team, but the Ramblers showed up strong when they took to the pitch in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday night and came away with a win. The Ramblers (6-11-1, 3-5 HL) defeated the Vikings (9-9-1, 5-2-1 HL), 1-0 to advance to the Horizon League Semifinals.

At the 32:41 minute mark, sophomore Reed Patterson capitalized from six yards out and sent a header into the upper left corner. James Howe set up the play with a throw-in to Kyle Spoo. Spoo then sent a pass into the box for the assist.

Patterson’s header held up for the rest of the match as Cleveland State was unable find the equalizer and stay alive in the tournament. As part of their efforts, the Vikings produced four chances in the second half, most notably a strong attempt in the 74th minute, but the Rambler defense continued its impressive streak and booted the ball away.

Cleveland State finished with both an advantage in shots (8-6) and corner kicks (7-1), while Loyola worked to catch the Vikings offsides twice. Junior Eric Nock led the Ramblers on offense with two shots in the match. Patterson, Howe, and Spoo also added an attempt apiece to round out the team total of six shots on the night.

Senior goalkeeper Peter McKeown started in between the posts for the Ramblers and finished with three saves on the night to improve to 5-8-1. Cleveland State’s Brad Stuver collected two saves and fell to 9-8-1 on the season.

Loyola now travels to Indiana for the Semifinal match-up against No. 1 Seed Valparaiso on Friday at 7 p.m. CST.

With a number of Residence Life changes on the horizon, Regis Hall will become second-year housing in fall 2013.

In 2013, Loyola will open two new freshman residence halls, San Francisco Hall and DiNobili Hall, on the south side of campus. These new buildings will also bring a new dining hall, greenhouse, and multiple labs and learning spaces.

Kana Wibbenmeyer, assistant vice president of facilities, says the goal was simply to create more freshman living space.

“We wanted to increase the number of first-year students on campus,” she says. “Building these new halls allows us to increase housing availability to first-year students.”

In addition to having more options, Director of Residence Life Romando Nash adds there will also be a bigger emphasis on the experiential aspect of residence life.

“There needs to be housing that is designed to help students complete their education,” he says.

Ultimately, Nash says the goal is to have housing for 60-65 percent of students available on campus and to create residence life that ties more closely to the academic experience.

“[We are] creating an education centerpiece,” he says. “And tying in that idea of transformative education.”

San Francisco Hall/BVM Hall:

San Francisco Hall, which will add more than 400 beds, will be located on Kenmore Avenue between Georgetown Hall and BVM Hall, and the focus will be the environment. Students will be placed in “neighborhoods” that will monitor the amount of water and energy they conserve, and programming will focus on sustainability. In addition, San Francisco will be connected to a new greenhouse that will be the focus of many Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (CUERP) projects. Connected to the greenhouse will be BVM Hall which will hold academic offices and be a center for environmental groups on campus. In addition, San Francisco will also house a cafe that will hopefully use only locally grown food, either from Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus or from the campus greenhouse.

DiNobili Hall:

DiNobili Hall, which adds 200 beds, will be located on Kenmore Avenue and will replace the current Jesuit Residence lawn and parking lot. DiNobili will be a more traditional residence hall with study lounges on each floor, and double occupancy rooms, but will have a wellness theme, focusing on the wellness of the individual and wellness of the world. In addition, DiNobili will house a new dining hall on the first floor.

But these new halls aren’t the only changes coming to Residence Life. Here is a sampling of what is to come:

• Regis will become second-year housing (Fall 2013)
• Holy Cross and Rockhurst will be demolished and the area will become green space (Fall 2012)
• Bellarmine Hall and Messina Hall will open as second-year and upperclassman housing (Fall 2012)
• Campion Hall will take over St. Joseph Seminary (Fall 2012)
• Marquette Hall South will open as second-year housing (Fall 0f 2012)
• Fordham will transition into upperclassman housing (Fall of 2012 and Fall of 2013)
• Creighton will be decommissioned (TBD)

For more information, check out the Residence Life website.

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee, believes no child should be denied treatment due to a family’s inability to pay. Because the hospital’s operations heavily rely on donations, Up ’til Dawn, a Loyola student group, is hosting a fundraiser Wednesday evening to raise awareness about the St. Jude’s mission.

From 5-11 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, Up ’til Dawn will host its annual Letter Sending Party in the lobby of the Centennial Forum Student Union. There will be pre-written letters for people to sign, seal, and send to friends, family, and neighborhoods.

“The only thing people need to bring is a list of addresses,” says Paige Pallas, a senior advertising and public relations major and president of Up ’til Dawn. She says the postage for the envelopes is covered.

At Wednesday’s event, there will be free food, drawings for prizes, and live music. Also, anyone who fills out at least 25 letters will receive a complimentary Up ’til Dawn 2011 t-shirt.

Each year, the letter-sending fundraiser brings in about $20,000. This year, Up ’til Dawn’s fundraising goal is $25,000.

St. Jude’s daily operating cost is $1.7 million, most of which is covered by public contributions, according to the hospital’s website. Without fundraisers like the Up ’til Dawn letter sending party, St. Jude’s Hospital would not be able to provide life-saving services to thousands of children each year.

A former St. Jude’s patient will speak at Wednesday night’s event. He is a college-aged student who is now in remission, Pallas says.

Any individuals or groups interested in fundraising should sign-up beforehand online by clicking here. Registrants will need to create a username and password, then fill out the necessary information so that Up ’til Dawn can create name labels that will be added to participants’ letters in order to keep up track of the donations.

RSOs are encouraged to sign up in teams and compete against one another. Up ’til Dawn promises to buy advertising space in The Phoenix, Loyola’s student newspaper, for whichever student group raises the most money.

“Like” the Up ’til Dawn Loyola chapter’s Facebook page and follow @UpTilDawnLUC on Twitter.

Image courtesy of www.dalailama.com.

Loyola Community,

On April 26, 2012, His Holiness The Dalai Lama will return to Chicago and we are pleased to announce that Loyola University Chicago will serve as the host site for his visit. The sponsor of The Dalai Lama’s visit, the TIBETcenter of Chicago, will bring him to campus for a morning event with area 11th grade students who are participating in an essay contest focused on the theme of nonviolence.

Additionally, a University coordinating committee is planning a special afternoon program for Loyola students, faculty, staff, and alumni that will feature an address by The Dalai Lama. Details of the Loyola program, which will place a special emphasis on the theme of interfaith collaboration, will be forthcoming over the next couple of months.

It is a great honor for Loyola to have the opportunity to partner with the TIBETcenter of Chicago in hosting His Holiness The Dalai Lama. We look forward to your participation in his visit and encourage you to visit the TIBETcenter’s website for additional information on their event. Details of the Loyola-specific afternoon program will be posted on LUC.edu and Inside Loyola in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President and CEO

However, for Loyola faculty and staff there happens to be a Loyola-run resource for retreats that takes co-workers out of the office and into the country. Located just under two hours away in Woodstock, Illinois, Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus offers a retreat facility that fosters community and relaxation.

“We have an environment that is unlike anything offered at our other campuses,” says the campus’s Assistant General Manager Amanda Hitterman. “We are almost a sanctuary of the outside world. [The campus] creates a really minimal environment that allows you to interact with your colleagues in a way that you would not in the office.”

The campus has hosted retreats for many student groups and organizations, but Hitterman points out that the facilities are also perfect for staff retreats. The conference center includes small meeting rooms that offer privacy, larger rooms for big group gatherings, hiking trails for personal reflection, as well as overnight accommodations for longer retreats.

In addition, the campus offers an outdoor challenge program that can be engineered for each retreat and season by special request. During the summer and fall months, there is a challenge course and zip line, and during the colder months there are options for snow shoeing and cross-country skiing. However, General Manager Patti Carty says that even in the bitter midwestern winters, people enjoy the calm of the (just under) 100 acres of sprawling countryside land.

“Even in the winter it is just beautiful, the peace and quiet,” she says. “It is surprising how many people will bundle up in coats and boots to walk around.”

Hitterman says that groups can stay for just one day or an entire weekend, and they will work with each individual group to put together a meal plan for any occasion and any budget. Plus, the offerings aren’t as rustic as may be imagined.

“We offer higher end foods,” she points out. “You can have a cocktail reception that won’t break your budget.”

Carty also adds the produce served at meals is grown on the farm or bought locally, and they offer options for vegetarians and vegans as well.

Hitterman herself recently attended the women’s retreat at the campus, and says the weekend was a welcome break.  She says it really showed her how the campus can be a place where people can relax more than they would in other settings.

“We are a place where people let their guard down a little bit and can take time out of their normal routine,” she says.

Questions about booking a retreat at the Retreat and Ecology Campus? E-mail Amanda Hitterman at lurec@luc.edu or call 815.338.1032. For more information, click here to visit the Retreat and Ecology Campus website.

At Loyola this statistic has not been ignored, and a group of students is working to end hunger, one week at a time.

Hunger Week 2011 is the week of November 6 through 11 and features events, fundraisers, and presentations that aim to reduce the problem of hunger through education and direct funds. “Transforming hunger to hope” is the theme of this year, and Hunger Week marketing committee chairperson Alexia Plesiotis, a sophomore accounting and pre-law major,  says the goal is to universalize the problem of hunger.

“We really wanted to just generalize the idea of hunger,” she says. “It isn’t just starvation, it is people who are struggling with obesity. It isn’t always happening to people who are in poverty–it is happening to everyday Americans.”

The events accordingly focus on all aspects of hunger, and will run for six days, both on the Lake Shore and Water Tower campuses.  Though there are more than 18 events to choose from, Plesiotis says there are four big events no one should miss:

• The Hunger Week 5k Walk/Run (Sunday, November 6 at 10 a.m., Sean Earl Field)
• The Social Class Dinner (Monday, November 7 at 7 p.m., Klarchek Information Commons 4th Floor)
• The Famine in East Africa Lecture (Tuesday, November 8 at 7 p.m., Dumbach Hall 125)
• Fast-a-Thon (Thursday, November 10, from sun up to sun down–breaking of the fast is at 4 p.m. in the Crown Center Lobby)

Another part of Hunger Week is the emphasis on religious diversity. The Hillel Center, Muslim Student Association, and Campus Ministry are all sponsoring events, and most events focus on the hunger, not the faith, behind food. Plesiotis says this was done on purpose.

“We also tried to incorporate a lot of different religious aspects throughout the week,” she says. “We’re trying to stress many aspects of religion so it isn’t totally focused on Christianity.”

The events throughout the week will raise awareness and funds will go toward assisting local, national, and international relief organizations. The local benefactor is the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy’s campus gardens (which will aid in expanding Loyola’s on-campus gardens), the national charity is Feeding America (which aids in starvation relief), and the international charity is Catholic Relief Services (which focuses on relieving the famine in East Africa).

Though Plesiotis points out many events, she stressed that any participation in Hunger Week would aid in the fight against hunger and food problems here in Chicago, America, and around the world.

“Everything you do is going to make a difference,” she says. “Everything is going toward something bigger.”

For more information and a complete listing of the Hunger Week events, visit their website here.

Change Kwesle, a 2011 Loyola graduate and Fulbright scholar, is currently serving as a White House intern.

When President Barack Obama campaigned his way across the U.S. in 2008, he promised to bring “Change We Can Believe In” to the White House if elected. Although President Obama was speaking somewhat figuratively, he brought Change — that is, Change Kwesle, a 2011 Loyola graduate and Fulbright scholar who is currently serving as a White House intern. Kwesele, who earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and black world studies with a sociology minor, recently spoke to Inside Loyola about her accomplishments since graduation and what she has in store for the future.

What inspired you to work in the White House, and how did you get the job?
A friend, who is familiar with my academics, past and present leadership roles, and ambition to serve others, suggested I apply to the White House Internship Program. She was right in thinking that I would be a good match for the program. Looking into the internship, I related right away to the mission of the program, which is “to make the ‘People’s House’ accessible to future leaders all around the nation and cultivate and prepare those devoted to public service for future leadership opportunities.” I see myself as a future leader in public service domestically and internationally, so I decided to take a chance and apply to this once-in-a-lifetime internship.

As a White House intern, what are your daily responsibilities?
Within the White House, I intern in the Office of Presidential Correspondence. The Office handles official correspondence on behalf of the President. From private citizens to civic organizations and elected officials, this office receives and responds to the spectrum of sundry letters thePresident receives. My daily responsibilities include identifying potential casework for constituents who write, e-mail, or fax the President on issues pertaining to various agencies, and I process responses from federal agencies to constituents.

What will you study with your Fulbright Scholarship?
I begin my Fulbright research in December, after I complete the White House Internship. I will be in Zambia researching the efforts of a non-profit organization called the Forum of African Women Educationalists of Zambia (FAWEZA) to keep young women and men in school amidst high levels of school dropouts and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.

How did a Loyola education prepare you for the endeavors you’re currently facing? 
Loyola cultivated my love of service. I participated in Loyola4Chicago for all four years of college, and upon graduating, I continue to find myself lending a hand where I can. Currently, with a few other White House interns, I am volunteering once a week, mentoring students at a local high school.

Without Loyola’s Office of International Programs and the Fellowship Office, I would not have thought of applying for a Fulbright. With the support I had from those two offices, I have grown to seek out travel and work that encourages cultural exchange and academic growth.

What is your dream job and what do you aspire to be?
I aspire to be a development practitioner, working on improving health and education policy and programs. I dream of one day overseeing a youth-centered non-governmental organization between Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S., empowering young men and women to be leaders in developing their communities.

Final words?
My advice to Loyola students is to seek out many different opportunities; do not limit yourself to only what is familiar or comfortable. 

When Grace Calhoun, PhD, took over as Loyola’s new Director of Athletics in spring 2011, her name was buzzing all around campus. However, not many people know the story of how she became one of Loyola’s most talked-about new staff members.

That will all change on Tuesday, November 1 when she speaks as part of Evoke’s “Telling HERstory” speaker series event, which offers Loyola women leaders a place to tell the story of how they got to be where they are and the lessons they have learned along the way.

The event, which will occur in the Klarchek Information Commons fourth floor from noon to 1 p.m., will focus on Calhoun’s multi-faceted life, which includes her time as a college track athlete at Brown University to being involved in athletics administration at Indiana University, Saint Francis University, and Dartmouth College, as well as attaining a master’s degree in exercise and sport science and a PhD in higher education administration from the University of Florida, and an MBA from Lehigh University.

Calhoun says she will focus on themes she has discovered to be the key to success in her life thus far: being a competitor, overcoming adversity, and finding your passion. Calhoun, who says she “fell backward” into athletic directing, says there were people who told her she couldn’t succeed, but through perseverance she has been able to thrive in a career she loves.

In addition, Calhoun has a history of representing women in athletics with previous positions such as an NCAA Fellow to assist women and minorities attain jobs in athletic directing.

She stressed, however, that her presentation will discuss more than her career as a woman in athletics.

“I think my themes are highly generalizable,” she says. “People [can] translate and adapt what I’ve learned as life lessons or themes…to other situations.”

However, she says she can act as a model for women who are considering her career path but aren’t sure if they want to take high pressure responsibility, while balancing a family and personal life.

“It’s a job with irregular hours where you always feel like you’re on call,” she says. “[But] there are ways you can make it work.”

Calhoun, who describes herself as a “life-long learner” says she was very honored when she was asked to speak because she subscribes to the same philosophy. As an avid reader of biographies, she feels “there is so much we can learn from other people.”

In addition, having been involved in athletics departments at several different universities, she says she was impressed that Loyola has a venue for staff to reflect on their experiences.

“I love that philosophy that if you invest in your people…in return you will be better educators of our students,” she adds.

To find out more about the event and to RSVP, click here.

One piece of art available for purchase is: Chicago Noon, 2011 Digital Print, 1/10, 18 x 30 inches, Framed Courtesy of the Artist. The starting bid for the piece will be $100.

Looking for a museum-worthy piece for your apartment or a piece to add to your art collection? The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is here to help at their inaugural Art Sale, on Wednesday, November 2, from 6-9:30 p.m.

The LUMA Art Sale features more than 100 works of fine art, donated by the artists, local galleries, and corporations to be sold through silent auction, live auction, and a “Backroom Bazaar.” Lisa Stuchly, curatorial assistant at LUMA, says the pieces feature some of Chicago’s best, as well as artists from around the world.

“There’s a good amount of Chicago art represented but [for example] we also have Jean-Christophe Ballot, who is from Paris, and Yvonne Jacquette, who is from New York,” she says.

The collection overall is impressive and has pieces for any artistic interest. Stuchly points out #18, Criss-Cross Series from iconic Chicago artist William Conger and Compassion by Ed Paschke, as well as 9/11, a piece by Loyola alum Rosalee O. Isaly. One she says to be sure not to miss was Cosmic Slop by Rashid Johnson, who will be opening an exhibit in the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) next month.

“That is a pretty amazing opportunity to get a piece of art by an artist that is about to be in the MCA,” she says.

The event, which benefits LUMA’s unique mission, will have sale options for all types of buyers.  From 6-8:30 p.m. there is a silent auction throughout the entire gallery and at 7 p.m. there will be a live auction.  There will also be cocktails and a dessert bar throughout the entire night.

“It’s this great movement throughout the galleries,” says Stuchly. “There is always something going on.”

In addition, attendees who pay an additional $50 will be guaranteed to take home a piece from the “Backroom Bazaar,” a collection of smaller pieces, mostly donated from corporate collections.

“That is a great deal for people who do not have a big budget,” notes Stuchly.

For those who want to strategically plan ahead, there are preview sessions at LUMA before the actual sale, on October 31 and November 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and November 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, there is an online preview of the pieces available from the LUMA website, by clicking here.

For more information about the sale, click here to visit the LUMA Art Sale website.

Tickets are $100 each and $150 per pair.

Harvest Festival guests enjoy their time at the craft table.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, a beautifully sunny and warm fall day, the University’s Retreat and Ecology Campus hosted approximately 700 people at the first-ever Harvest Festival.

Sangita Gosalia, associate director for campus community planning, says most of the crowd included local residents and the large number of attendees may indicate a sense of curiosity about the new property owners in the neighborhood.

“People were very appreciative that we even opened up our campus,” she says.

Though Gosalia said the purpose of the event was to draw in the surrounding community, she was pleased at how many students, faculty, and alumni attended as well.

“I think students, faculty, and staff add a different energy to the event,” she says.  “Neighbors enjoyed the opportunity to interact with students.”

In addition to attending the event, students who were particularly interested in the environmental efforts at the campus volunteered to help out with the event, including leading tours which turned out to be particularly popular.  Gonsalia says “…people had a real interest in the facility’s farms, the challenge course, and learning about what we are doing with the wetlands” and every tour garnered interest from festival-goers.

Students were even able to demonstrate their planting methods to farming veterans in Woodstock.

“It was really unique to see students teach much older residents about the new environmental techniques that they are learning at the University,” says Gosalia.

In addition to creating lasting relationships, festival-goers made a lasting impact by painting the chicken coops.

“Everyone just sort of painted whatever they wanted and had the opportunity to leave their mark at the campus,” she says.

Gosalia says they are still working through the numbers of the event, and are deciding how they want to move forward with future events like Harvest Festival. Regardless of future events, Gosalia believes this one won’t be forgotten by anyone.

“It was a phenomenal event and we had phenomenal weather,” she says. “I don’t really know how it could have gone better.”

For more information about the events that took place at Harvest Festival, read our past story by clicking here or visit the Harvest Fest 2011 website by clicking here.

Prior to his evening lecture, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (right) toured the University's biodiesel lab with Zach Waickman, the lab's manager.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted the United States needs to reduce its dependance on foreign oil and create a marketplace for new energy when he spoke at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus on October 26. About 400 people packed into Mundelein Auditorium to hear Kennedy, an attorney and staunch defender of the environment, outline the problems threatening Earth and solutions for how to prevent further desolation.

In his lecture titled, “Green Gold Rush: A Vision for Energy Independence, Jobs, and National Wealth,” Kennedy said, “We’re not protecting nature for nature’s sake. . . but because we recognize it’s the infrastructure of our community.”

Kennedy criticized big businesses that “convert our natural resources to cash as quickly as possible,” and profit from pollution and destruction while, in most cases, low-income communities face the harmful (sometimes even life-threatening) after-effects.

Although coal is systematically touted as a low-cost energy source, Kennedy argued that the uncalculated costs of the industry, such as the health care costs of those affected by toxic sludge running into drinking water, are pricey for the government and its taxpayers.

According to Kennedy, women who have been exposed to high levels mercury through drinking water or fish consumption are much more likely to have children with cognitive disabilities. An avid fisherman himself, Kennedy said he recently visited his doctor to get his mercury levels checked.

“My mercury levels were 10 times what the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) considers safe,” he said. “My doctor said a woman with this much mercury in the blood would have children with permanent IQ impairment.”

Other issues Kennedy discussed included the oil mining industries and mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian Mountains.

The theme of Kennedy’s lecture was the idea of transforming America’s dangerous dependance on fossil fuels, specifically Saudi Arabian oil, into a reliance on new energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal power. However, for these technologies to be fully effective, Kennedy explained that the new energy must be transported across the continental U.S. to places that lack the sufficient renewable energy resources.

“Our current energy grid cannot carry new types of energy. We have a “dumb grid” instead of a smart grid,” Kennedy said. He explained how the electrons produced by a wind farm in North Dakota cannot be transmitted across the country because the grid is not fully compatible with the new, green technology.

Kennedy argued that a new energy marketplace would fully align with the true mission of capitalism: “reward good behavior — efficiency — and punish bad behavior — which is inefficiency and waste.”

Kennedy claimed that in 2011, more wind and solar energy technology has been built “than all the incumbents combined.”

Outproducing the status quo “is a milestone with every disruptive technology you look for,” he said.

At the conclusion of his talk, Kennedy received a standing ovation from the crowd. After he thanked the audience, attendees lined up for a book signing with the environmental activist.

Also on Wednesday, Kennedy participated in an afternoon Q&A discussion with students and toured Loyola’s biodiesel lab. Kennedy’s lecture is a part of Loyola’s Only One Earth initiative to focus on environmental responsibility and make the University community more aware, motivated, and involved in green activism.

To view a slideshow of Kennedy’s visit to Loyola, click here.

Jane McGonigal, author of The New York Times bestseller, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How We Can Change The World, will serve as the keynote speaker for Friday's Digital Ethics Symposium. Image courtesy of www.janemcgonigal.com.

Determining what’s permissible to say or do in a digital world can be tricky considering no one has written the official rule book for online ethical behavior. However, Loyola is pioneering the way for new media ethics. This Friday, October 28, Loyola’s Center for Digital Ethics & Policy is hosting an all-day conference at which professionals, scholars, and students will examine and discuss timely topics like citizen journalism, public relations, gaming, and intellectual property.

The Digital Ethics Symposium, being held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Kasbeer Hall in the Corboy Law Center, will bring together media enthusiasts from across the country and world to introduce insights about appropriately using new technologies.

Don Heider, dean of the School of Communication, says more than 100 people have already registered for the symposium, and many Loyola students will also be attending with their classes.

Although this symposium is highly relevant to journalists, PR specialists, and media gurus, the panelists and presenters are not just experts from communication studies.

“Many people are interested in what’s going on in the digital world,” Heider says. “The idea is to bring together a bunch of people thinking and writing about digital ethics and share their ideas.”

Interdisciplinary scholars will present papers dealing with an expansive list of topics, including some which are rather taboo — like the ethics of “Sexting.” Other papers will deal with green computing, the government’s oversight of the Internet, and social media ethics.

Gaming is a key component of this groundbreaking symposium.

Jane McGonigal, author of The New York Times bestseller, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How We Can Change The World, is the conference’s keynote speaker. A game designer and TED presenter, McGonigal will likely discuss how playing games can yield the solutions to the world’s problems.

McGonigal creates “games for good” in which players enter an alternate reality and try to solve global epidemics like hunger, climate change, or poverty, Heider says. He describes the games as “fun, interesting, challenging, but those that deal with a real issue.”

If you’re interested in learning more about digital ethics, you can still register for Friday’s conference by signing up online here. Registration will close at the end of the day Thursday. The event is free to attend. The conference will also be streamed live at www.digitalethics.org.

During “J-term,” spanning January 2-13, students will spend about four hours in class each day, Monday to Friday, and earn three credit hours at the conclusion of the course. However, when class is dismissed, the learning doesn’t end.

Chandra Sekharan, assistant to the provost and chair of computer science, says students should except “to spend between 6 to 10 hours a day studying, undergoing a field experience, or doing other projects.”

Because of the intensive work load, students can only take one course during the term.

Sekharan explains J-term is a “full-time, immersive study experience that provides the benefit of focusing solely on one course.”

Cutting the holiday break two weeks short might seem like a drag, but it could greatly benefit some students. Although Loyola recently reduced the number of credit hours required for graduation from 128 to 120, many students are still forced to take summer classes in order to graduate on time. It’s much better to spend hours inside during the brutal Chicago winter rather than missing out on beach days and Magnificent Mile shopping in the summer.

“J-term is a great opportunity for students to make progress toward their degree or graduate early,” Sekharan says, explaining that the “broad spectrum of options” for classes provides almost all students with a chance to get ahead.

Of the classes being offered, six are online and six meet at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus. There is also a Winter Ecology course that is being offered at the Loyola Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois. For those looking to travel, an environmental sustainability course is being offered at Loyola’s Beijing Center in China.

Just like all other sessions, students will enroll in J-term courses through LOCUS. Registration begins November 1 and closes January 1 — a day before classes begin. To view the list of classes offered in the 2010 J-term, please visit LUC.edu/januaryterm.

What do they do once they get out of prison?  How do they get their life back on track?

For Senior Lecturer in Residence at the Loyola School of Law Laura Caldwell, JD, the challenges that these people face in life after prison is not only a question, it is a life calling.

Caldwell started the Life After Innocence project at the School of Law, which works with a team of Loyola law students to help exonorees move forward in life after being proven innocent.  The case that inspired her work became the novel A Long Way Home: A Young Man in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him, which Caldwell will discuss at the Library Speaker Series on Thursday, October 27, from 6-7 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons.

Caldwell, who is the author of eleven fiction novels that combine law and mystery, was doing research for one of her novels when she discovered the case of Jovan Mosley, a 19-year-old man who had been in prison for five years without a trial because of a false confession, from defense lawyer Catharine O’Daniel.  The two women took up the case and worked to get Mosley a trial.  He was proven innocent.

This case inspired Caldwell to start the Life After Innocence project which, according to the website, helps exonerees “reinstate their rights as innocent citizens and to return as productive, involved, and educated members of society.” The work is all done pro bono, and has many success stories. Among them is Mosley himself, now working toward his bachelor’s degree at Loyola while working full time as a psychiatric technician. He has worked as a paralegal and law clerk, and hopes to go to law school.

Cathy Miesse, assistant dean for technical services and outreach at the University Libraries, says the book is a gripping read, and one that chronicles a very difficult way of life.

“You really get a good look at what goes on in prison,” she says.

However, Miesse said the book is an important one and she wanted to bring Caldwell to the Lake Shore Campus to expose more students to the Loyola law school and the work that Caldwell does.

Before Caldwell and her colleagues started the Life After Innocence project, there were 70 different organizations committed to helping prove the innocence of those wrongfully convicted, but not a single one assisting exonerees as they start their life over again.

Miesse pointed out that the work that Caldwell does isn’t typical of the law world–it transcends into service.

“She has become a humanitarian because of this kind of work,” she says.

For more information on the Library Speaker Series: Laura Caldwell, visit the University Libraries website by clicking here.

Admission is free, but registration is requested.

The Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) recently received a $100,000 grant to support research to treat an aggressive form of pediatric leukemia. The grant, which was funded by Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels program, was presented to Loyola during a special ceremony with cancer patients and their parents at Loyola University Medical Center.

“I would like to express our appreciation for all that the Hope on Wheels program is doing in the fight against childhood cancer,” says Jerold Sterling, MD, FAAP, chair and professor, Department of Pediatrics, SSOM. “This organization has shown the vision and determination to make a real difference in the ability to care for children with cancer across the country and throughout the world.”

Studies that will be funded by this grant are already under way at Loyola. These studies will evaluate a new class of drugs designed to treat this form of childhood leukemia. They will be led by Charles Hemenway, MD, Ronald McDonald House Charities endowed professor in pediatric oncology and division director of pediatric hematology/oncology at Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine.

“This research has already shown promise,” says SSOM Coleman Professor of Oncology and Director of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center Patrick Stiff, MD, who accepted the check on behalf of Loyola. “We are happy and honored to be a recipient of this grant and so grateful to be a part of studies that give us hope.”

Mary Connolly, the mother of a child who was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, was in attendance to share her story. Her son Simon is undergoing his fourth of six chemotherapy treatments at the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center.

“As my son Simon and our family live through this experience, I know the value of what cancer research can do and the difference this donation will make for future patients and their families,” Connolly says. “This funding will help provide groundbreaking, life-saving research that can change the lives of cancer patients and their families.”

Leukemia is the most common malignancy in children. Over the past 50 years, advances have been made to understand and treat the disease allowing many children with leukemia to be cured. The evolution of the treatment for this disease is one of the greatest success stories in cancer research. However, leukemia remains incurable in many children and others are burdened by the side effects of treatment.

“This is a time where we focus on raising awareness about the fight against childhood cancer, while celebrating the lives of the brave children battling this disease,” says Brian O’Malley, regional general manager, Hyundai USA.

Hope on Wheels is the united effort of Hyundai Motor America and its dealers across the U.S. to help kids fight cancer. The organization provided grants to doctors and researchers through the end of September as part of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Legendary comedian and Loyola alumnus Bob Newhart stopped by the convergence studio on the Water Tower Campus for a quick visit with the Loyola Phoenix and students in Professor Beth Konrad's interviewing class.

Though the School of Communication hosts hundreds of Loyola students everyday, on Thursday it welcomed back a very famous alumnus. Legendary comedian Bob Newhart stopped by the convergence studio Thursday to visit with Nathan Lurz, editor of the Loyola Phoenix, and take some questions from Professor Beth Konrad’s interviewing class. Newhart discussed his experience at Loyola, how he got into comedy, and of course, he shared a few jokes.

Newhart was born in Oak Park, Ill. and attended St. Ignatius Prep for high school.  He said he chose Loyola because it was nearby and had a good reputation, and had always enjoyed his Jesuit education, crediting the Jesuits for helping him formulate his unique thought process.

“I always thanked the Jesuits for the twisted view I have on life,” he joked. “They give you a curiosity that you keep for the rest of your life.”

At Loyola, Newhart first studied the liberal arts, then switched to business administration when he decided he wanted to go to law school.  He enrolled in Loyola’s School of Law, and though he never finished, he said law school actually helped his comedy career.

“A year at law school gave me an appreciation for the precision of the word of lawyers,” he said.

Newhart took an entry-level job and started doing  stand up comedy on the side. A friend, Dan Sorkin, who was a DJ in Chicago asked him to record his routines, and started playing them on air. The next few years he said were a “blur.”

“There was so much I was unprepared for,” he said. Newhart’s first comedy album, Behind the Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart, was the first comedy album to be number one on the Billboard Charts, and it beat out the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elvis for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year  in 1961. From there, Newhart went on to have a thriving comedy and acting career, most notably in his own  sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show.

To add to his accolades, Newhart is being inducted into the Illinois Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Friday. When asked to name the one accomplishment he is most proud of he said he couldn’t name one, but being back in the Windy City has helped him realize how accomplished his life has been.

“There have been so many,” he said. “That’s why coming back to Chicago puts it all in perspective.”

But despite Newhart’s rocket to success, he said he wasn’t always confident he would make it.

“There were times when I thought I was making a big mistake,” he said. “But there was always something on the horizon.”

But ultimately he said, “Just go for your passion.”

The interview with Newhart was recorded by the School of Communication and highlights of the conversation are now available here.

Workers admire the newly painted Gentile Arena floor.

Until this fall, the Loyola construction may have just seemed like a mystery behind green fences and dump trucks.  Now, however, students, faculty, staff (or anyone with an Internet connection) can go online and find out the progress of the construction projects thanks to Loyola’s newest blog: Loyola Progress.

The blog was created in response to confusion about construction and the desire to make projects more interactive by Bryan Goodwin, director of student centers, and K.C. Mmeje, associate dean of students.

Goodwin, who writes and takes photos for the site, says he wanted to “create something that brought the Loyola community closer to all the construction that is happening on campus.”

“I think sometimes you take construction for granted because you see the headache of all the construction then suddenly a building is up,” he says.

This blog, however, takes the headache out of the hardhats. The site, which launched in September, provides updates and news on current construction projects, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the renovations. Recent posts include slideshows of the new Gentile Arena and bottles found beneath the foundations of Alumni Gym (why were there bottles there you may ask? Find out the surprising answer in this Loyola Progress post). There is also a live stream of the construction filmed from a camera placed on the top of Mertz Hall.

As the blog gains momentum, Goodwin says he is hoping to add more features that will make the construction even more interactive. There are plans for social media sites that will tweet or post pertinent construction information (such as sidewalk closings or building hours) as well as video content.

Also in the future, Goodwin says he hopes Loyola Progress can become a resource that looks toward the future of the Loyola campus and community.

“If we are successful, I would like to keep this blog open for years,” he says. “The idea isn’t just to capture the projects that we see in front of us right now, but to capture what is to come in the future.”

Goodwin says that he is looking for feedback from Loyolans about what they would like to see on the site. If you have ideas, feel free to e-mail Goodwin at bgoodwin@luc.edu. Or else, visit the site by clicking here and posting a comment.

Original note sent at 1:54 p.m. on October 19:

Loyola Community,

Due to the high winds, a window on the east side of the Corboy Law Center (between floors 10 and 11) has blown out. Campus Safety and the Chicago Police Department are on the scene, and Wabash Avenue, between Chicago and Pearson, is blocked off and no vehicular or pedestrian traffic is allowed to pass through. There are no injuries to report.

Due to the street closure, the Loyola shuttle has been re-routed, and it will be picking up and dropping off in front of the Corboy Law Center (on Pearson) until Wabash Avenue is re-opened.

For updates on the situation, please check out the Inside Loyola news site at LUC.edu/insideloyola.

Sincerely,

Robert Langan
Lieutenant, Campus Safety

The Microsoft Migration Project is already occurring in several stages. In August, all machines in labs and classrooms were updated, with additional modifications made in September to address reports that some units were freezing unexpectedly. ITS reports that machines in these facilities should now be running seamlessly.

The next phase of the project will bring updates to faculty and staff computers. In late October, ITS will be the first department migrated. When complete, ITS will begin scheduling the move for other University departments.

For 10 years, Loyola computers have run Windows XP. Although Microsoft offered service updates for XP through the years, the launch of Windows 7 resulted in fewer improvements to the old operating system.

“The upgrades are a response to both predictable software cycles and specific industry developments,” says Susan Malisch, vice president and chief information officer of ITS. “Due to market share changes, compatibility issues with new technology, and the recent acquisition of Novell by Attachmate, Loyola began planning a migration of Novell services to alternative platforms, and the Windows and Office upgrades are a natural extension of this planning.”

Windows 7 offers many advantages over XP, including faster processing, an improved desktop, tighter security, and enhanced media options.

“We were impressed with the new tools and features being offered, all of which seem focused on improved productivity and usability,” Malisch adds.

As with any software change, the move to Windows 7 brings possible issues with compatibility. Malisch notes that some older printers, scanners, and web cams may not work once the upgrade is complete. ITS tested various software and hardware to gauge compatibility and the results are posted online here.

Office 2010 features the latest improvements to the Microsoft ribbon (which used to be known as the toolbar), stronger formatting features, built-in PDF support, and a real time co-authoring tool for document collaboration.

“Most users will probably experience a slight learning curve as they learn the new version,” Malisch says, adding that the transition to Office 2010 will likely be most challenging for those currently using Office 2003 because the visual and functional changes are more dramatic. Anyone currently using Office 2003 who would like more time to work with the new versions can upgrade now rather than waiting for the departmental upgrades. Instructions for doing so are available here.

Training workshops for Office 2010 are also being offered in October and November. These include overview sessions, as well as specific classes for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Information and registration is available online. More dates and times will be added for January 2012.

You may also download printable quick reference cards and view articles, videos, and training modules via the ITS website. Anyone requiring additional assistance is encouraged to contact the upgrade project team directly by sending an e-mail to windows7@luc.edu.

Homecoming weekend kicked off at 9 p.m. Friday night with food, music, and free giveaways in the Norville Center. After receiving lots of free Rambler gear, the wolf packs of people trekked over to the Halas Sports Center to watch the men’s and women’s basketball teams kick off the 2011-12 season during Midnight Madness. The stands were jam-packed with Rambler fans, who waved their foam wolf paws in the air.

“Midnight Madness is a good way for our student body to engage and interact with our teams,” says Bill Behrns, sports information director for athletics. “It’s a very relaxed atmosphere, and it just gives the players a chance to enjoy the night without having to worry about practice.”

The players performed different types of drills and skills on the court, and when they were taking a breather, students took the court for various contests. One contest required Joe Crisman, a freshman basketball player, to sink one half-court shot, (within five attempts), so one student would get the opportunity to sit on the bench with the men’s basketball team for a game. Crisman missed his first shot, but hit nothing but net on the second, meaning freshman student Christian Lehman will join the bench for one game this season.

Saturday was filled with events scattered throughout both campuses and even in different parts of the city. Several of the graduate schools hosted brunches at the Water Tower Campus, while about 120 homecoming participants conversed and caffeinated during Java with the Jesuits over at the Ignatius House. 

The mutlicultural luncheon, held on the fourth floor of the Klarchek Information Commons at noon Saturday, was an immense success. Sarah Malouf, associate director of Alumni Relations, says attendees cultivated “good conversations about what makes us feel like we belong at Loyola.” EVOKE also hosted a special “This I Believe” series luncheon that included four panelists, two of which were alumni.

On Saturday evening, about 500 participants attended the men’s soccer game at Hoyne Field. Loyola-themed scarves were given away to attendees. Malouf explains that all the sporting events had a “giveaway component” to them.

When the final day of Homecoming came around, participants seemed worn out from being rowdy Ramblers. Sunday was a day of reflection and relaxation. Participants attended the Homecoming Masses held that morning in Madonna della Strada Chapel and spent time sightseeing and strolling through campus before saying goodbye to their friends, families and beloved alma mater.

Malouf insists, “Homecoming at Loyola is here to stay.”

Loyola used to host homecoming celebrations many years ago, but it faded out and was replaced with a general Parent’s Weekend. However, Alumni Relations is trying to strengthen the bonds alumni have with the University, and homecoming is viewed as more inclusive, inviting all those with Loyola ties to visit campus.

Students come together at the annual Convocation Walk back in August.

Final enrollment numbers for fall 2011 are in and a couple things are clear: new students (first-year, transfer, and graduate) are still coming to Loyola in droves, and equally as important, they are starting to stick around here at a higher rate.

For the last several years, Loyolans attending Father Garanzini’s State of the University addresses have heard the president discuss the importance of retaining our students and he’s also talked in detail about ways to accomplish the goal. Through the work of a number of different offices, most notably the Office of First-Year Experience, the University’s retention rate has risen to 87 percent, up from 85 percent just a year ago.

“Retaining the students that our admission folks work so hard to recruit each year is one of our top priorities,” says Bridget Wesley, director of the Office of First-Year Experience. A number of things played into this increase, everything from improving the academic advising and tutoring experience to offering a cohesive first-year retreat program to lowering the number of required graduation credits and getting more full time, tenured faculty members in front of first-year students.”

Wesley also notes the importance of growing the learning communities on campus, making sure the University’s Cristo Rey Scholars have access to the tools they need to succeed, building on the established interdisciplinary honors program, expanding peer mentor programs, investing in the campus, and so many other initiatives that are integral in the University’s pursuit to offer a first-class, transformative student experience.

As for the fall numbers, the University reports that it welcomed 1,981 new freshmen, 539 transfers, and 1,376 new graduate students to campus this year. Combined with returning students, the University’s total enrollment now sits at 16,040, a record for Loyola. The class of 2015 comes from 40 states and 17 countries, boasts an average ACT score of 26.9, is more diverse than a year ago, and features 96 Presidential Scholars (up from 80 in 2010) and 5 Cristo Rey Scholars.

“This remains a difficult economic time with more and more families faced with financial uncertainty and likewise, it becomes an even greater challenge each year to recruit talented students to Loyola,” says Lori Greene, director of undergraduate admission. “That said, our admission staff has done an incredible job getting prospective students on campus, and once they’re here, the faculty and staff of this University do a great job of making Loyola feel like home. Overall, we’re very excited about the makeup of the class of 2015.”

“I want to express my profound appreciation for Dr. Fennell’s commitment to providing a transformative education to our students and for the careful and thoughtful strategic direction in which he has advanced the CAS,” says John Pelissero, PhD, Loyola’s provost. “There will be a number of opportunities over the course of the next several months to thank Dr. Fennell for his leadership of the College (which began in 2008) and we plan to celebrate his many accomplishments.”

Looking ahead, today the Office of the Provost announced the formation of a search committee for the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Donald Heider, PhD, dean of the School of Communication, has agreed to chair the committee, and membership includes:

• John Cunningham, S.J., PhD, Associate Professor of Physics
• Sarah Gabel, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Fine and Performing Arts
• James Garbarino, PhD, Professor and Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology
• Russell Gonzalez, a Senior CAS Student
• Robert Kelly, PhD, Vice President for Student Development
• Joyce Wexler, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of English

Ms. Francesca Pirovano, Office of the Provost, will serve as the administrative liaison for the committee.

To assist the committee with its national search, Loyola has turned to Dennis Barden, a senior vice president with Witt/Kieffer, an executive search firm that Loyola has worked with successfully in the past.

Dean Heider and Mr. Barden will soon be conducting meetings with key stakeholder groups within the College of Arts and Sciences to gather important information and perspectives on desirable characteristics of the next leader of the College. Key external stakeholders will also be consulted as part of this process.

Provost Pelissero expects that an active recruitment process will engage the search committee and Witt/Kieffer for the next several months and lead to on-campus finalist interviews during the spring semester. He also encourages CAS faculty, students, and staff to play an active role in the selection process.

For more information on the search, please contact Francesca Pirovano at mpirovano@luc.edu.

Homecoming Weekend is a recreation of what was formerly known as Family Weekend. Instead of solely focusing on students and their families, the University now welcomes everyone to campus to engage in celebrations that will surely boost Rambler pride.

“Family weekend invited parents, but we really wanted to make sure we were capturing the alumni audience,” Sarah Malouf, director of alumni relations, says. “Homecoming is more inclusive.”

On Friday, October 14 at 9 p.m., Homecoming Weekend kicked off in the Norville Center with music and maroon and gold giveaways such as pom-poms, pennants, and foam LU Wolf claws.

After stocking up on Rambler gear, the crowd trekked over to the second floor of Halas Sports Center to watch the Rambler basketball teams take the court during Midnight Madness, which began at 10 p.m. With a new coach and the University’s recommitment to student athletics, this year’s Midnight Madness was more epic than ever.

Saturday was jam-packed with activities for all Loyola audiences. At noon, there was a multicultural luncheon on the fourth floor of the Klarchek Information Commons located at the Lake Shore Campus. Alumni, current students, and their families joined University faculty and staff in recognizing and honoring Loyola’s leaders for diversity.

Many of the professional schools located at the Water Tower Campus hosted brunches and luncheons for alumni and current students. The Loyola Publications Reunion, featuring alumni of Loyola News, Loyola Phoenix, Cadence, Diminuendo, and The Loyolan, gathered to catch-up and participate in a series of events aimed at evaluating new media, including a digital skills workshop and a panel discussion titled, “Will there be newspapers in 2025?,” which was followed by a reception and dinner.

Dozens came out to tailgate and rally prior to the men’s soccer game at Hoyne Field (6336 N. Hoyne Ave.) and scooped up some sweet giveaways and food while supporting student athletics.

On Sunday, there were two Homecoming masses in the Madonna della Strada Chapel. The first Mass, beginning at 9 a.m., was dedicated to the members of the 1961 class, who will celebrate their 50th reunion and induction into the Half Century Club with a brunch at 10 a.m. in Mundelein Auditorium. The second Mass began at 10:30 a.m.

Loyola showcased its religious diversity with the Home for All Faiths Tour, which departed from Madonna della Strada Chapel at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The tour, led by Campus Ministry, “was an opportunity to explore the Mundelein Center and learn about all the religious backgrounds Loyola supports and provides space for on campus,” Malouf says.

On Sunday afternoon, there was an Organ Concert Series performance with music played on the Kathryn “Kay” Stamm Memorial Organ in Madonna della Strada Chapel.

Performances of The Decameron are a part of Loyola’s Homecoming Weekend.

The Department of Fine and Performing Arts  is off to a busy and exciting schedule for the 2011/12 academic year, with exhibits, plays, and performances that span every interest.

• First up this season is the exhibit, We Just Clicked, a collection of visual communication alumni work. The event will feature four exceptional alumni, including Megan Nutley who started a greeting card and stationary company called Silhouette Blue, and Eric Steigerwald who works as a visualizer for Central Coast Agency. The exhibit also offers an opportunity for current students to interact with the alumni at a panel event on the opening night, October 13, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Where? Ralph Arnold Fine Arts Annex  When? October 13- November 19  Cost? Free

• In performing arts, The Decameron is an adaptation of Giovanni Boccacio’s short stories from the Italian Renaissance. The play was adapted by senior theatre major Tim Bertucci, and features a series of stories on love, trickery, and fortune that a group of friends tells each other after fleeing to the countryside when a plague takes over their native Florence. Where? Studio Theatre When? October 14 and 15, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Cost? Free

• Now We Thank All Our God is a collaborative event that features music, song, and dance, all with the backdrop of Madonna della Strada Chapel. Loyola student dancers will put on a performance to music sung by the Chamber Choir. The annual event has been described as “a concert of uplifting grace and gratitude,” and this year will be a part of Homecoming Weekend.  Where? Madonna della Strada Chapel When? October 16 at 3 p.m. Cost? Free, book seats here

• Ever wonder what it is like to be over 50 and trying to make it in Hollywood? Loyola alumna Wandachristine will tell all in a performance of excerpts of her forthcoming novel I Love You More Than Shoes, a hilarious account of being over-the-hill in show business told through the eyes of four friends. Where? 409 Studio Performance Lab When? October 23 at 5 p.m. Cost? Free, book seats here

• Classical and jazz music fans are in luck: the annual fall concert series will continue to be a part of the DFPA schedule. The first concert will feature the Loyola student choir and orchestra, and the second concert will feature the Loyola wind ensemble and jazz band. Where? Mundelein Auditorium When? Choir and orchestra: October 24 at 7:30 p.m. and the wind and jazz ensemble on October 27 at 7:30 p.m. Cost? Free, book tickets for the choir and orchestra here, and the wind and jazz ensemble here

• Rounding out the fall DFPA season is the mainstage production of the musical Into The Woods. This Sondheim classic takes classic fairy-tale characters and places them on an unconventional path to fulfillment in an enchanted woods. This production marks the first of the last three theatre productions in the Mullady Theatre, and there will be an alumni reception on opening night for former Loyolans who would like to say their goodbyes. Where? Katherine A. Mullady Theatre When? November 4-13, Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. Cost? $7 to 15, book seats here

For more information, visit the Department of Fine and Performing Arts blog, ArtsAlive.

Justin Daffron, S.J., blesses the new Begich Executive Education Center at the official opening of the center on Thursday, October 6.

Nearly all job descriptions for executive position roles include the phrases, “MBA required” or “MBA preferred.” For professionals who have years of experience, it is frustrating to be technically unqualified for that dream job due to a lack of credentials.

Businessmen and women near Chicago yearning to take that next step now need look no further than Loyola University Chicago, which recently expanded its Executive MBA program to the Water Tower Campus.

Loyola has conducted its MBA for Executives program since 1998, but it has only been offered at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin previously. The Graduate School of Business (GSB) decided to also offer the program at its downtown campus to convenience professionals living and working in the city, according to Michael Welch, JD, an instructor in the business school.

Betty Flasch, director of the MBA for Executives program, explains that there is still one MBA for Executives degree program, with the same content and teaching faculty, but it is now offered at two locations, each of which has its own start date. The Carthage “cohort” will begin in January of each year and the Chicago cohort will begin each August.

The premier Chicago cohort, comprised of 25 students, began classes on August 1. The students in the Chicago cohort have an average age of 39 and about 10 to 15 years of relevant work experience. They will attend classes every other Friday and Saturday for 18 months.

The Chicago cohort’s classes are held exclusively at The Begich Executive Education Center located in Maguire Hall. The brand new facility, which was unveiled in late August, features an amphitheater-like classroom, a reception area, and four study rooms where students can meet or work on projects. The Begich Center was built thanks to a generous donation from Mr. Paul Begich (BSC ’55).

The MBA for Executives program also includes two residency weeks in Chicago, in addition to two international trips, one taking place some months into the program and the other scheduled for the final week of classes, to be held in Rome.

As part of the program, each cohort will spend about 10 days overseas traveling to one “developed” country and one “developing” country, Flasch says.

After discussing various destinations, the current Chicago cohort chose to travel to China and Vietnam. While abroad, the students will meet with business and government leaders in those countries and other contacts within their respective companies. The Chicago cohort will embark on their adventure in May 2012.

Flasch explains the purpose of the trip is to “understand the culture, the history, the ways business is conducted, and the needs and opportunities in other countries. An important aspect of Loyola’s Executive MBA Program is the international or global emphasis.”

At the conclusion of each 18-month program, the students will complete a capstone project during a final week of classes held at the John Felice Rome Center in Italy.

The program is also deeply rooted in the University’s values. “Ethical behavior is an integral part of the curriculum,” Welch explains.

U.S.News and World Report currently ranks Loyola’s program among the top 25 Executive MBA programs in the nation.

For more information about the program, please click here.

Matthias Stomer's Christ Among the Doctors will be the focus of the November Lunch at LUMA discussion.

The Loyola University Museum of Art’s (LUMA) Lunch at LUMA, a series of lunches and lectures that bring museum patrons face-to-face with experts on art, is back for a fifth season. This season, however, is anything but routine.  Jonathan Canning, the Martin D’Arcy curator of art, anticipates the 2011 lunches as a preview of LUMA’s expanding presence in the art world.

“The whole idea for this series is to showcase how the LUMA collection is connected with other events across the nation, future LUMA exhibitions, and programs across the curriculum this year,” he says.

Unlike other years, all three lunches will solely feature pieces from the Martin D’Arcy collection and speakers connected with Loyola. Canning says this was done with the purpose of engaging local patrons and connecting with programs around the University, all while keeping an eye to the future.

“It is meant to foster a close association between people who live relatively locally and the museum and its mission,” he says.  “This season we are focusing on our own mission.”

The first in the series, “A Nuptial Essential: Patronage and Purpose of Italian Renaissance Marriage Chests,” will be held on Wednesday, October 13, at 11:30 a.m.

Among the most important furnishings in an Italian Renaissance household, marriage chests (cassoni) decorated with narrative scenes were acquired in preparation for upcoming nuptials. Through an examination of the cassone in the Martin D’Arcy Collection at LUMA and other related examples, Marilyn Dunn, PhD, an associate professor in Loyola’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts, will explore the circumstances and motivations of their patronage and functions.

Other Lunch at LUMA events in 2011 include a November showcase with researcher Denise Noell discussing the painting Christ Among the Doctors by Dutch Carravagisto Matthias Stomer and how it indicates the workings of seventeenth-century Sicilian aristocracy. In December, Canning will present on Pere Oller’s Mourner, examining the artistic, political, dynastic, and religious strategies that culminated in the commission of the king’s tomb and the carving of this sorrowful figure.

Each lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. at LUMA. Tickets cost $35 per individual meal or $90 for the entire series.  Member discounts are available.

For more information and to register, visit the Lunch at LUMA website.

Students work the farm at the University's Retreat and Ecology Campus.

Autumn is in the air, and for Loyola Retreat and Ecology Campus, this means one thing: harvest.

This year, the University’s newest campus will be on display when the Loyola and Woodstock communities come together to celebrate the fall season at Harvest Festival, happening on Sunday, October 23, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the Retreat and Ecology Campus (2710 S. Country Club Rd., Woodstock, Illinois).

Sangita Gosalia, associate director of community relations, says the event will be a way for the larger Loyola community and surrounding towns to get acquainted with the facilities and opportunities at the campus.

“The planning committee strongly believes that Harvest Festival will be a great way to celebrate the year’s harvest while inviting students, staff, faculty, and members of the community to campus, to highlight the exciting activities that take place there,” she says.

Though most fall festivals tend to showcase rides and fair food, Gosalia says that Harvest Festival is trying to steer away from the “carnival effect.” In lieu of ferris wheels and deep fried dough, Harvest Festival attendees can expect a variety of events that showcase the campus’s commitment to fresh local food and sustainability projects.

Attendees have the opportunity to press and take home their own batch of apple cider, find out ways to properly harvest vegetables, paint pumpkins, and divulge in s’mores by a campfire, among other activities. Attendees also get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, literally, with free food prepared by the campus’s chef, Scott Commings, and a beer and wine tent that features local labels. There will also be a mini-farmers market selling produce from the farm, as well as t-shirts, so attendees can grab a souvenir of their day on the way out.

Aside from fun fall-themed activities, there will be tours of various parts of the campus, such as the farm, wetlands, challenge course, and indoor facilities.

In addition, the University has also partnered with the Bull Valley Association, Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum for the event in order to get the local community and Chicago resources involved.  The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will be bringing live snakes, as well as facilitating a nature journal writing activity.

Overall, Gosalia says the event will highlight the campus with a nod to the fall season. “It is a celebration of all the collaborative work that has taken place to make Loyola’s newest campus a success,” says Gosalia.