FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Evangeline Politis
Communication Specialist
312.915.6324
epolitis@luc.edu
MEDIA ALERT
Loyola University Chicago Celebrates
Inaugural Class of Arrupe College
Two-Year College Serving Local, Underrepresented Students
Holds First Commencement on Saturday, August 12
What:
Loyola University Chicago’s Arrupe College will hold its first Commencement ceremony on Saturday, August 12, at the University’s Lake Shore Campus. Bookending the inaugural class’s experience, the event marks a milestone for the college and its 82 graduates.
Launched in 2015, Arrupe College is a two-year associate’s degree program within the University that provides a rigorous liberal arts education to motivated students with limited financial resources and an interest in attending a four-year institution. The college addresses the need in higher education to increase completion rates of post-secondary education degrees for students from low-income families.
More than 50 percent of the inaugural 159-student class will graduate on August 12, a rate that far exceeds the national average reported by Complete College America—only five percent of full-time students at two-year institutions graduate in two years.
This event is open to the media; however, interview requests with faculty, staff, and students will be held scheduled for another date.
Who:
The Honorable Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President, will address Arrupe’s inaugural class. In addition, the ceremony will feature:
- Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago
- Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, President of Loyola University Chicago
- Stephen Katsouros, S.J., Dean and Executive Director, Arrupe College
- Asya Meadows, Graduating Student, Arrupe College
When:
Saturday, August 12, 3 p.m.
Where:
Loyola University Chicago’s Lake Shore Campus
Mundelein Auditorium
1020 W. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60660
– Loyola –