Category : Loyola University

Water Tower Bookstore Relocates

WTC students recently were informed about the relocation of the campus bookstore.

Due to construction in the Terry Student Center, the Water Tower Campus bookstore will temporarily relocate this semester to the 7th floor of the Corboy Law Center, at 25 E. Pearson.

The Water Tower Campus bookstore will be closed the week of March 18 – March 22nd so that the packing up and unpacking at the new location can be completed. The bookstore will reopen this Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m., with normal hours of operation resuming on Monday, March 25, at 9 a.m.

The Water Tower Campus bookstore will return to the Terry Student Center in the middle of August, 2013, but it will be located on the 2nd floor.

3-20-2013 | Comments Off

Feature Profile: Kevin Chears, MDiv student and upcoming Open House panelist

After working in the business world for much of her adult life, Kevin Chears felt the call to full-time ministry work. She came to IPS in 2007, pursuing the MA in Pastoral Studies, which she compeleted in 2010. After some discernment, Kevin again felt called into the Master of Divinity progam at IPS. She was able to roll all 36-credit hours of her MAPS degree into our MDiv program. Kevin is currently working as a parish intern at St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Parish in the city’s north side Edgewater neighborhood. She is set to graduate in May with the MDiv degree.

You can learn much more about Kevin on Saturday, March 23, at our Spring Open House! To register for this event, click here: https://gpem.luc.edu/register/IPSMarchoOH

3-18-2013 | Comments Off

Finding Your Passion

Have you found your passion in life yet? I have, with the help of my coursework here at the Institute of Pastoral Studies. I want to thank IPS for the direction and support they have given me as I have journied towards the completion of my MDiv degree.

I am also grateful to the academic programs here at Loyola that have allowed cross registration in other departments. This semester I am taking a course in the Social Work department this semester – SOWK 632 – Social Work Practice with Older Adults with Dr. Marcia Spira. This class has direct bearing on my career choice of working with older adults. Look around, Loyola has the right courses for you wherever your passions take you.

11-13-2012 | 1

IPS Professor, Kevin O’Connor

This week’s member of the week at the Metropolitan Club of Chicago is Kevin E. O’Connor! Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP is a corporate consultant, professional speaker and educator specializing in technical professionals leading teams of their former peers. Thank you Kevin for being a great member of The Metropolitan Club. Contact him at kevin@kevinoc.com

Kevin is also a professor on staff at Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Studies. All of us who have been guided by Kevin’s wisdom in our Human Relation Skills class salute you!

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Challenged and Changed: IPS Student Erin Kane Reflects on Kenya Trip

Erin Kane in front of an Elephant Orphanage in Kenya.

Public health, poverty, housing equality and women’s empowerment—the needs of the world are great. That’s why for Erin Kane, it was difficult to decide where to focus her career. But her study abroad experience in Kenya through Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Studies gave her the vision and clarity she needed.

Erin took advantage of a trip to Kenya, as part of her master’s program in Social Justice and Community Development. Interested in how local groups can serve people in need, she met with Kenyan non-profit organizations and small businesses. Many of the organizations, such as Upendo Village, were aimed at providing affordable health care for HIV-affected families.

“The sheer generosity of everyone I encountered amazed me. So much work still needs to be done. But now I know why I’m doing it.” Through the trip, Erin found the focus and insight she’d been looking for. She now plans to find similar international work, with a focus on women’s health and well-being. “My Loyola trip to Kenya was by far a transformative experience. It brought home for me why I was working for social justice in the first place.”

Click here for more information about study abroad opportunities at IPS.

Click here for more information about the Master of Arts in Social Justice and Community Development program.

10-12-2012 | Comments Off

IPS welcomes new director, Brian Schmisek, PhD

: Brian Schmisek, PhD

This week, the Institute of Pastoral Studies welcomes Brian Schmisek, PhD, as our new director!

Coming to us from the University of Dallas, Dr. Schmisek served as the dean and associate professor in the UD School of Ministry, he succeeds Robert Ludwig, PhD, who will return to the faculty at the end of this academic year after nearly eight years leading IPS.

Dr. Schmisek said he is, “looking forward to building upon the positive legacy that IPS has established through almost 50 years of pioneering professional ministry education.”

Dr. Schmisek brings his entrepreneurial, strategic, and fundraising skills to the leadership of IPS. He hopes 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.

Along with his wife Marnie, their four children John, Clare, Peter, and Helen, and their dog Kirby, Dr. Schmisek will be residing in the northwest suburbs.

Welcome, Dr. Schmisek, we are so delighted to have you here!

7-03-2012 | Comments Off

Dr. Robert Ludwig ends his tenure as IPS Director

Bob and Kathy Ludwig — Kathy and Bob Ludwig

Greetings and good wishes in this exceptionally warm summer!

Effective today, I will be stepping down from my role as Director of IPS.

My decision to step down after two terms and eight years is based on a pretty good sense of myself. I’ve loved being director of IPS. I had high expectations coming in, and the opportunities have exceeded my hopes and expectations. I’ve loved serving in this capacity. Nonetheless, the chronological clock ticks. I turned 68 a few weeks ago, and I have been running something (at Loyola New Orleans, DePaul, and now IPS) for thirty years. That’s a long time to be on-call 24/7/365 and basically the place where the buck stops. I don’t have the drive or the energy that I had eight years ago, and I really want to return to full-time teaching and do some important writing projects.

I want to continue to provide advice and counsel to IPS as needed or desired, but I’m delighted that Dr. Brian Schmisek will be joining the IPS community as director beginning next week. Brian comes to us from the University of Dallas and is uniquely prepared to confidently lead IPS into a thriving future.

My health is good (thank God), and I have no plans to abandon Chicago and Loyola at present. Down the road, Kathy and I may decide that it’s time for me to retire completely—but that time is not now. I thank you again for your work with IPS and want to continue to connect with many of you as we go forward.

With every good wish,

Robert Ludwig, Director

6-29-2012 | 6

Ignatian Service Day Information

There are a number of events this summer scheduled for faculty and staff to engage in the mission of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and to honor his Feast Day of July 31. Please consider participating.

Ignatian Service Project: Friday, July 20
Loyola staff, faculty, and retirees will volunteer at Misericordia, in Rogers Park, and at St. Procopius Parish, a Jesuit-sponsored institution in Pilsen, on Friday, July 20. Full details on the service projects, departure times, and transportation are available now at the registration page. Registration is open through Friday, July 13.

Collection boxes will be available at all campuses gathering the materials listed below for St. Procopius. Food pantries often run lowest in their supplies during the summer months, so please consider being generous in all of these categories:

July 2–6: School Supplies (copy paper, crayons, pencils, construction paper, arts and crafts materials)
July 9–13: Clothing (especially work wear for men)
July 16–19: Food (especially staples such as rice, beans, and pasta)

Mass and Picnic: Friday, July 27
On Friday, July 27, we will celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola with a Mass in Madonna della Strada Chapel at 11 a.m., and our annual picnic on the East Quad, beginning at 12:15 p.m. All are welcome. For those interested in singing in the choir at Mass, please contact Steven Betancourt at sbetancourt@luc.edu. Rehearsal will begin at 10 a.m. on July 27 in the MDS Chapel.

6-08-2012 | Comments Off

IPS Center for Parish Leadership and Mission Approved!

Loyola University Chicago President Fr. Michael J. Garanzini, SJ has approved a proposal to develop a new Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) Center for Parish Leadership and Mission. The Center will begin operating sometime during 2013, and will be the first of its kind in the United States. It will be dedicated to organizing and relating research on the leadership of vital parish communities to services of consultation and education. The Center will maintain a strong partnership relationship with the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Center’s design is a product of learning from INSPIRE, a nine-year Lilly Endowment, Inc., Sustaining Pastoral Excellence project at Loyola and the Archdiocese. INSPIRE’s Lead Team–comprised of Institute of Pastoral Studies faculty and Archdiocesan Directors–will develop the Center to sponsor research on parish vitality and mission, identify pastoral leadership education programs, and offer consultation services to Catholic pastors, their staffs, and parishioner leaders. The Center aspires to serve parish life the U.S. and internationally.

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Founders’ Dinner Turns 11

Loyola’s Founders’ Dinner, which benefits the University’s Presidential Scholarship Fund, continues to be one of the major highlights of the year for members of the University community. Attendees will enjoy a cocktail reception in the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, dinner in the Joseph J. Gentile Arena, and a special chorus of Loyola students, staff, and alumni, who will perform with a live orchestra.

This year’s celebration happens on Saturday, June 2, at the University’s Lake Shore Campus. The event, will recognize 14 award recipients as part of the celebration.

This year’s award recipients include Dr. Kumiko Watanuki (BA ’84, MA ’87)—Coffey Award, Leonard P. Slotkowski Jr.(JFRC ’65–’66, BA ’69, MEd ’72)—Felice Award, and William Sherry—Dux Mirabilis.

Additionally, Loyola’s schools and colleges also honor an alumnus(a) with the Damen Award. This year’s winners include:

College of Arts & Sciences – Colonel (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired) (BA ’79)
School of Business Administration – Mary A. Tolan (BBA ’82)
School of Communication – Judith C. Rice (BA ’81)
School of Continuing & Professional Studies – Thaddeus J. Wong (BBA ’96)
School of Education – Mary A. Hicks (MEd ’99)
The Graduate School – Woodrow W. Clark II (MA ’76)
School of Law – Susan S. Sher (JD ’74)
Stritch School of Medicine – Dr. Patrick J. Stiff (MD ’75)
Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing – Dr. Carolyn Hope Smeltzer (MSN ’77, EdD ’83)
Institute of Pastoral Studies – Joseph Paprocki (BA ’81, MPS ’85)
School of Social Work – Barbara J. Menard(MSW ’94)

For ticket information and more on the awards, please visit LUC.edu/founders or call 800.256.9652.

5-31-2012 | Comments Off