T R A N S F O R M I N G
2014 PROVOST’S REPORT
DO NOT CONFORM YOURSELVES TO THIS AGE BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY DISCERN WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD, WHAT IS GOOD AND PLEASING AND PERFECT. Romans 12:2
A M E S S AG E F R O M T H E P R OVOST This year, our institution emerged from a 15-month planning process with an exciting new strategic plan, “Transforming Loyola 2020.” Approved by our Board of Trustees in October 2014, the plan focuses our future work on cultivating a special learning-centered community via four overarching strategies: • Experiential and values-based education, including community engagement, internships, and global immersion • Students’ discovery of their careers and lives of service • Programs infused by the cultures and traditions of New Orleans • A deepening of the Jesuit and Catholic mission of the University The stories that follow illustrate the ways that “Transforming Loyola 2020” is grounded in our leading strengths and in the collaborations between students and faculty that make our university distinctive. You will find M.B.A. students experiencing high-stakes, real-world competition with teams from other universities; students from Brazil engaged with Loyola peers on biology and graphic design projects; law graduates building careers in New Orleans through an innovative incubator program; and a distinctive program inculcating Jesuit values and pedagogy more deeply into Loyola’s curriculum and community. This report offers but a few snapshots of our faculty and student successes, but I believe that these glimpses illustrate the foundation on which we are shaping the future of Loyola University New Orleans—a future built on our commitment to our students, our community, and our mission to educate men and women for others. Sincerely,
Marc K. Manganaro Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
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TA B L E O F
6 eye on design
With a new degree program in place, graphic design students can change how we visualize the world.
8 ebola: hunting
for a cure
Alumnus donned a HAZMAT suit around the world to hunt one of the deadliest viruses: Ebola.
10 traveling abroad
for education
Students from Brazil studied science and graphic design with the assistance of their government.
12 dispelling the
ozone layer
Biology professor joined an elite team of scientists from around the world to question the effects of climate change.
14 faculty in faith
Loyola faculty members across the curriculum challenged their students and their own lives with a deeper understanding of the Jesuit teachings.
16 a lesson in simplicity English writing professor created a new narrative for simple, everyday objects with the help of students and other writers.
18 brewing up success
Loyola M.B.A. team helped a local company break into the contemporary brewing industry and win big.
20 behind the
microscope
First-year physics students started their training as researchers early, with their professor leading the way. the way.
22 certified for the future
School of Mass Communication strengthens its focus on students’ future careers through two prestigious recognitions.
24 social justice in
the courtroom
Recent College of Law graduates put social justice into work as the first members of the Incubator Program.
26 bookshelf
Faculty published scholarly work on a wide variety of topics.
eye on design Design students at Loyola have made the newly renovated Monroe Hall their home for creativity. The “Inspiration Wall” outside the design department shines as an exhibit of photos, quotes, and drawings from students’ favorite designers and artists. With the launch of the new bachelor of design program in fall 2014, Loyola has begun preparing students for professional careers in the growing and diverse field of graphic design, with specialties including interactive design, motion picture design, and marketing design. The new degree is the only one of its kind in the city. “Design is an indicator of cultural thinking and is a catalyst for social, cultural, and political change,” says Daniela Marx, associate professor of graphic design and chair of the new degree program. “Design is also a powerful medium. Students will learn the impact of combining images and text to communicate a particular message.” Design students and faculty gather at the Design Mid-Year Review in Monroe Hall.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
The launch of the degree program coincides perfectly with the completion of renovations to Monroe Hall. The department’s brand-new facilities include three design studios, a screenprinting lab, two teaching computer labs, and a student lab, all equipped with the most modern technology for students to learn and create beautiful, innovative designs.
What makes Loyola’s program so special is its emphasis on the Jesuit ideals and the role of design in society. Design students will take an ethics and contracts class where they will learn about the business side of design, copyright issues, and how to draw up contracts with clients, preparing them for future careers driven by conscience and compassion.
“Design is an indicator of cultural thinking and is a catalyst for social, cultural, and political change.” They will also work outside the classroom through required internships—locally, nationally, or internationally and during the school year or the summer—where they will work with and learn from professional designers. Post-graduation, our students will work in a wide variety of businesses, from advertising agencies to sports teams to major worldwide corporations. “Our aim is to produce a cohort of creative, critical thinkers who can apply their design skills and conceptual thinking in any chosen design forum,” Marx says. ”We’re also trying to make the world a better place through design.”
Design students in the Interactive and Electronic Media class
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ebola: hunting for a cure
The Ebola virus (pictured here) devastated West Africa in 2014, claiming thousands of lives and showing that the deadly infectious disease could travel easily from person to person in the later stages.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Loyola alumnus Joseph Fair ’99 (biology), a virologist, hunts viruses and diseases around the world. His latest prey: the Ebola virus. Since graduating from Loyola 15 years ago, Fair has worked to save the world, focusing his efforts in Africa. Fair is one of the world’s foremost molecular virologists with the World Health Organization and is often sent to “hot zones” when infectious diseases break out. He recently spent several months in West Africa fighting one of the worst outbreaks in the history of the deadly Ebola virus, where the human death toll has been exceedingly high. Fair was featured in a recent episode of CBS’ 60 Minutes, which depicted the harsh realities of his fight to save lives and stem the spread of the disease.
“I try to bring the Jesuit spirit with me. These are people, not a virus.”
After Loyola, Fair, a Kentucky native, studied virology at LSU Medical School. After a few years of missionary work and research in Africa, he returned to New Orleans for a master’s degree in public health for tropical medicine, followed by a doctorate in molecular biology, both from Tulane. “I’ve always been fascinated with microbiology, even when I was young,” Fair says. “I read about Louis Pasteur and became fascinated by the science of what you don’t see.” As a Loyola graduate, Fair understands and appreciates the Jesuit charge to “go forth and set the world on fire” and brings the tradition of service into his work through his research and activism in underdeveloped countries, fighting both the diseases and the public fear of them. “I’ve always had an adventurous spirit, and I’ve always wanted to work in Africa,” Fair says. “I try to bring the Jesuit spirit with me. These are people, not a virus. The people aren’t a danger to the world. People don’t understand why we’re going there. Well, we’re going there, first of all, because it’s the right thing to do.”
“I’ve been around outbreaks before, and people who die are never just faceless people,” Fair says. “It’s something you accept that happens for the greater good. But this was different for me. We lost a lot of my very close friends, people I’ve known for many years.”
Dr. Joseph Fair, seen here at the World Health Organization headquarters in Sierra Leone, is a consultant virologist working with the Ebola Emergency Operations Centre for Sierra Leone.
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traveling abroad for education Brazilian students took a trip to Cane Bayou where they learned to canoe and experienced the wetlands firsthand.
This year, Loyola welcomed 13 Brazilian students who received the opportunity of a lifetime: representing their country as students and researchers in the United States through the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (BSMP). The program, which allows students to study abroad for a year, is part of the Brazilian government’s larger initiative to grant 100,000 students the opportunity to attend the world’s best colleges and universities. Loyola’s Center for International Education worked with the Institute for International Education, which manages the BSMP in the United States, to bring these students to Loyola to study biology, chemistry, and graphic design. To prepare them for their academic work, the students first studied English as a Second Language through Loyola’s Intensive English Program (LIEP). According to Debra Danna, director of Loyola’s Center for International Education, without the LIEP, the university would have received only two of the 13 students.
“These exchanges enable students to see the world through the eyes of others and create relationships that last a lifetime.” “Loyola has always been a welcoming place for international students,” Danna says. “The one-on-one interaction that they have with faculty and their integration into student life does not happen in many other countries or institutions in the U.S.” LIEP and the biology and graphic design departments worked collaboratively to develop academic programs that met the goals of the students as well as the BSMP. “Students from the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program rapidly and dramatically improved both their English and academic skills while in LIEP’s innovative program,” Jessica Haley, assistant director of LIEP, says. “LIEP faculty created and implemented a specialized curriculum to suit the needs of this unique group.”
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Through the academic program, which the students moved into after their preparation in LIEP, they gained lab research experience early in their college careers and worked and studied in Loyola’s cutting-edge biology and chemistry labs. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the Brazilian students,” says Dr. Patricia Dorn, distinguished biology professor. “Science is a global enterprise now, so to be able to build their global scientific network and to become comfortable with how science is conducted in other countries will help them in their future careers.” “Biology Beyond Borders,” a course designed specifically for the program, gave students the chance to learn scientific ethics, how to understand and present scientific journal articles, and how to communicate effectively the principles of science to the professional community. “I really like to study at Loyola because the campus is not so big, so people usually know each other here,” says Rafaela Pessoa, a Brazilian native and student. “The structure of the labs here is the biggest difference for me. I don’t study at a big college in Brazil, so we often use the same lab for more than one discipline. Here, we have one lab for each teacher.” Through the exchange of educational techniques and cultural understanding, not only are the Brazilian students gaining valuable knowledge and skills, but they are also enriching the lives of the entire Loyola community. Dorn remarks, “Students and faculty alike benefit greatly from the new perspectives that international students bring, and it helps to build our network for possible future collaborations.” Danna agrees: “International education and the mobility of students across borders is critical for the Loyola community. Students bring the world to Loyola and Loyola to the world. In addition to broadening their understanding of their major, these exchanges enable students to see the world through the eyes of others and create relationships that last a lifetime.”
In fall semester 2014 as part of their “Biology Beyond Borders� class, the Brazilian exchange students in the biology department studied the value of and challenges to Louisiana wetlands.
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dispelling the ozone layer
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
A “hot” topic these days, the depletion of the ozone layer, is Loyola biology professor Dr. Paul W. Barnes’ greatest concern. In 2014, Barnes was a member of an elite team of scientists on the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, and his research is on its way to change the world. The purpose of this UNEP panel is to summarize current research and assess the environmental effects of stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change. The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel was established in support of the Montreal Protocol, which is an international treaty designed to address the problem of ozone depletion. “I have long been interested in understanding how plants respond to environmental factors such as light, water, and temperature, and I began looking into this 30 years ago as a young postdoctoral researcher,” Barnes says. Although many may think ozone depletion is harmful to plants, it actually helps to provide protection to the plants and their leaves. According to Barnes, ozone depletion and the resulting increased UV rays could affect how fast dead plant material decomposes–– ultimately affecting the availability of vital nutrients for plants and soil. “Plants exposed to more of the sun’s harmful rays also react by adding more ‘sunscreen’ chemicals to their leaves for protection,” Barnes says. Barnes and the U.N. team investigated the latest effects of stratospheric ozone depletion this past year, and the team’s research was recently published in a special edition of the journal Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. There were about 30
scientists on the panel, representing at least 16 different countries including New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia. Barnes’ group of six other scientists focused specifically on terrestrial ecosystems, one of the seven sections of the panel, and they all served as authors for the report. While most of the work was done independently, the scientists came together to create the executive summary and to answer frequently asked questions regarding their findings.
“This is a very positive signal to policymakers worldwide that international cooperation can indeed make a difference for solving global environmental problems.” Barnes has brought his research into his classrooms through his global ecology and plant ecology courses at Loyola. “The lectures and discussions on climate change in the global ecology course now include information on ozone-depletion-driven climate change,” Barnes says. “And in the plant ecology course, we have laboratory exercises that introduce students to the techniques and approaches to study how plants respond to UV rays and discuss how plants adapt to UV rays in sunlight.” Barnes’ contribution to the international research effort focused on what happens to plants and their ecosystems under the diminished ozone layer. He notes that the human-driven climate change we are now experiencing is not only the result of increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere but also is due to changes in ozone levels in the upper atmosphere. According to Barnes, climate change and ozone depletion would be far more severe had the international treaty governing the use and release of ozone-depleting substances not been enacted. “This is a very positive signal to policymakers worldwide that international cooperation can indeed make a difference for solving global environmental problems,” Barnes says.
Far left: Dr. Barnes measures the level of a plant’s ultraviolet protection. Top left: Dr. Barnes in Washington, D.C., serving on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR grant review panel. Top right: Dr. Barnes with colleagues from the Department of Biology at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland. Bottom right: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment panel members at the meeting held in Zhengzhou, China, in August 2014.
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faculty in faith How do you identify your vocation as a teacher and scholar with the mission of the university? How can you incorporate education for justice into your teaching? These are some of the questions Loyola faculty members are asked during their time as Ignatian Faculty Fellows. They examine their vocations as educators at our Jesuit, Catholic institute of higher education and explore how they can have an active role in maintaining Loyola’s mission in their classrooms. The program provides faculty the opportunity to participate in a semester-long course on Jesuit education and Ignatian pedagogy, and at the end, they produce a revised syllabus for a course that explicitly engages Loyola’s mission. “This program is meant to foster a sense of responsibility for the mission of the university. It’s all a matter of reframing how we teach and what we teach,” says Dr. John Sebastian, director of the Ignatian Faculty Fellows program, established in 2012. Sebastian was a member of the Ignatian Colleagues Program through the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, and the program gave him the chance for in-depth study of Jesuit teachings and traditions, the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and personal formation. The Ignatian Colleagues Program inspired him to create something similar at Loyola. “As a member of the Loyola faculty, my heart is with the faculty,” Sebastian says. “I wanted to take the experience I had and modify it with our faculty in mind.”
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
The program, now in its third year, has helped faculty members dramatically alter their courses and, for some, their entire curricula, to place an emphasis on social justice, ethics, and the Jesuit tradition and mission. For example, Dr. Alice Clark, professor of music history, revitalized her music history course to incorporate an ethical and just understanding of censorship in music choice. Dr. Elizabeth Goodine, instructor of religious studies, offered students a new approach to Christianity and feminism through her Feminism and Theology course. And Dr. Chuck Nichols, assistant professor of psychology, used his first-year seminar to educate new students about Loyola’s mission and encourage them to create their own personal mission statements detailing their values, both professionally and personally.
“It is through the discussion of mission that we are able to have a place to start.” “As a fellow, it is my goal to use the experiences from this program to enhance my activities as a chemistry professor, including in the classroom, in the laboratory, and in collaborative undergraduate research,” says Joelle Underwood, associate professor of chemistry. She took her experience in the program and developed a “fast-track” firstyear science course, geared toward incoming students from low-performing schools who have the potential to excel in the sciences but have never had the opportunity. “One of the unexpected joys of the Ignatian Faculty Fellows program was meeting people who we wouldn’t normally work with because of different concentrations and fields,” Sebastian says. “Faculty members from all walks of life, from instructors to endowed chairs, were together in an environment where they felt comfortable talking about everything from personal values and missions to spirituality. It is through the discussion of mission that we are able to have a place to start.”
The 2014 Ignatian Faculty Fellows. From bottom left, ascending: Director John Sebastian, Ph.D.; Burke Ingraffia, M.B.A.; Sara Butler, Ph.D.; Rosalie Anderson, Ph.D.; Cathy Rogers, Ph.D.; Teri Oaks Gallaway, M.S.I.; and Connie Rodriguez, Ph.D.
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a lesson in simplicity
16
TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Loyola assistant professor of English Dr. Chris Schaberg, seeks to uncover the secret lives of ordinary objects. In his latest project, Object Lessons, he and collaborator Dr. Ian Bogost, professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, explore new twists on ordinary things such as laughter, the TI-83 graphing calculator, and household dust. The stories are part of a collaborative effort between Loyola; Georgia Tech; The Atlantic, where the full essays are housed online; and Bloomsbury, an independent publishing house that publishes the short books. “The goal of Object Lessons is not exhaustive histories or complete surveys of the objects in question but rather to pose provocative questions and tell compelling stories about these objects, prompting us to think about and act differently toward the objects, too,” Schaberg says. Loyola students have participated in these explorations by fielding the deluge of submissions from writers, scholars, and journalists that Schaberg receives for the series. Schaberg was excited to include students in the process because it gives them a chance to see all the moving parts of publishing. English major Erin Little, Schaberg’s editorial intern, organizes preliminary contacts and submissions for the series, preparing her for a life as a writer and publisher.
thinking. Through my collaboration with Dr. Schaberg, I have been able to use and hone these skills in a real-world context.” Since its launch in June 2013, Object Lessons has featured pieces on such items as the drug Enbrel, a driver’s license, Kryptonite, a golf ball, and keys. In each essay, an object is broken down to its very core, as writers explore the history of the object, its primary use, and its placement in the world as well as the writer’s personal connection to the object.
“Through my collaboration with Dr. Schaberg, I have been able to use and hone these skills in a real-world context.”
Dr. Schaberg and editorial intern Erin Little discuss the Object Lessons books.
“The goal of this series was to ultimately bring back the public intellectual,” Schaberg says. “We wanted to make books that were very readable and fun but also really thought-provoking. You’ll never look at a golf ball the same way again.”
“This project has taught me invaluable skills that will prepare me for the next phases of my life, professionally as well as intellectually,” Little says. “In my English coursework, I learn the importance of close reading, shrewd writing, and critical
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brewing up success One week. The Loyola M.B.A. team had just one week to ensure the success of their client, a locally owned and operated New Orleans-based brewery startup, Cajun Fire Brewing Co., one of only a handful of African-American-owned breweries nationwide and one of only two in Orleans Parish. And the competition was fierce. High-profile universities such as Tulane University, University of California at Berkeley, Cornell University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania were their opponents.
M.B.A. team and Cajun Fire team celebrate their win at the NOEW event.
But our elite team of six M.B.A. students—Kevin Gordon, (team leader), Michael Barrera, Ryan Murphy, William Mather and recent graduates Melissa Gurdian, M.B.A. ’14, and Nicholas Hanson, M.B.A. ‘14—took home wins in three categories at the end of this sixth annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. Two of the awards provided resources to Cajun Fire. One recognized the Loyola team’s outstanding performance. The team’s coaching of Jon Renthrope, the microbrewery’s cofounder and brewmaster, led to a stellar presentation he made on behalf of the company. Through Renthrope’s work with the Loyola team, he secured for Cajun Fire a year’s worth of free legal services from the law firm of Chaffe McCall. With the help of Loyola’s team, Cajun Fire Brewing won the biggest prize of all in
NOEW’s Big Idea Competition: first place and a check for $50,000. And the team won the Impact Award, given to the M.B.A. team who proved to have provided the greatest impact for their client. “Working with the Loyola M.B.A. team was a pleasure,” Renthrope says. “The brewing industry is very demanding and regulated and requires extremely calculated precision to create a sustainable business model. The M.B.A. team rose to that challenge, and our win has enabled Cajun Fire Brewing to move that much closer to opening our doors.”
“The M.B.A. team rose to that challenge, and our win has enabled Cajun Fire Brewing to move that much closer to opening our doors.” “This was an invaluable opportunity,” Loyola’s team leader Gordon says. “I was able to network and work with influential individuals within the New Orleans business community who support the local entrepreneurship ecosystem.” Through this competition, Gordon and his fellow teammates were able to use skills learned in the classroom to support a local, real-life entrepreneur with concrete plans to move their dreams and passion for brewing craft beer into a potentially game-changing business. Faculty coach for the second year in a row, Dr. Felipe Massa, Loyola College of Business assistant professor, selected the team members based the diversity of their skills, backgrounds, and passion for entrepreneurship. “It’s a long and intense week that demands a great deal of focus and diligence,” Massa says. And at the end of the competition, both the team and the “krewe” won more than the title and a $50,000 check. Both won the opportunity to raise a local company to the forefront of the growing brewing industry and one step closer to opening its doors.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Loyola and Cajun Fire team members sweep top awards at the sixth annual New Orleans Entrepreneur Week.
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behind the microscope
Dr. Kargol and students work together on patch clamping of ion channels in mammalian cells.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Albert Einstein once asked, “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” This is the same question associate professor of physics Dr. Armin Kargol asks his students. According to Kargol, when it comes to research, you never know what will happen––and even as a professor, he does not have all the answers.
“Our students have access to state-ofthe-art equipment and renowned professors, and they have the opportunity to be active in influential research.” Kargol has developed initiatives that combine teaching with faculty research to provide a rare experience for physics freshman and sophomores, offering them the challenge to find answers on their own. His goal is to pull students in early, when they first arrive on campus, and guide them in the laboratory so that by the time they are juniors and seniors, they will have all the necessary training, tools, and practical experience to ensure their continued success after graduation.
Physics students participate in Kargol’s research program through independent study, and they receive much more than just course credit. They gain valuable firsthand knowledge of professional research, something they would not receive in typical science courses. “Students are taking other courses at the same time, allowing them to take the concepts they learn in the classroom and immediately apply them to their research,” Kargol says. He starts them off on simple concepts –– mixing chemicals and growing cultured cells –– and advances them to more complicated techniques, such as patch clamping, Kargol’s focus area, a laboratory technique in electrophysiology that allows the study of single or multiple ion channels in cells. “Research is so fun,” Antonio Ayala, physics sophomore, says. “It feels like work, which I enjoy. Dr. Kargol likes to challenge us as well. It’s satisfying to spend months on something and then, all of a sudden, you finally get it.” Ayala’s research under Kargol already has been accepted for professional publication. Kargol expects that offering this research component so early in a student’s college career will help Loyola attract and retain more students interested in the sciences. He hopes to continue developing modern and relevant research opportunities that will be attractive to these promising students.
“An invaluable facet of a Loyola education is students’ handson participation in collaborative research with faculty, an experience typically accessible only to juniors and seniors,” Kargol says. “Our students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and renowned professors, and they have the opportunity to be active in influential research. It’s part of the education. It takes time to train students. I want to start the process early—in their first year at Loyola.”
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blah blah blah
certified for the future It took five years of interviews, surveys, visits, and assessments for the School of Mass Communication at Loyola, but in 2014, Loyola became the first Jesuit university program in the U.S. and the only university in Louisiana to hold national accreditations from both the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) and the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Certification in Education for Public Relations.
practices and high-tech facilities. To obtain the PRSA certification, a meticulous analysis by an external team also was required. The site visit team conducted a thorough review of the school’s public relations program during a three-day assessment that included meetings with administrators, faculty, staff, students, and officers in the Public Relations Student Society of America. The committee also surveyed local public relations professionals and alumni about their educational experiences at Loyola.
“These accreditations give Loyola a critical stamp of approval and serve as proof of the topquality educational experience we offer to prepare students for successful careers in journalism and strategic communications.”
“For parents and students looking for the best university mass communication program possible, these accreditations give Loyola a critical stamp of approval and serve as proof of the top-quality educational experience we offer to prepare students for successful careers in journalism and strategic communications,” says Dr. Sonya F. Duhé, Loyola professor and director of the School of Mass Communication.
Dedicated faculty, staff, and administrators conducted a rigorous self-study to ensure that Loyola met the accrediting council’s set of nine standards ranging from the school’s mission and governance to its forward-thinking teaching
These distinctions ensure that our students are prepared for meaningful careers with a solid professional education and a well-rounded liberal arts background and will in turn create a foundation for success in an ever-changing strategic communications industry.
Dr. Sonya F. Duhé, director of the School of Mass Communication, was the driving force behind the accreditations. With the help of students, faculty, staff, and alumni, she was able to garner the prestigious recognitions vital for our students’ future.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
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social justice in the courtroom
The 2014 Incubator Program participants: Seated, from left: Anna Lellelid, J.D. ‘13; Nadia G. Madary, J.D. ‘13; Lori Noto Alphonso, J.D. ‘12; Davida Finger, associate clinical professor and director of the program. Standing, from left: Peter Russell, J.D. ‘14; Jonah Freedman, J.D. ‘14; Marìa Pabòn Lòpez, dean of the College of Law; Judson Mitchell, associate clinical professor of law.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
One of the foundational values of a Jesuit education is the pursuit of justice on behalf of all persons. A new Incubator Program in the College of Law will give five recent graduates the chance to live St. Ignatius of Loyola’s social justice mission by providing legal services for people of low income and moderate means in the New Orleans area. The initiative was launched to help support self-employed law school graduates as well as New Orleans residents. The incubator provides graduates with free office space in the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and the Center for Social Justice, allowing them to operate their own solo practices.
“We are thrilled to offer the Incubator Program to our graduates to expand access to justice and social justice lawyering in our community as well as top-notch law practice training for participants.” A key component of the Incubator Program is training new attorneys who are committed to addressing the unmet legal needs of people of low income and moderate means while building law practices that will continue to serve those populations over time. A quarter of the attorneys’ time will be spent on cases that fall into the “justice gap,” or those who are at or below 200 percent of the poverty line.
“We are thrilled to offer the Incubator Program to our graduates to expand access to justice and social justice lawyering in our community as well as top-notch law practice training for participants,” says Davida Finger, associate clinical professor and director of the Incubator Program. With law faculty expertise and a strong alumni base from which to draw mentors and advisers, the Loyola law school is well-placed to train new lawyers in best practices. In partnership with the Office of Skills and Experiential Learning, the program provides regular skills courses to support the development of solo practice and the social justice path. Graduates will receive valuable experience through courses that focus on law practice management, ethics, and professionalism, as well as pro bono case referrals, mentorship, and access to a variety of resources including research and case management tools.
The Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and the Center for Social Justice, where Incubator Program participants operate their own solo practices, is located on the Broadway campus.
“This program will offer me luxuries rarely enjoyed by a starting solo practitioner: the ability to focus primarily in my areas of legal interest and the fortune of providing a substantial community service from the very start,” says Jonah Freedman, J.D. ’14, and Incubator Program participant. Loyola’s Incubator Program is one of just seven programs in the country to receive a grant for the program from the American Bar Association’s Legal Access Job Corp initiative. The program is also part of a growing trend among U.S. law schools to offer new opportunities to their graduates. It will go a long way toward teaching law graduates while providing a critical service in the local community for low- and middle-income people who cannot afford attorneys and access to justice.
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bookshelf
Deconstructing Brad Pitt
ed. by Christopher Schaberg and Robert Bennett Bloomsbury Academic In this critical study of the iconic Hollywood star, editors Christopher Schaberg and Robert Bennett extensively rework problems of celebrity, gender, and consumer society. The essays in the collection interrogate the possibilities of star personae and their consequent notions of identity and performance. At the same time, the analyses subvert the customary segregation of “fandom”and academic critique.
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TRANSFORMING LOYOLA
Parallels and Responses to Curricular Innovation: The Possibilities of Posthumanistic Education
by Brad Petitfils Routledge International Series in the Philosophy of Education This study argues the need for undergraduate curricular innovation in the age of what the philosopher Jean Baudrillard called “hyperreality,”a posthumanistic age in which the subject is decentered and knowledge mediated in digital spaces. Petitfils explores the problem of the posthumanistic subject and proposes curricular reform to re-situate and recenter the knowing self.
Unbought and Unbossed: Transgressive Black Women, Sexuality, and Representation by Trimiko Melancon Temple University Press
Using literary works by black women of the 1970s and early ‘80s, Melancon explores, through the trope of sexuality, post-civil rights novelists’ subversion of representations of black women in the American literary and cultural imagination. Melancon’s study draws on critical race theory, feminism, and gender and sexuality studies to illustrate the complexity of black female identity.
The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History
by Rian Thum Harvard University Press The Uyghurs–Turkic Muslims from the region northwest of Tibet– have lived uneasily for nearly three centuries under Chinese rule and have cultivated an identity that assimilates elements of Semitic, Iranic, Turkic, and Indic traditions. Thum explores Uyghur history through longstanding traditions of local pilgrimage and manuscript culture, the importance of orality, and the significance of shrines as spaces of history-making.
Divorce in Medieval England: From One to Two Persons in Law by Sara M. Butler Routledge Research in Medieval Studies
Divorce is usually considered a modern invention. Butler challenges that viewpoint, documenting the many and varied uses of divorce in medieval England and highlighting the fact that couples regularly divorced on the grounds of spousal incompatibility. Her study reorients scholarly perceptions of medieval divorce and sheds light on the issue of marriage and women’s position in later medieval England.
Louisiana Property Law: The Civil Code, Cases, and Commentary
Exploring Certainty: Wittgenstein and Wide Fields of Thought
Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives
In the first new casebook in more than a generation, three law scholars from Louisiana present classic and contemporary cases regarding property laws and compare the state laws with those of Quebec, South Africa, and Scotland. Louisiana Property Law also tackles concepts behind ownership and natural and legal servitudes.
Brice considers how the ideas of certainty, belief, knowledge, and skepticism found in Ludwig Wittgenstein’s On Certainty apply in a range of areas of thought: ethics, aesthetics, religious belief, mathematics, cognitive science, and political theory. Brice opens new approaches for scholars of Wittgenstein and introduces new philosophies of knowledge and cognition.
Slavery is not a crime confined to the far reaches of history. It is an injustice that continues to entrap 27 million people across the globe. Murphy explores the stories of 40 survivors of modern-day slavery from around the world and details the horrors of a system that forces people to work without pay and against their will, under the threat of violence, with little or no means of escape.
by John A. Lovett, Markus G. Puder, and Evelyn L. Wilson Carolina Academic Press
by Robert Greenleaf Brice Lexington Books
by Laura T. Murphy Columbia University Press
publications, presentations, and performances The research and creative work highlighted in this report are a small representation of the expansive body of scholarly work ongoing at Loyola University New Orleans. For a complete list of publications, presentations, and performances in the 2013–2014 academic year by Loyola’s faculty, go online to www.loyno.edu/provosts-report.
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