Purpose and Passion
2017 Provost’s Report Loyola University New Orleans
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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A Message from the Provost Dear readers, At Loyola University New Orleans, our Jesuit, Catholic mission calls on us to prepare our students to live meaningful professional and personal lives. We instill a commitment to excellence and the value of service, encouraging all members of our campus to be “men and women for and with others.” At the heart of our mission is the Jesuit concept of the magis, which in Latin means “the more.” By encouraging our campus community to seek what matters, and to push perceived boundaries, we have created a campus culture and student experience of creativity, discovery, and action. Critical thinking, open hearts, and open minds. That’s what drives a Loyola education. That’s what drives our success. Our faculty and students draw on their God-given talents, interests, and experiences to pursue their passions and create something meaningful. Students arrive on campus prepared, in the words of St. Ignatius Loyola, to “set the world on fire.” Through personalized learning experiences and collaborative research opportunities with faculty, they begin to see the world through fresh eyes. Inspired, they pursue new concepts, unafraid to challenge the status quo. Fueled by a powerful liberal arts education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, they learn to translate ideas into action. Purpose and passion. The 2017 Provost’s Report takes a look back at achievements attained on campus and beyond. While it’s impossible to capture all of the exciting events and transformative experiences that occurred, we strive in this report to provide a glimpse of all of the wonderful things happening at Loyola. The faculty, staff, students, and alumni featured in this report share an innovative spirit and deep motivation that helps to improve the world around them. It is with great pride that we share some of their achievements. Sincerely,
Maria E. Calzada, Ph.D. Interim Provost
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On PURPOSE the cover: AND Loyola PASSION professor 2017Dr.PROVOST’S Aimée Thomas REPORT catalogsLOYOLA wildlife in UNIVERSITY New OrleansNEW City Park ORLEANS during community “citizen science” event BioBlitz.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Table of Contents
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BioBlitz Highlights City Park’s Biodiversity Loyola initiated a community “citizen science” BioBlitz to discover and catalog wildlife in New Orleans City Park with scientists, naturalists, students, and community volunteers.
Students Serve Indigenous Communities During Immersion Program
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Renowned playwright Tony Kushner brings Caroline, or Change to New Orleans for the first time with a Loyola-packed cast and crew.
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A new experiential learning immersion program offers students a chance to live and work in indigenous communities in Mexico.
Student Filmmaking Duo Honored at Shakespeare Film Festival
Loyola Presents Tony-Nominated Broadway Musical
MBA Students Invited to Competitive Management Consortium Two Loyola MBA students earned spots at the highly competitive pre-doctoral consortium hosted by The Southern Management Association in St. Beach, Florida.
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Two Loyola students were honored at an award ceremony in England for their original film; Ophelia was named the Best Film Inspired by Shakespeare in the 2017 Shakespeare Film Festival.
Sisterhood Video Series Spotlights Global Contributions A large grant to build leadership capacity, communication skills, and social media knowledge of women religious funds a video series on their inspiring ministries in the U.S., Africa, and Asia.
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Law Clinic Students Represent Local Families
Leadership Grant Awarded to Loyola Digital Initiatives Librarian
Loyola professor receives a National Leadership for Libraries grant to study a framework for measuring reuse of digital objects.
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Leaders of the Pack
Loyola proudly spotlights the scholars of our latest class and future leaders of their generation, including winners of the prestigious GatesCambridge, Fulbright, and Gilman scholarships.
Beloved Loyola professor receives Lifetime Achievement Award Carol Rausch, Loyola professor and director of Loyola Opera Theater, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Gambitaffiliated Foundation for Entertainment, Development and Education.
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Bookshelf
This year, Loyola faculty members published groundbreaking work on subjects including soil science, natural disasters, existentialism, child counseling, and more.
Loyola students participating in Law Clinic learn what it means to use the law to serve others by handling cases start to finish while still students. 2
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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BioBlitz Highlights City Park’s Biodiversity New Orleans City Park is home to 1,300 acres of life. At first glance you’ll see the park’s lagoons, fishing ponds, levees, soccer fields, golf courses, grasslands, and the world’s largest collection of mature One of our goals is to live oaks. This year, help City Park become Loyola inspired the better-informed about community to take a closer look. its flora and fauna so
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Supported by a park leaders can make generous grant informed decisions from Entergy Corp. about the management Loyola University New Orleans initiated of their land. a community BioBlitz – Aimée Thomas in City Park – a biological inventory focused on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.
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Drs. Aimée and Bob Thomas lead teams of Loyola students, community scientists, and researchers in cataloging wildlife during a BioBlitz event at New Orleans City Park.
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This “citizen science” effort is an ongoing project in partnership with New Orleans City Park planners and a host of scientists and naturalists. Their goals: identify as
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
many species as possible, enlarge the existing list of both native and introduced flora and fauna, and build upon existing data to help City Park prepare for the future. “Citizen science is a form of crowdsourcing, in that it involves residents of all types in the gathering of scientific data to be used toward a common goal that impacts everyone,” said Robert A. “Bob” Thomas, director of the Loyola Center for Environmental Communication and board member of the City Park Improvement Association and the New Orleans Botanical Garden Foundation.
After the successful summer BioBlitz drew more than 300 participants, Loyola added an evening batwatching event to the second event and plans to continue expanding the project in 2018. “One of our goals is to help City Park become betterinformed about its flora and fauna so park leaders can make informed decisions about the management of their land,” said Aimée Thomas, lecturer and assistant professor of biological sciences at Loyola. “A BioBlitz is also a great opportunity for residents and hobbyists interested in nature to work side-by-side with entomologists, bird experts, coastal scientists, and other experts in their fields.” Experts who assisted with the BioBlitz represented many local scientific and academic institutions including Loyola, University of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University, Tulane University, the Audubon Institute, the Lake Foundation, New Orleans Botanical Gardens, and City Park. The BioBlitz project is sponsored by a $66,000 grant from Entergy and hosted by New Orleans City Park and Loyola University New Orleans.
Led by professors in Loyola University New Orleans’ Environmental Sciences Department, the program engages scientists and naturalists from universities throughout the region in leading teams of student and community volunteers as they gather observations and information on plants, birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, and other wildlife. “With the help of volunteers and scientists, park management and city leaders have a better understanding of the biodiversity at one of the nation’s largest public parks,” said Bob Thomas.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Students Serve Indigenous Communities During Immersion Program As a Jesuit university, Loyola encourages students to embrace the Ignatian ideal of service. Targeting this, a new experiential learning immersion program offers students a chance to live and work in indigenous communities in Mexico. Two Loyola students – Jacqui Etheart and Sean McLaughlin – kicked off the 10-week program and were placed with service organizations for the summer to carry out service projects for indigenous communities. The new program is a four-way collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans; Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla (UIP) in Puebla, Mexico; several local NGOs; and the indigenous communities they represent.
Loyola students live and work abroad in indigenous communities during a new experiential learning immersion program in Mexico.
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PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Full immersion provides students with a nuanced understanding of oftenmarginalized groups of indigenous peoples who make up an important part of Latin America while also improving their Spanish skills. Students attend a one-week orientation in Puebla before
going to their sites and then spend five days a week working on their service projects, reporting periodically to their assigned field professors. At the end of the program, students leave with nine credit hours and an irreplaceably marketable experience.
double major, spent the summer working with the NGO Arte Joven in the town of Xochitlán in the mountains above Puebla. Arte Joven helps young artisans learn about current accounting practices and marketing principles so they can better establish commercial opportunities for their products outside Etheart, Latin American studies major their local communities. McLaughlin and women’s studies minor, spent said the summer “forever changed his the summer working with the NGO perspective on the world.” He has since Formación y Capacitación (FoCa) in San returned to start his new career as an Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. accounting representative for a reputable FoCa is an organization that works to effect social, political, and cultural change New Orleans accounting firm. in Mexican society to establish more Both students were honored for equal conditions for indigenous women academic excellence at the departmental and migrants from Central America. award ceremony. Etheart received The Etheart said that this opportunity Center for Latin American Studies Award provided her with an inside look at how for scholastic excellence and dedication NGOs operate, and she hopes to pursue a to Latin America, and McLaughlin career advocating for women’s received The Honorary Consul of Spain in New Orleans Award for excellence in and indigenous peoples’ rights in the study of Spanish and cultures of the Latin America. Spanish-speaking world. McLaughlin, an accounting and Spanish
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Student Filmmaking Duo Honored at Shakespeare Film Festival “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” – Ophelia When Loyola students Caterina Picone and Nick Ramey developed their short film, Ophelia, they knew what it was but not yet what it would be. Two years later, their work has been named the Best Film Inspired by Shakespeare in the 2017 Shakespeare Film Festival. Left: Loyola students Nick Ramey ,left, and Caterina Picone celebrate their international film festival win. Right: Poignant shot from award-winning Loyola student film Ophelia.
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Distinguished British actor and director Sir Kenneth Branagh selected the winner for each category and presented the awards this fall at a public screening in England. Ophelia was the only U.S. film screened at the festival.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Ramey co-directed and photographed. Both students had previous filmmaking experience and worked together to polish and improve the film even after the semester was over. “The English Department is delighted by Caterina’s success, which demonstrates her skills and talent as a storyteller, writer, director, and filmmaker,” said John Biguenet, award-winning playwright and chair of the Loyola University New Orleans Department of English. “The award puts her work in an international spotlight – and reflects Loyola University New Orleans’ reputation as a premier arts education institution and a university that nurtures creativity. Critical thinking is a cornerstone of a Jesuit and Loyola education.”
“During the two years Nick has been with our film program, he has demonstrated a natural gift for both still and motion photography,” said Jon Vogl, associate director of digital filmmaking and film production liaison at Loyola. “He has become one of Loyola’s topperforming students and frequently shares his filming techniques and experiences with his peers. It’s wonderful to see his and Caterina’s talents and efforts recognized at this level.” Grants from Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English, and Department of Digital Filmmaking generously funded the students’ travel to London.
“This is overwhelmingly exciting for us,” said Picone, Loyola University New Orleans senior and English major. “It’s an incredible honor not only to receive the award but also to have the film screened where Shakespeare lived and wrote.” The Shakespeare Film Festival was created to celebrate new films inspired by Shakespeare. This year’s contest drew nearly 250 entries from more than 40 countries – a record since the competition was launched in 2013. “This competition offers filmmakers from around the world a platform to express their understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare’s works, life, and times,” Elizabeth Dollimore, Shakespeare Film Festival organizer, said in a festival update. Ophelia explores what happens when method acting takes over the actor. Picone wrote, directed, and produced Ophelia for a digital filmmaking class project, and Loyola junior and digital filmmaking major Nick
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Loyola Presents TonyNominated Broadway Musical A Broadway musical eloquently addressing race, identity, history, and the removal of a Confederate monument sounds like it was written specifically to be performed in New Orleans in 2017. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change originally premiered in 2004, but its subject matter remains relevant to today’s heightened cultural awareness surrounding these important issues. Set in 1963 Louisiana during the growing civil rights movement, Caroline, or Change follows Caroline, an African-American maid to the Jewish Gellman family and her unique bond with their young son. Some of the greatest social advancements the country has ever seen are set in motion, and change is knocking on the door. A subplot about Confederate monuments made the play prescient and timely in today’s New Orleans.
Kushner’s Caroline, or Change comes to New Orleans for the first time with a Loyolapacked cast and crew.
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PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
“Kushner often writes like a prophet – his plays always seem to become more relevant as time goes on,” said Dr. Laura Hope, artistic director and chair of the Loyola Theatre Arts
Department. “This story may be a semiautobiographical account of his childhood in Louisiana, but it feels as if it was specifically written for our society in 2017, even though the musical premiered in 2004.” Kushner’s Caroline, or Change ran on Broadway for 136 performances and was nominated for six Tony Awards, but it had never been staged in the Greater New Orleans area before this production. The musical was the first show performed in the Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s Westwego Performing Arts Theatre since it sustained heavy damage in Hurricane Isaac and underwent an extensive restoration. “Although inspired by Kushner’s childhood growing up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the conversation the musical opens up about how race, class, and religion shape a different experience of being an American for different people is one that is extraordinarily timely,” Hope said. Loyola’s influence on this production of Caroline, or Change is clear from the
affiliated team. Loyola musical theatre students composed about half the cast, and the show’s conductor, director, and JPAS’s director are all Loyola alumni. In support of the production, Kushner visited campus to discuss his work in a conversation led by the founding editor of American Theatre magazine, Jim O’Quinn. The next day, Kushner gave a private masterclass to the students of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Kushner has won numerous accolades and awards in his career. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993; a Tony Award for Best Play in 1993 and 1994; a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special in 2004; and in 2005 and 2012, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The show was a collaboration between Loyola’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance and JPAS.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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MBA Students Invited to Competitive Management Consortium Sometimes the simplest way to help a person understand a concept is to show, not tell. Job shadowing, for instance, encourages a person to walk the walk of a professional and evaluate a career path from the inside. The Southern Management Association’s pre-doctoral consortium is a day-long program with similar intentions specifically designed for students who are considering a doctoral degree in management as their next step. Acceptance is highly competitive, and two Loyola MBA students—Monique Thomas and Michael Seidman—earned spots in 2017. Frankie J. Weinberg, Ph.D., Loyola assistant professor of management, served as the pre-doctoral consortium chair this year and previously served as the co-coordinator. This year’s SMA’s pre-doctoral consortium was held in St. Pete Beach, Florida as part of the annual meeting of the Southern Management Association.
Two Loyola MBA students, Monique Thomas ,left, and Michael Seidman, earned spots at the highly competitive Southern Management Association pre-doctoral consortium.
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“It’s an outstanding opportunity for people who are seriously considering applying for Ph.D. programs in managementrelated topics to gain a realistic preview of what awaits them in such a program and beyond,” Weinberg said. “Further, it provides them direct access to leading scholars, department chairs, educators, and mentors who are considered some of the top contributors to our field.”
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
The consortium features nationally recognized scholars who lead panel sessions and round table discussions designed to provide students with a better understanding of the practical aspects of earning a doctoral degree in management. Topics vary each year but have included “how to decide which programs are right for me,” “the ins and outs of grad school applications,” “how to prepare a strong application package,” and “life as a doctoral student and beyond.” Opportunities for networking with current doctoral students, faculty, and Ph.D. program directors are also built into the program. SMA’s two broad goals for the program are to help students gain a better understanding of key factors to consider in applying to doctoral programs and to provide students with a realistic preview of life as a doctoral student and faculty member. SMA is a domestic affiliate of the Academy of Management. Its primary mission is to advance the research, teaching, learning, and practice of management. Membership consists of over 1,000 management professors, doctoral students, and professionals representing more than 200 colleges, universities, and business firms in 43 states and several foreign countries.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Sisterhood Video Series Spotlights Global Contributions The solemn, dedicated lives that women religious lead don’t usually attract paparazzi or news cameras. Their invaluable efforts don’t tend to lead to red carpets or international acclaim. The Loyola Institute for Ministry, in association with Salt and Light Television, presented a new video series, Sisterhood, to bring attention to seven such unsung heroes and their ministries across the globe.
Behind the scenes: Sisterhood video series highlights the global ministries of women religious who have been studying with the Loyola Institute for Ministry as part of the Communicating Charism program.
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PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
The video series is an inspiring and visually stunning seven-part series about communities of Catholic women religious whose members have been studying with the Loyola Institute for Ministry as part of Communicating Charism. The videos were part of this larger project designed to build leadership capacity and social media knowledge and grounded in the belief
that communication is fundamental to the Christian faith. Both projects were funded through a $900,000 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation awarded in December 2014 to the Loyola Institute of Ministry. “These videos represent the culmination of two years of study and collaboration with Catholic sisters from around the world,” said Thomas Ryan, Ph.D., director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry and the director of the project. “They communicate beautifully the transformative work of Catholic sisters in the world today.” Sisterhood featured seven communities and their work in the U.S., Africa, and Asia. The sisters were interviewed about their missions, and they then worked with the video teams on filming and editing. The videos were produced
and broadcast by Salt and Light TV of Canada, a Catholic television network airing on cable in Canada and elsewhere. The series was designed to publicize the ministries of communities in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Each made its world premiere this summer over seven Sundays. After the videos appeared on Salt and Light, they were given to their respective communities. The videos “are really a tremendous tribute to women religious who are on the frontlines, who are running the field hospitals of our time,” said Basilian Fr. Tom Rosica, CEO of Salt and Light Media. Sisterhood was streamed around the world online and is available for purchase on the Salt and Light website.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Law Clinic Students Represent Local Families Before graduation, Loyola University New Orleans law students are already getting court experience helping families who can’t afford an attorney. Students who participate in Law Clinic learn what it means to use the law to serve others and experience handling a case from start to finish – and in many cases, see their cases all the way through to judgment while still a student.
Left: Loyola student Brad Jacobs represented an intra-family adoption case from start to finish as a student. He is pictured here with the Hon. J. Sterling Snowdy, who heard the case; the family he represented; and supervising professor Ramona Fernandez. Right: Regina Kendall and Caleb Kendall
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This was the case for Brad Jacobs, whose work with the clinic’s children’s rights division successfully obtained a judgment of adoption for an aunt of her 16-year-old nephew (pictured). The case was heard by the Hon. J. Sterling Snowdy of the 40th Judicial District Court and supervised by Ramona Fernandez, clinic professor and associate director of the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Intra-family adoptions are only one of many types of cases that Loyola law students are handling while still in school. This semester the Law Clinic has 74 total students enrolled, each assigned to one of nine specializations including children’s rights, community justice, criminal defense, family law, immigration law, misdemeanor litigation, prosecution, technology and legal innovation, and workplace justice. “Participating in Loyola’s Law Clinic is an invaluable experience for students who want to actively practice law we tried two cases just on Wednesday,” Fernandez said. “The experience makes our students more marketable because it’s hands-on training you can’t get anywhere else. Some of our students even argue before the Supreme Court of Louisiana in appeals, which some lawyers never do.”
Student practitioners experience firsthand what representing clients is like and also further the Jesuit ideals of scholarship and service at Loyola by providing legal representation to the needy. Fernandez said that students work hundreds of hours each semester and are responsible for everything related to their cases from initial client interviews to final judgment and everything in between. Each student is assigned to multiple cases at once, and one student can take on as many as 19 in a single semester.
The experience makes our students “more marketable because it’s hands-on training you can’t get anywhere else. ”
– Ramona Fernandez
“This opportunity makes our graduates more valuable to employers – the basics that it could take a new associate years to learn, they already know how to do,” Fernandez said. “Many of our former students have been hired by local lawyers, judges, or opposing counsel who have seen them perform in court. Clinic makes it easier for our law students to get a job when they graduate.”
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Leadership Grant Awarded to Loyola Digital Initiatives Librarian According to an IBM Marketing Cloud study, 90 percent of data in the world today has been created since 2016. New devices and technologies increasingly allow us to both create and access this information. Increasingly, traditional institutions like libraries are opting to digitize their rare and special collections to allow online scholarship and datasharing – and while supporting this effort as Loyola’s digital initiatives librarian, Elizabeth Kelly argues that not enough is being done to assess the use and usability of these items. Kelly and members of her project team, representing six universities from across the country, were awarded a National Leadership for Libraries grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to study a framework for measuring reuse of digital objects. Elizabeth Kelly, Loyola digital initiatives librarian, received a National Leadership for Libraries grant to study a framework for measuring reuse of digital objects.
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PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Their grant proposal summarizes the project as “a robust digital library community needs assessment, focused on developing the use cases and
functional requirements for a freely available, collaboratively developed tool kit.” Her team intends to gather the information needed to develop a tool kit that would be used to encourage standardization and enhanced impact measurement in the digital library field. Out of the 90 applications received by the IMLS, their proposal was one of only 25 selected to receive grant funding. Kelly’s research group was awarded $70,850 to conduct a yearlong formal needs assessment focused on expanding the resources available for understanding and assessing digital library content reuse. Over the past year, Kelly’s research group, the Digital Library Federation Assessment Interest Group, has examined national research gaps for different areas of digital library assessment. This grant builds on the recommendations from the team’s recent white paper on the topic, “Surveying the Landscape: Use and Usability Assessment of Digital Libraries.”
of University of Southern California, Genya O’Gara of Virtual Library of Virginia, Ayla Stein of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Santi Thompson of University of Houston, and Liz Woolcott of Utah State University. Kelly has worked for Loyola’s nationally recognized J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library since 2010. As digital initiatives librarian at Loyola, Kelly manages digitization activities for Special Collections and Archives and is also responsible for collecting, maintaining, and assessing usage data for both Special Collections and Archives and the library’s digitized collections. Kelly publishes and presents on archives, digital library assessment, and library pedagogy and is co-founder and co-chair of the DLF Digital Library Pedagogy group. She earned a master of science in library and information systems from Florida State University, and she is a 2005 graduate of the Loyola School of Music’s music composition program.
The team includes Kelly, Caroline Muglia PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which will support his doctoral work at the University of Cambridge. Only 95 people from around the world received the award this year, and the win is a first for Loyola University New Orleans. The selection criteria include outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, and a commitment to improving the lives of others.
Leaders of the Pack The Wolf Pack is a supportive, original, and ambitious network. We turn childhood ideas into our wildest dreams. We go beyond the classroom; we go beyond our borders; we go beyond expectations. Loyola University New Orleans is proud to spotlight the scholars of our class and leaders of their generation. This year, Loyola was honored to have a total of five students receive Fulbright award offers, and for the second year in a row, Loyola was named among the Top U.S. Fulbright Producers by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The prestigious Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
excellent education we offer at Loyola,” said Interim Provost and Chief Operating Officer Dr. David B. Borofsky. Two Loyola graduates and one Loyola senior – Natalie Jones ’14, Mathew Holloway ’16, and Lauren Stroh ’17 – were selected for the English teaching assistant program, where they will provide assistance to local teachers and take on supplementary research projects of their own creation.
Loyola New Orleans, we encourage “ourAtstudents to ‘go forth and set the world on fire,’ and we are always pleased to see our students succeeding.
Fulbright Scholarship award winners, from top left: Mathew Holloway ’16, Natalie Jones ’14, Lauren Stroh ’17, Emily Edwards ’16, and Michael Pashkevich ’17
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“Being named a Top U.S. Producer of Fulbright Scholars underscores the outstanding academic offerings and
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Emily Edwards ’16 and Michael Pashkevich ’17 had the rare opportunity to decline this award in pursuit of other exciting ventures.
Edwards accepted the Max Weber Fellowship at New – Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D. York University and will be the primary research assistant to Dr. Christian Martin, the Max Weber Chair of German and European Studies. Pashkevich, an Ignatian scholar and biology senior in the University Honors Program, accepted the prestigious
“In part, I applied for a Gates Cambridge scholarship precisely because its mission aligned so well with Loyola’s Jesuit values,” Pashkevich said. “I want others to realize that my Gates Cambridge Scholarship is a result of Loyola’s phenomenal university culture that pairs scholarly excellence with a commitment to assisting the world’s marginalized populations. I look forward to spending a career linking scholarship to social and environmental justice.” Finally, five Loyola students were awarded the Gilman scholarship for study abroad, including three local first-generation students. The program broadens the student population that studies and interns abroad and encourages students to study in diverse world regions and learn critically needed languages. This year, Loyola’s student recipients were Dea Devlin (Australia), Shavon Fletcher (Ecuador), Leslie Galvez (Ecuador), Marjunique Louis (China), and Oanh Nguyen (Netherlands). “At Loyola New Orleans, we encourage our students to ‘go forth and set the world on fire,’ and we are always pleased to see our students succeeding,” said Loyola University New Orleans President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Beloved Loyola Professor Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Carol Rausch, beloved Loyola professor and director of Loyola Opera Theater, was honored this year with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Gambit-affiliated Foundation for Entertainment, Development and Education. The foundation presented awards for achievements in classical music, opera, and dance at its annual Tribute to the Classical Arts luncheon. In addition to her Loyola affiliation, Rausch is currently the chorus master, music coordinator, and education director for the New Orleans Opera Association. She also serves as chorus master and music administrator for the Chautauqua Opera’s summer festival season in upstate New York where she heads the music staff and oversees the nationally recognized apprentice program. Rausch previously worked for the Virginia Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Ohio Light Opera, and Opera/Columbus.
Carol Rausch, Loyola professor and director of Loyola Opera Theater, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Gambit-affiliated Foundation for Entertainment, Development and Education.
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PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
“If I could only do one thing it would be playing piano – making music is at the heart of what I do and the most bare-bones important thing to me. But I think that the luckiest thing is that I actually get to do a variety of things through music,” Rausch said. “I still play, but I also teach and coach, accompany voice recitals, work with the opera chorus, conduct, and bring ideas to life.”
Although many highlights of her celebrated career are within opera, Rausch actually started college torn between majoring in French or piano and spent several years working in public radio. She accepted a fellowship in Brussels, Belgium, and credits her time abroad with helping her decide on a career path, saying, “Sometimes you need to pull back from your regular surroundings to put the pieces together.” Opera opened doors for her in music as a collaborator and coach and incorporated her appreciation of languages, as well. Rausch inspires her Loyola students to pursue uniquely New Orleans opportunities in opera through her affiliation with the New Orleans Opera Association. The opera chorus functions like an apprentice program, and students can network and join professional productions while they are still taking classes. “Not everyone who studies opera gets to go to school for their undergraduate degree in a city with an opera company,” Rausch said. “I tell my students; ‘If you’re saying you want to sing for a career, join the opera chorus. Get out there and talk to people who make a career of this, see what you do and don’t want, spend time in the profession, and hear what it’s like out there in the world.’”
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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Bookshelf The research and creative works featured here highlight artists, thinkers, and scholars on our Loyola team. This collection represents only a small portion of the expansive body of scholarly work ongoing at Loyola University New Orleans.
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The Dangerous Book of Poetry for Planes Mark Yakich Eyewear Publishing
Subversive, erotic, and sublime, The Dangerous Book of Poetry for Planes challenges the conventions of airplane reading. Family, faith, technology, celebrity – yes, they are here. But so too is sex as philanthropy, flight as Weltschmerz, and grammar as the ultimate loneliness. In a world that often seems to have lost its affinity for wonder, The Dangerous Book of Poetry for Planes reminds us that our greatest sense is our sense of wordplay.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Living Existentialism: Essays in Honor of Thomas W. Busch J.C. Berendzen and Gregory Hoskins, editors Pickwick Publications
Offered in honor of Thomas W. Busch after his more than 50 years of work in philosophy, the essays in this volume attest to existentialism as a living project. The essays are written by scholars who championed existentialism in America and by scholars who now seek to extend existentialist insights into new territory, including into research in cognitive science. The essays range from studies of key figures and texts to explorations of urgent topics such as the nature of freedom and the possibility of what Busch calls “incorporation,” a sense of communicative solidarity that respects difference and disagreement.
Fractured Communities: Risk, Impacts, and Protest Against Hydraulic Fracking in U.S. Shale Regions
Ground-Work: English Renaissance Literature and Soil Science
Anthony E. Ladd, editor
This collection brings focused scholarly attention to conceptions of soil in the early modern period, both as a symbol and as a feature of the physical world, aiming to correct faulty assumptions that cloud our understanding of early modern ecological thought: that natural resources were then poorly understood and recklessly managed and that cultural practices developed in an adversarial relationship with natural processes. Moreover, these essays elucidate the links between humans and the lands they inhabit, both then and now.
Rutgers University Press.
In Fractured Communities, Anthony E. Ladd and other leading environmental sociologists present a set of crucial case studies analyzing the differential risk perceptions, socio-environmental impacts, and mobilization of citizen protest (or quiescence) surrounding unconventional energy development and hydraulic fracking in a number of key U.S. shale regions. Fractured Communities reveals how this contested terrain is expanding, pushing the issue of fracking into the mainstream of the American political arena.
Hillary Eklund, editor Duquesne University Press
America’s Disaster Culture: The Production of Natural Disasters in Literature and Pop Culture Robert Bell and Robert M. Ficociello
(Re)Imaginar Centroamérica en el siglo XXI. Literatura e itinerarios culturales.
Emerging Research in Play Therapy, Child Counseling, and Consultation
Uriel Quesada, Maureen Shea, and Ignacio Sarmiento, editors
Rheta LeAnne Steen
Bloomsbury
Uruk Editores
America’s Disaster Culture offers a critical theory surrounding the culture of “natural” disasters in American consumerism, literature, media, film, and popular culture. While offering an analytical framework for the cultural production and representation of disasters, catastrophes, and apocalypses in American culture, it also observes events, such as the Dust Bowl, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11, that are reframed and re-historicized as “natural” disasters by contemporary media and pop culture. In so doing, it theorizes the very parameters of classifying any event as a “natural” disaster, addresses the biases involved in a catastrophic event’s public narrative, and analyzes American culture’s consumption of a disastrous event.
(Re)Imaginar Centroamérica en el siglo XXI is an essay collection on Central American cultural studies, an academic field that has experienced significant growth in Latin America, the U.S. and Europe in recent years. The volume includes chapters on gender studies, ecocriticism, history, and literature in which scholars from several countries discuss the connections between cartography and national identity in 19thcentury Nicaragua; the cultural impact of Monsignor Oscar Romero in the United States; and the rise and fall of Prudencia Ayala, an indigenous woman also ran for president of El Salvador in 1930.
IGI-Publishing
In the counseling field, it is imperative that mental health professionals stay informed of current research findings. By staying abreast of the most recent trends and techniques in health care, professionals can modify their methods to better aid their patients. Emerging Research in Play Therapy, Child Counseling, and Consultation is a critical resource that examines the most current methodologies and treatments in child therapy. Featuring coverage on relevant topics such as behavioral concerns, childhood anxiety, and consultation services, this publication is an ideal reference source for all health care professionals, practitioners, academicians, graduate students, and researchers who are seeking the latest information on child counseling services.
PURPOSE AND PASSION 2017 PROVOST’S REPORT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
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