Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 96 • Issue 1 • August 18, 2017
THE MAROON FOR A GREATER LOYOLA
Father Wildes to retire as president
Princeton Review ranks Loyola as a top university in the nation By Erin Snodgrass eesnodgr@my.loyno.edu @erinsnod
NICHOLAS BOULET/ The Maroon
The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., addresses the Loyola community during the 2016 Spring Convocation. After 14 years as Loyola's president, Wildes is set to retire in June of 2018.
By Nick Reimann and Grant Dufrene nsreiman@loyno.edu gmdufren@loyno.edu @nicksreimann
After 14 years holding the role of President of Loyola University New Orleans, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., has told the board of trustees he intends to retire in June of 2018. Wildes will continue as usual in his role as president for the remainder of the academic year, including commencement, before he officially steps down. In the meantime, Dennis Cuneo, a member of the Board of Trustees, will now chair a cross-functional committee that will launch a nationwide search for Loyola's next president. Wildes told the board he intends to be active in consulting his successor once the new president is selected. "This is an exciting time at Loyola, and we will miss Fr. Wildes. Please join me in thanking him for his years of leadership and commitment to Loyola — and in wishing him well in his future endeavors," Paul Pastorek, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said in a community-wide email. Many members of the Loyola community are excited about the new possibilities that will come out of this transfer of power, such as the
Rev. Francis W. Huete, S.J., a member of Loyola’s Board of Trustees. “In any kind of administrative post like this you bring your strengths to the job and you give what you have, but eventually it is time to move on because nobody’s perfect and so your weaknesses catch up to you and then you need someone else,” Huete said. He then added: “I think he’s done a great job for the university, but he’s 14 years older than he used to be and sometimes it’s good to have a change.” As Loyola's 16th president, Wildes notably led the school through a difficult period following Hurricane Katrina, resulting in the fall 2005 semester being canceled and ensuing problems afterwards. Starting in 2006, he was at the helm of the Pathways plan, a controversial restructuring plan that resulted in the cut of well-known programs, such as broadcast journalism. One of its key features was also the creation of the College of Social Sciences — a college that was dissolved with the latest college reorganization that took place last year. In more recent years, though, Wildes has been at the helm of what the university calls its most ambitious campaign ever — Faith in the Future — which seeks to raise $100 million by Dec. 31 to fund scholar-
ships, facilities and other major aspects of student life. To date, the campaign has raised $67 million toward that goal, according to the university. Wildes can also tout a 33 percent increase in enrollment for the upcoming semester as another accomplishment, though enrollment for previous years did not live up to the university’s expectations. Pastorek praised Wildes’ accomplishments in an email sent on the morning of Aug. 4, saying: "Under his leadership, we have enjoyed new and exciting academic programs; transformations to campus, especially in Monroe Hall; the most successful and ambitious capital campaign in Loyola’s history; and the creation and development of critical scholarships that so help to diversify, augment, and support our student body." Wildes said he made the decision now because he feels like the university is going in the right direction, telling the board that he “has always believed that if a university president is going to create a meaningful and lasting legacy, that legacy needs to include leaving the university prepared to do well what it needs to do next. I have always wanted, above all, to leave Loyola well-positioned for the future.” In addition to early criticisms as a result of Pathways, Wildes recent
tenure hasn't been short of detractors, either, especially since the university has made several rounds of faculty buyouts in recent years in an attempt to close a budget gap that peaked at $25 million in 2015. There have also been two votes of “no confidence” in Wildes from faculty, most recently from the University Senate in 2016. It was merely a symbolic move, though, as the Board of Trustees, the only university body that has power over Wildes, issued a statement of support after the vote. Loyola begins its final fall semester with Wildes serving as president on Aug. 21, where Wildes will continue his full normal function as president before handing over the reins to his successor in June. After that, university spokeswoman Laura Kurzu said that the community can still expect Wildes to be around — just no longer in his role as president. Should Wildes choose to regularly stick around on campus, he wouldn’t be the only retired president doing so. The Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., still teaches at Loyola. He left his role as president in 1995. For more on Wildes' tenure as president, see Page 11.
Once again, Loyola ranks among the best colleges in the nation according to the Princeton Review. In its “The Best 382 Colleges: 2018 Edition,” which provides prospective college students with a detailed description of the country’s top universities, Loyola was singled out for particular excellence in five categories, where they earned top 20 honors. These honors, according to a Loyola news release, came from lists compiled through student interviews and polls at schools across the country. According to the Princeton Review, 137,000 students at 382 colleges across the nation took an online poll, rating their universities in a number of different categories of interest to students and their parents. The highest ranking went to Loyola’s 95-year old newspaper, The Maroon. The paper was ranked as the fifth-best student newspaper in the country. This is the third time in the last four years that The Maroon has been ranked in the top five nationally. Editor-in-chief Nick Reimann feels honored to be the leader of one of the strongest organizations on campus. “I would encourage any student that is new to Loyola to write something for The Maroon during their time here, as I could not imagine experiencing Loyola without The Maroon,” Reimann said. Loyola also scored high in areas involving student life. The university ranked 11th for lots of race/ class interaction and ranked 12th for town/gown relations, meaning Loyola students are active in the larger community of New Orleans. New Orleans, as Loyola's city, came in at number 16 for "College City Gets High Marks," and the school came in at number 18 for "Best Quality of Life." According to a Loyola news release, the Princeton Review also commended Loyola’s academic rigor and focus on leadership skills. Marketing sophomore Madison Taylor took the online poll last school year to help weigh in on the rankings. After seeing the results, she believes the rankings Loyola received are representative of what it’s like to attend the university. “New Orleans is a great place to go to school. There is so much to do and to see, so I think the best college city ranking is a very good representation,” Taylor said. Taylor is excited for what these rankings could mean for Loyola in the future. She believes the university being nationally recognized in a variety of areas will help draw more potential students and from a more diverse crowd. “I think the rankings will help put Loyola into high schoolers’ minds as a great college option,” Taylor added.