Loyola University Chicago

University Staff Council

October 2017

Ralph Braseth

Title/s:  Student Media Manager and Clinical Professor of Communication

Email: rbraseth@luc.edu

About

Department/School/Division: School of Communication
Campus: Water Tower Campus
Years at Loyola: 9 years

What is your favorite thing about working at Loyola?
Students continue to be the most important, and my favorite thing about working at Loyola. They keep me young and in touch with the world that they are getting ready to inherit.

What is your most memorable achievement as a Loyola employee?
My most meaningful achievement as a Loyola employee is challenging students to feel comfortable in expressing their strong, but informed opinions. I fully expect that a Loyola student should be able to communicate effectively as a writer, a speaker, and a leader for ideas and ideals they believe in.

What does Loyola's mission mean to you?
As a cradle Catholic, the Loyola mission appeals to me because the culture is familiar. However, having come from 22 years of work at public colleges, it took me a while to feel comfortable incorporating Loyola’s mission into my work on a daily basis. I believe the values we honor do not inhibit anyone on this campus from conducting his or her work. It most certainly does not interfere with academic freedom. I like having a mission. Most of our students came here because of that mission.

What motivates you to succeed each and every day?
In regards to motivation, I don’t forget our students pay the freight at Loyola. Most of our students and their families have made great sacrifices to have their child attend Loyola. It’s not my only motivation to do well, but that knowledge keeps me on my toes. I owe it to them.

Tell us how you show your Rambler pride.
I show off my Rambler pride with colors, but more so by telling others in Chicago and beyond about the people at this remarkable university.

Tell us something most people at Loyola would be surprised to know about you.
Not many people know that I was a theatre/dance major in college and spent my first three years after graduation working in New York working on soap operas, including: All My Children, Ryan’s Hope, and Search for Tomorrow. I'm not even sure if those shows still exist.