UNIVERSITY MISSION

We are Chicago's Jesuit, Catholic University-- a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.

DIVISIONAL VISION

We will engage and support students in developing the personal values, skills, and competencies needed to fully engage the world in pursuit of a life dedicated to truth, justice and service to humanity.  We provide and inspire involvement in a wide range of co-curricular pursuits that support the academic mission and that mirror the values of the core curriculum.  In doing so, we encourage care for self and care for others through the spiritual and holistic integration of prayer, reflection, and discernment into the busy academic and personal lives of our students.

DIVISIONAL PLEDGE

Informed by our Ignatian values and Jesuit ideals, we pledge to:​

• strive for excellence in all that we do. (magis)​

• respect and care for all members of the Loyola community, treating everyone with dignity, mindful of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. (cura personalis)​

• engage with students in a positive, hopeful and loving manner, cultivating a spirit of optimism. (cura personalis)​

• care for our Loyola community, working to establish a welcoming culture and fostering strong relationships. ​(cura apostolica)​

• collaborate and communicate in a boundaryless and transparent manner. (cura apostolica)

• care for students as they serve the larger community during their time at Loyola and beyond. (cura personalis)

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Divisional Goal 1—Enhance and create initiatives, programs, and experiences that foster student engagement and leadership development.

Objective 1A: Expand Learning Communities (LC) to create a seamless academic and co-curricular experience for first-year through senior students.

 

Rationale: LCs provide students with an integrated living and learning experience by offering activities and instructional strategies that support student learning in the classroom, in the residence halls, and within the greater city of Chicago (University Strategy 1).

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Hire a Director of Learning Communities.
  • Add a third Pre-Heath LC.
  • Explore the feasibility of developing a Sustainability LC and expanding the Global Citizenship LC.

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Develop a comprehensive strategic plan and implementation approach for the future of the Learning Community program that includes communities for first-year through senior students and engages faculty, staff, and students from across the institution.
• Research and consider for inclusion in the LC plan a more intensive community focused on service and community engagement.

 

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Explore options to develop either a Faculty-in-Residence program or LC faculty office space (Fall ’12).
• Develop unique LCs related to LUC’s core values (Fall ’13).
• Develop LC’s for sophomores, juniors, and seniors that integrate service, leadership, and career development (Spring ‘11/Fall ’13).
• Recruit 50% of freshmen residential students and 25% of sophomore residential students to join LCs (Fall ‘13/Fall ’14).

 

Responsibility: Director of Learning Communities, Residence Life, partners in Student Development in conjunction with Academic Affairs.

 

 

Objective 1B: Develop a premier retreat program that focuses on welcoming new students, engaging them in the Jesuit Catholic tradition, and fostering interfaith cooperation.  A Loyola retreat provides students the opportunity to discern actively their personal spiritual journey with the intention of making meaning and integrating life experiences while disconnecting from their daily routine.

 

Rationale: This student retreat program would be a first step in assisting students in understanding and fully appreciating the transformative nature of the Jesuit tradition (University Strategy 1).

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Hire a Retreat Director and determine reporting structure.
  • Review current first-year retreat models and develop a new integrated model.
  • Develop a sophomore retreat model.
  • Review current senior retreat models and develop a new integrated model.
  • Develop a retreat focused upon service and interfaith cooperation.
  • Determine student organizations on campus that could integrate retreat experiences into their programming.

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Pilot first-year retreat program.
• Implement first-year retreat program with participation goal of 20%.
• Implement sophomore and senior retreat programs.
• Evaluate programs and make necessary adjustments.
• Support new retreat models for student organizations.
• Establish a comprehensive Challenge Course at the Loyola University Chicago Retreat & Ecology Center.

 

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Grow the first-year retreat program to achieve 35% participation.
• Grow the sophomore and senior retreat programs.
• Expand the number of student organizations utilizing the retreat campus.
• Enable every student to experience LUCREC.
• Develop, in conjunction with Residence Life, LUREC retreats for residential students (Fall ’12).

 

Responsibility: Campus Ministry Director in conjunction with First Year Experience.

 

Objective 1C: Enhance student entry into service experiences and better integrate learning, leadership, reflection, social justice education, and commitment into student service opportunities.

 

Rationale: Service experiences allow students to directly engage and explore social issues and foster a hunger for civic participation (University Strategy 1).  A Center for Community Service and Action (CCSA) will provide an entry point for students to engage in a diverse menu of one-time, short-term, and long-term service opportunities.

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Create and staff CCSA.
• Establish CCSA’s identity among students and campus/community.
• Identify and celebrate existing community partnerships.

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Increase professional and student staff in the CCSA.
• Enhance service-related programming and expand student outreach.
• Collaborate with Student Leadership Development in offering leadership opportunities and training for service-centered groups.
• In collaboration with the Center for Experiential Learning, explore tracking mechanisms to capture student service experiences.

           

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Develop and manage the creation of new mutually beneficial community partnerships.
• Work with departments across the Division to enhance service opportunities available to students.
• Collaborate with campus partners to implement a system of tracking student service hours and experiences (both quantitative and qualitative).

 

Responsibility: Director of the Center for Community Service and Action, with collaborators as appropriate.

 

Objective 1D:  Expand, deepen, and increase awareness of the programs, services, and resources provided to support student leadership development initiatives. 

 

Rationale: Further developing a comprehensive, developmental list of experiences that contribute to student leadership development, as well as tools, resources and approaches to support integrated learning around these experiences, will promote transformative learning in the Jesuit tradition (University Strategy 1).

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Expand and promote use of a library of leadership literature, activities, and workshop resources.
• Create a menu of workshops that can be easily incorporated into existing programs, trainings, and academic curriculum.

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Facilitate intentional conversations among members of the LUC community whose work contributes to student leadership development.  Conversations should focus on existing leadership development programs, best practices and aspirational initiatives, relevant literature and current research, and a collaborative vision for future initiatives.
• Further integrate social justice education with student leadership development programs.
• Create plans for the co-curricular component of a Leadership Learning Community that will be in existence in the fall of 2012.

 

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• With collaborative partners, establish a comprehensive list of distinctive programs and experiences to meet students’ leadership development needs throughout all of their time at LUC.  
• Implement co-curricular programming for the Leadership Learning Community.

 

Responsibility: Director of Student Leadership Development, with collaborators as appropriate.

 

Objective 1E: Reinvest in Athletics, Recreation, and the Wellness Center.

 

Rationale: To help promote the development of the whole person through an integrated curricular and co-curricular program (University Strategy 1), Loyola must strengthen its Athletic, Recreation and Wellness Center programs to support students’ full engagement in their college experience.

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Retain a search firm to assist in hiring a new Director of Athletics.
• Hire a new Director of Athletics.

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Complete Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education self study of Wellness Center.
• Complete an Administrative Program Review for the Wellness Center
• Implement limited Wellness Center services at WTC pending funding and location.
• Revise and update policies and procedures for Club Sports Programs.
• Establish a Program Coordinator for Club Sports to elevate Loyola’s Club Sports program to national prominence.
• Explore the possibility of acquiring, through lease or purchase, additional athletic and recreational space, including an indoor running track.

 

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Review and establish a schedule for implementation of Wellness Center Administrative Program Review recommendations.
• Determine appropriate location for Wellness Center (LSC) and engage in needed consultation.
• Approach Advancement to identify potential donors
• Complete an Administrative Program Review for the Department of Athletics.
• Determine priority recommendations from the Department of Athletics Administrative Program Reviews and establish a schedule for implementation of those recommendations.
• Build new Wellness Center facility at LSC

 

Responsibility: Directors of Athletics, Recreation, and Wellness Centers.

 

Objective 1F: Enhance the quality and diversity of on-campus housing

 

Rationale: Research suggests residential students have an increased sense of belonging and a higher retention rate at the university.  Developing a comprehensive, holistic housing and residence life program that meets the needs of residential students would promote a sense of community and foster student involvement, responsibility, and leadership.  (University Strategy 1).

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Complete a needs assessment for on-campus housing
• Start plans to expand on-campus housing inventories
• Development on on-campus housing master plan

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Define Residence Life core values and their relation to programming for RAs.
• Design and implement values based RA programming model.
• Develop and implement a Community Standards Model for residential students that incorporates three tiers: 1) Roommate Agreement; 2) Floor Standards; and 3) Hall Standards.
• Create a system (ThinkTank software) for collecting and analyzing RA programs departmentally.
• Effectively assess programs and services utilizing the EBI/ACUHO-I survey.
• Benchmark with peer and aspirant institutions with regard to Residence Life services and programming provided.
• Break ground on additional residence halls
• Establish a Dining Services Advisory Committee.
• Hire two Associate Directors in Residence Life

 

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Implement First-Six weeks programming model based on Residence Life core values (Fall ’12).
• Implement a RA to resident ratio of 1:32-36 in first year areas, 1:40 in sophomore areas, and 1:55 in apartment areas (Fall ’13).
• Seek creative ways to redesign or create community space in each residence hall (Summer 13/Summer ‘14).
• De-densify residence halls to provide for common area spaces (Fall ’14).
• Develop comprehensive developmental and programming model for second-year students that addresses the unique challenges of the sophomore year.
• Develop apartment options for juniors and seniors that house 4-6 residents while addressing the desire for additional privacy (Fall ’15).
• Create and implement theme housing opportunities for juniors and seniors
• Collaborate with Aramark to offer junior and seniors meal plan options that provide them with the flexibility needed based on their schedules and residence hall types.
• Accommodate 65% of undergraduate students in on-campus housing by 2016.

 

Responsibility: Residence Life, Aramark

 

Objective 1G: Enhance the quality of the undergraduate experience for non-residential and commuter students.

 

Rationale: Non-residential and commuter students report lower satisfaction with their undergraduate experience and lower retention rates.  To improve these metrics, special attention needs to be given to non-residential and commuter students.  (University Strategy 1). 

 

 

Short Term Action Items (before July 1, 2011)

• Better understand the unique challenges and opportunities commuter and off-campus students face at Loyola.

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Better integrate commuter and off-campus students into the life of the Loyola community.
• Partner with Residence Life to establish a well-defined, collaborative support system for students who transition from on-campus housing to off-campus living.
• Develop a student-focused electronic presence through dynamic web content and a hearty social media presence – including but not limited to sites addressing off-campus living issues and commuter engagement.
• Secure funding for additional student interns/community assistants to address off-campus student needs and create leadership opportunities for students.
• Consider developing a Student Walking Escort Program.

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Establish programming that draws faculty & staff into commuter student spaces.
• Explore the addition of more lounge spaces for commuter and non-residential students.
• Partner with Campus Safety and the Wellness Center to enhance the holistic development of all students.

 

Responsibility: Off-Campus Life, Residence Life, Wellness Center

 

 

Objective 1H: Expand Development of Water Tower Campus Life.

 

Rationale: The Water Tower Campus houses six of Loyola’s ten colleges.  Some undergraduate and many graduate students experience Loyola only through lenses of the Water Tower Campus.  To address more adequately the needs of all Loyola students, Water Tower Campus programming should be enhanced.  (University Strategy 1). 

 

Intermediate Term Action Items (before July 1, 2012)

• Solidify the mission, vision, and values for Water Tower Campus Life.
• Establish a Wellness Center presence at WTC.

Long Term Action Items (after July 1, 2012)

• Evaluate dining services at WTC as part of Dining Master Plan process
• Develop a plan for enhancing dining at WTC as part of the Dining Master Plan process
• Explore the feasibility of enhancing fitness facilities at WTC.
• Develop a long-term strategic plan for Water Tower Campus Life.
• Develop a long-term plan for recreation at WTC

 

Responsibility:  Associate Dean of Students of Water Tower Campus along with collaborators as appropriate.