Arrupe College Awarded $1.5 Million Grant from Robert R. McCormick Foundation
CHICAGO - August 26, 2021 – Loyola University Chicago today announced it has received a $1.5 million grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation to support Arrupe College, an innovative two-year degree program that ensures affordability and supports the whole person. This new investment from the McCormick Foundation will support student retention and recruitment goals over the next three years and will allow Loyola to invest in a pilot housing program, hire new staff focused on student success and retention, and further develop the Black Men for Success program.
“Too often, a key barrier to achieving an Associate’s Degree has nothing to do with academics, but rather external forces one of which is housing,” said Fr. Thomas Neitzke, S.J., EdD, Dean of Arrupe College. “This investment of resources will allow us to counter socio-economic and educational impediments caused by the pandemic, which further aggravated the challenges faced by Arrupe students and families. Also, this grant allows us to expand Black Men for Success that provides additional, holistic support for African American students through academic support, mentorship, and career counseling. Thanks to our ongoing partnership with the McCormick Foundation, we will be able to expand our impact at such a pivotal moment in time.”
A significant part of the Arrupe College model focuses on providing holistic wraparound services for its students – the majority of whom are first generation and BIPOC students – to fully support their academic experience. In addition to program enhancements for the Black Men for Success program, the McCormick Foundation grant will support coordinated retention programming for current students and initiatives for Arrupe Colleges graduates who continue at Loyola towards a bachelor’s degree, including expanded academic advising, tutoring, and peer mentoring.
“We are committed to supporting educational institutions like Arrupe College that work to implement research-based approaches that best accommodate the needs of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in higher education,” said Tim Knight, President and CEO of the McCormick Foundation. “Arrupe’s high retention and graduation rates demonstrate an impressive track-record, and we look forward to witnessing the success of this grant over the next three years.”
Launched in 2018 with previous support from the McCormick Foundation, Black Men for Success is a cohort model that focuses on forming a positive academic and social community among Black male students at Arrupe College. The housing pilot program and new academic success programs will begin in Fall 2021.
About Loyola University Chicago
Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities, with more than 17,000 students. Nearly 11,500 undergraduates call Loyola home. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy, as well as course locations in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Vernon Hills, Illinois (Cuneo Mansion and Gardens); and a Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois. The University’s 14 schools, colleges, and institutes include: the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Quinlan School of Business, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Stritch School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Communication, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, School of Education, School of Law, School of Social Work, Graduate School, Institute of Pastoral Studies, Institute of Environmental Sustainability, and Arrupe College. Ranked a top national university by U.S. News & World Report, Loyola is also among a select group of universities recognized for community service and engagement by national organizations like the Carnegie Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Learn more about Loyola, like us at Facebook.com/LoyolaChicago, or follow us on Twitter @LoyolaChicago.