GROWTH & INNOVATION - Looking Forward
Growth & Innovation
Looking forward
IN RECENT YEARS, LOYOLA HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES, continuing to pursue the Jesuit ideal of always doing more and doing better in service of the greater glory of God.
In 2015, Loyola founded Arrupe College, the first two-year associate’s degree program at a Jesuit university. Arrupe serves students from low-income backgrounds who, in most cases, are the first in their families to attend college. Many of Arrupe’s initial cohort of students have gone on to complete their four-year bachelor’s degrees at Loyola and other universities, and some have begun pursuing post-graduate education. The two-year graduation rate for Arrupe students is 43 percent, compared to 23 percent for city colleges and 13 percent of low-income community college students nationwide.
Building on a two-decade commitment to sustainability, Loyola elevated its Institute of Environmental Stability to the School of Environmental Sustainability in 2020, the only such school at a Jesuit university worldwide. Loyola offers more than 1,300 courses with a sustainability component and is working toward reaching carbon neutrality by 2025.
Anticipating coming needs in health care, Loyola established the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health in 2019. Building on Loyola’s track record of innovative technology applications in health care, health care education, clinical research, and academic medical center operations, the Parkinson School creates new opportunities for existing programs and schools across Loyola, creating more transdisciplinary collaboration.
In 2020, the Institute for Racial Justice was founded as an interdisciplinary hub for scholars and strategic partners to build deep relationships, accelerate transformational research and education, and create collective impact toward racial justice and equity.
Efforts to promote diversity and racial justice also included the establishment of Loyola’s Anti-Racism Initiative in 2020 and the hiring of the University’s first Vice President of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2021. As Loyola moves forward, the university’s new strategic plan sets forth six enduring values and priorities for the institution, which a new president can build upon as they execute their vision for Loyola.