Loyola hits ambitious energy goal

LOYOLA HAS ACHIEVED CARBON NEUTRALITY ON ITS CHICAGO CAMPUSES, becoming the first university in the Chicago area to achieve that milestone, the University announced in December.

The achievement marks fulfillment of the University’s ambitious goal in its 2015 Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

The 10-year period saw the growth of the School of Environmental Sustainability (SES) and a drive to implement a wide range of innovative and effective green practices on Loyola’s campuses. These efforts have positioned Loyola as a national leader in interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability.

Loyola is ranked among the top 25 universities in the United States for its commitment to campus sustainability, ranking #12 in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges: 2025 Edition.

Earning a Green Rating of 99/99, Loyola is the highest-ranked Jesuit institution and the top school in Illinois on the list.

TOP 25

Loyola is ranked among the top 25 universities in the nation for its commitment to campus sustainability

#12

In the Princeton Review’s “Guide To Green Colleges”

Collaborating with other universities and systems for better health care

LOYOLA IS WORKING WITH A CONSORTIUM OF UNIVERSITIES AND HEALTH SYSTEMS in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health, community members, nonprofits, and others, to improve health equity. 

The project is funded by a multiyear, $51 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The NIH awarded the grant to the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM), a partnership between The University of Chicago and Rush in collaboration with Advocate Aurora Health, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University Chicago, and NorthShore University Health System.  

ITM seeks to support health research breakthroughs and get those discoveries into the real world to improve population health as soon as possible. More than 9.4 million people across Chicagoland live in the ITM coverage area. 

The project launches a community-based research network of non-profits and other organizations addressing health issues with physicians and researchers.  

The Community Equity Response Collaborative is an interdisciplinary collaborative comprising Loyola students, faculty, and staff from public health, medicine, nursing, law, and social work. 

Institute For Translational Medicine (Itm) Partners

• The University of Chicago
• Rush University Medical Center
• Advocate Aurora Health
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Northshore University Health System

Parkinson: 5 years of public health leadership

AS THE PARKINSON School of Health Sciences and Public Health celebrated its five-year anniversary, it has established itself as a leader in innovative scholarship, health equity, and community-driven solutions.

Opened in 2019 — and forged during the COVID-19 global pandemic — the school seeks to prepare a generation of diverse health leaders to be “persons for, and with, others” in the Jesuit tradition.

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS

Public health

• • •

200

community organizations, nonprofits, startups, and hospitals across the Chicago metropolitan area with which the school has partnerships

1,000

hours of supervised practice Parkinson dietetics students have completed

210

hours that Masters in Public Health students have contributed with field partners

90%

of Parkinson faculty engaged in community-based research

Community engagement during COVID-19

• • •

1,500+

tests provided to community residents

5,000+

number of personal protective equipment/ resource bags distributed

20

virtual, live-streamed, and interactive sessions on COVID-19 related topics implemented

19

vaccine clinics at various community cohosted events

85%

of Parkinson graduate students who received financial aid in 2023-2024 academic year

74%

of Parkinson students who received internal graduate scholarships awarded in 2023-2024 academic year

Health researchers findings on GLP-1 drugs make national headlines

A PARKINSON School of Health Sciences and Public Health study drew national attention in October.

Loyola’s researchers uncovered promising findings that medications such as Ozempic, often prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, may also help people struggling with addiction.

According to the study published in Addiction, the official journal of the Society for the Study of Addiction, individuals taking GLP-1 receptor agonists (like Ozempic) with opioid use disorder (OUD) experienced a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose, while those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) saw a 50% reduction in alcohol intoxication.

40%

According to the Parkinson study, individuals with opiod use disorder taking GLP-1 receptor agonists (like Ozempic) experienced a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose.

“Our goal was to explore different and alternative ways of treatment to help break the chain of addiction.” Fares Qeadon, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health

The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, NPR, ABC, and The Hill, among others, reported on Loyola’s findings.

The study, which included over 1.3 million patients (approximately 500,000 with a history of OUD and 800,00 with a history of AUD), analyzed de-identified electronic health record data from the Oracle-Cerner Real-World Data research database.

“I started seeing the statistics and thought, ‘If drugs like Ozempic can address food addiction, which is often perceived as more manageable, could they also influence more severe forms of addiction, like opioid or alcohol use?’ ” said Fares Qeadan, PhD, associate professor of biostatistics and lead researcher of the study. “The underlying mechanism behind addiction, whether for food, gambling, internet use, shopping, or drugs, could be the same.”

Center for Criminal Justice steers national bail reform debate

AS THE NATIONAL DEBATE OVER BAIL REFORM CONTINUES, Loyola’s Center for Criminal Justice (CCJ) remains a key resource for objective, unbiased research.

In September 2023, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail, through the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), meaning that most criminal defendants would remain free with court conditions, rather than be in jail until they could post bond.

Advocates said the PFA addresses equity issues; opponents said it would create a spike in crime.
Long before the PFA went into effect, Loyola’s CCJ was doing research to examine bond court outcomes, pretrial detention, and jail populations.

In their report on the first year of the law, the CCJ found the number of people in Illinois jails fell by 1,888 since the bail reform took effect, with a 14 percent decline in urban counties and a 25 percent decline in rural ones.

What hasn’t happened, however, is a rise in crime. In a report published in September, CCJ’s early research shows that crime has not increased in Illinois since the PFA was implemented.

“We’re not saying that the Pretrial Fairness Act reduced crime. But this at least shows that crime has not gone up.” David Olson with Don Stemen, codirectors of the CCJ, Citing Research on the Criminal Justice System In Illinois

Institute for Racial Justice works toward insight on complex and urgent issues

SINCE ITS CREATION IN 2020, the Institute for Racial Justice (IRJ) has become a leading interdisciplinary hub for racial justice work across Loyola University Chicago and the city itself.

Under the leadership of Founding Dean Malik Henfield, PhD, the institute fosters relationships across disciplines to accelerate research and education with the goal of understanding multifocal aspects of race and racism and creating collective impact.

IRJ projects having impact in 2024 included a comprehensive study of the dynamics of race and economics in The State of Black Chicago report, carried out in partnership between IRJ and the Chicago Urban League.

Led by IRJ faculty affiliate Twyla Blackmond Larnell, PhD, associate professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences, the report illustrates the interplay of historical segregation, housing policies, and urban planning that perpetuates social and economic inequities and continues to obstruct paths to intergenerational prosperity for communities of color.

Reed: ‘Chicago’s history is our history’

IN SEPTEMBER 2024, Loyola President Mark C. Reed addressed the venerable City Club of Chicago to discuss Loyola’s rich and reciprocal relationship with the city in which it was founded.

In his remarks and a lively question-and-answer session with public officials, business leaders, journalists, and alumni, Reed outlined the ways Loyola has grown in scope and international impact while maintaining its founding promise to serve and educate Chicago.

The “Chicago” in Loyola University Chicago is not just part of the name, said President Reed. “Chicago defines us. Being founded in 1870, it is not a stretch to say that we grew up with the city of Chicago. Chicago’s history is our history, and Loyola’s history is  Chicago’s history.”

He noted the many ways Loyola is an anchor institution that helps drive the regional economy through employment, research funding, and the economic activity of students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

20%

of Loyola’s student body is from Chicago

63%

of Loyola’s undergraduates remain in Chicago after graduation

The University makes significant investments in neighborhood infrastructure and provides direct service in health care, small business advising, and legal clinics. The University has educated generations of leaders in Chicago and attracts new talent to Chicago from around the world.

Reed noted how alumni play critical roles in business, law, government, medicine, education, and the arts. 

Reed named to leadership network of Chicago execs

PRESIDENT MARK C. REED WAS NAMED one of the 26 top executives for the 2024 Cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship, Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC).

The LGC fellowship was created to build networks across the Chicago area to activate civic engagement and cross-sector partnerships.

The overall fellowship includes more than 120 leaders. Collaborations have included creating public policy, addressing food distribution, and community building initiatives.

“This diverse group of leaders forms a powerful, cross-sector network committed to driving positive change throughout our region,” Leadership Greater Chicago CEO Myetie Hamilton said.

Loyola by the numbers

A numeric snapshot of Loyola’s students and faculty in 2024

Academics

• • •

80+

majors

73

five-year bachelor’s/master’s programs

13:1

student-teacher ratio

959

total faculty

192 professors; 198 associates; 183 assistants; 386 instructors

53%

of faculty are full-time

Outcomes

• • •

92%

of undergraduate students report they were employed or continuing their education after graduation

96%

of graduate students report they were employed or continuing their education after graduation

Quinlan addresses local business inequality

THE QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS has launched a project to address inequality in the local business community.

The U.S. Small Business Administration in April awarded Quinlan a $625,000 grant to strengthen Chicago’s women- and minority-owned businesses, starting with a pilot initiative in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods surrounding Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus.

“The Quinlan School of Business is dedicated to being a difference maker in Chicago,” said Dean Michael Behnam. “Through research, knowledge building, and our close partnerships with the local business community, we are helping to tackle inequality, one of the city’s most complex issues.”

The three-year project will collect data on equity gaps faced by minority-owned businesses and develop outreach strategies. The outreach seeks to reduce information gaps and build capacity in Chicago’s minority-owned business ecosystem.

140+

leaders from

50

businesses took part in the project’s “Capacity Building for Capacity Builders” workshop building connections and learning about common challenges, opportunities, and best practices.