In 2024, one staff member from the Health Sciences Campus will be elected to University Senate. Below are the candidacy statements for the staff on the ballot.
Samantha Dumm
Administrative Director
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
I am honored to be nominated to serve on LUC’s Staff Senate. I have worked at Loyola’s Health Sciences Campus for 11 years across multiple departments and two schools. I am currently the Director of Administration for the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health. I am committed to leveraging my experience and dedication to enact positive change and enhance the university experience for staff and students. I am dedicated to representing my colleagues’ diverse voices and concerns and I look forward to collaborating with like-minded individuals as we work through issues and find solutions. Serving as a staff senator would empower me to actively contribute to campus initiatives, advocate for equitable policies, and foster a collaborative environment that values all perspectives.
Kaitlynn Philbin
Campus Services Event Manager
Student Development
I would make a good representative on the University Senate because of my desire to be more involved with Loyola's governance and would like to contribute to the continual improvement of our University. I will advocate for equitable policies, collaborate to find solutions to challenges, and be a respectable member of the Senate. I am eligible to run for the open positions at HSC, I have been at HSC for one year (I was at WTC for almost five years). Thank you for your consideration.
Mark Torrez
Program Manager
Stritch Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Since July 2013, I’ve been privileged to explore the breadth and complexity of Loyola University Chicago as a doctoral student, research assistant, instructor, full-time administrator, supervisor, staff volunteer, committee leader, and University Senator. While my time at Loyola began on the Lakeshore and Water Tower campuses, I’ve spent the last 7 years on the Health Sciences Campus coming to know Loyola more fully as a place of transformative learning, personal/professional transformation, and continuous organizational change. As a candidate, I bring with me a good deal of hard-earned wisdom from working with strong leaders from around the institution on Loyola’s School governance councils (School of Education, School of Medicine), advisory councils (COVID-19 Constituency Engagement–Staff Division, Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy), and strategic planning/organizational transformation teams (The-Next-150 University Strategic Planning Steering Committee, Loyola’s Anti-Racism Initiative and Racial Justice Examen, SSOM chair; Executive Council on Diversity & Inclusion).
In my evolving tenure across Loyola’s Chicagoland campuses, I’ve been both fortunate and grateful to serve the institution in roles that have certainly taught me about the innerworkings of University leadership processes and systems. But even more so, I’ve cultivated a deep understanding of people––how ‘who we are’ absolutely matters in ways big and small. We’ve made important strides––and there’s also still important work to be done to ensure that the richness of Loyola’s diversity is reflected in all levels of the University community, as well as institutional policy, academic curriculum, vendors, and so on. This work has also cultivated deep level of respect for the many men and women who invest their time, talent, treasure (and patience) as members of the University’s intricate association of faculty, staff, and student leadership/governing bodies.
In my bid for re-election as HSC Staff University Senator, I offer LUC staff and Health Sciences Campus constituencies a committed advocate with significant experience leading strategic and positive change efforts across Loyola’s three Chicagoland campuses; a loyal colleague and collaborator; a creative problem solver and resilient optimist. Most importantly, I am the son of a working-class immigrant, a three-time first-generation college student, and an emerging higher education scholar with a naturally relational leadership style rooted in honesty, humility, and “a healthy disregard for the impossible” (LeaderShape, Inc.). As a Senator, I offer leadership that is equally critical and compassionate—and naturally compelled by a very personal understanding of the university’s potential to impact people’s lives and greater communities every day. I would welcome the opportunity to continue my service to Loyola's Health Sciences Campus and on the Senate Diversity Committee, working to advance cross-campus efforts to advance a stronger––more diverse, equitable, and inclusive––Loyola University of Chicago.
