Loyola will turn 100 years old this April, and the university is throwing a big birthday celebration.

The Centennial Celebration will officially kick off the weekend of April 13 and will continue until May 2013. The committee in charge of the celebration has planned several events and speakers that will display the diversity of Loyola with the theme “Celebrating our Past, Embracing our Future.”

The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, described the centennial celebration as, “Looking back so we can look forward.” Wildes added that the past helps to guide the future.

Bill Bishop, vice president of Institutional Advancement and centennial committee chairman, and Michael Morin, Student Government Association president and music education senior, both agreed.

“It is a great reminder to always reflect and appreciate the past in order to make sound decisions for our future growth,” Morin said.

The centennial celebration is a reflection of Jesuit values because it is “reflecting on who we are and what we are is driven by the mission,” he said.

“The Jesuit values have been in constant consideration throughout this entire planning process,” he said. “This can mostly be seen in the educational speakers that have been planned through out the year.”

Bishop said the 24-member centennial committee has been planning events for two-and-a-half years. The committee includes members in different departments as well as staff, faculty and students.

According to Bishop, the committee is now in the “execution stage of the centennial celebration.”

Many events will take place to celebrate Loyola’s past and future. The Loyola Centennial Lecture Series begins on April 10. The first lecture will discuss desegregation in New Orleans and Loyola’s role in these events.

The series continues with a talk on April 11 about “Loyola’s Photographic Treasures,” featuring university photographer Harold Baquet.

According to Kristine Lelong, executive assistant to the president for Board Relations, the Centennial Speakers will begin in May with the undergraduate commencement speaker, Jon Meacham.

Students are also getting involved in celebrating Loyola’s birthday. The Centennial Concert is a student-led event featuring Fitz and the Tantrums, Bishop said. This event takes place at the Howlin’ Wolf on April 12, at 8 p.m. Morin said the concert will be paid for by funds normally set aside for the Loup Garou event.

There will also be a Centennial Exhibit displayed at Monroe Library, which features collections such as, “Presidents of Loyola University,” “the History of Athletics,” “the Performing Arts at Loyola,” “WWL-AM-FM-TV” and “Building Loyola.”

The exhibit is free and open to the public during library hours with the exception of the “History and Growth” exhibit, which is open when Special Collections and Archives are open.

Although these events will reflect the Centennial Celebration, Hartley says the celebration will officially begin with the Founder’s Day events April 13 to 15.

“The centennial kick off and Alumni Weekend is the official start of the year of celebration and a way to get the entire Loyola community, both present and past, involved with commemorating this important time in our history,” Morin said.

On Friday, April 13, events such as the Provost’s Luncheon for retired faculty, the centennial welcome reception and alumni reunion dinners will take place.

Saturday, April 14, there will be campus tours, a Loyola history lecture, a book signing by history professor Bernard Cook, author of “Founded on Faith,” Loyola’s Centennial book, and the Centennial Celebratory Mass.

After Mass, the Loyola community is invited to a dinner outside of Marquette Hall, where bands will play, and the night will end with a fireworks show, Hartley said.

The last day of the weekend will offer an Alumni Jazz Brunch, Chamber Singers and NOVA Chorale at the St. Louis Cathedral Spring Concert at 7 p.m. in St. Louis Cathedral.

“Reflecting on who we are and what we are is driven by the mission,” Wildes said.

Lucy Dieckhaus can be reached at [email protected]

(courtesy of Loyola special collections & archives )