Rumors about which faculty members are leaving still swirl, but at least 18 professors – not including those who may not have jobs under the Strategic Pathways Plan – will not return to Loyola. If the plan is enacted as written, Loyola will lose at least 35 of its professors.

Of the 17 positions that would be eliminated under the proposed plan, three are in communications; five are in the department of mathematics and computer science, one is in the computer information systems department and seven are professors of education.

Stamos Karamouzis, the chairman of computer information systems at City College, confirmed that his is one of the positions that would be eliminated by the plan.

The entire education department, which includes Professors Alvaro Alcazar, Jane Chauvin, Margaret Dermody, Mary Ann Doyle, Nancy King, Yvonne Lehr and Jan Melancon, will be eliminated if the plan goes through, according to Dermody, the department’s chairwoman.

“You can copy them off the board,” she said, pointing to the directory of the department on the wall. “We’re still somewhat shocked. As a group, we think that the city is going to lose out on a valuable resource.”

She added that while her faculty is fighting the recommendation to close the department, they are also examining other options.

“I think the reality is that our faculty will be looking elsewhere,” she said.

Teri Henley, the chairwoman of the communications department, confirmed that Professors Mary Blue, Nancy Dupont and William Hammel are among those who would be fired if the plan remains unchanged.

Dupont said she was “deeply, deeply saddened,” but declined further comment.

Out of the 12 faculty members in mathematics and computer sciences, five have been given notice that they may not have jobs next year, said Department Chairman Michael Kelly. He declined a request for names, citing privacy concerns.

Indeed, privacy clouds the issue. Most professors contacted by The Maroon said that while they knew of faculty members who were leaving, they didn’t want to give names. Two professors who announced to their classes that they would not return declined to comment; seven others did not return phone calls or e-mails by press time.

Meanwhile, 18 professors have decided not to return. Nine more who had been identified as leaving did not return calls or did not offer comment.

The group includes prominent faculty such as Thomas Smith, Vice President of Student Affairs, J. Patrick O’Brien, dean of the College of Business Administration, Marcel Dumestri, dean of City College, and Henley. Many have accepted positions at other universities. Others are opting for retirement, while some will return to the professional world. Almost all said that family considerations played a part in their decision.

Chairman of Business Administration Joseph Ganitsky, who lost his home and neighborhood during Hurricane Katrina, said that the university itself played no role in his decision to leave.

“I never thought of leaving at all,” he said. “I was and am very happy at Loyola. I love my students. I love my colleagues. I love what I do.”

But, he said, he and his wife wanted to be closer to family, and when an offer came from the University of Miami, he accepted it. He has taught classes during summers there for eight years, and was there last fall.

“I could not ask my wife to be miserable so I could do what I wanted to do,” he said.

He said what he will miss most about Loyola is its students.

“I will have other students,” he said. “But whether they will have the same values, the same commitment, that’s a different thing.”

Smith leaves Loyola to be assistant vice president for undergraduate studies at University of Northern Colorado, which he said “really matches (his experience).”

“I’ve been here for 18 years and taught hundreds and hundreds of students, so naturally it is very hard to leave,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Several departments and City College declined to give the names of the professors who are leaving; others did not return calls by press time.

While no faculty members cited problems with Loyola, several students said that they were not surprised with the departures, given the perceived instability of the university.

“It’s a logical decision on their part, since cuts were made without student or faculty input,” said Stephen Ware, a computer science sophomore. “They have no reason to feel that their jobs are safe.”

Scarlett Ellers, a music business sophomore, said she thought professors were probably leaving because of questions about Loyola’s future.

“The reputation’s declining,” she said. “Maybe they’ll go to other universities where there’s more opportunity.”

But if these concerns plague the faculty members, they said nothing about them. Instead, they remarked upon how they will miss their colleagues, students and the university itself.

“It’s the friendliness, it’s that sense that we were building a better university,” said Ganitsky. “This place is a great place, and I think it will continue. It’s a great, great place.”

Kelly Brown can be reached at [email protected].