Loyola has appointed Anthony E. Jones as the new Vice President of Enrollment Management after a lengthy and nationwide search for candidates.
“The search process was extremely thorough and confidential,” Assistant Provost Liz Rainey said. “As a member of the president’s cabinet, the VP of enrollment management directly reports to the president and is a critical contributor to the overall leadership of Loyola.”
Rainey also said she looks forward to collaborating with the new vice president in order to attract and enroll students who are successful at Loyola.
“Among many key partnerships, the VP of enrollment management works closely with colleagues in academics and student affairs to support recruitment, retention, and student success,” she said.
Faculty have also voiced their support for Jones, sharing that they feel the best applicant was selected for the job.
“Our primary role at Loyola is instructional, and our work is facilitated when the university successfully recruits and retains a strong and diverse student body,” M. Isabel Medina, chair of the university faculty senate, said. “Mr. Jones stood out even in a strong pool of candidates, and the faculty look forward to assisting Mr. Jones to facilitate his success at Loyola.”
Jones joins Loyola from his previous institution, Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he held the same role.
This appointment represents a bit of a homecoming for Jones, whose family originally hails from Thibodeaux, Louisiana, and those ties serve as one of his primary reasons for pursuing the opportunity in the first place.
“I suffered the unexpected trauma of losing my mother to cancer last October here in Louisiana, and that unfortunate loss jarred me into rethinking my priorities and the trajectory of my career,” Jones said. “My attention turned towards my local loved ones and the state I admire so much, and I could only conclude that perhaps it was time I returned home.”
As he began to search, Jones looked for a place that he felt aligned best with the goals and principles that have guided him through his almost 30-year career in academics: to provide educational paths to help students pursue their greatest accomplishments.
“Loyola, with its Ignatius inspired vision of finding God in all things and commitment to preparing students from diverse backgrounds to pursue truth, wisdom, and justice, aligned perfectly with that belief,” he said.
Jones believes that he can help to bring a better understanding to Loyola about some of the unique ways they can appeal to students and increase enrollment.
“The practice of enrollment management is a science,” he said. “It consists of both a body of independent facts and a process of discovery about how to sufficiently link them in order to arrive at some form of understanding that best benefits the institution.”
In terms of his goals for the university, Jones outlined the tools and strategies he plans to use to help the university reach any enrollment and retention goals they might have.
“They should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound,” he said. “A successful enrollment, one that sustains and grows itself year after year, must reflect the advocacy of many groups who all play a part and together are accountable for that success.”
Through Loyola’s unique history and position in New Orleans, Jones recognizes that this position is one that is crucial to the university and its future.
“I recognize and respect that Loyola New Orleans has over 120 years of tradition, driven by deep and meaningful cultural nuances,” he said. “And I have come to realize that it is only when you understand the ground-rules that you can build the right relationships critical to making sustainable progress.”
Jones is thrilled to be able to bring back the lessons he has learned over his career back home to south Louisiana.
“As a native Louisianaian, I know first hand that you don’t reach out to places and people here, they reach out to you,” he said. “I chuckle to think how many times I arrived home after a day of visiting friends where I grew up along Bayou Lafourche absolutely stuffed. It’s important to me that those who I engage with sense that sincerity to collaborate with them for the betterment of Loyola, the students we educate, and their interests, while I serve this great institution.”
While a big part of his job is focused around recruitment, Jones also sees retention as a vital part of his efforts.
“It has always been my belief that retention begins at the first point of recruitment,” he said. “Fit matters. Once a student is enrolled, the goal is to produce a satisfied graduate who is well positioned for lucrative employment or graduate school with the least amount of student loan debt and is willing to be a life-long supporter of their alma mater.”
Jones said he is eager to become a part of helping to grow the diverse community that Loyola has nurtured through its values.
“Loyola has enjoyed a long standing both stateside and in the international community,” he said. “That has afforded it a clear brand that speaks of the commitment we have to deliver, not only one of the best educations in the Western hemisphere, but a warmth that authentically reflects the Christian ideals that undergird our Jesuit and Catholic traditions.”
Despite his administrative role, Jones said he will strive to connect directly with the student body during his time here.
“Whether I’m walking through a popular student hang-out at lunch time, attending an athletic event, or joining my wife to host students in our home for dinner, being present, and accessible to students, even with small gestures, is extremely important to me,” Jones said.
