Other than their seemingly endless lists of publications, positions held and awards, Marc Manganaro and Teresa Soufas have something else in common: both are candidates to become the future provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
While working at another small Jesuit institution, Manganaro said he realized his interest in working at a Jesuit university like Loyola. Manganaro currently serves as the dean of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Washington state. Manganaro moved from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. to Gonzaga because he said he saw the move as an opportunity to be involved with “student-centered” concerns.
Manganaro has experienced curriculum revision similar to the one happening at Loyola at both Gonzaga and Rutgers. Manganaro said the Gonzaga revision process “had to be asking at the question, what should our students have instilled in them upon graduation?”
Manganaro has also had experiences with university construction. While dean of Academic Affairs at Rutgers, he was on the committee that was responsible for accommodating the university community during the construction.
“A prime responsibility of the provost is to be the articulate spokesman for values of liberal arts education,” he said. “People wonder what the monetary value of a liberal arts education is because of the economy.”
If he is hired as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, he said he plans to listen and learn about the areas that the university seeks to improve, such as retention, rather than “to come in here and flip Loyola upside down.”
Like Manganaro, Teresa Soufas also has dealt with circumstances such as campus construction and curriculum revision.
Once Soufas saw an opening for this position in New Orleans, she said she thought, “This might be the perfect fit.” Soufas is currently the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University in Philadephia. She also spent 21 years at Tulane University, holding positions such as dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Soufas said the provost should be a “colleague among many, responsible for hiring faculty, responsible for recruiting students, responsible for retention and for graduation.”
Soufas said she sees much of the values she holds “personally, professionally and ethically” present at Loyola, such as respect for wisdom, learning, truth and social constructs, and justice in decision making.
Soufas has also helped advise construction similar to that on Monroe Hall. This construction involved temporary relocation of faculty and staff members so that the building that their permanent offices were in could be reconstructed.
When asked about her views on curriculum change, Soufas said, “Curriculum should never stand still.”
Soufas said she learned about assessing a revised curriculum at both Tulane and Temple.
“If you’re teaching to an outcome, it will backfire. It is better to ask, ‘What would add more value to the curriculum?'” she said.
One of the values with which Soufas most associates is access to a higher education. Soufas values access to a higher education “for students who haven’t always thought of themselves as college students.”
Three other candidates have and will visit the campus. Paul DeVito currently serves as the vice provost and the dean of the college of professional and liberal studies at St. Joseph’s University. He visited the campus Feb. 26 to 28.
Divini Grossman is scheduled to visit the campus March 6 to 8 and currently serves as the founding vice president of engagement at Florida International University. The fifth candidate, David Stern is scheduled to visit March 8 to 9. Stern currently serves as the vice president for student and academic affairs at Hamline University.
Aaren Gordon can be reached at [email protected]
