O’Brien to leave for West Texas A&M
J. Patrick O’Brien, dean of Loyola’s College of Business Administration and professor of economics, was named president of West Texas A&M University on Tuesday.
O’Brien was one of three members proposed by an 18-member advisory committee and was named the sole finalist last month. He was named the tenth president following a unanimous vote during a telephone meeting of the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System.
O’Brien is a Tennessee native who has degrees from Oklahoma State University and Auburn University. He has also been a dean at Jacksonville State University, head of the economics department at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and visiting associate professor of agricultural economics at Auburn before becoming dean and professor at Loyola in 1995.
As a result of his leadership, the College of Business Administration increased its endowment from $1.6 million to $9.7 million and increased the number of endowed chairs and professorships from two to 17. In 2004, The Princeton Review ranked Loyola seventh in the nation for providing opportunities to minority students.
West Texas A&M is located in Canyon, about twelve miles south of Amarillo. It has an enrollment of 7,300.
Income Tax Assistance
The School of Law is holding its annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. This program offers free tax assistance to those who have a low to moderate income and who need help preparing their tax returns. The program will be held weekly on Monday, from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, from 5:30-7:15 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. These hours are with the exception of the Thursday and Monday before Mardi Gras. VITA will be in room 113B in the Broadway Activities Center on Pine Street.
Diboll Gallery “Inductive”
An exhibit titled “Inductive” with art by Courtney Egan and Ann Schwab will be on display in the Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery. “Inductive” will take place from March 9 to April 20 in the gallery located on the fourth floor of the J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library. The exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the Arts Council of New Orleans.
A public reception for the artists will be held on Thursday, March 9, from 5-8 p.m. in the gallery.
