Loyola will soon have gaps in the administrative staff of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences.

Dean Frank Scully and Associate Dean Laurie Joyner are leaving at the end of this academic year.

Scully has accepted an offer for the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs at Emmanuel College in Boston. Scully has been dean for the past nine years, first for the College of Arts and Sciences and then the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences after it was renamed last year.

“It’s an opportunity to use the experience I’ve gained at Loyola,” Scully said about the position, which is a promotion.

Joyner is leaving to become Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and professor of sociology at Rollins College.

“I have decided to continue my career path in academic administration. … Loyola New Orleans does not have a track record of appointing administrators for senior academic positions from within,” Joyner said in an e-mail to The Maroon explaining why she was leaving Loyola.

For the past 14 years, Joyner has worked at Loyola in the Sociology Department as a professor and has been associate dean for the former College of Arts and Sciences, now the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences, since 2003.

No replacements have been selected at this time.

The new permanent dean will be chosen through an open national search, according to Walter Harris, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“We expect to name an interim dean within the next three weeks or so to provide time for a smooth transition,” Harris said.

The associate dean is typically chosen by the dean, Harris said.

“I have always bragged that selling Loyola to prospective faculty or students was an easy sell, especially because of the accomplishments of Arts and Sciences faculty and students,” Scully said in an e-mail he sent to the faculty about his departure.

Joyner said “My departure from Loyola is bittersweet because I feel passionate about the mission of this place and its people..”

Harris said even after both Scully and Joyner have left, their years of work at Loyola will stay behind in the operations of the university. “Both Dean Scully and Assistant Dean Joyner have made tremendous contributions to Loyola University. … Their influence upon the fabric of Loyola University will be felt long after they are gone.”

Tara Templeton can be reached at [email protected].

Frank Scully