As the university wraps up its strategic plan, known as “Loyola 2012,” administrators are now looking ahead to form a new roadmap to the future.

“Loyola 2012” was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2009 to replace the “Pathways” plan that guided the post-Hurricane Katrina restructuring of the university.

Representatives from departments across campus worked to develop “Loyola 2012,” which was meant to serve as a strategic blueprint for all the activities of the university, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, said.

The “Loyola 2012” plan was named in honor of the university’s centennial year.

The plan was designed as a five-year plan in efforts to evaluate changes in the short term following the storm, Wildes said. The aim of the plan was to set an overall tone and framework on which the university could build for the future.

Because of its focus on three main areas, many administrators referred to the plan as “The Three R’s.” The plan identified the areas most needing attention as: religion, reputation and retention.

Marc Manganaro, provost and vice president of academic affairs, told the University Senate earlier this year that the Strategic Planning Team will be spending much of this year evaluating the effectiveness of that plan, and will soon begin the steps toward writing a new plan.

What’s the plan

Wildes said work on the strategic plan is essential because he believes it is important to reflect on why the university does the things it does, and he said he believes the Board of Trustees should be involved in the process of drafting the new plan.

The “Loyola 2012” plan identified five centers of excellence within the university from value statements including our community, acting justly, thinking critically, dignity and respect for all, and excellence.

According to Jerry Goolsby, director of Loyola’s MBA program, identifying areas of excellence is essential to the university’s marketing and planning efforts.

“These components are believed to attract potential students,” Goolsby said. “This big magnet is drawing students in from all over the country.”

Goolsby said that by identifying areas in which the university excelled, it would be able to build nationally known programs and establish a competitive advantage.

Loyola has to give students a reason to attend, and those programs, as well as its Jesuit and Catholic heritage, are very good reasons – reasons that set Loyola apart from other universities, Goolsby said.

However, Goolsby said he has doubts as to whether the specifics of the plan were ever truly implemented.

The Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., vice president of mission and ministry, said he is pleased with the overall success of “Loyola 2012.”

“We have achieved a lot,” Dziak said, but added that there are areas he would have liked to see more work done.

“We did not achieve everything we wanted to,” he said.

Wildes said he believes the university strategic plan has “overall, worked well.”

Moving forward

As an effort to check in and see how the plan has been going, the administration has compiled a report each year showing the successes of the strategic plan. Those yearly implementation reports can be viewed on the university website.

As the “Loyola 2012” blueprint is moving through its final phase, the Strategic Planning Team is now beginning to work on the framework for a new plan.

Crafting the new plan requires looking both at short and long-term goals, Wildes said.

“We are doing both at the same time,” Wildes said, adding that the new plan will strive to include strong elements from the university mission.

Wildes said that when his team is satisfied with a draft of a plan, he will bring it to the Board of Trustees.

Lucy Dieckhaus can be reached at [email protected]