The Loyola Contract Committee, created in the fall of 2010, made a draft to address how Loyola’s vendor contracts.

“The policy was created after Loyola’s contract committee studied other universities’ vendor policies, including many other Jesuit colleges and universities,” said Tommy Screen, director of Government Relations.

“The policy addresses three main questions: Who should policy apply to – should it apply to contractors and subcontractors, or just the main contractor? How should the wage issue be addressed? How should the issue of benefits provided to contract employees be handled?” Screen said.  

“I am very happy with the draft policy. It is just a draft, and still needs to be discussed on different levels–so it is quite possible that it is in some way incomplete or includes something that is unworkable,” said Joseph Berendzen, faculty representative and associate philosophy professor.

This draft is important because Loyola did not previously have a set policy addressing vendor contracts, and it is good for Loyola to be unified about this subject, according to Berendzen.

“I believe that students will respond positively to our draft proposal if it is implemented,” said Garrett Fontenot, history senior and Student Government Association representative. “I think that many students…will look favorably on the changes we proposed because it demonstrates that Loyola is actively considering who it chooses to do business with.”

“I think we did our best to combine real Jesuit values with the need to face practical realities,” Berendzen said.

The draft was due in April, but the committee turned it in a few weeks early.

Yvonne Cappel-Vickery can be reached at [email protected]