At the President’s Convocation for Faculty and Staff on Friday, Jan. 10, Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., announced to faculty and staff the status of the challenges the university has been facing regarding the budget deficit, enrollment and recruitment and updates on Monroe Hall renovations.

Wildes announced that the university’s budget deficit decreased from $7.5 million to approximately $5 million as a result of the voluntary severance program.

The voluntary severance program was offered to faculty members in efforts to reduce the budget deficit.

The program resulted in a savings of over $2.4 million, Wildes said.

Robert Reed, assistant vice president of student affairs, said that he thinks the program had a positive outcome.

“I think it’s a good thing all around that the university has reduced the budget deficit, not significantly, but more than we would have expected,” Reed said.

Wildes also announced that the university Enrollment Management Team is developing new plans to improve enrollment and recruitment.

The university will begin Magis Mondays, and programs for high school counselors in addition to the annual President’s Open House in March.

Magis Mondays is “a program that will allow prospective students to spend a full day on campus attending classes, having meals with students and visiting with faculty,” Wildes said.

Reed said that he is glad the plans for recruitment are different from previous years and thinks the Magis Mondays will attract students to the university.

“It’s obvious from the recruitment plans in the past that we can’t do the same thing and expect different results,” Reed said.

“I think our university is such that when people come to campus and visit the campus and experience what students experience everyday, I think they will have a different picture of what the university is about and not just looking at that dollar number,” Reed said.

Eileen Doll, professor of languages and cultures, said that she thinks changes in recruitment plans are a way to keep ideas fresh and improving.

“Various components of the university have, over the years, tried different ways to improve recruitment of new students, and I believe this needs to be changed from time to time to keep the ideas flowing,” Doll said.

Wildes said that part of the enrollment shortfall stems from the number of 18-year-old Americans who might attend college declining since 2009 and not projected to increase until 2016.

“This national trend helps to explain, in part, some of enrollment challenges we have faced this year. And, it lays out for us the challenge that we will face in the immediate years ahead,” Wildes said.

Wildes said that Scannell & Kruz and the Lawlor Group, enrollment management consulting firms, are continuing to assist the university throughout every phase of the recruitment process.

Roger White, interim dean of the College of Social Sciences, said that two firms the university is using have impressed him.

“They seem to be asking important questions that, if answered properly, will help us reach our goals,” White said.

Wildes said that he believes Loyola is capable of withstanding the challenges of the budget deficit and enrollment because the university has survived other challenges such as the WWI, the Spanish flu and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

“As we look to the present and the future, I am completely confident in our resilience and our ability to respond. Why? We have done it before,” Wildes said.

Wildes also updated faculty and staff on the status of the renovations on Monroe Hall.

The north side of the fourth floor and fifth floors are now occupied, and the first phase of the renovations have been completed on time, said Wildes.

Wildes announced that construction has begun on Nunemaker Auditorium and is projected to be completed by December 2014.

Lawrence Lewis, professor of psychology, is one of the many professors whose office is in Monroe Hall. He shared his thoughts on how the construction has gone thus far.

“For me, it was hectic as many of us moved into new spaces on the day that fall grades were due, but the process was surprisingly smooth,” he said.

“We all look forward to being in our final departmental homes in the months ahead,” Lewis said.

Numerous members of faculty and staff were recipients awards presented at the Convocation such as The Dux Academicus Award, which is awarded to a faculty member for demonstrating the values and philosophy of Loyola as a Jesuit institution through their teaching.

This year’s recipient was philosophy professor Constance Mui,.

Mui said that she was honored to receive such an award.

“I am grateful for all the support that Loyola has given me over the years. Most of all, I am grateful for my students, who serve as my daily reminder of the immeasurable rewards of being a teacher,” Mui said.

Alicia Serrano can be contacted at [email protected]

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Jan. 16, 2014.