William Locander joined Loyola this spring semester as the new dean of the Joseph A. Butt, S. J., College of Business. Coming from Jacksonville, Fla., Locander brings to Loyola a sense of energy, hard work and entrepreneurship.

Locander served as the founding director and chair of the Davis Leadership Center at Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business. Locander brings this leadership role to Loyola to share it with students and faculty.

According to Locander, Loyola’s mission, vision and values drew him to work for the school. “When I was called to look at the job, the first thing I did was go on the website and take a look at what I consider to be very powerful mission, vision, values, the kind of things, the spirit of Loyola, and I printed all out those out. Then I circled the words in all that text that were the same words that I used at the leadership center in Jacksonville University and what I have done in the past,” Locander said.

As the new and permanent dean, Locander would like to put programs in place that will help students and from which students will benefit.

“I think I can help people fulfill some of their dreams and that’s the fun of the job,” Locander said.

As a man who likes challenges, Locander will like to bring some changes to the Business School, in areas such as, accounting, international business and issues of leadership and entrepreneurship. “I think that any business school today has to react to the changing business environment, and it’s changing faster and faster,” he said.

According to Locander, his plans include starting an entrepreneurial leadership center in Loyola. He said there are a number of faculty members who are interested in having a center like that in Loyola but it will require support from the university and funding from the outside community.

The leadership center will pay off benefits to students, faculty, other colleges of Loyola and the external business community who have supported Loyola. The center will help students to prepare for the real world. “We want our students to reflect the real world when they graduate,” Locander said.

Locander said he has “always taken a leadership role almost in every organization that I have been in,” which makes him qualified to bring changes to Loyola. Locander said he also brings a sense of commitment and a lot of experience in academicsto the college.

According to Locander, he has found in Loyola a string of positive people who want to do good things in the name of Loyola and that will benefit the university. He said many universities don’t share that kind of values, energy and activities.

Andrea Castillo can be reached at [email protected].