President’s Convocation kicks off new school year

The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J. delivered the annual President’s Convocation for Faculty and Staff on Aug. 18.

Wildes addressed the challenges the university is facing due to the enrollment shortfall and announced some of the steps the university is taking to stabilize its finances.

According to Wildes, this year’s budget is built on a model of 614 incoming students. 630 are currently enrolled for the fall semester.

Wildes also announced that the “Faith in the Future” fundraising campaign that will officially launch on Oct. 9., has raised $42 million of its $100 million goal as of July.

Wildes also provided an update on Monroe Hall construction, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

Former police chief rejoins Loyola faculty

After retiring from his position as superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, Ronal Serpas will be returning to Loyola to take on a faculty position with the department of criminal justice.

Serpas taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Loyola from 1993 to 2001. Marc Manganaro, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said that with more than 30 years of experience in the criminal justice field, Serpas will offer Loyola students a real world understanding and will prepare them for careers ranging from police and correctional officers to FBI agents and U.S. Marshals.

According to Manganaro, the position Serpas accepted is not a new position but an existing one that opened up due to attrition in the department of criminal justice.

College of Music and Fine Arts receives new dean

Anthony A. Decuir will serve as interim dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts after the departure of Donald Boomgaarden.

Decuir assumed his new position on July 1 and will serve as an interim until a new dean is selected.      Boomgaarden has accepted a position as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Scranton.