Loyola five years after the storm

Five years later, Loyola is still not back to pre-Katrina enrollment levels. However, if we use the class sizes as a reference, the school is on the right track.

This year’s freshman class came in at an impressive 801 students; if we multiply that over four years the hypothetical undergraduate enrollment in three years will be 3,204. For reference sake, the current undergraduate enrollment at Loyola is 2,789.

With only five years and thus five chances, it is impressive that Loyola has regained the vast majority of the population it had lost. It is more impressive when you consider that 3,989 applied for the 801 seats given. More importantly, this year’s incoming class had an average GPA of 3.77 and over 60 percent from out of state. It is one thing to rebound, it is another to rebound without compromising.

Rebuilding after the challenges left by Hurricane Katrina, while dealing with the economic downturn, is a prime example of taking tragedy and turning it into triumph. This should be especially noteworthy since the endowment has suffered just as much as everyone else during this crunch.

With the 10-year plan in action all around us, it is easy for any student, staff, or faculty member to see our physical progress. In overcoming the ordeal that was Katrina, Loyola gained enough inertia to move beyond where it was pre-Katrina in a very short time; more parking spaces are being built, new dorms are on the way and most of the buildings have been fitted for higher capacity.

The university has also hired 38 new faculty and staff members to maintain its 12:1 student faculty ratio. Being one of the only universities hiring gives Loyola the advantage when it comes to acquiring qualified people.

However, it is not all flowery. Due to program cuts after the hurricane, tenured professors were let go. The ensuing lawsuits have caused the American Association of University Professors to censure Loyola. This means that as a result its actions, Loyola’s administration is on a watch-list of universities that inhibit academic freedom for their professors.

If you are keeping track, that is one hurricane, one “recession,” quite a few law-suits and now an oil spill affecting the entire gulf community. It is a miracle that business continues as usual here at Loyola. It is even more a miracle that business is thriving and evolving in innovative ways.

When it comes down to it, Loyola has done better than anyone had a right to expect.

The most telling part of this success story is that the Maroon had to actually write an editorial about the strife in order for the students to realize that anything bad was going on. The faculty and administration may be at odds and upset, but they have kept it out of the students’ face. By doing this, the reason we are all here, the education of the whole student body is allowed to continue and to continue robustly.