I
attended Loyola’s State of the University address by President Linnane. This
was his eight consecutive timing giving this speech. He spoke about how much
eagerness he had in taking part in all the different aspects of the University.
He told us about the plan to improve the University that they launched in the
fall of 2008 and was excepted to go through 2013, that most of these goals had
been fulfilled. This is a great accomplishment for the Loyola Community.
This
however didn’t mean that the University did not have any room for more
improvement. He spoke that everyday the faculty, students, and the entire
Loyola Community are taking strides to make this university in to the best
institution it can possibly be. President Linnane spoke about the new mission
of Loyola, which was called “Grounded in Tradition, Educating for the Future.”
These goals of this new mission are mostly long range but everyday we are
making progress as a community to accomplish them. The expected date of these
goals is 2015. One goal of this new plan is to create living learning groups
for all of the first-year students. They have even already come up with the
name of this program to be called Messina. This name was chosen in honor of the
city in Sicily, which served as a place for Jesuits’ first founded college that
allowed lay students.
Loyola
has also made tremendous strides recently in educating student-athletes. Over
this past summer Loyola was invited to join the Patriot League. This League is significantly
known for student-athletes performance on the field and in the classrooms as
well. This is such an enormous honor Loyola has received because it means that
there student athletes will be competing with some of the highly rated
institutions such as Colgate and Lafayette.
Finally
President Linnane spoke about how all of these tremendous accomplishments and
recognition Loyola has been receiving in the past years doesn’t mean that there
is no room from improvement. He even
went on to say how he wanted one of Loyola’s goals to be become the nation’s
leading Catholic university. He even specified saying “Not of the leading. The
leading” meaning that he wanted Loyola to be the top number one Catholic
university of the country. We are supposed to set the example of how all the
other schools should act and learn. I think this is a huge goal for the Loyola
Community but I think one day with everyone’s help it can be accomplished.
I
think the poem Directions for Resisting
the SAT has a great comparison to what Loyola is striving to do. This is to
make history and leave our mark on the community and even the world. Loyola
doesn’t just want to be in the shadows of the other university it wants to
strive to be the best possible school it can be and give so much to the
community as well.
There
is another poem that can also greatly relate to the speech giving by President
Linnane. This poem is called First
Practice its speaks about a coach that is trying to instill motivation and
determination in his players. I think this is exactly what President Linnane is
trying to do with this speech. He is showing us how great our University has
turned out over the past years but how there is still so much potential we have
to make it even better. In a way Linnane is like the coach in the poem and the
entire Loyola Community is his players listing to the message that is being
said.
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