Dear Loyola community,
Welcome to the first week of our new academic year! As we launch the year, there is much to celebrate and be grateful for in the Loyola community.
To our great joy, we welcome 824 first-year and 102 transfer undergraduate students this year–our most diverse first-year class in university history. More than half of them self-identify as students of color. More than one-third are the first in their families to go to college. Sixty-eight percent are female. Among them proudly stand 58 student athletes - howl to the Wolf Pack! And, 83 students (just over 10 percent) have a family member who graduated from Loyola. We like to think this means we are doing something right.
Our first-year students hail from 40 states and 23 countries. More than 40 percent are from Louisiana, which means we will be relying on you to teach the newcomers your favorite traditions – from where to catch the best Mardi Gras parades to how to eat crawfish.
We are also thrilled to welcome another large first-year law class and growing numbers of online, graduate, and transfer students. Our 212 1L’s come to us from 85 schools and hail from 11 countries and 24 states. Nearly one-third (27 percent) self-identify as students of color. Members of this new class speak seven native languages: English, Vietnamese, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Tagalog, and Arabic. Fifty-six percent of them are women.
Loyola takes pride in being a close-knit community filled with truth-seekers, storytellers, and servant leaders, people who enjoy using their gifts and talents to improve the world around them. So, new students, know that the diverse members of the Loyola community are going to help you make Loyola your new home. Our hope for each and every one of you is that, as we build community together this year, you will create a tight circle of friends that will encourage and challenge you in your journey at Loyola.
Our promise to all of you is that we will teach you to think critically, reflect, and discern. We will help you identify and follow your own path to success. We will help you to grow your strengths, develop your moral compass, deepen your spirituality, and pursue your passions, so that when you leave here – and while you are here – you will help to make the world a better place.
I hope you will join the Welcome Week activities, on the main campus or at the law school. And, know of my prayers for you as we start this new academic year.
Justin Daffron, S.J.
Interim President
P.S.– For anyone who’d like to say hi in person, I’ll be with Parleaux this week from 11-11:45 a.m. on Wednesday in the Danna Student Center and Thursday in the first floor lobby of the law school. Let’s connect!
