Maroon

              THE MAROON WWW.LOYOLAMAROON.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2007 VOL. 86, NO. 1 A bump on the 'Path' AAUP places Loyola on its censure list By TARA TEMPLETON SENIOR STAFF WRITER After struggling through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, five of the city's major colleges and universities have been dealt another blow. This time it didn't come from a natural or manmade disaster, but the American Association of University Professors. In June, the AAUP censured Loyola University, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Southern University at New Orleans. Colleges and universities are typically censured for violating recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure policies endorsed by the AAUP, according to Academe, an AAUP publication for its members. According to Maria Calzada, chairperson of the Rank and Tenure Committee, the AAUP censured Loyola for "violating academic freedom, tenure and shared governance standards." Most of these violations stemmed from the "Pathways" plan implemented in April 2006. Pathways called for the discontinuation of several programs and termination of 17 faculty members, including II tenured professors. The AAUP also stated the plan was approved without the evaluation of the University Senate, violating shared governance standards established by the AAUP. According to Calzada, all censures are based on specific criteria. "The AAUP censures a university administration if it is established that unsatisfactory conditions for academic freedom and tenure have been found to prevail at the institution. This means that the AAUP found serious problems that need to be made known to the profession so that informed decisions are made by potential faculty members." The number of schools censured by the AAUP this year was unusual, as was the grouping of so many in one city. On average, the AAUP receives more than 1.000 complaints a year, Calzada said. Typically, only a few schools are censured every year. The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university presi- dent, expressed his disappointment in the AAUP's decision to censure the school for its actions while dealing with the problems of Hurricane Katrina. "They acted as if Katrina was a one-time event that came and went, and they totally missed the impact that it both has had and continues to have on the city. "It's unfortunate that the judgment of the organization's officials differed so sharply from that of all the university leaders in New Orleans. Survival of Loyola University New Orleans was dependent on immediate and decisive action by the administration," Wildes said. According to Wildes, the AAUP also neglected to correct a number of factual errors that appeared The AAUP's reports on post-Katrina universities are published in this issue of Academe. Censure helps put brakes on Phi Beta Kappa application LAUREN LaBORDE SENIOR STAFF WRITER After a series of failed attempts, Loyola faculty who are members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society once again find themselves unable to solicit a chapter of the prestigious academic fraternity on campus — this time, due to the recent American Association of University Professors (AAUP) censure and an inability to satisfy a requirement imposed by the society. Chemistry professor Lynn Koplitz, who has corralled fellow PBK faculty and led efforts to shelter a chapter — an opportunity that arises only once every three years — since 1995, said that continuing these efforts would be "a useless exercise." "I've communicated to other members of PBK who are on campus, and we agree that it would be a colossal waste of our time to even put together an application at this point ... we are no longer actively seeking a chapter," she said. The fact that Loyola's full-time arts and sciences teaching faculty does not contain the 10 percent of PBK members required by the national fraternity is one obstacle the university faces. This 10 percent, according to guidelines on creating new chapters, creates an "adequate and stable nucleus for organizing a new chapter and efficiently conducting its activities." The number of Loyola PBK faculty currently amounts to 14 — only eight of whom teach in the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences — and doesn't meet the 10 percent requirement. Koplitz said that although it isn't explicitly stated, this standard is more than just about con- Loyola ranks high in recent college guides U.S. News, Princeton Review rate Loyola By LEE HUDSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER Loyola has received top honors from both the U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review in their recent college rankings. As an added bonus, the university's rankingsrankings this year are higher than they were pre-Katrina. Ranked into the Top Universities - Master's sub-category for the southern region, Loyola has jumped up from the seventh slot to the sixth best university in the southern region. U.S. News says, "The ranking system rests on two pillars: quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality and our nonpartisan view of what matters in education." "It is a tribute to all the wonderful individuals affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans and the contributions they make on a daily basis to its betterment - faculty, staff, students and administrators - that we accept and cherish this honor," said Walter Harris, university provost, in an e-mail to The Maroon. "It is further a tribute to the character of the institution that we were able to accomplish this honor in the face of the many challenges confronting us since Hurricane Katrina." The measures of quality include: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. Loyola is in the Master's subcategory because the highest degree a student can earn at the university is a master's degree. Loyola's neighbor Tulane University, by contrast, is in the National Universities category because they offer doctorate programs.Another category Loyola placed well in was the Great Values ranking. Loyola University is No. 7 on the list, right ahead of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. In response to the U.S. News rankings, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, said in a press release, "The fact that we moved up to the sixth spot in the southern region is an extraordinary accomplishment for the Loyola community as we continue to see RANKINGS, page 6 see AAUP, page 5 see PBK, page 6 Life & Times !■ 4 mmm Kuc Oak h I Oak Street fc™ | is coming alive again. LOYOUMIAROON.COM "P. 7 "The process of removing censure can be a very healing process that brings faculty and administration closer together. However, it must involve correcting the issues that brought about the censure in the first place." - Maria Calzada, chairperson of the Rank and Tenure Committee MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 | EDITORIAL, page 14 | LIFE & TIMES, page 7 | SPORTS, page 11 | NEWS TIPS: 865 3535