Maroon

              loyola maroon Vol. XLVII Loyola University, New Orleans, La., 70118, Friday, September 4,1970 No. 1 Father Kennelly - a new president tries to cope with Loyola's problems By GARY ATKINS Maroon Editor Father Michael Kennelly comes to Loyola as president very probably at one of the university's most crisis-filled moments. But to all appearances, he finds no reason for worry. When he speaks about Loyola's problems, he still speaks in generalities, not specifics - perhaps because, as he says, he is still settling in. So far, his most specific public act has been to stop the attempted expulsion of four students who participated in last May's occupation of the student center. He faces though much more delicate and intricate problems: Foremost, the Blouin issue, concerning the firing of a popular instructor and one of Loyola's best teachers, Tom Blouin. The conservative Board of Directors still rejects any attempt to rehire Blouin. The faculty and students demand that he be rehired. The American Association of University Professors Maroon Analysis strongly recommends Blouin be given a contract until the case is resolved. Father Kennelly is trying to play the middle right now - "The board is a very wise group of men," he says. "They understand what the AAUP wants and all the procedures the AAUP wants carried out. And we have a very competent administration that will tollow those procedures. But let it be understood that Loyola makes its own decisions, based on sound reason and justice." There is an adjoining problem to the Blouin issue — a growing minority of alienated and frustrated students. And though he has attempted to be visible to and meet with students. Father Kennelly has yet to successfully communicate with this group. Their complaint, upon talkirtg with the new president, has generally been that he is approaching the university as he would a high school. Father Kennelly's career and reputation has been made at the high school level. Even so, the new president says he has "the highest regard for students." "You know," he says, "there's no such word "as dissidence; that's the worst word there is. It impedes education. Here in the university we are all friends. Students come to this university as friends of the administration." "We have a tremendous future here," he says. "We better not destroy it by our foolishness." Father Kennelly urges a "massive thrust toward the individual student by all the teachers." "Professors," he says, "have to develop that individual in every possible way, through time and eternity, for the church and the country, for their fellow man and their university, for the organization and the family." Though he apparently purposely refrains from giving specific answers Rev. Kennedy named president The Loyola Board of Directors has named the Rev. Michael Kennelly, S.J., board chairman for the past two years, to succeed the Rev. Homer R. Jolley, S.J. as university president. The change was effective August 6. In making the announcement on July 17. the Rev. Francis Benedetto, S.J., secretary of the board, said that Father Jolley had asked to be relieved of his duties so that he might accept an appointment with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington, D.C. Father Jolley is currently serving as Director for Program Innovation in the nation's Medicaid program. According to Father Kennelly, the Board of Directors elected him to the presidency at the board's July 23 meeting Tather Kennelly, who termed the appointment "a great honor and a great challenge", said that during his tenure he hopes to reemphasize Loyola's role as "a Catholic, Jesuit institution." During h)s four and a half years as president. Father Jolley launched Loyola on a ten year, $30 million Campaign for Excellence aimed at financing physical and academic improvements for the university. In addition, during his tenure a Science Complex was completed that doubled1 the university's classroom space; a 12 story women's residence hall was constructed; a completely equipped Communications Center opened; and plans were made for the construction ot a new $2 million law school. "The progress begun and the programs started by Father Jolley have given the university new impetus," said Father Kennelly. "As one who has spent his life in the administration of educational institutions, I welcome the opportunity to help guide Loyola to new levels of excellence and service." Father Kennelly has guided Jesuit institutions for the past 21 years. He founded Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston and served as its president for 1 1 years. He also served as principal of Jesuit High School in Shreveport and as president of Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida. In addition, he holds the distinction of being the only priest ever named to the board of directors of a major bank-Houston's Sharpstown State Bank. He is also a member of the National Labor Panel of the American Arbitration Association. Born in Ireland, Father Kennelly came to the United States as a youth, entered the Jesuit order in 1933 and was ordained in 1946. He holds a bachelor's degree from Spring Hill College in Mobile. At the National University of Ireland in Dublin, he earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in education, both with honors. He also attended the Graduate Schools of Education at St. Louis University and Fordham University majoring in Education Administration. F*ather Kennelly began his adminstrative career in 1949 when he bacame principal of Jesuit High School in Shreveport. Five years later, he moved to Tampa as president of the Jesuit High school there. During his tenure in office in Tampa, Father Kennelly inaugurated a building program for the school and succeeded in relocating it from a commercial downtown site to a large 80 acre campus. In 1959 Father Kennelly was sent to Houston to establish a school in that city. Starting with $200, he founded Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School. Today Strake Jesuit is considered one of the top Jesuit prep schools in the nation and its $12 million plant includes one of the best equipped prep libraries in the country. REV. MICHAEL KENNELLY, S.J Administration drops demonstration charges By DEBBIE BOURQUE Maroon Desk Kditor In May there were 15. It dwindled down to four. And now there are none. On October 1, four students were to face trial before Loyola Student Judicial Court for their part in last semester's occupation of the student center. But now there will be no trial. The Very Rev President Michael F, Kennelly, S.J., granted amnesty to Keith Holtsclaw, Bernard Levy, Douglas Roome and Deborah Burke. These four students were among the 15 arrested in May when city police were called in because they refused to leave the student center. The university asked that any criminal charges against the group be dropped but was trying to have them expelled through the school's own disciplinary procedures Most of the students arrested have either left Loyola or graduated. Of the four faculty rnemban involved, three have lost their jobs. Dr. John Joerg, whose job is protected by tenure, will continue teaching in the Department of English. l-.ithet Kennelly nude known his decision to drop disciplinary charges against the students in a letter to Dr. Frank M. Wagar, vice president for student affairs. "The charges against these students are to be dropped," Father Kennelly said, "and no trial need take place." A hearing had been held on August 21 at which the student court decided to postpone the actual trial until October 1. Broderick Bagert, attorney for the defense, asked for the postponement because "it was impossible for the defendants to adequately prepare their defense by [the 21st]." The main reason for this was that the hearing was set during the vacation period, inconveniencing the defendants and the witnesses. Father Kennelly said he acted after Dooky Chase, Student Council president, and Danny Hynes, student president of the College of Arts and Sciences, requested that he grant the amnesty. "There is general agreement that the campus disturbance found the university without clear, published norms on disturbance, and the administration was determined that freedom of expression be protected that no injustice on anyside be tolerated. The result has been a delay Corrington reinstated as chairman Dr. John W. Corrington was reinstated this week as chairman of the Department of English, six months after he was removed by the acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Rev. Joseph A. Tetlow, S.J. Dr. Corrington though will apparently not be chairman long-the reinstatement will be until a departmental election can be held in mid-October. Father Tetlow said Dr. Corrington had told the English faculty he would not run for chairman in that election. Father Tetlow said the reinstatement was necessary if "a real sense of cooperation" was to emerge between the English department and the dean's office. When Father Tetlow first removed Dr. Corrington last February, he said that it was clear "the English department has set itself over against the administration. It stands united against cooperation of the most primitive sort." At that time. Father Tetlow said Dr. Corrington had "allowed the English department to become so politicized that the administration can no longer communicate with it through normal channels." The English department has been the scene of bitter controversies in the past semester - several faculty members have been fired by the administration; Tom Blouin, a popular instructor in the department who was fired by the Board of Directors, has been the focal point of a continuing battle between students and faculty on one hand and the administration on the other; Father Tetlow threatened to try to have Corrington fired for defending Blouin a few weeks before he removed the department chairman. In recommending to the English department that Dr. Corrington be reinstated, Father Tetlow said he felt the college was moving forward and changing and that if the English department was to participate in this movement they would need a permanent chairman. The dean's office had been acting as chairman for the department. The department voted to accept Father Tetlow's recommendation unanimously. The recommendation now goes to the Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., vice president for academic affairs. Father Carter technically appoints chairmen, though Father Tetlow said the academic vice president had agreed to comply with the dean's recommendation. Dr. Corrington said he was "very glad that relationships between the administration and the Department of English have been normalized." He said he looked "forward to working with the administration in the months to come." "It marks what I hope will be an epoch ot reason on campus," he said. Father Tetlow said he had had the idea of reinstating Dr. Corrington in his mind from the time he had removed him as chairman. "1 had hoped to do it before the end of last year," he said. "I wanted to try to find some way for English to have a chairman for this year. But the situation did not warrant it. The difference in the situation now and the situation last May, he said, was ' Relationships. ..have been normalized' that there is a "new picture" in the English department now. "The principal thing," he said, "is that the college as a whole is moving so swiftly; there is real innovation going on. All who were involved last semester sense the change. The sense of newness and openness has touched all of us, me and the department as well. "Dr. Corrington," he said, "is the best man to lead the Fnglish department until the time it elects a new chairman. He is still considered the major spokesman or leader for the department and the department always wanted him as their chairman." He said another reason for reinstating Corrington was to have the chairman rewrite portions of the department's protocol, portions Father Tetlow said are in opposition to the university faculty handbook. The departmental protocol, developed while Corrington was chairman, sets procedures for running the English department, holding elections, setting up departmental committees and so on. Father Tetlow said since Corrington had helped design the protocol, he was the logical one to supervise revisions. Father Tetlow said he had allowed the English department to vote on whether to accept his recommendation not only because such a vote is in line with procedures recommended by the American Association of University Professors but also because it was "just common sense." "What has to emerge is a real MOM of cooperation on my part and their part. And it was perfectly plain that this was one of the things necessary to that." He said he expected the move to have a great deal of effect. The Cornngton removal has been a sore issue since it occurred. When it first occurred, Knglish faculty and students voted to still consider Corrington their chairman Some Knglish faculty have refused to negotiate their contracts with the department'i "acting chairman," Father Tetlow. "1 do expect this to be a successful move," Father Tetlow said. "It will be another signal that the dean and the departmenl are cooperating, and this is a very necessary thing." DR J. W. CORRINGTON Academic goats conference set "We don't know if the conference has a chance of working; perhaps the lines at Loyola are too far drawn. Perhaps no reconciliation is possible. But we felt it was worth the effort to try to do this." Anthony Gagliano, of Loyola's Institute of Human Relations, has what may be an insurmountable challenge facing him. He is trying to coordinate an academic goals conference to discuss present Loyola problems and the university's future potential. The challenge is getting the different sides that have been involved in Loyola's bitter political struggles of the last year to sit down, to exchange roles, to talk. The meeting is scheduled for September 25-27 at the KC Abbey in Covington. "We want to get people to discuss what it is a university ought to be," Gagliano says. "To discuss what realistically Loyola at best can be." "Also, we want to discuss some problems with the present situation — what's wrong with Loyola, now and what's been wrong in the past." The conference will include a panel presentation of Loyola's history; small group discussions of Loyola's Catholic character, academic excellence and relevance and participation in university governance; and role-playing sessions. "We have to try to overcome the problem of communication," (iagliano says, "hopefully by removing the emotional element by putting everyone in a game situation. For example, it might be a very difficult thing to talk about the Blouin situation because of the emotions surrounding that and the feelings toward the man." Tom Blouin. popular Hnglish instructor, was fired by the university last year over the protests of faculty and students. "By setting up situation analogies." Gagliano says, "provide a chance to get to know the other person's mind " "The purpose of the conference is one of search and exploration," he says. Though the meeting will deal with present Loyola problems, Galiano says that something along the line of an annual academic goals conference has long been needed at Loyola. He says it allows lime for students, faculty and administrators to meet and discuss what they have been doing and what they should be doing in the classroom and in the university. But at this particular conference, he expects difficulties "people may try to use it as a political forum, to gain political points," he says. "But it is not a political forum. It's a chance to get to know the other person's mind. 1 et the politid come later." "Also, some people won't be open, they won't say what they feel but just play a part." The conference may not work, he admits. "But it at least carries the genu of increasing participation in the university, iDl seeing that people work together." (continued on page 4) (continued on page 5)