New Orleans Entrepreneur Week returns to Loyola, where ideas, innovation, and community converge.
Honoring alumni whose lives of integrity, leadership, and service reflect Loyola’s Jesuit mission.
How Loyola’s Jesuit values are shaping leadership, campus life, and what comes next.
How intentional leadership, shared responsibility, and Jesuit values are shaping daily life and long-term direction at Loyola.
ON THE COVER
As
Join the College of Music and Media for the inaugural Hall of Fame celebration honoring distinguished alumni from the School of Communication and Design and the School of Music and Theatre Professions. Enjoy an evening of music, recognition, and reconnection with fellow alumni at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint on Wednesday, April 15, at 6 p.m.
Get tickets and more info at loyno.edu/cmmhof Be part of
Coast to Coast
Our annual day of giving brings the Wolf Pack together online and across the country to support student scholarships and programs. The giving kicks off at noon on March 18. And join us in the Loyola tent during YLC’s Wednesday at the Square to show your support. Learn more at loyno.edu/loyolaloyal . Loyola alumni and friends are invited to savor crawfish season with alumni chapters across the country. From backyard boils to chapter gatherings, these events bring a taste of New Orleans to cities nationwide.
Learn more about events in a city near you at loyno.edu/alumni-events
Dear Loyola Community,
Care for the whole person is at the heart of Loyola University New Orleans. It shapes how we teach, how we lead, and how we care for one another as a community of students, faculty, and staff. It is not an abstract value; it is a daily commitment that guides our decisions and our direction.
In my time as president, I have listened closely to our community and worked to ensure that Loyola is supported by the leadership, resources, and infrastructure needed to live out that commitment well. Care requires steadiness. It requires consistency. It also requires building a foundation that allows people to flourish, now and in the years ahead.
One of my priorities has been strengthening Loyola’s leadership team. I have worked intentionally to assemble a group of leaders who bring experience, integrity, and a shared belief in our Jesuit mission. With strengthened leadership across Enrollment Management, Advancement, Finance, Marketing and Communications, and Academic Affairs, along with permanent deans across our colleges, we are building a structure designed to provide stability, clarity, and thoughtful support for our community.
That work is guided by Mission to Momentum , Loyola’s strategic plan for 2025-2030, which reflects our commitment to thoughtful growth grounded in mission.
Leadership is only part of how care is expressed. It is also reflected in the spaces where our students live and learn, in the resources that support our faculty and staff, and in the daily experiences that shape campus life. Across Loyola, we are making improvements that strengthen those experiences, from renovated facilities to expanded dining options and modernized infrastructure. These investments are not about change for its own sake. They are about creating an environment where people feel supported and empowered to do their best work.
Care also calls us outward. Last year’s New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, hosted at Loyola, offered a powerful example of how our university serves as a place of connection and possibility for the broader community, while also building anticipation for its return in 2026. By bringing students, alumni, and partners together, we affirmed that innovation and care are not competing values. Both are
essential to our mission and to the future we are shaping together.
There are many signs of progress across Loyola, including new spaces, new initiatives, and the accomplishments of our alumni, faculty, and friends. I hope you also see something deeper: Loyola is moving forward with intention, guided by its mission, and grounded in care for every member of its community.
Thank you for the many ways you support Loyola. Your engagement and belief in this institution make it possible for us to move forward with confidence, purpose, and hope.
With gratitude,
Xavier A. Cole, Ed.D. President Loyola University New Orleans
The Loyola community gathered on July 31, 2025, to celebrate the completion and official dedication of the Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center, now fully operational at the heart of campus. Celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the Mass included the consecration of the altar on the Feast Day of St. Ignatius Loyola. After years of planning and construction, the chapel now stands as Loyola’s first stand-alone chapel and a lasting expression of its Jesuit mission, welcoming prayer, worship, and reflection.
In January, the College of Law’s Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Manning Family Children’s (formerly Children’s Hospital New Orleans) launched a Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) that embeds legal services directly into healthcare settings to strengthen family stability, child well-being, and health outcomes. The MLP is led by Clinic Director and Professor Davida Finger. Law Clinic Staff Attorney Emily Aucoin JD ’20 is the partnership’s managing attorney. The initiative addresses issues ranging from unsafe housing and access to public benefits to educational stability and family law matters, helping prevent unnecessary child welfare involvement. Harvard Law School’s Access to Justice Lab will evaluate the MLP’s impact through a randomized controlled study examining whether legal support helps families facing poverty-related challenges avoid entry into the child welfare system.
THOMAS A. CHAMBERS, PH.D., has been named Loyola’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, effective June 2025. With more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience, Chambers joins Loyola from Canisius University, where he served as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. He will guide academic innovation while strengthening Loyola’s Jesuit mission and student-centered approach.
Loyola’s Prison Education Program at B.B. Rayburn Correctional Center has received approval from the U.S. Department of Education, making Loyola the only four-year university in Louisiana where incarcerated students are eligible to access Pell Grants for college coursework and degree
Gasa U is an immersive partnership with New Orleans’ famed Gasa Gasa that turns the live-music venue into a real-world classroom. Students in the “Live Music Venue Operations” class book artists, manage promotions, handle production, and run front-of-house logistics as part of Wolf Moon Entertainment Inc.’s student-run businesses. The initiative blends classroom learning with hands-on industry experience, preparing students across music, business, design, and media for careers in the city’s music ecosystem.
In 2025, Loyola baseball reached the NAIA World Series for the first time in program history, marking a milestone season for the Wolf Pack. Loyola earned its first-ever series win, finished No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25, and claimed the SSAC championship under head coach Jeremy Kennedy, setting new program records along the way. The achievement reinforces the university’s continued success on the national athletic stage. The milestone season sets a new standard for the program, celebrating a breakthrough year for the team and its student-athletes that signals a bold and exciting future for Wolf Pack baseball.
City College Expands Transfer Pathways Statewide
Loyola City College has established articulation agreements with community and technical colleges across Louisiana, representing the vast majority of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. These partnerships create clearer, more accessible transfer pathways into Loyola’s Bachelor of Applied Science programs, expanding opportunity and supporting workforce-aligned degree completion across the state.
New Office Expands Access to Scholarships and Grants $1.3M
With the support of Pan-American Life Insurance Group, Loyola has launched the new Office of Scholarships and Grants to help students identify funding beyond traditional financial aid. The office offers personalized advising and access to Scholarship Universe, a centralized portal connecting students to external awards and Loyola scholarships—strengthening affordability, persistence, and degree completion across the student experience.
$1.3M Federal TRIO Grant Expands Student Support
Loyola has received $1.3 million in federal funding through the Student Support Services (SSS) Program, part of the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Programs, to expand academic and retention support for firstgeneration and low-income students.
College of Law professor and alumna Monica Hof Wallace has been named the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s 2025 Distinguished Professor, recognizing her excellence in teaching and leadership. A 1998 College of Law graduate, Wallace is a nationally respected scholar in Louisiana civil law and family law and the founding director of Loyola’s Advocacy Center, which expanded experiential learning through trial advocacy, dispute resolution, moot court, and international law programs. She will be honored at the Foundation’s 40th anniversary gala in April 2026.
Loyola has launched a $4 million renovation campaign for the University Sports Complex, supported by an initial $1 million lead gift. The project will modernize locker rooms, expand training facilities, and enhance shared spaces, strengthening resources for student-athletes and elevating the overall game-day and training experience.
Focused on deepening its Jesuit identity and investing in people and place, Loyola is shaping both the daily student experience and the university’s long-term direction. Through aligned leadership and shared responsibility, the university is building momentum, resulting in a campus defined by confidence and forward movement, where tradition and innovation advance together.
and the dining hall in the Danna Student Center is bustling, as usual.
Students line up for fresh, made-to-order dishes alongside familiar comfort-food favorites. It’s Monday, so the menu also includes a traditional New Orleans repast: red beans and rice with andouille.
Dr. Xavier Cole scans the room, heads to a table where a student is sitting, and asks if the seat next to her is taken. He sits down, and for the next 30 minutes, they eat lunch and talk.
It’s not unusual to see Cole dining in the Orleans Room, attending university events, or engaging students and colleagues in everyday moments that reflect a visible, approachable presence. That same approach carries into larger campus gatherings as well, including the university’s first-ever Big Easy Band Fest, where Cole joined faculty members and local band directors on stage with his trombone.
More than two years into his tenure as president, Dr. Xavier Cole is driving a transformation shaped by strategic leadership, targeted investment, and a renewed focus on mission.
Presence, intention, and care are guiding a broader transformation across Loyola’s campus.
Early in his presidency, Cole prioritized strengthening enrollment leadership to support the university’s long-term growth.
A.J. Jones came to Loyola in May 2024 as Vice President for Enrollment Management, overseeing Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions, as well as Financial Aid. He brings more than 30 years of experience in higher education leadership to the role.
Jones quickly identified opportunities for Loyola to take a more comprehensive, strategic approach to enrollment—one grounded in data, both externally (in understanding markets that represent Loyola’s greatest opportunities) and internally (in listening to the experiences and perspectives of current students).
Strengthening those fundamentals, Jones said, is particularly important in key regions, including Metro New Orleans, where Loyola has renewed its focus on intentional engagement and recruitment closer to home.
“We live and breathe and work in a very parochial space here in South Louisiana,” Jones said. “As a native of Thibodaux, having grown up on the bayou, I know what it means to have relationships with people and how that builds trust. The fortunate thing for us is that we’ve been around a long time. People know who we are. This work is about showing up consistently and intentionally.”
Loyola has expanded its recruitment staff to increase presence in local schools, renewed relationships with private and Catholic institutions, and adopted new enrollment tools to better track and interpret data related to prospective students.
At the same time, Loyola is speaking more clearly and confidently about its 100-year-plus Jesuit, Catholic identity.
“We started to talk more specifically about that messaging, of who we are as a Catholic institution,” Jones said. “We started talking boldly about ourselves in that way. We made statements like ‘the largest Jesuit, Catholic college in the Southeast.’ That’s a fact. And we wanted people to know about it.”
The university did the work to learn where prospective Catholic students lived and to identify communities that did not have a Catholic institution of higher learning
within 100 miles. These communities, often called “Catholic deserts,” became a focus of targeted outreach.
Loyola also started speaking more boldly about its academic prowess, ensuring that prospective students understand Loyola is a rigorous institution where high-achieving students thrive.
Loyola’s applicant pool reflected that momentum. In December 2025, the total number of applicants increased 28% over last year, with a 35% increase from metro New Orleans alone.
Jones made clear that the numbers are only one piece of the puzzle.
“It is most important for us to concentrate on establishing the fundamentals, the foundation of a solid and a healthy enrollment approach,” he said. “And that’s really where the work is done. The numbers are just a consequence—a symptom—of what we’re doing internally, which is working toward building world-class recruitment outreach, and stellar admissions, financial aid, and retention processes. That’s where the real work has been.”
Jones reiterated that Loyola’s success moving forward will be shaped by a datadriven strategy, a renewed connection to the university’s Catholic ethos, and a clear articulation of the university’s academic rigor and strengths.
Beyond strategy and data, Loyola’s location plays a meaningful role in reinforcing the university’s momentum and sense of possibility. In 2024, Forbes ranked New Orleans the No. 1 City in the Nation for College Students and Graduates, recognizing its affordability, culture, and quality of life.
“We are a small, private college in Uptown New Orleans, in a city that is known for being unique compared to other American cities,” Jones said. “That sense of place reinforces everything we’re building: our academic strengths, our relationships, and the student experience.”
Understanding where students come from and why they choose Loyola has been central to that work. By strengthening feeder-school
relationships and listening closely to students’ motivations, the university continues to refine a recruitment approach grounded in mission, opportunity, and belonging.
Momentum is building at Loyola. Across classrooms, studios, research centers, and athletic fields, the university is earning national recognition that reflects both the talent of its community and its commitment to excellence.
That distinction is evident in national rankings. U.S. News & World Report ranked Loyola’s undergraduate International Business program No. 21 in the nation, up three spots from the year before, recognizing a curriculum that prepares students to lead in a global economy. Billboard magazine has also ranked the College of Music and Media’s School of Music and Theatre Professions among the top 20 music business schools in the world for five consecutive years, affirming the university’s strength at the intersection of creativity, industry, and innovation.
Faculty leadership has garnered broader attention as well. College of Law Professor Andrea Armstrong received an $800,000 Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation for her work bringing transparency to detention policies, conditions of confinement, and deaths in U.S. prisons and jails. More recently, Monica Hof Wallace was named the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s 2025 Distinguished Professor in recognition of her outstanding contributions to legal education and the profession.
The College of Law continues to distinguish itself through student success, with 2025 graduates earning the second-highest bar passage rate in Louisiana, alongside national recognition for its public interest law, clinical training, and human rights law programs. This work reflects Loyola’s deep commitment to justice, ethics, and public service.
HEAD COACH JEREMY KENNEDY led Loyola baseball to the most successful season in program history, reaching the NAIA World Series for the first time and setting a new standard for Wolf Pack baseball. NAIA TOP 25
WOMEN’S TENNIS
FINISHED 17-6 program record for most wins in a season
#6 NATIONAL RANKING highest-ever for program
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
JORDYN MINOR earned NAIA All-America honors second-ever to win this award for Track and Field
WOMEN’S GOLF
RANKED IN 53 STRAIGHT TOP 25 POLLS
CATHERINE SINGLETARY earned NAIA All-America honors
25
Alongside its academic excellence, Loyola’s intercollegiate athletic programs have delivered sustained competitive success on the national stage.
In 2025, the university’s baseball team won the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Championship, earned its firstever trip to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) World Series, and finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally in the NAIA—the highest end-ofseason national ranking in program history.
That success reflects broader strength across Loyola athletics. Over the past two years, the Wolf Pack Volleyball team captured its first-ever SSAC Championship; Loyola student-athletes earned AllAmerica honors in swimming and track and field; and the university’s women’s golf
and tennis teams, and beach volleyball programs, were nationally ranked.
Reinforcing its commitment to athletic excellence, Loyola has announced plans to renovate the university Sports Complex. The project was launched with an anonymous $1 million gift that kicked off an official project campaign to raise a total of $4 million by the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. The reimagined complex will feature enhanced locker rooms, an expanded weight room, upgraded athletic training and sports medicine facilities, a new concession area, and new offices for Loyola’s expanding coaching staff.
Together, these athletic achievements reflect more than competitive success. They underscore the university’s overall commitment to investing in environments where students can excel. As Loyola looks ahead, that same focus on strengthening the student experience is shaping decisions well beyond the playing field.
As part of a deliberate investment in campus life and student success, Loyola has reshaped key parts of its campus through a series of significant capital projects. From spaces that anchor campus life to facilities that support academic and student success, these projects reflect an intentional approach to strengthening the university’s physical footprint for the benefit of today’s students and future generations.
One such project is the Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center, which held its first Mass in July 2024. The striking, circular structure now stands at the heart of Loyola’s campus, serving as a focal point for worship, reflection, and community gathering. The university broke ground on the project in 2021.
Momentum continued with the opening of Uptown Hall, Loyola’s newest residence
hall. Announced in December 2022, the $86 million project welcomed its first residents less than three years later, offering apartment-style living for nearly 600 returning undergraduate and graduate students. Its opening coincided with the university’s commitment to a more immersive residential experience, including a new requirement that students entering Loyola in Fall 2025 live on campus for their first three years.
One of the first students to move into Uptown Hall was Thatiana Huesmann Guzman, a junior from Indianapolis studying popular and commercial music. As she explored schools closer to home and in Chicago, Guzman was drawn to Loyola not only for its music program, but for the sense of community she saw taking shape on campus.
That impression came into focus through videos shared by a friend already enrolled at Loyola—scenes of concerts unfolding in the Peace Quad, students gathering between classes, and music spilling into shared spaces. Those moments captured the university’s creative energy and the feeling of connection Guzman was seeking. Today, as a resident assistant in Uptown Hall, Guzman helps create that same sense of belonging for others, supporting fellow residents through shared experiences, programming, and peer support.
Beyond the residence halls, much of student life converges in the Danna Student Center, which completed a $31 million renovation in fall of 2025. One of the most heavily used spaces on campus, the center now features an expanded Orleans Room and new dining options—including Chick-fil-A, Jimmy John’s, and Smoothie King—along with new seating, restrooms, and meeting spaces designed to support connection, collaboration, and everyday campus life. A newly relocated Starbucks on the first floor of Francis Family Hall further expands dining options and improves student flow across campus.
For students like Guzman, the transformation has been immediately felt. The renewed space has become a natural hub for meeting friends, sharing meals, and spending time between classes—reinforcing the sense of community that drew her to Loyola in the first place.
In addition to these larger projects, the university has continued to invest across campus, including a complete refurbishment of the auditorium in Bobet Hall in August 2025 and the renovation of St. Mary’s Hall, completed in November 2024. The $7.3 million St. Mary’s Hall project transformed the three-story building on the Broadway campus into a hub for student and community support; it houses the Loyola Center for Counseling and Education, clinical treatment space, and offices for the University’s Facilities Department.
Doing the fundamental things well —thoughtfully and consistently— matters.
“ “ How we care for our spaces reflects how we care for our people.
XAVIER A. COLE, ED.D. PRESIDENT
These investments extend beyond physical spaces. They reflect a philosophy that guides how Loyola approaches education, community, and the care of the whole person—ensuring that the environments students learn in are as supportive as the education they receive.
beyond academics to the spaces where students live, gather, and grow.
Cura personalis—care for the whole person— is a foundational principle of Jesuit education, shaping how students are taught, supported, and accompanied throughout their time at the university. At Loyola, that philosophy guides a holistic approach to student life, from academic rigor to residential experience and the spaces where daily life unfolds.
“How we care for our spaces reflects how we care for our people,” Cole said. “Doing the fundamental things well—thoughtfully and consistently—matters.”
At Loyola, academic excellence and care are inseparable. Well-maintained, thoughtfully prepared environments signal to students, faculty, and staff that they are valued, and they honor the trust families place in Loyola when they choose a Jesuit, Catholic education.
“What matters most is the richness of the experience we create for students—the teaching, the mentoring, the care for the whole person,” Cole said. “When we truly pour into students and meet them where they are, we help them see their potential and give them the confidence to achieve it.”
While students most often experience Loyola through classrooms, residence halls, and shared spaces, the systems that sustain campus life operate largely out of sight— beneath the ground and behind the walls.
To ensure that foundation is strong and reliable, Cole appointed Kyle Gregore as director of its newly renamed Facilities Department in January 2024. A veteran of the Louisiana Air National Guard, Gregore has led a $6.8 million initiative to modernize the university’s physical plant, prioritizing long-term reliability, efficiency, and responsible stewardship of the campus.
That work includes implementing a modern work-order system and conducting a comprehensive inventory of campus assets to assess condition, life expectancy, and priority needs, giving university leadership clearer insights and stronger planning tools.
Together, these efforts mark a shift from reactive maintenance to preventive care and predictive planning, strengthening Loyola’s ability to support its community with foresight, consistency, and care.
The value of that work became clear in early 2025, when an aging campus boiler system required immediate attention.
Facilities staff coordinated the installation of a temporary boiler while permanent repairs and upgrades were completed. Today, the system in place is more energy-efficient, reliable, and resilient—reflecting the broader goals of the modernization effort.
Cole is clear about one guiding principle: “Leadership matters.”
“Leadership—real leadership—requires vision, experience, and an understanding of what it takes to build strong teams,” he said. “Progress doesn’t happen by default. It comes from intentional decisions, aligned strategy, and people who understand where an institution needs to go.”
That vision is being carried forward by a leadership team focused on translating values into action. Guided by Loyola’s Mission to Momentum strategic plan (2025-2030), the university has sharpened its focus on investing in people and place, strengthening enrollment, and clarifying
how its Jesuit mission shapes both daily decisions and long-term direction.
Across campus, leadership roles have been strengthened to support that work—from Enrollment Management and Academics to Advancement, Student Affairs, Finance, and Marketing and Communications. Together, these efforts ensure that Loyola’s story is not only being lived by its community, but clearly and confidently shared, reinforcing momentum in a higher-education landscape that demands both substance and clarity.
Cole emphasized that Loyola’s momentum is the result of deliberate choices made by leaders who care deeply about the university’s mission and its future. Sharing that direction with the broader community, he said, is essential to building confidence and sustaining progress.
INVESTED IN CAMPUS INFRASTRUCTURE MODERNIZATION
ENERGY SAVED THROUGH EFFICIENCY UPGRADES
Over the past two years, Loyola has received roughly $370,000 in reimbursements through Entergy’s Energy Smart energy efficiency program, which recognized the university for the second-highest reduction among Entergy customers in the city, behind LSU Health New Orleans. During that same period, Loyola reduced its overall utility usage by more than 20%, saving approximately 9 million kilowatt hours. This reduction reflects both Energy Smart initiatives and broader efficiency efforts across campus. $ 6.8m $ 370 k 3.87
RETURNED TO LOYOLA THROUGH ENTERGY ENERGY SMART REBATES
“Leadership is about helping a community see what’s possible and inviting them to move forward together,” Cole said. “At Loyola, we’re building a future grounded in purpose, trust, and opportunity. That’s a story worth telling.”
loyno.edu/about/office-president/strategic-plan-2030
Scan to learn more about Loyola’s longterm strategic priorities and how the investments highlighted in this story align with the University’s vision for academic excellence, student success, and institutional growth.
loyno.edu/liftedbyintention
Scan to explore a visual collection of recent campus improvements, including new buildings, renovated spaces, and behind-the-scenes upgrades shaping daily life at Loyola.
XAVIER A. COLE, ED.D. PRESIDENT
AARIEL CHARBONNET, PH.D. VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
THOMAS A. CHAMBERS, PH.D. PROVOST AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
JOHN CUNNINGHAM, S.J., PH.D. VICE PRESIDENT MISSION AND IDENTITY
This team of campus leaders brings together experience, vision, and shared responsibility in service of Loyola’s mission. Working collaboratively across divisions, they are stewarding the university’s future—advancing strategic priorities, supporting the campus community, and ensuring Loyola continues to thrive with purpose and integrity.
ALICIA BOURQUE, PH.D. VICE PRESIDENT STUDENT AFFAIRS
STUART GAY VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
STEPHANIE HOTARD ’04, M.B.A. ’10 VICE PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
SHARONDA WILLIAMS, J.D. ’01 VICE PRESIDENT GENERAL COUNSEL DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
ANTHONY E. JONES, M.ED. VICE PRESIDENT ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
LEONARD KAHN, DPHIL DEAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
SHERYL KENNEDY HAYDEL, PH.D. DEAN COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND MEDIA
THE HONORABLE MADELEINE M. LANDRIEU, J.D. ’87, H’05 DEAN COLLEGE OF LAW
ROBERT A. SAVOIE, M.B.A. ’81, PH.D. DEAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
KYLE J. GREGORE, SMSGT (RET) DIRECTOR FACILITIES
DESIRÉE RODRIGUEZ, M.B.A. ’25 CHIEF OF STAFF
MICHELLE COLLINS, PH.D. CNM, RNC-EFM, FACNM, FAAN, FNAP DEAN COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH
PAUL CESARINI, PH.D. DEAN ONLINE AND CITY COLLEGE
BRETT SIMPSON ’96, M.B.A. ’03 ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT ATHLETICS
Each spring, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) convenes the innovators and leaders driving economic growth across the region.
Returning to Loyola University New Orleans for a second year, NOEW reflects the university’s expanding leadership role within the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
As host of the event’s flagship Summit, the university brings education, innovation, and community together at the center of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Each spring, NOEW brings together the people shaping what’s next for the region—those launching companies, investing in ideas, and preparing the next generation to lead. It is a citywide exchange grounded in collaboration, creativity, and action.
For the first time, Loyola hosted NOEW’s flagship Summit on campus, welcoming thousands of participants into classrooms, auditoriums, and shared spaces across Uptown.
Over the course of the week, conversations unfolded across industries and disciplines. Ideas were tested and refined. Connections were forged that extended well beyond the event itself. The moment marked a new chapter in Loyola’s role within the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, defined by leadership, partnership, and scale.
Produced by Loyola’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development in partnership with The Idea Village, NOEW 2025 positioned the university as a central convening force where education, innovation, and community intersect. Across campus, academic spaces became venues for dialogue and discovery, reflecting Loyola’s growing influence in shaping the future of entrepreneurship in New Orleans and the Gulf South.
NOEW is a weeklong, citywide celebration, with programming unfolding across New Orleans and culminating in the NOEW Summit, the event’s two-day flagship gathering hosted on Loyola’s campus.
More than 3,300 registered attendees participated in NOEW 2025, which featured 132 speakers and 39 events hosted across 26 venues throughout the city. The Summit itself convened leaders from business, technology, hospitality, healthcare, and the creative industries for two days of highimpact dialogue and connection. Designed for entrepreneurs at every stage, as well as students preparing for careers in innovation, the programming delivered real-world insight, candid conversation, and meaningful access to people shaping the region’s future.
Throughout the week, NOEW featured keynote conversations, pitch competitions, panels, and workshops exploring topics ranging from scaling early-stage ventures to
access to capital and the evolving role of technology. Sessions examined how emerging tools are reshaping entrepreneurial strategy and highlighted founders who built globally recognized companies rooted in New Orleans.
The breadth of programming reflected the diversity of the region’s entrepreneurial landscape, spanning hospitality, bioscience and medical innovation, engineering and technology, and the creative economy— sectors that help define New Orleans’ economic future.
For Loyola students, NOEW 2025 offered front-row access to the realities of entrepreneurship, both inside and outside the classroom. Throughout the week, students served as volunteers, participants, and presenters, supporting sessions across the Summit and citywide programming while engaging directly with industry leaders and alumni.
From attending panels and pitch competitions to networking with speakers and mentors, students experienced how ideas move from concept to execution. They also saw how relationships, feedback, and persistence shape that process. The experience provided practical insight into the challenges and opportunities of building ventures, while reinforcing the value of adaptability, collaboration, and purposedriven leadership.
That exposure builds on a broader culture of entrepreneurship at Loyola, where innovation is not confined to a single discipline or moment. Year-round, students are supported through handson programs that help them develop ventures, test ideas, and connect with mentors and resources across the region.
One example is Wolf Pack LaunchU, Loyola’s competitive startup accelerator, which provides seed funding to student-, alumni-, and faculty-founded ventures. Recent LaunchU winners have included businesses focused on ethical animal breeding and education, sustainable transportation solutions, and mission-driven creative
SAM MCCABE ’14 was honored during Alumni and Reunion Weekend as the Loyola Alumni Association’s 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year for his contributions to the university and the broader community.
As director of Loyola’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development, McCabe leads programs that connect students with real-world entrepreneurial experiences and resources. Under his leadership, the center has earned national recognition, including the Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers in 2023.
In 2025, McCabe and his team co-produced New Orleans Entrepreneur Week with The Idea Village, bringing the city’s premier startup celebration to Loyola’s campus for the first time. He will continue to lead NOEW in 2026 as Loyola becomes the event’s sole producer.
McCabe also oversees initiatives such as Wolf Pack LaunchU, which provides seed funding to Loyola-based startups, and the IDEAcorps MBA Consulting Challenge, pairing MBA students from universities across the country with New Orleans businesses to develop scale-up strategies and compete in a live pitch during NOEW. Through his work, McCabe continues to strengthen Loyola’s role as a catalyst for entrepreneurship on campus and throughout the city.
enterprises—illustrating how Loyola founders pair purpose with innovation.
Faculty, administrators, and alumni from across the university played active roles in NOEW 2025, underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship at Loyola and the strength of its alumni network.
During a panel on universities as catalysts for innovation in Louisiana, Loyola President Xavier A. Cole joined higher-education leaders from across the state to discuss how institutions can fuel economic growth and opportunity in the Gulf South. The conversation highlighted the role universities play in educating talent, convening partners, and strengthening regional economies.
Alumni voices were also featured prominently throughout the week. Loyola graduates shared insights across multiple
conversation with chef and restaurateur Amy Sins and hospitality entrepreneur Robert LeBlanc, who explored how New Orleans’ hospitality and nightlife sectors are evolving and how locally rooted businesses can expand into national and global markets while maintaining their identity.
The success of NOEW 2025 was the result of broad collaboration. Loyola’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development worked closely with The Idea Village, along with partners across campus and throughout the city, to deliver a week that felt ambitious while remaining grounded in community.
For the center, hosting NOEW aligned naturally with its mission to connect students, alumni, and the broader community with opportunities to learn, launch, and lead. By producing a week of innovation-driven programming and hosting the Summit at Loyola, the university demonstrated its capacity to convene diverse voices and create environments where ideas can move from conversation to action.
Building on the momentum of 2025, Loyola will expand its leadership role in NOEW 2026, producing a full week of innovationdriven programming across the city March 9-14. The week will culminate once again in the NOEW Summit on Loyola’s campus on Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13.
For alumni, donors, and friends of Loyola, NOEW represents an invitation to reconnect with the university, engage directly with New Orleans’ entrepreneurial ecosystem, and support the next generation of innovators shaping the region’s future. Registration,
On December 3, President Xavier A. Cole and the Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees hosted the 1912 Society Dinner.
This annual celebration includes the induction of new lifetime giving society members and the presentation of the Integritas Vitae Award, one of Loyola’s most prestigious honors.
At the event, Loyola welcomed several individuals and organizations into its lifetime giving societies. This generous group of leaders has made a significant investment in Jesuit higher education, strengthening the university’s ability to support academic excellence, student development, and the formation of the whole person.
to an individual whose life reflects the ideals of a Jesuit education through ethical leadership, global engagement, and a substantial commitment to the common good.
private sector, and the Vatican, where he has helped build collaborative networks to address complex global challenges.
JOHN BENEDICT CORDARO ’63 was presented with the Integritas Vitae Award. The Integritas Vitae Award is given annually
For more than six decades, Cordaro has dedicated his life to advancing food security, nutrition, and human dignity across the globe. His career spans work in approximately 50 countries, with a significant focus on Africa, through partnerships with United Nations organizations, the U.S. Congress, the
From 2007 until his retirement in 2021, Cordaro served as Special Representative for Food Security, Nutrition, and Safety with Mars, Incorporated. He continues pro bono work with the UN World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and serves as coordinator for the African Orphan Crops Consortium. A Loyola graduate and Louisiana native, Cordaro holds a bachelor of social sciences from Loyola and a master of science in agricultural economics and nutrition policy from Cornell University.
Dr. Laura Beverly reflects Loyola’s Jesuit ideals of compassion, integrity, and service to humanity.
For a career defined by service, compassion, and unwavering ethical commitment, DR. LAURA BEVERLY ’79, MD, MPH, received Loyola University New Orleans’ 2025 Adjutor Hominum Award, the Alumni Association’s highest honor. A 1979 Loyola graduate and semi-retired pediatrician based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Beverly exemplifies the Jesuit ideals of moral character, service to humanity, and unquestionable integrity that the award recognizes.
Beverly’s calling to medicine took root early. Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, she was inspired by stories from her grandmother, a World War I–era nursing student and Beverly’s childhood namesake, who introduced her to a life of care
and service. That influence, paired with a deep love for children, led her toward pediatrics and ultimately to Loyola, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology.
She credits her Jesuit education with shaping her ability to think critically, approach complex problems ethically, and consider multiple perspectives—all principles that guided a career spanning clinical practice, public health, education, and international medical missions. After graduating from Loyola, Beverly earned a master of public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of South Alabama, and completed her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama.
Much of Beverly’s professional life has been centered on advocacy for children with limited access to care. After beginning in private practice, she joined the University of Florida’s Department of Pediatrics in Jacksonville in 2004 and served for more than a decade as lead physician at the Jacksonville Beach Health Department. There, she cared primarily for uninsured and underinsured children, codeveloping initiatives to identify gaps in care and connect families with critical health and social resources. She also partnered with a local Catholic high school to provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of her neediest patients.
When state contracts closed the health department, Beverly continued her work through the University of Florida in a general pediatric practice, ensuring continuity of care for many of her former public-health patients. Over time, she developed expertise in pediatric psychiatric care, often filling gaps where specialized resources were unavailable. Her dedication earned her two Pediatrician of the Year honors from the Northeast Florida Pediatric Society.
International medical missions remain a defining part of Beverly’s life. In September 2025, she completed her 30th mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where she provides pediatric care, mentors local medical students, and brings U.S. pediatric residents to witness global health disparities firsthand. She has also helped secure lifesaving surgeries for children through partnerships with U.S. hospitals and serves on the board of Netsanet Children's Village, a special-needs orphanage in Ethiopia.
Though semi-retired, Beverly continues to care for newborns at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and remains deeply engaged in service. Whether practicing medicine, mentoring future physicians, or serving vulnerable communities across borders, her life reflects the enduring Jesuit call to care for the whole person—and to place faith into action.
Loyola came alive across the city
October 3-5 as hundreds of alumni and friends returned for three days of celebration, reconnection, and shared history.
1 John Monteccino, Sr., ’75, celebrates his 50th reunion with his granddaughter Rebekah Christian ’25 at a party for the Class of 1975.
2 Judge Robin Pittman ’91, J.D. ’96; Fr.
3 Francisca Sabadie, J.D. ’75, and Thomas Masterson, J.D. ’75, reconnect at the Law Class of 1975 reunion.
4 Alumni from the Graduates of the Last
at Sidecar Patio and Oyster Bar.
SATURDAY
Alumni gathered on campus for tours before an early afternoon concert at Gasa Gasa. The Law Class of 1995 enjoyed a celebration at Ralph’s on the Park. In the evening, the Class of 1975, the Classes of 2000-2005, and the Classes of 2015-2025 danced the night away at the Hotel Monteleone.
SUNDAY
The weekend closed with an alumni Mass at the Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center, followed by the annual Alumni Jazz Brunch at the Audubon Tea Room.
March 9-14
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) returns March 9-14, 2026, with Loyola hosting the event for the second consecutive year. The NOEW Summit will take place on Loyola’s campus March 12-13, with the Danna Student Center as the primary hub. The event is expected to welcome 1,200-1,500 visitors for a week of panels, pitches, and conversations shaping the region’s entrepreneurial future. Full speaker details and registration are available at noew.org
March 18-19
Give today to help unlock a $300,000 leadership challenge gift on Loyola Loyal Day. Your generosity helps ensure the future of Ignatian excellence by supporting scholarships and programs across campus. Every gift, no matter the size, counts. Be Loyola Loyal at loyno.edu/loyal
April 15 New Orleans Jazz Museum, Old U.S. Mint
Inaugural Hall of Fame celebration honoring distinguished alumni from the School of Communication and Design and the School of Music and Theatre Professions. Enjoy an evening of music, recognition, and reconnection with fellow alumni. Learn more at loyno.edu/cmmhof
Monroe Library through April 19
A traveling multimedia exhibition produced by The Historic New Orleans Collection, “The Trail They Blazed” explores local Civil Rights Movement history through historic images, oral histories, and immersive storytelling. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
May 9
Undergraduate, Graduate, and College of Law
June 8-11
Loyola Jazz Camp welcomes young musicians from across the region for an immersive experience in jazz performance, improvisation, and ensemble work led by Loyola faculty and guest artists. The program reflects Loyola’s national reputation in music education and brings families, visitors, and cultural energy to campus during the summer months.
July 31 Chapel of St. Ignatius
