Loyola Listening launched to give direction to York Road Initiative
Andrew Zaleski
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: News
Loyola hosted its first Loyola Listening event Wednesday at St. Mary of the Assumption Church on York Road. The event, which involved nearly 20 students, faculty and administrators from Loyola, was the first of three listening events scheduled to take place this semester.
Loyola Listening is a component of the broader York Road Initiative, an element of Loyola's recently concluded strategic plan, which calls for the university to "take a leadership role in the development of a multi-dimensional plan to improve the quality of life for the people who live, work and learn on and around the York Road corridor."
The listening project itself is simply an open community forum, hosted by Loyola at various locations in the York Road/Govans neighborhood, where members of the Govans neighborhood can come and answer questions about their neighborhood, living situations and relationship with the university.
Ultimately, the goal of Loyola Listening is for the school to determine how to perform best that leadership role called for by the York Road Initiative mapped out in the strategic plan.
"There were lots of conversations about different things we could and should do [on York Road]," said Terry Sawyer, Loyola's vice president for administration. "And then it dawned on us: Maybe we should ask the people that we're intending to work with what they need, want and desire for their community."
Planning for the listening events began in the middle of the fall semester, when the general York Road Initiative committee formed a subcommittee - chaired by Sawyer and John Palmucci, Loyola's vice president for finance - expressly for implementing these events.
"There was a group of us that strongly believed that we really needed to - before we did any kind of formal [or] informal venture on York road - talk with the people and hear what it is they think is needed, and try to match up what some of our needs are with their needs, and hopefully come up with some things that will be mutually beneficial," said Missy Gugerty, S.S.N.D., director of the Center for Community Service and Justice and a subcommittee member.
Loyola Listening is a component of the broader York Road Initiative, an element of Loyola's recently concluded strategic plan, which calls for the university to "take a leadership role in the development of a multi-dimensional plan to improve the quality of life for the people who live, work and learn on and around the York Road corridor."
The listening project itself is simply an open community forum, hosted by Loyola at various locations in the York Road/Govans neighborhood, where members of the Govans neighborhood can come and answer questions about their neighborhood, living situations and relationship with the university.
Ultimately, the goal of Loyola Listening is for the school to determine how to perform best that leadership role called for by the York Road Initiative mapped out in the strategic plan.
"There were lots of conversations about different things we could and should do [on York Road]," said Terry Sawyer, Loyola's vice president for administration. "And then it dawned on us: Maybe we should ask the people that we're intending to work with what they need, want and desire for their community."
Planning for the listening events began in the middle of the fall semester, when the general York Road Initiative committee formed a subcommittee - chaired by Sawyer and John Palmucci, Loyola's vice president for finance - expressly for implementing these events.
"There was a group of us that strongly believed that we really needed to - before we did any kind of formal [or] informal venture on York road - talk with the people and hear what it is they think is needed, and try to match up what some of our needs are with their needs, and hopefully come up with some things that will be mutually beneficial," said Missy Gugerty, S.S.N.D., director of the Center for Community Service and Justice and a subcommittee member.
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