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February 10, 2022

Dear Loyola Community, 

I’m sharing with you today the bittersweet news that President Tania Tetlow has accepted a new role as president of Fordham University in New York City. The Board of Trustees and I are very excited that Fr. Justin Daffron, S.J., the current vice president of mission and identity, has agreed to be the interim president.

We are so grateful for President Tetlow’s dedicated leadership as she so passionately and capably helmed Loyola for almost four years. We are thrilled for her and her new colleagues at Fordham, a fellow Jesuit university. President Tetlow, who was the first woman and layperson to lead Loyola in the university’s 110-year history, will also be the first woman and layperson to serve as president of Fordham, which is ranked 68th among national universities and enrolls about 15,000 students.

The board is committed to continuing the tremendous growth and success Loyola has experienced under the direction of President Tetlow and the rest of the university’s dedicated leadership team. This team will ensure that the university’s strategic vision will endure through the transition.

Over the past several years, Loyola has built incredible momentum and is in a strong financial position as it continues to expand and offer new educational opportunities for students. In 2020, the university released the Courage and Creativity Strategic Plan and initiatives outlined in the plan are all well underway. Overall, Loyola’s enrollment has grown by 11% and, last fall, it welcomed the largest and most diverse freshman class in university history. The university has launched innovative academic programs in growing fields such as neuroscience, nursing, marketing and communications, environmental law, healthcare administration, and cybersecurity. Departments throughout the university are collaborating to implement our new ERP system to modernize our financial and student information systems, and we remain committed to investing in our employees. 

Thanks to generous new gifts from donors and the Board’s strategic oversight, Loyola’s endowment continues to grow.  And we continue our plans to launch a new long-term comprehensive campaign to fuel more sustainable growth.

We are grateful to Fr. Justin Daffron for being willing to serve as interim president next year. A cum laude business graduate of Centenary College, he did his novitiate training at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, La. He holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from St. Louis University, a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Loyola University Chicago.  

Fr. Daffron has extensive experience in higher education administration, having served as special assistant to the president at St. Louis University, vice president for advancement as well as associate provost at Loyola University Chicago, among other roles over the course of his career. At Loyola, Fr. Daffron engaged the entire community in the Mission Priority Examen process, developing a shared vision to strengthen Loyola’s mission. He also provided interim executive leadership for Loyola’s online education efforts for over a year. If you do not yet know Fr. Daffron, you will quickly realize the depth of his expertise and his passionate dedication to Loyola. 

We’re excited about Loyola’s next chapter and happy to welcome another visionary leader who will continue to lead the university on this path for success.

Loyola will announce the members of the committee who will lead the national search for a new president later this spring, a process that is expected to take about a year.

In the meantime, please join me in congratulating President Tetlow and wishing her the best in her prestigious new role.

Steve Landry
Chair