Colleges and universities operate in cycles and seasons. We do things year after year according to a calendar that has been in place for many decades. Of course, we have our dynamic moments, producing new knowledge, new methods of instruction, installing new academic programs, and ruminating over and executing a host of new plans, but the rhythms remain essentially the same: start of semester, end of semester, start of semester, end of semester…

Personally, I find the cycle soothing in our world of enrollment management. In admissions and financial aid and scholarships, we receive applications, accept students, send out financial aid packages, receive their commitments, and welcome them to campus. Concurrent to all that, we attempt to retain and engender success in all of our current students while we market Loyola to future classes.

One thing I sometimes forget is that last year’s message (or blog post) is as new to this year’s crop of prospective students as it was to last year’s. Years ago, at one place I worked – in New England – we had a lovely publication with pictures of leaves all over it. Well, over time, the staff grew tired of the leaves. Ugh, leaves, we thought. I remember showing the publication to a brand new guest on the campus and asking what she thought. “It’s a lovely piece,” she said. And, you know, it was a lovely piece. We forget – in the midst of our cycles – that what is old to us is often new to someone else.

In that spirit, here are a few of my posts from the last year and a half that now seem awfully relevant to our new crop of applicants. One hopes you think they are “lovely,” or – at the very least – informative.

Elena Doskey’s speech – she’s one of our seniors – at our fall jazz brunch open house was AMAZING. http://blogs.loyno.edu/sal/2009/11/16/student-voices-elena-doskey/

One of the things I have sought to do in this space is make the case for education as investment. My education, which includes earning an undergraduate and a graduate degree at a Jesuit university, is EASILY the most important aspect of my personal formation. It is the best investment my parents (and I) ever made on my behalf. http://blogs.loyno.edu/sal/2009/10/09/investing-for-a-lifetime/

Here is a fairly recent post on the nature of the transition facing new students. It’s good for your preparation for enrolling at Loyola, or anywhere else. http://blogs.loyno.edu/sal/2009/12/18/but-this-is-a-transition/

We just love New Orleans, and, well, anytime I can sneak in a picture of my 2 year old daughter, Lilly, I am going to. I apologize for lacking abstinence in this case. http://blogs.loyno.edu/sal/2009/08/12/rites-of-powder-sugared-passage/

Lastly, for now, here are some of my thoughts on the decision-making process. If you are in that number of Loyola applicants for fall 2010, I wish you all the best as you move through the cycle! http://blogs.loyno.edu/sal/2009/04/16/decisions-decisions/