Maryland Higher Education Commission
endorses designation change

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) has endorsed Loyola College in Maryland’s request to change its designation to “university” and adopt the name “Loyola University Maryland.” The March 25 decision of the full commission, which was unanimous, follows a March 11 endorsement of the request by MHEC’s Education Policy Subcommittee.

“We are thrilled that MHEC has demonstrated its support for our plans to adopt a designation which more fully reflects the comprehensive, exceptional institution we have become,” said Loyola President Brian F. Linnane, S.J.

The Executive Committee of Loyola’s Board of Trustees first announced the decision to change the university’s designation in August 2008. The change will take effect with the start of the Fall 2009 academic semester, and will be marked by a campus-wide celebration to be held Friday, Sept. 25, the first day of Family Weekend.

The specific name “Loyola University Maryland” was chosen to reaffirm the university’s enduring connection to its home state, as well as to underscore the distinctions between this university and the other “Loyola Universities” in Louisiana, Illinois and California.

In order to preserve the “Loyola College” identity and history, Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences will assume the name Loyola College when the overall designation change becomes official. This move also symbolizes Loyola’s commitment to the enduring tradition of Jesuit liberal arts education.

Additional information about events surrounding the change will be made available in the coming months.