Updates

Dear Loyola Faculty, Staff, and Administrators,

The work of Loyola’s Operational Excellence Initiative continues to move forward. Work groups are meeting regularly to research and explore potential cost-savings and revenue-generating initiatives and steps.

By now, you should have received calendar invitations for town halls that will be held on March 23 and May 12. We hope you will mark your calendar for those, and we will continue to provide regular updates as the work continues.

As outlined at the September Town Hall, the University is looking to resolve a $20 million structural deficit. President Sawyer asked us as co-chairs to utilize the operational excellence work groups to find $18 million toward resolving that deficit and tasked the vice presidents to identify the other $2 million in cost savings. Both are working simultaneously to evaluate possibilities for achieving this goal.

Work Group Updates

The seven work groups continue to meet and make great progress. We write today to provide a brief snapshot of each work group’s progress, including targets for financial savings.

Technology (Target: $1.5 million)  
Three subgroups are mapping existing software and hardware, reviewing outsourcing options, and evaluating campus-wide staffing and support models to identify efficiencies.

Procurement, Contracts, and Travel (Target: $1 million)
The group is reviewing proposed enhancements to current practices, exploring more efficient and cost-effective workflows, and assessing potential improvements to contracts, purchasing, travel, and reimbursement policies.

Organizational Assessment (Target: $5.5 million)
Work centers on job category alignment, outsourcing, and shared services analysis, and reviewing duplicative structures and spans of control, including opportunities connected to Workday.

Compensation & Benefits (Target: $3 million)
This group continues its review of medical captives and consortiums and 403(b) models at peer institutions and is evaluating impacts on equity, competitiveness, and long-term fiscal sustainability.

Academic Programs (Target: $2 million)
Two subgroups are discussing the development of program health criteria and a vision for a new third school, in alignment with Together We Rise. The group is also examining potential cost savings and cost avoidance related to standardized instructional/administrative policies (e.g., course caps, low enrollment thresholds, and administrative stipends/course releases).

Endowment (Target: $3 million)
Members are reviewing peer policies, assessing disbursement practices, and drafting an updated endowment distribution and spending policy, including improved training and planning for program managers.

New Revenue & Financial Aid (Target: $2 million)
Subgroups are reviewing opportunities in revenue generation (space use, continuing education, summer programs) and collaborating with our external partner, Human Capital Education, on refined aid and enrollment modeling.

The Steering Committee is using a refined set of criteria—financial impact, feasibility, strategic alignment, community impact, and equity—to evaluate recommendations as they come forward.

Gratitude

We are grateful for your efforts to increase University efficiency through position control measures, which will remain in place. The reductions to employee retirement contributions, which put us in line with peer institutions, are also helping our progress. Although the fiscal constraints put into place earlier this year to address a budget deficit are having a positive impact on our bottom line, we must maintain tight fiscal discipline. Please continue to avoid unnecessary expenditures as we work together to keep Loyola strong and positioned to invest in the future.  

Thank you to the members of the Steering Committee and the work groups. We appreciate your interest and participation in the process as we shape Loyola’s path forward together.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President

Kristy Michel, Vice President for Finance and Administration/Treasurer 

Operational Excellence Co-Chairs

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Administrators,

As we approach Christmas break and look ahead to 2026, we write with gratitude to all those working to achieve operational excellence for our University. The operational excellence work we are engaged in as a community is critical to addressing short- and long-term sustainability at Loyola as we write this next chapter of Loyola’s history together.

We are pleased to share that all seven operational excellence work groups are now formed, have finalized their objectives, and begun to meet. We’re working on an ambitious timeline and using an iterative process, meaning that schedules and plans will be adjusted as needed.

The full list of the co-chairs and members of the work groups is available on the Operational Excellence website. Co-chairs may invite additional community members to contribute as subject matter experts when necessary. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to assist.

Our aim is for the steering committee co-chairs to present initial recommendations to the President’s Cabinet in March and April, allowing time for these proposals to help shape the FY 2027 budget. However, we recognize that further research, consultation, and discussion will be needed before implementing some of these ideas. We are approaching this process with the necessary urgency, while also being sure we make thoughtful, data-driven, and well-considered decisions.

Thank you for the ways you are contributing to this important work for Loyola as we move forward together.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President  

Kristy Michel, Vice President for Administration and Finance/Treasurer

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Administrators, 

We write today with an update on the Operational Excellence initiative. We are grateful that more than 100 faculty, staff, and administrators responded to our request for volunteers to serve on work groups that will help us advance the goals of operational excellence as outlined in the ​​March 2025 Report​​.

At this point, the lead co-chair for each of the seven groups has been established, and additional co-chairs, work group members, and faculty steering committee members are being finalized. We will be reaching out to selected volunteers to serve as work group co-chairs and members this week and next. Once the work groups have been finalized, we will announce the full membership of each group on the Operational Excellence website.

Steering Committee Membership

With the conclusion of the work of the initial Operational Excellence Working Group last fall, we are now shifting the oversight of this initiative to a steering committee that will guide the effort. The steering committee will oversee the seven work groups and help to ensure strong coordination, as well as organize final recommendations for leadership decisions and implementation. The steering committee members are:

• Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president, co-chair​
• Kristy Michel, vice president for finance and administration/treasurer, co-chair​
• Stephanie Coldren, chief of staff, organizational assessment lead co-chair​
• Frank Golom, Ph.D., dean, Loyola College, academic programs lead co-chair​
• Jill Hecklinger, associate vice president and controller, endowment policy lead co-chair​
• Mary Ann Scully, dean, Sellinger School of Business and Management, new revenue and financial aid lead co-chair
• Rob Smith, chief information officer, technology lead co-chair​
• Jill Snodgrass, Ph.D., professor, theology, faculty representative for Loyola College
• Ravi Srinivasan, Ph.D., professor, operations management, faculty representative for Sellinger School of Business and Management
• Jennifer Watkinson, Ph.D., professor of counselor education, faculty representative for School of Education
• Nancy Wright, director of procurement, procurement lead co-chair​
• Kristi Yowell, associate vice president human resources and chief people and culture officer, compensation and benefits chair​ 

Work Group Charge and Timing

Each work group will have a faculty co-chair, and we will provide an additional update with details about the full work group membership in the near future. We have established charges, financial targets, and timelines for each work group. These charges and timelines will be further refined by each work group once they start meeting.

The overall cadence of the work is as follows:

November: First steering committee meeting and work groups launch
December: Each work group reviews the provided materials and drafts initial reactions to ideas laid out for cost savings
January – February: Work groups continue research and evaluation of recommendations
End of February: Final recommendations presented from work groups to Steering Committee for review
March: Steering Committee and Cabinet review alongside consultation with Subject Matter Experts
April: Final recommendations shared with co-chairs and president as well as the Cabinet and vice presidents
May: Final report released; community update 
Final Recommendations

We remain committed to frequent communications related to our Operational Excellence efforts, and we will provide periodic updates over the course of the academic year. We will also post updates on the Operational Excellence website.

The timeline for sharing final recommendations with the community is not set at this point, but we hope to be able to release some recommendations throughout the course of the spring semester as decisions are made.

Thank you for your interest and collaboration as we work to strengthen the long-term resilience and operational effectiveness of our University.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President

Kristy Michel, Vice President for Finance and Administration/Treasurer 

 

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Administrators,

We are excited to share with you an important opportunity to participate actively in our ongoing commitment to operational excellence. At the Sept. 24 town hall, President Sawyer highlighted the formation of dedicated work groups that will provide expert guidance, recommendations, and constructive feedback on a variety of proposals aimed at improving our University’s efficiency and effectiveness. These proposals address both cost-saving measures and new revenue-generating ideas, inspired by the research conducted after the March 2025 release of the Operational Excellence report.

We invite staff, administrators, and faculty members from across the University to volunteer for these work groups. Your diverse perspectives are critical as we work together to strengthen our community. Interested faculty members should respond to the call for volunteer process initiated by the Faculty Affairs Committee. Interested administrators and staff should sign up through this form.

The work groups and estimated time commitments are as follows:

1: Technology

• Review technology consolidation efforts, consider cost-saving measures like outsourcing, shared services, and student helpdesk roles.
• Estimated Time: Four 90-minute meetings (Nov–Feb) plus 1–2 hours of pre/post work.

2: Procurement, Contracts, and Travel

• Assess procurement policies and explore improvements in contracts, PCard use, and travel guidelines.
• Estimated Time: Four 90-minute meetings (Nov–Feb) plus 1–2 hours of pre/post work.

3: Organizational Assessment

• Conduct a comprehensive review of our organizational structure, focusing on service duplication, centralized vs. decentralized models, outsourcing, and vacancy management. Subgroups will address outsourcing, retirements/buyouts, and staffing structures.
• Estimated Time: 1–2 hours of meetings/work per week (Nov–Feb).

4: Compensation and Benefits

• The existing Compensation and Benefits Committee, chaired by Kristi Yowell, will evaluate recommendations for compensation, 403(b) contributions, healthcare costs, and staff stipends. No volunteers will be sought for this committee.

5: Academic Programs

• Review academic and co-curricular program optimization strategies.
• Estimated Time: 1–2 hours of meetings/work per week (Nov–Feb).

6: Endowment Policy

• Evaluate endowment policy and disbursement issues.
• Estimated Time: Four 90-minute meetings (Nov–Feb) plus 1–2 hours of pre/post work.

7: New Revenue and Financial Aid Optimization

• Review strategies to boost revenue and optimize financial aid.
• Estimated Time: Four 90-minute meetings (Nov–Feb) plus 1–2 hours of pre/post work.

The call for volunteers will close on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. All questions related to this work can be submitted to: operationalexcellence@loyola.edu.

We deeply appreciate your willingness to engage in this important process. Thank you for helping us move Loyola forward together!

Best regards,

Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President

Kristy Michel, Vice President Administration and Finance