FAQs

The goal of the Operational Excellence initiative is to build upon what we learned from previous Loyola initiatives, including the results of past community-wide surveys, listening sessions, and strategic planning efforts, to identify opportunities that will position us for success for our students and our University community. This work is directly linked to our strategic plan, which seeks to create a culture of Operational Excellence across the University.

We are motivated by our desire to solidify the operational footing for the University. We recognize that the business of higher education is changing and that we must strive to be proactive rather than reactive in the face of those changes. For Loyola, the time to be proactive is right now, and this work will ensure that we have the resources, time, and people to execute our strategic goals.

After conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the University’s operations, Huron Consulting Group (“Huron”) will deliver a set of recommendations aimed at advancing the University’s institutional positioning, resource efficiency, operational maturity, and financial resiliency. These recommendations will span our academic, organizational, and financial structures, identifying strategies for increasing revenues and setting the University on a more sustainable path.

There are multiple avenues for community involvement in this process. President Sawyer, Provost Moore-Thomas, and Interim Vice President for Finance Francis hosted a Town Hall on September 26th to introduce the Operational Excellence initiative and opened the floor to questions. You can view the recording on the operational excellence website here. 

Additionally, all community members are welcome to submit feedback or ideas through an online submission form available through the Operational Excellence website. Submissions will only be viewable by the Huron team who will aggregate responses thematically when sharing out to Loyola leadership.

Transparency and communication are essential components of the success of this initiative. We will post updates at key milestones on the Operational Excellence website for the community to follow our progress.

We started the Operational Excellence initiative in August by providing Huron with initial data and convening the working group for a kick-off meeting. We then began substantive work on this initiative when faculty returned at the end of August. Huron will present recommendations to the leadership in December 2024 and then we will determine the best next steps.

Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Sean Francis, interim vice president for finance will oversee this process. A sub-set of the University’s Budget Committee has been asked to partner with Huron throughout this initiative. This Working Group includes members from faculty, staff, and student leadership to ensure that all constituencies are represented. 

The Operational Excellence initiative is intended to lay the groundwork for the University’s future and the successful execution of our strategic plan, Together We Rise. We have faced challenging budget conversations in the past and believe we need additional options for creating a stronger and more resilient institution. We’ve engaged Huron as an external partner because they understand the higher education landscape, best practices for organizational improvement, and will be a valuable resource in identifying opportunities that we may not have otherwise considered.

After a competitive and discerning search, we selected Huron Consulting Group as our external partner for this process. In addition to bringing a wealth of expertise in higher education, Huron displays a significant and nuanced understanding of our culture at Loyola, especially in our desire to be communicative, collaborative, and transparent. The Working Group and Cabinet will work with Huron to conduct a comprehensive review of the University’s operations.

The Operational Excellence initiative is an essential component of how we implement our strategic plan, Together We Rise, which calls for the institution to engage in operational and digital transformation and highlights operational excellence as one of our guiding commitments. This work will help us realize our desire to foster a culture of change and operational excellence across the University. By identifying opportunities for growth, as well as key enhancements to the way we operate, we will become a more resource-efficient, operationally mature, and financially resilient institution that has the necessary resources to execute our strategic initiatives.

The Working Group will conduct an initial prioritization of Huron’s recommendations and submit that prioritization and associated guidance to the President’s Cabinet. The President’s Cabinet will vet and prioritize Huron’s recommendations, considering alignment of recommendations to our core values and the goals of the strategic plan. The President and Cabinet members will appropriately consult with managers and teams who may be impacted by some of the recommendations, so all perspectives are heard. The President, with the advice of the appropriate Vice President, will ultimately decide which recommendations to pursue and will then work with those impacted to determine the best approach for implementation. Where appropriate, we will use our governance processes to approve changes that fall within their purview.

Huron will be collecting and analyzing a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data to inform recommendation development, including human resource, financial, academic, and enrollment data, as well as key reports and findings from previous strategic planning initiatives and external evaluations. Huron will also be conducting interviews with university leaders and the Student Government Association to further their knowledge of Loyola’s culture and opportunities for improvement. This comprehensive scope of data analysis and information gathering will ensure that recommendations are tailored to the University and provide actionable insight.

We are not entering this process with the pre-determined goal of using workforce reduction as a means of achieving operational excellence. The focus is on identifying strategic recommendations that will allow the University to be a more efficient, effective, and mission-oriented institution.  If recommendations arise that impact positions, we will carefully evaluate the recommendation and align our decisions with our values of cura personalis and cura apostolica.

The project manager is your best point of contact for questions about the Operational Excellence initiative. Please contact Steph Brizee (shbrizee@loyola.edu) with any questions or concerns.