Kevin Wildes

Reverend Kevin William Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., (born September 27, 1954) is the current president of Loyola University New Orleans. He was formally installed as the school's 16th president on 2004-07-01. [cite news |url= http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20040913/ai_n10175803 |title= Interview with new president of Loyola Univ. |first= Deon |last= Roberts |work= New Orleans CityBusiness |date= 2004-09-13 |page= 1 |accessdate= 2007-02-10]

During his second year in the position, he was charged with seeing the school through hurricane Katrina. [cite news |url= http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-01-09-new-orleans-universities_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA |title= New Orleans universities seeing real homecoming |first= Anne Rochell |last= Konigsmark |work= USA Today |date= 2006-01-10. |page= A1 |accessdate= 2007-02-10] [cite news |url= http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_2_42/ai_n16100803 |title= Loyola New Orleans digging in for next semester |first= Jason |last= Berry |work= National Catholic Reporter |date= 2005-10-28. Vol.42, Iss. 2 |page= 19A |accessdate= 2007-02-10] On 2006-04-10, President Wildes unveiled "Pathways - Toward Our Second Century", Loyola's strategic plan in response to the university's 15 million dollar budget deficet following Hurricane Katrina. The proposal restructured the academic colleges of Loyola and included program and personnel cuts. The Pathways plan encountered opposition from the university community. The Board of Trustees however unanimously approved and passed the plan in a meeting on Friday, 2006-05-19. [cite news| url= http://media.www.loyolamaroon.com/media/storage/paper542/news/2006/05/19/News/Some-Students.Faculty.Protest.University.Restructuring-2012539.shtml| title=Some students, faculty protest university restructuring |accessdate=2006-11-20 |last= Brown |first= Kelly |date= 2006-05-19 |work= [http://www.loyolamaroon.com The Maroon] ] On 26 September 2006, the faculty of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences, the largest college, voted "no confidence" in President Wildes with 76% of voting faculty supporting the measure. [ cite news |first=Lindsey |last=Netherly |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A lack of confidence; A significant majority of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences faculty have voiced their lack of confidence in Loyola's president and provost |url=http://media.www.loyolamaroon.com/media/storage/paper542/news/2006/10/06/News/A.Lack.Of.Confidence-2334353.shtml |work=Loyola Maroon |publisher= |date=2006-10-06 |accessdate=2008-07-15 ]

Prior to joining the Jesuits, Wildes was a boxer, a sport he continues as an amateur and a teacher.cite news |url= http://georgetownvoice.com/2004-04-29/news/two-titans-of-georgetown-to-leave |title= Two titans of Georgetown to leave |first= Claire |last= D'Emic |coauthors= Dan Joyce |date= April 29, 2004 |accessdate= 2008-06-09 |work= [http://georgetownvoice.com/ The Georgetown Voice] ] [cite news |url= http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4977604 |title= Catholic Magazine Calls Boxing 'Merciless, Inhuman' |first= Mike |last= Pesca |date= October 27, 2005 |work= National Public Radio |accessdate= 2008-06-09] Wildes entered the Society of Jesus in 1976, and was ordained a priest in 1986, completing his vows in March 2004. He holds advanced degrees in theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in philosophy from Fordham University and Rice University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1993. [cite web |url= http://learn.uvm.edu/legal/?Page=presenters.html#wildes |title= Legal Issues in Higher Education Conference |accessdate= 2007-02-10 |date= 2006-08-16] Before taking his current position, he worked at Georgetown University where he was a chaplain in residence, beginning his tradition of living in the student residences, and an important advocate for fund raising for the school. His weekly informal masses in his residence attracted a loyal following among students.

As an author, he has published numerous works on ethics and morality, especially in the field of bioethics which he has lectured widely on. [cite web |url=http://www.loyno.edu/presidentsoffice/wildbio.html |title= The Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., President |accessdate=2007-02-10 |date= 2007-01-31] He has been called upon to give analysis on bioethics issues on nightly talk shows in Washington, and on 1997-07-22 to testify before the House Committee on Sciences on the topic of human cloning. [cite web |url= http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/science/hsy203170.000/hsy203170_0.HTM |title= The Prohibition of Federal Government Funding of Human Cloning Research |date= Tuesday, 1997-07-22 |accessdate= 2007-02-10] He is Associate Director and a Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and frequent contributor to its journal. He served as an editor of four compendiums of bioethics essays, such as "Choosing Life: A Dialogue on Evangelium Vitae". In 2000, he published "Moral Acquaintances: Methodology in Bioethics", his most successful work to date.

List of Works

*"Moral Acquaintances: Methodology in Bioethics". South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press; 2000. ISBN 0-2680-3452-4.

References