Kevin Wildes

Who is Kevin Wildes?

Reverend Kevin William Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., is the current president of Loyola University New Orleans. He was formally installed as the school's 16th president on July 1, 2004.

During his second year in the position, he was charged with seeing the school through Hurricane Katrina. On April 10, 2006, President Wildes unveiled Pathways - Toward Our Second Century, Loyola's strategic plan in response to the university's 15 million dollar budget deficit 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 May 19, 2006. 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.

Prior to joining the Jesuits, Wildes was a boxer, a sport he continues as an amateur and a teacher. Wildes entered the Society of Jesus in 1976, and was ordained a priest in 1986, completing his vows in March 2004.