James Loughran Resigns as Loyola’s President

The Rev. James N. Loughran, president of Loyola Marymount University, submitted his resignation this week after seven years at the helm of the largest Catholic university in the Los Angeles area.

The surprise announcement, effective at the end of the summer term in August, came in an address to the Board of Trustees Monday night and in an open letter to the community the next day. Loughran said he believes “a fresh surge of energy” is needed as the 77-year-old university pursues ambitious campus expansion plans.

Loughran, 50, was a professor of philosophy and dean at Fordham University in New York City before coming to Loyola in 1984. A 128-acre campus located in the Del Rey hills in Westchester, Loyola serves 3,900 undergraduates and has become known in recent years as a basketball powerhouse.