“From Strength to Strength: Resiliency of the Global Majority Student Groups at LMU”
Introduction by Fr. Donald P. Merrifield, S.J. (from the 1972-1973 Master Plan)
Fr. Merrifield was the 11th president of Loyola University and the first president when Loyola University merged with Marymount College in 1973. He served as president from 1969-1984. Fr. Merrifield "...oversaw financial aid initiatives, the creation of scholarships and recruiting drives to increase the presence of students of color on campus. Under his leadership, the university set up its first support services office for minority students and added to the curriculum courses on African American and Chicano/Latino studies. Merrifield was instrumental in the formation of the Mexican American Alumni Association in 1981" (Lawton, 2010, para. 4).
Source: Lawton, Robert B. (2010, February 25). In memoriam: Donald P. Merrifield, S.J. LMU. https://www.lmu.edu/memoriam/donaldpmerrifieldsj/
The Merger (from the 1972-1973 Master Plan)
The merger between Loyola University and Marymount College and the challenges and opportunities involved.
LMU's Commitment to the Minority Students
LMU's Commitment to the Minority Students, December 11, 1981
President Merrifield wrote a letter to the Jesuit faculty and staff confirming (again) the university's commitment to the students of the global majority.
President Merrifield's letter to the Loyolan Editor, Michael R. Steed, April 16, 1970
The letter is the president's response to the changes LMU experienced with the acceptance of increased Black and Mexican-American students, staff, and faculty.
Short Statement of Minority Financial Aid, February 3, 1970
This is one of many documents in the university's archives that reflects the ongoing conversations on providing financial aid support to students of the global majority. The conversations also involved finding ways and methods to ensure the sustainability of financial aid for these group of students. These conversations involved university administration and the students.
Black Student Groups
Black Students Freedom Alliance (B.S.F.A.), 1976-1977
Why a Black Students Freedom Alliance (B.S.F.A.)?, n.d.
Black Student Union (BSU)
Chicano/a/Mexican American Student Groups
La Raza
MEChA
MECha student leadership developed a proposal of a grant that would, in time, be renamed as the Chicano Leadership Grant (CLG).
Loyola Marymount MEChA Letter to Mr. Larry Braxton, Financial Aid Director, November 8, 1974
LMU's Board of Trustees approved the Chicano Leadership Grant (CLG). MEChA responds upon receiving the news.
