Tracy Foxworth

About

Department/School/Division: Office of Research Services

Campus: Health Science

Years at Loyola: 32 (02/20/1989)

What is your favorite thing about working at Loyola? Loyola for me from the very beginning was a person-centered community. Loyola captures that university sense where learners and wisdom-seekers come to exchange ideas, worldviews, philosophies and a dynamism that supports the ideal of developing life-long learners. And, I would say the people I have worked with over the years have made this place an environment that fosters commitment, service, friendship and loyalty to the organization.

What is your most memorable achievement as a Loyola employee? I was granted the opportunity to participate in the Staff Immersion Trip to help the citizens of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. To date, my most memorable achievement has been being part of a group that didn’t know each other but worked together harmoniously toward a common goal to assist those in need as best we could. It was one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my adult life.

What does Loyola's mission mean to you? Ultimately, I think Loyola’s mission is academic excellence, but I think it goes much farther than that. I do not think we want to produce thinkers or career-driven people who leave the institution to go out to make lots of money. (That happens of course but it’s not necessarily the goal.) I think the mission is about educating people who will go out and make a difference in the world; people who will use their knowledge and education to add value and goodness to the society and make their communities a better place. That might all sound cliché, but the mission is about service, care, compassion and respect all of which the world and the planet needs. I’m not sure students or even faculty walk in here thinking that is their ultimate goal, but I think that’s the underlying message of the mission.

What motivates you to succeed each and every day? We all have to do our part to make the mission, the community and our ideals come to fruition. It is in doing my part that helps to make this place a community, an institution of values, service and excellence. I think we all have to work hard at creating that environment because there are energies out there militating against it. This is why working at a Jesuit Catholic educational institution attracts people from all backgrounds to put our gifts and talents to the mission and that communicates that we’re all in this together. I want to be a part of that.

Tell us how you show your Rambler pride: Basically, I show up. I always do my best for the students, staff and faculty. Showing up and doing your best makes every venture something you can be proud of. We can only give our best. Also, I wear my Rambler gear every chance I get.

Tell us something most people at Loyola would be surprised to know about you: I cannot swim but I climbed the Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica – half way! It was both a frightening and an exhilarating adventure. I took the stairs the rest of the way up.