Loyola University and the War effort

In 1909, St. Ignatius College was renamed to Loyola University and moved to its current Lake Shore Campus on the Northside of Chicago shortly after. While the university was still relatively new and small when the First World War broke out in 1914, this did not stop it and its students from participating in the general war effort. Even though the United States did not officially join the war until April of 1917, Loyola University began to take steps to address the coming conflict. The medical department of Loyola University trained doctors to be ready for action. Students and faculty also became involved with the war effort by creating publications to document Loyola during the war and the experience of joining the Army. Even after the war ended Loyola was still effected, like the campus visit of Marshall Ferdinand Foch, the supreme commander for the allied forces during the war, in the 1920s.

It is agreed that, "...Insurance and military surgery be taught in the senior year subject to condition decided upon by the executive committee."

One of the first sections of Loyola University to respond to war breaking out in Europe was the medical department. Even before the United States was officially involved with the conflict in Europe, Loyola University began to adjust its medical school program to prepare for any possible conflict. The shift in the program came in the addition of classes and curriculum specifically targeted at war related injuries. In the minutes of the Council of Loyola University School of Medicine it is agreed upon that, “…Insurance and Military Surgery be taught in the Senior Year subject to condition decided upon by the executive committee and the heads of the Departments of Medicine and Surgery.”[1] This decision was made on August 24^th, 1916, almost eight months before the U.S. entry to the war. The curriculum adjustment was eventually confirmed on January 12^th, 1917, and it was decided that there would be 32 classes on Military Surgery beginning in 1917.[2] The leaders of the school were in dialogue with military leaders as well and adjusted their program to please the army. These changes included adjustments to curriculum to better suit military needs as well as administrative changes to increase efficiency.[3] The Loyola University School of Medicine seemed to be committed to helping the war effort in any way that it could and made many changes both before and during the war years to achieve that goal.

All members of Loyola University got involved with the war effort both by enlisting in the army and creating publications that kept students updated on both university and war related news. The Loyola University Magazine was a student publication that was shifted into The Loyola News once the war began. The News was created to keep students up to date on war related happenings both abroad and domestically and was also envisioned as a benefit to the war effort as an attempt to use less paper and ink. Conscription and the draft were used during the war years to increase the size of the armed forces and the students and faculty of Loyola University were not exempt. By the end of the First World War the size of the armed forces, “…Had reached 4.8 million, and three million of these were draftees.”[4] There is quite a bit of evidence that a large number of Loyola students and faculty served their country during the First World War. In one set of meeting notes from the Loyola University Medical School Council, a professor is given leave to go serve the United States, proof that faculty were involved in the war effort.[5] Administrators and professors were not the only ones who served in the armed forces during World War I. The Loyola News kept a running list of various Loyola students and alum who had been killed, wounded, or captured during either combat or other circumstances. Some Loyola students also recognized for distinguished service, such as Loyola Law School Alum Emmet Trainor. Trainor, “...In order to reconnoiter the positions held by the enemy, constantly exposed himself to the fire of machine gunners and snipers in order to secure this vital information.”[6] As well as having students who served overseas, Loyola housed many S.A.T.C. (Student Army Training Corps) soldiers near the end of the war. The S.A.T.C. was an alternative to R.O.T.C. and was used to train men to be soldiers while they were still receiving a college education. Right when the S.A.T.C. was created Loyola University housed 500 members of the organization.[7] The faculty and students of Loyola University were both heavily involved with the war effort in various ways during the conflict in Europe.

Created by Tommy Oswood

End notes and Bibliography

Header: Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections

[1] Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, August 24^th, 1916, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections.

[2] Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, January 12^th, 1917, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections.

[3] Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, May 10^th, 1918, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections.

[4] William E. Leuchtenburg, The Perils of Prosperity: 1914-1932 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958), 40

[5] Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, June 2^nd, 1917, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections.

[6] Loyola News Volume 1, Number 3: Saturday November 30, 1918, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola News Collection.

[7] Loyola News: Volume 1, Number 3

[8] Diary of the Vice President of Loyola 1887-1922, page 278, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola News Collection.

Diary of the Vice President of Loyola 1887-1922. Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola University Chicago

Leuchtenburg, William E. The Perils of Prosperity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958.

Loyola News Volume 1, Number 3: Saturday November 30, 1918. Loyola News Collection Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola University Chicago.

Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Kane Collection University Photos. Folder 24.

Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, August 24^th, 1916, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8. Stritch School of Medicine: Council, Committee, and Board records, 1911-1968. Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections.

Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, January 12^th, 1917, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8. Stritch School of Medicine: Council, Committee, and Board records, 1911-1968. Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola University Chicago.

Minutes of Council of Loyola University School of Medicine, May 10^th, 1918, UA1981, Box 1, Folder 8, Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. Loyola University Chicago.