has reached across campus. When he heard
that the physics department was struggling
to attract new students, he proposed a
course called “The Physics of Music,” and
now every semester the course has a waiting list. In the philosophy department, he
proposed “The Ethics of Art and Music,”
and it is one of the most popular courses at
Loyola. The same is true with his new
course in the English department, “Writing
about Music and the Arts.”
PHOTOS BY JACKSON HILL
‘John’s office is
always chaotic
because his door
is never closed
and students are
always in there
telling him about
a new CD they
just heard or
asking him for
advice. He
makes himself
available at all
times and never
shuts anyone
out. He trusts
students, and we
all trust him
in return, and
he is incredibly
inspiring.’
Alexandra Grant
Loyola senior
At top, Snyder in his
office with students,
from left, Ashley
Fallon, Viriana
Provost and
Alexandra Grant.
Above, the Loyola
Communications/
Music Complex.
to it. Also, he always keeps his cool, even if
plans fail and things get crazy. He starts
thinking about the next step. He teaches us
that when things fail, it is a new opportunity. Working with him has been the best
experience I’ve had at Loyola.”
Snyder casually oozes ambitious ideas.
Since arriving at Loyola in 2004, his impact
Challenging the old model
Snyder also is taking a special interest in
expanding Loyola’s role in helping New
Orleans recover from Katrina by helping
buttress the musical core of the city. Within
three weeks of the hurricane, he had engineered a program to make 30 of Loyola’s
courses available on the Internet so displaced students wouldn’t fall too far
behind.
Says Loyola’s associate provost Brenda E.
Joyner, “John has a vision and has been
diligent in working to turn that vision into
reality. He has been a terrific example of an
academic entrepreneur. His outreach has
had an energizing effect throughout the
university.”
One of Snyder’s biggest accomplishments
came last year when, against enormous
odds, he convinced the influential Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to forego offers
from the Ivy League and move its important
educational wing from Los Angeles to relatively little-known Loyola.
“I liken it to missionary work,” Snyder
said. “The institute came to a city that people are abandoning. It shows the institute
cares. New Orleans needs the Monk Institute more than the rich Ivy Leagues, and
they just needed to hear that argument. It
fits with the spirit of the music, with Loyola’s commitment to community service.”
Snyder has ambitious goals to continue
to grow the new department of music and
entertainment arts at Loyola and to bring
the educational products and services to the
public using the Internet and public access
television channels. He sees the creative life
as having an opportunity to transform the
culture. He believes it is a moral issue.
“If you perceive the day as a new day,
then it will be a new day. The artist has a
certain freedom of imagination. I want to
extend that way of thinking to other areas,
to blend them with law, business, science
