Thank You, SVP Lane Bove
June 21, 2021
Dear LMU Community:
The end of an era is upon us: Elena “Lane” M. Bove, Ed.D., LMU's senior vice president for Student Affairs, one of the most impactful Lions in our university’s history, shared with us that she will retire on Jan. 7, 2022.
Since she arrived on the bluff as student body president of Marymount College at the time of the affiliation between Marymount and Loyola University in 1968, she has poured her heart, energy, intelligence, and talents into our institution. SVP Bove has been a pillar of the LMU community as a bold leader, thoughtful educator, effective administrator, tireless free speech champion, generous alumna and donor, dedicated fundraiser, and passionate community member with an enduring commitment to—and care for—our Lions and the LMU mission. The LMU of today reflects SVP Bove’s transformative contributions and dedication to student success.
SVP Bove began her work in education as a reading specialist from 1972-81 in the Palos Verdes Unified School District. Thereafter, she returned to LMU as director of the Learning Resource Center. SVP Bove earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Marymount College, a master's degree in education with a specialization in reading from Loyola University, and a doctorate in institutional management from Pepperdine University.
SVP Bove has worked closely with six LMU presidents over the course of her four-decade career. She has served in her current role since 1987, defining and continuously redefining, through her determination, persistence, and creativity, how we deliver the personalized student experience for which we are known. She has mentored, elevated, and invested herself in generations of students, colleagues, and alumni who credit her with shaping who they have become. As senior vice president, she has founded, developed, or overseen essential student development areas, including Student Employment Services, Student Health Services, Student Housing, Student Psychological Services, the Center for Service and Action, Student Life, Campus Recreation, Student Conduct and Community Responsibility, Ethnic and Intercultural Services, the Office for International Students and Scholars, Student Media, Career Development, and Division I Athletics.
Embodying cura personalis, SVP Bove’s career is in many ways a master class in leadership, and she has infused every aspect of her vocation with integrity and love, inspiring those who cross her path. Among the values that SVP Bove exemplified at LMU was a belief in students: When we believe in our students, they rise to the occasion. As a student body president, she led as Marymount College and Loyola University prepared to merge. As a student development professional, she helped our community heal amid the national spotlight of the Hank Gathers tragedy; she supported our students through the L.A. civil unrest in 1992; and she helped navigate us through crises and tumultuous times, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic and a national reckoning on racial justice. She has also improved access to mental health services.
SVP Bove’s legacy is reflected by our student and alumni leaders. Generations of ASLMU and GSLMU presidents, Loyolan editors, and Lions affirm the transformational influence she has had in their lives. Her trademark tough-love approach to advising students and colleagues has consistently placed the needs of the person and the university first.
Challenging our institution to live its mission with inclusion and equity, she has championed our underrepresented students, our LGBTQ+ community, our veterans, our Jewish and Muslim students, our Black, Latinx, and AAPI communities, and many others who benefited from her advocacy. The co-founding and development of The Learning Community (TLC) are among her proudest accomplishments. When sexual and interpersonal misconduct cases continued rising in higher education, SVP Bove innovated and gained national recognition for LMU CARES, which has set the standard for student safety, responsibility, and prevention. Her abiding support for women’s athletics enabled the program’s growth and success.
SVP Bove has been active in student development professional organizations, including: the West Coast Conference (president, 1992-2002), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Academic and Competition Cabinets), California Women in Higher Education, the Center for Excellence in Education, NASPA, and JASPA. She has received the Rev. Victor R. Yanitelli S.J. Award, the Lisa Leslie Inspiring Woman Award, and the Louis E. Ingelhart First Amendment Award.
As we look to the future, we will soon share details about our national search for our next senior vice president for Student Affairs. Until then, we look forward to honoring SVP Bove between now and January, including a retirement celebration in fall 2021.
We are indebted to SVP Bove for her unwavering loyalty to our students and mission, and we wish her the best on this purposeful new chapter of her life. We have been blessed to know Lane as our colleague and, though we will miss her wise counsel, friendship, and candor, her historic contributions render her forever an LMU legend.
With sincere appreciation and thanks,
Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President
Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost