Dr. Maura Donovan, vice president for economic engagement, has announced her plan to leave the university at the end of February to pursue other interests and spend more time with family.
Donovan was recruited in December 2018 as Marquette’s first vice president for corporate engagement, and her appointment marked the opening of a new Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships. A year later, the Offices of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships and Community Engagement united to form the Office of Economic Engagement (OEE) and Donovan became the vice president for economic engagement.
Under Donovan’s leadership, the economic engagement team developed and pursued a strategic plan focused on enhancing and streamlining the ways in which Marquette works with community and corporate partners. A few notable accomplishments include creating and leading the Council for Corporate Engagement to enable integrated, cross-university corporate engagement; launching an innovative Faculty Externship Program that pairs Marquette faculty with regional corporate and community partners for short-term immersive experiences that strengthen mutual understanding and collaboration; redesigning the President’s Challenge grant program to respond to immediate community needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; formalizing data capture and utilization to strengthen partnership objectives; and facilitating ongoing collaborative success of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.
Donovan is thankful for the time spent at Marquette. “I feel fortunate to have gotten to know this university and the greater Milwaukee community and privileged to have been able to build the Office of Economic Engagement team,” she said.
“In a relatively short period of time, the Office of Economic Engagement has seen success in developing more holistic off-campus collaborations and partnerships for community impact,” President Michael R. Lovell said. “Maura partnered with leaders across campus and invited input from Milwaukee-area business and community leaders to ensure that Marquette’s engagement efforts are well positioned for ongoing success.”
At President Lovell’s request, Donovan has agreed to remain at Marquette until the end of February to assist in the transition of the leadership in the Office of Economic Engagement.
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