With 2022 coming to an end, the Office of University Relations reviews Marquette’s top 10 news media moments of the year based on the number of articles and national/regional prominence.
No. 10: Brewed Ideas Challenge
In a year in which the 707 Hub celebrated its five-year anniversary, one of its flagship programs, The Brewed Ideas Challenge, garnered attention for the innovative and socially impactful winners. The Brewed Ideas Challenge is an annual Shark Tank-style pitch competition hosted by the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Initiative in partnership with Brady Corporation. These projects earned the attention of local media.
- Nubian’s Way is a company that “creates and sells a high-quality, organic, all-natural Growth Serum and Butter Blend designed for coily, kinky hair.” The company won $7,500 for a third-year law student and is striving to help in making natural hairstyles more acceptable in professional environments, such as the courtroom. (WDJT-TV CBS 58, WTMJ-TV NBC 4)
- The mission of Marquette Career Closet is to benefit students on campus experiencing difficulty accessing professional clothes. Another $7,500 prize recipient, the Career Closet is a student-run nonprofit organization that collects gently used professional wardrobe donations. (Spectrum News, WITI-TV FOX 6)
No. 9: Co-hosting political debates with TMJ4
Marquette co-hosted four political debates with local TV station WTMJ (NBC 4) in 2022. The series started with the Milwaukee mayoral debate in March and then primaries for U.S. Senate and Wisconsin governor’s race in July. The final event featured the Democratic and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate race, an event that drew media interest from across the United States (CNN, NBC News) and several other countries, including China, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and France.
No. 8: Construction of the new home for Marquette Business and innovation leadership programs
The Marquette community has been eagerly anticipating the opening of Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall, the new home of Marquette Business and innovation leadership programs. Some faculty and staff have moved into the building with full occupancy expected in January 2023 ahead of the spring semester. Media like the Milwaukee Business Journal and Biz Times Milwaukee were given access to the building for a tour in October, getting a look at the facility as it nears completion.
No. 7: Tolkien exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art
Marquette University has been home to the J.R.R. Tolkien collection since the late 1950s, amassing a complete view of the celebrated author’s process as he built beloved worlds surrounding The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stories. For the first time, the collection was made available for public view on the Marquette campus. In a partnership between Raynor Memorial Libraries and the Haggerty Museum of Art, “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” opened in August for a two-month exhibition. Excitement was felt throughout the fandom and led to great coverage ahead of the opening from media, including at a media preview day (WITI-TV FOX 6, Spectrum News, WTMJ-TV TMJ4, WDJT-TV CBS 58). J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript runs through Dec. 23.
No. 6: New Faculty in Residence program
Dr. Heidi Bostic, dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education, worked with the Office of Residence Life to pilot a Faculty in Residence program, in which she and her husband, Dr. Stephen Pluháček, affiliated faculty member in the Department of Theology, moved into a campus apartment. They are working to forge community with their student neighbors and to encourage other faculty members to participate. Several media outlets featured the couple as they embarked on the initiative, culminating in several articles and stories—including a front-page feature in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and stories that aired on WUWM-AM and Spectrum News.
No. 5: Lemonis Center for Student Success
Marquette alumnus Marcus Lemonis made a splash on National Marquette Day, emerging from the student section at the Marquette Men’s Basketball game to announce a $15 million gift to create the Lemonis Center for Student Success. The impact on future Marquette students and the alum’s public profile made for a big splash with local and national media.
No. 4: Class of 2026 Move-In
One of the biggest media days on the Marquette calendar is also the biggest day for incoming first year students: Move-In Day. All told, every Milwaukee TV station, as well as a few newspapers and radio stations attended Move-In Day 2022, staging live interviews and check-ins throughout the morning while capturing the emotional day for news students and their families. Here are some links: WTMJ-TV NBC 4, WITI-TV FOX 6, WISN-TV ABC 12, WDJT-TV CBS 58, Telemundo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 620 WTMJ Radio and Catholic Herald.
No. 3: Living our mission and helping Afghan refugees
When the United States pulled troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, the impact was felt around the world as families fled the country and sought asylum elsewhere around the globe. As refugees landed in the United States, the Marquette community found a way to play its part in helping any way it could.
- Led by the Center for Peacemaking, efforts of local groups brought one family to Wisconsin for its patriarch, Basir Bita—a 36-year-old human rights activist, translator and longtime colleague of the Center for Peacemaking—to attend Marquette.
- As additional refugees found their way to Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin, volunteers from Marquette Law School’s pro bono legal clinic made the trek to the military base to assist in the legal maneuvering necessary to find asylum in this country.
These efforts caught the attention of national Catholic media outlets, with the National Catholic Reporter covering Bita’s journey and stories on law students at Ft. McCoy running in Crux and America Magazine.
No. 2: Marquette University Law School Poll celebrates 10th anniversary
The Marquette Law Poll celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022. Launched as the most ambitious public polling project in Wisconsin state history, the poll has established itself as the “gold standard” of polling in the state. As Wisconsin’s national prominence during election season has risen, so has the poll, capturing the attention of local, state and national media with each release. The rise of the poll and its anniversary was featured on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
No. 1: Commencement 2022 featuring Marquette legend Dwyane Wade
From a media standpoint, a typical academic year is bookended by the two biggest media events: Move-In Day (see #4) and Commencement. The Commencement address from one of Marquette’s most high-profile alumni garnered coverage from every part of the media landscape, including People Magazine, CNBC, Baller Alert, Black Enterprise, America Magazine, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WITI-TV FOX 6, WTMJ-TV NBC 4 and Telemundo.
