Dear Alumni and Friends of Marquette Nursing,
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful summer with time for self-care and reflection. The 2023-24 school year promises to be an exciting one, both for the college and the university.
Construction on David A. Straz, Jr., Hall, the new home of Marquette Nursing, is progressing smoothly. We are still on schedule to move into the building in the summer of 2024. It seems as if every time I walk past Straz or take a hard-hat tour with donors, I notice something new that wasn’t there the week before; it’s exciting to see the college’s future literally coming together before my eyes. We have ambitious goals for the college’s growth — namely, training 5,000 new nurses over the next decade. Straz Hall is a crucial component in meeting that goal.
Straz isn’t the only building expansion to celebrate in 2023-24. We’ve moved into our renovated Pleasant Prairie building, which has roughly doubled in size. Pleasant Prairie hosts our hybrid prelicensure M.S.N. program, which provides an avenue for new nurses to enter the field. From hybrid learning models to deployment of augmented reality technology, the Pleasant Prairie program makes nursing education more accessible, and our newly renovated building will allow us to expand that mission.
The college continues to meet high standards; the undergraduate program was ranked this year in the top 8 percent of nursing schools by U.S. News & World Report. Prospective students have numerous options when choosing schools, so I’m pleased to see our college’s commitment to excellence in nursing education being recognized nationally.
At the root of our success, both present and future, is purpose. The best nurses get out of bed every morning driven by their commitment to Be The Difference. Marquette Nursing will always be proud to teach this profession to the next generation in accordance with Jesuit principles and our mission: caring for the whole person, advocating for the vulnerable, championing social justice, thinking critically and leading courageously. That has been the foundation of this program since its founding in 1936, and that’s what it will be long into the future.
As we enter this academic year, I am as hopeful as ever about the long-term direction of our college. The next 12 months has the potential to be a transformational time for Marquette Nursing, with impacts that will create positive change in our profession for years to come. I’m looking forward to working with you all to make that future a reality.
Sincerely,
Jill Guttormson
Dean of the College of Nursing
