The Marquette College of Nursing had an action-packed year in 2023 with the opening of a new DE MSN facility, the formation of exciting new partnerships and accelerating construction on David A. Straz, Jr. Hall. Did you miss any of it? Well, look no further for a full recap.
January: Online graduate programs in nursing, computing ranked in top 25 nationally by U.S. News & World Report
The College of Nursing has long been a leader in hybrid educational offerings, and the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings confirmed that reputation. Marquette’s online nursing master’s program ranked 21st nationally and 14th in the Nursing Administration/Leadership specialty category.
February: Construction begins as nursing school prepares to move
The former home of Marquette Business, David A. Straz, Jr. Hall, will be the future home of Marquette Nursing! Announced in May 2021, renovation on Straz Hall began in early Spring semester of 2023 once its former occupants fully transitioned to their new building, Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall. The building is projected to open in Summer 2024, with the first classes to occur the following Fall.
March: Dr. Dora Clayton-Jones honored with Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award from Milwaukee Common Council
The Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award is awarded each March to a woman in Milwaukee with a track record of selfless service and improving the quality of life for city residents. That describes Dr. Dora Clayton-Jones, who was unanimously chosen for the award for her work combatting the impacts of sickle cell disease among local youth. Dr. Clayton-Jones also won several other honors this year; she was named one of Milwaukee’s notable healthcare leaders by BizTimes and was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing as a fellow.
April: Nursing students organize clothing drive for discharged hospital patients
Four students in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program wanted to make an impact that went beyond the walls of their hospitals. Emily Kilmer, Jillian Shirilla, Kayla Sallinger and Jillene Saler ran a clothing drive for patients living in poverty who might not have clean clothes to wear upon discharge from the hospital. The initiative was so successful that the AGPCNP curriculum will contain a final service project in the future.
President Michael R. Lovell announced in May that Marquette University received a $2.5 million gift from the Helene Fuld Health Trust that will bolster plans to renovate and build an addition for Straz Hall.
“This tremendous gift will help transform our facility, and it is also an investment in the future of nurses at a critical time,” President Lovell said.
June: Milwaukee teens get early start on nursing career
Addressing the nursing shortage and its local impacts is one of our college’s top priorities. We are excited to see educational institutions in Milwaukee and beyond coming up with innovative solutions to get more qualified nurses into practice. One of our students, freshman Chiann Walker, got her technical diploma in practical nursing from Milwaukee Area Technical College before she even graduated high school.
July: Marquette Telehealth Accelerator announces grant awardees
Since 2021, the Marquette Telehealth Accelerator supports research that improves the effectiveness of virtual health care. One of this year’s grant awardees, Dr. Jessica Zemlak, is a College of Nursing professor studying how this technology can be used to help marginalized women.
August: Marquette Nursing’s Dr. Lisa Thiemann wins Program Director of the Year award
The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology gave its 2023 Program Director of the Year award to Dr. Lisa Thiemann, the director of Marquette’s Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program. Dr. Thiemann joined Marquette in 2017 as the founding director of the NAEP, which just graduated its third-ever class in August of this year. Dr. Jay Tumulak, clinical assistant professor and associate director of the Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program, was inducted as an AANA fellow at the same meeting.
September: Construction on Straz Hall, college’s future home, accelerates
Straz Hall construction continues at pace; the new facility will be more than double the size of Clark Hall, the college’s current home.
“The university investment in this building is going to be transformational for the college,” says Jill Guttormson, dean of the College of Nursing. “I’ve had the chance to walk through the space and I’m incredibly excited to see what it’s turning into. Generations of students are going to benefit from this facility.”
October: DE MSN program in Pleasant Prairie moves to new home, enhances student experience
Straz Hall isn’t the only new facility in the College of Nursing! The college’s DE MSN program in Pleasant Prairie moved into a new building of its own that also provides for twice as much room, as well as enhanced lab spaces and student facilities. Students began using the facility at the beginning of the 2023 Fall semester in August, with a grand opening ceremony following in October.
November: Marquette Nursing to integrate electronic health records software into curriculum through collaboration with Epic
Marquette became the first undergraduate nursing school in the country to partner with Wisconsin-based Epic Systems, a nationwide leader in electronic health records software. Marquette Nursing is now integrating a classroom version of Epic’s industry-standard software into its curriculum, greatly improving students’ readiness for practice.
December: Dr. Amber Young-Brice named Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Dr. Amber Young-Brice will be the College of Nursing’s new associate dean of academic affairs effective on Jan. 2, 2024. Young-Brice has been with the college since 2012 and is an assistant professor with more than 15 years of teaching experience. Her research interests center around pedagogy and how non-cognitive factors influence student success.
