Dear alumni and friends of the College of Health Sciences,
Welcome to the first digital issue of Marquette Health Sciences. This new way of storytelling will deliver outstanding, personal stories of the work students, faculty and staff perform in the college and be sent right to your email inbox multiple times each year. We hope you enjoy the new format!
The 2023-2024 academic year has been exciting from the beginning as the Marquette University Speech and Hearing Clinic celebrated its 100th anniversary. Opening in 1923, founder and Marquette faculty member William R. Duffey set the stage for an illustrious and ongoing commitment to hands-on education for speech pathology students. Currently over 180 students in the Speech Pathology program work in the clinic each semester to transform the lives of its patients while simultaneously preparing to become outstanding providers themselves. The centennial celebration brought back alumni from almost all 10 decades following the clinic’s inception and allowed current and former students as well as former clinic directors to share watershed experiences and stories on how they learned to Be The Difference in the clinic.
The Speech and Hearing Clinic wasn’t the only anniversary celebration this year, as Global Brigades celebrated its 20th anniversary as well. Founded by this year’s commencement speaker Dr. Shital Vora, H Sci ’04, PT ’06, Global Brigades has generated life-altering experiences both for volunteering students and the residents of rural Central America it served. Barb Burja, the college’s records coordinator and leader of the Marquette Global Brigades chapter, recalls how the organization grew from its humble beginnings in the basement of Schroeder Complex to become the world’s largest student-driven movement for sustainable development.
Because CHS faculty members are always eager to find ways to use their expertise in the community, we have taken the opportunity to highlight several faculty members and their roles in Milwaukee in assisting those in need. This service not only keeps their clinical skills sharp but also sets an example for our students to model a lifelong commitment to service.
A final story chronicles the first-ever cohort of our Occupational Therapy Doctoral program that graduated last summer. This inaugural cohort started in the fall of 2020 amidst the early months of the COVID pandemic and persevered through uncertain times to attain their degrees with supportive faculty members by their side as a guiding presence the entire way. In only its fourth year, our OT program has strong momentum, having recently earned a maximum accreditation term of seven years and achieving its first-ever U.S. News & World Report ranking within the top third of all programs!
I hope you enjoy the first digital issue of Marquette Health Sciences. Please share with us any story ideas you’d like to see covered as we continue to educate the next generation of mission-driven leaders and continue to advance the science that heals.
Warm regards,
Dr. William E. Cullinan
Dean and Professor
College of Health Sciences
Marquette University
