Marquette University appreciates all who ensured the university’s successful support of the City of Milwaukee as it hosted the Republican National Convention last week. In line with the university’s commitment to serve as an engaged member of the Milwaukee community, Marquette collaborated with nonpartisan and bipartisan partners throughout the city to help position Milwaukee positively on the national and international stage, leading up to and during last week’s convention.
The university is grateful for the work of the Convention Steering Committee, which met for nearly two years to make programmatic, operational, safety and security, and revenue generation decisions related to the convention through a centralized process. The Convention Steering Committee extends its gratitude to colleagues across the university who contributed to this work, including Belonging and Student Affairs, Conference Services, Events Management, Facilities Planning and Management, Human Resources, Marquette University Law School, Marquette University Police Department, Office of the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Office of Finance, Office of General Counsel, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of Residence Life, Recreational Sports, Spirit Shop, Sodexo, Office of University Relations and University Special Events.
Proceeds from campus rentals going to student scholarships
Marquette hosted nearly 2,000 visitors on campus during the convention, including groups who rented space in the university’s residence halls and apartment buildings. Proceeds from these rentals will be used for student scholarships.
The university thanks all staff members who volunteered to check-in guests in the days leading up to the convention and worked early morning hours to check guests out at the end of the week.
Marquette faculty experts highlighted by media
Faculty experts on a variety of topics related to the convention and the presidential election spoke with media outlets from across the country and world. The Marquette Law School Poll, considered among the most reputable in the United States, was frequently cited as it has been throughout the entire election process.
In the weeks leading up to and during the convention, Marquette was featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, NBC News, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, MSNBC, L.A. Times and Forbes.
Local and national media outlets spotlighted campus in live shots, utilizing Marquette’s peaceful outdoor spaces as a backdrop as they reported back to audiences across the globe. Marquette engaged with media from six countries outside of the United States for coverage.
Between Saturday, July 13, and Friday, July 19, Marquette garnered over 500 media mentions, including nearly 250 from media outlets with an audience of over 100,000 viewers and readers.
Events bring visitors to campus
Marquette University Law School played host to WisPolitics’ “Purple Wisconsin: Once again a top swing state,” on Tuesday, July 16, a banquet featuring a panel moderated by New York Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury. The event included Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin, Democratic Strategist and Former Gov. Tony Evers’ Staffer Melissa Baldauff and GOP Strategist Keith Gilkes of Platform Communications. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker offered remarks before the panel.
Marquette also hosted events centered on educating media representatives leading up to the convention.
Marquette partnered with IJNet, the Foley Foundation, Northwestern University and the Committee to Protect Journalists for “Protest and Polarization: Covering the Republican and Democratic national conventions,” on Wednesday, July 10. Panelists discussed how to stay safe while reporting on demonstrations and how to effectively engage audiences on important election issues.
Marquette University Law School and its Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education presented “Battleground Wisconsin: Politics, Polls, and Perspectives” on Sunday, July 14. The event, which featured the Marquette Law School Poll team, detailed the state of Wisconsin politics for reporters visiting Milwaukee during the convention.
