Marquette University has received a $7.5 million gift from the Richard L. Boland Love for Life Foundation, Inc., (aka the Betty and Dick Boland Foundation) to endow the Institute for Natural Family Planning in the College of Nursing.
“This gift is a wonderful reflection of our collaboration between Marquette University and the global Catholic Church,” President Kimo Ah Yun said. “We are grateful to the Boland Foundation for ensuring our Natural Family Planning Institute continues its impactful work far into the future.”
In recognition of the foundation’s leadership gift, Marquette will rename the Boland Institute for Natural Family Planning. Marquette is the only university in the United States to have an institute that provides a natural family planning (NFP) teacher training program for practicing health professionals.
The institute’s team of health care professionals integrates the latest hormonal monitoring technology in its NFP method to help couples achieve or avoid pregnancy during all reproductive circumstances. The Marquette Method of NFP (MM NFP) fertility charting system uses an algorithm to help women and couples find their fertile window by interpreting biological signs of fertility. The Institute is developing a fertility app system to help women document their biological signs of fertility.
The “Marquette Method” is currently being taught by NFP teachers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Mexico and Uganda. The institute recently received an “Edge Runner” Award from the American Academy of Nursing, which recognizes and supports innovative nursing practices that have the potential to significantly improve health care outcomes, promote the advancement of nursing and drive system-wide change.
A model of academic excellence
Launched more than a quarter-century ago, the institute conducts globally recognized research and collaborates with the Catholic Church across local, state and international NFP programs. For more than 20 years (1998 to 2021), Marquette’s Boland Institute for NFP was led by program director and professor emeritus Dr. Richard Fehring, RN, FAAN. Fehring is internationally recognized as a NFP and Fertility Awareness Based Methods researcher and collaborates with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has approved Marquette’s NFP method for its teacher training programs.
Current program director Dr. Mary Schneider, APRN, FNP-BC, MMCP, has worked in the Boland Institute since 1998, specializing in postpartum breastfeeding transition to fertility. She and Spanish coordinator and teacher Susana Crespo, BSN, MMCP, alongside Dr. Fehring have assisted in training, research and innovative NFP services for couples since 1998.
“The Boland Institute for Natural Family Planning is a model of excellence,” said Dr. Jill Guttormson, MS, RN, dean of Marquette’s College of Nursing. “This significant gift builds on the Institute’s strong foundation of nearly three decades of training practicing health care providers and conducting world-class research.”
The foundation’s leadership gift follows its $700,000 gift given in May 2024. That gift launched the 2024 INFP Uganda Effectiveness Study, a unique collaboration among Marquette University, Masaka Diocese, Kampala Archdiocese and the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau. The Uganda study is researching the effectiveness of the Marquette Model of Natural Family Planning as a method to avoid pregnancy and determine satisfaction and ease of use among couples using the method in Uganda.
“As we look ahead to our bright future, we recognize that our philanthropic partners continue to play a central role in driving progress,” said Vice President for University Advancement Tim McMahon. “We are thankful to the Boland Foundation for their belief in our mission and for the ways they have built off their previous gifts to establish a sustainable endowment.”
