Marquette is participating in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Mission Priority Examen process during the 2025-26 academic year, culminating with a site visit in 2027. The Mission Priority Examen provides space and structure for each Jesuit college and university to undertake serious discussions about how they understand and live out their mission, establish goals for the future, and set forth new or renewed means of realizing those goals in the years to come.
President Kimo Ah Yun has named two co-chairs to lead the university’s Mission Priority Examen efforts: Dr. Stephanie Quade, retired dean of students, and Bill Fliss, manuscripts archivist in Raynor Library.
Quade co-chaired Marquette’s last Mission Priority Examen during the 2019-20 academic year during which the university received a positive evaluation. Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, called Marquette “one of the strongest universities in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities network in the United States.”
“Reflecting deeply on our Jesuit mission in the spirit of St. Ignatius is one of the most important exercises we as a university community can undertake,” President Ah Yun said. “I have great confidence that Dr. Quade and Dr. Fliss will lead this Mission Priority Examen thoughtfully and contemplatively so that Marquette can reaffirm our mission and set mission-oriented goals for the future.”
Quade and Fliss will partner with Rev. John Thiede, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, to form a steering committee. The committee and eventual working groups will gather input from the campus community and other stakeholders during the spring 2026 semester and help draft the university’s findings from the self-study. The draft will be finished by the end of the fall 2026 semester. A team of peer visitors will come to campus in 2027 to meet with key individuals, including President Ah Yun, leadership teams and campus groups to gather their own feedback.
Watch Marquette Today for updates and opportunities to participate in the Mission Priority Examen process.
