Marquette University will celebrate 90 years of training courageous, caring nurses in 2026. Originally founded in 1936 as the State of Wisconsin’s first four-year Bachelor of Science in nursing program, the Marquette College of Nursing has educated tens of thousands of nurses across nine decades and 11 deans.
“Our college is proud to be a cornerstone of health care both in Milwaukee and across the country,” said College of Nursing Dean Dr. Jill Guttormson. “Marquette nurses are recognized as leaders at the bedside, in public health, in nursing education and in health care policy. The Marquette Nurse’s ability to think critically, care for the whole person and advocate for the vulnerable has made an indelible mark upon the world.”
The history of nursing at Marquette goes back even further than the formal establishment of the college. In 1912, Marquette acquired the Trinity Hospital Training School for Nursing and began offering a three-year nursing certificate. Over two decades later, the university integrated Trinity into a formal college, with Sister Berenice Beck as its first dean.
Other significant moments in the college’s history include becoming the first in the state to offer master’s degrees in 1939, the establishment of its nurse practitioner and nurse midwifery programs in 1993, the opening of its Institute for Natural Family Planning in 1998 and the start of the doctoral program in 2003.
The college now resides in David A. Straz, Jr. Hall, which opened in Fall 2024. The 103,000-square-foot building is home to nearly 900 undergraduate students. Marquette Nursing also educates nearly 600 graduate students between its main campus in Milwaukee and its satellite location in Pleasant Prairie, Wis.
“The demand for health care workers is only going to rise, and Marquette is well-positioned to do its part in meeting that demand for years to come,” Guttormson said. In addition to the college’s anniversary celebration, its Direct Entry Master of Nursing program admitted its 20th Pleasant Prairie cohort in Spring 2026. Marquette started the DE MSN in 2016 as a way for non-nurses to switch careers. The Pleasant Prairie branch of the program operates out of a new facility that opened in 2023.
“Offering quality education to people who want to change careers is an important step toward alleviating the nursing shortage and providing all patients with quality care,” said Dr. Karen Robinson, assistant dean of graduate programs. “The DE MSN program now has a proven track record of accomplishing that goal, and I look forward to it continuing to do so.”
