Hello, friends! Happy new year!
I realize that it is September, not January, but at Marquette we greet the start of a new academic year with joy and enthusiasm equal to that of New Year’s Day! The beauty of working in education is that we get to begin anew each year, each semester and in each individual class when a unique group of students creates a learning community and culture all its own. To work at Marquette and experience this constant renewal is a true gift.
This fall also marks an exciting new chapter for our college as we officially welcome the School of Education into the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences! We could not be more pleased to embrace our Education colleagues, students, and alumni. I admire and respect the role that educators of all types — teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, and other school staff — play in shaping lives, strengthening communities, and building a better future for us all. We are proud that preparing teachers is now an integral part of our Arts & Sciences mission.
The stories in this issue offer wonderful examples of how the college extends learning well beyond the classroom. You’ll meet physicists and married couple, Drs. Karen Andeen and Tim Tharp, whose research takes Marquette students to the South Pole and the CERN particle physics accelerator in Switzerland. You’ll learn about Capacity Milwaukee, a new initiative that mutually benefits humanities students and community organizations by modeling how reciprocity and redistribution of skilled resources can help the city grow. You’ll also discover how Dr. Deirdre Dempsey’s interdisciplinary “Faith in Action” course, held at Marquette’s campus in Washington, D.C., through the Les Aspin Center, helps students explore Catholic Social Teaching, public service, and the common good through immersive experiences with faith-based organizations on Capitol Hill.
I find the work of our faculty, staff, and students to be a continual source of optimism and hope. The stories here illustrate the global reach of our Arts & Sciences mission through the work of our students, faculty, and of course, you—alumni who carry out Marquette’s Jesuit values in all you do.
Please share your stories with me: we’d love to feature them in our various communication venues. The impact of Arts & Sciences and Education graduates is rich: please join me in celebrating it!
With gratitude for your continued interest in and support of the college,
Dr. Heather Hathaway
Acting Dean, Klingler College of Arts & Sciences
