Mary Czech-Mrochinski, senior director of public affairs, has been named Marquette’s next associate vice president for governmental affairs, General Counsel and Vice President for University Relations Ralph Weber announced today. Czech-Mrochinski, who has been serving in the role on an acting basis since Rana Altenburg’s retirement in January, will start in the new role immediately.
Czech-Mrochinski joined Marquette in 2000 as director of state relations. Prior to that, she served as a policy analyst and research assistant specializing in higher education, health care, tax, economic development and utility issues for multiple elected officials in the Wisconsin State Legislature.
“In just three months since stepping into the lead role, Mary began a new initiative at the federal level regarding graduate student financial aid and is working on vital safety improvements with key community and government partners,” Weber said. “And she did so with a high degree of collaboration among all key partners. Mary’s creativity, experience, persistence, and commitment to our mission make her highly effective. We are fortunate to have her become our next associate vice president for governmental affairs.”
“I am blessed to work with so many internal and external colleagues and leaders dedicated to a life of service to help make our campus, Milwaukee community, the State of Wisconsin, and our country a better place,” Czech-Mrochinski said. “I am humbled to serve the university in this new capacity, but I will remain ‘Marquette Mary.’”
As senior director of public affairs, Czech-Mrochinski worked with national and Wisconsin-based higher education organizations to secure more than $135 million annually for student financial aid funding at the federal and state levels for Marquette’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Additionally, she has worked collaboratively with internal and external partners to secure over $20.8 million in unique and innovative Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Funded Projects since FY22.
Czech-Mrochinski has advanced the Marquette University School of Dentistry in Wisconsin, securing funding for the school, including $20.75 million in unique one-time capital funding through the Wisconsin State Building Commission in three state budget bills; $5 million in one-time funding to support the creation of a dental general practice residency program; and more than $5.6 million in annual appropriations to support clinical and rural dental operations, and resident student tuition scholarships. Czech-Mrochinski is a 2025 inductee for honorary membership in the Marquette University School of Dentistry’s Omicron Kappa Upsilon’s Xi Chapter, a national dental honor society.
A recipient of the Marquette University Excellence in Service Award in 2021, Czech-Mrochinski served as co-chair of the university’s nonpartisan and bipartisan efforts to support the City of Milwaukee hosting the Democratic National Convention in 2020 and the Republican National Convention in 2024, while securing over $4 million to support student scholarships. Additionally, she provided leadership on the university’s COVID-19 Response Team, assisted in securing nearly $40 million in institutional and student related funding, and advancing policy during the pandemic.
Czech-Mrochinski is a two-time Marquette alumna, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science in 1992 and 1994, respectively.
