GRADUATE STUDY a major step forward

BY STEPHEN FILMANOWICZ

During Marquette’s first 40 years, graduate study was a case-by-case affair handled by individual departments. Outside of professional programs such as law and dentistry (established starting around the 25-year mark), advanced degrees were awarded at the rate of less than three per year.

But big changes came in 1922–23 when President Albert Fox, S.J., established the Graduate School to bring consistent, measurable standards to graduate study. Even with an enrollment of just 14 that first year, Marquette had one of the first graduate schools at a U.S. Jesuit institution. The Graduate School has gone on to award more than 29,000 advanced degrees.

“Father Fox showed great foresight 100 years ago,” President Michael R. Lovell says. “The creation of the Graduate School was a big step in Marquette becoming a national university known for excellence in research and teaching.” Not surprisingly, the centenary of the Graduate School’s founding has been a cause for celebration. There’s been a campus forum on the future of graduate education, a special graduate student research poster session and colorful banners on light poles honoring a distinguished graduate from each of the school’s 10 decades.

Adding to the positive mood is the state of graduate study at Marquette. After a decade of gently declining numbers, Graduate School enrollment has increased 30 percent since 2016. That’s when Lovell initiated the separation of graduate study and research into distinct units, each headed by a cabinet-level leader. The move proved bullish for research too, where federally funded research expenditures have grown 70 percent in seven years.

For the Graduate School, winning strategies have included expanded and better targeted marketing, flexible online and hybrid academic programs, and an incubator that provides incentives for departments to launch high-quality graduate programs in areas of promising demand.

“We’re optimistic about the next 100 years,” says Dr. Douglas Woods, dean of the Graduate School. “Where there’s emerging demand and a good fit with the university’s mission, we’re eager to respond with new and improved programs.” ¤