Thursday, May 28, 2026
Reception: 5:00 p.m. Conferral: 5:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Union, Lunda Dining Room and Henke Lounge
Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award
Dr. Joan Gygax Spicer, Nurs ’74, Grad ’76
Belmont, Calif.
In a notable career spanning five and a half decades, Dr. Joan Spicer has served as a nurse leader in health care operations and education, shaping nursing practice in her local community and in countries including China and Indonesia. She carried Marquette values with her. “Marquette instilled in me the belief that leadership is not only about technical expertise,” she says, “but also about moral courage, resilience and service to others.”
Professional Achievement Award
Colonel Jodelle Melander Schroeder, Nurs ’97
Delafield, Wis. and Falls Church, Va.
As the deputy corps chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Col. Jodelle Schroeder has relished the chance to Be The Difference in the lives of military nurses and service members. She will retire in May as second in charge of managing the Nurse Corps, concluding a 28-year military career that began at Marquette, where she was a nursing student and ROTC cadet.
Service Award
Jane Woleben Panther, Nurs ’87
Oconomowoc, Wis.
Although she is retired from full-time nursing, Jane Panther continues to share her expertise as a volunteer nurse at Kinship Community Food Center in Milwaukee. When the center is open for food distribution, Jane can be found in a spot known as Nurse’s Corner, taking shoppers’ vitals, listening to their health concerns and referring them for care. She credits Marquette for showing her the value of service.
Young Alumna of the Year Award
Angela Melchor Ortiz, Nurs ’10
Gurnee, Ill.
Angela Ortiz lives the Jesuit principle of cura personalis, or caring for the whole person, as an intensive care nurse at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Illinois. She feels honored to be at the bedside at intensely difficult moments in patients’ lives. “I love being a part of a team that comes together to promote healing, provide comfort and care for the whole person,” she says.
