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March 2025
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students in the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences,
March brings signs of hope, among them our persistence through midsemester, winter’s
wane, the increased sunshine and a welcome spring break. Such signs have arrived in
abundance this year. During this Women’s History Month, I’ve been reflecting upon
women’s leadership from a Catholic and Jesuit educational perspective. The Society
of Jesus has created a remarkable online resource about women leading Ignatian ministries. The site is a powerful testimony to the
effect of role models and the importance of an example to help others broaden their
minds about what type of leader may be eligible for what kind of role. Beyond Jesuit
institutions, another useful resource is the American Council on Education’s Moving the Needle initiative, which seeks to achieve gender parity and diversity in higher education
leadership. Here on our campus, the Institute for Women’s Leadership and the Association of Marquette University Women are among the groups carrying out similar work. Personally, I’ve been blessed to
participate in a Catholic Women Leaders series on Leadership from the Saints, sponsored
by the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Hales Corners. This month’s speaker was Marquette alumna and former colleague
Dr. Stephanie Russell, Vice President for Mission Integration with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, who presented on “Ignatian Spirituality for Women in Leadership.”
Hope is anchored in our research and teaching mission, across all of our different
disciplines. I recently published an essay in U.S. Catholic on the importance of asking fundamental questions, particularly drawing upon the
humanities, and had the opportunity to discuss it with members of our A&S College
Leadership Council (CLC), a group of alumni advisors and benefactors. The CLC met
this month in the newly renovated Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility, with an
agenda focused on STEM education and student success, featuring excellent presentations
by Dr. Jacinta Mutambuki and student Althea Hewitt (Chemistry), Dr. Blake Turner (Educational
Policy and Leadership), Dr. Jay Pantone (Mathematical and Statistical Sciences), Dr.
Jax Sanders and student Serena Determan (Physics) and Dr. Walt Bialkowski with students
Erin Horkavi and Kayley Reith (Computer Science) along with Jeff Joslyn from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, whose slogan—quite appropriate in this Jubilee Year with the theme Pilgrims of Hope—is
“Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope.” Check out the College’s LinkedIn page for pictures of the event and other news. Beyond the CLC, I had the opportunity
to meet with many alumni and benefactors in New York during the Big East men’s basketball
tournament, where three of our A&S students presented their research at the annual
Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium: Helene Archer (Biological Sciences,
mentor Dr. Martin St. Maurice), McKenzie Stack (Chemistry, mentor Dr. Dian Wang) and
Mary Oates (English, mentor Dr. Liza Strakhov). Congratulations to all of these researchers
and thanks to Associate Dean Dr. Ed Blumenthal for his leadership in this event.
As March concludes, we reflect upon how the season of Lent and the adversity we face
can prepare us for Easter hope and the joy to come. In “My Night Knows No Darkness,”
Fr. Karl Rahner SJ acknowledges that Lent means “feeling distant from God in our debris-covered
heart” yet assures us that if we have hope, “all by itself, there comes peace” along
with trust and “strength that becomes powerful in weakness, a life rising from death.”
As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions. I appreciate hearing from you and exploring
ways we can all work together for the common good.
Dr. Heidi Bostic
Dean, Klingler College of Arts and Sciences
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