Click here for more on Fr. Kolvenbach's historic 2000 keynote speech on Jesuit Higher Education.

What is a Research Community?

Research Communities at Marquette University are created by faculty, often with staff and students participation, who share common interests in cross-disciplinary research topics. Participation in research communities is open to all Marquette colleagues who are interested in cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. See our logic model for details on how research community development is a priority of Marquette's strategic plan.

Learn more about our current research communities:

  1. Latinx Well-Being Research Initiative
  2. LGBTQ+ Research Community
  3. Marquette Civic Science Collaborative (MCSC)
  4. Multicultural Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative (MPMHC)
  5. Poverty Research Initiative (PRI)
  6. ReOrienting Migration Research Community (ROMRC)
  7. STEM Research Initiative for Diversity and Equity (STRIDE)
  8. Telehealth Research Community (TRC)
  9. Women and Family Health Research Collaborative (WFHRC)

Looking to start a research community at MU? Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
 APPLY TODAY
  • Background
  • Expectations
The 2021 Academic Planning Research Workgroup (comprised of the University Committee on Research and additional Academic Senate Representatives) recommended the creation of research communities as a “dynamic way to identify emergent research strengths and focused areas for potential growth.” The goal was to “create focused opportunities for interdisciplinary conversations and intellectual community within and beyond campus, including the development of faculty and support for participation in these conversations. Importantly, this opportunity-making includes a recognition of the time necessary to incubate collaboration and shared ideas.” The Research Workgroup also noted the opportunity to align many of these cross-disciplinary groups with two of the Jesuit’s Universal Apostolic Preferences, Care for our Common Home and Walking with the Excluded. Building on the success of a group of pilot research communities, growing this initiative is now a priority of the Care for the World theme of Marquette’s Strategic Plan. Opportunities to create new research communities or align existing groups with the campus research community collective will now be offered on a rolling basis. 
Research communities are provided administrative support through the Office of Research and Innovation, including website development and assistance with program development. Some limited funds are also available for research community activities. Given the range of research, scholarship, and creative activities among Marquette’s community of scholars, the research community model is intended to be flexible.

Research communities are expected to focus on a multidisciplinary topic and be open to participation from colleagues from across campus. We strongly encourage student participation. All research communities are expected to have a leadership team and to participate in the Council of Research Communities which meets each semester to share best practices and help inform programming for the growing network of research communities. You will also be expected to have members participate in other joint activities offered through the Office of Research and Innovation that are offered once or twice a semester, in addition to the activities organized by your individual community. Examples of activities organized by individual research communities include (but are not limited to) writing groups, seminars, and social events that bring together people with common research interests. Some research communities develop collaborative projects or grants, while others come together to support the work of individual scholars.

 

Upcoming Events

Research Community and Advancement Workshop, ft. Nicole Singer | Monday, February 2 | 1:00 PM | Zilber 470 | Invitation Only
Visit individual research community webpages to view their upcoming & past events.

Past Events

December 15, 2025
Research Community Council meeting

October 23, 2025
Research Communities / Mission and Ministries Social - Applying the Universal Apostolic Preferences to research at Marquette.

September 2, 2025
Research Communities and Advancement Workshop - Peer editing of fundraising donor documents.

June 3, 2025
Research Communities and Advancement Workshop - Follow-up on development of fundraising donor documents.

April 28, 2025
Research Communities and Advancement Workshop - Develop fundraising donor documents.

March 25, 2025
Research Community Council meeting

November 15, 2024
Research Community Council meeting

November 11, 2024
Research Communities Social ft. Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute