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New plate special

By Nicole Sweeney Etter

Expect to see a lot more Marquette pride on the roads now that Wisconsin residents can order a special Marquette license plate with the university’s monogram. But some Marquetters already use their plates to broadcast their love of Marquette — and other causes close to their hearts. Here are a few of our favorites.

Already out there

ENDOW MU

Driven by: Tim Rippinger, senior associate vice president for development in University Advancement. Rippinger used to commute to Marquette from northern Indiana, and after passing countless other personalized plates on the road, he started thinking about the possibilities for his own bumper. “I wanted to get a license plate that would send a positive message related to Marquette,” he says. He contemplated GIVE2MU, BTHEDIF and 4EVERMU before settling on ENDOW MU. “Endowment, especially of student scholarships, is one of the top priorities right now at Marquette,” he explains. “I get all sorts of comments in parking lots about the plates and a lot of smiles and thumbs up on the road.”

4 MU

Driven by: Dr. Brian Brush, professor of economics. Brian and his wife, Carol, have been men’s basketball season ticket holders since 1970. Carol, who was a longtime academic adviser in the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, first ordered the plate for her car. The plate has graced several different cars in the Brush household over the years, but it now travels with Brian to campus every day. “Most people we know wouldn’t be able to tell you what kind of cars we drive, but many people instantly recognize to whom the 4 MU car belongs when they see it,” he says. “I think the brevity makes it especially noticeable.”

MU ENTP

Driven by: Dr. Alex Stewart, the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship. For Stewart, it made sense to tout his main passion. “When I got it, I showed it to then-Dean (David) Shrock and told him he should provide the funds for a suitably fancy car,” Stewart says. “He didn’t miss a beat, reminding me that true entrepreneurs are frugal.”

FOX 4 MU

Driven by: John Fox, Bus Ad ’59, and Carole Fox, an alumna of the College of Liberal Arts. “That’s where John and I met, and we’ve had eight children graduate from Marquette,” Carole says. “We’ve had a lot of connections with Marquette, and we’re proud to display it. People always know my car.”

MU1

Driven by: Mark Paget, Sp ’79. Paget ordered this plate while he was still a student at Marquette, soon after Wisconsin started allowing vanity plates. “To be honest, I was surprised that I got it,” he says of the simple letter-number combination. As a student, he worked for the men’s basketball team in the athletic training department and was there during that most storied year, 1977. His plate reflects his pride in Marquette’s then-standing as the No. 1 men’s basketball team in the nation. “People wave and honk when they see it, especially after games at the Bradley Center,” he says. It especially amuses him that the car is often driven by his wife, a University of Wisconsin grad.

Coming to a road near you

Because it only costs $15 a year to get a Marquette plate personalized, some Marquetters were quick to submit their requests to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Mykl Novak, Arts ’92 and Grad ’10, web development manager for Marquette’s Information Technology Services, is declaring his love for his favorite website with MU EDU. Jennifer (Eisenmann) D’Urso, Arts ’95, PT ’98, didn't get her first choice, MURAH2 (for MU Rah Rah), but soon will be driving MU PT.

Also worth noting

Some Marquetters use their plates to promote other passions. Here are a few that caught our eye:

HKMHRNS

Driven by: Dr. Scott C. D’Urso, assistant professor of communication studies. The plate stands for “Hook ’em Horns.” “I received my Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004, and I’m a huge college football fan,” he says. “While this plate was easy to get in Wisconsin, it would be impossible to get this while living in Texas.”

KID 12

Driven by: Dr. Jeanne Simmons, associate dean of the Graduate School of Management. “I am the 12th kid in my family — 12 of 12,” she says. “All of the kids in my family have a Marquette connection (i.e., alum or work here) so I guess I could be MU KID 12! I do sometimes get people asking me if I have 12 kids. I don’t mind so much now, but it was a bit disturbing in my 20s.”

UBQUITIN

Driven by: Dr. Khadijah Makky, research assistant professor of biomedical sciences. “I was working with the ubiquitin system when I was doing my Ph.D. at MCW. This is an eukaryotic protein that is expressed in all cells. I thought it was a fun plate because people who are not in science think it is for quitting something (such as smoking), and scientists read is as the protein ubiquitin.”

CATBRD

Driven by: Joan Sommer, head of access services at Raynor Memorial Libraries. Though they might seem like competing interests, Sommer loves felines and birds. An avid bird watcher, she bands birds for Riveredge Nature Center and monitors 30 nest boxes for Eastern Bluebirds. Her favorite is the Gray Catbird. “It is a bird with a delightful personality and song,” she says.

OK2BME

Driven by: Stacy Kuras, administrative assistant in the Division of Student Affairs. “I got the plate in celebration of my 40th birthday and coming into my own,” she says.

What would you put on your new Marquette plate? Or how are you already showing your Marquette pride on the road? Let us know through the comments box below.