— August 20, 2007—

Contents

  1. Campus community invited to opening liturgy
  2. Marquette ranks 82nd nationally
  3. Parking permits available on-line
  4. Marquette purchases apartment building
  5. Colonial Williamsburg executive to speak about storytelling
  6. Help celebrate 30th anniversary of Brigg’s & Al’s Run
  7. Haggerty Museum showcases Waswo photographs
  8. News Briefs begins semi-weekly schedule this week
  9. Marquette Interchange highlights for the week of Aug. 20

1. Campus community invited to opening liturgy

The opening liturgy of the academic year, the Mass of the Holy Spirit, will be celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 26, at 4 p.m. at Gesu Church. Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., president of Marquette, will preside. A picnic will immediately follow at the AMU West Towne Square from 5 to 7 p.m.

The celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit is a tradition in Jesuit colleges and universities that dates back to Sicily in 1548.

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2. Marquette ranks 82nd nationally

Marquette University ranks 82nd among the top national universities in the 2008 edition of America's Best Colleges, released Friday by U.S. News & World Report. Marquette was listed among 258 U.S. universities that offer undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees, the premier category of institutions ranked by the publication.
 
Marquette was once again one of only 23 universities recognized for service learning under “Programs to Look For.” Service learning programs involve volunteer work in the community as an instructional strategy, enriching the classroom experience.   

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3. Parking permits available on-line

Parking permits for the 2007-2008 academic year are currently available for sale on-line. Students can purchase a permit for the fall semester only, or for both the fall and spring terms. To avoid waiting in long lines and to get into their lot of choice, students are encouraged to order on-line now.

Previously ordered permits are available for pick-up in the lobby of the Wells Street Structure beginning today, Monday, Aug. 20. Students will need their student identification to claim their permit. Permits will not be sold out of the parking office until the first day of classes, Aug. 27.

4. Marquette purchases apartment building

Marquette University has purchased the Trebor Apartments, 620 N. 17th St. The transaction was completed on Aug. 16.

Marquette’s location, the changing dynamics of university life and the desire to enhance the campus environment make it prudent for the university to monitor property opportunities in our campus area. When the Trebor building came on the market, the university evaluated it as a strategic location relative to the potential site for a proposed new College of Engineering.

In addition to the Trebor, Marquette is under contract to purchase a number of other properties within the campus area. These include:

  • Kalt Apartments at 1621 and 1623 W. Wisconsin Ave. and 628 N. 17th St
  • Marquette Apartments at 1622-24 W. Wisconsin Ave.
  • University Center at 1610-1616 W. Wisconsin Ave.
  • Commercial Buildings at 1202 and 1222 W. Wells St.

Closing on these properties is expected to occur before the end of the year. A generous gift from an anonymous donor helped make the purchase of these properties possible at this time. A portion of the bond issue approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2007 will also be used to finance the property acquisitions.

The site of the Kalt Apartments is critical for the proposed engineering project. The location of the Marquette Apartments is also strategic, and the building will be used to provide housing for students while residence halls undergo renovations and upgrades. The commercial buildings at 12th and Wells are close to the Al McGuire Center, Parking Structure 2 and student residences; no specific use for this site has been identified at this time. 

Apartment residents are being notified of the property transactions. The Office of Residence Life will operate the Kalt and Trebor Apartments, most of which are occupied by Marquette students. The university is working closely with residents of the Marquette Apartments to find suitable alternative housing. Doug Smith, associate general counsel for the university, said the university will honor the existing terms of all residential and commercial leases for the properties.

5. Colonial Williamsburg executive to speak about storytelling

Dr. Rex Ellis, vice president of the Historic Area at Colonial Williamsburg, will speak at Marquette about storytelling as a means for teaching sensitive cultural subjects. Ellis will present “Black Agency in an Era of Oppression: Engaging in the Fight for Freedom,” on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Raynor Memorial Library Conference Center. Ellis has found that storytelling allows him to teach history by humanizing a population that had been dehumanized in the past.

Previously, Ellis chaired the Division of Cultural History at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 1979, Ellis helped create Colonial Williamsburg’s African-American interpretation program, which helps visitors become aware of 18th-century slave life through stories and drama.

Besides authoring several books, Ellis spearheaded the first-ever Storytelling Festival at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 2005, which is now an annual event. Ellis has also told stories in countless storytelling festivals and other venues throughout the country, earning a reputation as a master storyteller.

Ellis holds a doctoral degree in higher education from the College of William and Mary, a master of fine arts from Wayne State University, and a bachelor of fine arts from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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6. Help celebrate 30th anniversary of Brigg’s & Al’s Run

Join the Marquette community and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in celebrating the 30th Annual Briggs & Al’s Run & Walk on Saturday, Sept. 15. Register online to be part of the Marquette University team or other MU teams. Enter “MU” to search for all university teams; the password for the general MU team is “murahrah.” For more information, stop by the Event Management Office, AMU 245.
 
To volunteer before, during or after the race contact Ali Myszewski at 8-3129.

The event was founded by former Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire and has raised more than $7 million for the hospital to fund medical care, research and education.

7. Haggerty Museum showcases Waswo photographs

The Haggerty Museum of Art exhibition "India Poems: The Photographs of Milwaukee Artist Waswo X. Waswo," which runs through Sept. 23, features a suite of photographs taken by Waswo while he was traveling across the Indian subcontinent between 1999 and 2004. A Milwaukee native, Waswo has published two volumes of poetry and one book of photography. He is working on a new photography book as well as another volume of written poems.

8. News Briefs begins semi-weekly schedule next week

Beginning this week, the News Briefs e-newsletter will resume its twice-a-week publication schedule. The Thursday edition will return Aug. 23. The deadline to submit articles remains at noon on Friday for Monday publication and noon Wednesday for Thursday publication.

9. Marquette Interchange highlights for the week of Aug. 20

Pedestrians should use caution with crosswalks in the vicinity of 10th and 11th Streets and Wisconsin Avenue.  The new intersections have changed, and motorists will not be as familiar with them as they were with the old ones. Obey the signals and stay alert!

• Weekend work continues through October.  Beam installation south of the campus will take place between Friday evening and Sunday evening.  This weekend the location will be well south of 10th and Tory Hill/Michigan.

Night work will take place Monday through Friday, south of 11th and Tory Hill and west of Straz Tower.

Daytime pile driving and demolition work continues south of Tory Hill on southbound portions of I-43.  Work nearest to the university is at 13th Street, south of Clybourn.

6th Street between Michigan and Canal Streets will be closed in both directions on Thursday Aug. 23, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The northeast corner of 10th Street and Wisconsin Avenue will be closed on Monday, Aug. 20, and extend into Tuesday.  

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News Briefs is published Mondays and Thursdays, except in summer when only the Monday edition is published, and as news warrants by the Office of Marketing and Communication for Marquette faculty and staff. The deadline for the Monday edition is noon Friday. The deadline for the Thursday edition is noon Wednesday.

Comments? Questions? Is there news you would like to share? E-mail, call 8-6712, fax 8-7197 or send your note in campus mail to News Briefs, Office of Marketing and Communication.