1. Rev. Andy Thon stepping down as VP of student affairs
2. First forum for provost candidate is tonight
3. Public Safety Alert update; safety forum tonight
4. New voicemail system implementation begins
5. Share your ideas about Marquette benefits
6. Education professor to discuss mental health services for children
7. South Africa study abroad program still open for fall
8. Participants sought for Abrahamic religions conference
9. “Explore the Majors” fair to be held for arts and sciences
10. Memorial service for Dr. Adrian Dupuis scheduled for Saturday
11. Soup with Substance addressing international service and justice
12. Annex offering specials for BIG EAST basketball tournament
13. Public Safety offering self-defense classes
14. Easy Pass deadline is March 14
15. Marquette Interchange highlights for the week of March 10

 

1. Rev. Andy Thon stepping down as VP of student affairs

Rev. Andrew Thon, S.J., today said he will step down as vice president for student affairs at the end of the semester.

Father (Andy) Thon will take a year’s sabbatical to do some writing, including updating a monograph he authored in 1989, The Ignatian Perspective: The Role of Student Affairs in Jesuit Higher Education. During this time, he will also serve as president of the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

“Father Thon has had a huge impact on the administration of student affairs, not only at Marquette, but among our Catholic colleagues nationwide,” Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J., said. He cited Father Thon’s work on the writers’ group for the recently published Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities.

“Under Father Andy’s leadership, Marquette has dramatically increased the opportunities for service and leadership through our student organizations, which have more than doubled in number during his tenure,” Father Wild said. "He has a special gift for being able, year after year, to relate positively and effectively with our ever-changing undergraduate population."

After holding student affairs positions at Wheeling Jesuit College, UW-Madison and Seattle University, Father Thon came to Marquette as an assistant to the vice president for student affairs in 1989, became associate vice president in 1992 and was named vice president in 1997. He holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from UW-Madison and master’s degrees in divinity from Regis College in Toronto and in guidance and counseling from Marquette. He serves on the Board of Trustees at both the University of Detroit-Mercy and Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

Father Thon is proud of the increased number and scope of the programs, services and activities offered by the Division of Student Affairs, which provide a wide array of co-curricular learning experiences for students on Marquette's 24/7 campus. "I am especially grateful for the dedication of my staff and all those students who have contributed their time, efforts and talents to improving the quality of our campus life," he said. "One of my greatest joys is seeing the growth of our students during their years at Marquette — and what they do when they leave the university.”

During Father Thon's tenure as vice president, there have been substantial improvements in the residential aspect of student life, including the creation of the Office for University Apartments and Off-Campus Student Services, the building of Campus Town Phase V, the renovation of Straz Tower, and the opening of Abbottsford Hall. Father Thon himself has resided for the past 18 years in McCormick Hall, serving as hall minister and experiencing firsthand the lives and concerns of students.

Father Thon said he will take his time deciding what's next after his sabbatical, but the possibilities include writing, consulting and teaching opportunities in the area of student affairs.

Anne O’Brien, associate senior vice president, will coordinate the search process, which will include representatives from the Office of the Provost, the President’s Office, the Office of Student Affairs and MUSG.

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3. Public Safety Alert update; safety forum tonight

MUSG will host a safety forum tonight at 7:30 in the AMU first floor lobby. Public Safety Chief Larry Rickard and Milwaukee Police Department District 3 Captain James Harpole, among others, will be available to discuss safety resources and recent incidents.

The suspect taken into custody last week for the armed robbery of three Marquette students on Saturday, March 1, has been charged. The suspect remains in the Milwaukee County jail while police continue their search for a second known assailant. Police also continue to aggressively investigate the armed robberies that took place Wednesday morning, March 5. Anyone with information is urged to call Milwaukee Police at 414-935-7360.

Members of the Marquette community are reminded to make use of the university's safety resources, including the Department of Public Safety’s LIMO van service and the new LIMO Express shuttle, providing continuous looping service from Straz Tower Hall on the eastern end of campus to North 22nd Street. More than 350 students took advantage of the new service this past weekend. The LIMO Express will continue to run every night from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.

The LIMO Express runs west on Wisconsin Avenue from North 9th Street to North 22nd Street, north to Wells Street, and then eastbound to the 11th Street “wiggle.” From there, the LIMO Express travels south to Wisconsin Avenue and then east to the entrance of Straz Tower Hall.

A Marquette University ID is required to ride. The white LIMO Express van will stop at all street corners to pick up riders. Students should stand at street corners on the north side of Wisconsin Avenue and the south side of Wells Street to wait for the van. Students may also flag down the van mid-block between North 13th and 16th Streets, as pedestrian safety allows.

The new LIMO Express is an additional safety resource offered by the Department of Public Safety and does not replace regular LIMO service, which will continue as usual to provide door-to-door service for any member of the Marquette community. Regular LIMO service runs nightly from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Early morning shuttle service is also available from 3 to 7 a.m.

For more information, contact Student Safety Program at 288-6363.

4. New voicemail system implementation begins

IT Services will begin moving employees to a new voicemail system, Unified Communication, on a department-by-department basis the week of March 17. Staff will be notified via e-mail when their voicemail is converted. The schedule is also posted on the Project Web site, where training sessions are also listed.

Unified Communication replaces the current voicemail system and combines e-mail, voicemail and fax messages into one integrated system. All messages are accessible from the e-mail client, such as Outlook or Entourage, or through any telephone keypad. Full functionality is best achieved with Outlook 2007 and Outlook Web access using Internet Explorer.

5. Share your ideas about Marquette benefits

Employees are invited to attend a general information/question and answer session about Marquette’s benefit package, especially health insurance, at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 12, and 1 p.m. Thursday, March 13, in the AMU Weasler Auditorium.
 
The sessions will be coordinated by the university’s benefits consultant, Willis of Wisconsin, Inc., and the Department of Human Resources. Call the benefits office at 8-7305 for more information.

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6. Education professor to discuss mental health services for children

Dr. Robert Fox, professor of counseling psychology in the School of Education, will present the first James R. Ryan Memorial Lecture to benefit the Penfield Children’s Center. He will discuss “Mental Health Services for At-Risk Children” at a luncheon Thursday, March 13, in the AMU.

Fox is director of the Behavior Clinic which, in partnership with Penfield, offers free mental health services for children who are experiencing significant behavior and emotional problems. Graduate students receive specialized training and gain supervised clinical experience working directly with the children and their families. The clinic also has an ongoing applied research program that regularly contributes new findings to the relatively new field of infant mental health.

The cost of the luncheon is $40. Contact Rebecca Peterson at 414-344-7739 to RSVP.

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8. Participants sought for Abrahamic religions conference

Marquette undergraduate students are invited to participate in the One-Day Undergraduate Conference on the Importance of Philosophical and Theological Developments in Medieval Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Wednesday, April 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Raynor Library Beaumier Suites. A reception hosted by various student organizations will follow. The conference is free and open to the public. Faculty are asked to encourage students to participate.

Students can participate by:

• writing a response paper and receive a $50 grant
• participating in general discussions and Q and A sessions
• stopping by to enjoy company and refreshments

Three undergraduate students, one each from the University of Denver, Loyola University Chicago, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present papers on the Jewish, Christian and Islamic themes.

Following each presentation, there will be two responses from the other two traditions. Respondents are needed for the Jewish paper from Christian and Islamic perspectives, Christian paper from Jewish and Islamic perspectives, and the Islamic paper from the Christian perspective.

Each response paper should be approximately 10 minutes in length (about four double-spaced pages) reflecting and remarking on the presented papers, especially in relation to contemporary religious, social, political, philosophical relevance.

To register, to become a respondent or for more information, contact Dr. Richard Taylor, associate professor of philosophy. Students wishing to be a respondent must reply by Saturday, March 15.

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14. Easy Pass deadline is March 14

With the high price of gas, the Easy Pass payroll deduction program can be an attractive option for faculty and staff to get to campus. The Easy Pass offers unlimited rides, including Freeway Flyers and special event shuttles, to the Bradley Center, Miller Park and other locations.

15. Marquette Interchange highlights for the week of March 10

• A crane will be moved across the ramp from eastbound I-94 to the northbound I-43/ Kilbourn exit Tuesday, March 11, between 3 and 6 a.m. This may cause brief, distant noise and lights east and south of Straz Tower.

• This winter’s weather has resulted in a banner year for pavement potholes, which can be reported for city streets at 286-CITY.

For more information, visit the Marquette Interchange update Web site.