Attract, Retain, and Advance A Diverse Community of Students

• Marquette continues building on the successes of EOP (Gear Up, Talent Search, Upward Bound, UB Math and Science, Student Support Services, McNair Scholars), Engineering Leadership Academy, Law School Summer Youth Institute, Urban Journalism Workshop, and Project BEYOND-2 in Nursing.
• The highly successful Urban Scholars Program was expanded to 45 new scholarship recipients from Milwaukee schools per year starting in 2021-22, culminating in approximately 180 Urban Scholars by the 2024-25 academic year. This is a direct result of the advocacy efforts of the Black Student Council in summer and fall 2020. 
• The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is cultivating strategic partnerships with local schools that serve underrepresented students; the Encuentros program, for example, is a partnership with Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee.
• In the Fall of 2021, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions hosted Boys & Girls Club of Milwaukee and Marquette’s Upward Bound students and families for a unique campus experience during both Discovery Day Open House events this fall.  Marquette was the #1 destination for Boys and Girls Club graduates in Fall 2021.
• The Office of Undergraduate Admissions worked closely with the Educational Opportunity Program to coordinate offers of admission to qualified students on the new pooled admission timeline, securing a very strong pool of applicants for the Fall 2022 semester.
• The Office of Undergraduate Admissions conducted on-site admission events at the following area high schools in October and November of 2021: all Carmen schools, Reagan, Augustine Prep, Cristo Rey, Rufus King, Riverside, Messmer, Thomas More, and Golda Meir. Additionally, we attended all in-person high school visits and college fairs serving Milwaukee area high schools. We have worked very hard to offer additional admission counseling services to our closest partnership schools.  As one example, at Cristo Rey Milwaukee, we were able to attend an all-school assembly with the Golden Eagle to congratulate students on their early admission. 
• As a follow-up to the on-site admissions events, in November 2021, Undergraduate Admissions hosted admitted students and their families for a unique campus visit experience, which highlighted the Honors College, EOP, Urban Scholars Program, and campus tours.  Lunch was provided in the Annex, and these students also received an invitation to attend a home Marquette men’s basketball game in December. 
• The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) initiative have ramped up Spanish language outreach through the creation of a Spanish website with critical information for navigating campus resources and support, a Facebook page for Spanish-speaking parents, Instagram account (@SomosMarquette) and a Spanish option for the general Marquette phone line.
• The Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Marquette Central, and New Student and Family Programs have also increased their Spanish language capacity and programming. For example, the Office of Undergraduate Admission hosts Mi Casa Es Tu Casa, an annual admitted student event for Spanish-speaking families and hosts events for prospective students in collaboration with area community-based organizations, including Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, College Possible, Schuler Scholars, Chicago Scholars, All-in Milwaukee, and many others.
• The Office of Undergraduate Admissions continues to engage with a broadly diverse population of high school students and has developed articulation agreements with a number of two-year colleges, which serve highly diverse student populations, to facilitate a smooth transition to Marquette. An Enrollment Advisor was hired to serve students involved in the new and evolving pathway programs established between Marquette and high schools, two-year institutions, and four-year institutions with a particular focus on supporting students in Wisconsin and Illinois.  An Admissions staff member was featured on 101.7 The Truth in the fall 2021 semester and helped promote the breadth and depth of work Marquette is doing to support students of color, and was able to promote the Urban Scholars, Opus Scholarship, and Educational Opportunity Program.
• In reviewing practices related to recruitment, support, retention, and success of underrepresented graduate students, many graduate departments went test optional for admissions, the graduate school maintained their number of master’s level diversity fellowships and increased the number of doctoral diversity fellowships.

• The Office of Financial Aid offers FAFSA workshops in English and Spanish throughout the community and participates in the “But First FAFSA" event sponsored by MUSG on campus. 
• Through integration of DEI into fundraising activities, in 2019-20, two gifts that included scholarship support, support for the RISE pre-orientation program for students of color, and support for High Impact Practices, were received by the university. These augment a scholarship donation ($5 million) the previous year and represent promise for more funding in the future.
• In 2020, Marquette committed to expand the highly successful Urban Scholars program for local students to 45 full-tuition scholarships per year. Fundraising efforts are also aimed at housing and food funding for students in this program.
• University Advancement has raised nearly $730,000 toward our Equity in MKE initiatives, which includes supporting student opportunities through housing and food scholarships, books, health services and technology for first-generation and minority students. 
• The Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J., Dreamers Endowed Scholarship for undocumented students has reached over $300K in cash gifts since its creation in 2016.

The Center for Engagement and Inclusion, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the Academic Resource Center, and the Educational Opportunity Program continue to be thriving places for student programming and support, important spaces of community for underrepresented students, and collaborative partners with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion on DEI initiatives.

• Launched in 2020-21, the faculty-mentored Indigeneity Lab has generated research on topics that have a significant impact on Indigenous history and culture. 
• Launched in 2020-21, the Latinx Research Scholars Program provides undergraduate students with experience in community-engaged research and Latinx mental health within Milwaukee.   

• The Center for Engagement and Inclusion in the Division of Student Affairs sponsors the RISE program for students of color, which has both a pre-orientation component featuring near-peer experiences as well as programming throughout the academic year.
• University Engagement ushered in the creation of Black and Hispanic Alumni Associations in 2019, both of which engage with current students.
• The Minority Mentor Scholars Program, a student-initiated near-peer mentoring program supported by the Division of Student Affairs started in 2019 but became inactive during the pandemic. 

• The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Engagement and Inclusion, and the Women’s Innovation Network have worked together to support student travel to regional and national meetings that enhance their academic and leadership experiences. This effort has been shifted due to the pandemic.
• The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of International Education have partnered to create the WINGS scholarship to help low-income students cover travel expenses for study abroad programs.
• With a generous gift of $750,000 over three years, Marquette provides small grants for students to engage in high-impact practices and other leadership development and experiential learning opportunities starting in spring 2021.

• The Counseling Center hosts “The Gathering”, which is a support group for graduate and professional students of color to meet, share their experiences, and receive support regarding challenges within their graduate/professional programs. Additionally, we gather to share a community meal given the cultural value of "breaking bread" to build community.
• The Black Law Student Association (BLSA) engages students in programming focused on the educational, professional, and social needs of Black Law Students.