Message from the Dean
July 2021
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students in the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences,
Recently I have enjoyed the opportunity to meet with a group of faculty from different
areas of the College to discuss some questions that are both simple and profound.
Who are we and how ought we to live? What understanding of the person and the world
do we bring to our research, teaching and service? What support should faculty and
staff provide to students as they discern their understanding of self, other and society?
We call this discussion group “anthropology and cosmology.” Its central questions
of self and world are fundamental to education. As expressed in “The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium,” education always presupposes a concept of the human being and of life. This Vatican
document likewise emphasizes a point that appears in a variety of other Catholic texts
(including Ronald Modras, Ignatian Humanism, the subject of several reading groups sponsored by Marquette’s Office of Mission
and Ministry), namely that education must not be reduced to its purely technical and
practical aspects. Rather, we need reflection and discernment to ensure that our endeavors
are informed by a robust understanding of the human person and the world. We need
an orientation to the good and, what’s more, this good must be a common good.
The Ignatian Year that we are celebrating in 2021–22 provides an impetus to consider our understanding
of self and world and to foster practices and habits that express this understanding.
A few weeks ago I participated in recording an episode of the Marquette in Milwaukee podcast devoted to the Ignatian Year. This summer I have continued to meet with a variety
of alumni and benefactors as well as business leaders and other community members.
As these conversations have reminded me, something I love about Marquette is our engagement
with the broader Milwaukee community and the ways in which we live out our mission—in
thought and in practice—to promote human flourishing across campus and far beyond.
Two colleagues who embody that mission recently completed their terms of service in
the Dean’s office: Dr. Andrew Kunz, Associate Dean, and Dr. Heather Hathaway, Associate
Dean and former interim Dean of the College. My heartfelt thanks to both of them for
their vision, dedication and service. We are welcoming a new leader to the Dean’s
office: Dr. Nakia Gordon, who as Faculty Fellow has assumed responsibility for student
recruitment and admissions as well as high-impact student experiences. Dr. Joshua
Burns will continue as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Dr. Ed Blumenthal will
take on an expanded role as Associate Dean of Faculty, Research and Graduate Studies.
For a complete listing of colleagues in the Dean’s office, please refer to our online
directory.
As always, feel free to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions. I appreciate hearing from you and exploring
ways we can all work together for the common good.
Sincerely,
Dr. Heidi Bostic Dean, Klingler College of Arts and Sciences
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