Why was the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships created and what is its role on campus?

Marquette President Michael R. Lovell said creating the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships (OCEP) is critical to Marquette realizing its vision to be among the most innovative and accomplished Catholic, Jesuit universities in the world. The office’s overarching goal is to formalize, enhance and streamline the ways in which Marquette works with corporate partners. We are taking a comprehensive or holistic view of how we can develop deep partnerships focused on a common vision that will benefit our students, faculty, staff and the broader community.

In January 2019, university leadership launched the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships.  The launch came after a year-long assessment process led by the President’s Task Force on Corporate Engagement. The Task Force incorporated the input of seven Workgroups covering the following topics:

• Academic programs and executive education
• Talent development
• Corporate sponsored research
• Technology transfer
• Consortia and alliances
• Corporate philanthropy and sponsorships
• Contracts and service partnerships

The Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships is working to deepen and expand corporate partnerships by developing strategies that look across all seven topic areas and across all colleges and units.

How can interested faculty partner with the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships?

The Many Marquette University faculty have been engaged with corporate partners for years, providing consulting services, pursuing mutually beneficial research and innovation interests, contributing to university-industry consortia, bringing corporate expertise into the classroom and leveraging industry connections to provide experiential learning opportunities for students.

There are a variety of ways in which interested faculty can partner with the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships to extend existing corporate relationships and to develop new collaborations:

• Contact the Office (in person, email, phone call) and let us know your needs and interests.
• Schedule an appointment to discuss specific partnering opportunities.
• Have your department or college leadership reach out to OCEP and arrange for us to come and discuss corporate engagement strategies and approaches.
• Keep an eye out for new content on our office website highlighting upcoming events, areas of corporate interest and providing helpful links (e.g. how to submit an invention disclosure, how to obtain a nondisclosure agreement, etc).
• Sign up for Corporate Engagement Lunch -N Learn sessions that will be launched in FY20.

What are some near-term and longer-term goals you hope to achieve through the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships?

In the near-term, the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships is pursuing goals in three general areas:

• Develop and implement systems and processes to support holistic cross-university corporate engagement.
• Promote the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships and our commitment to partnering with forward looking organizations with shared values and strategic priorities that align with Marquette.
• Maximize the success of existing corporate relationships and look for opportunities to extend and deepen the relationships.

In the longer-term, the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships hopes to achieve the following goals:

• Promote and increase incentives for faculty at all levels to participate in corporate engagement.
• Broaden the overall portfolio of corporate partners and increase the number of strategic partners whose relationship with Marquette extends across multiple programs and units.
• Achieve national recognition as a top university pursuing holistic, values-driven corporate engagement.

Faculty interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration with the Office of Corporate Engagement and Partnerships should contact Maura Donovan, Vice President for Corporate Engagement.