Dear College of Nursing community, 
 
Welcome to the 2024-25 academic year, the first in our new home at David A. Straz, Jr. Hall. This is a transformative time for nursing education at Marquette. We’ve put courage and care into action for more than a century, driving positive change for people, communities and the profession. Our new facility will allow us to pursue that mission in novel and exciting ways. 

Straz Hall is an investment in our community. At over 100,000 square feet, it is more than double the size of our previous building, Emory T. Clark Hall. An expanded simulation laboratory gives more students the chance to put classroom theory into practice, while reimagined common areas and study lounges facilitate collaboration. The faculty and staff who provided input on the building’s design wanted it to be an inviting place to be—a space that would cater to students’ needs first. I believe we’ve done that and I look forward to sharing it with students. 

This building helps us meet a key institutional goal; to educate 5,000 Marquette Nurses over the next 10 years. Straz Hall provides the space and resources required for us to reach this goal. Combined with our extensive network of preceptors, world-class faculty and strong health care industry relationships, the building rounds out a value proposition that makes Marquette uniquely suited to prepare the next generation of new and advanced practice nurses. Higher education institutions have a vital role to play in addressing the nursing shortage, and Marquette is meeting the moment through this historic investment. 

I would like to thank everyone who made this new era possible. It’s gratifying to see so many members of our College of Nursing community as excited about the future as I am. Now we must work hard to make that future—one in which everybody receives excellent, patient-centered, holistic nursing care—a reality. 

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jill Guttormson
Dean of the College of Nursing
Marquette University