Marquette College

Women admitted


Long lines after WWII

St Joan of Arc Chapel


Les Aspin


Fr. Wild inaugurated


Raynor Library


Al McGuire Center

• 1881 — Marquette College opens on Aug. 28
• 1887 — Marquette's first five graduates earn bachelor of arts degrees.
• 1907 — Affiliation with a private medical college leads to reincorporation as Marquette University. Construction starts on Marquette's current campus.
• 1907 — Marquette moves to Johnston Hall at North 12th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue (the building now houses the College of Communication).
• 1908 — College of Engineering opens and Marquette purchases two law schools.
• 1909 — President James McCabe, S.J., decides to admit women students in time for the summer session, making Marquette the first Catholic university in the United States to do so. Read more.
• 1910 — Colleges of Business Administration and Journalism open.
• 1913 — University merges Milwaukee Medical College and Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons and establishes schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy.
• 1918 — Army Student Training Corps, an early form of the ROTC developed as a result of World War I, offered to students.
• 1920s — University experiences rapid expansion of the student body and facilities including buildings for the School of Dentistry, Law School, a science building, gymnasium and football stadium.
• 1930s — Great Depression forces financial belt-tightening at the university, including closing of the radio station.
• 1940s-50s — Rapid expansion of the student body after World War II leads to campus growth, including facilities for the College of Business Administration, Memorial Library and the student union. Gen. Douglas McArthur receives an honorary degree on campus in April 1951.
• 1960s — Detailed plan unfolds for expansion of graduate programs while the campus is consolidated between North 11th and North 16th streets through urban renewal efforts.
• 1966 — The dismantling of the Chapel on Long Island began in June 1963 and took nine months to complete. After traveling from Chasse to Long Island and then to Marquette, the Chapel so fittingly dedicated to St. Joan of Arc on May 26. Read more.
• 1967 — School of Medicine separates from Marquette to become the Medical College of Wisconsin.
• 1969 — Reorganization of the Board of Trustees brings in a lay majority to direct the university.
• 1960s-70s — Campus continues to grow with new chemistry, foreign languages and literatures, and physics buildings. Plans for graduate programs implemented.
• 1993-94 — The $50 million Campus Circle Project leads to energetic investment in the local community. Marquette is chosen as a leading U.S. university for community service by students.
• 1994-95 — Marquette’s Washington, D.C.-based political science study program is renamed the Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government to honor the late Wisconsin congressman and Marquette professor.
• 1995-96 — The College of Professional Studies and the executive master of business administration program in the College of Business Administration are formed.
• 1996-97 — Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., is inaugurated as Marquette’s 22nd president. The College of Health Sciences opens in the fall of 1996.
• 1998-99 — Marquette sees the largest two-year increase in freshman enrollment in its history as it admits a freshman class of 1,732. The Milwaukee Common Council approves Marquette’s $8 million Campus Identity and Beautification Project, which will create a cohesive campus and revitalize Wisconsin Avenue, the main artery of the university and the corridor to downtown Milwaukee.
• 1999-2000 — This year’s freshman class has the highest test score averages and the highest average high school class rank in university history.
• 2000-01 — Construction begins on the 126,813-square-foot John P. Raynor, S.J., Library and on the 120,000-square-foot School of Dentistry building.
• 2001-02 — The new Marquette University School of Dentistry building is the nation’s newest and most technologically advanced dental school. The university institutes a master’s degree program in bioinformatics and re-establishes a major in physics.
• 2002-03 — Campus gets two new buildings: The John P. Raynor, S.J., Library and the Al McGuire Center athletics facility. Marquette institutes a comprehensive core of common studies that promotes the values central to the Jesuit educational experience. Marquette’s School of Education develops the first online master’s degree program in Wisconsin. The College of Nursing unveils a doctoral program to form teacher-scholars who can advance health care through teaching, research and health care leadership. The university’s first endowed deanship is established in the College of Engineering. The Marquette men’s basketball team reaches the Final Four of the NCAA Division I tournament.
• 2004-2005 — Marquette hosts the Democratic presidential debate on Feb. 15. Lech Walesa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, visits campus as part of Mission Week and receives an honorary degree.
• 2005-2006 — President Robert A. Wild, S.J., announces the culmination of Marquette's most successful capital campaign ever. The Magis Campaign raised $357 million, $107 million more than its goal. Marquette also is chosen by the Opus Foundation to administer its $1 million humanitarian prize, which is awarded to Rev. Trevor Miranda, S.J., for his work in India empowering the poor through literacy. During Mission Week, the campus hosts Paul Rusesabagina, the man depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda.
• 2006-2007 —The Graduate School of Management is established. Preliminary drawings for a new Law School to be constructed at the corner of 11th Street and Clybourn Street, in an area known as Tory Hill. Central to the design is a ground floor forum that will serve as an inviting gathering place and will connect the teaching, research, conference and social spaces within the building. A three-story garage with 450 parking spaces will be constructed below the Law School. The School of Engineering also have plans for a new building. Celebration for the 125 Year Anniversary of "Faith and Learning in Action" takes place throughout the year.

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