Margaret Nettesheim Hoffmann named director of Marquette’s Center for Humanities

The Klingler College of Arts and Sciences announced the appointment of Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Nettesheim Hoffmann as the director of the Center for the Advancement of the Humanities. Nettesheim Hoffmann will develop a strategic sustainability plan for the center and lead campus and community initiatives to help Marquette become a national leader in humanities research, teaching and community engagement.

"Maggie is an experienced and energetic leader who has been involved, at the ground level, in reshaping how institutions of higher education across the country think about the humanities," said Dr. Heather Hathaway, acting dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. "Her ability to build bridges - between disciplines, between institutions and between the university and Milwaukee - embodies Marquette's mission to address society's challenges through faith-inspired service and cutting-edge research that extends beyond the boundaries of the university. We are delighted to welcome her into this role and excited about the impact she will have at Marquette and in Milwaukee."

An accomplished scholar, administrator and nationally recognized leader in humanities-centered program development, Nettesheim Hoffmann brings a distinguished record of cross-institutional collaboration to her new role. She holds a dual position between Marquette and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for Humanities Without Walls, a consortium of humanities centers across 16 research universities that is funded by a $5 million Mellon Foundation grant. With HWW, she directed national initiatives focused on career diversity for humanities Ph.D. students and the development of publicly engaged, interdisciplinary scholarship.

Nettesheim Hoffmann has secured more than $1.6 million in external grants from the Mellon Foundation, Economic History Society and Serve Wisconsin for Marquette-based projects. She has also advised leading organizations on doctoral education reform, including the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, University of Texas, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Pittsburgh. She also represents Marquette on the Wisconsin Humanities board of directors.

A vision grounded in Marquette's history

Nettesheim Hoffmann draws inspiration from a portrait of Milwaukee's first archbishop, Johann Martin Henni, displayed in her office. Henni's early advocacy for a Jesuit institution in Milwaukee - decades before the city was incorporated - remains a powerful reminder of Marquette's roots and mission.

"Henni's story reminds me that Marquette is deeply enfolded into the fabric of Milwaukee's history, that we exist as a vital institution in this community," she reflects. "For me, a healthy Marquette leads to a healthier Milwaukee."

Nettesheim Hoffmann sees the humanities as core to Marquette, sharing the Jesuits' view that collaboration is at the heart of contemporary Jesuit mission. Her work will further the relationships that already exist between the humanities and every college on campus.

Current initiatives at the Center for Humanities

Under Nettesheim Hoffmann's leadership, the Center for Humanities is catalyzing a series of innovative programs:

• Career Diversity Fellowship
  A partnership with the Graduate School placing four humanities Ph.D. students per year in administrative units across campus, including Marquette University Press, the Ott Writing Center, ORSP and the Trinity Fellows Program.
• Capacity Milwaukee Summer Fellowship
  Supported by a $60,000 Mellon-HWW grant, this program pairs Ph.D. students with Milwaukee nonprofits to build research-practice partnerships and strengthen organizational capacity.
• Mellon-HWW Predoctoral Career Diversity Fellowship
  A yearlong fellowship developing a collaborative humanities consortium across Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee Area Humanities Consortium
  A developing alliance among Marquette, UWM, MSOE and Carroll University to support and uplift humanities nonprofits citywide.
• Regional Employer Survey
  A study of more than 500 HR professionals assessing perceptions of humanities graduate degrees, with a forthcoming white paper and a planned longitudinal follow-up.

Looking ahead

Nettesheim Hoffmann hopes to grow the center into a hub for experimentation, community partnership and interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthening Marquette's role as a leader in humanities innovation.

"The humanities are vibrant," she said. "People engage with them inside and beyond the academy every day. I hope the center becomes a place where those connections are visible, lived and celebrated - for our students, our faculty and our partners across Milwaukee."