90 Years of Impact at Marquette: A Reflection for National Nurses Week

In September of 1936, the Marquette campus welcomed 23 nursing students. They were not just the first students to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing on Marquette's campus, but the first to do so in the state of Wisconsin. They were, in many ways, like the students of today: young, hopeful, eager to serve. There's no way they could have known how far the legacy they began would ultimately extend.

National Nurses Week officially begins on Wednesday. It is the time each year when we recognize the contributions nurses make in patient care, public health, policy, research and education, among other areas. This year, our theme is "90 Years of Impact," to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Marquette Nursing. Over the course of those nine decades, more than 13,000 nurses have graduated from Marquette, and they have collectively treated hundreds of thousands of patients.

You've probably noticed that a few things have changed over that time. We've moved buildings several times, most recently to the newly renovated Straz Hall in 2024. Clinical and simulation standards have shifted. The challenges to the American healthcare system have multiplied exponentially over the years. What a nurse looks like, and who can be a nurse, has also undergone a transformation. (You can see some of our old Marquette Nursing uniforms in the Straz lobby right now!)

Surviving and thriving for 90 years has demanded a combination of responsiveness to these changes and clarity about what should remain constant. The principles of a Marquette Nurse - caring for the whole person, advocating for the vulnerable, championing social justice, thinking critically and leading courageously - have been a steady, unyielding moral compass for everything we do. Although we are always discerning what it means to live those principles in the times we are in, our commitment to the principles themselves has never wavered. Marquette is a trusted name in nursing specifically because we educate nurses that have so consistently embodied these qualities.

This Nurses Week, we celebrate a new group of graduates who will carry forward that tradition. We recognize the need to innovate, while also celebrating the things that are timeless. I am honored to play a small role in this nearly-century long project, and I look forward to all that is to come.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jill Guttormson
Dean of the College of Nursing