Marquette University - History

History

Marquette University was founded on August 28, 1881 as Marquette College by John Martin Henni, the first Catholic bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The university was named after 17th century missionary and explorer Father Jacques Marquette, S.J.. The highest priority of the newly established college was to provide an affordable Catholic education to the area's emerging German immigrant population. Marquette College officially became a university in 1907. Marquette University High School, formerly the preparatory department of the university, became a separate institution the same year. Initially an all-male institution, Marquette University became the first coed Catholic university in the world, when it admitted its first female students in 1909.

Marquette University acquired the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1913, and opened schools of medicine (including nursing), dentistry, and pharmacy. Marquette's School of Medicine separated from Marquette in 1967 to become the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The two largest donations to Marquette University came within the same academic year. The second-largest gift was given by an anonymous couple who have, over time, donated over $50 million to the university. On December 18, 2006, President Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J. announced that the couple donated $25 million to the College of Engineering. Less than five months later, on May 4, 2007, Marquette announced a $51 million gift from Raymond and Kathryn Eckstein that will directly benefit the Marquette University School of Law. The gift is currently the largest amount ever given to a Wisconsin university.