Approaching the new school year in the spirit of Father Jacques Marquette
Aug. 29, 2011
Dear Marquette family and friends:
Today is the first day of classes for Marquette University. I imagine that for many of you the memory of the start of each new school year still remains fresh and evokes the feeling of new beginnings. That is especially true for me this year, as I join this remarkable community as president. It is a humbling and exciting time.
Since I was named president last August, I have been blessed to be the beneficiary of tremendous generosity, support and shared wisdom. Father Bob Wild, S.J., has been a constant source of information and inspiration. You know better than I that he has been an outstanding leader. His qualities as both president and pastor have been especially evident to me. Marquette and I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.
In an opening letter I sent to students today, I encouraged them to approach this new academic year in the spirit of the university's namesake, Father Jacques Marquette. He and his companions said goodbye to their families, as many of our students did last week, and set out to explore and chart new courses together. The aim of those early Jesuit explorers matches ours today: the greater glory of God and the world's well-being. It is part of our heritage as a university to approach our work with the same sense of discovery and of magis, the Jesuit concept that describes the restless pursuit of excellence that will always characterize Marquette University. As I've met some of you during this past year and even in these very first weeks on campus, I see that legacy reflected in Marquette's alumni and friends around the world.
What a grace it is for me to share this work with you and for all of us to be a part of the Marquette family. I promise that I will listen and learn from you and with you as together we discern what Marquette's future will hold. I look forward to getting to know you in the coming months.
Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
President
Office of
the President
Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., to serve as interim president
The Board of Trustees has chosen Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., to lead Marquette University as interim president. Wild, who served as president of Marquette from 1996 to 2011, will take over for Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., who announced on Sept. 20, that after 10 years as a university president at Marquette University and the University of Scranton, he was resigning to pursue other apostolic opportunities.
Father Pilarz will assist Father Wild with the transition, while traveling back and forth to the East coast to care for his ailing father, which he noted in a letter to the Marquette community on Sept. 25. Father Wild is concluding his duties with the Wisconsin Province and will take over as interim president on Oct. 16.
Wild will serve as interim president until August 2014. A new permanent president is expected to be in place for the 2014-15 academic year.
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