FROM THE PRESIDENT
FROM PRESIDENT
Isabelle Cherney, Ph.D., Mount Mary University
Dear Mount Mary Alumni and Friends,
Soyez la bienvenue! The 2023-24 academic year is officially underway and off to an exciting start. There are so many wonderful things happening around our campus community right now, and many others in development that we look forward to sharing! Our mission calls us to provide access to the most vulnerable and create an environment for the development of the whole person. During this season of Thanksgiving as we reflect on our many blessings, we pray for peace and remember those who are suffering violence around the world. Reflecting on this first year as president of Mount Mary University, I am continually reminded of how blessed I am to lead such a mission-centric, diverse and inclusive institution of higher education. Although there are many challenges facing single-sex faithbased universities, Mount Mary is adaptive, creative, innovative, transformative and poised for a bright future.
rankings in the U.S. News and World Report, once again lauding Mount Mary as a regional leader in social mobility, diversity and value. I was pleased to see our rankings improve in each category, including being the leader in social mobility in the Midwest. This commitment is demonstrated in the many actions that we collectively undertake. A few notable examples include our campus ministry’s spring service-learning trip to the United States border to learn about immigration issues (see story on page 12) and the recent grand opening of our Center for Culture, Identity and Belonging (page 24). This fall, we also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month and our status as one of only three Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the state of Wisconsin. Our diversity is truly our strength! This issue of Mount Mary Magazine reflects upon our embrace of science, technology, Reflection, engineering, art and math (STREAM) in all aspects of education. We recognize the vital importance of incorporating technology into every major, shaping our students to be adaptive and reflective leaders who are equipped to enter the workforce with vision, compassion, purpose and confidence. This Reflection, emphasized in the core curriculum, prepares our students to be thoughtful leaders.
This past year, we accomplished so much. We had over 400 students taking summer classes. Our yearly Summer Leadership Program welcomed over 80 high-school girls, and our Summer Fashion Academy was a great success. Over 860 visitors admired our senior fashion design students’ creations displayed at the CREO fashion show. This fall, our first-year undergraduate class increased by 10%. We began the fall semester by welcoming one of our most diverse groups of students in our history. ONE COMMUNITY SHAPING Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is reflected in our recent TOMORROW’S GAME CHANGERS
2 | FALL 2023
Our STREAM undergraduate curriculum prepares students well for a fast-paced, complex
