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Change Agents More great ideas put into motion through an innovative Marquette fund. 2016 STRATEGIC INNOVATION FUND AWARDEES
3 In its second year, Marquette’s Strategic Innovation Fund used a pool of approximately $2 million to seed 26 new
student-, faculty- and staff-initiated ideas. From research ventures to academic tools and community collaborations, the projects enrich education at Marquette and aim to improve lives beyond campus. Here’s a sampling of the fund’s Class of 2016:
Building an identity for engineers
With an engineer for a father and a teacher for a mother, it’s only natural that Karlie Hornberger, left, a sophomore in engineering, is drawn to educating others about the subject she’s studying. Eager to reduce the underrepresentation of women and diverse students in the field — the STEM gap — Hornberger and senior Maureen Mikkelsen meet weekly to lead a group of 11 other engineering students to the Milwaukee Academy of Science, a middle school just blocks from Marquette’s campus. There, they talk about what it means to be an engineer and help the students work through a STEM-based curriculum. However, the program’s benefits extend beyond the younger students: Hornberger believes this mentorship program is equally impactful as an identity-shaping tool for Marquette students. “The experience of walking into a classroom and saying, ‘I’m an engineering student — that’s what I’m working toward.’ It’s really affirming to be able to say that to a group of people,” says Hornberger.
Going for research gold
There’s no shortage of opportunities for students to engage in faculty-sponsored research — yet too many students find out about these opportunities late in their Marquette journeys. Enter the newly minted MU4Gold Scholars program, led by Dr. Rosemary Stuart, left, professor of biological sciences, and Dr. Amelia Zurcher, below, associate professor of English and director of the University Honors Program. By targeting research-oriented freshmen applicants for scholarships, leading them through a one-credit seminar, and pairing them with faculty research mentors, Stuart and fellow project leaders aim to build Marquette’s cultural research reputation both on campus and with high-achieving applicants. “We want to groom this cohort not only to be productive and have a fantastic learning experience, but to move on to applying for prestigious fellowships and scholarships and being more prepared and competitive for these opportunities,” says Stuart, a recipient of Marquette’s top faculty research and teaching honors. “I suppose we thought about winning these scholarships as ‘winning gold.’”
Stopping abuse in its tracks An associate professor in the College of Nursing, Dr. Abir Bekhet often explores the effects of abusive relationships in her courses, but a new partnership with the One Love Foundation allows her to spread awareness beyond the classroom through the foundation’s “Escalation” workshops. The One Love Foundation was created to honor the memory of Yeardley Love, who was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend just weeks before her college graduation in Virginia. “The goal of this workshop is to prevent others from experiencing such a devastating loss through educating as many young people as possible about the warning signs of abusive relationships,” says Bekhet. Each campus workshop is composed of a discussion and a video depicting scenes of abusive relationships. Bekhet and her team use pre- and post-discussion themes to document how the workshop affects both potential victims and bystanders. By educating both groups, Bekhet aims to create a cohesive community of students who are well-educated about domestic violence and know how to diffuse and, ultimately, stop it before it begins. KATE SHEKA
Learn more about these and other funded projects: marquette.edu/innovation/strategic-innovation-fund.php.
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