Marquette University - Hilltop Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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13 I W EGAUSE of a variety of cultural tastes, there is a wide selection of cultural programs. The ■ most frequent are the lectures offered by Marquette groups. Each year the school presents world-reknowned scholars and literary figures and introduces Milwaukee to contemporary art leaders. Local personalities also make regular contributions to Marquette’s programs throughout the year. Besides these speakers, the University offers an organized speakers service. Members of its faculty and administration respond to almost fifty requests per month for speeches before industrial, educational and social groups. Moreover. Marquette provides Milwaukee with the resources of the Memorial Library and several specialized libraries in the professional schools, all of which are open to those engaged in research. Also available to off-campus readers are the publications of the Marquette Press, including the many scliolarly works of faculty members. As a further cultural service to Milwaukee, Marquette is prepared to satisfy the demands for quality entertainment through its artistic, musical and dramatic presentations. In the process of building an imposing art collection, the University annually presents several photography and art exhibits; musical groups on the campus and nationally prominent musicians raise the city’s cultural tastes, while the school's dramatic groups, led by the Marquette Players, bring some of the best in theater to the city. Still, Marquette’s cultural offerings are not static. The inquiring nature which is synonymous with university life leads the school to explore new and modem aspects of the arts, just as it docs in the professional fields. During the Anniversary Year, the tendency to concentrate on contemporary art forms gained momentum and the University has made impressive strides in the areas of jazz, modern art and contemporary drama. However, few of these cultural programs could continue without an audience. and it is Milwaukee which provides that audience. So again, this time in their cultural developments, the mutual dependence of the partners is evidenced.

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N ADDITION to those physical services offered by the community, the school contributes to the mental development of Milwaukee. Marquette, as most other urban universities, recognizes its duty to stimulate intellectual development in its city, not only through its regular college programs, but also in its part-time and adult education services. With an increasing amount of leisure time, more and more Milwaukeeans are taking advantage of these programs for evening and part-time study offered by Marquette. In these divisions, past graduates arc enabled to return and become still more expert in their fields; many who did not complete their college educations are continuing in night classes; and others having no previous college experience are presented an opportunity for higher education. Souk attend Marquette for refresher courses, and still others study merely to stimulate their intellectual lives. The programs offered by the University’s adult and part-time educational services broaden each year, with new courses relevant to community and national problems constantly being introduced. In supplying this valuable intellectual service, the faculty has been lxilstered by professional people from the city, and other community leaders participate in the conferences and institutes which the University sponsors to stimulate intellectual progress. Only a metropolitan location can supply the vast number of people needed for the operation of the services which are an essential part of professional programs. Thus, again, the mutual benefits are inseparable; without the persons Milwaukee supplies, Marquette’s intellectual activity would In weakened, and without Marquette's services, the community's professional level would suffer. Though vitally related to the progress of both, the professional unity which exists between the city and the University represents just one phase in their partnership. Of equal significance is the cultural cooperation of the two which ties another knot in the cord of mutual dependence binding Marquette ami Milwaukee. Devoted to the world of thought and learning, the University is a natural breeding place for culture, and it is logical that the city should look to Marquette for leadership in such activity. Marquette has not failed to meet these demands. For many years it has enhanced the prestige of Milwaukee and Catholic education alike by furthering art and culture. In the lilx-ral arts program, an appreciation of culture is developed through heavy emphasis on artistic evolution of classic and contemporary civilizations. Though Marquette lacks an academic department devoted to the arts, definite strides were taken during the past year to erase that deficiency when the University allied with Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art to strengthen the curriculum. To increase the aesthetic principles developed in the classrooms, campus organizations also sponsor cultural programs throughout the year. With almost all of these programs open to Milwaukee audiences, the community receives immediate benefits from Marquette's cultural leadership. This increases the steady elevation of its tastes brought about by the assimilation of Marquette graduates.

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ROVIDING an audience, however, is the least of Milwaukee’s reciprocal cultural contributions to the University. Just as Milwaukee citizens make use of Marquette’s similar facilities. so also are the cultural facilities of the city open to Marquette. The Milwaukee library's and museum provide materials for study which are not available at the University. Radio and television stations channel Marquette's cultural activities to the public, increasing the audience even more. Professional theatrical organizations present productions far beyond the scope of the University’s resources, and Marquette students are allowed to participate in the activities of these local groups. Viewing the partnership of Marquette and Milwaukee from a purely pragmatic standpoint, one of the greatest contributions Marquette makes to Milwaukee is in the economic realm. With more than ten thousand students plus the faculty and administration. Marquette is almost a business for the city — a business responsible for an estimated eighteen million dollars spent annually in the city. The very buildings of the University contribute to the city’s economy, for local groups make extensive use of meeting-room facilities, and dormitory space relieves the strain on cits- accomodations in overcrowded seasons. Marquette’s contribution to the city’s economic life is amply returned to the University, however, bv Milwaukee’s donations. One of the important financial services Milwaukee' renders to the University is the abundance of job opportunities it offers to students who must work their way through school. Often, especially in the co-op systems offered in several schools on the campus, those jobs are related to the courses which students are following at the University. An even further advantage of this working is the air of maturity which these students contribute to the University, in addition to stimulating industry and perseverance on the part of other Marquetters. Perhaps the most evident of the city’s economic helps comes from the citizens of Milwaukee who have abvays supported the University financially. Simple proof of the community’s interest and pride in Marquette is the resounding success of the University's five and one-half million dollar fund drive which ended last December. Rut the support Milwaukee gives seems not to be in the form of a direct gift. Rather it seems to be an investment in Marquette. The University which has given so much up , to now is expected, in return, to continue to l enefit Milwaukee; the city which has provided a safe, healthy atmosphere for seventy-six years is looking forward to a corresponding assurance of future progress in partnership with Marquette.