[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 100 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4076-S4077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING MICHAEL LOVELL

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on a picturesque college campus in 
Milwaukee, WI, the excited whispers of students would make you think a 
celebrity had just walked by. And, in a way, a celebrity had just 
walked by--because in the eyes of the Marquette University community, 
beloved University President Michael Lovell was a figure to admire, 
learn from, and emulate. He embodied cura personalis--Marquette's 
guiding principle--meaning ``care for the whole person.''
  There is something especially painful about the death of those taken 
from us too soon. And so it is with a heavy heart that I grieve the 
loss of Dr. Michael Lovell--celebrated president of Marquette 
University, distinguished engineer, educator, and scholar. President 
Lovell passed away last week after a 3-year long battle with sarcoma, a 
rare form of cancer. His time with us was cut short, but during his 57 
years of life, he had a tremendous impact on students, the Milwaukee 
community, and all those lucky enough to call him a loved one.
  For the past decade, Dr. Lovell served as the president of Marquette 
University. Though a man of faith, he was the first president who was a 
layman, rather than a member of the Catholic clergy. In this role, 
President Lovell became a fixture of the Marquette community, showing a 
fierce devotion to the university and the city he called home.
  Prior to serving as Marquette's president, Dr. Lovell served as the 
chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and, before that, 
as the dean of its engineering college. An engineer by trade, President 
Lovell held not one, not two, but three mechanical engineering degrees, 
including a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. And he was 
recognized nationally and globally for his exceptional talents. 
Throughout the course of his career, he received awards from the 
National Science Foundation, was a fellow of the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers and National Academy of Inventors, and earned U.S. 
and global patents.
  During his tenure as Marquette's president, Dr. Lovell helped create 
the Near West Side Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to the economic 
development, safety, and community identity of Milwaukee's seven near 
west side neighborhoods. Under his leadership, Marquette grew to new 
heights. Dr. Lovell was instrumental in the construction of a new 
athletics center, new residence hall, new green spaces, new academic 
buildings, and countless other projects across Marquette's campus. His 
stewardship shaped the university, and every student that passes 
through those new halls will benefit from his dedication to making 
Marquette a world-class institution.
  But more impressive than what he accomplished was the relationships 
he built. Marquette was dear to him. In an interview with the Milwaukee 
Journal Sentinel in 2022, he reflected on why he continued to work as 
he battled cancer. His response was simple: ``When you don't know how 
much time you have left, you want your days to be impactful and you 
want to do things that you love.'' And, boy, did President Lovell love 
that community. He lived by that guiding principle of cura personalis. 
He showed up for his students--fostering not only their academic 
potential, but their growth as future leaders who engaged with their 
communities. Students fondly recall running alongside him for the 
annual Briggs and Al's Run or him handing out hot cookies and ice cream 
in the dining halls. And of course, he made regular appearances on the 
jumbotron at Marquette basketball games.
  Dr. Lovell made a habit of meeting with and listening to students. He 
often sat down with small groups of them for lunch to hear about their 
classes or to discuss the probability of the basketball team making it 
through March Madness and into the Final Four. And as Milwaukee 
reckoned with its own history of racial injustice in 2020, Dr. Lovell 
held townhalls and met directly with students of color to better 
understand their experiences on campus. Because of those listening 
sessions and student advocacy, President Lovell partnered with the 
Black student council to establish new scholarships for students of 
color, improve the diversity of counselors on campus, and strengthen 
the core curriculum to require additional education on racial 
injustice.
  And this commitment to the well-being of students reached beyond 
campus. In the wake of the horrific January 6 insurrection, Dr. Lovell 
heard that a 2018 Marquette alumnus was among the U.S. Capitol Police 
officers protecting lawmakers that day. He personally reached out to 
that former student, offering gratitude for his service and the full 
support of the university. It was a small gesture, but one that 
demonstrated just how much Dr.

[[Page S4077]]

Lovell cared for Marquette's students, past and present.
  Marquette University may not be in Illinois, but it is significant to 
me. My son is a proud Marquette graduate, as are many of my incredible 
staff members in Washington, DC, and across Illinois. And it was 
President Lovell's innovative and empathetic leadership that helped 
make Marquette so special for so many. In the words of Milwaukee Bucks 
Head Coach Doc Rivers, who played for Marquette in the 1980s, President 
Lovell was a ``gentle giant.'' I join my staff, my son, and the whole 
Marquette community in mourning the loss of President Lovell.
  While Dr. Lovell's legacy will live on in all the lives he touched, 
it does not make this loss any easier. He was deeply kind, an 
exceptional listener, and unyieldingly optimistic in the face of a 
formidable diagnosis. President Lovell lived the last years of his life 
to the fullest. And, in part, it was his deep religious convictions 
that allowed him to remain strong during such trying health challenges. 
I admire his faith and resilience.
  Loretta and I join his wife Amy and his four children--Marissa, Matt, 
Anna, and Kevin--in grieving this tremendous loss. We send our love to 
all of you. Though he has passed, Dr. Lovell's embodiment of cura 
personalis carries on--and we are all better for it.

                          ____________________