Lubar Gift Opens Path to “So Much More” in Law School Public Policy Programs

Sheldon LubarIn the announcement of a $5.5 million endowment gift by Milwaukee philanthropists Sheldon and Marianne Lubar to support public policy work at Marquette Law School, perhaps the most important statement came from Sheldon Lubar himself: “There is so much more to be done.”

The gift, announced Tuesday, will be added to a $1.5 million endowment gift made by the Lubars in 2010, to create a $7 million fund for continuing support of the efforts of the Law School. The public policy initiative began in 2007 with the hiring of Mike Gousha, distinguished fellow in law and public policy. It has grown to include numerous conferences, candidate debates, the “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” series of conversations, the Marquette Law School Poll, the Water Law and Policy Initiative, and other efforts to further serious, balanced discussion of major issues of all kinds.

“In recent years in particular, Marquette Law School has played a leading role in significant discussions and research on important topics,” Sheldon Lubar said. “At the same time, there is so much more to do. We are pleased to expand our support of this work.”

The initiative will be named the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. In addition, the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall, where many major events are held, will be named the Lubar Center.

Marquette University President Michael R. Lovell said, “Marquette greatly appreciates the faith of Shel and his family in our university’s ability to bring greater understanding through constructive conversations.”

Joseph D. Kearney, Dean and Professor of Law, said, “Marquette University Law School is deeply committed to serving our community in ways even beyond our primary goal of providing outstanding legal education to our students. . . . We seek to enhance that role and to bring important ideas and people to our community through the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education.”

The Lubar Center will support public policy research initiatives and civic education at the Law School and beyond. This includes public events, funding for faculty and staff involved in the center, and research and reporting projects.

The initial Lubar gift has supported numerous research projects and innovative partnerships with journalism entities, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Milwaukee Business Journal.

In addition to the Lubar Fund, the Law School supports its public policy initiative with donations from its annual fund.

Gousha said, “Whether it is hearing from candidates for public office, exploring new ideas for addressing policy challenges, or providing independent research, data collection, and analysis, our goal is to be a resource for the region and state.”

The full news release announcing the gift may be found by clicking here.

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Children’s Hospital Chief Says Her “North Star” Is Good Health for All Kids

When Peggy Troy returned to the Milwaukee area about eight years ago to become president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, she was struck by the disparities in children’s health she found. She had been a hospital executive in Memphis and expected that things were better overall in Milwaukee. But when it came to medical issues affecting thousands of children in high-poverty neighborhoods, that wasn’t really the case. The disparities in Milwaukee’s central city were some of the worst in the nation.

Since then, Troy has been a central figure in accelerating the efforts by Children’s and many community partners to improve the overall health of children in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. While the national reputation of Children’s for its medical work has continued to rise, the mission statement for the institution goes beyond delivering care for patients. It is to make Wisconsin’s children the healthiest in the nation.

That broader mission was Troy’s focus during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Marquette Law School on Thursday.  

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State School Superintendent Candidates Differ Sharply in Law School Debate

There are many clear divisions between the two candidates for Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction when it comes to how each would do the job over the next four years – and a good selection of those differences were visible Tuesday when the two debated at Marquette Law School.

Two-term incumbent Tony Evers and challenger Lowell Holtz, former superintendent of Beloit and Whitnall, will face off in the statewide election on April 4.

The Law School session, a week before election day, brought some heat – the two had sharp words, particularly over an exchange between candidates Lowell Holtz and John Humphries, a third candidate who lost in a February primary. In December, Humphries and Holtz met at a restaurant.  It remains murky who said what, but notes from that conversation say they talked about one of them working for the other, should the other win. The “loser” would get a high paying job that would include broad power of several of the state’s largest school districts.  In Tuesday’s debate, Evers said the exchange brought Holtz’s integrity into question. Holtz said Evers’ version was false, but did not clarify what went on between Humphries and him.

But there was light as well as heat at Tuesday’s one-hour debate. The race has been regarded by some as a referendum on the use of publicly-funded vouchers to allow students to attend private schools, including religious schools. Indeed, they do differ sharply on this, with Evers generally a critic of vouchers and Holtz a supporter.

But they differ on much more.

Continue ReadingState School Superintendent Candidates Differ Sharply in Law School Debate
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