We are excited to open nominations for the 2026 Ralph J. Huiras Law School Citizen Award, which will honor one of first-year Marquette law student for contributing to the spirit of the Law School community. Each year, one student receives the prestigious award and an accompanying scholarship for the student’s second year of study—generously funded by the Ralph J. Huiras Foundation. We are currently accepting confidential nominations for this award from all first-year law students, as well as Law School faculty and staff.

Award Criteria:

Ideal candidates for this honor are individuals who add to the spirit of the Law School community by demonstrating a broad spectrum of qualities, including the following:

• Professionalism
• A willingness to assist fellow students
• Involvement in the Law School and the broader community
• Other indicia of excellence, faith, leadership, and service

To Nominate:

To nominate one of your first-year classmates for the award, please send an email to Dean Fodor at anna.fodor@marquette.edu by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, with—

• the name of the eligible nominee (please see eligibility requirements below), and
• a short paragraph describing why you think the nominee meets the award criteria (also listed below).

Eligibility:

Eligible students for the 2026 award are—

• all full-time first-year students who entered Marquette Law School in August 2025, and
• all part-time first-year students who entered Marquette Law School in August 2024.

Selection:

A selection committee will select one nominated student to receive the Ralph J. Huiras Law School Citizen Award, and two other finalists will each receive a $5,000 scholarship for the following academic year. The recipients will be announced at the Annual Law School Alumni Awards Ceremony.

About Ralph J. Huiras:

The late Ralph J. Huiras was an alumnus of Marquette University Law School, and he and his family have a long history of generosity to the school and its students. Ralph, who was born just as his father was graduating from the Law School, had a remarkably varied career. After having been excused from his last set of law-school exams in 1941 on account of having received a “summons” from J. Edgar Hoover to report to the nation’s capital to join the FBI, Ralph returned to Wisconsin and his native Ozaukee County in 1948. For the ensuing six decades, he practiced law, was a business leader in the community, and served as an elected official and otherwise engaged citizen. Ralph was one of the earliest advocates for the construction of an entirely new law facility, which now sits as Eckstein Hall. The Huiras Lounge on the second floor of Eckstein Hall, just outside the dean’s office, remembers Ralph, and his father, Peter Huiras. The Ralph J. Huiras Law School Citizen Award is designed by the Huiras Foundation as an annual tribute to Ralph’s legacy of service to the legal profession and the community and to his affinity for the development of Marquette law students.

* * *

Thank you in advance for your nominations, and please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

Contact: Dean Fodor