History

In January 2007, leaders in the School of Education at Marquette University determined that additional higher education support and resources should be made available to further the academic success of Milwaukee Archdiocesan elementary and secondary schools. Accordingly, local Catholic school leaders and community members, as well as representatives from Alverno College, were invited to participate in a focused discussion to examine the following issues in depth:

• The major challenges facing Catholic schools
• Strategies that might address these challenges
• Specific actions that Catholic institutions of higher education could take to mitigate the negative effects of some of the more substantial problems.

Those Catholic school leaders and community members in attendance expressed pleas for assistance around the following three primary themes:

1. Professional development for Catholic school teachers and leaders
2. Strengthening of schools’ Catholic mission and identity
3. Organizational effectiveness in areas such as fundraising, marketing, public relations and governance

Given the significant need expressed by the forum participants, Marquette University first partnered with Alverno College over a period of several months to plan next steps. A decision was made to invite the Education deans from Cardinal Stritch University, Mount Mary College, and Marian University, the other regional Catholic colleges and universities in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, to participate in a series of conversations about the influence that institutional collaboration could have on the schools in the Archdiocese. The excitement and understanding of the impact that these five institutions of higher education could exert on the Catholic K-12 system was impressive. There was a general belief among the institutions that working together represented a moral imperative and hence the GMCEC was incepted in the summer of 2007.