Marquette University shared the tragic news of the passing of their president, Michael Lovell. He was in Italy at the time, fighting a rare form of cancer.
In a recent statement by the university, Lovell, who is 57 years old, was recognized as “a fixture of the Milwaukee community” who actively encouraged Marquette and Milwaukee to strive for innovation instead of settling for the status quo.
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While on a Jesuit formation pilgrimage in Rome with his wife Amy, Marquette’s board of trustees, and members of the Society of Jesus, Lovell fell ill and was hospitalized in Rome, according to the university’s statement on Sunday.
In 2021, he publicly disclosed his diagnosis of sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that he had been fighting.
In 2022, Lovell expressed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that when you are uncertain about the time you have left, you desire to make every day count and pursue the things that make you happy.
According to his official university biography, Lovell had been the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was appointed as Marquette University’s 24th president in 2014. Prior to this, he had held leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Kentucky. Lovell is a father of four.
In 2022, Lovell expressed, “Why do I want to work? There are days that can be tough, and I won’t deny that the past few years were challenging. However, I feel a strong attachment to this campus and our community, and that’s what motivates me to keep going.”
The university hailed Lovell and his wife as pioneers for their direct approach towards mental health issues in the region.
According to a representative from Bader Philanthropies in Milwaukee, Lovell was a remarkable individual who possessed immense strength in all aspects of his life – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
According to Frank Cumberbatch, Bader’s vice president, the loss of Bader is immense. However, Cumberbatch believes that Bader would have encouraged everyone to keep moving forward and find joy in simple activities like going for a jog or talking to a child. “But if he were here, he would say, ‘Guys, don’t talk like that. Let’s just carry on. Let’s go for a jog. Let’s find a kid to talk to,'” Cumberbatch shared with WTMJ in Milwaukee.
He said, “That person was Michael Lovell.”
According to Marquette University, the impact made by Lovell as the leader of their 12,000-strong student body “will always be remembered”, while his absence is deeply felt throughout the community.
Acting as the new president, Provost Kimo Ah Yun will lead the administration.
