A very small, but important, article about the new Vision that MU has adopted under Father P and the Board. There are several important aspects in this announcement:

1) Raising the academic profile of MU - We are currently ranked 83 and the goal is to get in the top quarter? That's an amazing jump that will take several years of committed investment to do. I've actually been hearing about this for awhile from a friend who works in the Administration. Fr. Wild focused on the physical aspects of MU, but Father P is focusing on the academic. To be honest, that might be a source of friction between him and some alumni. Academics isn't the sexy thing that people see and can appreciate when driving down Wisconsin Avenue. I also believe this focus on academics has a direct correlation to the increased standards put on the athletes, including why it will be harder to accept JUCOs in the future.

2) Service - this is always something that I think MU does really well and welcome an even greater focus on it in the future.

3) Leveraging brand of athletics - The administration gets it. They know that athletics provides a huge advertising platform to get the Marquette name out there. They will continue to invest in the things that make MU so successful, like top notch facilities and large recruiting budgets. Now, I'm sure there will be some comments like, "then show Buzz some love and pay the man" type things. I think we all would like to see MU do everything they can, but we have to be honest and say nobody or institution can do everything all the time. The positive I take from the statement is that we will never go back to the "Dukiet" years where the brand suffered and MU did not invest in athletics.

It is a long way to go for MU to achieve this Vision. But I love the boldness and confidence to put it out there and say we will achieve it. I look forward to seeing the actions that make it happen over the next several years. Makes me proud to be an MU alum.