³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ

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History Timeline

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ History Timeline

See how our pioneering spirit, collaboration, and impactful partnerships helped shape our community and the people we serve.
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1893-94

Wisconsin's first two medical schools are founded.

A. Hamilton Levings, MD
(A. Hamilton Levings, MD, was a founder of Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons and served as its president for 20 years.)

1913

Three women are among the first graduating class of the Marquette University School of Medicine.

Three women are among the first graduating class of the Marquette University School of Medicine.

 

Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons merges with Milwaukee Medical College to become Marquette University School of Medicine.

Louis F. Jermain, MD
(Louis F. Jermain, MD, first dean of the Marquette University School of Medicine.)

1925

The Marquette University School of Medicine Alumni Association is formed.

1932

The medical school moves to the Harriet L. Cramer Building on the Marquette campus.

Harriet L. Cramer Building on the Marquette campus

1936

The Marquette Medical Review (the nation's first medical student-edited medical journal) is established.

Marquette Medical Review, 1936

1946

The medical school affiliates with Milwaukee VA Hospital.

Milwaukee VA Hospital, 1946

1951

A Postgraduate Studies Program (now Continuing Medical Education) is created to provide ongoing education to community physicians.

1952-75

Vision for an academic medical center becomes a reality

Early model of MRMC campus, 1952-75

1967

The medical school is separated from Marquette; becomes private, freestanding institution

1970

Renamed as the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ (³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ)

Wauwatosa Times, October 1970

1967-74

Government and community support for ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ and the academic medical center:

  • Heil Commission Report
  • Governor's Commission on Medical Education
  • Carley Commission Report

Government and community support for academic medical center, October 31, 1969

1978

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ relocated to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) campus

Milwaukee Regional Medical Campus, 1978

1979

The ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ Affiliated Hospitals (³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦAH) is created to oversee hospitals' residency training programs.

1980

Froedtert Hospital opens on the MRMC campus

Froedtert Hospital, MRMC campus, 1980

1983

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ Research Foundation (now Office of Technology Development) is created to spur technology transfer in Southeastern Wisconsin.

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ Research Foundation created, 1983

1988

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is relocated to the MRMC campus.

1989

The Alumni Association's name is changed to the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ – Marquette Medical Alumni Association.

1995

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences established

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ Graduate School established, 1995

1999

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ receives transformational Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin conversion funds; Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment is created.

2010

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ receives NIH award to create the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin.

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ receives NIH award to create the CTSI, 2010

2012

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Medicine initiates Discovery Curriculum, creating earlier clinical integration and scholarly pathways.

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Medicine initiates Discovery Curriculum, 2012

2015

School of Pharmacy established

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Pharmacy established, 2015

 

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ receives Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation (one of only four medical schools in US)

Research poster presentation, 2015

2015-16

New medical school campuses open in Green Bay and Central Wisconsin

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ-Green Bay inaugural class, 2015

2017

First class of Pharmacy students matriculates

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Pharmacy White Coat Ceremony, 2017

2018

³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ celebrates 125 years.

2019

March 26, 2019 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ announces that it will house its Center for Flourishing Lives (later renamed ThriveOn King Collaboration) in the Gimbels-Schuster's Building in Milwaukee’s Halyard Park neighborhood. The 1907 building, used as a storage facility since 1970, was the flagship store for Schuster’s Department Store. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation also will be housed in the building through a new community-based partnership with ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ.

2020

March 16, 2020 - In response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ issues mandatory remote work, visitor/vendor restrictions and a domestic travel moratorium.

March 20, 2020 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ joins with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce to begin offering weekly updates for the business community on developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 18, 2020 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, Froedtert Health, Children’s Wisconsin, and Versiti Blood Center collectively pay Milwaukee County $25.2 million so that the organizations buy the land they had previously been leasing on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus.

September 14, 2020 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and Royal Capitol Group announce that their community-centered collaboration will be named the ThriveOn Collaboration.

November 9, 2020 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program is granted New Program accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling.

December 31, 2020 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s Hope to Health: The Campaign for the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ and Froedtert Hospital, formally ends generating $300.4 million in overall philanthropic support – an increase of more than 50 percent over the original $200 million goal.

2021

January 18, 2021 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ leads the creation of HealthyMKE website as a digital hub for COVID-19 vaccination and public health information.

January 26, 2021 - The ThriveOn Collaboration announces that ThriveOn King will be the name of its physical home at 2153 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

2022

August 1, 2022 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is renamed the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Graduate Studies.

September 6, 2022 - A new Mental Health Emergency Center opens at 1525 N. 12th Street in Milwaukee.

September 9, 2022 -  The Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex closes.

September 12, 2022 - Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s 150,000 square-foot cancer research building. The estimated cost for the new building is $120 million. The State of Wisconsin has provided $10 million in funding support for the new building.

2023

February 15, 2023 -  ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, Froedtert Health, and Children’s Wisconsin join with Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. to create a new family medicine residency on Milwaukee’s northwest side. The North Side Milwaukee Health Centers Family Medicine Residency is Wisconsin’s first teaching health center. Teaching health centers receive federal support to provide primary care residency training programs in underserved communities.

November 10, 2023 - Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Forensic Science and Protective Medicine Facility that will serve as a new state-of-the-art home for the state of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Crime Lab, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ initiated and coordinated planning for the project being constructed on ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ property.

2024

February 8, 2024 - The Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS) is formed through a partnership of ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Health, and the Zablocki VA Medical Center. The Institute advances care and research on disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system. Shekar Kurpad, MD, PhD, is the founding director of WINS.

June 6, 2024 - Ribbon-cutting ceremonies are held for the opening of ThriveOn King, the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s place-based commitment to serve Milwaukee’s Bronzeville community. The ceremonies mark the start of facility occupancy by ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. 

July 20, 2024 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment makes a five-year, $50 million dollar commitment to support hypertension research, and programs supporting child behavioral health and healthcare worker well-being.

August 29, 2024 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin opens its Center for Collaboration of Science and Faith to serve as a national and international resource for addressing urgent public health needs.

2025

August 5, 2025 - Grand opening ceremonies are held for ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s $157 million Center for Cancer Discovery. It is the only research facility in eastern Wisconsin solely dedicated to cancer research.

December 12, 2025 - ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ announces plans to build its first on-campus student housing. The housing complex, to be known as The Commons at ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, will be a four-story development with 260 units.

2026

April 14, 2026 - Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, PhD, FEL ’01, is named ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s seventh president and CEO, effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Kurpad is professor and former chair of neurosurgery, senior associate dean for neuroscience in the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ School of Medicine and founding director of the Wisconsin Institute for Neuroscience. Dr. Kurpad is the first MD/PhD to serve as ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s president.

June 22, 2026 - Wisconsin business executive Tim Michels and his wife Barbara donate a $27 million naming gift to support cancer research at ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ. In recognition, ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ’s cancer research facility will be named the Michels Center for Cancer Discovery.

June 23, 2026 - Brett Kissela, MD, GME ’96, MS, is named the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and the Julia A. Uihlein Dean of the School of Medicine at the ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ, effective September 1, 2026. Dr. Kissela comes to ³ΙΘΛΏμΚΦ from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine where he was executive vice dean and professor of neurology, senior associate dean for clinical research, chief of research services for UC Health, and director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.