Question: What do actor Spencer Tracy, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and former business leader Harry Quadracci have in common?
Answer: Among other things, they all attended Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.
Marquette University High School celebrates its 150th anniversary with in-school activities, displays and presentations throughout 2007.
Over the years, Marquette University High School has been a feeder school for Milwaukee's political, athletic and corporate power structures. In addition to the aforementioned, the short list of prominent Hilltoppers includes: Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and his predecessor, E. Michael McCann; several municipal and circuit court judges; Peter Bonerz, actor and director on "The Bob Newhart Show;" Rick Majerus, former men's basketball coach at the University of Utah and current ESPN analyst; James T. Barry III, president and chief executive officer of Colliers Barry Inc., Milwaukee; John Cary, executive director of the MACC Fund, Milwaukee; Ward and Lincoln Fowler, founders of Alterra Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee; Bill Bertha, president of U.S. Bank's Wisconsin division; John Shiely, president and chief executive officer of Briggs & Stratton Corp., Wauwatosa; Dr. Michael Dunn, senior vice president and dean of the Wisconsin Medical College, Wauwatosa; Jon Greenberg, president of the Milwaukee Admirals hockey team; and Pat Dunphy, attorney at Cannon & Dunphy S.C., Milwaukee.
The Fowlers say their Marquette education inspired them to start their own company. "People who try to create their own business need to be very confident to think, solve problems and venture out on their own," said Lincoln Fowler.
The Jesuit all-boys college preparatory school on the corner of North 34th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue stands tall above Milwaukee's once-Irish Merrill Park neighborhood.
The school's sesquicentennial celebration will culminate on July 21 with an open house, a celebratory Mass at the Al McGuire Center on Marquette University's campus and a birthday bash at Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin.
Marquette University High School's celebration is being chaired by John and Mary Cary. John graduated from the school in 1969 and subsequently worked on the school's staff, while Mary volunteered for the school after they were first married. Their four sons also attended Marquette High, as did John's brothers.
Alumni from around the world are expected to return for the school's celebration.
For an exclusive report about Marquette University High School's history, its impact, its celebration and its $22 million fundraising campaign to renovate the campus and create an educational endowment, pick up the print edition of this week's Small Business Times on Friday.
Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes in Milwaukee and is past president of the Milwaukee Press Club. BizTimes provides news and operational insight for the owners and managers of privately held companies throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve has won several journalism awards as a reporter, a columnist and an editor. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
When he is not pursuing the news, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristi, and their two sons, Justin and James. Steve can be reached at steve.jagler@biztimes.com.
