Dr. Kimo Ah Yun was inaugurated as the 25th president of Marquette University at a combined mass and installation ceremony held Tuesday at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. The mass was presided over by the Most Rev. Jeffrey S. Grob, Archbishop of Milwaukee.
President Ah Yun was unanimously elected the 25th president of Marquette University by the Marquette Board of Trustees at a special board meeting in November 2024. The president, who had served in the dual acting president and provost roles since June 10, 2024, succeeded Dr. Michael R. Lovell, who led the university as its first lay president from 2014 until his death on June 9, 2024.
“The world needs a strong Marquette,” President Ah Yun said. “It needs passionate and compassionate leaders. It needs individuals who believe faith and reason can and should coexist. It needs thinkers and dreamers; the faithful and the curious. It needs Marquette.”
Todd Adams, chair of the Marquette University Board of Trustees, and Peggy Troy, trustee emerita, installed President Ah Yun on behalf of the Board of Trustees, while Rev. James Prehn, S.J., socius of the Midwest Jesuit Province, oversaw the commissioning.
“Without reservation, I can say that our 25th president, Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, is a faithful servant leader who cares a great deal about Marquette University, our mission, our people and our future,” Adams said.
President Ah Yun is the first person of color to lead Marquette and the Catholic, Jesuit university’s second lay president in its 143-year history.
