Engage and empower. These two Ignatian values are essential tools for Marquette's transition from a regionally respected institution to a nationally great university.

We've made great progress toward our goal, as Fr. Wild detailed in this summer's Marquette Magazine. Still, three examples from last school year prove the need for Marquette's administration to consciously engage and empower students as part of the effort.

In April, Marquette announced a transformational $28 million gift to the College of Communication to be spent on new classroom spaces, need-based scholarships and faculty research. No money was mentioned for student priorities, like letting The Marquette Tribune sports staff travel to away games, buying a radio signal for MU Radio or updating the equipment at MUTV.

Simply put — we needed a student in the room to say, "Gold would never fly with the guys on my dorm floor."

Instead of quiet discussions with students seeking an amicable resolution of the "Adopt a Sniper" controversy, the administration's "Issue a directive and that's the end of it" mentality led to confrontation and embarrassment.

There is a better way, and the wisdom of Jesuit teaching provides the touchstones: Engage and empower the community in decision-making.

Here are three things the administration can do this school year to make student input a cornerstone of the campus conversation:

First, add two students to Marquette's highest governing body, the board of trustees. The University of Wisconsin and our Jesuit sister schools John Carroll and Loyola Marymount grant membership to student representatives. Students will reflect the pulse of campus and contribute a much-needed perspective as Marquette's trustees consider our institution's future.

Second, host "Dreamer Days" among the student body as part of the strategic planning process. Expand the circle of leadership beyond the traditional "student leader" positions. Involve students in focus groups to discover what Marquette can do for different niche interests on campus.

Third, set up a Best Buy-style "Ideas Box" program with depositories around campus and on the Internet. Every student has uttered the refrain, "Marquette could go from 'good to great' just by changing a lot of the little things." It's true.

From making Office of Student Development forms for student organizations Web-friendly to enticing a grocery store onto campus, every day there are hundreds of specific things that students say would make life better. Provide an outlet for those ideas — something quick and easy.

Engage and empower the student body this year. We all want Marquette to become a great university — offer us the opportunity to join hands as companions on the journey.

This viewpoint was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 15, 2005.