In 1992, I met James Foley during my first week as a freshman. Little did I know that that meeting would create ripples impacting my entire life.
Marquette is a special place and, like Coach Shaka Smart stresses, it’s about relationships. It’s amazing to realize just how much Marquette educated and informed me.
This happened not only in the classroom, but in introducing me to friends who have remained supportive long after our undergraduate years concluded.
Like so many Marquette alums, we developed unbreakable friendships that transcend time and space. We became a family with our roots firmly on Marquette’s campus.
So, it’s really not surprising that when our friend, Jim Foley, was abducted in Libya on April 11, 2011, we sprang into action. For the next 44 days, Jim’s friends, nicknamed the “Friends of Jim” by Jim’s dad, met regularly to figure out a way to get Jim home. We called politicians, spoke to the media, and uncovered potential leads wherever we could. We wanted to find our brother.
But it wasn’t just us in Jim’s inner circle. It was the larger Marquette community. Vigils and press avails occurred at Marquette, thanks to Emily Wacker Schultz, Kim Perez and the entire administration. Our efforts were rewarded when Jim was released on May 18, 2011.
Jim triumphantly returned to Marquette to give thanks to the university that never forgot him. Unfortunately, the story does not have the happy ending we all wished for.
After his release from Libya, Jim spent a few months working behind a desk before returning to conflict reporting. It was his calling because he was always a man for others. Jim went back to Libya to document the fall of Muammar Gaddafi and then to Syria to cover the uprising there. On Thanksgiving 2012, the unthinkable happened again – Jim was abducted again, this time in Syria.
For 19 months, FOJs and others attempted to bring Jim back home again. On August 19, 2014, the world watched in horror as images of ISIS beheading Jim circulated. Sadness and anger filled us. A Mass at Church of the Gesu attracted over 1000 people. In one of his first official duties, our late president, Dr. Michael R. Lovell, was on the altar to help mourn Jim.
Following Jim’s murder, we held a concert in Chicago. It was as much to remember Jim as it was a chance for us – the Marquette family included – to gather in community to ease the pain, if for just one night. Proceeds from the concert helped establish the James Foley Scholarship at Marquette. We were trying to create our own silver linings. I’d link to coverage of this event so people can see how the community has gotten together before.
Why do I share this? Because of all the things we have done in the 10 years since Jim’s murder, the one thing we have not done is celebrate Jim’s life. To be grateful for the years Jim did have, and his importance as a member of the Marquette family.
That’s changing. On Oct. 12, we are holding Jamming for Jimmy: A Celebration of the Life of Jim Foley at the Pabst Theater – and this will be a celebration! BoDeans, a legendary Wisconsin rock band, the Predictors, a Marquette alumni band and Thriftones, a local band, are performing. Dr. John & Diane Foley, Jim’s parents, will be in attendance.
This is an opportunity for our Marquette community to join together to be part of something bigger than ourselves and to celebrate an alum who gave everything in service of others.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Pabst Theater website. Use promo code FOLEY2024 to save $20 on first-floor and balcony seats. All proceeds support the Foley Foundation, the archiving of Jim’s work in the Raynor Library, and MU’s Center for Peacemaking.
This story was written by Thomas Durkin, Research and Grant Coordinator at the Marquette Center for Peacemaking. He can be reached at [email protected].