In Memory of President Michael Lovell, 

Leader, Mentor, and Innovator

Dear Council Members and Community,

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Marquette University President Michael Lovell, who passed away on June 9 after a three-year battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. President Lovell was a leader in every sense: deeply committed to the Marquette community, Milwaukee, his family, his faith, the Council on Competitiveness, and his country.

During a close relationship spanning more than a decade, President Lovell made significant contributions to the Council. He helped build bridges between the hemisphere’s two largest economies by hosting one of the Council’s seminal U.S.-Brazil Innovation Learning Labs. He also helped expand and deepen the Council’s pioneering work linking America’s energy strength to a manufacturing renaissance – adding special knowledge and expertise around the role water plays in both through a sector study in our Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness Partnerships initiative. And most recently, Mike served as the founding co-chair of the Council’s University Leadership Forum. In all his endeavors and interactions, he embodied the spirit of a thoughtful, creative, and caring innovator, helping the Council meet its mission to provide solutions for an ever more prosperous, diverse, and inclusive United States. We are incredibly grateful for President Lovell’s contributions to the Council.

Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and colleagues who join us in mourning his loss.

Sincerely,
Deborah L. Wince-Smith and the Council on Competitiveness Team