Mary Neville Bielefeld Award

Dr. Susan Moser Mountin, Jour ’71, Grad ’94
Wauwatosa, Wis.

Dr. Susan Mountin’s long, storied relationship with Marquette began when she arrived on campus in 1967 to study journalism.

A first-generation college student, her early days on campus were not easy. “But people believed in me, challenged me, and saw possibility,” she says. Susan credits Ed Pepin, alumni director of the College of Journalism, for encouraging her to apply after graduation to the Catholic Herald Citizen in Milwaukee, which launched her work in Catholic journalism.

After earning a master’s degree from St. Francis Seminary—as one of the first two women admitted there—Susan transitioned to ministry. She returned to Marquette in 1977 to serve 23 years as associate director of campus ministry, a role that included preparing more than 2,500 couples for marriage and serving thousands of students as director of the retreat program. She also taught journalism as an adjunct professor and developed a theology course on Dorothy Day, which she taught for more than a decade.

In 2001, Susan obtained a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to run the Theological Exploration of Vocation program for students and faculty. Her next move, in 2011, was to Marquette’s Center for Teaching and Learning, where she trained faculty in topics including Ignatian pedagogy and wrote grants to fund the Pastoral Leadership in a Cultural Context program, which she directed. She retired from full-time work in 2017, shortly after her husband, Tom, Law ’78, was diagnosed with ALS. She remains a senior advisor to two programs in the Office of Mission and Ministry.

Her service to others “flows from my Catholic faith, my belief in God, my relationship with prayer and Jesus,” Susan explains. She says she is “honored beyond belief” by this award and humbled too. “But in the names of the thousands of women I have worked with, taught, and mentored, let it be a testament to their lives at Marquette!”

Fun Facts:

Name someone (past or present) with whom you’d like to have dinner.
I’d like a wonderful party with Janine Geske, Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Day, Pope Francis, Sister Thea Bowman, and my spouse, Tom Mountin.

What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
Daily noon Mass at St. Joan of Arc Chapel. The quiet, the preaching, and the community gave me a foundation.

Leave a congratulatory message for Susan!