Marquette University’s internationally recognized Marquette Mentors program recently received a gift that will ensure its future in perpetuity thanks to a Marquette parent. Daniel S. Jaffee, who currently serves as a Marquette mentor, has had two of his three children graduate from Marquette and serve in the program. 

“I’ve always had a kinship with Marquette and its Midwestern, Jesuit values,” Jaffee said. “The Marquette Mentors program is truly distinctive and makes Marquette University unique. I’ve yet to see a program like this anywhere else.”  

In honor of Jaffee’s gift, the university will rename the program the Selig – Jaffee Marquette Mentors program. Jaffee credited Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and his father, Dick Jaffee, for serving as his most influential mentors. 

Led by Dan DeWeerdt, the Robert H. Radtke Endowed Director of Marquette Mentors, the program matches students with one-on-one opportunities to learn from Marquette alumni mentors in approximately thirty states and Europe who have similar majors or career interests. 

An initiative run through the Marquette University Alumni Association, mentees receive professional and career insights throughout the academic year. Recognized as “the gold standard for mentoring initiatives” by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the Marquette Mentors program has positively impacted more than 1,600 student mentees and 300 mentors since the program’s founding. 

“Marquette students thrive when they have the opportunity to connect with passionate alumni who model what it means to be independent, engaged and purpose-driven professionals,” President Kimo Ah Yun said. “We are grateful to Dan Jaffee for generously giving back both through his time as a mentor and through this meaningful gift.”