Brian Troyer: On Pausing to Let Our Soul Catch Up

Brian Troyer, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Marquette University, joins the ALP for a conversation that explores the deep roots of Jesuit leadership and the lighthearted joys of life in Milwaukee, including: Marquette’s Gift of Time and why institutional rest matters. How the university discerned its move to test-optional admissions, grounded in archival research and mission alignment. The legacies of leaders like Ray Brown, Roby Blust, and the late President Mike Lovell — and how Brian carries that mantle forward. Reflections from the Ignatian Colleagues Program, including the reminder to “pause and let our soul catch up.” Brian’s dissertation on how high schoolers’ ecological environments shape their sense of what’s possible after graduation. Plus: Tolkien manuscripts, bourbon tours, and a meditation on raw vs. fried cheese curds. It’s a conversation about integrity, mission, and belonging ... peppered with a fair amount of laughter, reflection, friendship and bourbon. 01:30 – A family road trip and Marquette’s Gift of Time . 04:20 – Remembering Mike Lovell and lessons in leadership. 07:10 – Why and how Marquette went test-optional, with help from the archives. 09:20 – Tolkien manuscripts, reading The Hobbit to his son, and dreaming of Stephen Colbert in the archives. 12:30 – Retention milestones: two of the best years in Marquette’s history. 15:00 – Honoring Ray Brown and Roby Blust (and how Roby's fishing skills resemble that of a well-known biblical fisherman). 18:55 – Leadership lessons: integrity, mission alignment, and Shaka Smart’s “relationships, growth, victory.” 25:45 – Ignatian Colleagues Program and contemplatives in action. 28:45 – A six-day silent retreat and the wisdom of pausing to let our soul catch up. 31:30 – Dissertation insights: how ecology shapes student horizons. 36:00 – A bourbon detour: Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace, and Kentucky connections. 39:45 – Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce: Kopp’s burgers, Lakefront Brewery, and cheese curds. 43:15 – Raw vs. fried cheese curds: a meditation. 44:20 – Rapid Descent. The ALP is supported by Human Capital Education . Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

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