Nearly three decades passed before the doors of Marquette College, a small liberal arts school for men named after Rev. Jacques Marquette, S.J., opened on Aug. 28, 1881. Bishop Henni died just two days later, one might guess satisfied that his work was finished.

Marquette was founded in the rich tradition of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order established in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola. The university is named after Rev. Jacques Marquette, S.J. (1637-75), a French missionary and explorer in North America.