Dissertation

Catholic education in Milwaukee

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by Angie Cope

In 2015, Tom and Lisa Marcz donated a map to the AGSL on behalf of Tom’s father, Frank Marcz.

agdm_18096_medium
Click on image for a larger view or view it in the AGS Library Digital Map Collection https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/18096/rec/1

Upon further investigation, and interviews with Tom Marcz, it was discovered that the map was annotated by Sister Dolores Rausch and used as part of her 1971 PhD dissertation, “The changing status of urban Catholic parochial schools; an explanatory model illustrating demand for Catholic elementary education in Milwaukee County.” The Marcz family were long time friends with Sister Dolores.

The base map is “Milwaukee and vicinity, Wisconsin : 1959” by the U.S. Geological Survey and the annotations show location of catholic schools and the date of establishment.

Click on image for larger view
Detail from the map (Click on image for larger view)

 

The changing status of urban Catholic parochial schools; an explanatory model illustrating demand for Catholic elementary education in Milwaukee County, by Sister Dolores Rauch.
Sister Dolores Rausch’s PhD dissertation: “The changing status of urban Catholic parochial schools; an explanatory model illustrating demand for Catholic elementary education in Milwaukee County.”
Click on image for a larger view.
Title page (Click on image for a larger view.)

Sister Dolores was the first PhD student to graduate from the Geography Department at UW Milwaukee. The 181 page dissertation includes many maps, similar to the annotated map above.

Catholic parochial schools and urban growth, Milwaukee County (showing location of schools and date of establishemtn)
Catholic parochial schools and urban growth, Milwaukee County (showing location of schools and date of establishment)

Her dissertation is popular and has been checked out often from the UWM Libraries.

Date due slip showing number of times Sister Dolores's dissertation has been checked out!
Date due slip showing number of times Sister Dolores’s dissertation has been checked out!

 

Sister Dolores Rausch (1915-2011) touched many lives and was an incredible citizen of the Milwaukee area.  If you’re interested in learning more about Sister Dolores, here are some biographical resources:

Sister Dolores Rauch, compiled by Sister Victoria Wiethaler in 2003. https://atlanticmidwest.org/posts/sister-dolores-rauch

Tale of two sisters by Dr. David Snowdon. http://www.sturdyroots.org/ns_taleotsister.htm

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