Marquette University President Michael Lovell dies in Rome

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marquette University President Michael Lovell died Sunday in Rome after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 57. University officials officials said in a news release that Lovell had been suffering from sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the bones and soft tissues. Lovell and his wife, Amy, were in Rome on a Jesuit formation pilgrimage when he fell ill and was taken to a hospital. Lovell was Marquette’s 24th president. He took over the position in 2014. According to the university’s website, Lovell helped create the Near West Side Partners, a nonprofit focused on economic development, housing and safety in Milwaukee. Before he became president at Marquette he served as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.