Although Tim Hanley is in the 45th year of his career and a Titan 100 Hall of Famer, he does not see retirement as an option. In fact, Hanley has accepted several new board roles over the past year and just stepped into a newly created senior advisor role at Marquette.
“I believe I still have much more to give in all of these roles,” he said. “In this way, I hope to be a role model, not just here in the Milwaukee area, but nationally, for engagement between a leading higher ed organization like Marquette and the companies that we serve and that employ our students. Higher ed is in disruption, and I believe deeper engagement with the industry will be essential in the years ahead.”
As a senior advisor, supporting the office of the president at Marquette University, Hanley has helped the Marquette College of Business become a real destination nationally. Marquette University is a major university and the College of Business is ranked nationally. The mission is to develop future business leaders with the knowledge to succeed and the principles to be strong leaders with an ethical, moral compass.
In his previous role as dean, Hanley has helped raise over $110 million for the College of Business, including over $60 million to fully fund a new state-of-the-art business school, which opened in January of 2023. In addition, during his final year, he helped recruit the largest freshman class in the college’s history, which should help secure the financial future of both the college and the university.
In his senior advisor role, Hanley has focused on building out deeper and synergistic relationships with companies of substance in the broader region and, ultimately, nationally. This role is a new one and originated from a vision of the university.
While reflecting on his legacy, Hanley said he hopes his legacy will be in his commitment to live out the values of servant leadership. “I hope my willingness to say yes to Marquette when they asked me to come out of retirement to serve four-plus years as the dean of the College of Business will be a role model to others to continue to give at a time when many of my peers have been fully retired.”
When mentoring the next generation of titans, Hanley said he encourages future titans to say “yes” when asked to serve the community. “We will need this more than ever in the years ahead,” he said. “It is easy for anyone to say they are too busy, but a true titan will step up when asked.”