In 2009, Mike and Cynthia established the Bob and Peggy Gallagher Endowed Scholarship. Their aim is to provide support for students in the College of Nursing, with a preference for palliative care or end-of-life care students.

It’s a tribute to Mike’s parents. His late mother, Peggy, suffered from Alzheimer's and was cared for by his dad.

For Mike, it’s an expression of how he tries to live the Marquette mission of excellence, faith, leadership and service. “By trying to do the best I can in a caring way focusing on the needs of others,” he says.

Mike retired in 2008 after a 34-year career in the beer industry. From 1984–2008, he was a co-owner of Miller Brands, a Milwaukee distributor of Miller Brewing Co. products.

He has served as a board member of ProHealth Care and a trustee of the Walter L. and Grace M. Merten Trust, which has supported the College of Nursing’s new Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Center for Clinical Simulation and the Law School’s Eckstein Hall. Before receiving his M.B.A. from Marquette, Mike earned his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame.

Cynthia, the daughter of Richard Fridl, Eng ’49, and Florence Fridl, Arts ’49, is a lifelong resident of the Milwaukee area and graduate of St. Mary’s College.

She taught second grade at Our Lady of Good Hope School before staying home with their two sons. She has been an integral part of the Brookfield Learning Center for the past 37 years.

Get to Know: Cynthia Fridl Gallagher and Michael L. Gallagher

Hometown: (Cynthia) Milwaukee, (Mike): Cleveland

Someone past or present they’d like to have dinner with: Mike’s brother and mother

Mike always knew growing up he wanted to own a ranch in the West and have his grandmother make coffee for the cowboys.