Commencement May 20, 2023

Honorary Degree: Doctor of Letters
Conferred on John Gurda

John Gurda, noted writer and Milwaukee historian, spoke at the Graduate School and Graduate School of Management ceremony at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Gurda was presented an honorary doctor of letters degree.

Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of 23 books, including histories of Milwaukee-area neighborhoods, industries and places of worship. His most ambitious efforts are “The Making of Milwaukee,” the first full-length history of the community published since 1948; and “Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods,” a geographic companion that has quickly become the standard work on grassroots Milwaukee. Together the books total more than 900 pages and feature 2,000 illustrations. “The Making of Milwaukee” was the basis for an Emmy Award-winning documentary series that premiered on Milwaukee Public Television in 2006.

In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide and longtime local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A graduate of Marquette University High School, he received his bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College and a master’s degree in cultural geography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. UWM honored Gurda with an honorary doctorate — Doctor of Milwaukee History and Geography — in 2017.