Milwaukee public-health leader Marques Hogans helps children envision college and careers through representation and service

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky State University alumnus Marques Hogans Sr. helped bring the HBCU experience to children as young as 4 during HBCU Week, observed Sept. 13–20 this year, at Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy in Milwaukee.

Hogans joined other historically Black college and university graduates and members of Divine Nine fraternities and sororities for classroom visits designed to introduce students to HBCU history, culture, and opportunities.

The week also included an HBCU Walk of Fame and lessons about Black college history and HBCU band culture.

Hogans, who participated as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., emphasized the importance of allowing young Black students to see people who look like them succeeding professionally and serving their communities.

Representation matters,” Hogans told TMJ4 News in Milwaukee. He said that visibility allows children to look at accomplished adults and recognize what they, too, can become or strive to be. The academy’s HBCU Week activities and Hogans’ participation were subsequently featured by HBCU News.

A Milwaukee native, Hogans is health strategy director for the City of Milwaukee Health Department. He has served the city for more than eight years and has described public health as a means of improving quality-of-life outcomes, particularly for people affected by systemic challenges.

His professional work focuses on public health strategy, racial and health equity, and the social and economic conditions that affect individual and community well-being.

A 2006 Kentucky State graduate, Hogans earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. He later earned a Master of Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Hogans also supports Data You Can Use, a Milwaukee organization that helps people access, understand, and apply data to improve community conditions. As part of the organization’s professional network, he contributes to work involving communities of color and program evaluation.

The organization connects people who need information with those who have it, helping communities analyze data, place it in a local context, and use it to address issues residents identify as priorities.

Hogans’ public-health leadership and community involvement extend the service-centered legacy of his Kentucky State education. His HBCU Week visit allowed children who remain years away from applying to college to meet an HBCU graduate building a career and giving back in the community where he was raised.

Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy intentionally includes its youngest students in HBCU Week. School leaders told TMJ4 that early exposure helps children begin believing that college—and the futures they imagine beyond it—are possible.

For those students, Hogans offered more than information about an institution. He provided a visible example of how an HBCU graduate can carry education, professional leadership, and service into a community far beyond campus.