Hon. Janine P. Geske, Law ’75, was elected to the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ Board of Trustees in 2015.

She served as a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1993–1998. From 1998–2013, she was a distinguished professor of law at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ Law School, where she founded and directed the school’s Restorative Justice Initiative. From 2022 to 2023, Geske returned to the Law School full time to set up and manage the newly endowed MULS Andrew Center for Restorative Justice. 

After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Beloit College in 1971 and her law degree from ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵin 1975, Geske became the chief staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, where she worked until 1979. She was an assistant professor at ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ Law School from 1978–1981. Beginning in 1981, Geske served in the Milwaukee County circuit court for 12 years, until she was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Gov. Tommy Thompson in 1993. She won election to the court in 1994 and resigned from the bench in 1998. From February to May 2002, she served as the interim county executive for Milwaukee County, and from 2002–2003 she served as interim dean of the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵLaw School.

Geske held the Association of ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ Women’s Chair in Humanistic Studies in 2000 and 2001 and was inducted into the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters. She is an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Throughout her career, she has received many awards. The Milwaukee Bar Association twice honored Geske with its Lawyer of the Year Award, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. She has received honorary degrees from ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ, Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wis., and Mount Mary College in Milwaukee. She was recognized as ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵLaw School’s Alumna of the Year and ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ’s Alumna of the Year. Other awards include: the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ High School Spirit of St. Ignatius Award; Archdiocese of Milwaukee Vatican II Award in communication; St. Thomas More Lawyer’s Association Faithful Servant Award; Woman of Faith Award from the Sisters of the Divine Savior; FBI Director’s Community Award; Thurgood Marshall College Fund Legacy Award; American Inns of Court 7th Circuit Professionalism Award; St. Norbert College Ambassador of Peace Award; Professional Dimensions Sacajawea Award; Legal Aid Society’s Equal Justice Award; Woman of the Word Award from Milwaukee Cathedral Place; and Alumni Service Award from Beloit College.

Geske is the vice chair of the Better Way Foundation, serves on the board of the Froedtert Hospital Foundation and participates as a member of the Law School Dean’s Advisory Board. She previously served on the Development Committee of Sojourner Family Peace Center, as chair of the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ High School Board and on the boards of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Beloit College and the OPUS Prize Foundation.

She is a member of the ÏòÈÕ¿ûÊÓƵ President’s Society.