In 1984, Dr. Mercile J. Lee founded the Chancellors and Powers-Knapp Scholars Program with a vision rooted in the Wisconsin Idea. She aimed to create opportunities for academically outstanding students from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the diversity of abilities, talents, and experiences within targeted minority groups.
Mercile’s values and beliefs remain integral to the program. She believed that a merit-based approach would enhance the university’s retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students. Her dedication to educational innovation and excellence continues to inspire.
Renamed in her honor in 2018, the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program proudly upholds her legacy. The MJLSP team is committed to fostering inclusive excellence and shaping future leaders, ensuring Mercile’s values live on.
Discover the experiences some of the esteemed alumni of the program had with the late Dr. Mercile J. Lee:
Johnny Uelman ’10
For me, this was literally a life-altering experience. I will never forget the moment I got the call at my home from Mercile, offering me the opportunity to join the (then) Powers/Knapp Program. It was the first major door to open…which led to so many more doors throughout my life.
I interacted with Mercile a lot! I was one of the loudest and more outspoken scholars, and Mercile took note of that right away. We used to meet with Mercile for one-on-one check-ins twice a semester — and we didn’t just meet to talk about grades, we also had deep conversations on life, settling in, and our deeper thoughts, ambitions, and dreams. She encouraged me to lead by example – and I suppose it worked! I was president of my class in our junior year, and I think that, in doing so, certainly brought me much closer to my peers.
There were a couple of semesters where I really started doubting my ability to excel at UW-Madison. It did not take long for Mercile to see this and immediately take action. She gave incredible advice and was a strong motivation to dig in and find my best self. At times, her feedback was brutally honest, but 100% tough love that was always with the best intentions. She was my first, and truly one of the best, mentors I’ve had. Her legacy has, and continues to, influence me to this day.
Joe Maldonado ’05
I met with Mercile every semester. Mercile gave me advice that I often didn’t listen to, but realized later in life were incredibly wise and valuable. She always cautioned me against being a part of too many ‘co-curricular activities’. I’m still trying to master that lesson! But on a personal note, I drove her to Milwaukee to attend the funeral for the father of another Scholar and personal friend. It was a special moment within a tragic one, as she shared stories of her friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I stayed in touch with her all the way into her passing, and she met both of my children.
Justin Kruger ’05
I have so many memories, but I’ll share one of Mercile Lee: I attempted to be the first ever UW–Madison Environmental Studies major. Believe it or not, it was not initially a major at UW, so I tried to create my own. I wrote a proposal, went through 100 hoops, and finally got my opportunity to present and defend my proposal. I was unknowingly set up for failure when the university mandated five professors to show up on the last Friday before winter break at 5:00 p.m. so I could pitch them. They were mad and annoyed they couldn’t be at home with their families or grading papers — or doing anything but listen to a snotty nose undergrad.
They absolutely shredded me and took out their frustrations with Bascom on me; it was brutal. None of the professors could see why I would want this as a major and why I thought it was important. They shouted over me and humiliated me… It was rough. I went to Mercile after break dejected and unsure that I wanted to stay in school and she reassured me, defended me, and went to bat for me.
Even though they refused to let me create the major, I received apologies, and at least one dean stepped down for inappropriate actions as a result of that firing squad on the Friday before break. I am now told, by the UW undergrads I mentor, that Environmental Studies is now a top 3 most popular major at UW. I find great comfort in that fact.