"This story is all about partnerships. Partnerships with people who cared, people who wanted higher education; the community, fundraising and people who may not themselves have had opportunities for higher education, but could see the importance of it for others."
– Marilyn Stewart
Marilyn Stewart and the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee (RHEDC) were instrumental in turning the idea of bringing a University of Minnesota campus to Rochester into reality. And while this story is about partnerships, it’s also about vision, the creation of something yet unseen; it’s about courage, and stepping out and forward, even in the face of adversity. It’s a story about the importance of women not only being present at the table, but of being leaders; it’s about the power of women lifting other women up, and men coming alongside women as equal partners. It’s a story about a lasting legacy that will continue to enrich our community for decades
to come.
The Vision
"We worked for 20-plus years to get a branch of the University of Minnesota in Rochester," says Marilyn. "We felt that the third largest city in Minnesota—home to Mayo Clinic, the largest employer in Minnesota, and IBM’s presence as a major patent center—needed to have a four-year university. But we didn’t want to duplicate the state college model with a million different majors. We wanted to focus specifically on research available through the University of Minnesota and pair it with the science and technology that was already here alongside medicine and entrepreneurship."
While many people over the years thought that Rochester needed a four-year university, there was certainly no urgency and plenty of opposition to the idea ever getting off the ground and taking flight. There was also pressure from those at the state level who wanted to maintain the status quo, pushing for growth of existing educational institutions in the area and not the establishment of an entirely new campus.
According to Marilyn, the direction of higher education in Rochester had to be driven by needs, not the constraints of what already was. “What would the community need? I was appalled that the men on the Chamber board didn’t seem to take seriously how much the town needed this.” At that time, the 1970s and early 1980s, women were very rarely included or absent altogether from the committees and leadership circles where decisions for the community were being made.
So, Marilyn did what she had so often done throughout her career: She forged a new path with her biggest supporter by her side, her husband, Dr. John "Jack" Stewart, DDS. "I was liberated from day one because I was appreciated and supported by him. Whatever I chose to do, Jack was right behind me and beside me. He was the very best partner."
With Jack’s full support, encouragement, and sometimes more than a little nudging, Marilyn became the voice at many of the tables that had previously been reserved for men only. "I have a history of being first at stuff: first woman president of the Rotary Club, first woman president of the Minnesota Association of Realtors, first female serving as the Chair of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce."
Through these firsts, Marilyn joined FutureScan 2000, a joint effort between Mayo Clinic, IBM, the City of Rochester, Olmsted County and the Chamber of Commerce to guide the direction of the greater Rochester area, both economically and as a community. As a member of the Chamber, Marilyn served on the initial steering committee, and made the case that the need for higher education was too great to ignore. FutureScan agreed that higher education needed to be a priority, and included it as part of their final plan. From FutureScan’s work, the Greater Rochester Area University Center (GRAUC) was formed, and thus began the long, arduous, meetings-filled process to raise support for a university in Rochester. In 1999, GRAUC was at last able to get the Minnesota state legislature to approve a bill that would allow the University of Minnesota to establish a campus in Rochester. However, the legislation didn’t contain any funding. Dr. Robert Bruininks, President of the University of Minnesota (2002–2011), was very supportive of a Rochester campus, but told Marilyn, "It’s not going to be easy. It takes a lot of money.”
GRAUC, with Marilyn as a driving force, went to work on getting funding, securing a portion of Rochester’s local sales tax revenue to go into a fund for higher education purposes. Over the years, this fund slowly grew, and became a portion of the seed money needed to make the University of Minnesota Rochester
a reality.
Courage: Stepping Out and Stepping Forward
"We had the right governor at the right time," Marilyn says. "Governor Tim Pawlenty (2003–2011) came to Rochester in 2005 to give his State of the State address, and he said, ‘We are going to have a four-year university in Rochester. I'm going to appoint a committee to develop plans.' And he did."
Governor Pawlenty’s RHEDC committee needed community leadership. Marilyn recalls: "Jack wanted me to apply. I told him, 'I don’t need another job!’ He said, ‘You have to apply, you have the experience and the responsibility.' The night before the application was due, I was sitting at the kitchen island typing the application. I sent it in. Then they called me for an interview. I made Jack drive me because I didn’t have time to think about what to say during the interview until we got in the car."
"During the interview, they said, 'I don’t know how we’re going to select people for this committee. We have so many good applicants.' I said, 'I will give you some names I think you’d better choose: Dr. Wendy Shannon (Superintendent of Byron Public Schools), Drew Flaada (IBM’s collaborator with Mayo Clinic) and Jim Clausen (IBM).' I got back to the car and said, 'I think I just got the royal kiss off!' I didn’t expect to
be selected."
"At the end of that week, I got a phone call from the governor’s office asking if I would be interested in serving. They told me, 'The governor wants you to chair the committee. Will you do it?’ So I said yes."
"The people who were selected for the committee were the greatest group I have ever worked with. They were all leaders in their own areas, yet all working together toward this common goal. Eleven leaders working together was really special."
"Once we delivered the report to the governor, I had to present it to the Board of Regents first, and then to the legislature. Jack came along to help me set up the PowerPoint. I knew I was going to get a lot of flack, but we had both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate supporting us. Senators Sheila Kiscaden (I) and Dave Senjem (R), and Representatives Bill Kuisle (R), Fran Bradley (R) and Randy Demmer (R) would come and sit behind me to support me while I gave my presentations. During the presentation to the legislature I said, ‘There is no other community in America that has set aside $11 million for higher education/a college branch. Now, I need $5 million to launch.’ We didn’t use all of the Governor’s RHEDC fund, so we rolled that in, and finally, the legislature voted to give us the operating funds.''
The vision had finally become a reality.
For Marilyn and RHEDC, the skyway space, while at first seemingly unconventional, was a strategic choice. UMR’s focus on health science and technology meant that the campus’ location in downtown Rochester in close proximity to Mayo Clinic was key. RHEDC members researched and visited downtown campuses in other cities, and ultimately moved forward with the space in University Square.
After the skyway space was secured in University Square, the University of Minnesota conducted a national search for UMR’s first chancellor. Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhle—an experienced university administrator—was appointed by the Board of Regents to tackle the unique challenge of establishing a fledgling health sciences-focused university. "Chancellor Stephen Lehmkuhle really led the way in teaching the community what UMR was about," Marilyn recalls. "UMR’s inaugural class was 56 students who took a chance on us!"
Women Uplifting Women
Marilyn’s focus has always been on opening doors for women and promoting education.
Even when there was no guarantee that she would be part of the project or committee, Marilyn wanted to make sure there were women who would be. When she was on a committee, she made sure to appoint other women to work alongside her and collaborate with women leaders in their field.
Marilyn is quick to name dozens of women that she partnered with along the way, notably Dr. Patricia Simmons, a former University of Minnesota regent from Rochester, who helped guide Marilyn through the process of creating the Governor’s report and advocating for the establishment of a new U of M campus; and Amy Caucutt, who was instrumental in getting the attention of the legislature to approve the campus and who later wrote a book called Taking the Lead: Rochester Women in Public Policy, 1970–1990, which includes a chapter on Marilyn’s work to see a University of Minnesota campus succeed in Rochester. The book contains the stories of 24 other women leaders, including Dr. Wendy Shannon, state Senator Nancy Brataas (R), Dr. Claire Bender, Kathy Meyerle, Dr. Valerie Halverson Pace, Alison Good, Louellen Essex and current Chancellor Dr. Lori J. Carrell. While Marilyn was often the first woman in the room or at the table, she made sure she would not be the last.
A Lasting Legacy
What about UMR makes Marilyn most proud? "The way it’s growing. The recognition it has received for excellence in teaching and learning, and producing students who have equitable opportunities. That is so important. The educational attainment gap between underrepresented students and their white peers at UMR is nonexistent. This is a distinction that deserves a gold star. The Center for Learning Innovation (CLI), where faculty conduct research on teaching and learning, that is a very special thing. Finally, I believe UMR is doing a wonderful job in training Minnesota’s future health care workforce, and I look forward to an increased focus on technology in medicine."
And what does she hope to see for UMR in the next 10 years? "Just keep growing. I would like to see a building on the corner of Sixth Street and First Avenue Southwest as soon as possible, because I won’t always be here. UMR will need more space for housing, laboratories and classrooms. Imagine what could be done with more space!"
"Lastly, I want to see more people in Rochester understand the great importance of what UMR is doing, and how UMR is preparing students to solve the grand health challenges of the 21st century."
Finally, Marilyn offers tribute to her husband and stalwart supporter: "Jack was exceedingly proud of UMR. When Jack was in rehab both at Samaritan Bethany and Charter House, or when he was in the hospital, he would always ask the health care workers where they got their training. And then he would say, ‘Have you considered training at UMR?’” A fitting tribute from a lifelong supporter of UMR—he passed away in May 2021—and especially of Marilyn. "Without Jack Stewart, there would be no UMR," she says. We are certain he'd say the same about her.
Marilyn’s legacy will be one of trailblazing, strength, courage, vision and a fierce advocate for higher education.