UW Announces Stewart Family Professorship in Public Service

A gift to the University of Wyoming has established the Stewart Family Professorship in Public Service in the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies, specifically to advance public service work for students and faculty at UW.

The professorship is funded by the Stewart family in honor of their late parents, Clyde and Jerrine Stewart, of Sheridan, who served as daily examples of people immersed in family, community and work. The couple helped address community needs and real-world challenges.

“Public service often brings to mind life in the world of elected government and, interestingly, the world of nongovernmental organizations,” says Kendall Hartman, daughter of the Stewarts. “We feel that our parents led their lives in service to the public. They helped teach and coach the children of the community. They raised their family around involvement, responsibility and encouragement of individual interests. They helped their friends by simply living their lives.”

Through this newly named professorship, the Stewarts’ legacy of public service will continue.

Jean Garrison, a professor of international studies and political science and director of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program at UW, has been named the first Stewart Family Professor in Public Service. During her 25-year career at UW, Garrison has built a long legacy of programs that advance public service opportunities for students, including her work in the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program, as faculty lead for UW’s successful effort to see UW designated as a Carnegie Community Engaged University, as co-founder of the Center for Global Studies and as past director of the International Studies Program.

Her work includes overseeing the Stewart Family Serviceship Award that was created in 2021. The award supports students working on their own applied community research or service projects that address real-world needs or challenges on a local, state, national or global level. Recipients of the award are chosen through a competitive process that is open to all UW students.

Garrison says this generous gift from the Stewart family -- which included a state match -- allows UW to continue to support the student award, and it also provides new funds to enhance public service programming at UW.

“My husband, Joseph, and I -- through the Stewart Family Professorship -- are so pleased we are in a position to help put forward this groundbreaking public service and civic engagement opportunity,” Hartman says.

Endowed professorships are crucial to the success of academic institutions, offering long-term financial stability to attract and retain outstanding faculty members. These distinguished positions not only acknowledge and reward faculty excellence, but they also promote innovative research, teaching methods and mentorship that enhance the academic experience for students.

By fostering a culture of scholarly achievement, professorships elevate the reputation of UW, helping to recruit exceptional educators and researchers who inspire future generations. Moreover, the ongoing financial support provided by these funds enables faculty to undertake ambitious projects and collaborations, driving progress that benefits the entire UW community.

“Endowed professorships like the Stewart Family Professorship are vital to the strength of an academic institution,” says Scott Turpen, UW’s interim provost. “They provide the resources and recognition that allow faculty to lead with vision, mentor students with purpose and drive innovation in their fields. This gift strengthens not just one department, but UW as a whole.”

Hartman, a Wyoming native and UW alumna, is a generous supporter of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program, the Byra Kite Internship Fund and the Larsh Bristol Photojournalism Fellowship.

As a former intern and campaign worker, she says her professional life was launched with an internship with Malcolm Wallop in the Wyoming Legislature.

“It was life-changing for me when Oliver Walter, my legislature professor and future College of Arts and Sciences dean, informed our class in the late fall of 1973 that the Department of Political Science was establishing intern opportunities with the Wyoming State Legislature,” Hartman says. “As a fourth-generation Wyoming resident, whose great-grandparents arrived in a covered wagon to homestead, I have a lifelong love of my state and endless gratitude for the life-changing internship opportunity that came my way when I had interest but no vision. It created my path in the world.”

“This generous gift from the Stewart family honors a legacy of service and underscores the vital link between faculty excellence and student success,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “By investing in our faculty, the Stewarts are helping to create transformative opportunities for students to learn, lead and serve.”