Engaging in Collective Stewardship with Jean Garrison

 

By Sunnie Lew 
 
In Wyoming, relationships often grow the way communities do — slowly and purposefully. At the University of Wyoming, those ties form the foundation of stewardship, turning shared interests into lasting partnerships that shape opportunities for students and the state.

For Jean Garrison, stewardship begins long before a gift is ever made.

“It’s based on long-term relationships,” she says. “You never really know where it’s going to bear fruit, but when it does, it’s really rather amazing.”

Garrison is the Clyde E. and Jerrine N. Stewart Family Professor in Public Service in the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies and director of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program. Her endowed position is rooted in a relationship that has grown over decades with Kendall (Stewart) and Joseph Hartman and the Stewart family. The Stewart Family Professorship was created to honor Kendall’s parents, Clyde and Jerrine Stewart of Sheridan, Wyo., whose everyday commitment to public service shaped how their family gives back. What began first as a student service award to support community engagement projects has evolved into a lasting investment in UW that supports our important land-grant mission.

That history reflects Garrison’s approach to stewardship: building community through consistent, meaningful connection. She sees her role as creating spaces where people feel part of the work itself.

“They give a gift, but they remain part of it,” Garrison says, noting the importance of ensuring donors can meet student award recipients and stay connected to the impact of their support. “Through this work, people who are donors — they become friends, too.”

Garrison also emphasizes that stewardship is never a solo effort. Relationships are often cultivated by many hands — faculty, staff, administrators and students — over years, sometimes decades. She sees herself stepping into a larger story of connection, one built by colleagues and community members who share a passion and commitment to advancing public service and student opportunity.

For her, the flexibility of an endowment is what allows that shared vision to grow. It can support speakers, student projects, research and hands-on experiences, adapting to the needs of each new generation of students. As a senior faculty member, Garrison now thinks about stewardship as both legacy and transition. It helps build a foundation that future recipients of the Stewart Family Professorship can expand.

At its heart, her work reflects a simple but powerful idea: that small beginnings can lead to lasting impact. “It starts with shared passions and shared goals for the students and for the health of the university,” she says. “That’s what keeps people involved and keeps them coming back.” 

In nurturing those connections, Garrison continues to cultivate a culture of stewardship that reaches far beyond a single gift and into the lives of the people it touches.