Reprinted with permission.
Staff file photo by Steve Kinderman / Former UW-Stout Chancellor Robert Swanson, pictured in November
2007 greeting well-wishers prior to a dedication ceremony renaming the university's library in his name, is
remembered for being a gracious leader who dealt well with people at all levels. He died Sunday at age 88.
News, Page 3A
Jan. 29, 2013
Swanson set the bar high at UW-Stout
By Pamela Powers
Menomonie News Bureau
MENOMONIE — Student, faculty member and chancellor.
All the titles fit retired UW-Stout Chancellor Robert Swanson in his 40 years at the university.
But colleagues also remember him as being thoughtful, humble and gracious.
Swanson died Sunday in Rochester, Minn., of complications due to Alzheimer's disease. He was 88.
Swanson deeply loved the university and the community, said John Enger, the retired UW-Stout
university relations executive director.
"He was a very humble man, very unassuming," Enger recalled. "He lived in a house he built with his
own hands in Menomonie."
Reprinted with permission.
A Superior native, Swanson came to UW-Stout in 1942 but entered the military a short time later. He
served in an anti-tank company with the Army's 42nd Infantry Division in France and Germany during
World War II and rose to the rank of sergeant.
He re-enrolled at what then was Stout Institute in 1946 and became Stout Student Association
president in 1949. He taught part time as a student and was hired to teach full time in 1950 after
earning his graduate degree in industrial arts. He earned a doctorate in 1955 from the University of
Minnesota.
Swanson eventually became a department chairman, assistant dean, dean and then, in 1966, dean of
the graduate school. He was named chancellor in 1972, succeeding William "Bud" Micheels, and
retired in 1988.
Don Steffen, university editor in UW-Stout's communications office, said Swanson was warm and
would go out of his way to compliment others.
"He was a consensus builder, which is not always easy to do on a campus," Steffen said. "He would
allow everyone to have their say."
Swanson was known for remembering people's names on campus, said Mary Hopkins-Best, UWStout's dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. From a groundskeeper to an
administrator, he was interested in everyone and viewed their role as essential to the campus,
Hopkins-Best said.
"He always had time for people," she recalled. "I have never known a more gracious individual than
Bob Swanson. He was authentic, sincere, interested and totally committed to the university."
Chancellor Charles Sorensen, who succeeded Swanson in 1988, said his predecessor "brought UWStout into the modern age of higher education. He left his mark all over this campus and this
community, and he will be sorely missed."
During his tenure, two undergraduate majors, several master's programs and six minors were added,
especially in new areas focused on serving industry, business and the human services field.
When he was chancellor, the physical campus expanded from 113 to 118 acres with six new buildings,
including the library, Heritage Hall, Applied Arts and Memorial Student Center. Several buildings
were renovated and expanded, including a $4.4 million addition to Johnson Fieldhouse, a news release
stated.
Reprinted with permission.
In November 2007 the library was renamed in Swanson's honor and became known as the Robert S.
Swanson Library and Learning Center.
Powers can be reached at 715-556-9018 or pamela.powers@ecpc.com.