Alumna of the Year 2009

Mary Anderson Pawlenty Honored as 2009 Alumna of the Year for Bethel University

Listen to audio from Mary Pawlenty's Homecoming convocation address.

“Oswald Chambers said the essence of Jesus was self-expenditure—and that describes Mary Pawlenty,” says her long-time friend Steve Moore. “She pours herself out for others.”

Selfless service is the reason Bethel University has named Mary Anderson Pawlenty ’83 Alumna of the Year for 2009. Pawlenty, who is First Lady of Minnesota, accepted the award on Friday, September 25, in a Homecoming convocation at Bethel.

Pawlenty, a native of Edina, Minn., earned a bachelor’s degree in political science summa cum laude from Bethel College in 1983 and a juris doctor, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1986. After practicing law in Houston, Texas, for one year, she returned to Minnesota to marry Tim Pawlenty, whom she met in law school.

In 1994, while practicing as a civil litigator, Pawlenty was appointed as a District Court Judge in the First Judicial District based in Hastings, Minnesota. She served from 1994 to 2007, ruling in all levels of criminal, civil, family, and juvenile cases.

As First Lady of Minnesota since 2003, Pawlenty has been an active leader in initiatives related to health, education, and family. She is often a guest in elementary school classrooms, helping students understand U.S. government, particularly the judicial branch. She is also Director of Medical Diplomacy for Children’s HeartLink, a nonprofit organization that addresses pediatric congenital heart disease worldwide. She also founded the First Lady’s Heart Health Initiative to raise awareness of heart disease as the leading health threat to Minnesota women.

Moved by military families trying to cope during deployments, Pawlenty also founded the web-based First Lady’s Military Family Care Initiative, which connects military families in need with community-based organizations willing to provide simple volunteer services. The initiative earned her the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard Association of the United States as well as the Order of Saint Maurice Civil Award from the National Infantry Association.

A wholehearted Christ-follower, Pawlenty served as a trustee of Bethel University from 1997 to 2008, and continues to be a frequent and favorite guest speaker in chapel and at other campus occasions. Mary and Tim Pawlenty, who is completing his second term as governor, have two daughters and are members of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie.