A Wartburg College alumna and longtime Waterloo resident gifted her alma mater $1.5 million from her estate.

Joyce Redman, a 1956 Wartburg graduate originally from Milbank, South Dakota, went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Clarke College (now Clarke University) in Dubuque. She taught at Waterloo’s Hawthorne and Edison elementary schools for 35 years, retiring in 1993. She also taught at the Bremwood residential campus in Waverly and the Lutheran Youth Center in Wasilla, Alaska. Redman died on Feb. 3, 2021, in Waterloo.

In accordance with Redman’s wishes, the college will use $150,000 for academic scholarships that will benefit students and families with a high level of need, helping Wartburg remain an affordable option for those most in need of assistance.

The remaining dollars will be added to the President’s Strategic Initiative Fund to enable the college to fulfill its distinctive mission. In the past, these funds have supported initiatives such as creating the new academic program in exercise science and the new co-curricular opportunity in esports. Such funding comes at a critical time, as the college looks to implement initiatives emerging from its new strategic plan.

“Joyce devoted her life to education and enriching the lives of children,” said Scott Leisinger, vice president for institutional advancement. “Following her retirement, she attended Artist Series performances and Keep on Learning events on campus, exercising her love for lifelong learning. It’s fitting that her legacy includes enabling Wartburg College to help future students discover and claim their callings.”

The Wartburg College gift was only a portion of the nearly $4 million Redman left to Iowa charities. Like Wartburg College, Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque also received about $1.5 million from her estate. The seminary will use the funds to establish the Joyce Redman Scholarship and to support the creation of a “library for the 21st century” as part of the rebuilding of Fritschell Hall, the seminary’s main academic building.

The remaining dollars were split among Allen College, the Waterloo Public Library, Iowa Public Television and Iowa Public Radio.