Stephen Swensen

The 2005 Distinguished Alumnus

"...the story starts with my uncle Glen"

In eighth grade, Steve Swensen remembers writing a letter to the University of Wisconsin-Madison inquiring about admission to medical school. It wasn’t a whim. The bright adolescent became the focused collegian, the driven medical student, the hard-working resident, the accomplished doctor, the groundbreaking researcher, and the respected leader in his field. His passion for learning, helping and healing has never wavered.

For his stellar accomplishments as a teacher, researcher and caregiver; for his insightful leadership at one of the nation’s premier medical institutions; and for his dedicated pursuit of new knowledge to detect and cure life-threatening disease, Dr. Stephen Swensen has been named the 2005 University of Wisconsin-River Falls Distinguished Alumnus.

“In a way, the story starts with my uncle Glen,” says the 1978 graduate. “He was one of my childhood heroes and a physician at Mayo Clinic.” But in the mid- 1950s, Glen was a pre-med student at Wisconsin State College-River Falls, and the catalyst for bringing Steve Swensen’s family to the city on the Kinnickinnic.