NW Missouri Times

For 35 years, Marjean Potter Ehlers and her husband, Don, served as co-directors of the Wesley Foundation at Northwest Missouri State University. Their work had a profound impact on hundreds of students through their mentorship, care, and support. Following Marjean’s passing in December, her legacy continues through a new scholarship created in her memory.

The Marjean Potter Ehlers Memorial Scholarship is now available to full-time undergraduate students with a minimum 3.0 GPA and a major in psychology. The scholarship will award an amount of no less than $1,000 per year with preference given to students active in Wesley Foundation programming, a United Methodist-based campus ministry.

"Our hope is that those who receive the scholarship will have a sense of the importance that Marjean placed on education, on relationships, on faith, and that her very being was about helping people and coming alongside them in their student journey," Don said. "I hope anyone who receives this scholarship would get a sense that she’s walking with them.”

The Ehlers connected as high school classmates in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and married four years after their high school graduation. They were together for 51 years until Marjean’s death.

After completing their respective degrees at Northwest and Iowa State University, they began their careers as co-head teachers at a daycare center before moving into ministry. In 1975, they started as associates at the Wesley Foundation at the University of Northern Iowa where they earned master's degrees in counseling.

Throughout their career spanning decades, they became known as impactful leaders at Northwest as well as within campus ministry throughout the region and nation. They completed doctorate degrees in educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia along with seminary work leading to their ordination as United Methodist clergy.

In addition to establishing an internship program for students interested in ministry and hosting numerous social activities at Northwest’s Wesley Student Center, the Ehlers often provided support and counsel to students, faculty, and staff in times of crisis. Don also served as an adjunct instructor at Northwest from 2009 to 2011 and then as an instructor of psychology from 2012 to 2017.

The Ehlers' four children attended Horace Mann Laboratory School on the Northwest campus, and the University culture permeated their family life. Upon their retirement in 2015 as co-directors of Northwest’s Wesley Foundation, the University’s president at the time, Dr. John Jasinski, presented the Ehlers with a proclamation citing their “35 years of faithful and impactful service, stellar leadership and enduring commitment” to the institution.

For more information about the Marjean Potter Ehlers Memorial Scholarship or to make a tax-deductible gift to benefit the University, contact Northwest’s Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248.