BVU Graduate Establishes Madsen Global Fellowship Endowed Fund

January 12, 2024

An endowment fund established by alumni promises to strengthen the student experience at Buena Vista University while honoring the legacy of the late Dr. John Madsen, a beloved Professor of Business and Corporate Communications and Dean of the School of Business. Madsen, a leader in developing BVU’s cross-cultural exchanges, died in 2014 at the age of 74.

Madsen served BVU from 1973 to 1999. He taught a variety of courses, ranging from Human Relations to Accounting to Organizational Communication, and much more. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Madsen directed BVU’s Public Relations Department and served as faculty advisor for students producing The Tack, the campus newspaper.

A lover of international work experience and travel, Madsen and his wife, BVU Professor Emeritus Dr. Sandra Madsen, were among the faculty members instrumental in developing international internships for dozens—if not hundreds—of students. Dr. John Madsen spent two semesters teaching in Japan and worked with colleagues to host annual weeklong intensive English programs for students from Japan.

Ben Simmons, a 1993 graduate, and his wife, Cynthia Bryant, who met as students at Columbia Law School and subsequently spent 17 years residing in Switzerland while both serving the United Nations, helped seed the Madsen Global Fellowship Endowed Fund with a generous gift. Simmons, who now serves as a Director at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Washington, DC, hopes to inspire fellow alumni to further build the fund in honor of Dr. Madsen’s memory.

“Dr. Madsen was a source of inspiration for countless BVU students and an exceptional mentor. He encouraged me to spend Interim at a language program in Mexico and steered me toward an internship with an international development agency in Washington, DC. Thanks to Dr. Madsen, these experiences paved the way for what has become a lifelong career focused on global issues,” Simmons says.  “We hope other alumni will join in establishing this fund in Dr. Madsen’s honor and provide future BVU students the opportunity to build on his legacy of breaking down cultural barriers and promoting cross-cultural communication.”

Current and future students may access the endowed fund for financial assistance as they incur costs associated with educational expenses, travel and lodging in foreign countries.

Dr. Erika Dakin Kirby, Professor of Communication Studies at Creighton University, says she will support the endowment, paying it forward while proudly reflecting on the transformative moment in which she determined her career arc.

“I was sitting in the class Language & Human Behavior and made the decision that I wanted to do what John Madsen was doing for the rest of my life,” says Dakin Kirby, who graduated from BVU in 1993. “Dr. Madsen then helped me apply for graduate school. He kept in contact with me as my career took shape.”

“We hope other alumni will join in establishing this fund in Dr. Madsen’s honor and provide future BVU students the opportunity to build on his legacy of breaking down cultural barriers and promoting cross-cultural communication.”

-Ben Simmons

Attorney Jim Martin, a 1995 BVU graduate who serves as a Shareholder at Polsinelli PC, a 950-attorney law firm with 21 offices throughout the US, researched opportunities while applying for the prestigious J. Leslie Rollins Fellowship at Dr. Madsen’s encouragement. Martin studied German while also taking classes at the University of Heidelberg. An internship at the Deutsche Amerikanishce Institute in Heidelberg would follow.

“I was an English major and had studied German for two years at BV before my experience in Germany,” says Martin, who serves as President of the German American Heritage Society of St. Louis. “I copyedited for several publications while having my first experience abroad, something that encouraged me to ultimately attend law school and seek a career that had an international influence.

“Dr. Madsen cared so much for his students,” adds Martin, who took one class, Corporate Communication, with Dr. Madsen. “He identified students he thought he could assist as they set their educational and career goals, and then he helped make it happen. What a tremendous gift he shared with so many.”

BVU Trustee Quentin Wittrock toured campus as a prospective student in 1977. Dr. John Madsen led the tour. He would go on to serve as Wittrock’s academic advisor, working to defend his student’s right to free speech as he waded into controversial topics as a Tack reporter and columnist. During spring break of Wittrock’s senior year, Publisher John B. Anderson of The Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune called Madsen to ask if he had any students available to cover a local trial for the newspaper. Madsen recommended Wittrock.

“I covered the trial,” says Wittrock, a 1981 graduate. “It was the first time I’d ever seen a lawyer at work. I thought to myself, ‘I could do this someday.’”

After two years of work at the newspaper following his graduation, Wittrock, at the behest of Drs. John and Sandra Madsen, took the LSAT exam and earned admission to the University of Iowa School of Law. He would go on to build a successful career as an Attorney at Law before retiring as a Principal with Gray Plant Mooty.

“As a proud BVU alumnus, and a close friend of the Madsen family, I am honored to support such a worthy endeavor in the Madsen Global Fellowship Endowed Fund,” Wittrock says. “I am extremely grateful for the support of Ben and his wife, Cynthia, and the many other former students who will see their generosity as a way to honor our beloved mentor while creating opportunities that will shape the lives of BVU students for years to come.”

Learn how you can support the Madsen Global Fellowship Endowed Fund, or call 712.749.2101.