A trailblazer and driving force for women's intercollegiate athletics, Dr. Harriet Stewart constantly promoted and fought for increased staff and budgets, facility decisions, and organizational strategy.
Stewart joined Ohio Wesleyan's physical education department in 1950. She was coordinator of women’s intercollegiate athletics, which included the roles and responsibilities of a director of athletics for the women's teams, from 1963-1977 and was chair of the physical education department from 1975-1980. Stewart served OWU for 32 years as a teacher, coach, author, sports coaching film creator, international designer of a broadly used field hockey stick, author of a book on goalkeeping, and as a creative field hockey game strategist.
Stewart had many successful field hockey teams at OWU, including a 6-year span of undefeated teams from 1955-60, and won Ohio Association of Intercollegiate Sports for Women state championships in 1974, 1975, and 1979. The 1974 team compiled a 16-0-2 record and was recognized as an Ohio Wesleyan Team of Distinction in 2021.
Stewart's influence upon field hockey went well beyond Ohio Wesleyan. She was the longtime (multiple decades) goalie coach for the U.S. national field hockey team and continued to bolster her national reputation by developing women's athletics and coaching field hockey. Stewart co-authored "Field Hockey for Teachers" and was co-producer of the teaching film "Beginning Goalkeeping Techniques." She developed the "Stewart Special," a stick used internationally on grass fields.
She retired as a full professor in 1982 and was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982.
Held in the highest esteem for her professional contributions, Stewart was recognized as a charter member of the Ohio Association of Intercollegiate Sports for Women (OAISW) Hall of Fame.
