Hall of Fame
Patricia Wiesner's teaching career at Macalester College spanned 35 years. She began teaching at the college in 1948, left to obtain a graduated degree at the University of Southern California in 1955, and returned to teaching in 1956. She taught a host of courses that show the breadth and width of her own interest in athletics and her dedication to teaching physical fitness as a way of life. Those courses included tennis, ballroom dancing, yoga, first aid, water safety, downhill skiing, and the history of physical education. She was in charge of the college's synchronized swim shows in the 1950s, started the women's cross-country team, and supervised the cheerleaders for 23 years. She coached tennis, volleyball, swimming, field hockey, and basketball. As physical education changed, she changed with it, adapting to the new focus on athletics for women. She became Macalester;s first women's athletic director.
Her interest in sports and fitness was reflected in her personal activities as well. She and her husband, Ronald, whom she married in 1957, were active in downhill and cross-country skiing, biking, running, hiking, and canoeing. Wiesner was a founding member of the Northern Lights Running Club and helped organize the first Bonne Bell 10-kilometer run in 1978. She held several offices in local, regional, and national physical education associations, including the presidency and secretaryship of the Minnesota Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. She was a research participant and a member of the Melpomene Institute for Women's Health Research, and for 29 years she was active in the American Red Cross, teaching courses in first aid and aquatic safety.
Wiesner was proud of her long association with Macalester. At the time of her death in 1983 at the age of 57, she was both a full professor and chair of physical education, athletics, recreation, and intramurals.
Because of her inspirational leadership and unselfish commitment to excellence in physical education, Macalester College proudly inducted Patricia Wiesner into the Athletic Hall of Fame.
