Helen Jensen Howe

Muscatine, Iowa

Helen Jensen Howe’s deep commitment to education and community is both personal and professional. She attended Iowa State College for two years as a science major, taught elementary school for six years, and, since 1953, has been a partner with her husband Stanley (’46 engineering), chairman emeritus of HNI, Inc., in making a significant difference in their home community of Muscatine, Iowa, at Iowa State University, and throughout Iowa with their service and philanthropy.

Both of Helen’s parents were college graduates, and they encouraged their children to go to college, even though money was tight. Helen attended Iowa State from 1945 to 1947 with a goal of being a physicist. She was frequently the only woman in her math and science classes. She had to leave Iowa State for financial reasons, but she obtained her teaching certificate and an elementary teaching position in her hometown of Lone Rock, planning to return to Iowa State to finish her degree. That never happened, as she taught three years in Lone Rock, two years in Merced, California, and one year in Muscatine, where she met and married Stanley.

For the past 54 years, Helen and Stanley have been partners in one of the most generous philanthropic journeys ever seen in Iowa. Their family foundation has contributed millions of dollars to educational and community projects, including the leadership gift for the Stanley and Helen Howe Hall at Iowa State and gifts to several other facilities and programs at Iowa State, and major gifts to Muscatine downtown revitalization efforts, performing arts programs, and school projects. Helen has provided scholarships for women enrolled in the sciences through the Carrie Chapman Catt Legacy of Heroines Scholarship program since its inception in 1995. She also found time to complete her undergraduate studies, earning a BA from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981, the same year her youngest son graduated from high school.

Helen’s community involvement and leadership has been equally significant. She has served on several volunteer boards, including the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, and she is one of the leaders in the Uncommon Student Award program, which recognizes good deeds by young people. She has been recognized by the National Council of Independent Colleges and several Muscatine organizations.
Helen and Stanley were national committee members for Iowa State’s Campaign Destiny and received the Order of the Knoll Campanile Award in 1996. They are life members of the ISU Alumni Association and members of the Order of the Knoll President’s Circle. They have four children: Thomas (’75 industrial administration, ’78 MS economics), Janet O’Callahan, Steven, and James.