Susan Hirt Hagen ’57 Endows Wittenberg’s Center for Civic & Urban Engagement With a $6 Million Gift
by Gabrielle Antoniadis, photos by Erin Pence ’04
Meeting a 13-year-old girl about to have her second baby years ago shocked Susan Hirt Hagen into an awareness of an entrenched societal problem – and it helped shape her lifelong passion to help young people succeed.
It was just one of many similar experiences Hagen had working as a social worker at Cuyahoga County Child Welfare in Cleveland, Ohio, but this one stuck with her. Told to take the girl to juvenile court and get her married, Hagen remembers the despair she felt:
“I wondered what kind of a future she and her child would have. And I clearly saw how so many problems in society – from drug abuse to welfare dependency to school dropout rates – stemmed from teen pregnancy.”
As she sent that young girl off, she felt that two lives were doomed. And ever since then, she has made it her mission to do something about it.
“I saw a world at Child Welfare that you wouldn’t normally see unless you were involved in it, and it changed my perspective,” she says.
Her volunteerism since then has also given her a unique view of the challenges that communities face. She has sat on numerous boards, directs her own philanthropy and served as the first female chairwoman of the United Way in Erie County, Pa.
“I see so many requests that have to do with children at risk. It’s really frightening that we have so many children that can either go in a positive direction or a negative one,” she says. “I will do everything I can to help them choose a positive path.”
Hagen’s keen understanding of the issues she cares about is obvious, and she carefully chooses where to direct her support. For more than 40 years, she has worked hard to improve the lives of residents in her Erie, Pa., community, garnering a host of awards and commendations recognizing her outstanding contributions to positively impact youth. And today, she says, with federal and state agency budgets being cut to the bone, there is an even greater need for her and others to step up and contribute.
Hagen comes from a long line of Wittenbergers, who have made a difference. Her father, H.O. Hirt ’11, brother, F. William Hirt ’47, several cousins and daughter, Sarah Hagen McWilliams ’88, have all made their mark on the school. The family commitment both to service and to Wittenberg runs deep: the H.O. Hirt Endowed Chair in history is named after her father; Susan herself is an emerita member of the Wittenberg Board of Directors, and Sarah is a current member of the university’s Board. Hagen’s recent $6 million gift to endow Wittenberg’s Center for Civic & Urban Engagement is a particularly striking example of her passion for giving back. Not only is it the largest cash gift ever received by a living alum at Wittenberg, but by supporting the Center’s core operations, the gift helps ensure the long-term success of the Center.
“All of the Center’s focus areas – from greening the city to the afterschool programs that help address teen pregnancy – are contributing to making the city and county a better place to live,” she says.
Behind this strong, dedicated and hard-working woman is a sincere humility – and a bit of mischievous humor as well. Speaking about her days at Wittenberg, she remembers wonderful friendships, the intimate feel of the campus and lots of schoolwork. But it wasn’t all work; she also has fond memories of a certain secret society.
“I worked hard, I studied hard, and I played hard,” she says with a hearty laugh.
Hagen brushes off discussion of the many awards for community service she has received over the years, saying that she feels she owes work and service to others. And she is quick to give credit where credit is due: “It’s the organizations that actually get the work done.”
Hagen’s gift to Wittenberg is only one part of her significant legacy of service – a legacy born of her conviction that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but also a personally fulfilling experience. “There is much work to be done to help people,” she says. “I have been very fortunate in my life, and I get great satisfaction out of contributing to the betterment of individuals and organizations, and in turn, to society.”