Inducted 1997
Robert Stuart
editorial writer, Lansing State Journal
In a journalism career spanning 37 years, Robert Stuart’s greatest contributions came on the editorial page of The Lansing State Journal. Born in Detroit in 1925, Stuart enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. Returning from Europe with the Purple Heart, he enrolled at Michigan State University, graduating in 1950 with a journalism degree. Stuart worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, The Pontiac Press and The Grand Rapids Press. After a brief career in public relations, he became a copy editor at The Lansing State Journal in 1957. After covering education and politics, he was named The Journal‘s chief editorial writer in 1969 and was promoted to editorial page editor in 1973. Stuart showed great breadth and depth in discussing national, state and local issues. He was confronted with the Lansing community’s most divisive problem over a 10-year span: the desegregation of Lansing schools and the establishment of a bus system to integrate the schools. Area leaders praised Stuart’s use of the written word to help resolve such problems. “In an understated way, Bob held a commanding presence in the Lansing community,” said Mark Nixon, editorial page editor of The Lansing State Journal. “His editorial reflected a resolute civic-mindedness which in some quarters is considered passé.” Stuart retired from The Journal in 1987. He died in 1992, leaving an indelible mark on the Lansing community.