Healy Supports HES by Design

Marcia Healy knew she wanted to study design before ever coming to the University of Missouri. Healy (pronounced "Haley") put her MU degree to work as an interior designer from the day she left Columbia in 1968. Since then, Marcia, BS HE ’68, and her husband Robert Healy, BS E ’64, PhD ’68, enjoyed rich careers, Robert as an internationally renowned chemical engineer and Marcia with a successful interior design business, Healy & Company, in Houston.

Over the years the Healys supported Robert’s alma mater, the MU College of Engineering, with significant gifts. In recent years, the Healys’ focus includes supporting Marcia's alma mater, the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences. They created a lecture series, helped with renovation of Gwynne Lounge, and are establishing a scholarship in the Architectural Studies department through a gift from their estate.

In a recent conversation with Mizzou Legacies, Marcia talked about how she came to attend MU and how her education helped shape her career and life since college days. She said, "I knew I wanted to do something in design but did not know what. I looked at design programs. I was from St. Louis. Wash U had a fantastic graphic design program. But I didn't want to live at home, and I saw graphic design was not the direction I wanted to go." After considering a number of programs, Healy decided to study interior design. Her father, an attorney, also built homes. She saw firsthand the opportunities in interior design. She learned MU had a design program so, in spite of her parent's desire for her to stay close to home, she enrolled at Mizzou.

While at MU, Marcia met her husband, Robert, of Independence, Missouri. Marcia Jeanne Wehrl married Robert Healy on August 26, 1967. After finishing a PhD in chemical engineering in 1968, Robert took a job with Exxon Oil Company in Houston. Marcia said, "I started doing interior design work with stores, which was fine until after two years we were transferred to a little town in Illinois—so I started doing consultations."

When the Healys returned to Houston, they started a family. Marcia said, "Stores wanted you to work on weekends, so I started working on my own so I could set my own hours." In business for herself, Marcia ran Healy & Company for more than 40 years and is a past member of the American Institute of Interior Designers. For the last ten years, Robert has been retired. And Marcia has stopped working full-time, only occasionally consulting for friends.

Marcia remembers her time at MU with fondness. She described it as a wonderful time with memories of football and parties. She said, "I loved my school. I loved walking across campus, except for winter. When I was there, girls could not wear slacks. So I did not like winter."

Marcia is proud of progress she sees on campus, especially with students in her alma mater—which motivates her to support the College of Human Environmental Sciences. She likes how students are treated and how they take advantage of today's opportunities. Marcia said, "Students were at the bottom rung of the ladder in my day. That's not true today."

Lectureship and Legacy

In 2003 the Healys funded the Marcia Wehrle Healy and Robert N. Healy Interior Design and Architecture Lecture Series. Marcia said that, at the time, much of their giving had been to Robert's alma mater. She and Robert determined it was time to do something meaningful for HES. She talked with the dean and HES advancement director Nancy Schultz about the college's needs and considered several projects. Marcia remembered guest lectures had a great influence on her when she was at MU. She ran the idea of a lectureship by the college, and they were all for it. She said, "It has turned out to be so good. We've been to every one of them." The lectureship provides an opportunity for students to meet prominent interior designers and architects who share design concepts and theoretical perspectives.

Since starting the lectureship, the Healys have come back to campus once or twice a year. Marcia said their increased volunteerism coincided with Robert's retirement more than ten years ago, allowing them to get back to Mizzou more often. She said, "Before that, when he worked, we could get back maybe once a year. Now we have the freedom." Once they started coming back and the more they learned about HES, the better they felt about their support and the people they met at the college. Marcia said, "When I went back to my school, they really seemed to care. HES is really great!"

Ruth Tofle, director of the architectural studies department, said Marcia interacts in such a positive way with the students. She has her conduct mock interviews each year when on campus for the Healy Lectureship. Tofle said, "She just loves being involved with students." So much so, that Tofle said they started their leadership scholarship for her students in architectural studies. In 2015 The Healys established The Robert and Marcia Healy Scholarship in Architectural Studies for graduate students, with a pledge of a bequest from their estate.

In addition to their financial support, the Healys hosted an alumni event in 2013. They are Distinguished Fellow members of the Jefferson Club and serve on advisory committees for their colleges and for the MU Planned Giving Advisory Committee.