In Memoriam: Dr. Marilyn Stuber

Meredith College mourns the loss of Dr. Marilyn Stuber, who served on the faculty for 30 years. Stuber passed away on January 26, 2026.

Stuber began at Meredith in 1965 as a home economics instructor. In 1967, she became an assistant professor and was appointed chair of the home economics department, which has evolved into the current Department of Human Environmental Sciences. She served in this role until her retirement in 1995, having been named a full professor in 1980. She carried a full teaching load and advised 150 majors each semester.

“Dr. Marilyn Stuber was the best at everything she did at Meredith: teaching, leading the department, and guiding the students with both kindness and high expectations. It was a privilege to be hired and mentored by her,” said Professor Emerita Deborah Tippett, who succeeded Stuber as head of the Department of Human Environmental Sciences. “I will always be grateful for the example she set every day in putting students first. This practice led to high student enrollment and successful national accreditations in a thriving department.”

When Stuber was hired at Meredith, there were two faculty members in the department. Under her leadership, that number increased to 17 full-time and part-time faculty members when she retired 30 years later.  The areas of study offered expanded from one in general home economics to five: Nutrition, Interior Design, Child Development, Fashion Merchandising, and General Home Economics (Teacher Education).  

Shortly before Stuber retired, the department’s name was changed to Human Environmental Sciences, and it had the largest number of majors of any department at Meredith.

Professor Emerita Ellen Goode, who taught in Meredith’s interior design program, remembers the support Stuber provided students and faculty.

“Dr. Marilyn Stuber led the department through tremendous growth to become the largest department in student enrollment in the 1990s. During her years at Meredith, she supported and trusted her faculty to expand course offerings, moving from areas of concentration to majors, and striving for excellence by gaining national accreditations,” Goode said. “Hundreds of students benefited from her classes and her patient and kind advising. She will be missed by many.”

Director of Strategic Giving Billie Jo Kennedy Cockman, ’79, also praised Stuber for her dedication to students.

“I was fortunate to have Dr. Stuber as a professor. Always kind, she deeply cared about her students and was dedicated to us and to the College. As a staff member, I came to realize how much she built and grew a small general home economics program into a multi-major department,” Cockman said. “As the program grew, she advised hundreds of students each year, thus influencing thousands of Meredith alumnae. Dr. Stuber was a humble person, yet her mark on Meredith College and her students is immeasurable.”

During Stuber’s tenure at Meredith,  she received numerous teaching awards and presented the Faculty Distinguished Lecture in 1971.  When she retired, alumnae established an endowment, the Marilyn M. Stuber Scholarship Fund,  in her honor to support scholarships for students in the department.

In 2022, Marilyn Stuber and her husband, Charles, endowed a professorship in Human and Environmental Sciences. The Dr. Marilyn M. Stuber and Dr. Charles W. Stuber Endowed Professorship recognizes outstanding contributions and accomplishments of a professor in his or her academic discipline within the Department of Human Environmental Sciences.

To make a gift to either fund in memory of Dr. Marilyn Stuber, visit donor.meredith.edu. Checks can be mailed to Meredith College, Attn: Institutional Advancement, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27607.