Hal Mattson’s gift honors family heritage

Hal Mattson’s desire for a college education began with a sixth-grade assignment. “We had to calculate how long it would take to get from the earth to the moon and back,” said Mattson. “At age 12, most kids are unsure about their future career plans. At that moment I knew I wanted to go to college and major in math.”       

Hal Mattson displays a trophy caught on a trip to Alaska

Mattson chose to study at UW-Superior, where in four years he completed a double major in math and physics while working 20 to 35 hours a week. He not only graduated with honors in 1968, but was also inducted into the national physics honor society in his senior year.  Today Mattson is a vice president of MSC.Software Corp., a manufacturer of engineering software in Santa Ana, Calif. 

“For me, education is the number one priority,” said Mattson. “Whether it be a formal education like the one I received at UW-Superior, or the education one obtains through travel and reading.” 

To help further both formal and informal education, Mattson pledged $25,000 to name the Archivist Office in the Jim Dan Hill Library. This gift goes toward Campaign Superior’s library renovation project, which aims to raise $2 million of the $9 million needed for technological and structural updates to the building.  

Mattson was compelled to make his gift not only in recognition of the education he received, but in honor of the many family members who also obtained their formal education from UW-Superior.  

“My grandmother, Ellen Esther Johnson, was the first in my family to attend what is now UW-Superior.” said Mattson. “She received a teaching certificate from the Superior Normal School in the late 1890s or early 1900s.”  

Around 60 years latter, Mattson became the first of many descendants of Johnson’s to attend her alma mater. Hal’s brother, John (Steve) Mattson, graduated from UW-Superior in 1975 with a degree in social work. Steve’s son, Eric Mattson, earned a degree in criminal justice in 2001. Steve is the chief program officer at Woodland Hills, a youth treatment and rehabilitation facility in Duluth, Minnesota, where Erik is also employed. Erik’s wife, Tiffany (Riedasch) Mattson, received her bachelors of science in psychology (1999) and her masters of science and education in counseling (2002) from UW-Superior, and presently works for Miller Dwan in the Child Adolescent Mental Health Unit. 

Another nephew of Hal’s, Scott Stralka, followed in his great-grandmother’s footsteps earning an elementary education degree from UW-Superior in 1998. Hal’s brother-in-law and father of Scott, Jim Stralka, also is an alumnus having graduated in 1972 with a biology degree. Many Johnsons, who are related to Ellen Esther Johnson, also attended the university. 

“Although the Archivist Office will have the Mattson name, the gift honors the family tradition of attending UW-Superior,” said Mattson. “The education that I and other family members received was the foundation upon which we built our futures.”