Midge Rendell: In a class by herself

It's not yet noon as the trim blonde woman makes her way through the crowd, but it's already been a full day.

After a board meeting for the Kimmel Center and a memorial service, it's off to the Pennsylvania Bar Association's 10th Annual Conference. After speaking there, she will head to her chambers for a few hours of reviewing cases, making phone calls and working before heading to Penn to speak at a reception in the evening.

It's a busy day, but not out of the ordinary for the woman recently named one of the most powerful women in Pennsylvania by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hours later, she'll return to her home outside of Philadelphia for some rare quiet time with her husband -- Governor Ed Rendell.

Her name is Marjorie O. Rendell, though you might know her better as a judge of the U.S. court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, first lady of Pennsylvania, or more simply as just Midge.

Thirty-eight years ago, Midge Osterlund arrived on Penn's campus intending to major in French and become a teacher. But plans changed with the times.

"It was the era of the Vietnam War and French just wasn't very relevant. It wasn't something kids were clamoring to learn." she says.

Instead, she followed in her father's footsteps and headed for law school.

But before leaving Penn, she met Ed. More than thirty years after their first date -- a Penn basketball game ("He taught me how to be a real screaming fan," she says) -- she was there to swear him in as governor of Pennsylvania in January.

She used the same Bible, a copy that had belonged to her father, when she swore him in as mayor of Philadelphia for his second term in 1996.

"It was very special," she says.

With his inauguration, a new season in the spotlight began for Midge Rendell who, several months after the fact, is still surprised when she's recognized on the street.

The election also brought unique challenges for the powerful duo: as a judge, she has been barred from participating in many roles typically assigned to the first lady, including campaigning with her husband and taking part in some fundraisers.

But it's something Rendell has learned to take in stride.

"I've been living with this for eight years and know what I can and cannot do," she says, noting that while her husband was mayor of Philadelphia, many of the same issues surfaced.

"Midge is in a class by herself," University President Judith Rodin. "There is no one I know who doesn't love and admire her. That is quite an accomplishment -- she has been in the public eye and had a chance to make enemies."

Rendell is a woman who knows many passions and commitments.

In Philadelphia she is able to offer helpful directions to an out of towner state trooper who is driving her around.

She enjoys golf (several golf balls sit in a corner of her office) but doesn't get a chance to play as often as she'd like.

The Rendells are known for their Philadelphia sports fanaticism, and are frequently spotted at games.

The family has two rescued golden retrievers, Mandy and Ginger -- the latter of which was a gift from Rendell to her husband for Christmas.

"She's so shockingly busy. They run at mach speed -- both of them," Chief of Staff Sue Perrotty says of the couple.

It hasn't say always been easy, Rendell acknowledges.

"When I first started working, when I had Jesse, and was trying to handle a very responsible position in a law firm... I was taking on the nurturing role as a mother, but at the same time, trying to be a very strong, assertive lawyer," she says. "It was very challenging. There were lots of times when I was prepared to quit."

As a woman, she says she was aware of the scrutiny.

"I tried to handle things with a sense of humor, and I could give as good as I got," she says.

So when an older man began referring to her as "hon" she did not object -- she simply started calling him "buster" in response.

Her biggest accomplishment, she says, has been raising her son Jesse, a recent Penn graduate currently on tour with his band, Don't Look Down.

"Everything else in life, you need to get an education for, take a test for.... Raising a child, there's just no primer," she says.

Of course, managing two busy careers on top of raising a son can often make life a juggling act.

"Our first dog had nine puppies, and you could keep track of seven of them visually, but you couldn't keep track of nine," she says. "Sometimes, I think I've got nine puppies."

All told, there may be more than nine. In addition to her roles as first lady, and judge -- where there are rumors of a U.S. Supreme Court nomination someday -- she serves as Vice Chair of the Kimmel Center, is a University Trustee and Chairwoman of the Board of Overseers of the Nursing School and a board member of Penn Medicine. And she is on the Trustees' Council of Penn Women and the University's External Affairs and Neighborhood Initiatives Committees.

"She is someone who juggles everything so there is never anything you ask her to do that she doesn't do," Rodin said, adding "that is wonderful because everyone admires her and knows how busy she is, so if she's doing it, it's very hard for other people not to do it."

Though all the commitments may be tiring at times, they are nonetheless something she looks forward to -- and she doesn't intend to stop any time soon.

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