WINONA, Minn. — In challenging financial times for America's colleges and universities, administrators will tell you just about any gift is welcome.
At St. Mary's University of Minnesota, "welcome" might be underselling things a bit after an alumnus and his family committed $25 million to the institution, which has campuses in Winona, Rochester, Minneapolis and online.
Calling the donation "unprecedented," St. Mary's officials thanked the anonymous benefactors, and said the money would be used to support current efforts to revitalize the university, and "cement the vision recently laid out by the president and university administration to position it for a strong and successful future."
Like many liberal arts universities, St. Mary's has embarked on a path to more directly meet workforce needs, and prepare students with specific job skills to make them more marketable. Still, school leaders have pledged they will maintain a liberal arts core, "providing students with a well-rounded perspective that will benefit them throughout their lives."
“We are forever grateful for this truly transformational gift to Saint Mary’s. Such a generous and major investment inspires and motivates us to advance our inspirational Lasallian Catholic educational mission, benefiting students and, in turn, society, as they work, lead, and serve others,” said Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., Saint Mary’s president. “In these challenging times across higher education, this gift affirms that we are setting the course necessary to continue to serve students for decades to come.”
As a stipulation of the $25 million gift, the donors are challenging St. Mary's to raise an additional $100 million between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2024. There is also an expectation that the school's enrollment will grow in that time frame from 800 undergraduates to 900.
Previous record gifts to the university included $8 million in April of 2014 to our First Generation Initiative, and an unrestricted gift of $7 million in June 2000.
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