Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees Chair George Hicks announced Friday, April 24, that Campaign Gustavus has reached $145 million in total commitments toward its goal of $150 million. Hicks made the announcement at the College’s annual philanthropy dinner—a gala event held to show appreciation for many of the institution’s top donors.
“Campaign Gustavus is the largest fundraising campaign ever undertaken by the College in its 153-year history,” Hicks said. “Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors, we are setting the College up for success for the foreseeable future through enhancements to campus facilities, student scholarships and financial aid, academic programs, and teaching resources.”
President Rebecca Bergman announced several new seven-figure commitments at the dinner including a major commitment from Adeline and the late Rev. Drell Bernhardson to help renovate the College’s A.H. Anderson building, which will house the Education Department, several administrative offices, and a multi-faith space.
The Bernhardson family has deep roots at Gustavus, dating back to the late 1950s when the Rev. Drell Bernhardson, along with many other local Augustana Lutheran Pastors in Minnesota, raised money for the building of Christ Chapel. Through the years, Drell and his wife, Adeline, have been generous philanthropists to the College; establishing the core endowment for the Nobel Conference, an endowed scholarship program that has already supported more than 900 students, and the Bernhardson Chair in Lutheran Studies in 1996—the first of its kind, which has now been emulated by several of our Lutheran collegiate institutions.
“This latest generous gift from the Bernhardson family means that we have raised over $6.25 million toward a $7.5 million fundraising goal for the renovation of the Anderson building,” Bergman said. “Now that the Board of Trustees has authorized completion of the final construction documents, we are poised to start renovations as soon as the fundraising goal for the project is met.”
The Bernhardson family gift announcement comes just days after the College announced a separate $3 million gift from the Lind Family that also supports the renovation of the Anderson building as well as other aspects of the College’s Education Department.
Vice President for Advancement Thomas W. Young expressed optimism at the dinner that Campaign Gustavus will surpass the $150 million goal by the fall of 2015.
“As we look down the homestretch of this campaign we have three main priorities in front of us,” Young said. “We will look to establish two more endowed faculty positions to bring us to a total of 10 during this campaign; we will seek an additional $1.5 million in contributions toward the renovation of the Anderson building; and we will seek significant funding toward the future renovation of the Nobel Hall of Science.”
Anyone interested in giving to Campaign Gustavus can do so by calling the Advancement Office at 507-933-7512 or by going online to gustavus.edu/give.
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