Attendees gather on the Upper Quad to celebrate Thursday’s announcement. The University of St. Thomas announced a $1 billion fundraising campaign Thursday, alongside the largest donation in school history. (Victor Mshihiri/The Crest) 
Streamers fall on the Upper Quad during President Rob Vischer’s address. It was announced that the Upper Quad will be renamed “The Ciresi Walburn Quad.” (Victor Mshihiri/The Crest) 
Donors Roberta Walburn (left of podium) and Michael Ciresi (podium) address the crowd. (Victor Mshihiri/The Crest)
The University of St. Thomas announced a $1 billion donation campaign aimed at expanding educational opportunities for students and investing in faculty, according to an email sent Thursday morning.
The initiative, titled “Be Brilliant. Be Bold. The Campaign for St. Thomas,” has garnered nearly $800 million in commitments from over 20,000 donors so far. Thursday’s announcement also included a commitment for the largest donation in school history.
The campaign’s board hosted a program celebrating the initiative’s launch Thursday afternoon on the Upper Quad. University President Rob Vischer addressed the crowd to open the event.
“This is a historic afternoon for us,” Vischer said. “Scholarships open doors to a life-changing St. Thomas education. Great faculty know and challenge our students, and transformational experiences help students discover their gifts, their purpose and their responsibility to others.”
St. Thomas also revealed an $82 million commitment payable over ten years from the Ciresi Walburn Foundation and the Michael V. and Ann C. Ciresi Foundation, the largest donation in the university’s history. Donors Michael Ciresi and Roberta Walburn also spoke at the event.
Vischer said that the donations will fund a new Ciresi Walburn Center for Leadership and a Ciresi Walburn Center for First-Generation College Students, which will provide financial support and mentorship. The Upper Quad will also be renamed “The Ciresi Walburn Quad.”
Junior Simon Njenga was one of the hundred-plus attendees and said he was in full support of the campaign.
Njenga also said that he hopes the funds go towards “filling in the gap that the federal government is going to cause by cutting our scholarships to us students.”
Last spring, St. Thomas students lobbied to save $131 million in federal higher education funding, but no action was ultimately taken. Almost half of Minnesota students could have their aid cut due to the inaction, according to the Minnesota Private College Council.
Vice President for University Advancement Erik Thurman was involved with leading the campaign. He said the campaign’s five-year planning predates the federal budget cuts.
“This announcement today isn’t the start of it… this is the moment we make it public,” Thurman said. “Surely those kinds of pressures that are happening at a macro level on scholarship or federal impacts with funding do put pressure on higher education that we have to respond to.”
Sophomore Chloe Larson also attended the event; she said she enjoyed seeing “higher profile people” on campus and listening to the speakers.
“I know that funds from donors make pretty much everything we do on campus possible,” Larson said. “So being able to expand those things and continue doing them is great.”
Despite the historic nature of the donation, Vischer said he hopes that the impact of the donations shines, not just the dollar amount.
“This campaign will never be defined by those numbers,” Vischer said. “It will be defined by our students because every one of our campaign promises comes back to our students.”
Emily Kratz can be reached at krat1542@stthomas.edu.
Victor Mshihiri can be reached at mshi7898@stthomas.edu.
