The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, has announced a major gift from the Schoeneckers Foundation in support of student scholarships.

Though the amount of the gift hasn’t been disclosed, university officials confirmed that it sets the record for the largest donation ever given to a Minnesota university for scholarships, surpassing a $50 million gift to St. Thomas from alumnus and real estate developer Gerald Rauenhorst and the GHR Foundation in 2017. Starting in 2025 and continuing in perpetuity, the new scholarship endowment will provide funding for 250 undergraduate students each year.

Alumnus and longtime university donor Guy Schoenecker and his wife, Barbara, previously supported the construction of the Schoenecker Center, an arts, sciences, and engineering building. In honor of the most recent gift and longstanding commitment to St. Thomas, Tommie North has been renamed Guy ’49 and Barbara Schoenecker Residence Hall North.

“Guy Schoenecker believed in the life-changing power of education because St. Thomas changed his life. His children believe in the life-changing power of education, too, and they continue to place their hope in the students who are here today and who will be here tomorrow,” said St. Thomas president Rob Vischer. “We thank the Schoenecker family and the foundation for being such faithful stewards of their dad’s legacy and making this remarkable new scholarship fund possible.”

(Photo credit: Getty Imges/LumiNola)