Hamline is pleased to announce it has raised more than $20 million for construction of the Carol Young Anderson and Dennis L. Anderson University Center. This meets the university’s financing benchmark goal for the project. The university will continue to raise funds with the aspiration of reaching an even higher number by the building’s official grand opening and dedication, which takes place October 5, 2012.

"Through their generous leadership gift, alumna Carol Young Anderson and her late husband Dennis Anderson allowed us to begin to realize the dream for this new university center,” Hamline University President Linda Hanson said. “We have been inspired by their generosity and by the gifts of many other donors, including trustees, alumni, friends, and Hamline community members who have stepped forward to participate in this transformational effort to build the Anderson Center. Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Tony Grundhauser and his entire staff have my profound gratitude for their persistence and professionalism in reaching this goal.”

Pledges and gifts for the Anderson Center ranged from $1,000 by those who donated a permeable brick to Alumni Way to the $10 million contributed by the Andersons, for whom the building is named. Of the bricks, 332 are in place on Alumni Way, and another 115 bricks will be engraved on site over the next few weeks.

“I would like to thank each staff and faculty member who participated in the campaign this past year and those who donated a brick to Alumni Way. We are also grateful for the overwhelming support of the Board of Trustees and the Campaign Steering Committee, led by Campaign Chairman Dick Hoel ‘69, a longtime Hamline Board member who was recently named an emeritus trustee,” said Tony Grundhauser, vice president of development and alumni relations. “The trustees and the steering committee continue to do an outstanding job of keeping us on track throughout our fundraising efforts. They have been instrumental in the success we have achieved, introducing our staff to many donors and personally asking for gifts.”

“I am elated we are able to give a substantial portion of our accumulated estate to Hamline University,” Carol Anderson said. “Hamline has been very much a part of our lives. My memories of Hamline are intertwined with memories of World War II, as the war impacted our college years from start to finish. One effect may have been that women had opportunities for leadership we might not have had in more normal times. I am so thankful for the years I had at Hamline; they were like no other years in my life. I feel blessed that we are able to give back to this university that has served Dennis and me so well. I feel this university center is an incredibly worthy investment."

More on the Andersons
Carol Young Anderson and Dennis L. Anderson are longtime supporters of Hamline. After graduating from Hamline University in 1946 with a degree in sociology, Carol married Dennis Anderson, and they farmed and managed a ranch in South Dakota for the next several decades. Over the years, Carol Anderson volunteered her time and talent as a member of the South Dakota State Board of Social Services and the State Board for the League of Women Voters. Twice she was named the Democratic Party candidate from Pennington County for the South Dakota State House of Representatives, and she has held a unique position as the first female president of the YMCA board of directors in Rapid City, South Dakota. Carol served on the Hamline University Board of Directors from 1993-2001 and as chair of the estate planning and endowment committee for the New American University Campaign. Carol resides in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Andersons have made a previous gift of $1 million to endow the Carol Young Anderson and the Dennis Anderson Chair in the Social Sciences. Added to their gift for the University Center, and their 50+ years of annual support, their total giving to Hamline University exceeds $10 million.

More on the Anderson Center
Resting on the southwest edge of Hamline’s Saint Paul campus at the corner of Snelling and Englewood avenues, the Anderson Center is a 75,000 square foot building that will serve as the anchor gathering place on campus for commuter and residential students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The three-level glass and terra cotta building includes solar panels and a green roof. It has large and small meeting spaces, a computer bar, dining facilities, a coffee shop, a meditation room, an outdoor terrace, and an underground parking garage. Architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch designed the building, and Roseville-based McGough constructed it.

“Our exceptional design and construction teams, in collaboration with our outstanding staff in Facilities Services made this building a reality,” said Doug Anderson, Hamline’s vice president for finance. “The project is on time and on budget.” 

The use of green building techniques and technologies will maximize the energy efficiency of the Anderson Center. Included in the building design are roof top solar panels that will generate up to 17 kilowatts of electricity and a green roof to help reduce water run-off and heat loss. The building also features the extensive use of windows to increase the amount of natural light inside. The green roof is now planted and installed around the terrace of the Anderson Center with a total area of plant coverage of 1800 square feet. This will not only provide energy and sound insulation, but it creates beautiful and lush surroundings on the third-floor terrace.

Watch the construction of Alumni Way and see the final touches made to the Anderson Center via a live streaming camera on the construction site.