Private Minn. University to Receive $82M for First-Gen Programs

The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota on Thursday announced an $82 million gift to support low-income and first-generation students. The donation, from the Ciresi Walburn Foundation and the Michael V. and Ann C. Ciresi Foundation, is the largest in the private Catholic university’s 141-year history, and is part of a $1 billion fundraising campaign.

The gift will establish a Center for First-Generation Students and a Center for Leadership and will fund the existing Ciresi Walburn Leadership Fellows Program for low-income students in perpetuity, according to the foundation.

The fellowship program was created in 2022 for Black male students, who make up less than 9 percent of St. Thomas’s student body. But like many institutional programs once designed for a particular demographic group, it now accepts students of any race and gender—a change many colleges and universities have implemented under pressure from anti-DEI state and federal lawmakers, who argue that the Supreme Court’s ban on the consideration of race in admissions should extend to scholarship and grant programs.

Now, the main criterion for Ciresi fellows is demonstrated financial need and a commitment to service and social justice, according to a statement from the university. Candidates don’t have to have a certain grade point average or be enrolled in a particular field of study, but they do have to agree to meet regularly and attend professional development activities and employer site visits throughout the year. In return, they can receive up to $17,500 in scholarship money per year, or $70,000 over four years. The scholarship doesn’t cover everything; the university estimates the total cost of attendance is nearly $78,000, including tuition, fees, housing, food and other expenses.

Although the program is relatively new, leaders say they’ve seen promising results so far. Of the 10 students in the first fellowship cohort, nine graduated within four years and one is on track to graduate in five years, according to Daniel Sellers, executive director of the Ciresi Walburn Foundation.

Sellers said the program began when university leaders and the foundation realized that low-income students left the university in their first two years at higher rates than their peers.

“Finances alone were not the cause of them deciding not to continue at St. Thomas. That, of course, was part of it. But there’s so much more,” Sellers said. “There’s a desire for a sense of belonging, a desire to find affinity with others on campus and support when, invariably, challenges appear.”

Roberta Walburn, trustee of the Ciresi Walburn Foundation, said in a statement that the donation and the future centers for leadership and first-generation students will give students and community members the chance “to learn from one another and lead meaningful change.”

“The fellows have shown us what is possible when talented young people receive not only financial support, but also the networks, experiences and opportunities they need to become confident and effective leaders,” Walburn said.

Lily Asrat, director of the fellows program, said that when students are relieved of financial stress, it allows them to focus on academics, get involved on campus and pursue internships. The scholarship money, paired with mentorship and peer support, “is really there to make sure they thrive,” she said.

“So many issues around retention with first-gen students and students of high financial need [are because] they don’t have all the safety nets and social supports that many other students have,” Asrat said. The fellowship program gives the students “people and support that will catch them when they fall.”

Junior marketing major Terrell J. Cummings joined the program halfway through his freshman year, at which point he said, “I was a C-plus student first semester, and a little knucklehead.”

Once Cummings started spending time around people who believed in him, his mindset shifted. He said he started getting better grades and is now the student vice president for the program.

The program’s leaders and his peers are “pushing me to be the man I’m becoming now,” he said. He expects to graduate in 2028.

The community he’s found, paired with the professional development opportunities and scholarship, “is honestly just the catalyst of what Black excellence looks like.”