A historic gift from the Schoeneckers Foundation will create scholarship funding for 250 undergraduate students every year to Minnesota’s largest private university.
The University of St. Thomas today announced the single largest monetary gift for scholarships ever given to a Minnesota university, thanks to the generosity of one of its longest-standing benefactors.
The transformative gift from the Schoeneckers Foundation – also among the top five monetary donations ever given to a Minnesota university for any purpose – will provide significant new resources to help hundreds of students overcome financial barriers, creating even more access to Minnesota’s largest private university.
Beginning in fall 2025, the gift will provide scholarships for undergraduate students based on need, with the flexibility to recruit students to any of St. Thomas’ programs, schools and colleges. Over time, thousands of students will benefit.
“The impact of this gift is truly tremendous: St. Thomas will be able to support 250 students with scholarships every year, starting with students applying for fall 2025 admission," said University of St. Thomas President Rob Vischer. "Guy and Barbara Schoenecker truly understood the transformative impact of higher education. This gift is a vote of confidence and yet another example of their incredibly generous philanthropic legacy. I know they would be proud to make St. Thomas more accessible to prospective students from across all of Minnesota, students from across the entire United States, and globally. The Schoenecker family has always believed in the power of the type of life-changing educational experiences our students gain from St. Thomas.”
President Rob VischerThe Schoenecker family has always believed in the power of the type of life-changing educational experiences our students gain from St. Thomas.”
The latest gift brings fundraising for St. Thomas student financial aid support to nearly $220 million in recent years, a significant step for the national Catholic university as it prepares to launch a major fundraising campaign with scholarships as its top priority. The university hopes the Schoenecker gift will inspire future donors to give and inspire prospective students to apply to St. Thomas.
“My dad always spoke about how his St. Thomas education changed his life. He believed St. Thomas not only provided a great education but also played a significant role in his formation as a young man,” said Lisa Anderson ’83 MA, daughter of Guy Schoenecker and member of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees. “He wanted to provide hard-working young people the same formative experience, so we are happy to help make that happen at this critical moment in higher education. We hope others join us in this effort to expand access to more students who want to experience the quality education St. Thomas provides.”
The Schoenecker name is well known and highly regarded at Minnesota’s largest private university. Guy Schoenecker was a 1949 St. Thomas graduate and founder of BI WORLDWIDE, an international business loyalty and incentive company. He served on the university’s Board of Trustees for 30 years and first established an endowed scholarship at St. Thomas in 1977.
The Schoenecker family's multigenerational philanthropy has been pivotal to many Catholic causes, including supporting St. Thomas' upward trajectory from being a small liberal arts college to a top-ranked national Catholic university. Most recently, the foundation provided the lead gift for the Schoenecker Center, which houses marquee spaces for the arts, engineering and sciences. The university's home for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education opened in February as a national model for interdisciplinary learning, further elevating the St. Thomas student experience and attracting new STEAM majors. Just like the newly announced scholarship, the Schoenecker Center aims to inspire more students to attend St. Thomas, in this case growing enrollment in STEM and arts programs. Some of St. Thomas’ other notable landmarks bearing the family name include the Schoenecker Arena (2010) and School of Law’s Schoenecker Law Library on the university’s downtown Minneapolis campus.
“My father got his start and inspiration at St. Thomas,” said Larry Schoenecker, son of Guy Schoenecker and chair of the Schoeneckers Foundation and CEO of BI WORLDWIDE. “He believed in the value of a St. Thomas education and was a leader in helping the university advance at every step of its transformation. We're proud to continue his legacy of supporting St. Thomas and its positive impact on higher education, and on the lives of students and the people of Minnesota.”
In honor of this gift and the longstanding Schoenecker legacy at St. Thomas, Tommie North Residence Hall at the intersection of Selby Avenue and Cleveland Avenue North in St. Paul will be renamed Guy ’49 and Barbara Schoenecker Residence Hall North, with a public dedication on Sept. 19.
