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St. Olaf parents provide gift for renovation

By Kari VanDerVeen
February 4, 2010

With three children who have reaped the rewards of study-abroad programs — including Kathy Moe ’90 — Bob and Karin Moe understand the importance of St. Olaf’s commitment to global education.

It’s one reason they recently provided the college with a $500,000 gift for the renovation of the old science building, which will include new spaces for the world languages departments and the International and Off-Campus Studies program. Their gift will support a study lounge nestled among these spaces that is nicknamed “the Lantern” because its floor-to-ceiling windows will glow with light each evening.

Karin and Bob Moe have given St. Olaf $500,000 for the renovation of the old science building that, when completed, will house language departments and the International and Off-Campus Studies Program.

“We feel St. Olaf has done an outstanding job of sending so many students overseas for study,” Karin Moe says. “It not only enhances their language and academic skills but also deepens their understanding of other cultures and the complexity and diversity of world affairs.”

Studying abroad was one of the highlights of Kathy Moe’s St. Olaf experience, and renovations to the old science building will enhance the college’s ability to educate students with a global perspective. Kathy and her husband, Jonathan Watson ’91, worked closely with Bob and Karin Moe as they made plans for offering this gift to the college.

Construction on the old science building began last fall, and the new $21.5 million building is expected to open in January 2011. The generous gift by Bob and Karin Moe follows upon a previous $5 million gift by St. Olaf Board of Regents Chair O. Jay Tomson ‘58 and his wife, Patricia McCarthy Tomson ‘59. The college plans to raise additional money and employ revenue generated from the college's operations to finance the full cost of the project.

The Science Center, built in 1967, is located across the campus green from Buntrock Commons. Once renovation is completed, the building will also house the Education department and TRiO programs, the Center for Experiential Learning, Admissions and Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Dean of Students and the Office of Residential Life, and the offices of the President and Provost. Shared spaces in the new building are designed to encourage connections between academic and administrative functions and promote cross-disciplinary, cross-faculty, and staff interactions.

Bob, who retired from a career with Polaris Industries, and Karin Moe reside in Minneapolis and Bonita Springs, Fla. They have been generous donors to the college, having also supported the construction of Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences with a $1 million gift.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.