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St. Olaf, Carleton make annual donation to Northfield

By David Gonnerman '90
January 12, 2009

CollegeDonation09
Mayor Mary Rossing, left, accepts the St. Olaf donation from Alan Norton while council member Kris Vohs (far right) accepts the Carleton donation from Fred Rogers.
Continuing with a tradition that dates back some eight decades, Carleton College and St. Olaf College presented their annual contributions to the city of Northfield at City Hall Jan. 9. Representatives from the two Northfield colleges and the city gathered as St. Olaf and Carleton made a total donation of $146,000 to the schools' host city.

Presenting equal amounts of $73,000 to Northfield were St. Olaf Vice President and Treasurer Alan Norton and Carleton Vice President and Treasurer Fred Rogers. Accepting the donations on the city's behalf were council member Kris Vohs and newly elected mayor Mary Rossing '84. Beginning in the 1920s, Carleton and St. Olaf were among the first colleges in the United States to make such gifts to their host city.

"Our community is richer for the scores of faculty, staff and student volunteers from both St. Olaf and Carleton that are engaged in this community, and we benefit from the thousands of people who are drawn to Northfield because of the presence of these two institutions of higher learning," says Rossing.

Nearly 5,000 college students from the two colleges (approximately 3,000 St. Olaf students and 2,000 Carleton students) call Northfield home from September through May and June. The city provides college students with a wide array of services, including restaurants, shopping, emergency and professional services, as well as employment and other opportunities to expand their academic experiences with internships in local professional settings. Northfield, in turn, benefits from a large base of potential clients and consumers for its businesses and volunteers for local organizations and schools.

The two colleges are among the largest employers in Northfield, with more than 1,500 employees combined. Local citizens are also able to enjoy a wide range of athletic, art and musical offerings from both colleges -- most of which are free and open to the public.

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