St. Norbert College: Receives $7 million dollar gift from Michels family for student union enhancement

From: Mike Counter, St. Norbert College, http://www.snc.edu, 920-403-3089, mike.counter@smnc.edu

DE PERE, WIS.: St. Norbert College has received a $7 million dollar gift from the Michels family to transform the school’s Sensenbrenner Memorial Union into a state-of-the-art commons and dining facility.

The gift was announced by St. Norbert College president Thomas Kunkel at the college’s October 2010 board meeting. The board of trustees unanimously approved immediate design and construction of Michels Commons. In attendance was Pat Michels ‘81, president of Michels Corporation and trustee of the college.

The Michels family has long been a part of the St. Norbert College community. Ruth and the late Dale Michels sent three of their four children to St. Norbert College including Pat ‘81, Tim ’84 who is the Vice President of Michels Corporation and Kevin ’89, Vice President of Equipment Division and Michels Corporation. Their granddaughter Michelle Michels, daughter of Pat and Marysue, will graduate with the Class of 2012.

Michels Commons will include a ballroom, reception spaces and outdoor patios. In addition, Ruth’s Marketplace – named in honor of Ruth Michels – will reinvent the college dining hall as a stylish, health-conscious food-court with a dramatic two-story atrium overlooking De Pere’s Third Street, and Dale’s Sports Lounge – named after Dale Michels – will be a casual dining and gathering space with multiple large-screen televisions and other amenities.

“St. Norbert College is extremely grateful to the Michels family for this generous commitment,” said President Thomas Kunkel. “The family wanted to make sure its gift would dramatically improve the student experience at St. Norbert College. This gift will touch literally every student here. It will be transformational.”

“In our discussions with St. Norbert, we were looking for an opportunity to improve the campus identity. The Michels Commons discussions truly met all of our desires. We are proud to be able to do this for the St. Norbert College community,” said Pat Michels.

Completion Schedule

Construction of Michels Commons will begin in April 2011 and will be completed by May 2012. Performa Inc. of De Pere is the architect for the Michels Commons project.

The Sensenbrenner Memorial Union was built in 1961, and received a 5,600-square-foot addition in 1994. It houses the college’s primary kitchen and food preparation areas, the current cafeteria, and various spaces for receptions and meetings.

Michels Corporation

Michels Corporation of Brownsville, Wisconsin is one of North America’s leading engineering and construction firms, recently ranked as one of the Top 500 Contractors and Top 10 Utility Contractors in the United States by the Engineering News-Record. Michels Corporation has offices throughout the United States and Canada and employs more than 3,500 people.

St. Norbert College History:

The only Norbertine College in the world, St. Norbert is a four-year, Catholic liberal arts college, devoted to the Norbertine traditions of community, prayer and service to others. Founded in 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings as a school to prepare men for the priesthood, St. Norbert College became coeducational in 1952. Today the residential campus serves approximately 2,100 undergraduate and graduate students hailing from throughout the United States and more than 30 countries, and offers study abroad opportunities in 37 countries.

St. Norbert College is located on the banks of the Fox River in the residential community of De Pere, Wisconsin, neighboring Green Bay – a metropolitan area of more than 200,000, rich in culture, business and opportunity. The academic excellence of the college is nationally recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s America’s BestColleges. http://www.snc.edu