May 11, 2012
Brother William Mann
President
Saint Mary’s University
700 Terrace Heights
Winona, MN 55987
Dear Brother William:
The entire Minnesota Congressional Delegation congratulates Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota on its Centennial Celebration. Reaching this historic milestone is a tribute to the vision of Saint Mary’s founder, and first Bishop of Winona, Patrick Heffron. In 1912, the cornerstone of Saint Mary’s was set atop Terrace Heights surrounded by the beautiful bluffs in Winona. That founding was the hallmark of a Catholic education movement taking shape in the state of Minnesota and beyond, that would go on to contribute in a significant way to making our citizens among the most well-educated in the world.
In its first century, Saint Mary’s University has grown from a diocesan undergraduate college to become a top-tier national university. The undergraduate college continues to excel in producing well-educated and well-qualified graduates that exceed national benchmarks in graduate school acceptance and employment. The university is an innovator among private colleges in embracing the expansion of quality, flexible graduate and professional programs as a way to meet our economy’s need for an ever more sophisticated and well-prepared workforce. Today Saint Mary’s footprint has expanded to two campuses and dozens of satellite locations in the upper Midwest, as well as abroad in Kenya and Jamaica.
Saint Mary’s has always been guided by a strong vision to transform society one learner at a time, a manifestation of its Lasallian Catholic heritage. And in so doing, Saint Mary’s fulfills its mission to “empower learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.”
Elected officials rarely try to predict the future, but the 2012 Minnesota Congressional Delegation can all agree that with a solid foundation and commitment to education, Saint Mary’s University will continue to amaze us during its second century.
Sincerely,
Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senator
Al Franken
U.S. Senator
Tim Walz
Member of Congress
Erik Paulsen
Member of Congress
Chip Cravaack
Member of Congress
Keith Ellison
Member of Congress
Betty McCollum
Member of Congress
Collin Peterson
Member of Congress
John Kline
Member of Congress
Michele Bachmann
Member of Congress