Given such passion for the university, many people are
their friends, longtime St. Thomas benefactors John and Susan Morrison. Dease recalls the university’s connection with the Andersons started with a trip to Cuba when the Tommies played the University of Havana in baseball. After the trip, Dease started thinking about how the Andersons, avid boaters who frequently traveled to the Caribbean, “had a kind of a love for the people of the Caribbean.” With that insight, the university asked the couple if they would be interested in an endowment for students from the Caribbean to attend St. Thomas. They said “yes.” From there, the relationships flourished, with Lee joining the
Board of Trustees, a seat he held actively for 14 years, and making gifts – like the one for the arena – that continue to transform St. Thomas because they believe in the goals and mission of the university. “St. Thomas’ vision for this new arena is not only good for the university, but for all of St. Paul, the Twin Cities and Minnesota,” Lee Anderson said. “The Andersons really serve as an example of extraordinary success in entrepreneurship,” Dease said. “And with Christian values, that entrepreneurship flows over into social entrepreneurship.” n
surprised to learn that neither Lee nor Penny are graduates from St. Thomas. Rather, the relationship centers on an alignment of values with the Catholic institution. The same can be said about the leadership of the Andersons, who have been married since 1965. “They’re just good neighbor people who love God, love their family and are trying to make their world better according to their best lights,” said Father Dennis Dease, who was president of St. Thomas from 1991 to 2013. Lee and Penny were introduced to St. Thomas in the 1990s by
3 0
SUMMER 23
Powered by FlippingBook