St. Cloud’s Anderson Family Donates $20 Million To Bethel University

Saint Cloud, MN, USA / KNSI

Oct 10, 2024 | 12:35 PM

Bethel University

(KNSI) – A prominent St. Cloud business family is helping to launch the college of health sciences at Bethel University.

It will be named after Barbara and Rollie Anderson of Anderson Trucking Service after they donated $20 million toward the effort. A press release notes several Andersons are among the alumni base at Bethel and it also lists the family’s lineage in the healthcare industry.

Barb’s father was a dentist and her mom specialized in physical therapy. Her sister was a physician and brother worked as a chemist. The couple had a daughter graduate from Bethel with a bachelors and masters in nursing.

The Anderson’s gift will allow Bethel to combine its existing healthcare courses and departments under one roof. It will pull from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Adult and Professional Studies and Graduate School to create the new College of Health Sciences.

Provost Robin Rylaarsdam says, “It increases our ability to do inter-professional training, preparing our graduates better for their careers-they’ll practice in groups with different types of healthcare workers, all cooperating for the patient’s benefit.”

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