Saint Martin’s University President’s Gala breaks its scholarship fundraising record

Nov. 16, 2010

Scholarships for Saint Martin’s University students will get a record $203,000 boost from the University’s annual President’s Gala, which took place Nov. 6, says University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D.

Saint Martin’s premier scholarship-fundraising event, now in its fifth year, netted $25,000 more than its 2009 total, thanks to the generosity of people outside and inside the University community. The amount includes a significant sum raised by University faculty and staff for the Fund-a-Mind Scholarship.

“Even in this tough economy there is widespread community support for Saint Martin’s,” said Heynderickx in thanking the volunteers and benefactors who helped make this year’s gala the best ever. “The scholarship money we raised through this event will make a crucial difference to many students who want to attend the University or continue their education here.” A committed group of alumni, friends, faculty and staff worked much of the year to plan the posh evening of dining, dancing and silent and live auctions at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound. Co-chairing the event were Saint Martin’s alumni Dino Batali ‘59 and Dick Roney ’64. Both men also serve on the University’s Board of Trustees.

Plans already are in the works for the 2011 gala, which will feature celebrity chef and author Mario Batali preparing an Iron Chef-style five-course meal for the audience, said Katie Wojke, the University’s director of development. Batali is the son of 2010 and 2011 chairman Dino Batali.

For more information, please contact Katie Wojke at 360-438-4485.

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, Catholic coeducational university located on a 380-acre wooded campus in Lacey, Wash. Established in 1895 by the Order of Saint Benedict, Saint Martin’s is one of 18 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and is the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 22 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. The University welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus and 650 more to its extension campuses at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College and Tacoma Community College.