St. Norbert College receives $1.2 million for service learning center

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From St. Norbert College, March 6, 2012
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, (920) 403-3089

St. Norbert College has received more than $1.2 million to name the Sturzl Center for Community Service and Learning and provide financial support for the center's community service and learning programming. The funding to support the center is provided through the generosity of Sargento Foods and members of the Gentine family, owners of the company. Through their naming gift, the donors honor Ed and Ann Sturzl for their lifetime commitment to service.

President Thomas Kunkel remarked: "We are more grateful than we can say for this generous gift, which will support the center as it develops new initiatives and continues its work to strengthen service-learning at St. Norbert College. Our Norbertine tradition charges us to respond to the needs of the local community, and service-learning is central to our mission to prepare students to share their intellect and abilities."

Ed and Ann Sturzl have a history of service to St. Norbert College, as well as to organizations in their Plymouth, Wis., community. Ed has served as a trustee of St. Norbert since 1995. The couple's involvement in community activities extends through church and school district, community development and service organizations.

Ed, former senior vice president/HR at Sargento Foods Inc., is a 1971 graduate of St. Norbert College. Ann, a 1972 graduate of the college, is also a member of the Gentine family. The individual donors to the Sturzl Center fund are Larry and Kathy Gentine; Lee Gentine; Lou and Michele Gentine; and Louie and Paula Gentine. Larry (1968) and Paula (1997) Gentine are also graduates of St. Norbert College.

"The establishment of the Sturzl Center for Community Service and Learning fund is in keeping with our philosophies of encouraging community involvement and providing foundations to improve the life condition of people in need," says Lou Gentine, chairman and CEO of Sargento Foods. "We appreciate St Norbert's recognition of the importance of these types of community outreaches and the long-term benefits of ingraining this attitude in graduates of the school. We hope our contribution and future contributions of others will sustain and enhance this initiative."
Dedication of the Sturzl Center for Community Service and Learning

The newly named center will be dedicated at the third annual Celebrating Service event at St. Norbert College. This event showcases service projects and programs that have united St. Norbert students and the community in their work together for the common good. The 2012 Celebrating Service event takes place Thursday, April 26, 3-6 p.m., with the dedication scheduled for 5 p.m.

The center is located on the mezzanine level of Todd Wehr Hall, in the heart of the St. Norbert College campus. The Celebrating Service event takes place in the central reception area of Todd Wehr Hall. The event is free and open to the public.


Service learning at St. Norbert College

The Sturzl Center for Community Service and Learning works to help St. Norbert College and its students partner fully with the Brown County community in work that promotes the common good. It serves as a resource to students, faculty, staff, alumni and other supporters interested in community service -- particularly as it impacts student learning -- by providing guidance, best-practice tools, occasions for reflection, and access to opportunities for community engagement. Further, it supports and develops the college's mission to serve the common good by fostering campus-wide discussion on service, promoting community engagement and recognizing significant contributions to serving the common good in Brown County and beyond.


About St. Norbert College

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 2,200 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 Best Colleges. www.snc.edu