The largest campus in the Minnesota State University system has received a gift of 160 acres of farmland from an alumna known for pioneering care for survivors of sexual assault.
The gift, valued at more than $1.6 million, will support the agriculture and nursing programs at Minnesota State University, Mankato, a statement from the school said Friday.
The farmland comes from Sherry Arndt, who graduated from the university in 1970 and went on to help develop the field of forensic nursing.
Arndt has been a long-time donor to the school, especially for scholarships to students in Minnesota State, Mankato’s School of Nursing, a statement from the university said.
Sixty acres of the gift will be used by the school’s agricultural department for projects related to soil health, sustainable agricultural practice and agricultural drainage improvement, a statement from the school said.
Proceeds from the sale of the other 100 acres will be used for an eventual endowment for nursing scholarships.
The university held a ribbon-cutting for the farmland on Friday in Arndt’s hometown of Comfrey, Minn., about 50 miles west of Mankato.
University President Edward Inch called the gift an “extraordinary” act of generosity.
