Lloyd Nielsen led the Roseville school district through times of rapid growth and shrinking student enrollment. Throughout, he remained a believer in supporting the arts and trying out new ideas in education.
A nationally recognized school leader, Nielsen died of complications from Alzheimer's disease this month, 10 years after the district renamed its auditorium after him. He was 88.
At a time of higher district administrator turnover, Nielsen, a father of three, stands out for his longevity in education and his dedication to Roseville schools.
"He loved Roseville," said daughter Mary Nielsen. "His tenure there was his proudest achievement outside of his family."
Nielsen grew up in the home of a Racine, Wis., Danish immigrant who sent all four sons and daughters to college. He started his education career as a history teacher and coach after serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He went on to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. Stints as an assistant superintendent in Minnetonka and the leader of a rural West Virginia district followed.
In 1967, Nielsen, his wife, Clareanne, and their children moved to Roseville, where he took over the growing district. During his tenure, enrollment hit a high of about 13,000 students — and then dropped off sharply as younger families branched out farther east. Nielsen deftly led the district through a period of building new schools and expanding programs, and later through tough budget cuts.
Mary Nielsen says her father had left for work by the time the school bus picked her and her siblings up. He always had dinner with his family, often talking about classrooms he had visited and students he'd met. Then he headed back to the office.
Laura Berkas, Nielsen's other daughter and a Roseville teacher, says retired educators still come up to her to tell her what a patient, respectful listener her father was — a skill that allowed him to work well with a series of school boards and union leaders.
