Attorneys Mike Ciresi and Roberta Walburn, well known for reaching a landmark 1998 settlement with the tobacco industry, are now making history at the University of St. Thomas.

The Ciresi Walburn Foundation, along with the Michael V. and Ann C. Ciresi Foundation, are donating $82 million to the University of St. Thomas. That’s the largest single gift ever received by the Catholic university, which has major campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Ciresi, who grew up in a working-class neighborhood in St. Paul, and Walburn, a journalist turned lawyer who was raised in New Jersey and New York, became a successful duo as litigation attorneys on high-profile cases.

Now, they are sharing their financial success with University of St. Thomas students who need scholarships to complete four-year degrees.

The Ciresi Walburn Foundation and the University of St. Thomas announced the news Thursday morning. The $82 million gift is payable within the next 10 years.

“The commitment will ultimately establish and endow the Ciresi Walburn Center for Leadership, permanently support the Ciresi Walburn Leadership Fellows, and advance related initiatives focused on leadership development, educational opportunity, service, equity, and social justice,” the Ciresi Walburn Foundation said in a Thursday statement.

“The commitment reflects Mike Ciresi and Roberta Walburn’s long-term vision for sustaining and expanding the work they have advanced through the Ciresi Walburn Foundation for more than 25 years,” the foundation statement said. “Within the next 10 years, the foundation’s assets will transfer to St. Thomas, creating an enduring institutional home for that vision and supporting new generations of leaders committed to strengthening their communities and advancing the common good.”

Prior to this gift announcement, Ciresi and Walburn already had been supporting a fellows program at St. Thomas. “Established through a partnership between the foundation and the university, the program provides scholarships and comprehensive cohort-based support to students who have demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to advancing the common good,” the foundation said. “Fellows participate in mentoring, leadership development, internships, academic support, community engagement, and other experiences intended to help them thrive at St. Thomas and make a difference beyond it.”

The decision by Ciresi and Walburn to transfer their foundation’s assets to St. Thomas reflects their belief that St. Thomas shares their core values. “This commitment allows us to look beyond the life of the foundation and ensure that the values at the heart of our work will continue for generations,” Ciresi, board chair of the Ciresi Walburn Foundation, said in a prepared statement.

“Roberta and I believe deeply in the power of education and in the responsibility each of us has to use our talents in service to others. St. Thomas shares that commitment and has the capacity to carry it forward in meaningful and lasting ways for all Minnesota youth,” Ciresi said.

Walburn, a foundation trustee, said: “The [Ciresi Walburn Leadership] Fellows have shown us what is possible when talented young people receive not only financial support, but also the networks, experiences, and opportunities they need to become confident and effective leaders. The center will allow that work to endure and grow while creating new opportunities for students and community partners to learn from one another and lead meaningful change.”

Vischer’s fundraising drive to $1 billion

In a Twin Cities Business interview, St. Thomas President Rob Vischer said that the $82 million commitment caps off the “leadership phase” of a fundraising campaign to raise $1 billion.

In that quiet period that spanned recent years, Vischer said that St. Thomas raised nearly $800 million. On Thursday, it kicked off the public phase of the fundraising campaign called “Be Brilliant. Be Bold. The Campaign for St. Thomas.”

So far, St. Thomas donors have contributed or pledged about $350 million for scholarships.

The Ciresi-Walburn contribution is targeted to students who need scholarships to attend St. Thomas. Part of the historic gift will be directed to the Ciresi Walburn Center for First-Generation College Students.

“This is where the real synergy comes between the St. Thomas mission and Mike Ciresi and his wife Ann and Roberta’s mission,” Vischer said. The three of them are firm believers in the power of a St. Thomas education. The $82 million gift “boosts our progress” in making a St. Thomas education widely accessible, he said.

“We certainly want to be a school that’s attractive to families who have financial capacity, but we also want to be an option for families without that financial capacity,” Vischer said. “We want to reflect the diversity of the communities we aspire to serve, and that’s been very important to Mike Ciresi for many years. He is all about access. It’s the impetus for this broader gift. It is trying to drive access and support for lower-income students and for first-generation students at St. Thomas.”

Mike Ciresi graduated from what was the College of St. Thomas in 1968. He has served on the University of St. Thomas board of trustees. He’s also been involved with the St. Thomas law school, including participation on the board of governors as well as speaking to law school classes.

“From my conversations with him, he attributes a lot of who he is today with his experience at St. Thomas,” Vischer said. “One thing that he has always prized is the fact that we’re trying to make sure our students are ready to launch meaningful careers and gain employment skills that matter. But we have a much deeper and broader aspiration than that. We’re trying to prepare our students for lifelong flourishing in which they’re growing and developing into the men and women they were created and called to be. It’s that whole person formation that is really important to him.”

High-profile fundraising co-chairs

Three members of the University of St. Thomas board of trustees are among the volunteer co-chairs of the $1 billion fundraising campaign.

They are Andrew Cecere (Class of 1982), former CEO of U.S. Bancorp, Rory O’Neill (Class of 1986), executive chair and managing partner of Castlelake, L.P., and Patrick Ryan (Class of 1975), chairman of Ryan Companies.

Some of the nearly $800 million that’s been raised already has been spent, including on the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. That new facility was instrumental in the university’s transition to Division I athletics. In addition to serving as a venue for basketball and hockey games, the new facility is used for other St. Thomas and community events.

Vischer said he hasn’t set a fixed target for hitting the $1 billion fundraising goal. “I would anticipate that, as we keep this momentum going, I think we should pass that [$1 billion mark] in the next two or three years,” he said.

Beyond fundraising, Vischer wants to increase engagement with St. Thomas alumni and community members. “We’re also trying to activate all the alumni we have in Minnesota and beyond to be more strongly connected with their university,” Vischer said.