St. Catherine University received an $18 million gift from the Minneapolis-based Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst Foundation, the university said on Thursday.
 
GHR is providing the money to support healthcare education and the expansion of the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health. Henrietta Rauenhorst, nee Schmoll, was an alumnus of St. Catherine University.
 
“GHR Foundation is pleased to support St. Catherine University as it strengthens its globally focused, collaborative approach to educating a diverse student population and addresses the extreme shortage of skilled healthcare professionals,” GHR CEO Amy Goldman said in a statement.
 
Officials at St. Catherine said the money will be specifically directed to hiring more faculty, upgrade technology and to help advance the study of senior living, primary care and global health initiatives.
 
The Rauenhorst family, who founded real estate development firm Opus, set up the GHR Foundation to promote “entrepreneurial creativity and universal catholic values.”