On Purpose: Portrait of the Sands Scholarship

To commemorate our 150th anniversary in 2018, the College of Liberal Arts commissioned 60 photographs taken by Xavier Tavera. Departments and programs partnered with Tavera to envision their images and to write the narratives that accompany each photograph. View On Purpose: Portrait of the Liberal Arts.

A couple stand behind a seated student in a library.

Sally and I benefited greatly from access to quality education at the University of Minnesota. We graduated with a combined three degrees from the U, all at a reasonable and affordable cost. We know the U is a big contributor to the wonderful quality of life in Minnesota—and it certainly contributed tremendously to the quality of life we have enjoyed together.

We believe “access” is a key word, along with “affordable.” For 150 years land-grant universities have helped to provide access to affordable education in our country. This is as it was intended by Congressman Justin Smith Morrill and President Abraham Lincoln. An educated citizenry is a clear public good, as they both then knew. It both benefits the economy generally, as well as the quality of voting participation in our democracy. Human rights for all is important to both Sally and me, and necessarily includes access to affordable, quality education for all equally. 

More than ever, Minnesota needs to provide access to affordable, quality education, both through public taxpayer support and through private voluntary giving. We both are pleased and proud to support scholarships at CLA. The College of Liberal Arts is the core investment in the broad spectrum of education at the University of Minnesota. 

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