The Bentson Foundation is giving $15 million to the University of Minnesota to reverse lower rates of undergraduate admission, retention and graduation among students with the greatest financial need. This recent gift to the University brings the Bentson Foundation and family’s cumulative giving to over $50 million, largely in support of students. Announced by University President Joan Gabel at Friday’s Board of Regents meeting, the Bentson Foundation’s gift will not only create new opportunities for low-income undergraduate students on every campus in the University system. It will also provide significant incentive funding to encourage other donors to establish scholarship endowments

With new support for its Bentson Scholars Program, the Bentson Foundation secures future opportunities for outstanding students in marine science. It was a partnership that made perfect sense. Alumni Laurie Bentson Kauth and William Kauth both graduated from UC Santa Barbara and have stayed local ever since. When William shifted career gears from fisherman to marine biology teacher at Santa Barbara High School, he frequently visited the campus with his students. The couple raised a daughter so passionate about the ocean she became a maritime lawyer. Their Bentson Foundation has long held a focus on public education and student support.

The sign outside the Walker Art Center’s Cinematheque clearly suggests it’s a space for film screenings, but what about the Mediatheque, that smallish, black-box-theater-esque viewing room located across from the gift shop in the Walker’s new lower lobby? Rather than playing feature-length films or hosting specific screenings, the Bentson Mediatheque is an ever-rotating collection of shorter-form media from the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection, including video art, experimental films and animations, organized by archivist/programmer Ruth Hodgins. What sets this world-class space apart from a typical video art viewing room is the way visitors can curate their own selections for the big

A University of Chicago 2010 study found that only six percent of former foster youth earned a college degree by age 24, compared to 27.5 percent of the general population. With support from the Bentson Family Foundation, College Possible is developing a new program to improve outcomes for low-income students in foster care or experiencing housing instability due to foster care transitions. A new Foster Youth Program Manager will oversee the development of the program, serving 65 Twin Cities students in its first three years.

The new Minneapolis Residency Program is an elementary education program with a focus on diversifying the teacher candidate pool. It was created by the College of Education and Human Development in partnership with Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and the Education Support Professionals Local 59. The programs’ inaugural cohort is made up of 25 individuals selected from an initial pool of more than 100 applicants. The group is 76 percent residents of color, compared with 14 percent of teachers currently in Minneapolis Public Schools overall. “We want these residents to stay with our students and stay

Earlier this week, a group gathered at the Alexander Ramsey House to hear about the Ramsey family’s secret struggle with mental illness — and to celebrate the successful completion of Mental Health Resources’ $1 million “Invisible No More” social capital campaign. Alexander Ramsey, Minnesota’s first territorial governor, lived a life of luxury and privilege. But a family history of serious mental illness meant that he also lived another, less public life, one of secrecy and shame. Earlier this week, on a bitterly cold night, a group gathered at the historic Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul’s Irvine Park to hear

Taking advantage of a break in action, Edward Davis, 29, took out a large strip of lined paper to write out a question for his second-graders’ afternoon reading lesson at Lucy Craft Laney Community School in Minneapolis. Before he finished writing, though, his co-teacher mentor, Hafizah Jaafar, 35, noticed an irregular space between the first two words — enough to fit two fingers, she demonstrated. The interruption brought a smile to Davis’ face. Jaafar’s insistence on perfect presentation — whether it be proper spacing on instructional materials posted in the classroom or taking care to place worksheets neatly on each

MINNEAPOLIS – (May 19, 2014) – Phillips Eye Institute Foundation is pleased to announce its first ever gift of $1,000,000 from the Bentson Foundation.  The donation will help fund the expansion of the Phillip’s Eye Institute’s Early Youth Eyecare (E.Y.E.) Community Initiative to Saint Paul Public Schools.   “The trustees of the Bentson Foundation are happy to support the E.Y.E. Initiative and commend Phillips Eye Institute for its commitment to both the children in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” said Judi Dutcher, executive director, Bentson Foundation.   The Phillips Eye Institute E.Y.E. program helps address the academic achievement gap by ensuring

A Twin Cities foundation will invest $10 million in a University of Minnesota program that develops highly trained nurses. By funding the U of M’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the the Bentson Foundation aims to help supply Minnesota with more nurses who have doctorate-level training in family medicine, geriatrics and other specialties. The Bentson Foundation will provide $20,000 scholarships, enough to pay for about a year of training in the three-year program. In exchange for the funding, the university has agreed to graduate an additional 500 advanced practice nurses over the next decade. Highly trained nurses are seen as

A Twin Cities foundation has chosen to donate $10 million to the University of Minnesota. It is specifically for the School of Nursing’s scholarships for a certain type of degree: Doctor of Nursing Practice. The scholarships are for nurses who’ve already completed their undergraduate or master’s degrees who are already working, but looking for that next step. The Bentson Foundation donated the money. Before Larry and Nancy Bentson passed away, they made their commitment to higher education and public health well-known. Judi Dutcher is the executive director of the Bentson Foundation in Wayzata. “They are ultimately known as nurse practitioners,