FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dann Hayes, Director of Media Relations, 641-269-4834

$30 million to Grinnell College from the late Joe Rosenfield

Grinnell College announced receipt of $30 million of unrestricted gifts and proceeds distributed upon the death of alumnus Joseph Frankel Rosenfield, a former trustee and longtime benefactor of the College.

The bulk of the gift, $25 million, will be earmarked for construction of a new campus center, tentatively planned for the middle of campus, near where Darby Gymnasium is presently located. The campus center is currently being designed by the architect firm Cesar Pelli and Associates, the architects for the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts.

Rosenfield was a 1925 graduate of Grinnell College and a member of the board of trustees for almost 60 years.

"It's poetic that a project borne from the vision and perseverance of students will be built with funds from one of Grinnell College's most passionate, visionary, and ardent alumni," said Russell K. Osgood, president of Grinnell College.

"Joe's devotion and passion for Grinnell College, combined with his wisdom and intelligence, were integral to the very life of the College over the past 50 years," continued Osgood. "His influence and vision are forever embedded in the foundation of the College's future. Joe was one of the most important individuals in Grinnell College's 156-year history."

Rosenfield's lifetime support of Grinnell College, totaling better than $47.7 million, makes him one of the most generous donors in Iowa higher education history.

Called the "Patriarch of Iowa Business" by the Des Moines Register, Rosenfield was referred to by Forbes magazine as the "guardian angel on Grinnell College's board of trustees." He joined Younkers Department Stores in 1948 and served as president and chairman of the board until his retirement in 1965.

"Joe not only had a passion for Grinnell College, but he was an institution in Des Moines and Iowa," said Caroline Little, chair of the Grinnell College Board of Trustees. "His devotion to Iowa benefited many organizations, including the Iowa Methodist Hospital, Planned Parenthood, the University of Iowa Law School, and the Living History Farms in Des Moines."

Joseph Frankel Rosenfield was born on May 16, 1904 in Des Moines, Iowa and graduated from West Des Moines High School in 1921. After earning his bachelor's degree from Grinnell College in 1925, Rosenfield received a J.D. from the University of Iowa in 1928, and began practicing law with a Des Moines Law firm until 1947. He died June 7, 2000.