MSUM Receives Largest Donation In Its History

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 The CEO of a North Dakota brick making company and his wife are donating $5 million to the MSUM School of Business.

It is the largest gift in the history of MSUM and the School of Business will be named in their honor.

Rodney Paseka and his wife Carolyn donated $5 million to the MSUM School of Business, now named the Paseka School of Business.

Rodney Paseka is the owner of Hebron Brick Company of Fargo, which distributes bricks in 40 states and Canada.

They are MSUM alumni and decided it’s time to give back to the school that gave them valuable experience.

“This is only a small part of being able to have some students come out of here without being overwhelmed with student loans,” said Rodney Paseka.

The majority of the money will help students in the School of Business with scholarships.

“Initially you just think wow this is a lot of money,” said MSUM student Josh Wehseler.

Wehseler is an MSUM junior and he is familiar with the struggles of looking for scholarships.

“It’s been difficult so far to try to find scholarships. It’s always really competitive to see, you just know that there’s a lot of students that all want scholarships,” said Wehseler.

The gift is the largest in the history of MSUM and leaders say they hope the donation will last as long as the school.

MSUM President Anne Blackhurst says the interest earning on the endowment each year will provide about $250,000 in scholarship money for students.

“The idea that future generations of students, you know forever into perpetuity, as long as the university exists will benefit from his gift is frankly a little overwhelming to me,” said Blackhurst.

And the big gift started with a choice long ago.

“A friend of mine convinced me to go to school at MSUM. Never regretted it, it gave me opportunities that I never would have had otherwise,” said Rodney Paseka.

Now, business students looking for scholarships like Wehseler will have an opportunity to get that extra help.

At the end of the naming ceremony, Paseka hinted that this gift may not be his last.