Central College receives $1 million gift from Ermina Dykstra

Central College received a $1 million commitment from Ermina Dunn Dykstra of Walnut Creek, Calif., to provide funding for the new education and psychology building. The gift is planned for construction of the Orville ‘33 and Ermina Dunn Dykstra ‘35 Education Wing. This will bring Dykstra’s total support for Central to over $2 million.

“Ermina and her family have been great stewards of Central College,” said President David Roe. “We are very appreciative of her gift and continued support to this project and Central College as a whole. Future generations of Central College students will benefit greatly from her generosity.”

Her family has a long history with Central College as her grandfather Lewis Dunn was president at the college from 1871-81 and again from 1886-88. Past generations of Dykstra’s family have named Jordan Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, as well as Dunn Cottage, which served as the president’s home for decades.

Dykstra, a 1935 Central College graduate, attended college in the midst of the Great Depression with the help of a scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Dykstra’s late husband Orville received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Central in 1933, a juris doctor degree from the University of Iowa in 1936 and an honorary doctorate from Central in 1960. He was senior partner at Dykstra, Swift and Brown in Des Moines where he specialized in income tax law. The couple later moved to San Francisco where Orville pursued a career with Utah International Inc., a firm involved in oil and gas exploration around the Pacific.

The Dykstras have been generous philanthropists and endowed The Orville L. and Ermina D. Dykstra Chair in Federal Income Tax Law at the University of Iowa Law School and contributed in excess of $1 million to fund scholarships at Central College.

Fundraising efforts for the education and psychology building continue and room naming opportunities are available. For details, contact the development office at 800-447-0287.

Central College, founded in 1853 in Pella, Iowa, is a private, four-year, residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

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