Image copyrighted by Mike Wimmer
The Power of Partnership Herman and LaDonna Meinders’ partnership with the university is transformational
BY NICK TROU GAKOS
6
Oklahoma City University Alumni Magazine
O N O C T O B E R 1 9 , 1 9 5 4 , A N 1 8 -Y E A R - O L D LaDonna Jane Kramer arrived on the Oklahoma City University campus, and with blue ink, in neat, slanted handwriting, filled out her matriculation card to begin a decades-long relationship with the university. A little less than two years later, another 18-year-old arrived on the OCU campus. It was July 19, 1956, and Herman Meinders, fresh from his hometown of Pipestone, Minnesota, was filling out his matriculation card. Those pen strokes — perhaps inauspicious at the time — lay the foundation for likely the most significant, and easily the most prolific, partnership the university has ever known. “Herman and LaDonna, in my opinion, are the king and queen of partnerships for and with OCU,” said Lois Salmeron, dean emerita of the Kramer School of Nursing. “Their contributions are the ultimate of giving and dedication to OCU.” Nearly 70 years after they enrolled at OCU as teenagers, the Meinders’ partnership with the university has been far-reaching. The business school and the nursing school hold their family names. Numerous scholarships have been funded to allow students to attend OCU. Their example of philanthropy sparked other donors to give and help re-shape the campus. Herman and LaDonna Meinders are now synonymous with OCU. The partnership between the two, however, didn’t begin in the summer of 1956 when Herman journeyed from Pipestone to Oklahoma City. That partnership took nearly 30 years to materialize, but the results have been transformational for the couple’s alma mater.
Illustration located in the atrium of Meinders
