Investing in hope and values

Hope is hard to come by these days, but Barb and Rollie Anderson want to change that. “I can’t think of a better place to invest your dollar today than in the youth of tomorrow,” says Rollie. “That’s where we can change the world—bit by bit, person by person.” That’s why he and Barb have gifted Bethel $20 million to help launch the new Anderson Family College of Health Sciences—equipping future healthcare providers who will serve others with competence and Christ-like care.

They believe their giving is a responsibility and also evidence of God working in their lives. “We’ve been blessed beyond our expectation in many ways—not just monetarily but also in terms of opportunity. So, we feel very strongly that we’re stewards and have a responsibility to the greater community,” says Rollie.

Learning values

That belief, along with a strong work ethic, solidified early for both Rollie and Barb. In 1955, Rollie’s dad Harold bought a small trucking company in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which would grow to become Anderson Trucking Services (ATS), a shipping solutions and logistics company. “It had three trucks, a loading shed, and a small office,” says Rollie. “And only one of the trucks worked!” During his high school years he recalls working in the shop, fixing trailers, and folding tarps. “My dad was not afraid to make me work. He had me doing all the things he thought I needed to learn to be in the Army,” says Rollie. During college, he began driving a truck and working in the office.

That’s when he met Barb, and they married three years later in 1969. After graduating, Rollie immediately went into the Air Force, and the newlyweds landed in Big Spring, Texas, for a few years before moving back to Minnesota. Rollie then joined the ATS team in 1972. ATS has since grown to 10 different business units across the world with more than 5,000 customers.

The growth didn’t come without tough decisions, though. “Shortcuts never worked! When you're in the business world, especially the transportation trucking business, it's really easy to drag race from your values,” says Rollie. “You have a choice—live your values or don't. And strong values make a difference not only in your own life but your family life and your community life.”

Now, Barb and Rollie’s son Brent Anderson ’98 leads ATS with these same values. “We really try to lead the business differently than other companies. It’s putting people first and caring about them,” says Brent. “That's something my grandfather did, my father did, and something I continue to try to do."

Giving to Bethel healthcare

The Andersons’ generosity pays homage to a long Bethel legacy and a deep family lineage of healthcare professionals. Barb’s dad was a dentist, mom a physical therapist, sister a physician, and brother a chemist. Both of Barb and Rollie’s children graduated from Bethel, and now many grandchildren and their spouses have graduated from Bethel with both healthcare and non-healthcare degrees.

“Healthcare is just a natural fit for our family,” says Barb, who graduated from Bethel with a master’s in counseling psychology in 2001. “There’s hardly anyone more vulnerable than a person—a child!—who’s ill. It’s an opportunity for a Christian practitioner to minister to people in need. This is a place where our family can express that kind of caring—care that’s so compassionate and loving that people can see God through it."

The Anderson Family College of Health Sciences will train and equip students—currently more than 700 across Bethel’s healthcare programs and departments—to meet the healthcare industry’s biggest gap. “We desperately need really good providers who have a solid faith,” says daughter-in-law Ingrid Anderson, who has a nursing degree and a doctorate in anesthesiology.  

Barb and Rollie’s daughter Julie Edinger ’93, GS’22 received her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from Bethel and knows that healthcare education is a lot of hard work. “You have to stick with it, go through all the education and then get a job. You have to be focused and motivated,” says Julie. “So, a program like Bethel’s that is going to support people through the whole journey is huge.”

This firsthand experience in the medical field among many Anderson family members helped solidify Barb and Rollie’s decision to give to the college. Barb explains that “Bethel gives students an opportunity to examine how their faith integrates with their field, and that only makes a more well-rounded person.” 

Leaving a legacy

The Andersons have also invested in Bethel in other areas—helping procure the Anderson Center in 2015, supporting the Faith in Action Scholarship fund, and Rollie serving on the Board of Trustees as well as the Foundation Board for a number of years. Wanting to leave a legacy of faith and continue giving, Barb and Rollie established the Anderson Family Foundation three years ago so that Julie and Brent can be part of the decision-making around supporting Christian ministries through the family’s estate.

“We can spend a lot of time and money on ourselves, and it just doesn't satisfy. But when you pass that on to the next generation—to your kids—and you see the legacy that comes from that, it's a deeper satisfaction,” says Brent. “It feels like we're being obedient to what God asks us to do.”

The initial gift to the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences will provide critical funding for new clinical spaces, while long-term investments will provide scholarships to attract future leaders, regardless of financial need. This builds on Bethel’s ongoing efforts to make its blend of transformative academics and a Christ-centered community attainable to more students. With Bethel’s new clear and transparent tuition, gifts like the Andersons’ will stretch even further. Their commitment will also inspire a community of fellow investors to help Bethel reach the $40 million needed to fully launch the college.

“This is just who Grandma and Grandpa are. They love to give, and they are very generous,” says Erin Edinger, Barb and Rollie’s grandchild. “Philanthropy is important to them, but it has to be value-based and it has to help people.” 

Their gift to Bethel will indeed help many, and Barb and Rollie believe their values align with Bethel’s. “The most important value is remaining Christ-focused,” says Rollie. “But also serving the community. We want that value—that responsibility—to carry on through our children and grandchildren and generations to come.

Leave a legacy through Bethel 

By giving to Bethel, you’ll join thousands of others—friends, alumni, employees and investors—who are committed to equipping Christ-followers to serve their communities, lead in their organizations, and live for something more. Bethel offers a wide variety of unique and customized ways to give. 

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