A classroom in the School of Law building on the Minneapolis campus has been named in honor of Quentin and Sara (Sally) Hietpas for their commitment and dedication to the school.
The Oct. 28 naming ceremony and reception, attended by 100 people, also provided an opportunity to recognize benefactors who made contributions to establish the Quentin and Sara Hietpas Scholarship Endowment in the law school.
A portrait of Quent and Sally Hietpas, painted by artist Cyd Wicker, hangs outside School of Law Room 244, now named in honor of the couple. / Photo by Don Zhou
Quent Hietpas ’53 served as senior vice president for external affairs at St. Thomas from 1983 to 2001, helping to raise $60 million in endowment for the new School of Law as part of the university’s Ever Press Forward capital campaign. Hietpas retired as a senior administrator in 2001 but remained in a part-time fundraising capacity for the law school until last summer.
Sara Hietpas, better known as Sally to family and friends, met Quent when he attended St. Thomas in the early 1950s. They have been married 55 years and have seven children and 17 grandchildren.
School of Law Dean Thomas Mengler, in announcing the naming of Room 244 after the Hietpases, said it is his favorite room to teach because of its horseshoe shape and how it is tiered. Mengler praised Hietpas’ vision and unswerving passion for the law school in its formative years, as well as his fundraising prowess.
Father Dennis Dease, president, had similar praise for Quent and also thanked Sally for her partnership with her husband and her devotion to St. Thomas.
“They are quite a couple,” he said. “Powerful, influential, forever in love and selflessly devoted to each other and to their family. They are committed, in their hearts and souls and in all of their deeds, to advancing the common good and making this a better community for all.”
Quent Hietpas thanked family and friends for the tribute. He recalled how inspiring it was to work for two presidents – Dease and his predecessor, the late Monsignor Terrence Murphy – who fervently believed in the importance of opening a law school.
Anyone interested in making a contribution to the Quentin and Sara Hietpas Scholarship Endowment should contact Joe Plante in the Development Office, (651) 962-6972.
