Rollins Family Gives $1 Million Gift to Flathead Valley Community College
Wanda and Jim Hollensteiner’s donation will support art gallery inside new College Center
By Andy Viano
Flathead Valley Community College celebrated the receipt of another large financial gift — its fifth of at least $1 million as part of the school’s ONE Campaign — in a small ceremony at Blake Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
Jim and Wanda Hollensteiner, of Rollins, pledged $1 million toward the forthcoming College Center, scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2019 and open in the fall of 2020. The 50,000-square foot College Center will include a performance hall that will house Glacier Symphony, along with a multi-purpose activities center, basketball courts and an outdoor amphitheater. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the College Center will also include the Wanda Hollensteiner Gallery, showcasing artwork from FVCC students, local artists and beyond.
The donation from the Hollensteiners is the latest in a string of large-scale gifts secured by the rapidly expanding college, which has raised $16 million since the ONE Campaign was revealed publicly in January. The project is just $2 million shy of its stated goal, and the school expects to reach that goal before the end of the year.
The ONE campaign also includes construction of the new Library and Learning Commons, which is currently under construction. That building is slated to open next spring.
Jim Hollensteiner can trace his Flathead Valley roots back to the 1880s when his great-grandparents were bricklayers involved in the construction of a number of historic Kalispell buildings, including Central School. The Hollensteiners are actively involved in the Museum at Central School, serving as one of its largest benefactors. When FVCC was founded more than 50 years ago, it was located inside the Central School building.
Wanda Hollensteiner is an accomplished pianist who taught piano lessons locally for 35 years. An art gallery at her alma mater, Beloit (Wisconsin) College, also bears her name: The Wanda Peterson Hollensteiner Gallery. Jim and Wanda have five children and eight grandchildren.
For more information on FVCC and the ONE campaign, visit www.fvcc.edu/one.