Tuesday, March 24, 2009 will surely be a date to remember on the Dana College campus. For the third time in the school's 125-year history, Danish royalty made a special visit to campus.
H.R.H the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark arrived at the Gardner-Hawks Center around 12:45pm and were welcomed by students, faculty, staff, alumni and onlookers eager to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. A following of Danish press, embassy staff, secret service and assistants were close behind as they moved through the crowd. Dr. Janet Philipp, Dana College President, was on hand to greet the couple as they arrived.
Following their arrival, H.R.H the Crown Prince shared his closing remarks at Dana's first annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference. During that time, H.R.H. the Crown Princess was escorted to the Forum in the Durham Center where she interacted with Dana education majors and kindergartners from the Blair elementary school.
"We were so very proud of the students interactions with the prince and princess," stated Dr. Philipp. "They were a fine representation of Dana students."
Upon her return to the Gardner-Hawks Center, H.R.H the Crown Princess joined H.R.H. the Crown Prince for the Dana's convocation which began at 2:15 pm. Hundreds filled the Gardner-Hawks Center for the event. During the convocation, H.R.H. the Crown Prince was presented with a gift from Dr. John Lydon, Professor of Religion, a soccer jersey from Mandy Overall, women's soccer captain and a key to the city from Mayor James Realph. Dr. Philipp also presented H.R.H. the Crown Prince with an honorary degree before he shared his keynote address with the crowd.
Select Dana students were allowed to meet with H.R.H the Crown Prince and H.R.H. the Crown Princess during an academic showcase following convocation.
"My experience with him was laid back. Shook my hand, laid back is a great way to describe him," said Dana senior Marcus Sladek.
A select list of Dana alumni, board members and friends of the college were also allowed to meet with the royal couple during the afternoon.
Upon their departure from Dana, H.R.H. the Crown Prince spoke at a ground breaking ceremony for Novozymes, an international Danish-based company that will begin building a plant in Blair this Spring.
The visit concluded with a dinner at the First National tower in Omaha that evening. Hosts for the visit included Bruce Lauritzen, chairman of First National of Nebraska and honorary Danish consul for Nebraska, and Mogens Bay, a Dane who is chairman of Valmont Industries Inc. of Omaha.
"It was a remarkable day for Dana College," said Dr. Philipp.
About Dana College
Dana College was originally founded in 1884 by Danish Lutheran pioneers. The college, therefore, traces its roots to the establishment of Trinity Seminary and the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. Today, Dana enjoys a unique position within the Church and among colleges and universities in the United States as one of only two post-secondary educational institutions in the country that was founded by Danish people. The college currently enjoys a beautiful, 150-acre campus set on a hill overlooking the Missouri River Valley.
About the Learning House Inc.
Dana College initiated a partnership with The Learning House, Inc. to assist in the development and launch of its online campus. Learning House is a comprehensive online education solutions partner that helps colleges and universities offer and manage their online education programs. Learning House provides a total online campus solution to each of its clients, including online course development and publishing, learning management system customization and hosting, online program marketing, 24/7 technology support, faculty and staff training, online education infrastructure and consulting. Learning House provides online learning services to more than 60 accredited institutions of higher education. For more information about the Learning House, please visit: www.learninghouse.com.
