Tapemark Founder, Wife to Receive Honorary Degrees from Hamline University

WEST ST. PAUL, Minn.—Tapemark’s founder, Robert Klas, Sr., and his wife Sandy Klas will be awarded honorary doctor of humane letters degrees by Hamline University on May 17, 2008. The couple is being honored for their extraordinary commitment to Hamline University, and to community engagement, philanthropy, and entrepreneurial business.

Robert Klas, Sr. is the founder, chairman and former CEO of Tapemark. An active business and community leader, Bob has been a board member of many nonprofit organizations and initiatives in Minnesota and the Midwest region. Sandy has served as an advocate and later as a registered lobbyist. Her leadership contributed in many ways to significant advances in the education and care of the disabled in Minnesota.

Bob and Sandy have contributed generously, and for many decades, to important causes, in terms of both time and money. Together they founded the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am, a nationally recognized annual golf tournament that raises funds for children with disabilities. The Klases’ leadership in Wabasha, Minnesota, Bob’s hometown, has also made possible the St. Elizabeth Medical Center and the National Eagle Center.

Bob graduated from Hamline in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was first elected to the Hamline University Board of Trustees in 1982, serving from 1982-1988. He was elected to the honored status of life trustee in 2002. Sandy was elected to the board in 1994 and 1998, and was elected to the honored status of life trustee in 2002. The Klases contributed the largest gift in the history of Hamline University, which helped build the Klas Center, a four-level multi-use facility serving academics, athletics, and the community. It also helped build the Klas Field.