Andreas instrumental in development of College

Andreas House looms large over Mount Mercy’s lower campus. The residence hall offers upperclassmen the opportunity to live in an apartment-like atmosphere right on campus. The building’s namesake, Martin L. Andreas, has had an even larger influence on the growth of the College. 

Andreas, the longest-serving member of the Mount Mercy Board of Trustees, joined the Board in 1976. “Initially I liked the challenge that joining the Board of Trustees presented,” says Andreas. “At the time, the College was having financial problems, and I thought it presented an opportunity to get the College on solid footing.” 

Andreas and his fellow Board of Trustees members rose to the challenge, broadening the scope and nature of the school’s academic offerings, instituting an Endowment Committee, and giving the College the leadership and direction it needed to climb out of financial straits.

In the late 1970s, Andreas also suggested the idea of creating a Finance Committee to oversee the financial outlook of the College and to make informed investment decisions. As a result of his idea, Andreas was tapped to lead the committee – a position he has held for more than 30 years. 

Andreas, who makes his home in Solon, Iowa, recently retired from a 35-year career with Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), one of the world’s largest agricultural processors.  When Andreas moved to Iowa from Florida to concentrate on his Cedar Rapids-based business, Corn Sweeteners (which later became ADM), he was business savvy and eager to broaden Mount Mercy’s academic offerings for the sake of the community and the continued growth of the College.   

As Andreas’ chairmanship of the Finance Committee continued, he recruited members that would strengthen the overall position of the College through professional expertise and leadership.  That thinking continues to drive the Finance Committee today. “We have one potent Finance Committee, which has been the driving force in bringing Mount Mercy forward and making smart, strategic investments for our future,” he says. 

“Marty has immensely impacted the College,” says Dianne Austad, a 1984 graduate of Mount Mercy, and executive assistant to President Christopher Blake. Austad has served four Mount Mercy presidents and has worked side-by-side with Andreas since he joined the Board of Trustees. “His commitment to the College is unparalleled and the institutional memory and reflective leadership that he brings to the table is unmatched. So much of his vision is encapsulated in what we offer our students and how we handle our finances.” 

Andreas was also instrumental in the creation of an Endowment Committee at the College, which will undoubtedly be one of his lasting legacies. “We were able to help the College get out of debt [in the 1970s] and then were able to set up an Endowment Committee,” he says. The group, of which he was an original member, set an initial goal of raising the College’s endowment to $20 million. Andreas points out that the College just eclipsed the $22 million mark in endowment in the past fiscal year. “It is very gratifying to have built the endowment to what it is today, but we have a long way to go,” says Andreas.  

With his positive attitude and steely determination, it is conceivable that Andreas will continue to be a driving force on the Board of Trustees for 30 more years.