St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan announced the naming of the Morrison Family College of Health in an email Monday following a “landmark” eight-figure donation from Board of Trustees member John M. Morrison and his wife, Susan Schmid Morrison.

Last fall, St. Thomas announced the launch of the College of Health to expand the university’s health and wellness programs. It combines the School of Social Work, the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and the future School of Nursing to offer graduate and undergraduate programs.

The Morrison family, whose name is affiliated with the Morrison Residence Hall and the Morrison House, has supported St. Thomas for decades. Morrison served as co-chair of a St. Thomas capital campaign that raised over $500 million starting in October 2012.

“I am beyond grateful to John and Sue for their expansive generosity and firm belief in the mission of our university,” Sullivan wrote.

She called the gift “particularly appropriate” given Schmid Morrison’s experience in nursing and Morrison’s involvement in multiple Minnesota healthcare organizations.

Also on Monday, MayKao Hang officially began her full-time duties as founding dean of the Morrison Family College of Health.

Before St. Thomas, Hang served as president and CEO of the nonprofit Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, where she designed programs to address disparities in education, the workforce, health and poverty.

Sullivan previously called Hang “the perfect fit to lead this college” because of her leadership skills and dedication to underserved communities.

St. Thomas also announced plans for a new 160,000-square-foot academic complex on the St. Paul campus. The science, technology, engineering, arts and math complex will “facilitate creative collaboration” and serve capacity demands for engineering and nursing programs, according to the announcement.

Mia Laube and Maggie Stout contributed to this report.