The Opus College of Business announced Wednesday that St. Thomas is offering free programs and reduced tuition, in cooperation with Target, to the 1,700 former Target employees who were laid off this week – most of whom worked at the company’s headquarters in Minneapolis.

Dean of the Opus College of Business Stefanie Lenway made the decision partly because an estimated 1,500 St. Thomas undergraduate and graduate business alumni are employed by Target. In addition, Lenway said this action follows the university’s mission of “advancing the common good.”

“That was a big part of it because, you know, these people are not in good shape,” Lenway said. “It’s a difficult time. Showing support, even if people don’t take advantage of it, helps them a lot. They’re our neighbors. We have a laser focus on the Twin Cities business community. That’s our constituency.”

An email and Facebook post in the St. Thomas Young Alumni group detailed the opportunities available. Those messages noted that St. Thomas is “offering free, highly targeted programs through our Executive Education department that can be completed in a week or less in a variety of subjects, including: project management, Internet marketing, supply chain management and business analytics. In addition, the Opus College of Business will provide a 40 percent reduction to the published tuition for its Evening or Full-time (St. Thomas) MBA programs.”

The school was “overtaken by events,” Lenway said, which forced some quick decision making. After a conference call on Monday a cooperative agreement was reached with Target that provided these opportunities at no cost to St. Thomas.

“We figured out a way that we could do this without losing any money. Target is funding a good part of it,” Lenway said. “We trust them, and they were happy to have a responsive partner, because they really cared. I said we absolutely cannot lose money on this, because we don’t have that to lose, but we want to help people more than we want to make a lot of money.”

The benefits offered are available not only to St. Thomas alumni but any Target employee who has been laid off. Several people have already taken advantage of the offer, and Lenway said it’s hard to tell how many will participate.

“We honestly had no idea how fast and how many people would inquire about these opportunities. We did it where we knew we had space,” Lenway said. “As long as I know I’m not going to do any harm, it’s great to be able to help people.”

The response from the broader St. Thomas community has been one of thanks, according to Lenway. She thinks this kind of action is what sets St. Thomas apart from other schools.

“It’s more than money. There’s got to be a deeper purpose in what we do. I’m happy to be part of the university community because not every institution allows you to do that,” she said. “It’s thinking about how the different pieces of the economy and society come together to create the fabric of life that we enjoy so much in the Twin Cities.”

Lenway expects the benefits to be available through the end of the calendar year.

Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu.