University of St. Thomas Guy Schoenecker donor wall.

The Schoenecker Center at the University of St. Thomas is a $110 million facility built around STEAM education. When it opened, the university wanted to honor the family whose generosity made it possible — not with a plaque, but with something that actually felt like Guy Schoenecker belonged there.
STAR approached the project the way you'd approach a permanent art installation. The design task was specific and genuinely difficult: create a lighted donor wall that wove stories from Guy's life into the physical fabric of a building dedicated to his family's legacy, without feeling like a memorial or a museum piece. The wall needed to do two things at once: honor a specific person and welcome everyone who walked through the door.
The solution was a dot-matrix portrait of Guy Schoenecker rendered in light and material, abstract enough to read as universal and warm enough to feel personal. The image has a quiet, welcoming quality, the kind of figure you'd expect to see at the entrance of a place built around community and learning. Around it, the design connects moments from Guy's life to the vision for the center itself, giving visitors something to read, something to feel, and a clear sense of why the building exists.
The fabrication was precise. STAR engineered the installation for both durability and visual impact, executing every detail with the care the subject deserved. The result drew immediate acclaim at its unveiling and has since become a focal point inside the Schoenecker Center, drawing visitors in and sparking conversations about the role philanthropy plays in shaping education.
Carol Wilkie, Director of Donor Relations at the University of St. Thomas, put it plainly: "From the beginning, STAR approached this project like an art installation. They were a true partner in shaping our goals into a physical design."
That's exactly what it is.