Rescinded Pledge Forces College to Halt Construction

After a donor reneged on a $112-million pledge last month, Saint Mary’s College of California has been forced to delay major construction.

Conrad Colbrandt, a real-estate broker in Walnut Creek, Calif., had anonymously pledged a series of gifts to the college beginning in 1997 that were to have totaled $112-million, college officials said.

Brother Craig J. Franz, president of Saint Mary’s, and Nicholas G. Moore, chairman of the Board of Trustees, called the matter “a serious act of deception” in a letter posted on the college’s Web site.

College officials turned the matter over to the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office after Mr. Colbrandt said he had lost the funds in an investment scam. The Walnut Creek Police Department is investigating the incident. No criminal charges are expected to be brought against Mr. Colbrandt for rescinding his pledge to the college, said Steven Bolen, a deputy district attorney. “What happened with the donation to Saint Mary’s is not criminal,” Mr. Bolen said.

Mr. Colbrandt serves on the college’s nongoverning Board of Regents, which advises the trustees. He told Saint Mary’s that he had been conned into investing money in a real-estate opportunity, Mr. Bolen said.

Mr. Colbrandt’s lawyer did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

College officials opened a $26-million science building in 2000, assuming that Mr. Colbrandt’s pledge would cover the $15-million loan that Saint Mary’s had taken out to construct it. Plans were also in the works to renovate the gymnasium, the stadium, and baseball fields.

This article was written by Erin Strout, a reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education.