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The Joy of Giving

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A Q&A with Ruth Scott, one of the most transformational and generous donors in University of Nebraska history

At a recent foundation event, you spoke about the “joy of giving.” What gives you joy in your philanthropy, and how does that guide your decisions?

Joy is definitely the right word. My husband, Bill, was a great believer in the idea that if you follow that feeling of joy, the right things will fall into place. At our foundation (William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation), we have tried to find causes that give us joy — whether that comes from getting to know the people involved and the amazing work they do or knowing that our support will help make our community a better place to live or change someone’s life. We have always believed that wealth is best shared with others, and we’ve looked for ways that we can make a big difference for Omaha and Nebraska. And we’ve had a lot of fun giving our money away!

“Giving back is one of the greatest gifts of life. I hope the next generation gets as much joy from it as I have.”

Ruth Scott
What are a couple of your favorite stories regarding philanthropic investments you have made at the university?

There have been so many, it’s hard to choose. But I will say one that stands out was helping to build a student space at UNMC. I remember hearing from a student who said she only knew about four people from her time at UNMC, because there was no place to study or eat together. So, we helped to fund this beautiful space with an ice rink and a grove of trees where the students could all be together and get to know each other. I think that really made a difference in how students experienced their education.

Another one that stands out is at UNO, where I got to meet one of my favorite people, Dr. Nick Stergiou, who is the head of the biomechanics division. We first heard him speak at a foundation event in Palm Springs. I didn’t know anything about biomechanics, and it was fascinating to hear about the work he was doing. But he told us he could do so much more if he “just had more room!” So, in December 2011, I worked with the foundation to arrange a birthday lunch for Nick, and his birthday gift just happened to be a biomechanics building. Shortly after the building was built, biomechanics received a national grant of $10 million, and in 2024 it received another one for $11 million. When you can give somebody a building and bring in that many million dollars of federal money, that’s bang for your buck.

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From left, Bill and Ruth Scott and Chancellor Ronnie Green pose with UNL Rodeo Club members Hallie Reeves, left, and Sydney Veldhuizen and their horses. The Scotts were honored at the dedication of the George Beadle statue at the Dinsdale Learning Commons on East Campus. September 13, 2022. Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication.
Biomechanics Building grand opening at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on on Sept. 5 2013, in Omaha, Neb. (UNO/Jeff Beiermann)
Ruth Scott’s great-granddaughter visiting Roskens Hall on the UNO campus. Ruth Scott and her late husband, Bill, provided the lead gift to support the redevelopment of the building.

Rural Nebraska, Meet Your Future Physicians

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UNK and UNMC Will Bring Advanced Medical Education to Kearney

By Maddie Pospisil

Together, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska Medical Center are building a strong rural health care workforce to support a healthy population and a healthy economy.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Health Science Education Center I, which expanded nursing education and brought many of UNMC’s allied health professions programs to UNK. The goal was to create a pipeline of skilled health care workers to serve rural Nebraska. Incredible strides have been made toward this goal: Approximately 85% of students who graduate from programs supported in the center go on to practice in rural Nebraska.

Building on this success, the Health Science Education Center II — the result of a public-private partnership and currently under construction — will allow UNMC to launch new programs to train physicians, pharmacists and public health professionals in Kearney.

When fully operational in 2026, both centers will form the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex and will have an annual estimated economic impact on the state of $34.5 million. The graduates who remain in Nebraska to practice will contribute an estimated $52.4 million annually.

The driving force behind these immense economic impacts are the hardworking, passionate students who are excited to care for their state’s rural communities.

Skyler Summers – Gibbon, Nebraska

Pre-medicine program | Rising junior psychobiology major with minors in health care management and nutrition

Skyler Summers wants to live a life filled by serving others. Summers grew up on a farm, has an uncle who is a family practitioner in rural Nebraska, and she participated in the UNK Health Science Explorers Academy in high school. These influences shaped her desire to become a physician for a rural hospital or clinic and build deep connections with her community.

Brodie Mitchell – Cambridge, Nebraska

Pre-medicine program | Rising junior health sciences major with a minor in biology

Brodie Mitchell has been surrounded by health care his whole life. He would visit his mother after school to watch her in action as a pharmacist, and he currently works as a medical scribe at Tri Valley Health System. Inspired by the providers serving his hometown, Mitchell has a dream of delivering babies in rural Nebraska. He says the reason there’s no place like Nebraska is because of its small, tight-knit, heartfelt communities.

Abhinav Srivastava – Hastings, Nebraska

Pre-medicine program | Rising sophomore biology major with a health science emphasis and a minor in health care management

Abhinav Srivastava has a goal of opening his own practice someday — and he wants to do so in rural Nebraska. He knows it can be taxing to travel while experiencing health problems, so he wants to help ensure people in rural areas can access care closer to home. Srivastava is exploring all possible paths for his future: visiting UNMC’s Omaha campus, shadowing different health care positions and making connections through UNK’s Hospital Partners Networking Event.

Makenna Redinger – Kearney, Nebraska

Pre-medicine program | ’25 graduate, biology major with a health science emphasis and a minor in chemistry

Makenna Redinger’s parents own a funeral home, and she grew up feeling inspired by the care and empathy they showed to grieving, vulnerable families. She wants the chance to show that same care and empathy to her future patients. Redinger is already engaging the next generation of aspiring rural health care professionals by returning to her high school as an ambassador of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program.

UNK Chemistry Student Grateful for Scholarship Honoring Longtime Professor

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By Sara Badura

Caleb Sund of Fremont, Nebraska, knew he wanted to make a difference in the scientific world, so he decided to pursue a career in chemistry. The only thing standing between him and his dream of becoming a pharmaceutical researcher was his ability to pay for higher education.

Fortunately, for Sund, this spring he was awarded the Donald E. Fox Endowed Scholarship at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, providing him with $1,000 to support his academic pursuits. Sund qualified for the scholarship due to his status as a second- semester, first-year student majoring or minoring in chemistry with demonstrated academic achievement, need, integrity, character, dependability and motivation.

“I’m purely paying for college by myself,” Sund said. “This scholarship is really helping me afford college.”

Beginning with a $1,000 gift in 1979, the Donald E. Fox Endowed Scholarship Fund has grown to more than $600,000, thanks to an estate gift from Viola C. Fox after her death in September 2023. With the new funds, the department hopes to award approximately 20 scholarships annually.

The scholarship is named in memory of Fox’s husband, the late Donald E. Fox, a faculty member at Kearney State College and then UNK for 38 years. He taught chemistry and led the department as chair, later serving as dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences.

Just as Donald Fox’s commitment to teaching made a lasting impact on countless UNK students, Sund’s high school chemistry teacher sparked his passion for chemistry.

“I got really intrigued by chemistry in high school from my cross-country coach who was also my teacher,” Sund said. “I learned a lot about the chemistry of how your body works and how it functions from our workouts and runs, and that really got me interested in doing that in college.”

After speaking with several UNK upperclassmen in the honors program who are also majoring in chemistry, Sund was encouraged to apply for the Donald E. Fox Endowed Scholarship. Sund reflected on the significance of scholarship support for him and other college students.

“It’ll definitely impact my ability to pay for my classes,” Sund said. “I will say that I have a lot of trouble with getting money for all of college, so this will definitely help with that, especially with the costs of books and equipment for labs.”

With three years left as a UNK student, Sund is looking forward to the opportunities that have opened up because of financial support from the scholarship. This year he will team up with several professors to assist with chemistry research.

“It’s kind of like a part-time job,” Sund said. “I’ll spend after-school hours inside a lab. The professor will do a lot of research, but I’ll be finding out more of the solutions by actually using a lab. It’ll be really fascinating.”

Bringing Health Care Home

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By Susan Houston Klaus

A son of central Nebraska, born in Kearney and raised in Minden, recently retired University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Doug Kristensen has a firsthand understanding of the challenges facing Nebraska’s rural communities. One of the most pressing is a stark shortage of health care professionals.

During his 22-year tenure as UNK chancellor, Kristensen has been a dedicated advocate of bringing health care education to the Kearney campus and creating jobs where they’re needed most.

Kristensen, whose two daughters both graduated from UNK, is an enthusiastic supporter of the university. He has directed a dramatic renewal of the Kearney campus with more than $360 million in new construction and major renovation during his tenure. His impact has marked a profound change for the university and the start of a collaboration between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to develop professional health programs in Kearney.

In 2010, Kristensen launched the Kearney Health Opportunities Program in cooperation with UNMC to recruit and educate students committed to returning to rural Nebraska to practice health care. The program has been highly successful, with more than 90% of students accepted into various health care professional programs.

Then, as part of the Building a Healthier Nebraska initiative, Kristensen championed the development of new space for the UNMC Colleges of Nursing and Allied Health Professions in Kearney.

It started in 2015 with the Health Science Education Complex, when UNK and UNMC convinced the Nebraska Legislature to help build a facility that would expand the nursing program and bring UNMC’s allied health professions curriculum to campus.

The student cohorts filled quickly, focused on working together in a team-centered approach to rural primary care. Of the resulting graduates, 85% have started their health care careers in rural Nebraska.

In September 2023, the two campuses broke ground on a 110,000-square-foot building — the Rural Health Education Building — that will bring nearly all colleges within UNMC to the Kearney campus.

The UNK-UNMC Rural Health Education Building is scheduled to open in 2026.
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It's probably the most meaningful thing anyone's ever done for me. I'm very impacted by that. I'm very moved by that. But the real magic is going to be what goes on in that building for generations to come.

Doug Kristensen

This collaboration allows for the delivery of professional degrees in Kearney, without the need for students to go to the Omaha campus. Operated by UNMC, the facility can accommodate and serve more than 300 students at a time.

Degree paths offered will include medicine, pharmacy, expanded allied health and nursing, public health and behavioral health services. Together, the two buildings will constitute the largest rural health education center in the country.

As he retires this spring, marking the longest-serving chancellorship in University of Nebraska history, Kristensen will leave his legacy — and his name — on one of his greatest professional successes.

The Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex on UNK’s west campus comprises the Health Science Education Complex and the Rural Health Education Building currently under construction and targeted for occupancy in early 2026. When fully operational, the complex will support about 240 local jobs and have an annual economic impact estimated at $34.5 million.

The complex was named for Kristensen following the wishes of the project’s lead philanthropic supporter, the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation.

“It’s probably the most meaningful thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Kristensen said. “I’m very impacted by that. I’m very moved by that. But the real magic is going to be what goes on in that building for generations to come.”

It’s an apt honor for this native Nebraskan and longtime champion of the state. And for residents of rural areas, the facility will potentially transform not only Nebraska’s workforce but also the health of its communities.

As he looks back on his time as chancellor, Kristensen said he’s been fortunate to have had two opportunities: “I’ve had a chance to do something that was, one, important to me, and two, very fulfilling, and I think there are just lucky people in the world if you can get a chance to do both of those.”

Rural Health Education Complex Named for UNK Chancellor Kristensen

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William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation recommended the honor

By Connie White

It’s hard to overstate the impact that University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Douglas Kristensen has as an ardent champion for rural Nebraska. In recognition of his important contributions, the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation thoughtfully requested the Rural Health Education Complex at UNK be named in his honor.

The William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation is the lead philanthropic supporter for the complex on UNK’s west campus, which includes an existing building and the Rural Health Education Building currently under construction. The new building, a public-private partnership, builds upon a partnership between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to address a critical need for health care providers in rural Nebraska by expanding nursing programs and bringing a College of Medicine degree as well as other high-need health care programs to the UNK campus.

“The Scott family is pleased to help recognize Doug Kristensen’s steadfast leadership and monumental contributions to UNK as well as his dedication to addressing important issues impacting Nebraska,” said John Scott, vice president of the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation. “Doug Kristensen has dedicated his career to serving Nebraska citizens, and we believe the state is infinitely better due to his leadership.”

Kristensen, the longest-serving chancellor in the history of the University of Nebraska, announced his retirement earlier this month. Regarding the Scott family’s recommendation, he said in an interview with the Lincoln Journal Star, “This is one of the kindest, most impactful things anybody has ever done for me.”

The Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex will serve as an enduring tribute to the UNK chancellor, said Brian Hastings, president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation.

“Chancellor Kristensen’s vision was essential to inspiring philanthropic support for both of these capital projects that now comprise the Rural Health Education Complex,” Hastings said. “Because of his leadership, rural Nebraska communities will be stronger, and future generations of Nebraskans will have improved access to quality health care. And without the generosity of the William and Ruth Scott Family Foundation, none of this would have been possible, so we are most grateful for their generous philanthropic leadership.”

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Providing a Living Legacy

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By Susan Houston Klaus

Editor’s note: Before this story was published, Dana Falter’s wife, Pat, sadly passed away. The University of Nebraska Foundation extends its deepest condolences to Dana and his family.

 

As a kid in Creighton, Nebraska, Dana Falter learned a lot about hard work.

From his time on the football field and basketball court to his job on a dairy farm, getting up at 4 a.m. and working until 5 p.m., he developed a deep-seated work ethic and discipline.

Today, Falter, a Burnett Society member, and his brothers are honoring their hometown with a scholarship fund for business and technology students who attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The third of eight children, Falter says Creighton, a community of about 1,200 in the northeast part of the state, was a good place to grow up.

“It was a close-knit community, so we had things we could do from the early ages on,” he said.

“For our family, it was really all about sports, which taught us a lot about teamwork. In Creighton, you know, you played every sport. And we did a lot of things together as a family. With eight kids, we could do a lot of things together.”

Sports opened doors. After a year at what later became Norfolk Community College in Norfolk, Falter set his sights on playing football for what was then known as Kearney State College. But after an injury, he learned he wouldn’t be ready for the upcoming season. So, he decided to heal and go out for basketball. He played basketball for three years as a Loper.

Falter was the first in his family to graduate from what’s now UNK. His three brothers also earned their degrees there.

Falter credits the discipline, drive and work ethic he developed in high school for his successful career. He’s been with Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln since 2005, for part of that time as an executive vice president of the wholesale lending area; previously, he spent 15 years with FirsTier Bank (later First Bank and U.S. Bank).

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2017, Falter has been working as a consultant for the organization while also mentoring employees and sitting on the bank’s executive committee.

Living with his new health status, Falter said, “I just decided it was time to slow down.”

But he is still driven to do good for the community of UNK, which taught him so much on and off the court.

Falter, with the support of his three brothers, Rod, Shannon and Todd, is funding the Falter “4” UNK Scholarship. The fund benefits the Creighton, Nebraska, community, as well as others in Knox County. Qualified students must be enrolled in the College of Business and Technology and meet the scholarship requirements.

The fund, which awarded its first scholarship in 2021, supports four students every year. Falter has also made a planned gift through retirement plan assets with the help of the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Falter says he and his brothers wanted to leave a legacy that acknowledges the impact that Kearney  — not only the college but also the campus community, the town and the people  — has had on them.

“I think all of us had great experiences there, not only in our education, but also developing relationships or participating in sports,” he said. “We fell in love with the community. It was just the right size for our family, and it was a steppingstone for all of us.”

Three of the four brothers have a business or technology background, which is why they designated the fund to benefit those students.

Falter says he and his brothers want to show students in the Creighton community how broad the options are in those fields.

“We’re trying to educate people about that,” he said. “When you pursue a degree in the business and technology fields, there are a lot of things you can do with this scholarship.”

Even beyond the financial assistance students receive from the scholarship fund, Falter says he and his brothers want to make a personal connection.

He watches the dean’s list every semester and aims to send the Falter “4” students a note of congratulations. This past spring, the Falter brothers began what they hope will become an annual tradition: having lunch with the scholarship recipients.

“That’s just another way we can touch their lives,” Falter said. “We want to be available, not just financially but also intellectually, if they need us for questions, whether they’re in college or out of college.

“We want them to know that we’re here now and throughout their careers if they have questions, if they’ve got a hurdle to get over, or let’s say they’re getting out into their careers and they’re trying to decide `which job should I take?’ We’d like to be involved as much or as little as they want us to be.”

Finding His Future Through Tech

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By Susan Houston Klaus

UNK Cyber Systems Program Helps Students Gain Experience

As a kid, Trey Svatos spent his fair share of time playing video games. But more than reaching the next level of his favorite games, he was intrigued about the technology that lay beyond the controller and console. The Neligh, Nebraska, native had heard people say it was about ones and zeros and switches, and he wanted to know more. So, he dug in. He learned how games were built. He read articles about the latest innovations. He wrote papers in high school on how technology was evolving.

“I had a friend that kind of taught me the very basics of coding, and I found it pretty intriguing,” Svatos said. “It was kind of like a puzzle. It was a lot of problem-solving and trying to think outside the box with the tools you have.”

When it came time to choose a major at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Svatos decided on computer science.

“I’ve loved it ever since,” he said.

The UNK Department of Cyber Systems offers a wide range of majors for students like Svatos who are interested in a tech career, including cybersecurity operations, computer science, information technology and business intelligence. Each major focuses on providing the fundamentals and then building on those skills by helping students gain knowledge of the latest advancements.

Job opportunities for cyber systems students continue to grow exponentially, said Associate Professor Angela Hollman, Ph.D. “For example,” she said, “the job market for cybersecurity openings is at 5,000 in the state of Nebraska alone. And many of these jobs are not in the eastern urban areas in Nebraska, but in our own hometowns.”

In an industry known for its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it evolution, UNK faculty stay up to date on what’s happening in the field by seeking recertifications and participating in externships, and by nurturing relationships with the business community, said Hollman.

“We’re really closely connected to local companies. We bring them into the classroom regularly so students can hear directly from them what’s changing or what’s the new thing that’s going on.”

Class sizes are smaller at UNK than at larger schools, Hollman added, which helps students from rural communities in particular feel more connected in the classroom. Those connections along with donor support from the Only in Nebraska campaign will help students succeed in cyber technology and become leaders in their fields.

“Scholarships are an important part of helping attract students into the cyber majors,” Hollman said. “Continued investment will help us provide our students with current technology equipment in the mini data center in Discovery Hall. It can also help to fund competition travel for the cyber student group, which remains an important extracurricular activity that helps connect students to other peers and recruiters in the field.”

Svatos, a junior who’s also in the UNK Honors Program, said having access to faculty like Hollman helped him get his footing early on.

“That helped quite a bit my freshman year,” he said. “I’ve gone in when I’ve had questions, whether it be about cyber systems itself or who I can ask to go to for advice for a coding language or if I just have general questions about how things function around UNK.”

I want to be around the area to give back to the communities that raised me, that helped me out.

Trey Svatos

Support through scholarships also has helped ease financial concerns for Svatos and allowed him to concentrate on his coursework. He has received a Board of Regents Scholarship, Honors Program Room Waiver, Jean Sullivan Rawson and Richard Rawson Scholarship, and B. M. Stevenson Family Endowment Scholarship. Without this financial support, Svatos said he wouldn’t have been able to focus nearly as much on his studies as he can now.

“Really, a large portion of my success in and understanding of my studies is due to all that support,” he said.

Pairing his major with minors in mathematics and psychology, Svatos looks forward to seeing where a career in software coding or application development can take him.

Initially, he said he was unsure about how much he could help people by working in software.

“I like kind of making life a little bit easier for people, taking stress and weight off their shoulders,” Svatos said. “But just by making a simple time-off application or learning the ins and outs of how web development can help people, I’m more invested in making sure I contribute to Nebraska and to all companies around it.”

After graduation, Svatos plans to stay in Nebraska. His experiences through the cyber systems department have opened his eyes to the need for people who are well versed in computer science and tech in general.

“I want to be around the area to give back to the communities that raised me, that helped me out,” he said.

Fall Giving Days Will Support UNK and UNO

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Mark your calendars now for two opportunities this fall to support the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

One Day for UNK, Oct. 5-6

Coming up in October is One Day for UNK. This 24-hour day of giving will start at noon Oct. 5 and conclude at noon Oct. 6. Supporters will have the opportunity to make a gift in support of UNK scholarships, colleges and programs, Loper athletics, student organizations and other priorities.

UNK has set a goal to receive 1,905 gifts in honor of its founding year. Donors making gifts totaling $65 or more will receive a reversible UNK bucket hat to sport their Loper pride. To learn more, go to givingday.unk.edu.

Wear Black, Give Back, Nov. 8-9

Wear Black, Give Back, UNO’s giving day, will be from noon to noon Nov. 8 and 9. Alumni, students and staff are asked to wear their black UNO gear and make a donation in support of UNO scholarships, colleges and programs, student groups and activities, inclusion and wellness, and other priorities.

This year, UNO has a goal to receive 4,000 gifts during the 24-hour day of giving. Every donor who makes gifts totaling $65 or more will receive a bonus UNO blanket.

To learn more, go to givingday.unomaha.edu.

‘Helping Each Other’

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For the First Time, Future Physicians Will Complete Their Medical Training in Kearney

By Kelsey Kirk

Cordelia Harbison grew up visiting Lexington Regional Health Center in Lexington, Nebraska.

For at least a decade, she would drop off dinner to her stepmom, who was a nurse at the hospital.

Those night-shift visits showed Harbison the impact that physicians can have on their patients, especially in a rural part of the state. And it made her realize a career in medicine was within reach.

“That drove me to want it even more,” Harbison said, “especially seeing the amount of good you can do in a rural area.”

Harbison is in her freshman year at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She’s majoring in chemistry with a health science emphasis. She plans to become a family practice physician.

Harbison, 19, will stay in Kearney — a 30-minute drive from her family home in Lexington — for the duration of her collegiate career. And upon finishing medical school, Harbison hopes to stay in central Nebraska to practice in a rural town.

That’s one of the goals of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, a joint project between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center that was established in 2010. In 2015, the $19 million UNMC-UNK Health Sciences Education Complex opened its doors, offering programs in nursing and allied health professions on campus in Kearney.

Now the two campuses have teamed up again, this time offering start-to-finish training for physicians. UNMC is bringing its College of Medicine to Kearney with the planned construction of an $95 million Rural Health Education Building.

The continued collaboration is designed to meet the urgent demand for health care workers in rural Nebraska. Dentists, nurses, pharmacists and numerous allied health professionals are in short supply, and the state has designated every county in Nebraska, except for urban Douglas and Lancaster, as health care shortage areas. But perhaps nowhere are the shortages more urgently felt than in primary care. A 2022 report by UNMC Rural Health Initiatives said more than a quarter of counties in Nebraska have either no family physician or just one family physician serving an area of more than 2,000 people.

The Rural Health Education Building, set to be complete in 2025, for the first time will allow future physicians to complete their medical training in Kearney and bring public health and pharmacy students to UNK while expanding offerings for allied health and nursing students. The initiative aims to build on the success of the Health Sciences Education Complex, which has seen 85% of its graduates start their careers in rural Nebraska.

“It’s almost shocking to think you can have (an academic) medical center here in Kearney, Nebraska,” Harbison said. “I am excited because I don’t know of many medical centers in small towns. This is going to be the center of Nebraska, a diamond in the rough.”

Harbison said she’s excited to be part of the program, especially as a member of one of the first generations to go through it.

“It’s almost shocking to think you can have (an academic) medical center here in Kearney, Nebraska,” Harbison said. “I am excited because I don’t know of many medical centers in small towns. This is going to be the center of Nebraska, a diamond in the rough.”

Harbison wants to return to a small community after graduation. The Lexington area would be ideal, she said, but she would enjoy serving elsewhere in central Nebraska, too.

While Harbison briefly considered going into pharmacy, shadowing physicians in Lexington let her see the difference in how physicians work compared with pharmacists.

“That kind of put me in their shoes,” she said.

Those shadowing experiences were moving, Harbison said, especially seeing the way each doctor knew their patients on a more personal level.

Harbison, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, was especially moved to see physicians working with Spanish-speaking patients and connecting with them despite the language barrier.

Another driving factor was the experience Harbison’s sister had during her pregnancy. When Harbison’s sister, who lives in the Ogallala area, went into labor, her doctor was at another appointment 60 miles away.

In her sister’s case, everything went smoothly. But Harbison said other people may not have the same positive outcomes.

“I want to be able to help,” she said. “You don’t want to have to go through that stuff alone.”

The decision to land at UNK fell into place her senior year of high school, Harbison said. Staying close to her hometown was a plus and felt less intimidating than moving to Omaha to attend UNMC after graduation.

The Kearney Health Opportunities Program’s goal is to support health care workers in training and improve health care delivery in rural areas. Harbison identified with that objective, and she wanted to make her intentions clear in her applications. She even made her siblings read all her scholarship applications to be sure she was getting the message across.

“I want to see rural areas that don’t have to struggle with health care,” Harbison said. “I wanted to express how seriously I wanted to return. Some people sign up with no intention of returning to a rural area. I want to give back to people what they gave to me.”

Harbison said students in the program all have the same end goal: making a difference as physicians and health care workers.

“We’re not so much competing with each other and trying to outwork one another, but helping each other achieve the same goal,” Harbison said. “Everyone genuinely wants each other to succeed.”

The official groundbreaking for the Rural Health Education Building was Sept. 5.

‘I want to help those people’

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UNK  Program Prepares Students for Law Careers in Rural Nebraska

By Tyler Ellyson – UNK Communications

When Max Beal graduates from the University of Nebraska College of Law, he won’t be looking for a job in Lincoln or Omaha.

The 24-year-old plans to practice in central Nebraska, where he was raised on a farm near Kenesaw.

“It’s really important that people have access to legal resources,” Beal said. “There are a lot of counties in western and central Nebraska that have no lawyers or very few lawyers. That’s where I’m from, so I want to help those people.”

According to the most recent statistics from the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Attorney Services Division, 50 of the state’s 93 counties have five or fewer attorneys practicing there, and 11 counties don’t have any at all. The shortage in these rural areas means people may have to travel long distances for legal assistance. Chuck Rowling, a professor and pre-law adviser at UNK and chair of the Department of Political Science, said, “If you’re a person who wants to adopt or start a new business, needs help on a will or advice about the farm or someone who’s going through a divorce or is in a criminal matter, you need an attorney. And if you have to drive 150 miles to get one or maybe try to do it remotely, that’s a disadvantage.”

Beyond that, he added, attorneys are often pillars of the community who serve on local boards, add to the economy and support a town’s long-term viability. “They’re providing a service that becomes vital to those communities,” he said. “There’s a broader benefit that comes to the region when we have attorneys working in those places.” In addition to his other duties, Rowling is director of an initiative created six years ago to address this rural workforce issue.

A partnership between UNK and Nebraska Law, the Kearney Law Opportunities Program (KLOP) recruits students from greater Nebraska — outside Lincoln and the Omaha metropolitan area — and trains them to become lawyers who will practice in rural communities. Participants receive a full-tuition scholarship to attend UNK and guaranteed acceptance into Nebraska Law, provided GPA and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) requirements are met. Starting next year, the program will also include a partial room waiver for those students living on campus.

STUDENT SUPPORT

There are many other benefits, as well.

“UNK is a lot smaller than a lot of universities, and I think that’s really helpful,” said Beal, who was part of the inaugural KLOP class. “You get more attention, and you have a better opportunity to get to know the faculty. They’re really invested in us.”

Beal ’21 is one of eight students currently attending Nebraska Law in Lincoln who were part of the KLOP program at UNK. These students stack up pretty well compared with their classmates from across the country, with former Lopers earning multiple academic awards for achieving the highest grades in their courses.

“Those are pretty prestigious awards that Kearney students are getting,” Beal said.

He credits UNK for providing the resources and opportunities that prepare students for law school. Students in the KLOP program receive one-on-one mentorship from faculty and peers. They study together and take many of the same classes, creating a close-knit community and support system. The Pre-Law Society, a student organization on campus, regularly hosts events where members connect with local attorneys, current law students and each other.

Participants also develop a relationship with Nebraska Law as early as their freshman year by visiting Lincoln to meet with faculty and law students, attend guest lectures, sit in on classes and observe court proceedings.

“It’s what they do outside the classroom that’s really going to separate these students and make them even better prepared for law school,” said Rowling, who emphasizes undergraduate research, international travel and other experiential learning activities.

He collaborated with Nebraska Law to launch a new international program for students at both institutions. This past January, students spent two weeks in Europe learning about international criminal law while visiting places such as Auschwitz, the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

That trip will occur every two years, with an opportunity to learn about the civil rights movement in the southern U.S. offered in between.

“Being exposed to ideas and cultures outside of what you’ve grown up with is valuable, because at the end of the day, what you’re going to be doing when you’re a lawyer is working with people with different backgrounds and different points of view,” Rowling said.

Law student and professor pose together in front of desk.
UNK pre-law student Norah Renner is interning at Anderson, Klein, Brewster & Brandt in Kearney, where attorney Jon Brandt is a partner.
REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Internships are another important part of KLOP, whether they’re at a congressional office in Washington, D.C., or a local law firm.
“If you’re in the KLOP program, there’s a priority given to those students for internship opportunities, especially with law firms in rural Nebraska,” Rowling said.

Norah Renner, a UNK senior from Columbus, is currently interning with Anderson, Klein, Brewster & Brandt in Kearney. The experience has been “extremely valuable” as she prepares to start law school next year. “I love it,” Renner said. “I’m getting all the practical experiences, and I’m learning a ton. You really get to see how attorneys can affect people’s lives here. That’s something I don’t think you get to see as much in a bigger firm or somewhere bigger like Omaha or Lincoln. There’s no question now that I want to come back to central and rural Nebraska to practice after law school.”

Like Beal, who interned at the Tye & Rowling law firm in Kearney, Renner has benefited from the resources available through KLOP, including LSAT prep and assistance with law school applications. “It’s just a really tight-knit community, and that’s what drew me to UNK. You get so much support,” Renner said. “I don’t feel like I’ll be too surprised when I get to law school.” The pre-law program has “grown by leaps and bounds,” said attorney Jon Brandt, a 2003 graduate of UNK.

“The first time I was in a private law office was when I was interviewing for a law job,” said Brandt, a partner at Anderson, Klein, Brewster & Brandt specializing in litigation, injury law, criminal defense and family law. 

An Ogallala native and Nebraska Law alumnus, Brandt is proud to partner with his alma maters to further develop the state’s talent pipeline.

“It really is going to help sustain rural Nebraska by having lawyers available to serve these communities,” he said.

ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES

Students can major in any academic area and be part of KLOP. Renner is studying political science with minors in public law and business administration, and Beal graduated in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a finance emphasis and public law minor. “I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do in college,” Beal said, “I was interested in finance, so wherever I went I was going to study finance, but I also liked the idea that law provides more opportunities. I would have more choices in the career field, and that was something I could get in addition to my finance degree to give me more job options.” Said Renner, “It really does open a lot of doors for you.”

The profession, Rowling said, is much more diverse than what people see in courtroom dramas on TV.

“The reality is, roughly half of all attorneys don’t even practice law,” he said. “They’re working in companies, they’re working for a nonprofit, they’re working in government. They’re doing a lot of other things besides just practicing law.

“Those skills that you acquire from going to law school and those skills that you acquire from UNK translate to all kinds of potential opportunities. Even if you don’t want to end up in a courtroom or in a law firm, those skills are going to translate to a successful career doing something else.”

Currently, there are 20 UNK students in KLOP, but that number will soon grow to 30 and beyond as Rowling expands the program.

“The KLOP students that we bring in are so important to the university. They are student body presidents, they are in student government, they lead student organizations, they are terrific in class,” he said. “It’s almost like a version of what we think they’ll be down the road within their own communities. They are those things at this campus, serving as leaders and pillars within our UNK community.”

For more information on the Kearney Law Opportunities Program, visit unk.edu/klop or contact Rowling at 308-865-8171 or [email protected]. The deadline to apply for next year’s class is Nov. 15.

Filed Under: UNK

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