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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.”

Filed Under: UNK

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 rowlingcm@unk.edu. The deadline to apply for next year’s class is Nov. 15.

Filed Under: UNK

Health Care in the Heartland

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As a Top Campaign Priority, UNK and UNMC Aim to Transform Rural Health Care Workforce

By Robyn Murray

For Jordon Potthoff, studying close to home made all the difference.

“I’ve lived in Kearney my whole life,” said Potthoff, who was born at Good Samaritan Hospital on 2nd Avenue and attended Kearney High School, just 4 miles away.

“I still see people I’ve known since childhood,” he said. “That means a lot.”

Potthoff knew from a young age he wanted to study medicine. His uncle was a doctor, and seeing him as a highly regarded professional who spent his days helping people was inspiring. In high school, Potthoff decided on a track: physical therapy. He had experience with sports injuries — a knee injury playing baseball, a hurt shoulder playing football and another knee injury playing basketball.

Jordon Potthoff with his wife, Lindsay, and son, Everhett

But Potthoff didn’t want to travel far from home to complete his studies. The cost was daunting, and he had already formed a relationship with a local orthopedic and sports rehabilitation facility, New West. Fortunately, his local university — the University of Nebraska at Kearney — had just opened a state-of-the-art Health Sciences Education Complex in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“The facilities were fantastic,” Potthoff said. “We had our own iPads, our own TVs … and a much better teacher-to-student ratio.”

Pothoff enrolled in one of the first classes at the HSEC, a $19 million, 48,000-square-foot building that has been a resounding success. When it opened in 2015, the complex quickly filled to capacity. Today, more than 300 students are pursuing degrees there in more than a dozen professional programs.

The HSEC was built to help Nebraska meet urgent health care workforce needs that are particularly acute in rural areas — the State of Nebraska has designated every county, except for urban Douglas and Lancaster, as a health care shortage area. The center is making significant headway in closing those gaps. Since 2019, there has been a substantial increase in Nebraska’s nursing and pharmacy workforce, and about 85% of the students who graduate from HSEC have started their careers in rural Nebraska.

But demand for health care workers, particularly physicians, continues to outstrip supply. To meet the challenge, UNK and UNMC have again teamed up to build on the progress achieved so far and construct the Rural Health Education Building, which will not only increase capacity to enroll more health care students but will also significantly expand nursing programs and bring the UNMC College of Medicine to Kearney. That means, for the first time, UNMC will educate future physicians in Kearney.

“The intent is really to help grow our health workforce and help rural communities across Nebraska to grow their own future health workforce,” said Nikki Carritt, MPH, director of UNMC Rural Health Initiatives.

The Rural Health Education Building expands not only on the progress of the HSEC but also on several years of work developing a pipeline of rural health care workers in Kearney. Peggy Abels, director of health sciences at UNK, leads the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, which provides scholarships and academic support for health care students.

“We’re trying to set them up to be successful and to retain them in the program,” Abels said. “Students are going to be more likely to practice closer to where they train. So, if we can keep them enrolled in (rural) Nebraska for all of their training, we’re more likely to keep them here as professionals.”

That’s important not only to meet the health care workforce needs of rural Nebraska but also to keep rural communities vibrant.

“The sustainability of rural communities is just vital to the state’s economy,” Abels said, “and access to health care is a really important piece of that sustainability.”

The Rural Health Education Building, which was allocated $50 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan during the 2022 Nebraska legislative session, will be located directly north of the Health Sciences Education Complex, creating a hub for health education in rural Nebraska.

“The Rural Health Education Building will serve a crucial role in filling shortages in all medical professions across Nebraska, especially our rural communities,” said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen at the time. “This funding will help UNMC and UNK build a transformational facility and roll out comprehensive education covering most disciplines offered by UNMC.”

Nikki Carritt, MPH, Director of UNMC Rural Health Initiatives
Peggy Abels, Director of Health Sciences, UNK

The $50 million allocated by lawmakers will support construction of the building, with an additional $35 million needed from private donations. So far, more than $16 million has been pledged by donors.

Carritt said the building will prevent the disruption that comes from moving to an urban area to study.

“Once you make that step, sometimes it’s really difficult to go back,” Carritt said. “Students can also continue to maintain relationships with community partners and mentors and alumni throughout that long process of becoming a health care professional, so that they have and retain that interest in going back to those roles.”

That was a key benefit for Potthoff. Studying close to home meant his relationship with New West grew from shadowing the facility in high school to interning while at UNK to a full-time position after graduation.

“That helped to form a relationship,” he said, “which ended up being my job.”

Potthoff also met his wife at UNK, and now they have a young son whom they enjoy raising in a small city with long friendships and short commutes.

“We’re close to family,” he said. “You have pretty much everything you need, and it seems like they’re always working on making it better.”

Filed Under: UNK

Lifelong Learning Inspires Educator to Give Back

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Janet Wendland grew up in Arapahoe, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she majored in German and English. After teaching high school, Janet spent a summer in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship and then continued her education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, receiving a master’s degree in education. She was then recruited by a school supplies company and began a career in international sales in the education market. Janet, a Burnett Society member, established a planned gift to provide study abroad opportunities for UNK students.

What was the first job you ever had?

In high school during the summers, I helped teach swimming lessons at our local pool and also served up ice cream at the Dairy Queen. Both jobs helped teach me to have good humor and patience when serving others, and those skills have helped in all my dealings with others.

After graduation from UNK, my first job was teaching German and English in a high school, and I know I learned more about teaching than I taught in those years. I was very thankful to have the principal and fellow teachers to mentor me and help me hone my skills.

Janet Wendland Selfie
What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

I have received great advice from my parents, especially about being true to your own authentic self and values and being respectful of others, whether or not you agree with them.

I also have a daily calendar that gives a proverb each day from Africa, and I appreciate those snippets that are unique but practical advice. Today’s proverb from Kenya is: “One does not regret having helped another.” Yesterday’s was: “Do not separate your mind from your tongue.”

Who has influenced your life for good?

My family, friends, teachers, ministers to name a few, and often strangers who show me a behavior that I should emulate. I like the philosophy of Leo Buscaglia, who said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Why do you plan to leave a gift to the foundation?

Having been raised in the small town of Arapahoe, Nebraska, by loving parents and a community that valued education, it is easy to understand why I decided to make a promise of funds to help others coming after me. I am very grateful for the wealth of opportunities my education has afforded me and know this gift will help others achieve their dreams. My travels around the world also taught me how interconnected and interdependent we all are and helped me understand and appreciate my place in the world. My gratitude and experiences help explain why I have committed to helping others. Plus, the proverb says: “One does not regret having helped another!” This gift from me is also to me.

Loyalty to UNK the First Step on a Fundraising Journey

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Burnett Society members Chad and Jen Rutar have established an endowed scholarship and planned gift to benefit the Bleeding Blue Heart Scholarship, which supports students in the UNK College of Business & Technology.

By Ed Rider

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. For University of Nebraska at Kearney alumni Jen Bamsey Rutar and Chad Rutar, their journey to giving back began with the co-founding of the Loper Gridiron Club with friends Zach Mader and Mat Cope.

“The Gridiron Club was the window through which we climbed into fundraising and service,” said Jen, a 1996 UNK graduate. “We have such loyalty to UNK that we wanted to do more, so more students could enjoy the kind of experience we had.”

The Rutars, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, are Burnett Society members and serve on the UNK steering committee for the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future, which kicked off Nov. 18. They have served as trustees of the University of Nebraska Foundation since 2018, and Chad, a 1997 UNK graduate, is a past president of the UNK Alumni Association.

Jen, who grew up in South Dakota and graduated from high school in Ralston, Nebraska, met Pender, Nebraska, native Chad in a marketing class during her senior year at UNK. She built a successful career in marketing before taking “early retirement” to raise the couple’s daughters, Joe and Savannah. Chad played for the Lopers football team while earning his degree in finance. He works as a financial advisor and shareholder of Renaissance Financial in Omaha.

UNK holds such a special spot in Jen and Chad’s history that when they began to endow a scholarship, they named it the Bleeding Blue Heart Scholarship. The Rutars are in the process of endowing that scholarship to benefit students in the UNK College of Business & Technology and have also established a planned gift through the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit the scholarship.

“It’s kind of a reverse-engineered goal to be able to make a gift in the same amount (as the planned gift) by the time we retire,” Chad said. “It’s our quiet little goal.”

Neither Jen nor Chad grew up in affluent families, so they sincerely understand the value of an education.

“Education is a great equalizer. It is the bedrock that will mold you for the rest of your life,” Jen said. “We have a strong passion to help others … it is the greatest gift. We found our connection, our voice at UNK. It’s just our vision to pay it forward.”

UNMC Physical Therapy Student says Studying at UNK was a ‘No Brainer’

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Luis Reyes Mendieta is in the physical therapy program at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.

By Ed Rider

Two continents. Three countries. Five states.

Luis Reyes Mendieta’s road to the physical therapy program at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Kearney, Nebraska, has been anything but a direct path. Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Reyes Mendieta moved to Tennessee with his family when he was 6 years old so his father could train as an aircraft mechanic. They moved again to Nairobi, Kenya, to work as missionaries for 10 years before relocating to Alaska.

After a year at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, Reyes Mendieta transferred to Kansas State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. After graduation, he moved to Alaska, but came to believe that returning back to the “lower 48” would enhance his opportunities to be accepted into PT school. Reyes Mendieta moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he accepted a position at an inpatient physical therapy hospital.

With several physical therapy schools to choose from, the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions (CAHP) was Reyes-Mendieta’s first choice.

So how did Reyes Mendieta end up working toward his Doctor in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree in a town that he initially described as “the middle of nowhere?”

“I was very interested in UNMC. I really liked the program and was very impressed with the faculty,” Reyes Mendieta said. “Once I visited Kearney — I noted that they were a tight-knit group with smaller class sizes — it was a no brainer. Kearney was definitely the place to be.”

CAHP is located in the new Health Science Education Complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. It includes state-of-the-art classrooms, clinical teaching laboratories, clinical simulation facilities and a gross anatomy laboratory. Most importantly for Reyes Mendieta, CAHP offers a DPT degree.

He also saw Kearney as a great fit for his wife Carmen, daughter Flora, 2, and son Pascal, 4 months. “It’s an amazing place to raise a family,” Reyes Mendieta said. “It’s been a good experience. Kearney is a really neat town; it has everything you’d really need. It’s got a Target, so that makes my wife happy.”

Inspired by his role model, Reyes Mendieta said he wanted to pursue physical therapy from a very young age. He has been committed to service to others throughout his life and foresees his career as an extension of that service.

“My dad was always my biggest role model. But instead of fixing planes, I wanted to help fix people,” Reyes Mendieta said. “Having lived in Kenya, I saw the need to increase access to health care. Wherever I practice after graduation, I hope I can bring that to the people in need of quality care.”

Another factor that lured Reyes Mendieta to the physical therapy field was the ability to provide care without having to rely on pharmacological interventions.

“As a DPT, I won’t be dependent on being able to prescribe medications or provide other medical/surgical interventions,” Reyes Mendieta said. “All the tools I need are the information and knowledge provided through my doctoral-level education. With my education. I hope to make an impact, not just in the U.S., but also around the world.”

He is thankful for the financial support that he has received along the way. Reyes Mendieta has received academic financial support from the Charles O’Malley Trust, the Adams Fund, the Erwin W. Neuharth Scholarship and the Ray and Amy Frohn Fund.

“It’s been a good transition and a great experience,” Reyes Mendieta said. “We’ve really enjoyed rural Nebraska.”

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