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Chancellor Green Leaves UNL Stronger, More Diverse

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By Connie White

Chancellor Ronnie Green, Ph.D., says access to higher education is a hallmark of Nebraska’s flagship Big Ten university.

As a land-grant university with nearly 24,000 students, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has a mission to ensure access to higher education and prepare students to think critically and be ready for the workforce, he said.

“If you look at the population of our state, this institution has educated the majority of our teachers, of our doctors, of our lawyers, of our bankers, of our leaders in political life in the state of Nebraska,” Green said during a parting dialogue with students, faculty, alumni and staff in May.

He will retire from his position June 30, leaving an enduring legacy at UNL. Green’s contributions to the university are being honored through the creation of the Ronnie D. Green Professorship in Animal Science. The professorship was established through the University of Nebraska Foundation thanks to the generosity of Carol J. Swarts, M.D.

“I’ve admired Ronnie’s approach to education and his dedication to UNL,” said Swarts, a 1955 UNL alumna who lives in Seattle. “We bonded over our humble farm beginnings and our appreciation for the educational opportunities provided by the university. I am privileged to be able to honor and recognize his work at the university as he has been an advocate for education in Nebraska and beyond.”

Green, a UNL alumnus, was appointed chancellor in 2016 and led the university through remarkable growth, overseeing record graduation totals, continued improvement in graduation and career placement rates and significant gains in the diversity of the student body.

“One of the things that I’m most powerfully proud of is that in my seven years as chancellor, we have graduated more of our students with high quality degrees than ever before in our history,” Green said.

That occurred even during a global pandemic that caused the university to close campus mid-semester.

In March 2020, UNL made the difficult decision to cancel in-person classes and shift to remote instruction to protect the university community. Students returned to campus in fall 2020.

“Our staff stood up an unbelievable amount of new things in order for (students) to be able to be back on campus,” Green said. “It was a gargantuan accomplishment.”

As a first-generation college student, Green was highly focused on ensuring affordable access to a UNL education for all students. Today, nearly 25% of UNL’s students are the first in their families to attend college.

During his tenure, Green oversaw significant expansion on UNL’s City Campus, including a transformation of the College of Engineering made possible through public funding and private donors. The $190 million investment represents the largest academic facilities project in university history.

He also oversaw continued development of the Nebraska Innovation Campus, which features a world-class conference center, the fully outfitted Nebraska Innovation Studio and the Scarlet Hotel, which opened last year.

Green was raised on a mixed beef, dairy and cropping farm in southwestern Virginia. His doctoral program was completed jointly through UNL and the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in animal breeding and genetics. Before being named chancellor, he served as the Harlan Vice Chancellor of the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Green recalled his visit to UNL in 2010 to interview for the vice chancellor’s position. At the time, he was unsure he wanted to return to academia after spending 10 years in the government and business sectors.

“I distinctly remember when I walked onto campus, I knew this was where I was supposed to be,” Green said. “I just knew it. And it was because of our focus on students, that every interaction matters, because of the need there was in agriculture at the time, and because of the value we were going to be able to build.”

Green said those same priorities, on a university scale, have “made me excited to come to work every day (as chancellor).”

Filed Under: UNL

Memorializing a Mother’s Inspiration

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Architecture Grad Drafts Plans to Aid Students

By Ed Rider

Richard Griffin knows what it’s like to come from an underprivileged family. Growing up in Central Missouri as the middle child of a single mother, Richard, a Burnett Society member, didn’t have the resources to pay out-of-state tuition to pursue his degree in architecture.

Thanks to a reciprocal tuition program between the University of Missouri and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Richard earned his degree from the UNL College of Architecture in 1980 and went on to a successful career with firms across the United States.

A longtime resident of Arizona, Richard credited his experiences growing up in Missouri and attending UNL for motivating him to make a planned gift to establish a scholarship in his late mother’s name — the Avanell Fowler Griffin Memorial Scholarship — at the College of Architecture.

“I lucked into the reciprocal program that got me to UNL in the first place,” Richard said. “There are so many students who come from disadvantaged situations who could become successful architects if only given the chance. So, I decided, if I was able, I would provide funding to the College of Architecture to be used specifically for scholarships for disadvantaged students who otherwise may not be able to pursue their dreams. I remember that as a student — every little bit helps.”

In November, Richard visited the College of Architecture and spoke with a group of third-year students. He said the conversations he had with those students, as well as the energy he felt around the college, were inspiring.

“It is clear that the vision for the college that was set in motion when I was a student by Dean (W. Cecil) Steward continues today,” he said.

Among the experiences that motivated Richard to create the gift, which was established as a bequest, were the many people he witnessed giving back to the College of Architecture, either serving as guest lecturers or by engaging students like him who were looking to enter the field of architecture. Richard also credited the history of the college and how graduates from UNL have helped shape the world.

But it was memories of his mother’s resolve while raising her three children alone through the crucial years of middle and high school that inspired Richard to create a scholarship in her memory.

“I decided to name the scholarship after her as a way of ensuring that everyone remember that she did everything she could for me, and all she asked in return was for me not to give her anything to worry about,” Richard said. “She continues to inspire what I do. I feel that honoring her in this way is the least I can do.”

Campus Kickoff Events Draw Interest and Enthusiasm for Campaign

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By Ed Rider

The impact of philanthropy throughout the University of Nebraska is unmistakable. From state-of-the-art facilities to high-tech equipment, new educational programs, student scholarships and faculty support, private donors have left an impression on the university for generations to come.

Approximately 1,500 students, faculty and staff from across the University of Nebraska System gathered over several weeks to celebrate the launch of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. The campaign is a historic initiative to engage 150,000 benefactors to raise $3 billion to support the University of Nebraska and build the future Nebraska needs right now.

Campus campaign kickoff events began Dec. 7 at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska, with approximately 200 people in attendance. The University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha held rallies the next day that drew about 500 at each campus. Approximately 300 attendees took part in the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s event Jan. 24. Scheduled events at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln City Campus and East Campus were canceled due to a winter storm Feb. 16. The events will likely be rescheduled.

Krutsinger Gift to Grow Next Generation of Beef Industry Leaders

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Ron Krutsinger’s life was defined by his passion for Nebraska’s cattle business. He embraced the freedom of wide-open spaces growing up on his family’s southwest Nebraska ranch and built a career in the industry by raising, buying and selling cattle.

So when Ron passed away in 2020, his wife, Carol Krutsinger of Norfolk, Nebraska, decided to honor his legacy by helping to ensure the future of Nebraska’s beef industry.

Carol made a $1 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA). The gift to help develop the next generation of beef industry leaders was made possible by the sale in December of the couple’s 15,500-acre ranch in Dundy County in southwest Nebraska.

The gift will support three priorities:

  • $700,000 to create a permanent endowment to support the Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, which prepares students to be leaders of the beef industry through an academic minor. The program will be renamed the Krutsinger Beef Industry Scholars Program in honor of Ron and Carol Krutsinger.
  • $250,000 to award scholarships to students in the UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR). Preference will be given to students who are graduates of high schools from the southwest Nebraska counties of Dundy, Hitchcock, Red Willow, Frontier, Hayes, Chase and Perkins.
  • $50,000 to award scholarships to NCTA students. The Krutsinger gift will be matched by other funds to create a $100,000 scholarship fund. NCTA, a two-year technical college in Curtis, prepares students for careers in livestock industry management, animal science, veterinary technology systems and other agriculture-related industries.

“Scholarships are critical for our students to be able to complete their education and prepare for the agricultural workforce,” said NCTA Dean Larry Gossen, Ph.D. “Without generous donors and sponsors like Carol Krutsinger, many of our students may not be able to attend college.”

A strong work ethic

Ron Krutsinger was born in Benkelman, Nebraska, Aug. 22, 1939, graduating from high school there and learning the strong work ethic of living and working on a family ranch. He moved to Norfolk in 1966 to work for Production Credit Association, an agriculture lender. He fed cattle on the side before purchasing and operating the Fore-Quarters Feedlot from 1972 until 2005.

Carol said her husband of 46 years loved his work with cattle and ranching. Carol, a retired kindergarten teacher in Norfolk, recalled how she met Ron at a party hosted at his home, having been invited by mutual friends. Ron was late arriving because he was out feeding cattle.

“He was a worker and always up for a challenge. I supported that because I knew he was happy,” she said. “He told me once that he would never retire.”

Ron’s longtime bookkeeper, Sheila Dreismeier, described him as someone who did business on a handshake.

Ron Krutsinger

“He was a gentle giant,” she said. “He was compassionate. He got along with everybody. All the cattlemen respected him and his opinion, and he guided a lot of young people.”

Ron died Nov. 15, 2020, at a Norfolk hospital after contracting COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic.

Carol said that after the unexpected loss of her husband, she decided to sell the Krutsinger family ranch, which had grown from 160 acres to 15,500 acres through land purchases by Ron’s late father Bus, and later by Ron and his late brother, Garry.

Stretching nine miles from north to south, the family had spent many Thanksgiving holidays at the Dundy County ranch, and Ron enjoyed trout fishing and duck hunting there.

With no children, Carol knew the sprawling ranch was more than she could manage.

She devoted some of the proceeds from the sale to help agriculture students at UNL and NCTA. Ron attended Colorado State University for one year, then went back home to work on the family ranch. He always wished he had been able to get his degree, Carol said.

“I knew that this was what I wanted to do for Ron,” she said.

Krutsinger Beef Industry Scholars Program

The Krutsinger Beef Industry Scholars Program is housed in UNL’s Department of Animal Science. The program develops students to be leaders of the beef industry through academic coursework, tours of Nebraska cattle operations and the opportunity to build relationships with ranchers, cattle feeders, processors and industry leaders.

“I cannot express enough gratitude for the gift that Carol Krutsinger has provided in support of our Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars Program,” said Thomas E. Burkey, Ph.D., interim head of the department. “Since 2006, this program has leveraged our strengths in beef systems education to provide students with unique opportunities to apply knowledge gained to address current and emerging issues in the beef industry. This generous gift will help us to solidify our commitment to providing opportunities to develop the next generation of beef industry leaders.”

Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Nebraska, and cattle production represents the largest segment of the industry, according to the Nebraska Beef Council.

Husker senior Tyler Perrin is an animal science major and Beef Industry Scholar. Having grown up on his family’s farm near Ogallala, Nebraska, he said he wants to work in the beef industry after he graduates in May and eventually own a cow herd. He said his experiences in the program have given him a better understanding of the consumer impacts of cattle production and allowed him to meet people in Nebraska’s beef industry.

“It’s very beneficial,” Perrin said. “I’ve made a lot of connections through the university, through classes and guest speakers. So later when you go into business with them, you know them and can relate to them on a personal level.”

Carol Krutsinger’s gift in support of agriculture students is part of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. Announced last fall, the campaign has a goal to raise $3 billion from 150,000 unique benefactors to support the University of Nebraska. The campaign’s biggest priority is students, with more than half the funds dedicated to ensuring a high-quality, affordable education for Nebraska students. More information is at OnlyinNebraska.org.

Tyler Perrin
About the University of Nebraska Foundation

The University of Nebraska Foundation grows relationships and resources that enable the University of Nebraska to change lives and save lives. During the most recent fiscal year, a record 60,571 donors gave $300.6 million to the foundation to aid UNK, UNO, UNL, UNMC and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, and NCTA. The foundation raises more than $7 for every $1 it spends. Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future is its current campaign.

Fishermen with a vision find purpose through UNL’s Engler program

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By Dan Crisler

Before joining the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the end of his sophomore year, a frustrated Hunter Suchsland was almost ready to drop out of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

His friend Cade Ludwig felt much the same way before he joined the program at the beginning of his junior year.

“I would just go through the motions,” Ludwig said. “I did my homework when I had to, but I wasn’t really happy about it.”

Both Ludwig and Suchsland joined the Engler program after finding out about it through their academic advisers.

What made the friends joyful was fishing. Through the Engler program, Ludwig, who’s from Wood River, and Suchsland, who’s from Kearney, could pursue and monetize that passion by starting their business, LS Lures, to create tournament-grade lures.

By providing $50 in seed money to start a business, the Venture Lab experience in the Engler program encourages fledgling entrepreneurs to move forward and grow their business.

For the two friends, the $50 meant starting off by purchasing a few packs of hooks, silicone skirt material and raw lead to make bass jigs from scratch.

The initial investment led to sales that grew exponentially. Ludwig and Suchsland, who both graduated in May 2022, are now in their third year of owning and operating LS Lures. Available online and in several retail locations, the duo’s lures continue to attract an expanding customer base made up of recreational and tournament angler customers from multiple states.

“We’ve quadrupled sales and customers from year one to year two. And I think we’re going to do the same thing again this year,” Suchsland said.

Ludwig added he and Suchsland are now “light years” ahead compared to where they started. Initially, Ludwig said their lures were comparable to ones found at big box chains.

But after receiving $5,000 through an Engler fellowship program in summer 2021, Ludwig and Suchsland were able to improve their lure-making skills by using that money to pay living expenses, making their need for other employment less necessary.

Ludwig and Suchsland’s business got a huge boost after winning the UNL Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2021 New Venture Competition, taking home the first prize of $25,000.  Those funds, provided entirely by private donations, helped propel their business forward.

Today, Ludwig said, “we’re doing all custom stuff, the highest quality hooks. We don’t skimp anywhere.”

They have the marketing chops to match. The pair regularly post photos on their LS Lures Instagram account. Posts include their recent catches and creatively named products such as Albino Rhino or Lil Wizard.

Ludwig and Suchsland said some of their longest-lasting lures were good for catching more than 35 fish. None of their lures have failed or malfunctioned.

To Engler program director Thomas Field, Suchsland and Ludwig’s persistence and success are a typical Nebraska story. Like others in the Engler program, Field said the two men knew how to target their customer base and took a “can do” attitude to succeed.

“They had a clear market, and they’re immersed in that market. As such, they were able to understand their customers really well,” Field said. “They took action and then just stayed with it.”

As they continue to reach new heights with LS Lures, Suchsland and Ludwig remain cognizant of how their Engler coaches guided them and helped the business partners find their purpose.

“We can’t thank everybody in Engler enough. They’re kind of the whole route of how we got started,” Suchsland said, adding that people within the program were among their first customers and helped spread the word about their products.

Although many successful entrepreneurs have gotten their start through the Engler program, the program is now looking to move to its next phase and expand into rural communities across Nebraska. To that end, the Engler program hopes to raise $10 million as part of the University of Nebraska’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ $108 million campaign goal through Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future.

“We think that there is a whole host of good ideas spread across the state,” Field said. “We think our model, which is designed to get people off the sidelines … and get potential entrepreneurs past their doubt and fear to start something, is good for Nebraska.”

While the Engler program has found great success in reaching people through social media and radio spots, it will take more people and programming to cast a wider net.

“Our biggest challenge to me is: How do we structure what we do so we serve people where they are?” Field said. “A vibrant effort is going to require a footprint that meets the people in their communities, not necessarily just on campus.”

While the Engler program carries high expectations for its students, Ludwig and Suchsland can readily attest that staff members provide a level of coaching and motivation to match those expectations.

“Everybody in Engler that teaches or supports the kids has found a way to bring out the best in everybody,” Suchsland said. “All of the teachers do a really good job of understanding how to get the best out of people however they need to.”

Ludwig and Suchsland have only one regret about their time in the Engler program. It’s that they didn’t join sooner.

“I would have done anything to have four years in the Engler program,” Suchsland said. “Anybody who has even a slight thought or interest in entrepreneurship, or just wants to learn more about the world … definitely check out the Engler program, because they’ll change the way you think about everything.”

The Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program was founded in 2010 through the generosity of Paul Engler, who chairs the program’s advisory board. A native of Bassett, Nebraska, Engler graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in agriculture and built Cactus Feeders in Texas. Cactus Feeders is one of the largest feedlots in the United States.

Kiewit Hall Represents a New Landmark for University of Nebraska

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By Connie White

The College of Engineering’s Kiewit Hall isn’t slated to open until January 2024, but the still-under-construction building is already a landmark at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln — both for what it is and what it represents for Nebraska.

That’s how University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter described Kiewit Hall during a beam-signing ceremony for the project in August. Kiewit Hall, as a center of undergraduate engineering education, will position the University of Nebraska to meet growing workforce needs across the state.

“I’ve heard from Nebraskans how important it is that we as a university system, particularly our flagship here at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, be hand in glove with the business community and how we’re going to build out the future professions, particularly in engineering and STEM-based fields for the great state of Nebraska,” Carter said. “We cannot grow this state without filling that workforce. Kiewit Hall is the answer.”

Kiewit Hall is part of a transformation of College of Engineering facilities designed to expand its educational capabilities and research. The $190 million investment, the result of both public and private funding, represents the largest academic facilities project in UNL’s 154-year history.

Gracie Kerr, a sophomore civil engineering major from Omaha and one of the inaugural cohort of 10 Kiewit Scholars, said she’s excited about what Kiewit Hall will offer for her and future engineering students.

“Kiewit Hall will grant every engineering student the ability to learn as much as possible, to achieve their full potential and to grow into a top-notch engineer,” Kerr said. “By ensuring that all Nebraska engineering graduates leave prepared to make a difference, it is inevitable that the world will be changed for the better.”

Growing the College of Engineering is a major priority of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. The campaign’s overall goal is to raise $3 billion from 150,000 unique benefactors to support the University of Nebraska.

Group of students in yellow construction vests standing in front of the future Kiewit Hall

In addition to new and improved facilities, the College of Engineering seeks to increase its number of merit- and need-based scholarships to assist in recruiting and retaining students and to invest in faculty to help students succeed and increase the college’s ability to engage with industry and conduct research. And, an investment in research and innovation will fuel economic development in Nebraska.

“Philanthropy is just so important to enabling us to accomplish our goals and to deliver on our mission,” said College of Engineering Dean Lance C. Pérez.

He noted the $115 million Kiewit Hall is entirely funded by donors, with a $25 million naming gift provided by Kiewit Corp.

“Without philanthropy, that building simply wouldn’t be,” he said.

Pérez said Kiewit Hall is critical to the college’s goal of growing undergraduate enrollment from 3,000 to 5,000 students.

“The quality of your facilities plays a really important role in recruitment. Students want to come to a place and a facility that show you’re taking their education seriously,” he said.

By constructing buildings, hiring new faculty, recruiting more students and expanding research, the state’s only engineering college can spur economic development in Nebraska, Pérez said.

Engineers are in huge demand across the state and are essential to its biggest industries. Nebraska’s banking and insurance companies, for example, require software engineers to support their online infrastructure. Modern agriculture needs equipment for automation and data analytics to manage water resources, fertilizer, seed distribution and productivity, he said.

Growing Nebraska’s pipeline of engineers and computing and construction professionals is critical to filling those and other open jobs in the state and region and to creating new jobs, Pérez said.

“Engineering plays a role in more and more sectors of both the Nebraska economy and the U.S. and global economy,” Pérez said. “We have to produce the engineers who can fill those roles.”

Pérez has high praise for the college’s “amazing, world-class faculty,” who he says are doing research to address the fundamental problems facing the United States and the world.

“From climate change, to disease, to better construction methods, to new approaches on computing, we have faculty doing work in all those areas,” said Pérez, who holds the Omar H. Heins Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The College of Engineering, which also offers programs on the Scott Campus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, added 13 new faculty members for the 2022-23 academic year, increasing total faculty hires to 67 over the past six years.

“A lot of economic growth occurs from the intellectual property and startup companies that come from having a really vibrant research enterprise,” Pérez said.

Philanthropic support is critical to retaining those faculty, he said, while keeping a Big Ten engineering education within reach for all students through scholarships and other funding.

A $2 million gift from alumna Kit Schmoker and her late husband, university alumnus Dick Schmoker, will fund the Schmoker Presidential Chair in Systems Engineering — a high demand field in Nebraska and nationally. Pérez also noted the impact of gifts for named endowed professorships. In fall 2022, 10 faculty members were honored with named professorships, including those supported by the family of Ray Fauss, Wilmer J. and Sally L. Hergenrader, Richard L. McNeel, and Robert F. and Myrna L. Krohn.

This article includes material provided by the College of Engineering.

The Sum of Our Parts

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Warren Luckner, UNL Emeritus Professor of Practice, and his wife, Mary

Giving back is just part of the equation for former UNL professor

Story by Robyn Murray | Video by Lance Schwarz

Charity is embedded in Warren Luckner’s DNA.

“I grew up with the idea of sharing, mentored by my parents,” said Warren, who is a Burnett Society member. “It started with Sunday school offerings, and then I kept doing it.”

Warren grew up in Chicago. An avid Cubs fan, he was also a faithful churchgoer. After graduating from high school, he went to Decorah, Iowa, to study at Luther College, thinking about a possible career in the ministry. Instead, he followed his passion for mathematics. He studied abstract algebra, analysis and topology — otherwise known as theoretical or pure math. But he wasn’t quite sure how to use it to directly help people.

“At that time in my life, the late 1960s, pure math just seemed like mental gymnastics that wasn’t doing anything particularly helpful for society,” he said. “So I went to the dark side of what some would refer to as impure math, and actually tried to apply math as an actuary.”

After receiving his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Maryland, Warren joined the National Teacher Corps program to teach elementary school in Louisville, Kentucky, and earn a master’s degree in education. That experience inspired him to begin giving back. He and his wife, Mary, decided to give 10% of their modest income to fund school supplies at the school at which Warren taught.

After completing the Teacher Corps, Warren began his actuarial career at Aid Association for Lutherans in Appleton, Wisconsin. As an actuary, Warren could directly help people achieve financial security.

Couple smiles at a picnic celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary
Warren Luckner headshot

After working for five years as a practicing actuary and achieving fellowship in the Society of Actuaries, Warren applied for a position in the Actuarial Science Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He got the job and later became the program director in 1979. Warren left in 1986 to serve in the Chicago headquarters of the Society of Actuaries but returned to Nebraska to serve as director again in 2003. He stayed until his retirement in 2014.

Shortly thereafter, Warren began thinking again about what he could do to give back. He thought about the three places that had most impacted his life — Luther College; UNL’s Actuarial Science Program; and the foundation of the church he belongs to — and established planned gifts to support all three.

With the help of the planned giving department at the University of Nebraska Foundation, Warren directed his legacy gifts to two endowed funds supporting UNL’s Actuarial Science Program. One is a scholarship named for Bob Larson, the first director of the program and a mentor to Warren. The other supports the program chair, a position Warren formerly held, in memory of David Hayes. David was a student whom Warren describes as one of his best and who died shortly before his 40th birthday. David’s parents established the endowed fund in his honor.

“I enjoyed and really appreciated my time at Nebraska,” Warren said. “I especially cherish that part of my actuarial career.”

Warren made the gift from a life insurance policy that his mother purchased for him when he was 17 years old as well as from an IRA account. He said he believes it’s important to share, no matter how much we are able to give.

“These [gifts] are substantive, but not really millions of dollars,” he said. “However much you can give matters. Life is a series of relationships, family, friends, people you work with and experiences that touch you and the connections you make. I think most people can identify relationships and experiences that importantly impacted their lives, and for which they have much gratitude. That gratitude can lead to their good causes to support with a legacy gift.”

Warren sums up the philosophy simply: “Pay it forward. Our lives have been enriched. We can help enrich the lives of others, now and after we are gone.”

Warren Luckner with group of students on graduation day

90 Years Young

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Bruce Mackey

By Robyn Murray

Burnett Society Member Honors His Wife’s Memory by Giving Back

Bruce Mackey is 90 years old, but you’d never guess it.

A student of ayurvedic wellness, which he hopes will give him at least five more very active years, Bruce walks 3.5 miles nearly every day. He spends his weekdays volunteering and has put in more than 2,500 volunteer hours at the Moffitt Cancer Center near his home in Tampa, Florida.

“I still run around like a 65-year-old,” said Bruce, a Burnett Society member. “My menu’s pretty full. And I think that has a huge, huge influence on how I feel and my energy level.”

Bruce’s volunteer schedule is largely due to his late wife, Loyce, whom he was married to for 55 years. She encouraged him to spend his days volunteering after she was gone. Bruce said she was always on the go. A successful tennis player, she was fun-loving and lighthearted — the life of the party.

“She drew people like bees to honey, and everyone loved her back,” Bruce said.

A two-time cancer survivor, Loyce passed away in 2012 after suffering injuries from a fall that were complicated by earlier radiation treatment.

Her death was not the first time Bruce had experienced an untimely loss. As an only child, he lost both parents over a span of 10 years. These tragedies, Bruce said, brought not only grief to his life but also strength.

“[They] made me a lot tougher,” he said. “I realized you can deal with all these things.”

Bruce Loyce
Bruce Mackey and his late wife, Loyce.

Some of that spirit may come from Bruce’s pioneering ancestors. They were homesteaders from Scotland who staked out land in Eustis, Nebraska, in the mid-1800s. Through hot summers and frigid winters, they survived in tents and sod houses while they slowly built up their ranching operations. Bruce said that strong work ethic passed down through the generations.

“You’ve got to work; you’ve got to earn your way,” he said. “That’s in us.”

The American Dream

After his mother died, Bruce was taken in by his aunt and uncle in Lincoln and attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business. He graduated in 1955 and went on to a successful career in the insurance industry, retiring as senior vice president of a Fortune 200 company.

Bruce said Loyce came from similarly humble beginnings and found success. She grew up on a farm in Minnesota and never went to college, even though she was top in her class. But she made the most of what she had and became a successful banker and real estate agent.

“We lived the American dream,” Bruce said. “I can’t overemphasize that.”

Before Loyce passed, she encouraged Bruce to move to Tampa and spend his days volunteering at Moffitt Cancer Center, where she had received treatment. He did as she asked and ended up serving as chair of the Moffitt Foundation’s Legacy of Life Society. In 2020, he began thinking of another way he could give back. He thought of his alma mater and the success his education had helped him achieve, and he decided to help others who faced barriers to attending the university.

With the help of the gift planning team at the University of Nebraska Foundation, Bruce created four permanently endowed funds supporting students at UNL. The funds will contribute to the fundraising goals of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. Two will support student scholarships and programs in the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Center for Sales Excellence in the College of Business. One will support the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy, which prepares first-generation, low-income students for college and careers. The fourth fund will support students who complete the DreamBig Academy, a college-readiness program for underrepresented and first-generation high school juniors interested in pursuing business careers.

“I don’t think their personal challenges will be any harder than mine were,” Bruce said. “But I’m offering them an opportunity to live the American dream — because both Loyce and I lived the American dream. We couldn’t have asked for it to come out any better.”

Despite the challenges he has faced, Bruce looks back on his life with gratitude. In addition to what he describes as a “consummate love story” with Loyce, he’s also thankful that his generation prospered. Now he wants to help the next generation do the same.

“I think we have to give back,” he said. “I say this over and over again, be thankful for the great lives that so many of us have had.”

Civil Engineering Student Loves Everything about Nebraska, Even the Weather

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Jennifer Davis is a University of Nebraska–Lincoln civil engineering student who attends classes at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

By Connie White

Jennifer Davis feels at home in Nebraska.

“It’s not too crowded. It’s not too big,” she said.

She likes driving into the city to attend classes at the University of Nebraska at Omaha then taking the half-hour drive home through the countryside to Louisville. She even appreciates Nebraska’s unpredictable, if-you-don’t-like-it-just-wait-five-minutes weather.

“I like the weather,” she said. “I like how you go from winter to spring, and you really get to enjoy the different seasons.”

That’s why Davis plans to stay in Nebraska after she graduates in May with a civil engineering degree.

Though Davis attends classes on the UNO campus, her degree will be from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As the state’s only engineering college, UNL’s College of Engineering offers classes on the City Campus and East Campus in Lincoln and on the Scott Campus in Omaha.

Davis, 22, has lived all over the world. Born in Landstuhl, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base, Davis moved nine times as a child with her family, including stays in Spain and in five U.S. states, as her father, Air Force Col. Randy Davis, received new assignments. Davis said she considered following in her parents’ footsteps (mom Marjorie was in the Air Force for six years) and serving in the military.

But Davis wanted to build her career in Nebraska, where her father grew up and her family relocated after he retired from the Air Force in 2012.

Davis attends UNO on a full-tuition Regents Scholarship. She also received an honors scholarship her freshman year that came with a laptop. The scholarships “took a lot of stress off of us,” Davis said, noting the financial assistance has allowed her to complete her degree without student loans.

After graduation, she hopes to use her engineering degree to safeguard one of Nebraska’s greatest natural assets.

While in high school, she read several books about clean water and its importance to community health. Those books lit a spark — one that put purpose behind her interest in biology and math and led her to study civil engineering.

She sees water as a blessing and wants to ensure that the water coming out of the kitchen faucet is safe to drink and that the wastewater going down the drain is properly treated before flowing into rivers and streams.

“It’s invaluable that we have access to water in the U.S.,” she said. “Look at other areas in the world —you can see that they don’t have that access to water.”

Davis said she feels at home on UNO’s Scott Campus, where she spends most of her time in the Peter Kiewit Institute. Her classes are small, with typically 20 to 30 people, so she knows her classmates. She has participated in research relevant to her field, including a project to monitor COVID-19 in wastewater. In addition, she completed an internship with the Missouri Department of Transportation and is currently working an internship with Olsson, an engineering and design firm.

Davis spends one day a week at a wastewater treatment plant in Lincoln that is being updated to run more efficiently. She said she likes the combination of outside experiences and engineering coursework.

“It’s good, experience-wise, to do an internship, go back to class, and see ‘oh, that’s why they’re teaching this,’” Davis said.

Next summer, she plans to marry fiance Nate Andres, a cyber security major at UNO, and start her civil engineering career in Omaha or Lincoln, ideally in the field of wastewater treatment.

“I want to make sure our water is being cleaned as well as possible to help protect the environment and just to be good stewards of what we have been given,” she said.

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