Alumnus wishes success for UNK business students, athletes
Annual income from the fund will be shared to provide one or more scholarship awards for the College of Business and Technology and the athletic department’s football program.
An alumnus whose business education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney helped prepared him for a career in the railroad industry is giving back to help future generations.
Terry R. Peterson, owner of Nebraska-based companies that provide products and services to railroad companies, has committed $100,000 to a permanently endowed scholarship fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Annual income from the fund will be shared to provide one or more scholarship awards for the College of Business and Technology and the athletic department’s football program.
Peterson, who graduated from UNK in 1973 when it was Kearney State College, said he’s fortunate he was able to afford the tuition back then but admits it’s not the same now for students and their families. He wants the scholarships to provide assistance to students who need the help.
“I hope the scholarship encourages young people to go to school even if they don’t have the resources to do so on their own,” said Peterson, who lives in Omaha. “And from a Nebraska business perspective, it would be great if it was an impetus for someone to study business.”
The son of Herman and Faye Peterson of Kearney, Terry Peterson said he’s been interested in the Loper football program for as long has he can remember.
“When I was a kid in high school and college, Kearney State was really an elite athletic institution,” he said. “When I learned it was falling a little behind its peer schools in the amount of available scholarship awards, I wanted to help.
“Anything we can do to help get the football and other athletic programs to where they maintain their competitive edge would be a big plus, and it definitely seems they’re on the right track.”
The gift of this scholarship also supports the university’s current fundraising initiative, the Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities, and its goal to raise $50 million for UNK campus priorities, including support for students, faculty, academic programs and facilities.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that has connected the dreams and passions of donors to the mission of the university for more than 75 years. In 2011, donors gave a record $172 million in gifts for scholarships, academic programs, medical research and other priorities at the university. The foundation’s $1.2 billion fundraising initiative, the Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities, concludes in 2014. For more information, visit campaignfornebraska.org.
