Donor Spotlight: The Scott Foundation

This article highlights the key, strategic public-private partnership between the University and the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, which has fueled unprecedented growth on our Pacific Campus.

UNO housing is popular. More than 2,000 students live right here on campus. In August, more than 200 students were signed up for a waiting list, ready to move in as soon as space became available.

This February, UNO appears to be on track for similar demand in the 2016-17 academic year, with more applications coming in than compared to the same time any year before.

 But without the support of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation over the last two decades, our housing waiting list would be larger – a lot larger.

It may be hard to believe, but UNO’s total number of beds would be cut in half if the Scott Foundation hadn’t stepped forward to support the campus back in 1997.

Nineteen years ago, UNO began the transformation of the expansive AK-SAR-BEN property into an expanded campus with support of the Scott Foundation. The nonprofit organization’s continued generosity has been driving growth ever since, helping our university meet the living and learning needs of thousands of students.

The latest proof of that critical partnership will soon be evident on UNO’s expanding Pacific Campus.

Construction is underway on a mixed-use residence hall and academic space, west of the Scott Conference Center. With the total number of beds on campus growing, the Scott Foundation has once again stepped up, committing to covering the cost of expanding the Scott Dining Hall and Scott Conference Center – an estimated $3 to 4 million endeavor.

The planned improvements are only the latest chapter in the story of UNO and the Scott Foundation.

In 1997, UNO gained the opportunity to expand campus into the AK-SAR-BEN space when First Data bought 140 acres of land and donated half to our university.

But land was only half the equation. Building new facilities would take money. The Scott Foundation, among others, stepped forward to help by supporting the construction of a new University of Nebraska institute that would house the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Engineering and UNO’s new College of Information Science & Technology.

Walter Scott Jr. was a driving force behind the development, spearheading a private fundraising effort.

Under his leadership, the University raised $47 million, including $15 million from the Peter Kiewit Foundation.

Just nine months after UNO received the land, crews broke ground at the future site of the Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI).

The next development would come two years later. Students enrolled in PKI needed a place to live that was closer to campus. The Scott Foundation wanted to help.

With construction already underway on University Village – UNO’s first on-campus housing - the Scott Foundation offered to build and pay for a facility for students studying at PKI.


A year later, Scott Residence Hall, Scott Conference Center and Scott Dining Hall opened.

Today, Scott Hall primarily houses students who have received the Walter Scott, Jr. Scholarship. It covers room and board; university fees; and required books and materials. Combined with the University of Nebraska Regents’ Scholarship, it’s a “full-ride.”

For many recipients, that scholarship is the reason they chose UNO instead of attending an out-of-state college. Student Body President/Student Regent Brock Lewis says the scholarship program is what initially drew him to UNO.

“Being on campus makes it a lot easier to be a student, especially with all the academic programs Scott Scholars are in,” Lewis says. “There are benefits financially, but also in the connections you get.”

With his home in Seward, commuting was out of the question. The scholarship allowed Lewis to focus on studies and extracurricular activities, instead of work. After he received the scholarship, Lewis immediately knew he wanted to get involved.

“When students go through the Scott Scholarship program, they see what philanthropic efforts and an investment in education can do for people,” Lewis says. “I think that’s going to create a philanthropic drive in those students. When they become successful, they’ll want to give back.”

UNO senior Emily Pachunka also credits the Scott Scholarship for her success.

“It's a privilege, quite honestly, and an honor to be called a Scott Scholar,” Pachunka says. “It puts a challenge to us students to raise the bar and go above and beyond."

Pachunka says the scholarship gave her the freedom to get involved. She’s currently President of UNO’s Honors Student Association and Bioinformatics Club. Her goal is to become a college professor and start an after school IT program in underprivileged schools.

“With my time and what I've learned, I definitely want to give back,” Pachunka says.

Pachunka and Lewis are just two of the roughly 700 students who have benefited from the Scott Scholarship. But the Scott Foundation’s impact stretches beyond the scholarship program and Scott Hall.