University of Nebraska Foundation Awards Top Service Honors

The University of Nebraska (NU) Foundation has bestowed its 2026 service awards on three individuals who have dedicated themselves to advancing the University of Nebraska. The honorees are Brian and Carey Hamilton, co-chairs of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Campaign Committee for Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future, and Clark Rosenlof, a longtime staff member of the University of Nebraska Foundation who retired in 2025.

The recipients were recognized during a celebration on June 4 in Omaha.

Brian and Carey Hamilton

Perry W. Branch Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service

Brian and Carey Hamilton received the Perry W. Branch Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service. The award, named for the foundation’s first executive director, recognizes volunteers who improve the effectiveness and resilience of the foundation to advance the University of Nebraska.

The couple, who maintain residences in Omaha and Grand Island, have provided generous support across the University of Nebraska. The atrium of the new Health Science Education Center II, the result of a partnership between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is named in the Hamiltons’ honor in recognition of their support for UNK’s rural health initiatives. The couple received the Cope Cornerstone of Excellence Award from UNK in 2023.

The Hamiltons have established five permanently endowed scholarship funds, supporting students at both UNK and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 2012, the couple made the lead gift to establish the Hamilton Academic Excellence Room on UNO’s campus, creating a modern study space for student-athletes.

The Hamiltons have been University of Nebraska Foundation Trustees since 1997, and both are former members of the foundation’s board of directors. Carey is a founding member of Women Investing in Nebraska.

Carey Hamilton earned a business administration degree from UNO in 1978. Brian Hamilton earned a business administration degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1972. The Hamiltons have owned and operated numerous car dealerships in Nebraska.

“Brian and Carey Hamilton are champions for the University of Nebraska because they understand its importance to our state’s future,” said Brian F. Hastings, president and CEO of the University of Nebraska Foundation. “As board members, trustees and campaign volunteers, and through their remarkable generosity, they have made a profound impact across the University of Nebraska System. We’re grateful for their philanthropic leadership on behalf of Nebraska’s only public university.”

Clark Rosenlof

Harlan J. Noddle Award for Distinguished Development Service

Clark Rosenlof of Omaha received the Harlan J. Noddle Award for Distinguished Development Service. The award recognizes a staff member of the University of Nebraska or the University of Nebraska Foundation who has provided exemplary service in development and demonstrates the values held by former foundation Board of Directors Chair Harlan Noddle. Those values are integrity, commitment, initiative, compassion, foresight, tolerance, diligence and honesty.

Rosenlof served the foundation for 35 years before retiring last year. He held numerous roles, including as associate director of development for UNMC; director of development and later vice president of development for UNO; vice president for principal gifts and capital projects; and, for the last decade, vice president for trustee engagement. In that role, he helped strengthen volunteer and philanthropic relationships with the foundation’s trustees.

His donor-centered approach led to the establishment and growth of endowed scholarships, faculty support funds and programmatic endowments that continue to benefit students and faculty today.

Rosenlof’s ties to the university run deep. His parents, Robert and Jackie, were both University of Nebraska graduates and foundation trustees. A lectureship was established in honor of his father, Robert C. Rosenlof, M.D., a UNMC College of Medicine alumnus. His great-uncle, George Rosenlof, served as the University of Nebraska’s registrar in the 1940s. Clark himself graduated from UNO, earning a master’s degree in public administration in 1995.

“Clark Rosenlof has a deep commitment to the foundation’s mission to grow relationships and resources to enable the University of Nebraska to change lives and save lives,” Hastings said. “Over 35 years, he exemplified integrity, kindness and service. His work made relationships with the foundation’s donors stronger, the university better and Nebraska’s future brighter.”

View a complete list of past award recipients