The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has received a gift of more than $600,000, made through the University of Nebraska Foundation. With the gift the college has established the Bertha Pankratz Endowed Chair in Nursing.
Pankratz, who was born in Omaha and grew up and spent most of her life in Grand Island, was a nurse who believed strongly in education. When she died last year in July at age 93, she donated the largest gifts from her estate to educational institutions, one being the UNMC College of Nursing.
She attended nursing school in Boston, returned to Grand Island and practiced as a nurse until 1953.
“Being a nurse was her love,” said Trudy Supalla, Pankratz’s great niece of Lincoln. “She would speak about nursing until her mind wouldn’t allow it.”
Supalla said Pankratz, who was very wise with her money, invested in ConAgra when the stock was low. “She thought it would be a good investment because, ‘All these people have to eat,’ ” Supalla said.
Dick Rabe, of Five Points Bank in Grand Island, was Pankratz’s trust officer for the last 20 years. “She thought education was important for everybody,” Rabe said. “She lived frugally though she was wealthy from investments in ConAgra stock.”
Pankratz, who was single, had many hobbies, including purchasing, renovating, selling and renting out homes. She was an animal lover and supported a variety of organizations, including the Humane Society.
Supalla said Pankratz loved animals, birds in particular. “She raised and sold birds to pet shops. She also enjoyed working with ceramics. She was quite an artist and did quite a lot of work with ceramics.”
Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, said the college is grateful for the gift.
“I am enormously grateful to Ms. Pankratz for her love of nursing and her foresight in understanding the importance of endowed chairs in academic nursing,” Dr. Tilden said. “This visionary woman, living frugally in mid-Nebraska, was a lover of education and obviously was insightful about the role endowed chairs play in attracting new faculty. In this era of faculty shortage, a new endowed chair allows the college to compete nationally for outstanding faculty. It is an honor to have the Bertha Pankratz Endowed Chair in Nursing in the college.”
The University of Nebraska Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that has been raising private gifts to support the University of Nebraska for more than 70 years. Last year more than $87 million was provided for students, faculty, academic programs, research and campus capital improvements. More information is available at www.nufoundation.org.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties. They practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC’s teaching hospital. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.