Michael W. LeRoy attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree. Situated in the rolling hills of eastern Nebraska, U of N is a four-year college. U of N celebrated its first 100 years in 2008, having been founded in 1908. Originally named Omaha University, Michael’s post- secondary academic institution was originally established as little more than a neighborhood school, serving the commuting students of Omaha and surrounding environs. With classes in a local mansion, a gymnasium and a classroom building added at the end of its first 10 years of existence, Omaha University was originally staffed by teachers from the nearby Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Omaha University was slow to grow, despite plans in the 1920’s to create a grand campus. The University of Nebraska as it exists today received a major boost when Eugene Eppley, an Omaha hotel success story, donated $1.2 million to Omaha University, with an additional $50,000 from the Eppley Foundation to pay quality instructors for the University, around 1965. These monetary gifts, which essentially jump-started the institution into its modern day incarnation, were commemorated by the erection of the Eugene C.
Eppley Administration Building, a venerable structure well known to Michael W. LeRoy. The Eppley Library also memorialized Eugene Eppley’s gifts, but was replaced by the Criss Library in 1976. A merger with the University of Nebraska in 1968 gave the institution its current name, and student housing was added to accommodate students from over all of Nebraska, and beyond.
Omaha University was slow to grow, despite plans in the 1920’s to create a grand campus. The University of Nebraska as it exists today received a major boost when Eugene Eppley, an Omaha hotel success story, donated $1.2 million to Omaha University, with an additional $50,000 from the Eppley Foundation to pay quality instructors for the University, around 1965. These monetary gifts, which essentially jump-started the institution into its modern day incarnation, were commemorated by the erection of the Eugene C.
Eppley Administration Building, a venerable structure well known to Michael W. LeRoy. The Eppley Library also memorialized Eugene Eppley’s gifts, but was replaced by the Criss Library in 1976. A merger with the University of Nebraska in 1968 gave the institution its current name, and student housing was added to accommodate students from over all of Nebraska, and beyond.
