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Sower Award in the Humanities
The Nebraska Humanities Council annually honors individuals, institutions, businesses and communities with Sower Awards for contributions to public understanding of the humanities in Nebraska, based on nominations and letters of support from the citizens of Nebraska. The Sower Award is an original bronze sculpture by Nebraska artist Sondra Dunn Mahoney.
July 2011 Former publisher John Gottschalk wins Sower
LINCOLN—The Nebraska Humanities Council announced today that community leader and former Omaha World-Herald publisher John Gottschalk will receive the 2011 Sower Award in the Humanities.
Gottschalk will be honored Oct. 5 at Omaha’s
Joslyn Art Museum in conjunction with the 16th Annual Governor’s
Lecture in the Humanities. American historian Eric Foner will
deliver the free public lecture on the topic of his new Pulitzer
Prize-winning book,
Foner also is the author of “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War,” widely considered a classic for its contribution to our understanding of the causes of the Civil War and the early ideology of the Republican Party, and “Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877,” which helped redefine how we view the successes and failures of the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.
In her nomination of Gottschalk, Natalie Olson of Lincoln said that “John’s passion for the state of Nebraska and its cultural endeavors is evident from the long list of organizations and projects he has volunteered for and generously supported over the years. I can think of no other person more deserving of the Sower Award.”
Gottschalk’s current volunteer board service includes the Joslyn Art Museum Foundation, chair of Omaha Performing Arts, the National Executive Board (and former president) of the Boy Scouts of America, chair of the USO Foundation, and chair of the UNL portion of the University of Nebraska’s $1.2 billion capital campaign, chair of Omaha Performing Arts Foundation, vice chair of Heritage Services, the Henry Doorly Zoo Foundation, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation.
Gottschalk’s efforts to help the NHC promote Omaha’s cultural treasures to a national audience of humanities leaders in 2009 resulted in a Friend of Tourism Award to the NHC from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Before that he worked with the NHC to create a collection of “Notable Nebraskan” programs in its Speakers Bureau, a statewide project that received critical early funding from the Omaha World-Herald Foundation.
In learning of Gottschalk’s selection for the Sower Award, Omaha World-Herald editorial page editor Geitner Simmons said, “John, an Omahan with Panhandle roots, has long demonstrated a remarkable understanding of the breadth of Nebraska and the need for us to appreciate its variety and fullness. John’s generous and wide-ranging support of the humanities has promoted that all-important understanding of our traditions and our connections. And in so doing, he has made a lasting contribution to the life of the state in ways that will enrich Nebraskans for years to come.”
The Nebraska Humanities Council annually honors individuals, institutions, businesses and communities with its Sower Award for contributions to public understanding of the humanities in Nebraska, based on nominations and letters of support from the citizens of Nebraska. The Sower Award is an original bronze sculpture by Nebraska-born artist Sandra Dunn Mahoney.
Presented by the Nebraska Humanities Council and Foundation with co-sponsors the University of Nebraska, Carol Gendler and Valmont Industries, the Oct. 5 evening lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets will be available for purchase in late August for a pre-lecture reception and dinner. For more details visit www.nebraskahumanities.org.
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“The
Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.” This year is the
150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil
War.
For more information, contact the Nebraska
Humanities Council. |
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