UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts 2014 Award of Merit
Michael E. Reinmiller
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05/01/2014
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224
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The Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Board selected Glenn Korff and Mary Riepma Ross as the recipients of the 2014 Award of Merit. The awards were presented posthumously to them at the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Honors Day Dinner on April 26, 2014.
Mr. Korff and Ms. Ross are two generous and visionary individuals who have made a significant impact on our students, faculty, College and community. Two truly remarkable people who gave two incredible gifts this past year that will impact the future of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts for years to come.
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- [00:00:00.000][music]
- [00:00:07.435]Mary Riepma Ross was born in Oklahoma City
- [00:00:09.948]in 1910. She lived in Lincoln in the
- [00:00:13.149]late 1920's and early 1930's and began
- [00:00:16.199]her studies at the University of
- [00:00:17.991]Nebraska-Lincoln, where she pledged
- [00:00:20.018]Delta Gamma. She graduated from Vasser
- [00:00:22.896]in 1932, and received her law degree
- [00:00:25.713]from Memphis State University.
- [00:00:27.622]Mary moved to New York in 1946
- [00:00:31.213]to work for what is now Rodgers and
- [00:00:34.381]Wells and was among the first women to
- [00:00:37.005]practice law there.
- [00:00:38.274]She served as the former president of the
- [00:00:40.898]New York Women's Barr Association.
- [00:00:42.956]She, left Rodgers and Wells in 1961
- [00:00:45.912]to begin private practice.
- [00:00:47.703]She has supported the University's
- [00:00:50.465]film programs since the early 1970's.
- [00:00:53.729]In 1990 she established a $3.5 million
- [00:00:57.590]trust at the University of Nebraska
- [00:01:00.332]Foundation, to support the University's
- [00:01:02.497]film and theatre program, which was then
- [00:01:04.779]located in Sheldon Museum of Art.
- [00:01:08.096]The funds constructed the Mary Riepma Ross
- [00:01:10.307]Media Arts Center which opened in 2003.
- [00:01:14.094]The facility houses two state-of-the-art
- [00:01:16.536]film theaters as well as classrooms and
- [00:01:19.138]offices for the Johnny Carson
- [00:01:20.578]School of Theatre and Film: Film
- [00:01:23.042]and New Media Program.
- [00:01:25.585]Following her death last year at the age
- [00:01:27.610]of 102, Mary donated $7.7 Million
- [00:01:31.610]through her estate to create a permanent
- [00:01:35.035]endowment for the Mary Riepma Ross
- [00:01:36.967]Media Arts Center and donated her personal
- [00:01:39.590]collection of art to the Sheldon.
- [00:01:41.831]Thank you so much for really
- [00:01:43.532]investing in the students that are coming
- [00:01:45.760]up & trying to get into the film industry.
- [00:01:48.139]The endowment has given us really,
- [00:01:50.987]a home that we can learn in, work in,
- [00:01:53.546]and do research in.
- [00:01:55.243]The Ross has been great for students
- [00:01:57.151]but, not only students it's been great
- [00:01:59.221]to as have a city-wide independent theater
- [00:02:02.730]When she came here for the dedication of
- [00:02:04.841]the building, I think she was a bit
- [00:02:06.719]overwhelmed, she didn't realize,
- [00:02:09.205]what good her money could do. Quite.
- [00:02:12.830]When she saw that facility, she was
- [00:02:14.805]very moved.
- [00:02:15.978]I'm so glad that, Mary Riepma Ross really
- [00:02:18.302]had the passion, that a lot of us as
- [00:02:20.883]students share for film and for the arts
- [00:02:23.103]and, just that passion and that she was
- [00:02:25.843]able to hand on to the next generation.
- [00:02:27.956]it is wonderful.
- [00:02:31.397]This gift was special, for many reasons
- [00:02:33.300]certainly, it was special because he was
- [00:02:35.235]a Nebraska native,
- [00:02:36.752]It was special to me because he was not,
- [00:02:38.689]a music major. This was a man who saw
- [00:02:40.955]a program that impacted his life powerfuly
- [00:02:43.792]even though he wasn't majoring in that and
- [00:02:46.768]he saw many of his fellow students,
- [00:02:48.677]likewise impacted, wether it be in musical
- [00:02:51.003]theatre, wether it be in Cosmet Club,
- [00:02:52.829]wether it be in marching band.
- [00:02:54.511]He saw the impact across the campus.
- [00:02:56.603]And so, it inspires all of us to,
- [00:03:01.997]to redefine that specialness in
- [00:03:04.335]the Glenn Korff School of Music every day.
- [00:03:06.444]This gift is a celebration of the work
- [00:03:08.512]that, our students and faculty are doing
- [00:03:11.019]and really acknowledging and,
- [00:03:13.313]celebrating what we do through performance
- [00:03:17.313]and, also it brings a, greater visibility
- [00:03:22.123]within the academic community.
- [00:03:24.383]A native of Hebron Nebraska,
- [00:03:27.061]Glenn Korff graduated from the University
- [00:03:29.035]of Nebraska in 1965.
- [00:03:30.955]With a Chemistry major, he was a member
- [00:03:33.460]and former president of Sigma Phi Epsilon
- [00:03:36.233]fraternity and began his passion for
- [00:03:38.357]the performing arts as a member of
- [00:03:40.457]Cosmet Club, a male musical and comedy
- [00:03:43.221]ensemble where he served as a set designer
- [00:03:46.110]He received his MBA in finance from the
- [00:03:48.650]University of Pennsylvania in 1968
- [00:03:51.092]and enjoyed a long career in the area of
- [00:03:54.387]finance and investments, retiring from
- [00:03:56.958]Goldman Sachs.
- [00:03:58.473]Last August he gave an $8 Million gift
- [00:04:01.566]to the University of Nebraska foundation
- [00:04:04.030]to create a permanently endowed fund
- [00:04:06.194]to support the students, faculty and
- [00:04:08.424]programs in the School of Music.
- [00:04:10.883]Which was renamed the Glenn Korff School
- [00:04:13.455]of Music in his honor.
- [00:04:15.841]Mr. Korff passed away on August 27, 2013
- [00:04:20.109]but, not before a select group of students
- [00:04:22.556]from the Cornhusker Marching Band
- [00:04:24.465]paid special tribute to him at his home
- [00:04:26.833]in Boulder Colorado.
- [00:04:28.165]It was wonderful that we were able to say
- [00:04:30.364]thank you to him as we did.
- [00:04:31.723]And the way that, future generations of
- [00:04:34.514]students and faculty in the
- [00:04:36.539]Glenn Korff School will be able to
- [00:04:38.192]thank you is to do superbly excellent work
- [00:04:41.062]I spoke at his memorial about doing good
- [00:04:43.781]that is doing good things, making
- [00:04:45.457]good choices, and doing them supremely
- [00:04:47.642]well. And it is that legacy that I think
- [00:04:49.969]will honor his name appropriately.
- [00:04:51.856]The way that he clapped for us, for the
- [00:04:54.085]fight song. It was just,
- [00:04:57.209]you could tell that his spirit
- [00:04:59.567]for Nebraska, was still there.
- [00:05:01.786]The impact of Glenn Korff's gift will be
- [00:05:04.356]felt for years to come.
- [00:05:05.742]But, the spirit was there and
- [00:05:07.503]it was strong,
- [00:05:08.901]and just like seeing that image stays
- [00:05:11.365]with me, you know, even now,
- [00:05:13.178]and probably forever, just of
- [00:05:14.644]how much it meant to him.
- [00:05:15.862]It means a lot to me too.
- [00:05:17.270]"here to personally thank you,
- [00:05:19.105]tell you how excited we are
- [00:05:20.400]to become the Glenn Korff School of Music
- [00:05:22.426]and to play you a few of our fight songs
- [00:05:24.314]this doesn't just effect us though,
- [00:05:26.686]this also effects all of the future UNL
- [00:05:28.549]music and dance students staff and faculty
- [00:05:31.524]So we are all really are all connected now
- [00:05:33.678]So we just wanted to come here and say
- [00:05:35.683]that we are so excited, so honored,
- [00:05:37.518]and so profoundly grateful, as we are
- [00:05:39.555]becoming the Glenn Korff School of Music
- [00:05:42.255]we just wanted to say thank you once again
- [00:05:45.209]So, thank you and Go Big Red."
- [00:05:47.469][music]
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