Foundation News

Omaha World Herald Foundation Makes Scholarship Commitment

John Gottschalk, President and CEO of the Omaha World Herald, has pledged $38,000 from the Omaha World Herald Foundation to the Wayne State Foundation to double the size of the Omaha World Herald Scholars Endowed Scholarship Fund for WSC’s best and brightest. The Omaha World Herald Scholars Endowed Scholarship at Wayne State College is awarded to a top incoming student from Nebraska each year.

Donald ‘58 and Carol ‘54 Bremer Establish Scholarship Endowment

Don and Carol Bremer of Chino, California have made a $20,000 gift to the Wayne State Foundation to establish the Don and Carol Bremer Education Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to education majors from Laurel, Nebraska and Neligh, Nebraska.

Carol Rankin-Bremer was a 1952 graduate of Neligh High School.  Don attended school in Leeds ( Sioux City, Iowa) before moving to Nebraska, where he was a 1952 graduate of Laurel High School.  Carol and Don met at Wayne State Teachers College, as it was then called. After serving two years in the Army during the Korean Conflict, Don completed his degree and the couple moved to Chino, Calif.  Don worked for the Chino Unified School District for 35 years, first as a drafting and mathematics teacher, followed by 27 years as a Chino school administrator.  He was principal of Chino’s Boys Republic High School for 15 of those years. Carol taught in both Laurel and Norfolk ( Neb.) schools prior to their move to California.  In California, she taught in both Chino and Montclair, and also served as counselor in the Ontario-Montclair Schools for many years.  Both Don and Carol retired from education some 15 years ago to concentrate on their rental property business.

Ursula Wriedt Klatt Funds Endowed Scholarship for Education Majors

Ursula Wriedt Klatt, a 1936 graduate of Wayne State College who taught in Nebraska schools for 40 years, recently presented a $20,000 contribution to endow an education scholarship fund for future students at the college.  Phyllis Conner, vice president for development and executive director of the Wayne State Foundation, commended Mrs. Klatt for her loyalty to and her confidence in her alma mater to continue to build upon its stellar reputation of training and developing outstanding educators for Nebraska and the nation. 

The scholarship was established in honor of Ursula and her siblings: Frances Barrett, Inez Boekenhaurer, and Cecil Wriedt, all of whom attended Wayne State College.  They are four of the six children born to the late Herman and Meta Wriedt of rural Wakefield, Nebraska.  Frances, Inez and Cecil were long-time teachers in Iowa and Nebraska.  Cecil was also on the faculty of Wayne State College.  Ursula taught journalism and English at the junior high level in Grand Island, Neb. for 27 years and taught approximately 6,000 students.

Ursula is the widow of Stewart Klatt from Ponca, Nebraska, and is currently residing at the independent living apartments of Riverside Lodge in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Hemenway Establishes Endowed Education Scholarship

Dr. Myrle Hemenway ’39 has established the Dr. Myrle and K. Leone Hemenway Endowed Education Scholarship.  Myrle’s son, Dr. Robert Hemenway who is  Chancellor of the University of Kansas encouraged his father to establish the scholarship to help Wayne State students but to also celebrate Myrle’s career in education.

After graduating from Wayne State in 1939, Myrle took his first teaching position in Massena, Iowa to teach social studies and general science.  After marrying K. Leone Cook, May 21, 1940, who Myrle had met at Wayne State College when they were both students, they moved to Edison, Nebraska where Myrle taught high school English, American Literature, biology and was coach. He later worked in Iowa schools in Missouri Valley and then in Shenandoah where he became the junior high principal and coach.    In 1954 he completed his MA in history and in 1963 earned his Ed. D, in school administration at the University of Nebraska.  He served as the principal at the junior high for eleven years until 1966 when he took a position at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the education department focusing on school administration with specialization in middle level education.  Leone was at his side, along with their two children, Bob and Pam for all of these moves.  Leone at the same time realized a successful career of 27 years teaching in lower elementary grades.

Myrle played a key role in developing policies and standards for accreditation of middle level schools in the North Central Association.  In Boulder Myrle served as interim Colorado State Chairman of the North Central Association.  In this position Myrle made decisions related to the 150 Colorado schools that were members of the NCA.  In 1976, he was chosen by the U. S. Department of Defense to accredit schools operated by the Department.  He represented the NCA in the Pacific to ensure that dependent schools in Japan, Okinawa, and the Philippines were equivalent to the best NCA schools in the United States.

Myrle retired in 1985 and he and Leone began retirement with an extensive trip to Europe. He completed his autobiography in 2000, again at the urging of son, Robert, and therein reflected that to positively affect the lives of countless young people is fulfilling.  Myrle and Leone’s endowed scholarship will continue in perpetuity their legacy of positively impacting young people through their commitment to education.