The Eugene C. Eppley Foundation was founded in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. Founded by Omaha hotel magnate Eugene C. Eppley, the foundation was the leading benefactor for several charities and institutions in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. (This is not to be confused with the Eppley Foundation for Research, which primarily supports advanced

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

in the physical and biological sciences. The latter was founded by

Marion Eppley Marion Eppley (19 June 1883, West Orange, New Jersey – 22 November 1960, Oyster Bay, New York) was an American physical chemist. Biography Eppley received from Princeton University his B.S. in 1906, M.A. in 1912, and Ph.D. in 1919. He married ...

, and its offices are based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

About

Beginning in 1949, the Eppley Foundation contributed to a variety of educational, healthcare and civic endeavors. Eppley was a longtime friend of Dr. Milo Bail, the president of the

Omaha University The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

from 1948 until 1965. During that time the Eppley Foundation gave more than $1.2 million to the university. After Eppley's passing, the Eppley Foundation donated another $50,000 to recruit distinguished professors. The Eppley Library (now the Administration building) at the

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kn ...

was named in recognition of the Foundation's giving. In the 1950s, the foundation donated a substantial amount of the costs to build the Gene Eppley Boys Club located on North 24th Street in

North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ea ...

. In 1960 the foundation donated $1 million to the city to renovate Omaha Municipal Airport to accommodate jet aircraft in order to better connect Omaha to the rest of the nation. It was renamed

Eppley Airfield Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, with ...

in his honor. In the 1970s the foundation funded Eppley Fellowships at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

for research in a variety of issues. The Eugene C. Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases was dedicated in 1963 at the

University of Nebraska College of Medicine The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...

with a $2,500,000 grant from the Eppley Foundation. In 1967 the Eppley Foundation gave $2,250,000 to the City of Omaha and Douglas County to build a new city-county office building in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Record donations

The Eppley Foundation led the way for giving to a number of educational institutions in the Midwest. Outside of the namesake family, it was the leading benefactor of the

Culver Academies Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culve ...

in Indiana, where Eppley had studied.Eugene C. Eppley Club
, Culver Academies. Retrieved 2/3/08. It was also the largest donor ever to the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Honorary naming

Properties currently or formerly named after Eugene C. Eppley because of donations by his foundation include: *

in Omaha *

Eugene C. Eppley Administration Building The Eugene C. Eppley Administration Building is located on the University of Nebraska at Omaha north campus in Omaha, Nebraska. History After attending an Omaha University football game with then-college president Milo Bail in 1949, Gene Eppley ...

(formerly Library) at the

* Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the

University of Nebraska Medical Center The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. Ra ...

, Omaha *

Eugene C. Eppley College of Business Administration The Heider College of Business (formerly known as the Creighton University College of Business) is the business school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1920, it offers degrees in accounting, economics, finance, ...

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and underg ...

* Eugene C. Eppley Recreation Center at the

Omaha School for Boys Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ci ...

Gene Eppley Camp In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ...

, a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

camp in

Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue (French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 Census, mak ...

* Eugene C. Eppley Pachyderm Hill at the

Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Its mission is conservation, research, recreation, and educ ...

in Omaha * Eugene C. Eppley Auditorium and the Eppley Club at

Culver, Indiana Culver is a town in Marshall County, Indiana, United States. Culver is part of Union Township, which also includes the communities of Burr Oak, Hibbard, Maxinkuckee and Rutland. The population of Culver was 1,129 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

Eugene C. Eppley Fine Arts Building The Eugene C. Eppley Fine Arts Building is located on the Morningside College campus in Sioux City, Iowa. Built in 1966, it is regarded as "one of the finest music and arts facilities in the Midwest The Midwestern United States, also refer ...

Morningside College Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

Eugene C. Eppley Center The Eugene C. Eppley Center is located on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, Michigan. It is home to a number of units within the Eli Broad College of Business, including the Department of Finance, the Full-Time Masters in Bu ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, home of ''The'' School of Hospitality Business as well as other units within the Eli Broad College of Business"Eugene C. Eppley Center"
Michigan State University. Retrieved 2/3/08.

References

{{Eppley Foundations based in the United States Organizations based in Omaha, Nebraska 1949 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1949

About

Record donations

Honorary naming

See also

References