Students First
For nearly 150 years, Creighton University has prioritized the education and formation of its students. As President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, has said, "They are our priority, and they are why we are here."
Donors to Forward Blue, the largest, most comprehensive campaign in Creighton's history, are serving students in so many ways.
- Scholarships provide access to a high-quality education, while faculty mentorship helps students succeed in their chosen fields.
- Programs rooted in academics, professionalism and mission offer students transformative, hands-on experiences.
- Campus facilities continue to evolve to support student needs and community-building.
Read the President's campaign report introduction.
For nearly 150 years, Creighton University’s mission has always been and will continue to be educating and forming our students. They are our priority, and they are why we are here.
You make it possible.
As you will see in the following pages, donors like you serve Creighton students in so many ways. Scholarships give them the opportunity to receive an excellent education. Faculty provide them with the mentorship to thrive in their fields. Academic, professional, and mission-based programs offer hands-on experiences that open their minds and hearts and prepare them for the larger world.
The needs of our students also shape campus itself, with state-of-the-art facilities and beautiful gathering places changing how our students learn, live, and come together as a community.
This leads to such a great ripple effect. When you support our students, you continue allowing us to send thousands of new Jesuit-educated graduates into the world every year. Taught to serve others, care for the whole person, and seek God in all things, these alumni bring the values and virtues of Creighton to cities throughout the U.S. and beyond. The cumulative outcome: tens of thousands of bright, compassionate, and discerning individuals who become leaders in their professions and communities.
Thank you for supporting our students so that they may go on to serve so many others, all the while living lives forever altered by your generosity.
Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD
Creighton University President
Shaped by your generosity.
Gifts of all sizes to the campaign, collectively, help send thousands of Jesuit-educated graduates into the world each year, creating a ripple effect. These alumni embody Creighton's values as they lead and serve in their communities across the globe. Thank you for helping us prepare students to live lives of impact.
Students
have benefited from scholarships during the campaign.
Programs
across the Omaha and Phoenix campuses have been supported.
Campus facilities
and 7 outdoor spaces have been newly constructed or renovated.
Opportunities and Outcomes
The value of a Creighton education is illustrated in who our students become — academically, personally, spiritually. In the 2024-2025 Forward Blue report, we invite you to meet several current students and recent alumni whose lives have been changed by donors like you. Students like Liana.
"I’ve learned many things at Creighton, but something I will always keep with me is the value of community. I’m so grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to receive this education and join this community. I will carry it with me wherever I go."
— Liana Chinen, BS’25, Scholarship Recipient
Filled With Gratitude
“Creighton changed my life. I could never express the gratitude I have for this University.”
— Valery-Elvis Shafack, BSBA’25, Scholarship Recipient
“Creighton ignites your heart in ways you could never plan for or expect. There can be a lot of darkness in the world, but with all those hearts on fire gathered in the same place, Creighton is full of light.”
— Cassidy Nipp, BSN'25, Scholarship Recipient
A New Home State
Many Creighton students come from outside Nebraska and choose to stay after graduation. In the 2024-2025 Forward Blue report, you'll read more about students who stay and make our state stronger, including William, a medical student from Portland, Oregon.
“When I think of the classic, old-school doctor, I envision practicing family medicine in a small town. I love forming long-term relationships with people while taking care of babies, kids, the elderly and everyone in between. Nebraska is the perfect place to start.”
— William Meier, MD'24, Scholarship Recipient
Mission Forward
Schlegel Center for Service and Justice
What started with a van-load of students doing service work in rural Kentucky has since grown into a Creighton tradition. Since 1983, thousands of students have gone on more than 1,000 Service and Justice Trips. Hundreds of donors, many of them past participants, keep this tradition thriving at Creighton today.
“Service & Justice Trips changed my life; they showed me how much I want to live a life of service to others.”
— Cassidy Nipp, Recent Alumna
Campus Ministry
Beyond academic and professional growth, students have countless opportunities to develop their faith and spirituality at Creighton. The donor-supported Campus Ministry takes the journey with them. The program offers students prayer and support, formation and community.
“There’s nothing more important to me than my faith, and Creighton has given me new ways to deepen my relationship with God.”
– Valery-Elvis Shafack, Recent Alumnus
The Ferlic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program
(Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship)
“It’s such an incredible experience to work on research at this level so early in your education and career.”
– Liana Chinen, Recent Alumna
At Creighton, undergraduate students have opportunities for graduate- and PhD-level research they wouldn’t find at most universities. More than half of College of Arts and Sciences students take part in undergraduate research. The Ferlic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program and donor-supported Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURAS) facilitate these opportunities, connecting students with faculty researchers, awarding fellowships and providing resources to undergraduates across all schools and colleges.
New Donor-Funded Programs
Emerging Technologies Initiative
Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, provided Creighton with a $250,000 grant to support the University’s efforts to prepare students for the rapidly expanding uses of artificial intelligence in all walks of work and life. The funding in Creighton Libraries’ emerging technologies initiative will empower students, faculty and staff to engage with AI, employing it as a tool for learning and research while also exploring the ways it’s reshaping the workforce across every field and industry.
Soto Nursing Scholars program
A gift from alumna Kathy Keough Soto, BSN’75, and her family created the Soto Nursing Scholars program within Creighton’s College of Nursing and the Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnerships Program. Through the Soto Scholarship, BSN graduates will earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree while developing their skills in healthcare-deprived communities across the world.
Over seven years, multiple Soto Scholar cohorts of five licensed Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates (25 total) will receive a full scholarship to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and certificate in global health at Creighton. During the three-year program, Soto Scholars will develop their skills in healthcare-deprived communities internationally.
“Creighton teaches nurses how to be empathetic and really get to know their patients so they can provide the best care for them. The world needs more Creighton nurses.”
– Kathy Keough Soto, BSN’75
The Samuel & Ida Kaiman Center for International Criminal Justice and Holocaust Studies
The Howard A. Kaiman, JD’67, Nuremberg to the Hague (N2H) Endowed Program
Every summer for more than a decade, the School of Law’s N2H program has taken about 30 students to Germany, the Netherlands and Poland to learn firsthand about the Holocaust. The program immerses them in a series of historical and legal experiences, combining classroom instruction with trips to actual crime scenes.
This program is now endowed in perpetuity thanks to a $2M gift from the estate of School of Law alumnus Howard Kaiman, who passed away at age 93. The Kaiman family’s gift also established the Center for International Criminal Justice and Holocaust Studies in honor of Howard Kaiman’s parents.
“Through the center, generations of Creighton law students will be exposed to the realities of the Holocaust and understand the mission of international criminal tribunals seeking justice today.”
– Michael J. Kelly, JD, LLM
The Senator Allen A. Sekt Endowed Chair in Law,
Professor and Program Director
Building for the Future
Coming Soon
The University broke ground on the Creighton Quad, 251,500 square feet of green space at the heart of academic and residential life, surrounded by three academic facilities and four residence halls, including the future sophomore residence hall currently under construction.
The beautified 5.7-acre quad — to be completed in fall 2026 — will be utilized for signature campus events, including graduation, freshman orientation, alumni reunion weekends, and others. This fully donor-funded project will mark the largest physical reshaping of campus in the University’s history.
Work In Progress
Creighton is building a new softball competition field (to be completed in fall 2025) and a baseball practice field (to open by June 2026) near Florence Boulevard and Cuming Street. The new homes of Creighton softball and baseball will also be available to community baseball and softball events. The baseball field will serve as the principal practice location for visiting College World Series teams. Both fields will be open to all Creighton students for intramural and club sports throughout the academic year.
The fields were supported by a $30M investment from the State of Nebraska’s Shovel-Ready Fund and a $2M investment from College World Series of Omaha, Inc.
Newly Opened
Creighton Athletics opened a new state-of-the-art training center for the men’s and women’s golf teams. The nearly 4,000-square-foot performance center — located in the Kiewit Fitness Center — was designed to foster student-athlete development and set the stage for both programs’ future success.
The elite training center was made possible by a $500K gift from the family of Nicole and Mike McGraw.
By the Numbers
Since fundraising for Forward Blue began, alumni, friends, parents, faculty and staff have made tens of thousands of gifts of all sizes to support students, academic and mission-driven programs, and campus improvements. Your generosity is inspiring.
total donors
first-time donors
gifts of $5k or under
Thank you.
Creighton community members from coast to coast (and around the globe) have invested in our students. Thank you for your faith in them, and for your faith in Creighton’s mission.
Thank you for continuing to support Forward Blue.