Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
We like that the Office of Cura Personalis Services is something where a huge portion of the student population will get to experience it every year. That makes it an extension of the community that Creighton represents, which helps students really feel like they’re a part of something.
By Micah Mertes
A new donor-funded program will deepen Creighton University’s commitment to promoting the mental and spiritual well-being, resiliency and life skills of students in every school and college on campus.
The Fritz Family Office of Cura Personalis Services — established with a $3 million gift from Lance, HON’23, and Julie Fritz — is a mission-driven initiative that will provide additional support, resources and programming for students. The gift also establishes the Fritz Family Endowed Director of Cura Personalis Services. The director will lead a cross-divisional team of case managers.
Cura personalis, which translates as “care for the whole person,” is one of Creighton’s core Jesuit values.
“True to our mission, Creighton provides a strong focus on the individual student,” said the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, University president. “No matter what they are facing, our faculty and staff are ready and waiting, offering their time and talent to support the unique needs of all students. The Fritz family’s generosity allows us to scale this strength into a centralized, University-wide effort, ensuring that our students have access to a team devoted entirely to every dimension of their well-being.”
The Fritz Family Office of Cura Personalis Services continues Lance and Julie Fritz’s philanthropic commitment to wellness initiatives in higher education. At Georgia Tech and Bucknell University — the latter their alma mater — the Fritzes have funded staffing and programs that support student well-being and mental health. The catalyst for their support was seeing the pressures their own two children and their friends faced at college.
“It was clearly becoming more and more difficult for college students to navigate their studies while also dealing with the onslaught of social media, the constant pressure of trying to make an impression, the stress that comes with that,” said Lance Fritz, who is the former chairman, president and CEO of Union Pacific. “All of that combined with just trying to grow up and become an adult, it looked extremely challenging, and our hearts were moved to give to programs that helped mental health and wellness.”
With the Fritz Family Office of Cura Personalis Services, and other programs the family has funded, the goal, they said, is to do the most good for the most students — not only the highest-performing and the most in need, but also everyone in between.
“We like that this is something where a huge portion of the student population will get to experience it every year,” said Julie Fritz. “It can benefit everyone if and when they need it. That makes it an extension of the community that Creighton represents, which helps students really feel like they’re a part of something and that they can make the connections they need.”
The Fritz Family Office of Cura Personalis Services will serve as one of the three pillars in the University’s Division of Student Life, along with Student Health Education and Compliance (which meets the physical needs of students, including healthcare and food security) and the Counseling Center (which provides mental health services to students, including crisis support, psychiatry and therapy).
Creighton is not experiencing a mental health crisis, but many students are struggling, facing challenges unique to their generation and having not developed the life skills they need to thrive. Some lack interpersonal skills, for instance, or the ability to navigate life transitions, such as ending a relationship or changing their major.
According to a 2025 study by Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation and Jobs for the Future, a majority of Generation Z high school students don’t feel prepared for the future. More than 50% of Gen Z say they are struggling in their lives instead of thriving. A survey from MetLife, meanwhile, found that Gen Z workers feel significantly more disconnected, stressed, depressed, burnt out and alone than their peers from other generations.
“Our students’ most formative years were marked by a global pandemic and the abrupt technological shifts that changed, seemingly overnight, the way we live, work, learn and interact with one another,” said Mardell Wilson, EdD, RDN, Creighton Provost.
“Creighton must continue to adapt and meet our students where they are. Through the focused efforts of the Fritz Family Office of Cura Personalis Services, we will offer opportunities for students to further develop the foundational skills that will enable them to succeed during their time at Creighton and beyond. Above all, we want them to feel hopeful about their future and prepared for the opportunities it will bring.”
