Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Creighton University has gone far beyond the expectations of a pioneer's dream. It was a bright and fascinating vision, transformed today into a shining monument by the faith and efforts of those who believe in our mission.
By Micah Mertes
The fundraising campaign Forward Blue is a call to all our alumni and friends to take part in an extraordinary moment for Creighton University. It’s a time that sees state-of-the-art facilities rising across our Omaha campus, the opening of a new health sciences campus in Phoenix and one of the largest freshman classes in Creighton’s history.
Forward Blue is the largest and most comprehensive campaign in our history — a student-focused and mission-driven vision for Creighton’s future, prioritizing scholarships, campus improvements and investments in our academics and programs. To keep Creighton thriving — to continue giving our students a life-changing Jesuit education — we need your support.
(Learn more about the fundraising campaign here.)
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Long before she left the gift that founded the University, Mary Lucretia Creighton would go to the poorest parts of Omaha to give money to those most in need. Her horse (named “Billy”) was known throughout the city.
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Edward Creighton regretted his lack of education and often expressed his dream to start a college. After his death and before her own, Mary Lucretia fulfilled his wishes, committing the gift that would go on to establish a Jesuit, Catholic university in the frontier town of Omaha.
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Visiting the University (then Creighton College), Sarah Emily Creighton was distressed by the Jesuits’ accommodations. She and her husband made a gift to build them a new residence, erecting a south wing to the main building.
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At his 75th birthday party, instead of receiving gifts, John Creighton gave one to the University. He reportedly told his guests: “I have one child, and that is Creighton University.”
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Creighton University was built on a foundation of generosity. Every gift given since, no matter the size, has paid tribute to this bedrock belief — that the legacy we leave lies not in ourselves but in the moments we’ve lived for others. That in the end, it’s our acts of kindness and compassion that endure.
The Creighton family achieved great success in their lifetimes. But today they’re remembered not for what they gained but what they gave. To the University, to the city, to the state.
The Creightons are remembered, wrote historian Alfred Sorenson, for a university that will “ever remain a deserved, noble monument” to its founders. Their generosity lives on in the spirit of our alumni and in the faith and service of the many donors who make sure Creighton continues to thrive.
As a private university, Creighton has always relied on the generosity of our alumni and friends to maintain this level of education. Donors make the Creighton experience possible — by funding scholarships, supporting their school or college and making gifts to the essential programs and services and facilities that thousands of students depend on every day.
Large and transformative gifts like those of the Creighton family have marked much of our history. But each year, thousands of donors show their love for Creighton through smaller gifts, and it all adds up to a huge collective impact for our students.
A commemorative at the University's 100th anniversary said it best: “Creighton University has gone far beyond the expectations of a pioneer's dream. It was a bright and fascinating vision, transformed today into a shining monument by the faith and efforts of those who believe in our mission."
We call on the Creighton community — join us in the Forward Blue campaign. Together, we will share the gift of Creighton for generations to come.
