Center for Great Plains Studies to celebrate 50th year with events, exhibitions

Fran Kaye, professor of English, stands next to Jim McCrorie, then director of the Great Plains Research Centre at the University of Regina, in a tallgrass prairie.

File photo

Fran Kaye, professor of English, stands next to Jim McCrorie, then director of the Great Plains Research Centre at the University of Regina, in this file photo.

The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is marking its 50th anniversary with traveling lectures, a new art exhibition, a special website, a celebration this fall and community-building events throughout the year.

The center started in Paul Olson’s kitchen. In the mid-1970s, several Husker faculty members met in the English professor’s home to discuss creating a regional center dedicated to the study of the Great Plains, an idea formulated by folklorist and author Roger Welsch. The talks bore fruit in 1976 when the University of Nebraska Board of Regents chartered the Center for Great Plains Studies.

The center had a humble beginning in offices housed in Oldfather Hall, at the center of UNL’s City Campus. Despite the location, the center was founded as a four-campus entity, serving UNL, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska at Kearney and University of Nebraska Medical Center. Olson became its first director.

A man and woman stand next to a museum display case in Love Library. — The Great Plains Art Museum’s first home was in Love Library.

Now in its 50th year, the center has developed countless projects, publications and connections across Nebraska and the region. Its Great Plains Art Museum, celebrating its 45th year, connects the community with the art of the region and serves as a gathering place for education and artistic expression.

The center and museum will celebrate the 50th anniversary throughout the year.

The center will take the Paul A. Olson lecture series to UNK on March 4 and UNO on Sept. 1 to connect with audiences at those campuses.
On March 6, the Great Plains Art Museum will open “With a Little Help from Our Friends: New Perspectives on the Collection,” an exhibition co-curated by 20 Great Plains Fellows representing diverse disciplines and all four Nebraska campuses.
The annual Great Plains conference, “Great Plains Futures,” March 31-April 2, will celebrate by looking into topics important to the future of the region during three days of keynotes, panels and special events.
A website will collect and share memories from the center’s past, feature videos from current fellows and Paul Olson, and list upcoming events.
Special issues of “Great Plains Research” and “Great Plains Quarterly” will be released.
The center will host an anniversary celebration this fall.
An anniversary T-shirt and sticker pack are available at the Great Plains Art Museum’s store.
Great Plains Fellows will be invited to several community-building events throughout the year.

As part of the 2026 celebration, the center aims to raise $50,000 to continue its work as a hub of outreach and education about the Great Plains. Donate here.