The C.Y. Thompson Library renovation and redevelopment on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus has been facilitated by generous gifts from private donors. Here is more information about Ruth and Bill Scott, whose leadership gift challenged others to contribute; Roy Dinsdale and the late John “Jack” Dinsdale, whose family responded to the Scotts’ challenge; and the NU Foundation, which builds and manages a $1.7 billion endowment in support of the University of Nebraska system.
Ruth and Bill Scott
Ruth and Bill Scott are deeply rooted and invested in the community where they have lived most of their lives and the state they call home.
Over the years, the Scott family has made extraordinary and transformational private investments in the University of Nebraska. Examples of their philanthropy are found on each of the four main campuses of the University of Nebraska system, and they have been instrumental leaders in making the University of Nebraska Medical Center a world-class academic health science center.
In 2009, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents presented Ruth and Bill Scott with its most prestigious award, the Regents Medal, for their extraordinary contributions to the university’s academic programs, scholarships and facilities.
Bill Scott is a 1953 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business. The Ashland, Nebraska, native joined Buffett Partnership in 1959 and Berkshire Hathaway in 1970, where he remained until the early 1990s.
Ruth Scott, also a native of Ashland, earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1951. She went on to teach school and later founded the Omaha Bridge Studio, where she teaches “the game everyone should play.”
Jack and Roy Dinsdale
Brothers John A. “Jack” and Roy G. Dinsdale were business partners for 63 years with primary interests in banking and agriculture. They were born in Palmer, Nebraska, to George and Rena Dinsdale and graduated from Palmer High School.
Jack Dinsdale attended the University of Nebraska for business administration when his college career was interrupted by World War II. He entered the U.S. Army in 1942 and was discharged in 1946. While in the Army, he met Gretchen Poggemeyer in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and they married and raised two children in Nebraska: Tom and Lynn. Jack Dinsdale died in 2010 at age 92.
Roy Dinsdale met Gloria Stephens, who grew up in McCook and Grand Island, while they were studying at the University of Nebraska, where Roy studied business administration, graduating in 1948, and Gloria studied education, graduating in 1949. They married after graduating and raised three children: Sid, Chris and Jane.
In 1948, Roy and Jack Dinsdale joined their father, George Dinsdale, and their uncle, Tom Dinsdale, in helping lead the family’s businesses, which were founded in the late 1800s. Roy and Jack started expanding their banking business from State Bank in Palmer by purchasing the National Bank of Neligh in 1958. This was the forerunner of Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc., the holding company which includes Pinnacle Bank in Nebraska. Using a community bank model still in use today, Pinnacle Bank has 67 locations across the state.
The entire Dinsdale family and their primary business, Pinnacle Bank, are known for their generous contributions of time and philanthropic support to the University of Nebraska and various other organizations and community endeavors.
The University of Nebraska Foundation
The University of Nebraska Foundation grows relationships and resources that enable the University of Nebraska to change lives and save lives. Among U.S. public universities, total annual gifts in support of the University of Nebraska and its affiliates rank in the top 15, and its $1.7 billion total endowment is in the top 25. Donors restrict 99 percent of all gifts and assets to a specific use by the university. The foundation was named to America’s Favorite Charities in 2018 by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Learn more.
