The children of former University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) professor Edith Gunlicks honored their mother’s life with an initial $15,000 gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation.
William Gunlicks, Karen Gunlicks Ridout and Jim Gunlicks recognize their mother and her career in education by establishing the Edith Gunlicks Memorial Student Support Fund. The scholarship will be awarded annually to an upperclassman in the UNK College of Business and Technology.
The first recipient of the scholarship is Mark Beitel, a senior from Mullen, Neb., studying business administration and geography at UNK. “We wanted to recognize her dedication to teaching,” said William Gunlicks about his mother who continued teaching adult education classes even after she retired. “She truly had a passion for it and took a real interest in each of her students.”
Edith Gunlicks obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kearney State College (now UNK) and then served as a professor of business administration from 1958 to 1973, all while raising her three children.
“Mother was quite the role model,” said Karen Gunlicks Ridout. “She was a trail blazer ahead of her time…a woman raising three children while completing a degree. We want to help others get that start and to complete a degree.”
The Gunlicks family plans to increase the size of the endowed scholarship to provide future funding for two annual, full-tuition scholarships at UNK.
The gift is significant to the College of Business and Technology and UNK. “This generous gift is an appropriate tribute to Professor Gunlicks, who influenced numerous students during her tenure,” said James Roark, senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. “By providing support for deserving students, it also enhances the ability of the college to recruit outstanding students to its programs.”
The Gunlicks family anticipates the lastingness of this gift. “There is no more fitting tribute to my mother than for her standards, expectations and accomplishments to be modeled by other students,” said Jim Gunlicks.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a non-profit corporation supplementing support for students, faculty, facilities and programs at the University of Nebraska’s four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations and other foundations.
