Corporate and Foundation Relations
Invest in the Future of Our Community and Your Organization
Creighton University offers companies countless engagement opportunities. These opportunities attract businesses near and far, large and small, established and developing.
Whether you seek thought leadership, increased brand recognition, or student-mentor connections, we approach each partnership with care, guided by the University’s Jesuit values. We will collaborate with you to align our resources to fit your company’s or foundation’s goals. Project outcomes will unite your vision for support with our mission.
The Power of Partnerships
Creighton University, co-funded by the fortunes of two men and co-founded by the generosity of two women, represents one of the greatest return on investment achievements in U.S. history.
Brothers Edward Charles and John Andrew Creighton who married sisters, Mary Lucretia and Sarah Emily Wareham, were at the center of Omaha’s earliest industries.
The Creightons saw opportunities for telegraph communications, banking, transportation and agriculture. But, their entrepreneurial contributions pale in comparison to their Catholic education philanthropy, for which they are most recognized today. While planting seeds for business innovation, they sowed a legacy of good works.
Realizing the city they helped build would continue to prosper only through an educated citizenry, the Creightons established a Catholic school that, under the leadership of the Jesuits, would become a world-class institution encompassing nine professional schools and colleges. The enterprise would elevate the Creighton name the world over as an emblem of Jesuit educational excellence.
In 1863, Edward Creighton, a Creighton University founder, joined Omaha’s Kountze brothers in building a bank to support the growing city. Mr. Creighton served as president of First National and, during the Panic of 1873, he guaranteed the deposits of Omaha’s citizens using his personal fortune, preventing a run on the bank.
John Creighton was the bank’s vice president, and Thomas Davis a city founder, was a director. Today, led by the Lauritzens, Mr. Davis’ descendants, First National Bank continues to nurture Omaha, and Creighton benefits greatly from its relationship to the nation’s largest privately-held bank.
Because of First National’s ongoing campus investments, Creighton educates more students at a higher level than ever before. First National Bank’s support includes Davis Square, an upperclassmen residence hall; the Edward C. Creighton Business Social Responsibility Endowed Scholarship; the Financial Hope Collaborative, which helps low- to moderate-income families find financial stability; and Bluejay Athletics.
For more than a century, we’ve had a long history with Mutual of Omaha. Many of the company’s leaders have earned degrees from Creighton University and have also served as members of our faculty. This longstanding partnership demonstrates our shared values, which includes helping others reach their full potential personally and professionally.
The Mutual of Omaha Endowed Chair in Enterprise Risk Management supports an esteemed faculty member who prepares graduates to understand and monitor risks when advancing corporate objectives.
Creighton’s campus features the Mutual of Omaha Ballroom in the V.J. and Angela Skutt Student Center, the Mutual of Omaha Center for Health Counseling and the School of Dentistry’s Mutual of Omaha Interdisciplinary Nurse Practitioner Office, opening in 2018.
Union Pacific represents one of Creighton University’s most enduring corporate partnerships. For more than 150 years, Union Pacific’s Omaha presence has defined the city both the railroad and Creighton call home.
During every era, each Creighton president has profited from the counsel of Union Pacific’s CEO. John C. Kenefick served as a Creighton trustee from 1975 to 1995, and Kenefick Hall and the John C. Kenefick Faculty Chair in the Humanities pay tribute to Union Pacific’s support and Kenefick’s leadership.
Many Creighton schools and colleges benefit from Union Pacific’s philanthropic legacy. The Union Pacific Endowed Chair in Accounting as well as Union Pacific scholarships, programming enhancements and faculty development funds, contribute to the Heider College of Business’ excellence.
One example of a fruitful partnership is that of the Canon Corporation and the radlab, the University’s hub for technological research and innovation. With the RaDLab’s development in 2015, Creighton formed a partnership with Canon to help enhance the lab’s cutting-edge equipment and a build a 30-student fellowship program. Students gain marketable skillsets while applying high-tech solutions to accelerate and implement world-changing ideas.