There are several colleges and universities in Omaha, Nebraska.
The earliest institution of higher education promoted in the Omaha-area came from promoters of the Town of Saratoga located around present-day North 24th and Grand Streets in Omaha. The Saratogans won a charter from the Nebraska Territorial Legislature to establish Nebraska University. However, their proposal was delayed in the Legislature, and their university was never more than words on paper. [1]
Over the next 50 years, several religious institutions emerged in the absence of public support for establishing colleges. For instance, the Catholic Creighton University was opened in 1878. It has grown tremendously in the subsequent 150 years, and continues thriving today. Another Catholic higher education institution in Omaha is the Duchesne Academy. It was founded in 1881 and included a college. The Presbyterian Theological Seminary was built in Kountze Place in 1902 at 3303 North 21st Place, and was closed and converted into apartments in 1943. Many of the faculty here taught at the University of Omaha in its early years. [2] Omaha's Clarkson College was founded in 1888 as a nursing program in a Presbyterian hospital. Evolving over the ensuing century-plus, Clarkson has become a first-tier nursing education facility which is particularly adept at educating non-white nurses. The Nebraska Methodist College was founded in 1891 with a similar mission was the Presbyterian's Clarkson College. Nebraska Methodist offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in nursing and allied health professions.
After the turn of the 20th century, a few other religiously supported colleges opened. The Catholic College of Saint Mary was founded in 1923 to ensure that Omaha's Catholic schools had teachers with strong liberal arts educations. In 1943, the Grace University first opened in the former home of the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kountze Place. After remaining there for a year, they moved south of downtown Omaha in 1944 and continued operating at South 10th and Forest Avenue through 2017. Talks are currently underway to move the campus to the former Doane University in Blair. In 2021, Mission University was approved to operate in Nebraska with a primary purpose to extend public health education and services to underserved globally.
The first public higher education institution in Omaha was the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Nebraska's first medical school was a private medical college established in Omaha in 1880 and renamed the Omaha Medical College in 1881. The University of Nebraska bought the school for teaching purposes in 1902, and it became the University of Nebraska Medical College. They opened a university hospital in 1917, and in 1968, the University of Nebraska decided to form the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus. UNMC hospital merged with the nearby Clarkson Hospital in 1997, and was later renamed Nebraska Medicine.
The Omaha School Board first municipal higher education institution in Omaha was the University of Omaha, now the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which was founded in 1908 in the Kountze Park neighborhood. Its first classes were located in the Redick Mansion at 24th and Pratt Streets, with a proposed "magnificent campus" slated for development between 21st and 25th Avenues, bounded by Kountze Park and the Carter Lake Park. Original faculty came from the Presbyterian Seminary, as well as Bellevue College. [3] In 1927, businessmen formed the North Omaha Activities Association in order to redevelop Saratoga School's playing field into a football field for the University's football team. At that time the University was located just south in the posh Kountze Place suburb. With new bleachers built to accommodate a crowd of a thousand, the Saratoga Field was home to OU's team until 1951. [4] The University of Omaha moved to 6001 Dodge Street in 1938, where its successor institution the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) remains. While UNO is no longer a municipal institution, its still publicly supported.
The Metropolitan Community College was founded in 1971 by the Nebraska Legislature. Today, there are campuses in North Omaha at Fort Omaha, in South Omaha, and in Elkhorn, as well as centers in Bellevue, La Vista and Fremont, the Applied Technology Center and classes at Offutt Air Force Base, and multiple area high schools and offsite locations. In 2011-12, MCC enrolled 32,765 credit students and 17,374 noncredit students.
Higher education institutions in Omaha | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Higher education institution | Type | Religious Affiliation | Year opened | Ref |
Bellevue University | Private | Secular | 1966 | |
Clarkson College | Private | Episcopal | 1888 | |
College of Saint Mary | Private | Sisters of Mercy | 1923 | |
Creighton University | Private | Jesuit | 1878 | |
Doane College | Private | United Church of Christ | 1872 | |
Metropolitan Community College | Public (Community) | Secular | 1971 | |
Nebraska Methodist College | Private | Methodist | 1891 | |
University of Nebraska at Omaha | Public | Secular | 1908 | |
University of Nebraska Medical Center | Public | Secular | 1869 |
Former higher education institutions in Omaha | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Former higher education institution | Type | Religious Affiliation | Year opened | Ref |
Duchesne Academy | Private | Roman Catholic | ||
Presbyterian Theological Seminary | Private | Presbyterian | ||
Grace University | Private | Interdenominational | ||
Doane University | Private | United Church of Christ | ||
The University of Nebraska system is the public university system of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Founded in 1869 with one campus in Lincoln, the system has four university campuses, a two-year technical agriculture college, and a high school.
Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded as a girls school in 1742, the College itself was founded as the Moravian College and Theological Seminary in 1807 and was accredited in 1863. In 2021, the College was elevated to a University. Moravian University uses the foundation of the Girls school as their foundation date which would make them the sixth-oldest college in the United States.
Dana College was a private college in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 26 miles (40 km) northwest of Omaha and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley. It closed in 2010.
The Catholic University of Korea (Korean: 가톨릭대학교) is a private Roman Catholic university in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It was established in 1855. The Catholic University of Korea operates campuses in Seoul and in the neighboring Bucheon City. The university's school of medicine operates eight affiliated hospitals throughout the country.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally known as the University of Omaha. Originally meant to provide a Christian-based education free from ecclesiastical control, the university served as a strong alternative to the city's many successful religiously-affiliated institutions.
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. Rapidly expanding in the early 20th century, the university founded a hospital, dental college, pharmacy college, college of nursing, and college of medicine. It later added colleges of public health and allied health professions. One of Omaha's top employers, UNMC had an annual budget of $841.6 million for 2020 to 2021 and an economic impact of $4.8 billion.
Significant events in the history of North Omaha, Nebraska include the Pawnee, Otoe and Sioux nations; the African American community; Irish, Czech, and other European immigrants, and; several other populations. Several important settlements and towns were built in the area, as well as important social events that shaped the future of Omaha and the history of the nation. The timeline of North Omaha history extends to present, including recent controversy over schools.
Saratoga Springs, Nebraska Territory, or Saratoga, was a boom and bust town founded in 1856 that thrived for several years. During its short period of influence the town grew quickly, outpacing other local settlements in the area including Omaha and Florence, and briefly considered as a candidate for the Nebraska Territorial capitol. Saratoga was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and has been regarded a neighborhood in North Omaha since then.
The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree Ferry to bring settlers from Council Bluffs to Omaha. A treaty with the Omaha Tribe allowed the creation of the Nebraska Territory, and Omaha City was founded on July 4, 1854. With early settlement came claim jumpers and squatters, and the formation of a vigilante law group called the Omaha Claim Club, which was one of many claim clubs across the Midwest. During this period many of the city's founding fathers received lots in Scriptown, which was made possible by the actions of the Omaha Claim Club. The club's violent actions were challenged successfully in a case ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Baker v. Morton, which led to the end of the organization.
Education in Omaha, Nebraska is provided by many private and public institutions. The first high school graduates in the Omaha area came from Brownell-Talbot School, which was founded in the town of Saratoga in 1863. The oldest school building in continuous usage is Omaha Central High School.
Clarkson College is a private college in Omaha, Nebraska focused on the health sciences. The institution was founded in 1888 by Meliora Clarkson following the death of her husband Bishop Robert Clarkson of the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with Nebraska Medicine. Total student enrollment was 1,178 in fall 2018.
The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located between North 16th Avenue on the east to North 30th Street on the west; Locust Street on the south to Pratt Street on the north. Kountze Place was annexed into Omaha in 1887. The neighborhood was built as a suburban middle and upper middle class enclave for doctors, lawyers, successful businessmen and other professional workers.
Education in Memphis is home to a range of public and private institutions serving various educational needs of Memphis, Tennessee. At the primary and secondary levels, the metropolitan area is currently served by the Shelby County Schools operating system including the surrounding suburbs, a number of private schools, and some with religious affiliations. Major post-secondary institutions include the Southwest Tennessee Community College, the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University, Rhodes College and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
The Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary was located at 3303 North 21st Place in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1891 in downtown Omaha, the institution moved to the Kountze Place neighborhood in North Omaha in 1902 and closed in 1943. Converted to apartments, the building stood until 1979 when a fire destroyed it.
The Redick Mansion, also known as the Mayne Mansion and Redick Hall, was located at 3612 North 24th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. It served as the first home of Omaha University, now known as the University of Nebraska at Omaha, from 1909 through 1917. A five-story tower on the front of the mansion was a notable landmark throughout the area.
Nebraska Medicine, is a private not-for-profit American healthcare company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was created as Nebraska Health System (NHS) in 1997, when Bishop Clarkson Hospital merged with the adjacent University Hospital in midtown Omaha. Renamed The Nebraska Medical Center in 2003, in 2014 the company merged with UNMC Physicians and Bellevue Medical Center to become Nebraska Medicine. The company has full ownership of two hospitals and 39 specialty and primary care clinics in and around Omaha, with partial ownership in two rural hospitals and a specialty hospital. Nebraska Medicine's main campus, Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center, has 718 beds, while its Bellevue Medical Center campus has 91 beds.