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Peru Stater Fall 2012
Fall 2012 Vol. 57, No. 2
Sapp Brothers’ Gift Kicks Off Two Big Projects at PSC Bill and Lee Sapp of Sapp Bros. Travel Centers and petroleum have pledged $500,000 to jump start the new Peru State Oak Bowl project. The Sapp brothers’ gift is the largest, single, non-estate gift in PSC’s history. The funds are being donated in honor of Bill and Lee’s mother, Emilie Hubka Sapp and their sisters Veloura Sapp Barnard and Zelma Sapp Drake, all three women attended Peru State and were teachers in rural in Rural Nebraska schools. Bill Sapp said, “Our family understands the importance of education. During the Great Depression, our father, a cattle feeder, lost everything. Our mother, being a very positive person, encouraged her children to go to college, as an education is something no one can ever take away.
We are making this gift to honor our mother and sisters who spent their lives educating others.” Lee Sapp said, “Our family is very important to us. I couldn’t have had a better mother and sisters. All our accomplishments are due to their strength, love, faith and focus on the importance of education. By helping Peru State, we are helping students throughout southeast Nebraska get a quality education at a reasonable price.” PSC President Dan Hanson said, “Thanks to the generosity of Bill and Lee Sapp, Peru State is another step closer to realizing an important vision for our future. I want to thank them for investing in the future of Lee Sapp, Bill and Lucille Sapp, Zelma Sapp Drake, Ilma Gottula our college, students and southeast Nebraska. Their gift is a wonderful Continued on page 6
Peru State Receives Ten Year Continuing Accreditation
On June 12, 2012, Peru State The HLC recommends that Peru the past decade have resulted in a College announced that it received State’s next review be in 2021-2022, strong, vibrant academic institution. continuing accreditation for the next the maximum time possible between This is the best possible outcome and represents a strong endorsement of 10 years from the Higher Learning reviews. Commission of the North Central PSC President Dan Hanson said, Peru State.” Association of Colleges and Schools. “Fully meeting all of the HLC’s Hanson cited a few of the college’s PSC has been accredited by the accreditation criteria has become successes over the past decade, organization since 1915. increasingly unusual in higher including: Only 30 percent of all higher education. Our success can be directly • 55 percent enrollment growth. education institutions accredited by attributed to the mission-centered • $55+ million investment in campus HLC require no follow-up, putting work of our faculty and staff and infrastructure. the college among the top institutions their focus on student achievement. • Partnership with the University of in the North Central Association. Their hard work and dedication over Nebraska Medical Center’s Rural
Health Opportunities Program (RHOP) and Public Health Early Admissions Student Track. • U.S. News and World Report ranking as second in the nation for value for out-of-state students. • Creation of the One Rate, Any State program, which allows all students to attend Peru State for the same rate, regardless of residency. • Development of an Institute for Community Engagement. • Creation of the Distinguished Speaker Series, which has featured Holocaust survivor Elane Geller; former skinhead Frank Meeink; civil rights activist and Little Rock Nine member Minnijean Brown-Trickey; Mahatma Gandhi’s Continued on page 6