The first of his family to attend college and now a life-long advocate for the University of Nebraska and our community, Earl Scudder has spent more than forty years giving back to an institution that has meant so much to him and to his family. To understand Earl and his commitment to the University, it is important to understand the context for his appreciation of how education can transform lives. 

Earl Scudder was born in 1942 in Chicago where he lived in what could be described as ‘slum’ housing with his two siblings and his parents. His family settled on the southwest side of Chicago, where two more siblings were born. There he attended Morgan Park High School, where less than 10% of the population went on to college. When Swift & Company closed and Earl’s father’s job of 23 years was eliminated, the family moved to Des Moines, Iowa. There he graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, where more than 90% of the students went on to college.  Earl credits this change of schools with putting him on a path to become his family’s first college graduate, followed by his four siblings. This experience was instrumental in building his awareness of how educational opportunities can change and improve young people’s lives.

Earl entered the University of Nebraska in the 1960 fall semester and held jobs pumping gas, hashing at sorority houses, working the Cushman Motors assembly line, and moving furniture to cover expenses not funded by student loans. He completed his undergraduate required courses in three years by taking 39 credit hours his junior year, and after his freshman law courses provided electives toward his undergraduate degree, he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. Earl was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and met his wife, Patricia Heumann, while a busboy at her Delta Gamma sorority.

During law school, Earl was honored to become a member of the Appellate Competition Council (Moot Court Board), and to be elected President of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He was a Legal Writing freshman instructor during his senior year, and worked as a household goods mover and law firm clerk during the summer months. Following his marriage, he began his law career while Pat taught English and History at Irving Junior High School in Lincoln.

Earl joined the Nelson & Harding Law Firm, rising to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer by 1980.  Ten years later, he and Christie Schwartzkopf Schroff started Scudder Law Firm, which has grown to include 25 people in the Lincoln home office and one attorney in its Kansas City satellite location.

Throughout his legal career, Earl has had a strong sense of community and a desire to contribute time and resources that will repay the opportunities he has enjoyed. He has served on boards of charitable organizations, such as Home Opportunities Made Easy and the Malone Community Center, and has been appointed by Lincoln’s mayor and Nebraska governors of each major party to positions on the Private Industry Council (Past President), Nebraska State Racing Commission, and Nebraska Investment Council.

Earl believes education creates enormous opportunities for young people, and he has devoted himself to making them available. This has included serving for three years as President of the UNL Parents Association, which raises money for scholarships, during which time he testified at legislative committees in favor of raising UNL staff and faculty salaries. UNL’s Chancellor appointed him to serve on UNL’s Vision 2020 Task Force on the future of research and higher education. Nebraska’s Governor appointed him to the State Education Steering Committee on Higher Education Reform, where he served as a member of its Executive Committee. Three successive UNL Chancellors appointed Earl to the UNL Committee of Visitors, and he chaired its Economic Development Committee.

Earl believes the University of Nebraska can and should contribute to economic development for the state and he serves on the board of the Nebraska Angels, whose members invest in companies created from technologies developed through research on the NU campuses. He was the first Chairman of Class.com, Inc., an online provider of high school courses that evolved from 100% University ownership to include 300 stockholders who have invested $12 million. Earl is a member of the Vision 2015 group partnering with the University and the City of Lincoln to advance education, research, and economic development that includes a research park built without using tax dollars. He underscored his interest in research in 2006 by accompanying (at his own expense) the UNL Chancellor, UNL Vice Chancellor of Research, and Chairman of the UNL Virology Center on a 16-day visit to five research university campuses in China, where technology park public-private partnerships were ubiquitous.

Earl’s interest in economic development has been enhanced through service on a dozen corporate boards of all sizes, including three public companies whose combined revenues exceeded $4 billion and privately held businesses with less than $5 million in revenues. His appreciation for education has been augmented by his teaching Corporate Finance (as university Adjunct Faculty), and later lecturing at the NU College of Law on Ethics and Mergers & Acquisitions. His unrivaled experience in these areas has galvanized his belief that public-private partnerships can create opportunity for all Nebraskans and positions him to help lead NU toward such endeavors.

Earl’s particular focus has been the University of Nebraska, where he chairs the College of Law’s Alumni Council, and chaired its 2006 Capital Campaign.  For the University’s College of Arts & Sciences in Lincoln, he and his wife have created the Dr. Patricia Heumann Scudder Fund, which provides scholarships and supplements faculty pay.  Together they are lifelong members of the NU President’s Club, the UNL Chancellor’s Club, and the NU Alumni Association.  For 20 years, they have been members of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and Earl has served on the Foundation’s Grants Committee, heightening his understanding of the University’s research mission.  Earl was awarded in 1993 the UNL Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award.

Earl’s family is of utmost importance to him, and he is pleased that all three of his children graduated from NU, with Earl, Pat, and their three children holding nine degrees from the University.  All three children were active in student government, including the student senate and two as Student Body Presidents who served simultaneously as student members of the NU Board of Regents.  One of Earl’s goals in serving on the Board of Regents is to make higher education accessible and affordable to Nebraska’s citizens, providing them the lifetime assistance such an education has provided to him and to the members of his family.

“I do not believe you will find anyone whose résumé, temperament, and capacity are better suited to be a member of the Board of Regents than Earl Scudder. Earl and his entire family are graduates of UNL. Earl has continued to volunteer for and give back to his alma mater in countless ways. As an alum myself, I sincerely hope that Earl Scudder’s willingness to serve as a Regent will be rewarded by the voters with success at the polls.”

Bob Kerrey
President, New School University
Former U.S. Senator and Nebraska Governor