Hays foundation pledges $1 million in matching funds to help save Sternberg museum

TOPEKA — A private foundation offered to match contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million for benefit of the financially struggling Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University.

In September, FHSU said the museum and its three million geology, zoology and paleontology specimens would close to the public in December. Officials said the decision was tied to the 2026 Kansas Legislature’s $2.4 million reduction in state appropriations to the university in western Kansas. Closure of the museum would save FHSU an estimated $850,000 annually.

FHSU president Tisa Mason didn’t sugarcoat what it would take to save the museum. She said the university required infusion of $1 million in new revenue each year.

“Not once, but annually, in perpetuity,” she said. “This is a recurring cost, and it will not be solved by a one-time gift, a single fundraiser or any single event.”

On Tuesday, trustees of the Bob and Pat Schmidt Foundation committed a maximum of $1 million to incentivize contributions to the FHSU Foundation’s Save Sternberg campaign. The Hays foundation was created by the family of Bob Schmidt, who was in the radio business. He was owner of what became Eagle Communications, which operates in Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota. Eventually, the company was purchased by its employees.

“The Sternberg Museum is vital to Fort Hays State University, our community, our state and anyone seeking to understand our region’s remarkable history,” said Gary Shorman, president of the Bob and Pat Schmidt Foundation. “This gift is intended to bridge short-term funding needs while a sustainable, long-term operating plan is developed for the Sternberg Museum.”

The Schmidts, who shared an appreciation for FHSU, believed the foundation should invest in community-building projects.

Mason proposed the FHSU Foundation set a goal of securing $1 million in private gifts by Dec. 31 through the Save Sternberg campaign. So far, $237,000 has been contributed to the museum campaign.

“We are humbled by the outpouring of generosity from those who believe in the Sternberg Museum and are stepping forward to help secure its future,” said Jason Williby, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation.

Individual and business donations to the museum fund would qualify for the match, but gifts from other foundations wouldn’t be eligible for the incentive.

The Sternberg Museum, which documents life in the Great Plains region, began taking shape in the early 1900s.

FHSU said the museum wasn’t financially sustainable with average annual expenditures of $1.3 million and annual revenue of $470,000.

FHSU’s president said the university couldn’t “absorb repeated, deep legislative reductions and simultaneously preserve everything our community values.”