NU president talks Omaha Community Foundation, Nebraska Medicine transition

LINCOLN — The Omaha Community Foundation is set to govern half the Nebraska Medicine nonprofit alongside the University of Nebraska this week.

The NU Board of Regents voted unanimously Monday to approve amended nonprofit bylaws and governing documents giving the Omaha Community Foundation two seats on the board overseeing Nebraska Medicine. The changes will be in effect through at least Sept. 30 to give NU and the foundation time to craft and execute a more permanent governance structure.

Assuming NU closes its deal with Clarkson Regional Health Services to exit as the 50% co-owner of the nonprofit by the end of Tuesday, the Omaha Community Foundation can then appoint two members to replace the two governing board seats currently owed to Clarkson.

“The Omaha Community Foundation, in many ways, represents the breadth and depth of the philanthropic communities that serve the State of Nebraska and predominantly serve as well the Omaha community,” NU President Jeff Gold told reporters Monday.

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He continued: “They have a number of relationships with organizations — probably nothing as large or as prominent as Nebraska Medicine — but their board and their leadership team stepped up and came to us and said, ‘We’re willing to roll up our sleeves and work with you, if we can make this happen in a way that’s fair and balanced and represents the best interests of the community.’”

‘Completely on track’

As for what’s left to close the deal with Clarkson, Gold said just a couple of details are left.

“I was talking to our attorneys earlier today, and we are still, at least from the university’s perspective, we are still completely on track,” Gold said.

Funding the $500 million deal to buy out Clarkson’s 50% stake in the nonprofit — $300 million for the transaction, plus $200 million earmarked at Clarkson’s request toward NU’s longstanding $2.19 billion “Project Health” — will be accomplished “predominantly” via short-term debt as NU works through the next 90-day period.

NU also plans to use short-term debt to initially purchase $300 million in related properties owned by Clarkson. Gold and the regents have said no taxpayer or tuition dollars will be used.

Timeline of the deal

Gold on Monday affirmed what regents first revealed in a last-minute resolution June 18, that private philanthropists had approached NU shortly after the Jan. 15 vote to approve Clarkson stepping away from the NU-Clarkson partnership, which had been in place since 1997.

It was in mid-July 2024 when Clarkson leaders first approached NU and expressed a desire to get out of the longstanding partnership. Gold, the former chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center for 10 years, who chaired the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors during his time as chancellor, had just taken the reins of NU on July 1 of that year.

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Regents have described what came next — various closed-door conversations and nondisclosure agreements — as out of their hands. The plan came to light Jan. 2 when regents announced Clarkson would leave and NU would become the sole parent organization.

By Jan. 15, the regents unanimously approved Clarkson’s exit, but conversations continued behind the scenes until they “gelled,” Gold said, to where a shared governance structure would remain the right path.

Some of the former board members of Nebraska Medicine had protested NU becoming the sole owner and asked for a private philanthropist to take Clarkson’s spot, rather than allow NU to become the sole governing body. Part of the concern was whether NU would dip into Nebraska Medicine reserves in hard budget times, which Gold and regents have said won’t be the case.

NU leaders and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a former regent who supported the Clarkson-NU deal, had separately expressed concern that if not NU, a non-Nebraska entity could step in.

Next 90-day period

Gold said he was not made aware of the opportunity for a private philanthropist to come to the table until just around the time of the vote, “but not, certainly, any time in advance of that.”

“Whether the Nebraska Medicine board members had these discussions or had an offer, no one approached us,” Gold said.

Just a day after the vote to approve Clarkson leaving, the then-board members sued to stop the deal. Gold and Clarkson leaders restructured the board, replacing the members and reducing the voting team to four, with two members each for Clarkson and NU.

Gold said he’s “optimistic” that NU and the Omaha Community Foundation can come together quickly over the next 90 days, finalize any necessary documents and agree to move forward.

“The next 90 days will tell the tale, but I can tell you, on the part of the Board of Regents and myself, we’re going to roll up our sleeves, work really hard and try to nail this,” Gold said. “We’re Nebraskans. We like to win.”