Omaha Community Foundation in talks to join NU as owner of Nebraska Medicine

LINCOLN — In another curveball in the future of Nebraska Medicine, the University of Nebraska could tap the Omaha Community Foundation as an “equal member” of the nonprofit.

The NU Board of Regents revealed the possibility Thursday after about an hour-and-a-half closed session. There was no indication of the possibility on the agenda or in the days leading up to the meeting. Upon returning, regents voted unanimously to add and approve a resolution saying negotiations are ongoing with multiple philanthropic organizations over NU’s decision to buy out Clarkson Regional Health Services’ 50% stake in Nebraska Medicine.

According to the NU resolution, regents had worked behind the scenes since January with the Omaha Community Foundation, Walter Scott Family Foundation and University of Nebraska Foundation.

The NU resolution referenced contributions leading to a possible future governing role for the Omaha Community Foundation, but the resolution did not suggest such a role for the Walter Scott Family Foundation or NU Foundation.

“While those discussions have been productive, no final resolution has been reached regarding the organization’s contribution or permanent level of involvement in Nebraska Medicine,” the resolution stated.

The board designated NU President Jeffrey Gold to lead negotiations on behalf of the regents.

Negotiations are continuing

The Omaha Community Foundation said it will continue collaborating with NU and the Walter Scott Family Foundation on a potential model that “preserves the proven infrastructure in place today.”

“This work reflects our mission to strengthen the community by bringing trusted partners together around shared goals,” Donna Kush, president and CEO of the Omaha Community Foundation, said in a Thursday statement. “Our role is to unite people, organizations and resources to pursue the community’s greatest opportunities.”

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The NU resolution will give the Omaha Community Foundation two appointees on the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors, replacing two outgoing Clarkson members, beginning July 1 through at least Oct. 1. And the regents said they will work with the Omaha Community Foundation for new nonprofit governing documents to reflect the change.

The goal, the resolution states, is to admit the Omaha Community Foundation as a “qualified charitable designee” and equal parent member of the nonprofit.

An NU spokesperson said it is undetermined at this time how much the Omaha Community Foundation had contributed toward the Nebraska Medicine transaction. She said the resolution was brought to the regents after the agenda was released last week and not finalized until Thursday. State law allows an agenda to be amended up to 24 hours before a public meeting, or later for “items of an emergency nature.”

A tense transaction

Clarkson has been NU’s partner organization since 1997. But in the summer of 2024, Clarkson leaders approached NU and asked to end the agreement.

After more than a year of closed-door conversations and nondisclosure agreements, the plan became public Jan. 2. The then-leaders of the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors objected, some of whom expressed concern about consolidating governance in the regents, kicking off a contentious month for the parties involved.

On Jan. 15, regents unanimously voted to move forward with a deal for NU to pay Clarkson $500 million for its stake in the nonprofit, plus $300 million to purchase related properties. In return, Clarkson would return $200 million for NU’s $2.19 billion “Project Health,” a longstanding NU endeavor to build up the future of health care and train the next generation of professionals.

Another vote Thursday, before the closed session, amended the deal to instead define Clarkson’s return donation to NU as an “in-kind donation,” thus reducing NU’s direct payment to Clarkson by $200 million. NU is still on the hook for that full earmark toward Project Health.

Former members of the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors had called for NU to press pause and possibly find a philanthropic donor who could replace Clarkson in January. The short-lived, bitter spat featured a Nebraska Medicine-led lawsuit seeking to block the transaction. NU and Clarkson then replaced most board members, and the new board ended the legal fight.

Some state lawmakers worried about the board shakeup, which some described as the “nuclear” option, and how it might affect an already divided donor community to the deal. 

Before the January vote, regents had also asked the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office to investigate claims that the then-leaders of Nebraska Medicine had sought to hurt NU’s bottom line and Project Health with the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. Appropriators denied NU’s claims.

Though former board members lost the battle, their desires for an outside, replacement parent organization might become a reality after all.

‘Changing the world’

Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk said this was the “best opportunity” for Nebraska and the university to be successful, not just in educating the future workforce but in recruiting and retaining an international class of faculty, many of whom are dually employed by Nebraska Medicine.

Scheer said NU has also been in close talks with the Omaha Airport Authority because of an expected increase in visits to the airfield following future investments in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, including Project Health.

“We have the opportunity to have something in the State of Nebraska that no one else would be able to duplicate,” Scheer said.

Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln, the longest-serving regent now in his 18th and final year, said the Nebraska Medicine transition has been the “biggest decision” in his public service and one that will have the biggest “ripple effect.”

Clare credited the philanthropic support, without which “we’re not here today.”

“I truly look forward to partnering with this group,” Clare said. “I totally look forward to changing the world.”