A resolution honoring the life of Nebraska community leader Howard L. Hawks.
This is a Senate Resolution recognizing and honoring the life and contributions of Howard L. Hawks, a Nebraska community leader and philanthropist, who co-founded Tenaska Energy and held key leadership roles there for many years. The resolution highlights Hawks’ civic service (including long-term roles as a Regent of the University of Nebraska and a Board Member of Creighton University) and his extensive philanthropic impact across the University of Nebraska system and other causes such as homelessness, mental health, education, and the arts. It notes specific university facilities, chairs, centers, and programs funded or supported by Hawks and his wife, and acknowledges his role in a major fundraising campaign that raised significant private support for UNL. The measure concludes by expressing the Senate’s sorrow, honoring Hawks’ legacy, and directing the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy to his family. As a ceremonial resolution, it does not authorize spending or create new laws or policy.
Key Points
- 1The Senate expresses profound sorrow and honors the life and legacy of Howard L. Hawks as a civic leader and philanthropist who made substantial community contributions in Nebraska.
- 2Hawks co-founded Tenaska Energy in 1987 and served as Chairman and CEO until 2010 and as Chairman until 2022; he remained active as Chairman Emeritus after stepping down, reflecting his lasting leadership and impact on the company and the broader energy industry.
- 3Hawks’ public service includes 18 years as a Regent of the University of Nebraska and 12 years as a Board Member of Creighton University, with philanthropy that supported wide-ranging university initiatives.
- 4The resolution enumerates numerous specific University of Nebraska system projects funded or enhanced by Hawks and his wife, including: Howard L. Hawks Hall; a business ethics and leadership chair at UNL’s College of Business; Kiewit Hall at UNL College of Engineering; Hawks Championship Center and Hawks Field at Haymarket Park for UNL athletics; Baxter Arena and sports facilities for UNO; the Durham Science Center renovation at UNO; the Tim Hawks Chair in Cancer Prevention and Population Science at UNMC; the Rhonda and Howard Hawks Movement Disorders Fellowship at UNMC; the Sharing Clinic at UNMC; and student scholarships.
- 5It also notes Hawks’ leadership in the Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities, which raised $1.8 billion in private support for UNL, and acknowledges his broader philanthropic work addressing homelessness, mental health, education, and the arts.