Hastings College will induct two legendary retired faculty members, Dr. Dwayne Strasheim and Jack Kramer, and The Sunderland Foundation into its esteemed Pro Rege Society on Thursday, April 26.
Hastings College will recognize the individuals and foundation for their longstanding dedication to the College during the ceremony, which will be held at Lochland Country Club in Hastings and feature a musical tribute by the Hastings College Department of Music. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m., with the dinner with ceremony beginning at 7:00 p.m. Those interested in attending can RSVP online at hastings.edu/prorege. Tickets are $75 per person or $700 for a table of 10.
Membership in the Pro Rege Society is the highest non-academic recognition Hastings College bestows. Criteria for selection may include, but is not limited to, extraordinary service to Hastings College, significant philanthropic contributions and/or unusual commitment to the College over an extended period of time.
Dr. Dwayne Strasheim spent 50 years educating students in the Hastings area. After spending a year teaching at Hastings High School, Strasheim joined the Hastings College faculty in 1965. He worked at Hastings College for 49 years – the longest in the College’s history. While at Hastings College, Strasheim served as a professor of English, German and linguistics, as well as the academic dean and registrar. In 1982, he began serving as the voice for Hastings College athletics by announcing men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, football and baseball games.
Passionate about teaching, Jack Kramer spent more than 30 years at Hastings College. Kramer, a 1970 graduate of the College, was chair of the Communication Arts, Business and Economics department for 15 years. During his time as a professor, Kramer continued to work as a CPA in the Hastings community and spoke at a number of conferences across the country and twice was an invited faculty lecturer as part of the Hastings College Artist Lecture Series.
The Sunderland Foundation of Overland Park, Kansas, has been a generous supporter of Hastings College for the past 30 years. Established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, president of the Ash Grove Cement Company for 33 years, The Sunderland Foundation is managed by President Kent Sunderland and other descendants of the founder. Sunderland Foundation grants to Hastings College have focused on capital projects with a strong impact on students. Major grants have been awarded for the Wilson Mathematics and Computer Science Center, Osborne Family Sports Complex, Morrison-Reeves Science Center, residence hall renovations and, most recently, the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center and renovation of the Physical Fitness Facility.
Full bios
Dr. Dwayne Strasheim
Dr. Dwayne Strasheim spent 50 years educating students in the Hastings area. After spending a year teaching at Hastings High School, Strasheim joined the Hastings College faculty in 1965. He worked at Hastings College for 49 years – the longest in the College’s history. While at Hastings College, Strasheim served as a professor of English, German and linguistics, as well as the academic dean and registrar. His involvement at the College extended beyond the classroom when, in 1982, he began serving as the voice for Hastings College athletics by announcing men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, football and baseball games. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame for this effort.
In 1962, Strasheim graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wayne State College with a degree in German education. Subsequently, he earned his M.A. in linguistics from the University of Washington and his Ph.D. in English language and linguistics from Ohio University in 1970. Strasheim and his wife Cynthia, who recently endowed a scholarship in the Languages and Literatures Department, have four daughters, one son and seven grandchildren.
For all that Strasheim contributed to Hastings College, the College presented him with the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, upon his retirement in 2014.
Jack Kramer
Passionate about teaching, Jack Kramer spent more than 30 years at Hastings College. Kramer, a 1970 graduate of the College, was chair of the Communication Arts, Business and Economics department for 15 years. During his time as a professor, Kramer continued to work as a CPA in the Hastings community and spoke at a number of conferences across the country and twice was an invited faculty lecturer as part of the Hastings College Artist Lecture Series. Kramer received the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award in 1985, the Alpha Chi Outstanding Faculty Member in 1998, the Hastings College Distinguished Senior Faculty Award in 2001 and the Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants Outstanding Accounting Educator Award in 2012.
Kramer graduated from Hastings College with a degree in political science and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1972. He worked in accounting for several years before beginning his teaching career at Bethany (Kansas) College for two years. In 1978, he returned to his alma mater, which is also the alma mater for his wife, Tracy (Cole) Kramer ‘70.
For all that Kramer contributed to Hastings College, the College presented him with the honorary degree, Doctor of Business Administration, upon his retirement in 2012.
Sunderland Foundation
The Sunderland Foundation of Overland Park, Kansas, has been a generous supporter of Hastings College for the past 30 years. Established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, president of the Ash Grove Cement Company for 33 years, The Sunderland Foundation is managed by President Kent Sunderland and other descendants of the founder.
For more than seven decades, The Sunderland Foundation has awarded grants for bricks and mortar projects at nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other areas where the Ash Grove Cement Company does business. Geographic giving areas include Western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas and Western Iowa, and, to a lesser extent, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Montana.
Sunderland Foundation grants to Hastings College have focused on capital projects with a strong impact on students. Major grants have been awarded for the Wilson Mathematics and Computer Science Center, Osborne Family Sports Complex, Morrison-Reeves Science Center, residence hall renovations and, most recently, the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center and renovation of the Physical Fitness Facility.
In recognition of The Sunderland Foundation’s generous support, Hastings College presented the Foundation with the President’s Award in 2008.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
