Endowment from Worths will support arts at Nebraska

A newly established, permanent endowment on behalf of a late University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and his family will mean increased access and opportunity for students seeking education in the arts at Nebraska, as well as key support for research and professional growth in the university’s Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Professor Emeritus of Art History Peter J. Worth and his wife, Inge, have given more than $1 million to the college through their estate with the Peter and Inge Worth Endowment Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Peter Worth died in 2010; Inge Worth, in 2016.

The gift will provide annual support for a scholarship and faculty travel and research funds for the college’s School of Art, Art History and Design; a piano scholarship in the Glenn Korff School of Music; and travel and research funds for students and faculty in the college.

Originally from England, Peter Worth began his career at Nebraska in 1948 and was promoted to full professor in 1959. He was the art department’s acting chairman in 1953-54 and chairman from 1954-62. He taught courses in medieval art, ancient art of Egypt, introduction to art history, and criticism and classical art. He retired in 1987.

Inge Worth was born in Danzig, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1938. A Holocaust survivor, she donated her papers, “The Inge Worth Collection, 1868-2000” to the Leo Baeck Institute’s Center for Jewish History, where it is available digitally.

Her first husband, Manfred Keiler, was a professor at the University of Nebraska and died in 1960; she married Peter Worth in 1965. Inge Worth worked at Love Library and the Department of Physics, and was one of the five founders of the Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music.

“We are extremely thankful for the generosity of Peter and Inge Worth to create this wonderful endowment that will benefit so many areas of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts,” said Chuck O’Connor, dean of the college. “Because Peter was a longtime faculty member and former chair of the art department, this gift is a wonderful remembrance of Peter and Inge and their love of the arts.”

Christopher Marks, interim director of the college’s School of Art, Art History and Design, said the gift was significant and will be put to good use.

“It’s going to support some activities by both faculty and students that we don’t have enough resources to support already,” Marks said. “Faculty and students will benefit tremendously from additional funds for their research and travel for conferences, performances, exhibitions and more. These are invaluable experiences for our students, and they assist our faculty in promoting greater visibility for their research and creative activities.”

Sergio Ruiz, director of the Glenn Korff School of Music, said he was grateful for the support of piano.

“Like the Worths, many of our piano students are from outside the United States,” Ruiz said. “This scholarship will help our piano students realize their potential as they pursue their music studies, particularly those students with great financial need.”