Srb Memorial Honors Commitment to Teaching, Research

Seeking a lasting memorial to both her husband and his father, Jozetta Srb established a memorial fund to provide support for students involved in research at Cedar Point Biological Station, a field research program operated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln near Ogallala.

Srb, a University of Nebraska alumna, and her children donated more than $260,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to create the endowment in lasting memory of her husband, Adrian M. Srb, and father-in-law, Jerome V. Srb, who were NU graduates and lifelong educators.

The Srb memorial endowment provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students studying biological or environmental sciences who are enrolled in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources or College of Arts and Sciences at UNL.

The gift came from the partial sale of farmland located near Dodge, which was known for years as the Srb Farm. Jerome Srb's parents originally homesteaded the land in the 1860s. "The Srb family and Nebraska go hand in hand," said Srb, a Hebron native who lives in Ithaca, N.Y. "The Srbs were very close to Nebraska, and I wanted to remember their Nebraska heritage. I have great respect for Nebraska -- it's been the place for starting all kinds of good things in good people."

It is now likely that more good things will be accomplished by Nebraskans because of the help many students will receive over the years from the Adrian M. Srb and Jerome V. Srb Memorial Fund, said Alan Kamil, director of Cedar Point Biological Station and a George Holmes university professor of biological sciences.

"This generous gift will greatly enhance the integration of research and education for the benefit of all of Nebraska," Kamil said. "Research by undergraduate and graduate students is a crucial component of the mission of a research land-grant university such as UNL. The research activity teaches students many important skills, including analytic thinking, quantitative analysis and oral and written communication."

It is Srb's hope that the memorial fund will also prepare some students to be caring and enthusiastic educators, like her husband and father-in-law. "We need good mentors and teachers for tomorrow's students," she said. "Adrian and his father were marvelous examples of both."

Adrian and Jozetta Srb, who met at the University of Nebraska in 1939, were married for 57 years and raised three children. Adrian Srb, a native of Howells, received a bachelor's degree in English literature from NU in 1937 and a master's in agronomy in 1941. He completed a doctorate in biology at Stanford University under the guidance of George W. Beadle, a Nebraskan, renowned biologist and Nobel Prize winner. He then accepted a position at Cornell University in 1947, where he taught and led research in genetics and molecular biology for 38 years. He died in May 1997.

Jerome Srb was superintendent of schools in Dwight and then at Howells for 22 years. He took summer courses at the university to complete a master's degree in agronomy in 1937, graduating the same year his son, Adrian, received his first NU degree. Jerome then became director of short courses and extension specialist at the College of Agriculture, working with agronomy chairman and beloved professor F. D. Keim. He married English literature professor Viola Morris Srb, who preceded him in death in 1938. He died in September 1949.

Cedar Point Biological Station is operated by UNL's School of Biological Sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences. Located near Lake McConaughy, it offers courses in field biology and environmental science while providing a setting for student research. The abundance and variety of plants, animals and ecosystems provide an ideal research and learning environment. More information is available on its Web site.

The University of Nebraska Foundation is a nonprofit corporation supplementing support for students, faculty, facilities and programs at the University of Nebraska's four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations and other foundations since 1936. Its Web site is www.nufoundation.org.

CONTACTS: Robb Crouch, Director of Public Relations, NU Foundation, (402) 472-0151; and
Alan Kamil, Professor, Biological Sciences, (402) 472-9025