Academic Excellence and Innovation Fund awards grant for conservation of permanent art collection
Seward, NE (09/11/2026) — Concordia University, Nebraska's Academic Excellence and Innovation Fund recently awarded Professor of Art James Bockelman $10,000 to support the continued stewardship, conservation and presentation of original prints in the permanent collection within the Marxhausen Gallery of Art., which is located on the Concordia Nebraska campus.
"The permanent collection is part of Concordia's rich, visual history which was already begun in the early 1950s," said Bockelman. "The collection is not just a repository of objects but continues to provide opportunities to examine broader questions concerning broader art and culture, personal identity and human experience, and especially one's faith."
A large portion of the funds from the grant will go towards the exhibition Hands On! Recent Acquisitions and New Perspectives from the Permanent Collection. It will be co-curated with students and will be displayed in the Marxhausen Gallery of Art from February 22 through March 25.
"One of the unseen obligations of a university is to steward its resources," Bockelman explained. "Whether it is a facility, the campus horticulture or a collection of art works. This grant addresses that responsibility. So, Schole Together is not simply a project about preserving artwork or expanding the collection, though it does. This academic grant enables the collection to function as a living-learning site, capable of generating new contemplation, conversation and shared history."
Concordia University, Nebraska's Academic Excellence and Innovation Fund was created in 2024 to encourage and celebrate faculty and student scholarship, placing particular focus on the intersection of faith and specific disciplines as well as critical issues in the family, church and world. The grants provide funds to support scholarship, providing resources to guide scholarly efforts. The fund was developed as part of the university's SALT and LIGHT strategic plan.
About Concordia University, Nebraska
Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod located in Seward, Nebraska, which currently serves more than 1,700 students. Concordia offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world. For more information, visit cune.edu.
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