Humanities Nebraska (HN) has selected Anne M. Hubbard to receive the 2024 Sower Award in the
Humanities in recognition of her significant contribution to public understanding of the humanities in
Nebraska. Hubbard will be honored for her philanthropic support for many Native American projects,
the National Willa Cather Center, Omaha Public Library, KANEKO, Joslyn Art Museum, and other
humanities-related entities that have made a great impact on cultural and educational life in Nebraska.
Through the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation, Hubbard has enriched personal and public life
in Nebraska through her legacy of support in many different programs and organizations,
especially those that protect and celebrate Indigenous history and culture.
“Like our Native communities, which emphasize the importance of braiding strands to
build strength and resilience, Anne crafts and weaves together seemingly disparate, unrelated
groups toward a shared, human outcome—a stronger ‘braided sweetgrass,’ said nominator
Jessica Pate. She described Hubbard as “a thoughtful, strategic philanthropist whose forging of
interdisciplinary connections embodies the spirit of the humanities.”
A graduate of Omaha’s University of Nebraska Medical Center and a retired pediatric radiologist,
Hubbard leads the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation, which was established by the estates of her late
parents, Claire Watson Hubbard and Theodore Hubbard. The foundation primarily focuses on the
environment/environment and human health, STEM education, and Indigenous issues.
Hubbard will be honored on September 24, 2024 at a benefit reception and dinner preceding
the 29th Annual Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities in Lincoln. Following the Sower Award
presentation at Embassy Suites, Humanities Nebraska and co-sponsor E.N. Thompson Forum
on World Issues will present “A Conversation with Amy Tan” at the Lied Center for Performing
Arts. Amy Tan’s appearance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. A livestream viewing option will also be available.
Please visit www.humanitiesnebraska.org/governors-lecture to stay up to date on details on the
Governor’s Lecture and the Sower Award presentation.
Humanities Nebraska is a statewide nonprofit that has helped people explore what connects us
and makes us human for more than 50 years. HN is funded in part by the National Endowment for
the Humanities, an appropriation from the Nebraska Legislature, private donations, and the
Nebraska Cultural Endowment, a public-private partnership with state dollars matching private
dollars to benefit the arts and humanities in Nebraska.
