Nebraska Panhandle News

Chadron State College’s Winter Commencement Speaker is Karen Pope, the Director of Alumni and Development for the Chadron State Foundation. Graduate and Undergraduate Commencement will be combined in the Chicoine Center at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16.

Seventy-one graduate candidates and 108 undergraduate candidates will be honored in the ceremony, which also includes summer graduates.Pope, who will retire from the Foundation in January 2023, grew up in Bridgeport, Nebraska, and graduated from Chadron State College in 1980 with a degree in Social Sciences.Pope’s career in the Alumni Office started in 1995 as an Office Assistant. She helped organize events, handled the office publications, and assisted with the Fall Fund Drive, involving CSC employees and community members soliciting pledges for scholarships. She also helped with the annual phonathon, which utilizes student callers to reach out to alumni for news to share and donations for scholarships.“One of the top priorities in our office was greeting and welcoming alumni to campus. The many alumni I've met during my career have been the best part of my job,” she said. “I never tire of hearing alumni stories about how Chadron State made a difference in their lives.”Pope also learned graphic design so she could prepare the Annual Report, the Alumni Magazine, and other materials to be printed.“Coworkers were so helpful to me in those early months. I had never done design or layout. They tutored me and helped me get my first newsletter to the printer about three weeks after I started,” she said.

For years, Pope and her colleagues in the office manually prepared each mailing. She recalls the sorted bundles of the newsletter, printed three times a year, filled an entire hallway in the now-demolished Kline Center.In 2001, Pope was promoted to the Director of Alumni and Development. In the new position, she assumed responsibility for all alumni events and requests. She traveled to visit with alumni about making gifts to support scholarships, and managed the Fall Fund Drive and phonathon.“The Alumni and Foundation Office strives to be a lifelong connection to Chadron State College. We have a unique role since we not only work with administration, faculty, and staff on campus, but also with the community and alumni across the nation,” Pope said.

Pope has played an integral part in the Alumni and Foundation’s support of more than $80 million of campus construction since 2008 and she’s played an important role in two campaigns. Her responsibilities changed with the launch of the first comprehensive campaign, Vision 2011. She and former Chadron State Foundation CEO, Connie Rasmussen, traveled frequently on fundraising missions for initiatives for the Rangeland Complex, the Chicoine Center, and endowment growth. The campaign culminated with the college’s centennial celebration in 2011.The Next Horizon comprehensive campaign started in 2014 with goals to raise funds for the Athletic Complex and the Math Science Center of Innovative Learning, as well as scholarships and endowments.In addition to fundraising, Pope’s responsibilities included coordinating alumni gatherings and reunions in multiple states, assisting with the Don Beebe Classic Golf Tournament, and accompanying alumni on group trips abroad.Before Pope joined the Alumni Office, she volunteered with Boy Scouts and the Chadron Public Library. She worked for State Farm Insurance and vividly recalls the historic 1986 hailstorm in Chadron that resulted in record property damage and claims. She also served on the board of directors when the Chadron TeamMates organization launched in the 1990s. Over the ensuing years, she remained involved with Boy Scouts until her sons were finished with it and she continued as mentor for middle school and college students. Pope has also been an active member of Rotary for 20 years and volunteers in the community.Pope and her husband, Andy, who retired as Chadron High School’s Activities Director in the spring, have three sons, Mitch, Will, and Drew. Mitch teaches English as a Second Language and Spanish in Las Vegas, while Will teaches social science and is the head boys' basketball coach at Papillion-La Vista. Drew is an attorney in Chadron, and his wife, Kate, is a Project Coordinator in Liberal Arts. The couple has two children, Julian and Hollis.

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