Lincoln lawyer announces regents run

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By MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star

Longtime Lincoln attorney Earl Scudder announced Tuesday he will run for the District 1 seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Scudder, 65, is chairman of Scudder Law Firm. He is the first to officially announce his candidacy for the District 1 seat, which will be up for grabs in November 2008.

Regents Chairman Charles Wilson of Lincoln holds the seat. He said he’ll announce next week whether he plans to seek re-election.

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Earl Scudder

Earl Scudder

Scudder called NU “the premier institution of our state.” He said he hopes to maximize NU’s research progress and serve as many students as possible by keeping education affordable.

“I think (NU) is one of the state’s most important resources,” he said. “(The regents) are moving in the right direction. ... I think there’s always room for improvement.”

Scudder ran for regent in 1990 but didn’t make it past the primaries. Wilson eventually won the race and has been on the board since.

Another potential candidate for next year’s race is Lincoln lawyer Tim Clare. Clare said he’s awaiting Wilson’s decision before making his own.

Scudder, a Chicago native who’s been a Nebraskan since the 1960s, has a long history with NU. He earned degrees from the College of Business Administration in 1964 and from the College of Law in 1966, and he is chairman of the Law College’s alumni council.

He also is a member of 2015 Vision, a coalition of local business and education leaders who are promoting ideas for growth in Lincoln. One of the group’s top goals is a downtown research corridor for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that could connect university research with the private sector.

Scudder’s wife, Patricia, holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from NU, and the couple’s three children hold four NU degrees among them.

“The university has been good to my family and my candidacy is inspired by my desire to give back to an institution that has meant so much to us and to all Nebraska families,” he said in a prepared statement.

NU regents serve six-year terms. District 1 covers most of Lancaster County.

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.