2024 Sower Recipient: Anne M. Hubbard

Humanities Nebraska 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 was 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 was honored on September 24, 2024 at a benefit reception and dinner preceding the 29th Annual Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities in Lincoln.