This year marks the 150th anniversary of the charter that established the University of Nebraska as the state’s land grant institution of higher education. 

In the 1869-1919 Semi-Centennial Anniversary Book, Louise Pound described the University’s aim “to afford to the inhabitants of the state the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science, and the arts." That mission still holds true, and the International Quilt Museum celebrates our relationship to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and our commitment to the premise and promise of an arts and sciences education.

The quilts shown here belong to the museum’s Education Collection. Unlike quilts from our Permanent Collection, quilts from the Education Collection can be subject to the variable temperature and light conditions that will, cumulatively, compromise any textile’s integrity and shorten its lifespan.

Quilts become part of our Education Collection for a number of reasons. They may replicate styles represented by examples in our Permanent Collection. Their donors may have stipulated that they belong to an Education Collection that can be easily shared by being exhibited for longer time periods, and at venues with less stringent temperature, humidity, light, or security controls.  

These red and white quilts range from the era of the University’s founding through the 1990s. Most were not explicitly created to embody school spirit, but they do so nonetheless—not only in terms of color, but because they represent the Education Collection, which plays an important role in the museum’s efforts to engage and educate the public about quilts, and their significance to Nebraska and beyond