Former Bellevue University Board Member George Venteicher’s Life Devoted to the “Journey of Success”
It’s been said that “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Omahan George W. Venteicher’s 85-year journey included building a top law firm and a premier regional real estate development company.
Along the way, Venteicher quietly spearheaded ventures in Omaha and other communities, building multiple properties in five states from Florida to Arizona, while generously sharing the fruits of his labor with many causes and organizations he believed in and cared about, including Bellevue University.
Venteicher, who died March 3, 2022, personified the American Dream for many of his business and professional peers. He was born in Carroll, Iowa, a rural community of about 10,000 located 75 miles northeast of Omaha. Springing from humble but solid Midwestern roots, he graduated high school, then Creighton University in Omaha, and in 1962, Creighton’s law school. He spent three years as an Assistant Attorney General of Nebraska before moving into the private sector in 1967 and founding a law firm that went on to specialize in real estate.
The firm developed millions of square feet of commercial and residential space. In 1981, Venteicher and his business partners founded KVI Associates, a development company that built multiple projects in the Omaha area, including Oak View Mall and North Park, northeast of 120th and Blondo streets.
In the mid-1990s, Bellevue University was leasing classroom and support space in a strip mall near 120th and Center streets in western Omaha and actively seeking a permanent western location. Venteicher made an affordable building site available in KVI’s North Park development. Bellevue University’s 20,000 square-foot Lozier Professional Center opened there in 1998, with classrooms, technology, and faculty and support space that has served thousands of students, graduates, and corporate clients ever since. The building underwent a major renovation, including space repurposing and learning technology upgrades in 2019.
Venteicher served actively on the University’s Board of Directors from 2001 to 2016, when he became an emeritus director. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Commerce degree from Bellevue University, for his service to his profession, the community and the University.
He felt strongly about the value of education and the University’s mission to make college affordable and attainable by a diverse student population. “It serves a special niche—the second-chance students and others who deserve an opportunity,” he once said of the University. “It has a definite place, and the community benefits from it. If it weren’t here, a lot of those students wouldn’t be getting their education, and education is really important.”
Venteicher also supported outreach initiatives by Bellevue University’s American Vision and Values program, which emphasizes American founding principles like freedom, personal responsibility, free enterprise, and service to others. “Bellevue University teaches values, and that’s how you become a good citizen and benefit your community,” he said.
Over the years, he and his wife, Susan, provided generous major support for the University, and the Venteicher Wellness Center on the Bellevue campus is named for them. He also served a decade on the Board of Brownell-Talbot preparatory school, and was been a strong supporter of Creighton University, his alma mater.