Wayne State Foundation secures $13 million for Brandenburg Hall renovation

The Wayne State College Foundation announced July 27, 2026, that it has secured $13 million for the renovation of Brandenburg Hall, including a $5 million contribution from the Soukup family.

The Wayne campus building is planned to become the Brandenburg Student Success Center, a facility intended to support students across their college experience—from recruitment through graduation.

A new role for Brandenburg Hall

The renovation would give Brandenburg Hall a broader student-support role at Wayne State College. Rather than serving as a building tied to one point in a student’s college journey, the planned center is intended to connect services and support from the time prospective students are recruited through their graduation.

That approach places the project within several parts of campus life, including the transition into college and the support students receive while they work toward completing their degrees. The college has identified the future building’s name as the Brandenburg Student Success Center.

Wayne State College is located in Wayne, Nebraska, making the renovation a major capital investment on the college’s Wayne campus. The project also represents a planned change for Brandenburg Hall, one of the campus buildings included in the college’s long-term student-support vision.

Funding and next milestone

The foundation’s announcement identifies $13 million as secured for the Brandenburg Hall renovation. It also identifies the Soukup family’s $5 million contribution as part of that total. The announcement describes the funding through the foundation and the family contribution; it does not characterize the money as a public appropriation.

The next announced public milestone is a groundbreaking scheduled for October 2, 2026. The event is expected to formally mark the project’s move toward the planned renovation, but a scheduled groundbreaking is not the same as construction already being underway.

The college’s announcement does not provide a construction completion date, a detailed design schedule or a separate overall project budget beyond the $13 million secured for the renovation. Those details will determine when the new student-support center is completed and when its planned services can operate in the renovated building.

For Wayne State students and prospective students, the project’s stated purpose is to create a central location supporting the full path from recruitment through graduation. For the Wayne community, the scheduled groundbreaking will be the next public opportunity to mark progress on the campus renovation.