Omaha man has master’s degree from defunct college restored after record of it was lost

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Before he could deploy to Afghanistan and counsel soldiers in a warzone, then-Army Chaplain Maj. Vince Hardy needed a master’s degree, so he earned one at Grace University in Omaha.

“The Army was aware that I completed a master’s and they allowed me to come back on duty as a chaplain,” Vince said.

Grace University closed in 2018, and by law, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln manages the academic records of defunct colleges in the state. That way, if any of the 10,000 alumni needed to show their academic achievements, they know where to find them.

But the retired Army chaplain tells 6 News when it came time to provide proof of his master’s degree at Grace, those records are nowhere to be found.

Vince is applying for his doctorate, so he needs official proof of his master’s degree, but a letter from UNL said that unfortunately, his record was not transferred from Grace.

“All the effort, all the studying, all the sacrifices, it’s coming back now, like it didn’t count,” said Vince. “It didn’t matter.”

Dr. Karl Pagenkemper was the Academic Vice President of Grace University when it closed.

“I’ve never heard of this happening before,” said Pagenkemper. “I don’t even know. It could be a mechanical thing where someone pushed a button by accident or didn’t press it.”

Because of this missing proof, Vince says he was denied enrollment in a doctorate program, but the Grace professor and dean kept records that backed up his former student’s proof of a master’s degree.

“His transcript is clean,” Pagenkemper said. “It’s a good one. It’s just not an official one, so that’s why I’ve been willing to go to bat [for Vince]. I sent letters and notes off to Lincoln.”

After that correspondence and emails from 6 News, Hardy’s master’s from Grace University has been added to his official record kept by the UNL Registrar, Steve Booton.

“I added and appended a note to the tail end of that transcript that basically explains that the record was omitted in error and this particular record was fully validated by Grace University officials,” said Booton.

Vince now has his master’s back, front and center on his academic record, so he can advance forward on his education, and Booton says he’ll pick up the phone and vouch for him during his doctorate application process, if need be.

“I’m going to be an old student and I’m going to love every minute of it,” Vince said.

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