Norman H. Cromwell, UNL Chemistry; NU System Dean; Eppley Cancer Center Director

Authors

• Norman H. Cromwell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Pete Boughn, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Mark A. Griep, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

8-22-2026

Document Type

Article

Citation

Transcript, August 22, 2026 based on an interview in 1980

Comments

Copyright 2026, Mark Griep. Used by permission from the McGoogan Library.

Abstract

This 1980 interview of Normal Cromwell was done by Pete Boughn at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He asked about Cromwell’s history but mostly about his time as director of the Eppley Cancer Center. The interview is reproduced with permission from the UNMC McGoogan Library.

Cromwell was born in 1913 in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1935, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in his hometown. In 1939, three things happened: he earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota, he got married, and he was hired as an instructor at the University of Nebraska. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a full professor. After WWII, his lab began synthesizing a class of compounds that had possible medicinal properties, including as anti-cancer agents. These compounds brought at lot of attention to his work. In the 1960s and ‘70s, Cromwell served as chair of the chemistry department, vice president of graduate education, and, unexpectedly, director of the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases in Omaha.