UNO Magazine Fall 2014 by UNO Magazine

FALL 2014

Exploring religion & faith around the world

Beyond Belief

UNO Graduate Degree phrase 1. an investment in professional growth 2. over 60 areas of study 3. includes certificate, masters, and doctoral programs

Define yourself. | unomaha.edu/graduate

FALL 2014 VOL. 5, NO. 3 WWW.UNOALUMNI.ORG/UNOMAG

MANAGING EDITOR Anthony Flott ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jennifer Arnold Charley Reed ART DIRECTION Heidi Mihelich Emspace Group

Letter from the Chancellor

Letters to the Editor

Letter from the Editor

COVER ILLUSTRATION Dawn Cooper CONTRIBUTORS Dave Ahlers, Rick Davis, Colleen Kenney Fleischer, Eric Francis, Ryan Henriksen, Alex Jensen, Susan Klaus, Greg Kozol, Katie Kresha, Evan Ludes, Stephanie Montgomery, Lori Rice, Kara Schweiss, Nicholas Sauma, Tori Sones, Terry Stickels, Kevin Warneke.

36 Body of Faith Body as a Temple

8 Alumni

Association

12 Philanthropy Matters

16 The Colleges 24 Athletics

42 Chasing God around the Globe

44 ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS TO 80,000 UNO GRADUATES! TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT GARY DOMET AT 402-995-1918 OR GMD6@COX.NET.

UNO Magazine is published three times a year by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association and the NU Foundation. Direct editorial inquiries to Managing Editor: UNO Alumni Association, 6705 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182-0010. Phone: 402-554-2444; tollfree, UNO-MAV-ALUM, FAX 402-554-3787. Email: aflott@unoalumni.org Send all changes of address to attention of Records or visit www.unoalumni.org/records Views expressed within this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association or the NU Foundation.

A Hunger for Religion

On the Big Screen

CLASS 53 NOTES

Fear in the Air

Sights & Sounds

For Fun

Players & Prayers

FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Dear Alumni and Friends: WITH THE FALL SEMESTER well underway and our newest class of freshmen on campus, we renew our commitment to them and all of our students — to help them reach their goal of graduation and join UNO’s vast alumni network around the world. In doing so, they become part of an organization more than 100,000 members strong whose focus is to connect graduates to their alma mater and to support the institution though a variety of activities and contributions. Recently, the strong campus involvement of the UNO Alumni Association was evident with the installation of the Maverick Monument. Weighing more than 1,600 pounds and standing 8-foot tall, the bronze mascot statue was placed on the north side of the Sapp Field House and Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building on Aug. 4 and unleashed (dedicated) Aug. 24. Presented in commemoration of the Alumni Association’s 100th anniversary in 2013, the Maverick Monument is a testament to the pride, determination and forward spirit of our students and alumni. This exquisite gift was created by renowned wildlife artist Jocelyn Russell and already has become a popular backdrop for “selfies” and group photos by campus organizations. The Maverick Monument is just the latest example of the generosity that characterizes UNO alumni and their alumni association. Each year, support of UNO’s Annual Fund makes a powerful impact on all corners of the campus, from student scholarships and special events, to professorships, alumni communications and programmatic resources. Events such as the Scholarship Swing, alumni outreaches across the country, and Homecoming Week bring alumni and friends together to renew connections and create opportunities to learn more about important campus initiatives. Your Maverick Alumni Association is doing great things to grow the campus and provide vital encouragement to our students and the faculty and staff who help make their educational dreams come true. The Alumni Association is a true partner in UNO’s success, and its constant presence on campus is moving us forward in many important ways. On behalf of the entire campus community, I want to say thank you to the Association for the Maverick Monument and everything it does, every day, to make the campus a better place, a more student-focused place in which to learn, teach and work. You are making a difference! Until next time,

Chancellor John E. Christensen

On Summer 2014

FROM BUFFALO TO OMAHA Great edition of UNO Magazine. I, too, was the “proud” owner of an AMC Gremlin. Drove from Buffalo, N.Y., with stops in Wooster, Ohio, and Carbondale, Ill., to get to Omaha in August of 1980. I believe that Gremlin only lasted until November of that year. My brother handed it down to me, but it was MY first car. My Gremlin was copper with customized rust slits on the front wheel wells — very classy! Joe Kaminski UNO Senior Director of Wellness

TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR UNO Magazine wants to know what its readers are thinking. Write us about the magazine or university. Letters must include writer’s first and last names, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for taste, accuracy, clarity and length. Submit a letter online at unoalumni.org/unomag-led or write to the address on page 3. ON UGLY CARS AND UNO I had a smile on my face after reading your "From The Editor" piece. I am sure I am not the only Mav that has a story similar to yours, except mine was the reverse. I set off for UNO in a 1969 Pontiac Catalina. I know what you mean about large — this baby could hold a few Gremlins in the back seat. In 1980, filing the tank cost $25. Oh, and by the way, it could not be trusted out of the driveway. On one memorable trip home from school, the brakes died in the middle of a downhill ride during rush hour. I willingly gave it up to drive my grandmother's 1964 Rambler (OK, willingly is a stretch. My father gave me the choice of the Rambler or the city bus). After driving this baby for four years (I have to admit it was reliable), I never take safety features on cars for granted, and I also appreciate the ability to buy new cars fresh off the assembly line (like you, I say "thanks UNO"). The '64 also had the honor of being one of the least ugly models AMC and its predecessors ever produced. I have always maintained the skills I learned at UNO were just as important in life as the academic ones. To succeed at UNO, you had to be able to juggle a full load, an internship, a job or two, AND keep a "school car" running. You also picked up cutthroat skills in snagging a parking space, but that's another story. Jacquie Montag ‘81 Omaha

STILL RIDING HER DEGREE I read with enthusiasm your summer issue, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and the segment "Two for the Road." The progress Omaha has made to become the bicycle-friendly community that it is is astounding, and UNO is contributing to that effort. The two nonprofit bike shops I founded are integral to the same effort being made across the greater Kansas City Area. In establishing our work here, I paid a visit to the Community Bike Project in Omaha to see the great work they are doing. Nonprofit bike shops like ours eliminate the fear and affordability factors that keep people from using bicycles as earthfriendly transportation. As executive director of the Revolve Community Bike Shops (www.revolvekc.org), I received the Good Neighbor Award at the 2014 Rosa Parks SPIRIT Awards of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. That Master of Social Work degree I earned at UNO in '96 has really taken me places! Elizabeth Bejan, ‘96 Kansas City, Mo.

FROM THE EDITOR IT’S NOT EASY TO please 80,000-plus readers. My goal when planning UNO Magazine issues is to provide content that will be relevant, useful and engaging to as many readers as possible, providing stories informed by the expertise of UNO faculty, staff, students and alumni. But capturing the attention of large segments of the UNO Magazine audience can be challenging given our wide-ranging demographics. Our readers are young and old, are spread across the United States, are of all political persuasions, are male and female, are active and sedentary, are … you get the idea. The editor of Cat Fancy magazine (yes, that’s a real magazine) has an easy go of it when planning issues. Does it involve cats or kittens? Great, our readers will love it! When deciding upon our themes, we try to identify those that will resonate with as many readers as possible. I think we hit the mark especially so two magazines ago with our issue on race and ethnicity. We’ve never had a more positive response to any issue we’ve published. The theme was common to every one of us, and we found ways to talk about it that were smart, personal, topical and even provocative. I think we’ve offered another such theme with this issue on faith and religion. And to be honest, I’m a bit anxious about the feedback we’ll get. After all, what in the world does a public, state-funded university have to do with … God? As you’ll see in the following pages, lots. Religion is intermeshed with so many other spheres of life — the arts, politics, economics, etc. — that it can’t be avoided. To understand what’s going on in the world, we MUST understand its religions, the role they play and how they shape where we live, how we live and why things are the way they are. “It’s pretty difficult to understand the world around you without understanding the religions of the world,” says UNO Professor Bill Blizek. “I don’t know how you think you’ll do business in India if you don’t know something about Hindus and Islam. You don’t understand China unless you understand Confucianism.” Blizek and his fellow religious studies faculty are helping UNO students do just that, and not just religion majors. Students from across all of UNO’s academic disciplines take religious studies courses. It’s hoped that they’ll take what they learn and be able to make the world a better place — no matter their faith. Enjoy the read, Anthony Flott Managing Editor

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Association, Alumni Donors push UNO to next level during Campaign for Nebraska ON DEC. 31, 2014, the University of Nebraska Foundation’s “Campaign for Nebraska” draws to a close. During the course of this nine-year endeavor, 12,486 individuals have made donations to UNO — 60 percent of those for the first time. The UNO Alumni Association played a major role in harnessing the power of the alumni network to further the campaign’s success, helping UNO grow from a primarily commuter campus to a Division I, Carnegie-recognized doctoral and research university. Here’s a look at how UNO alumni contributed to the campaign since its 2005 start: • 12,486 donors have made a gift to the UNO Annual Fund with an average gift of $105 per donor per year. • The Alumni Association has awarded 36 scholarships (four per incoming class) of $2,500/year from the UNO Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, plus nine scholarships to UNO Student Regents. These scholarships were partially funded by the cumulative giving of UNO’s alumni. • In 2006, alumni gifts helped fund needed improvements and an expansion to the Thompson Alumni Center. A 120-guest banquet room was added, the lobby renovated and audio/visual equipment updated. • In 2010, the association launched UNO Magazine, a thrice-yearly campus publication sent to every UNO graduate. The publication since has received numerous awards from the professionally judged award program of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). • In 2011, the association established the Young Alumni Academy, a networking and leadership development program for graduates 35 and younger. The program educates participants about the inner workings of campus and encourages them to stay involved with their alma mater and fellow alumni. In 2012, the Young Alumni Academy was recognized as the best new alumni program in the country by CASE. This program was made possible by gifts to the UNO Annual Fund and its sub-fund, the Alumni Engagement & Programs Fund. • In 2013, the Alumni Association celebrated its 100th Anniversary by gifting to campus and UNO’s students the new Maverick Monument, an 8-foottall bronze statue of the campus mascot. The statue was installed and dedicated Aug. 24 and marks the beginning of new traditions on UNO’s ever-growing campus. These and other contributions to UNO’s growth were possible because of UNO’s alumni donors who gave generously to the UNO Annual Fund. Gifts impact the student experience and the ability of UNO’s alumni to build the university for future generations. Please consider making a gift to the UNO Annual Fund and being part of the campaign before its end. Gifts of $250 or more will be recognized as part of the Century Club and listed in UNO Magazine annually. Visit unoalumni.org to make your gift today.

Seventh class of UNO Alumni Scholars begin Maverick careers THE UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION welcomed its seventh class of UNO Alumni Scholars at the start of the fall semester. Four students received UNO Alumni Association Scholarships, awarded to graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated leadership and involvement during high school. Recipients also must have a minimum ACT composite score of 24 and either rank in the top 25 percent of their class or have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The $2,500 annual scholarships are renewable for up to four years. The association now is supporting 14 UNO students with UNO Alumni Association Scholarships. Pictured are 2014-15 inaugural UNO Alumni Association Scholarship recipients Austin Brown, Bellevue, Neb. (Bellevue West); Zachary Lucas, Omaha (Millard South High School); Rose Gensichen, Omaha (Marian); and, Samantha Gochenour, Missouri Valley, Iowa (MV High School). Bios of the four recipients and other UNO Alumni Scholars are available at www.unoalumni.org/scholarships.

Showing the O UNO graduates continue to Show the O around the world — though it’s yet to fly in a handful of states. Instituted to celebrate the UNO Alumni Association’s 100th anniversary, Show the O emphasizes the spread and stature of the worldwide UNO alumni network — now numbering 100,000 graduates. Launched in January 2013, the campaign provides alumni, students and friends with “O” flags to display in photographs where they live or travel. Photographs are displayed on an interactive world map at showtheo.com.

Tehran, Iran

Maverick nation has taken the flag to more than 50 countries but yet to these states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island and South Dakota. Can YOU Show the O in one of these states? Request a flag at showtheo.com — we'll send one for free and pay for its way home.

Maverick Monument INCOMING FRESHMEN WEREN’T THE only ones who received a warm welcome to campus at the start of UNO’s fall semester.

“Is this awesome or what?” UNO Chancellor John Christensen asked while pointing to the statue. “This is absolutely incredible.”

Maverick Monument got a rousing reception, too.

The first mascot statue in the University of Nebraska system, Maverick Monument is expected to become an enduring campus icon sparking new traditions and offering interactive photo opportunities for students, alumni, visitors and media. Already, people have been seen taking “selfies” with the statue nearly every day since its installation.

An estimated 1,000 students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends on Aug. 24 helped “Unleash” Maverick Monument, the 8-foottall, 1,600-pound bronze mascot statue the UNO Alumni Association presented to campus in commemoration of the association’s 100th anniversary. The official dedication ceremony followed the university’s New Student Convocation, an annual welcome reception this year attended by 750 students. Afterward, guests filled the new Maverick Monument plaza in front of the Lee and Helene Sapp Fieldhouse and Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building. The high-energy Unleashing featured music by the UNO Marching Band, performances by UNO Cheerleaders and hundreds of people rattling Maverick Monument cowbells distributed prior to the ceremony.

“This bronze Maverick will be a symbol of our Maverick mojo, showing the determination, pride and success of UNO students and alumni and of the opportunities that lay before them,” said student Ben Kaipust, who pushed for the project’s completion, first as a student senator then as student vice president. The Unleashing ceremony featured remarks by Seattle-area artist Jocelyn Russell, who created the monument. A committee of students, alumni, faculty and staff in June 2013 chose Russell to create the monument. Chancellor Christensen made her and her husband, Michael Dubail, honorary

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Alumni Night of Honor Debuts THE UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION introduced the UNO Alumni Night of Honor on Oct. 9, recognizing award-winning members of the worldwide UNO alumni network. The event was hosted at the Thompson Alumni Center and billed as an all-university homecoming celebration to highlight achievements by members of the worldwide UNO alumni network. Among the honorees were 2014 UNO Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Tracy Ankeny Blair, Stephanie Kruse, Marv Nevins and Les Sigman. See page 26 for stories on each. Chuck Holderness

Also honored were 1970 UNO graduate Chuck Holderness, who received the Outstanding Service Award, and 2001 graduate Jeff Slobotski, who received the Young Alumni Achievement Award. Holderness served as chairman of the UNO AFROTC Alumni Chapter from 2010 to 2013. He helped the chapter grow its scholarship disbursements and was a frequent attendee at UNO Alumni Association Board of Director meetings as an ex-officio member.

Mavericks, thanking the artist for “her deep commitment to this project since Day 1.” He also called UNO “A place of independent and creative thinking.” “We are unconventional and clearly chart our own course for this campus and our engagement with the community,” Christensen said. “We are indeed Mavericks. Now, after 40-some years, we have a symbol that represents that spirit as we charge forward to becoming a world-class metropolitan university.” Also speaking were UNO Alumni Association President Lee Denker and Alumni Association Chairman of the Board David Craft. Denker thanked faculty and staff, alumni and students for making the project possible while Craft cited various donors. Nearly 150 individuals, groups and organizations have contributed to the monument project, their names engraved on a Sioux Quartzite donor recognition wall that’s part of the plaza. A free BBQ for guests followed the Unleashing, which was covered by print and TV media.

Slobotski is co-founder of Silicon Prairie News, a digital media company dedicated to highlighting and supporting entrepreneurs, creatives and investors through an emerging model for grassroots entrepreneurial ecosystem development in and around Omaha, Des Jeff Slobotski Moines and Kansas City. He also launched the Big Omaha and Big Kansas City events, bringing together members of the entrepreneurial community, including founders, investors, designers and emerging leaders to build community, start conversation and provide inspiration. Other alumni who have earned special recognition for service or professional accomplishments also were recognized.

Tacos al Paso UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF for a fifth consecutive year welcomed students back to campus during Durango Days in late August, serving 2,200 complimentary “walking tacos” — corn chips in a bag topped with beef, lettuce, cheese and salsa. Free beverages also were distributed. Assisting alumni staff were volunteers Georgia Clark, Carol Wilson and Chris Spencer. UNO fed students four free meals during the first week of the fall semester, this year in the Pep Bowl.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Young Alumni Academy welcomes 5th class The UNO Alumni Association in September welcomed the fifth class of its UNO Young Alumni Academy, a nationally recognized and award-winning leadership development program designed for alumni 35 and younger to facilitate networking and professional growth. The program boasts its largest class so far with 50 alumni. More than 130 young alumni have completed the program, founded in 2010. The group attends sessions held at unique locations on and off campus, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the CenturyLink Center and time flying in the cockpit of UNO’s Flight Simulator. UNO leaders also address members on topics such as athletics management, student focus and community engagement. The academy has received several awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, including the association’s first-ever Silver award in CASE’s International Circle of Excellence awards program. See more at unoalumni.org/unoyoungalumni. Members in the 2014-15 class include: Elizabeth Akert, Rebecca Armstrong, Terrence Batiste, Carly Beckman, Anna Berg, Dan Cheuvront, Christopher Cheuvront, Mallery Choiniere, Robert Clines, Erin Cox, Jason Dunn, Christine Dunn, Kailey Dwyer, Natalia Fairchild, Megan Falke, Phillip Foster, Mary Hammack, Kristin Henderson, Ryne Higgins, Christa Hillmer, Tiffany Kelly, Charles Layne, Derick Lewin, Cassy Loseke, Kasey McAllister, Derek McBride, Joseph McCampbell, Marshal McGovern, Tyler Micek, Stephanie Montgomery, Amanda Monzingo, Ciera Mosley, Mollie Myers, Kate O’Dea, Courtney Otte, Ellie Pelto, Michael Perdunn, Jimmie Pinkham III, D'Antae Potter, Tricia Prososki, Sarahi Real y Vasquez, Grant Runyan, Pyper Russell, Kelsey Sevening, Kanad Sharma, Jacqueline Skarda, Maurice Steier, Marjorie Sturgeon, Heather Tweedy, Kristin Webb.

PARTNERSHIPS Insurance Are you in need of home, life, auto, health or life insurance? The UNO Alumni Association offers graduates insurance for these and other needs at discounted rates. See all the coverage available at www.unoalumni.org/insurance.

Travel The UNO Alumni Association is pleased to offer alumni discounted travel opportunities through a partnership with travel provider Go Next! Join fellow graduates on one of two Oceania Cruises in 2015 — Coastal Alaska (July 7-14) and European Hideaways (Oct. 22-30). For more information, including detailed brochures for each trip, visit www.unoalumni.org/ travel. Other cruises are under consideration, so check the site frequently. To receive a brochure for any of our trips by mail, call the association toll-free at UNOMAV-ALUM (866-628-2586).

102 and counting The UNO Alumni Association’s 102nd board of directors convened in August for its first quarterly meeting. David Craft directs the Association as 2014-15 chairman of the board. He is the 91st graduate to chair the board.

Pictured, from left (years of graduation in parentheses): Chancellor John Christensen (1974), Gary Seitz (1971), Chris Denney (2005), Joan Lukas (1993), Student Regent Jordan Koch, Adam Marek (2000), Laurie Ruge (2001), Past Chairman Andy Rikli (2007), Steven Schmitz (1995, 2008), Sarah Waldman (1994), Randy Stevenson (1982), President Lee Denker, Traci Harrison (2000), Faculty Senate Rep. Patrick O'Neil (2008), Shari Munro (1986), Penny Parker (1980), Scott Durbin (1984), Brian Allison (2005), Tina Scott-Mordhorst (1989), Chairman David Craft (1990, 1992), Susie Melliger (1980, 1983, 1991), Tami Williams (2003, 2009), Todd Rynaski (1995), Monique Farmer (2003). Not pictured: Shonna Dorsey (2003), Allen Hansen (1984), John Jesse III (1984, 1990). See more about the board of directors at unoalumni.org/board.

Love is in the air Feb. 14 — so is UNO hockey. Show where your heart is. Join UNO Alumni Night on the Ice Valentine’s Day Saturday, Feb. 14 5:30 p.m. CenturyLink Center $20/adult $15/child (children under 2 free)

Already have tickets to Maverick hockey? Reception-only price of $12/adult, $10/child.

The UNO Alumni Association will host the 12th annual UNO Alumni Night on the Ice on Valentine’s Day and invites all alumni and their families to the ever-popular event. The fun starts with a buffet reception including door prizes, music and Hockey 101 with former Mav players; followed by great lower bowl seating for UNO’s game against Western Michigan starting at 7:07 p.m. Adult admission includes game ticket and pre-game buffet (pulled pork sandwiches, chips, salad, cookie, tea, and lemonade). Cash bar available. Children’s includes game ticket and plated children’s meal. Hockey tickets will be distributed at the reception. Register online at unoalumni.org/eventregister or call 402-554-4802.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

A Swinging Good Time Association raises $35,000 for student scholarships at 34th annual UNO Alumni Scholarship Swing THE UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION hosted the UNO Alumni Scholarship Swing Sept. 8 at Tiburon Golf Club, netting $35,000 in support of students. The association has raised more than $825,000 since it began hosting the Swing in 1995. Almost 100 golfers and 30 sponsors participated in the tournament. The money raised supports various association-sponsored student scholarships.

Among the scholarships the Swing supports are UNO Alumni Association Scholarships, $2,500/year grants to graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated leadership and involvement during high school. The scholarships are renewable for up to four years and a new class of scholars is introduced each year. UNO Alumni Scholars were at the tournament to thank Swing sponsors and participants. UNO graduates Scott Durbin (‘84) and Al Hansen (‘84) chaired the committee that oversees the tournament. Other committee members include Ben Burton (‘07), Rochelle Eigsti, Brian Keating (‘79), Jacob Rehder (‘03), and Paul Olson (‘84).

The Association thanks the following sponsors for their support:

Hole Sponsors AAA Nebraska Ag Processing, Inc. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska Brandeis Catering Cox Business DLR Group First National Bank Frankel Zacharia Hancock & Dana PC Harry A. Koch Holland Basham Architects

Lutz & Co. Methodist Health System Millard Public Schools Foundation Northwestern Mutual Union Pacific UNO Athletics U.S. Bank Valmont Industries Weitz Funds Wells Fargo

Other Sponsors America First Investment Advisors Jacob Rehder UNO College of Education UNO College of Business ConAgra Foods Data Systems

Liberty Mutual (Beverage cart sponsor)

Omaha Schools Foundation The Narmi Group UNO Chancellor’s Office T.D. Ameritrade (Cart sponsor)

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

It was the Wailing Wall. It was a bank of the Jordan River. It was Galilee. It was dinner with a man practicing a secretive religion. It was a bus that shuttled them around the Holy Land. It was all of Israel.

10 DAYS IN ISRAEL For six UNO students, the country becomes the classroom FOR SIX UNO STUDENTS this spring, their classroom was the Dead Sea. “It is such a blur,” says Kasey Davis, a religious studies major. “But you have to go back through the pictures to see what you did and then you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh. We were there.’” Says Joe Willms, who’s majoring in international studies and religion: “I learned more about the Jewish people in 10 days than I had in my entire life, so that’s insane.” “Yes,” says Davis. “You really see Israel in a new light.”

Hands-on Learning The course — held during 10 days in May — was designed for students like Davis and Willms who are interested in international studies, religious studies or history. In July, they joined two other students who took the trip to talk about their experiences. And to thank the donors who made it possible. The students sat at a long table in the Natan & Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, which is in Arts & Sciences Hall at UNO. The trip was sponsored by the Schwalb Center and paid for through private support from local individuals: Tom Vann, Nelson Gordman, Jerry Gordman, Mort Zuber and Tammy Abramowitz. Dean David Boocker added an additional $500 per student from the Arts and Sciences Fund for Excellence. Kyle Bacus, a master’s student in Israeli history, says that for his project for the course, he looked at how the military experience of the Druze people helps integrate them into society. On Day Six, following a tasty lunch made by a Christian Arab family and a tour of Warren Buffett’s Tefen Industrial Park, Bacus

and the group traveled to a Druze village in western Galilee and ate dinner in a Druze home. They listened as a Druze man explained his religion and culture. “That was really eye-opening,” Bacus says. “It was an experience. It’s a secretive religion. It’s not open for people to come and convert. They believe in reincarnation and that there’s only a set number of people born into that religion. “Quite frankly, you just can’t read about that — and you can’t find that in Nebraska.” Jennifer Lassley, a master’s student in ancient history, is writing her master’s thesis on ancient Judea and the women of King Herod’s court. It’s a piece, she says, that combines religious studies with ancient women’s studies. “I can’t emphasize enough how important this is to my studies in that I was able to go see the architecture of Herod, up close and personal,” Lassley says. “I got to touch it with my hands. It will make my thesis and my future career as a historian that much more significant.” Without that financial support, she says, she wouldn’t have been able to go. “I’d really like to express my gratitude to all the private donors and the Schwalb Center for allowing me to take this amazing trip,” she says. “I am just so deeply grateful.”

Experiencing History Several people from the community also took the trip, led by Dr. Moshe Gershovich, director of the Schwalb Center. The trip aligned with center’s main goal, which, according to its web page, “is to expand knowledge about Judaism and Israel, both on university campus and in the broader Nebraska community, and we seek to promote and facilitate collaborative scholarship (teaching and research) with academic institutions in Israel.”

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

At left: Trish Trudo in Akko, Israel. Center: Kasey Davis at Bethsaida. Top right: In Archeological Park on the Temple Mount in front of the Mughrabi Gate. Front row: Trush Trudo, Mary Bernier, Merilee Rimerman, Kasey Davis; 2nd row – Karen Pollack, Jackie McCabe, Oliver Pollack, Margo Riekes, Steve Riekes, Kyle Bacus, Jane Alseth, Moshe Gershovich, Joe Willms, Sean Jimerson, Jennifer Lassley. Bottom right: Jennifer Lassley and Moshe Gershovich, in Caesarea, Israel.

On Day 8, the group visited the Bethsaida archaeological site that a UNO-led consortium of universities is excavating. The group listened to lectures at the site, rediscovered in 1987 by Dr. Rami Arav, professor of religion and philosophy at UNO. Also that day, the group toured the Jesus Boat Museum and took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. On Day 10, they visited the Dead Sea region and Masada and toured Jerusalem’s Old City. That night, they dined with a special lecturer — Salam Fayyad, the former prime minister of Palestine. “That was amazing,” Willms says. “The way he enlightened us about their plight and about what’s going on there, about how he actually did not get re-elected and problems with that, and problems with the Palestinian people due to poverty and they want direct results, immediate results, and someone like him who is going to promise a future for them over time — that was pretty amazing.” Adds Bacus: “And the prime minister’s message is ‘We should be working together with the Israelis.’ It’s non-violent. It wasn’t that ‘Violence is the only way.’ It’s that ‘If we work together, and we build up infrastructure, we can both live in peace.’” On the final day, the UNO group had one final amazing experience. As the tour bus was taking them back to the airport, they looked

to the right and saw the Pope’s helicopter flying past. At the same time, they looked to their left and saw the bulletproof cars carrying the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s president, Shimon Peres.

It’s a secretive religion. It’s not open for people to come and convert. They believe in reincarnation and that there’s only a set number of people born into that religion. Quite frankly, you just can’t read about that — and you can’t find that in Nebraska.

“It was like a really quick moment where everyone was freaking out,” Lassley says. “It was kind of funny, and it was surreal, almost.” The students all smile at the memory. Says Willms: “We were a part of history.” And Israel, they agree, was a classroom they’ll never forget. By Colleen Kenney Fleischer, University of Nebraska Foundation

Global Engagement is one of the priorities of the University of Nebraska’s Campaign for Nebraska, now in its final year. Since the campaign began in 2005, more than $6 million has been raised for the university’s global engagement efforts. If you would like to help students like those at UNO who went to Israel, please consider giving online at nufoundation.org or contact the foundation at 800-432-3216. The Schwalb Center hopes to sponsor another class in Israel in 2016, if it’s deemed safe for travel there. UNO has many other wonderful study-abroad student experiences planned for students, including a trip to Morocco next spring to study Jewish culture and history.

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

In Pursuit of Happiness — at any age A Catholic priest establishes a professorship and scholarship at UNO while continuing to help people find meaning ‘In This Life’ GEORGE WAS A SICK, old man. Once a powerful man — in World War II he’d been an assistant to General Patton — George now lived in a nursing home. He had diabetes. Both his legs had been amputated. His eyes were failing. When he spilled soup on his chin, someone else had to wipe it. He couldn’t feed himself. Yet George was a happy, old man.

Missinne could not attend the celebration that announced his gifts this past April at UNO. However, he provided a few thoughts to be shared: Let me as an “older” person and an “old” teacher propose a few suggestions: Try to help older people in finding new ways that can help them to more enjoy life.

He inspired the nursing home staff and he inspired a Catholic priest named Leo Missinne, an expert on aging and a professor emeritus in UNO’s department of gerontology. Missinne wrote about George in his latest book, “In This Life: Spiritual Growth and Aging:” Although he had been through much, George continued to set goals. He set a goal to get his diabetes under control and visit his nephew’s home for Christmas. He was making plans to fight his illness in a systematic way and was full of hope and courage. Missinne, 87 and retired, today serves as a chaplain in a nursing home in Belgium, his home country. He belongs to the order of the Missionaries of Africa. He’s seen his share of suffering. He’s lost a few good friends who were murdered doing missionary work in the Congo. His brother and sister recently died. But Missinne is a happy, old man, too.

Do not impose yourself but work with them and for them.

To be happy, Missinne says, most people need to find meaning in their life. That can be especially true when the road nears its end. Older people, he says, can find meaning in helping others.

Learn to listen to them and to love them, because you cannot really listen if you do not love them.

And in giving back what they received from others. Paying it forward.

Help them to believe in themselves, in other human beings and in God. Avoid being too intellectual.

Missinne has found meaning in his life by devoting it to God, to love and to his students, teaching them to understand the needs of older people and how to help them set goals and find hope. “I am grateful for what my students and fellow teachers have given me,” Missinne wrote via e-mail from Belgium. “They have been inspirational to me. “The death of my brother and of my sister has been teaching me how to live and what is really important in life. Real life is helping other people who are needy (spiritually and physically). That is the essence of what Christian faith is all about. In helping these needy people, we will become

closer to God, who is the source of all genuine love, and also closer to ourselves.” Missinne came to UNO as a visiting lecturer from 1971 to 1973 then stayed as a professor of gerontology for the next 20 years. He’s written more than 110 books and articles and won many awards, including the College of Public Affairs and Community Service Excellence in Teaching Award. He never forgot UNO.

I am grateful for what my students and fellow teachers have given me. Missinne recently created a professorship in the CPACS Department of Gerontology and a scholarship fund for gerontology students. “UNO has an excellent spirit and genuine humane relations and is doing excellent academic research,” Missinne wrote. In August, Christopher M. Kelly, Ph.D., was named the first Leo Missinne Professor in Gerontology at UNO. He says the Missinne Professorship will support his research into long-term care policy and will help the department continue to recruit and develop gerontology students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Kelly says his mission is to explore ways of improving the quality of long-term care services provided to older people in their homes and in residential facilities. “I hope that my research is able to reflect Father Missinne’s beliefs, particularly in the principle that every person is entitled to a life that is free from want with needs such as health care met,” Kelly says. “These are basic human rights that transcend national boundaries.” Support for faculty and students is a priority of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska, now in its final year. Since it began in 2005, the campaign has raised about $198 million for UNO and created 627 new funds here, including 26 for faculty support and 269 for student support. If you also would like to help, please contact the foundation at 800-432-3216 or visit nufoundation.org. By Colleen Kenney Fleischer, University of Nebraska Foundation

PHILANTHROPY MATTERS

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA

All statistics as of August 31, 2014. The Campaign for Nebraska began in July 2005 and will conclude in December 2014.

For information on how you can support UNO, please contact: UNO

Mike Bird 402-502-4923 mbird@nufoundation.org Lori Byrne 402-502-4920 lbyrne@nufoundation.org

College of Arts and Sciences Mary Bernier 402-502-4108 mbernier@nufoundation.org

College of Business Administration Sue Kutschkau 402-502-4109 skutschkau@nufoundation.org

College of Education

Department of Athletics

Nicole Massara 402-502-4105 nmassara@nufoundation.org

Terry Hanna 402-502-4106 thanna@nufoundation.org

College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media

International Studies & Programs

Renee Reding 402-502-4119 rreding@nufoundation.org

College of Information Science & Technology Terry Hanna 402-502-4106 thanna@nufoundation.org

Mary Bernier 402-502-4108 mbernier@nufoundation.org

Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center Renee Reding 402-502-4119 rreding@nufoundation.org

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A Religious Studies Program for the Religious studies has deep roots at UNO but has grown into something entirely different from what it was 100 years ago. — Assistant Editor Charley Reed, University Communications

21ST CENTURY

PAUL WILLIAMS OFTEN FINDS himself explaining what Religious Studies at UNO is not before he can explain what it is.

It is not religious training. It is not a seminary preparing students to become priests, ministers, rabbis, shamans or monks. It is not in the business of conversions — or de-conversions, for that matter. “The primary misconception is that we are a form of theology, which is a religiously motivated study of doctrines and beliefs,” says Williams, program chair for the past decade. “We study humans who believe in God. That’s the difference.” Religious studies has been part of the university’s curriculum as long as math, science or any other discipline. But it had a decidedly different tone at the university’s founding in 1908 as a private, non-sectarian Protestant school with many faculty members coming from the nearby Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Three of UNO’s first four presidents were ordained ministers and the Bible was seen as “supreme authority” (see more on the university’s religious heritage on pages 27-29). Those religious roots were severed, though, when the City of Omaha assumed control of Omaha U. as a municipal university in 1930. And they were all but forgotten by most by the time OU joined the University of Nebraska system in 1968. Yet, Williams says, confusion about the scope of religious studies at UNO exists in the minds of students, parents and even faculty outside the department. For instance, he says, “People are always surprised that we offer a course on atheism.” “But we do this because people who have views that we call atheistic or agnostic are views about religious ideas,” Williams says. “We are not just interested in religious ideas, but we are interested in the way religion helps people form different kinds of political and social identities and motivates action.” Important stuff to know, says College of Arts and Sciences Dean David Boocker, for UNO students who will leave campus and interact with others around the world. “Think about how many conflicts there are in society today, how many issues in this country in

which religion, religious belief, religious faith is the source of the conflict,” Boocker says. “If you are going to try and understand the nature of these disagreements, if there is any possibility of any common ground, it’s the understanding that different people have different beliefs and these different beliefs have different values.” Religious Studies Assistant Professor Curtis Hutt agrees, even though it can be difficult to get students to acknowledge those differences.

In many places religious studies is retrenching and being cut back, but at UNO we have been able to successfully reorganize our program and prepare a department for the 21st century. “We probably offend more people than anyone,” Hutt says, with a laugh. “We ask questions that people in religious institutions don’t want to ask of themselves.” It is not the biggest of departments. The program counts 27 majors and 25 minors. Alumni records indicate 202 UNO graduates as religious studies majors. Those and other students who take courses within Religious Studies — whether as an elective or as part of the Religious Studies major — can choose from any number of areas to study, from the three Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) to Buddhism, Hinduism and Native American religions. Many cross-listed courses and emphasis areas also are offered, including minors in Islamic Studies, Medieval Renaissance History and Mediterranean Studies. Though the department has just six full-time faculty, it boasts an enrollment of 861 seats in religion classes this fall. Williams notes that the department has been among the most productive at UNO for student credit hour/full-time faculty equivalent ratio. He’s impressed, he says, with the ways students have shown him how religion can complement almost any area of study. “Just look at the variety of double majors that our students have had,” he says. “We have had students

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Religious Studies Department faculty and staff. Front row, from left, Staci Geis, Paul Williams (chair), Rory Conces, Curtis Hutt. Back row, Brady DeSanti, Michele Desmarais, Rami Arav, Kristian Petersen.

who are religion majors but went straight into medical school. We had a religion and guitar performance major. We’ve had religion and criminal justice. We’ve had religion and accounting, and all this in addition to the usual suspects of religion and history, religion and sociology, or religion and philosophy.” Such outside-the-box major combinations in part inspired Religious Studies, under the leadership of Associate Professor Michele Desmarais, to launch a new nonprofit organization called Spirituality, Public Health and Religious Studies (SPHRS) in the new Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (see story page 22). “It is difficult to experience individual wellness without having a sense of purpose or meaning in life,” Desmarais says. “Exploring how that meaning is found, supported and expressed is part of what we do in Religious Studies, and making its connections with wellness more explicit is a focus of SPHRS.”

its own sake,” Boocker says. “I think everybody understands that healing is not just about medicine and science, but also about mind, body and spirit.” Boocker adds that Religious Studies has added a large level of prestige to the UNO campus, even if many may not realize it, thanks to the work being done by professor Bill Blizek on the topic of religion and film ( see page 42). Blizek in 1997 established the internationally successful Journal of Religion and Film. This May he launched the world’s first International Conference on Religion and Film, bringing two dozen scholars from around the world to UNO to present research on what film can tell us about religion and vice versa. Williams says Blizek’s efforts, and the growth of a spirituality and wellness dimension, highlight just how unique UNO is among public universities across the country.

“The fact that we are able, especially in light of the economy, to SPHRS has led to a push from Religious Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences to explore establishment of a minor in spirituality move forward and grow a department of religious studies in the face of shrinking budgets is a fairly extraordinary thing,” Williams and wellness. says. “In many places religious studies is retrenching and being cut “I think it is a fantastic direction for the program because it back, but at UNO we have been able to successfully reorganize our provides a real, tangible applicable way of thinking about what program and prepare a department for the 21st century.” value religious studies has in the world beyond studying religion for

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(l to r) Student from Tulsa University, Dr. Rami Arav and Dr. Miriam Belmaker

Digging into Biblical History

UNO’s work at the ancient city of Bethsaida continues to yield treasures dating to the time of King David IT’S VERY POSSIBLE THAT where Jesus once taught, so does Rami Arav. Not in Arts and Sciences Hall at UNO, where Arav is an associate professor of religion and philosophy. Rather, at the biblical city of Bethsaida on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Hellenistic Oilamp

Student Jessica Clark

Despite tensions in the area, three dig sessions were held at Bethsaida this year from May to July. Volunteers included Dr. Haim Gitlin, chief curator of the Israel Museum, and students from around the world. Among them was Jessica Clark, a UNO senior majoring in history and minoring in anthropology. “I worked with an extraordinary group of people in a section of the site that ended up being a treasure trove during my session there,” Clark says. “Everyone helped with rock removal, digging, sifting, washing shards of pottery and sorting finds.” During her last day at Bethsaida, Clark found a small Roman coin under rocks she said were “guarded” by a scorpion. The previous summer, another student discovered the “Lover’s Coin,” named for its depiction of Cleopatra and Marc Antony on opposing faces. Arav says the coin probably was minted in 34-35 B.C.E. and that it is one of a mere handful of its kind in the world.

An accomplished archaeologist, Arav rediscovered the city, once thought lost forever, in 1987. Bethsaida is recorded as the birthplace of at least three of the 12 apostles (Peter, Andrew and Philip) and the place where Jesus fed the multitude (Luke 9:10–17) and restored sight to a blind man (Mark 8:22–26).

Clark and other students make and catalogue such finds using the latest technology. Most recently that has included a process called “floatation” that washes and filters dirt to collect small artifacts, such as rodents and reptiles, fish bones and even plant seeds. The team also has used Ground Penetrating Radar to identify architectural features still buried.

Since 1990, Arav has headed UNO’s Bethsaida Excavations Consortium composed of nine universities and colleges. Over the years, discoveries the consortium has made at Bethsaida have helped inform modern understanding of Jesus’ world and shaped study of the Bible and Biblical archaeology.

This year, led by photographer Hanan Shafir, Arav’s team began using a photographic method known as Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), a process able to highlight things traditional photography may miss.

In nearly 30 years of excavations, more than 250,000 pottery shards and about the same number of animal bones have been unearthed. Coins, metal, an oil lamp and stone objects have been found. Even a well-stocked wine cellar. Many of the items are given to local museums for safekeeping. Some make their way to UNO for research. Ten years into the dig, archaeologists made their biggest find — an even older version of the city that dates to Old Testament times. “The city below is from the 10th to 8th Centuries B.C.E, which is the time of King David,” Arav says. “We think it was it was a capital city of a region called Geshur because of its large size and gate.” The city gate was more than just an entrance, Arav says. It also was the precursor for synagogues and temples as the place where elders sat, courts were held and the majority of commerce took place. The city gate at Bethsaida is one of the best preserved in the region.

“This method requires taking 48 photos of the same object, only changing the direction and angle of the light source,” Shafir says. “The result is elimination of most of the colors and stains of the object, and emphasis of its topography and texture.” The work goes slowly. Volunteers pay to join the dig for a day, week or two weeks. They start at 5:30 a.m. Arav, who is teaching three classes at UNO this fall — Biblical Cities, Jesus in Archaeology and Biblical Archaeology, closes each day with a lecture. There’s also time for sightseeing. On days when Clark wasn’t digging for history, she visited sites in Jerusalem and kayaked the River Jordan. But her time in the dirt was best. “The whole experience changed my perception of the world,” Clark says. “I cannot imagine a future without trowels and buckets, and hope to pursue archaeology in my graduate studies.”

The Bible at UNO

PJ2 in Y2K

Each fall, UNO hosts the Batchelder Biblical Archaeology Conference, which draws leading authorities on Biblical history from around the world presenting topics such as Secrets from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and Pharaoh's Footsteps in Israel. The 2014 conference is set for Nov. 13-15 at the Thompson Alumni Center.

Thousands of tourists have visited Bethsaida, but in March 2000 the archaeological treasure trove hosted its most distinguished guest to date when Pope John Paul II came calling. He was welcomed by a UNO contingent including thenUniversity of Nebraska Regent and UNO graduate Nancy O'Brien and International Studies Dean Tom Gouttierre.

— Nicholas Sauma, University Communications

The group presented the pope with gifts, including a replica of an iron key unearthed at the Bethsaida dig, two volumes of site research and a drawing of an ancient cross discovered on a pottery shard. The key held particular significance for the pope because Bethsaida was the home of Peter, the first pope, and of Andrew and Phillip, two of Jesus' other disciples.

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Yes, UNO has a Chapel

Unknown to most, the student center corner chapel has been providing a place of quiet for more than 50 years FEW PEOPLE KNOW IT EXISTS.

“The mosques in the city are very far away and so students find it very convenient to go there to do their prayers,” Yaseer says.

It almost never was. And no one is sure how it came to be named. For more than 50 years, though, the William F. Baxter Memorial Chapel in the student center has been providing the UNO community a place of quiet amid a bustling campus. Even if it is a campus that no longer has a religious affiliation. “When the student center was built, there was still that tradition of Presbyterianism in the school,” UNO Archivist Les Valentine says. “It was a nod to the school’s past in what was, at the time, the only building truly dedicated to student life.” Tucked in the northeast corner on the second floor of the Milo Bail Student Center, the 200-square-foot chapel debuted with the building’s opening in 1960. But it didn’t come easy. Glen Lewis, chairman of the Student Center Building Committee, said in a 1961 Gateway article that the chapel almost was scrapped because some thought a municipal university should have no religious attachment. Also, since students lived at home, they attended their own churches and didn’t need a chapel. But the chapel made the cut. Original plans called for a capacity of 50 persons with two windows — one with a Star of David, the other with a cross. It was hoped students would hold their weddings there.

Chances are neither they nor anyone else who uses the chapel knows who William F. Baxter was. In the late 1920s, then-Omaha University was facing a budget crisis and left with two options: fold or become a municipal university of the City of Omaha. Baxter, president of the Thomas Kilpatrick Company, a department store, and a university regent, was one of OU’s staunchest supporters, leading a publicity campaign to convince the people of Omaha to vote for the “Muny Plan.” The vote was successful, and in 1931 private OU became the municipal U of O. Baxter, though, was not in the university’s corner when it later decided to move to its present location (not far from his Fairacres home). He opposed the idea, claiming the location was too remote and was a “radical change in the plans which the people of Omaha voted for.” Despite his reservations, the move took place. But Baxter never got to see it — he passed away in 1938 just months prior to completion of the new university. If there were any ill feelings between Baxter and Omaha University, it did not stop his wife from providing a number of donations to the campus. That includes $10,000 in 1940 — $166,000 today — to fund a lecture series in his name.

The mosques in the city are very far away and so students find it very convenient to go there to do their prayers.

Today capacity is for 25 people and a single stainedglass window features seven icons representing the campus, including five shields representing the colleges that existed on campus when the building opened. And what originally was meant “to provide for Protestant, Catholic and Jewish religious services as requested” in 1998 was redesigned to accommodate a more diverse campus population. A center divider was removed and pews pushed against walls to create open floor space for Muslims to kneel and pray. A. Raheem Yaseer, director of UNO’s Center for Afghan Studies, says he knows of several students from UNO’s Arab and Muslim communities who use the space regularly.

Still, no record can be found of how the chapel came to bear the Baxter name.

The earliest Gateway article associating Baxter’s name to the chapel is in 1970. In a February 1974 Gateway article Associate Student Center Director Thelma Engle claims the Alumni Association said that chapel space could not be used for something else because (at least in part) “money for the chapel was donated by William Baxter.” Yet a 1958 Gateway article said the chapel would be furnished through funds raised by students and alumni of the College of Adult Education. They were asked to make $1 contributions to a “Golden Deed Fund.” That year, graduate James Stark Jr. presented OU President Milo Bail with $1,138 for the chapel. Names of contributors were to be engraved on a “Golden Deed Book” and plaque outside the door of the new chapel. Instead, Baxter’s name is outside the door. Inside — peace, quiet and a little mystery.

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Catholic Newman Center planned for 2016 with off-campus student housing NEARLY 70 YEARS AFTER 22 students formed a “Newman Club Federation,” Catholic students at UNO will get a home of their own. In February, the Archdiocese of Omaha announced plans to construct a 64,000-squarefoot Newman Center near UNO. Located behind the Shoppes at Aksarben just west of UNO’s Pacific Campus, the new center will include beds for up to 164 students as well as a chapel, prayer garden and common area for social events. It is anticipated the Newman Center would open in the fall of 2016. Father Paul Hoesing, director of the Office of Vocations and Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese, says the center won’t be just for Catholics. “All students will be able to practice their faith here,” Hoesing says. “We’ll also offer mass, sacraments, bible studies and rooms for spiritual reflection. A priest will live on campus to answer any questions. We also hope to offer pancake and spaghetti feeds and larger conferences.” Named after Blessed John Henry Newman, a 19th-century Catholic priest, Newman Centers date to 1883 when Catholics came together at the University of Wisconsin amid perceived anti-Catholicism. Ten years later — and three

years after Newman’s death — the University of Pennsylvania started a Newman Club. Students at then-Omaha University formed a Newman Club Federation in March 1947. A Newman Club was formed in 1955. At first, it was denied the university imprimatur because of a regent rule against religious groups on campus. That was overturned a month later. Today, there are 375 Newman Centers nationally, including facilities on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Kearney campuses.

students who want to continue growing in their faith but don’t want to attend a private institution.” Adds Hoesing: “It’s an opportunity for us to serve the students well. We believe the Center will help with retention and student health.” The St. John Paul II Newman Center will be named after Pope John Paul II, the third longestserving pope in Catholic history. Building plans still are being finalized for the facility, which is expected to cost $13 million.

Building this center aligns with the newly created eight dimensions of wellness, specifically spiritual wellness.

Jordan Koch, UNO’s student body president and regent, says having a center affiliated with UNO is a great opportunity. “Building this center aligns with the newly created eight dimensions of wellness, specifically spiritual wellness,” Koch says. “Omaha has a large Catholic community with many private grade schools. By adding the Newman Center, UNO will be able to attract

The addition of the Newman Center near Pacific Street campus will add to the attraction of UNO by adding another opportunity for students, especially the ones who want to learn about and develop their faith,” Koch says. “It will create a centralized and safe location for students to grow with other students who have similar beliefs and values. Altogether, it will truly add to the student experience.” — Stephanie Montgomery, University Communications

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Unraveling Differences Through Storytelling WHAT IS YOUR NAME? What is a stereotype that impacts you based on your religious or spiritual identity? Have you found your community welcoming of your chosen religious or spiritual path? What would you like people to know about your religion or belief system? With those four questions answered, a UNO-affiliated campaign hopes to unravel differences between peoples of faith. Called RavelUnravel, the campaign is an online multimedia exploration of the tapestry of spiritual and religious identities. It was begun in part by Omaha Central High School students enrolled in Professor Gary Groff’s Introduction to World Religions, a dual enrollment class at UNO. Project Interfaith, an Omaha nonprofit founded in 2004, helped launch RavelUnravel in 2010. “People connect to faith communities for a lot of different reasons, and belief is not always the biggest factor in that connection,” says Beth Katz, founder of Project Interfaith. “RavelUnravel is meant to help generate reflection and conversation on religious and spiritual identity.” Initially, RavelUnravel featured video interviews of people answering the four previously listed questions. Interviews were held at religious and spiritual sites, community groups, nonprofit organizations, businesses and colleges across Omaha. The group set a goal to record 150 videos. Today, nearly 1,100 videos representing peoples of numerous faiths from around the world are available at ravelunravel.com. They can be viewed by category, including Christian, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic and more. Participants also can start their own campaigns with assistance from RavelUnravel providing hashtag identifiers, fliers and posters. RavelUnravel and Project Interfaith also provide curricula to guide conversations on topics such as identity, values, stereotypes, and “Creating a Welcoming Space.” —Tori Sones, University Communications

Islamic Studies adds faculty member For just the second time in its history, the Religious Studies program at UNO is welcoming a new Islamic Studies professor — Dr. Kristian Petersen, who joined the faculty in August after three years at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. “I am excited to be at a bigger university where I can interact with a larger, more diverse student body,” Petersen says. It’s likely that he’ll be in demand. UNO features nearly 2,000 international students from countries where Islam is the predominant religion, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkey and Egypt. Petersen’s study of Islam is untraditional, going beyond a mere examination of religious texts. His research fields also include film, social media and other modern cultural influences on religious practice. “He is a very innovative teacher and will create a dynamism in teaching Islam with both his teaching style and new courses he will develop,” says Ramazan Kilinc, director of UNO’s Islamic Studies Program and an assistant professor of political science. “These new courses could include Islam and Film, Islam and the West, and expanding the Islam and Women course to include broader gender studies.” Islamic Studies is an “interdisciplinary program mostly supported by Political Science, History and Religious Studies departments,” Kilinc says. “We aim to strengthen our minor program by increasing the number of offered courses on Islam, increasing our programming, and empowering our research potential,” Kilinc says. “Hiring Kristian Petersen is a significant step in reaching all of these goals.” Religious Studies Program Chair Paul Williams also expects interest in Islamic Studies to continue to grow. “With the current geopolitical climate, it is imperative for students in the modern world to have an understanding of Islamic Studies,” he says. — Katie Kresha, University Communications

He is a very innovative teacher and will create a dynamism in teaching Islam with both his teaching style and new courses he will develop.

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Entering new SPHRS Spirituality and wellness focus of new organization HOW CAN YOGA CHANGE the brain? What can art tell us about the experiences of cancer patients? UNO’s SPHRS would like you to know. Formally known as Spirituality, Public Health, and Religious Studies, SPHRS (pronounced “spheres”) is one of UNO’s newest organizations, formed with the call for partners in the university’s recently opened Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (CEC). Michele Desmarais, associate professor of religious studies, led its formation, with assistance from Paul Williams, chair of Religious Studies, and Curtis Hutt, assistant professor of religious studies. It’s goal is to help coordinate partnerships, initiatives and activities related to Spirituality, Public Health and Religious Studies at UNO, UNMC and in local and global communities.

“During one of our brainstorming sessions, I had a light-bulb moment where all the pieces we were considering fit together,” Desmarais says. “The overlying theme became spirituality and wellness, and from that point we were able to develop things quickly, submit our application and gain this wonderful space here in the CEC.”

the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the Omaha Siena/Francis House and Omaha Healing Arts Center, to name a few.

SPHRS will incorporate existing courses, as well as new ones as they are developed, offer internships and lectures, and provide use of CEC space for community members, caregivers, students, and faculty to interact and engage on facets of spirituality and wellness. In the three months since SPHRS moved into its CEC office, Williams says, dozens of meetings already have been held with community members and caregivers interested in sharing information and experiences. Desmarais says SPRHS already has made numerous community connections, including partnerships with

Two guest lectures also have been offered. In May, a UNMC doctoral candidate spoke on his experiences of artistic interaction between himself and patients. In August, a Florida neurologist discussed ways yoga changes the brain.

“What we are doing is opening ourselves up,” explains Hutt, who oversees the Public Health component in SPHRS. “We want to be seen as a partner in discussions related to wellness.”

“We’ve done a lot of hard work and planning in the last year or so,” Desmarais says. “As the semester begins we hope to connect more students with the initial success we’ve had this summer in engaging the community to really help the program grow.” — Nicholas Sauma, University Communications

IMPORTANT JEWISH COLLECTION DONATED TO SCHWALB CENTER A COLLECTION OF ONE of the Jewish religion’s most important documents now is part of UNO’s Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies. As part of a gift made to the center by Omaha natives Caryl Bercovici Greenberg and Judith Bercovici Tully, students, faculty and visitors will have access to a 26-volume collection of writings known as the Babylonian Talmud. For observant Jews, study of the Talmud, which contains the Oral Torah (Mishnah) and the analyses (gemara) of hundreds of rabbis between 200 and 500 C.E, is on the same level as study of the Written Torah contained in the Hebrew Bible. “The impact of the Babylonian Talmud upon Jewish religion and culture cannot be over-exaggerated,” says Moshe Gershovich, director of the UNO Schwalb Center. “For centuries it has provided guidelines for Jewish life as well as a working, living example of the diversity of Jewish thought and traditions.” The gift was made in honor of Caryl and Judith's father, Moses Bercovici, who passed away in 1971. Moses Bercovici was born in Romania in 1898 and came to Omaha in 1902 with his family. He became a certified public accountant in the city and was a regular member of the Beth El Synagogue with his wife, Ann. In addition to the new, 26-volume set, the sisters also donated their father’s original volumes of the Talmud. These texts will immediately be used in courses at UNO, including a course on Hebrew Scriptures within the UNO Religious Studies program. Curtis Hutt, who teaches Judaic Studies and will teach the Hebrew Scriptures class, as well as being the Special Projects Coordinator at the Schwalb Center, explained that the gift is, in religious terms, priceless. “In tractate Pe’ah 1:1 of the Jerusalem Talmud it reads that charity and acts of kindness are the equivalent of all the commandments of the Torah, but what of the gift is of the Talmud itself?” he says. “Surely, this must count for even more.”

THE COLLEGES

UNO Receives Largest Research Grant ever to Launch Biomechanics Research Center UNO IN MID-AUGUST ANNOUNCED it has been designated as the home for the world’s first Center for Research in Human Movement Variability thanks to a $10.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant is the largest research grant in university history and places UNO at the forefront of a rapidly expanding area of scientific research. Under the leadership of Dr. Nick Stergiou, UNO’s new research center will further the work of UNO biomechanical researchers in developing new treatments for patients recovering from movement-affecting disorders such as stroke and autism. The new UNO center is part of NIH’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program — one of the most competitive grant programs in the country with less than 15 percent of applicants receiving funding. “Receiving this award means that the federal government considers UNO a research institution with doctoral level education that can produce excellent biomedical research,” Stergiou says. “It allows us to realize the potential of UNO and the Biomechanics Research Building by establishing a global reputation as an outstanding research institute in biomechanics.” The new research center will be housed in UNO’s Biomechanics Research Building, a first-ofits-kind, $6 million research facility that opened last September. Part of the grant funding will allow several faculty members currently housed in the Biomechanics Research Building to dedicate their time entirely to specific research projects tied to the treatment of movementaffecting disorders. Specific research will address how bodies control and adjust movement patterns and how variability in movement can be tied to, cause or be symptomatic of a number of wide-ranging disorders including, but not limited to autism, peripheral arterial disease and stroke. Funding will be distributed over five years, with two opportunities to renew for matching funds. The total potential for funding exceeds $30 million. Current UNO research projects planned for the grant include: a study of the levels of variability in Peripheral Arterial Disease patients; exploration of how virtual reality can assist mobility in stroke victims, and, study of how variations in child posture can help detect early signs of autism. “Because of this award, we anticipate that we will absolutely transform the research culture at UNO by augmenting assets within the university, thereby leading to success in several fields other than biomechanics,” Stergiou says. As part of the grant, UNO researchers will partner with scientists and doctors from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in order to provide real world, clinical applications for UNO research. Funding from the grant will also allow for the hiring of several new faculty for UNO, the launching of additional pilot research programs, upgrades to equipment within the Biomechanics Research Building and recruitment of top graduate and undergraduate student candidates to come to Omaha and study biomechanics at UNO.

ATHLETICS

Bits of the Bull Winter Sports Preview UNO athletes will be changing into skates, cleats, sneakers and swimsuits soon as another winter season of Maverick sports begins. This will be the final season of reclassification to Division I for all of UNO’s teams, with the exception of hockey, which always has competed at the D-I level. While only track & field and swimming and diving are eligible for Summit League championship competition, no UNO teams except hockey can compete in the NCAA playoffs until next season. It’s also the last season before the UNO hockey and men’s and women's basketball teams compete in a new on-campus home, the UNO/Community Arena, beginning in 2015. Following is a preview of Maverick teams playing this winter.

Hockey The Mavericks were the surprise of the NCHC in the league’s inaugural season, finishing third in the conference after being picked last in the preseason poll. While a youth movement may again put them in the back of the pack this season, it’s likely no NCHC team will take the Mavericks lightly. UNO has just four seniors, including Dominic Zombo who, along with sophomore Jake Guentzel, tied for second on the team in scoring with 34 points last year. Both players will have to shoulder much of the offensive load early to make up for the departure of All-American Josh Archibald, who turned pro with the Pittsburgh Penguins after scoring 29 goals last year. Ryan Walters and Brock Montpetit also graduated. With Archibald they combined for 110 points.

Head Coach Dean Blais brings in 11 freshmen for the 2014-15 season to help make up for those losses.

Dakota and Miami. They open the regular season against former WCHA opponent Minnesota State Oct. 10-11.

“Ideally, you want to bring in about six new players every year,” Blais says. “It just happened that last year, we had two fewer players than we normally would have and then we had nine leave the team either through graduation or the pros.

“There are no easy weekends in our league,” Blais says. “And because we’ve scheduled some good non-conference opponents like Cornell, Ohio State, Minnesota State and New Hampshire, every weekend is going to be tough. We’ll learn a lot about our team very quickly.”

“We’ll be one of the youngest teams in the NCHC this year because we also have seven sophomores. Men’s Basketball The freshmen we brought in are very skilled. They The light is visible at the end of the tunnel for all had very good careers either in high school or the Omaha men's basketball team. Coming junior hockey, and many will be able to contribute off a season in which they made their first right away.” Division I postseason appearance in the 2014 That includes Jake Randolph, who led the United CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), the States Hockey League in scoring, earning 86 Mavericks are poised for success in their final points last year while playing for the Omaha transitional year. Lancers. Fellow freshman Tyler Vesel, another Omaha’s biggest change involves the loss of former Lancer, finished third last year in USHL an experienced five-member senior class: scoring and tied for second with 33 goals. Avery center John Karhoff, forward Matt Hagerbaumer Peterson won the prestigious Mr. Hockey Award and guards Justin Simmons, Alex Phillips and in Minnesota last year, scoring 37 goals and 67 Caleb Steffensmeier. points for Grand Rapids High School. The Mavericks return four letterwinners from UNO will rely heavily on its freshmen on defense 2013-14, all of whom have as it returns just three blueliners who appeared starting experience: senior in more than 20 games last year. Senior Brian guard C.J. Carter, senior O’Rourke, junior Brian Cooper and sophomore Ian forward Mike Rostampour and Brady will anchor that corps. Incoming freshman junior guards Devin Patterson Luc Snuggerud could make an early impact. He and Marcus Tyus. Carter, who won Minnesota’s Reed Larson Award as the top averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 high school defenseman last year, notching 48 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 points in 31 games for Eden Prairie. The NHL’s steals per game a year ago, Chicago Blackhawks drafted him this summer. was an All-Summit honorable Senior Ryan Massa likely will split time with mention selection. Rostampour sophomore Kirk averaged 16.5 rebounds per Thompson as the game in two CIT contests, which Mavericks look led the nation for postseason for consistent rebounding average. goaltending, an area Derrin Hansen, entering his that could help them 10th season as head coach at return to the NCHC’s UNO, added a talented group upper echelon. of newcomers. Junior forward Massa led the Jake White, who transferred team last year with a career-best 11 wins while from Wichita State and was part Thompson went 5-5-1 in his freshman season. of the Shockers' 2013 Final Four team, is ready The Mavericks will spend much of the first two to play after sitting out due to NCAA transfer months of the season on the road, including trips rules. Kyler Erickson, a sophomore guard from to Western Michigan, Cornell, Ohio State, North

ATHLETICS

Northwest Missouri State, also sat out last season All-Newcomer selection in accordance with transfer rules. Mikaela Shaw will lead Redshirt freshman forward Daniel Meyer joined the the Mavs. Kelly led the Summit League in blocks Mavericks from Wright State, and Hansen added with 3.5 per game. She two junior college transfers in junior guard Tim also averaged 9.8 points Smallwood from Murray State College and junior and, 6.9 rebounds. She guard Randy Reed from St. Louis Community broke the single-season College. In addition, true freshman guard Devin Newsome (Shawnee, Kan.) and redshirt freshman school record with 97 forward Rylan Murry (West Branch, Iowa) will be in blocks and needs 78 to break the career the competitive mix. school record. The Mavericks' schedule consists of 29 games, including 13 home contests in their last season at Shaw led all Summit League freshmen in Ralston Arena. The home slate is highlighted by Nov. 29 game with Nevada, which Omaha defeated scoring (10.4 points per 82-80 in Reno last season. Three opponents on the game) and rebounding (6.6 per game). Madi Robson and Lanese Bough are the other two slate — Kansas State, Nebraska and defending Summit League champion North Dakota State — starters returning. Robson led all Summit League freshmen in assists (4.0 per game) while Bough played in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. led the conference in steals (2.4 per game). "We’ve put together a very competitive 2014-15 The addition of three freshmen — and what will schedule, including many home games that our feel like three other newcomers — will boost fans will enjoy," Hansen says. "Among those is a big return game with Nevada at Ralston Arena. Our the Mavericks in 2014-15. The three freshmen — guards Remy Davenport and Annie Penquite road games at Nebraska and Marquette will also catch people's attention, as well as a possible Top and forward Vanessa Barajas — will add solid depth immediately. But the Mavs have three 10 opponent with our trip to Kansas State, all of upperclassmen forced to sit out 2013-14 ready which bolster our nonconference schedule. to make an impact. Brianna Bogard and Cat Cox "As a staff, we're confident that we'll be up for the suffered season-ending injuries but return to the challenges this schedule provides to put us in a lineup. Both should be key contributors. Indiana position for success. The season is right around State transfer Bobbi Beckwith will be able to play the corner, and we’re looking forward to our final in games beginning in January and will be a nice season of Division I reclassification." addition heading into Summit League action.

Swimming & Diving

“It’s very nice to have experienced, veteran The Omaha women’s basketball team finished the players coming back this season,” Lange says. “Last year we started three newcomers, and 2013-14 season on a high note and will look to carry that momentum into 2014-15 with all but one four players in our eight-player rotation were freshmen. This season, we will have many more player back from that squad. options and will be able to give players a rest More importantly, the Mavericks head into the when needed, which wasn’t always the case season with coaching stability as head coach last season. We’re excited about the progress Brittany Lange and assistants Lee Aduddell and we expect our freshmen to make heading into Rodney Rogan all return for their second seasons. their sophomore seasons, and we’re optimistic Kirk Walker, hired in the offseason as the Mavs’ about getting off to a good start this season and third assistant coach, will join them. He brings improving throughout the year.” more than 10 years of college basketball coaching The Mavericks open the regular season hosting experience to the staff. Alcorn State on Saturday, Nov. 15. Five of their On the court, reigning Summit League Defensive first six games are at Sapp Fieldhouse. Player of the Year Taijhe Kelly and Summit League

UNO’s schedule includes strong regional opponents such as Nebraska, Kansas and Northern Colorado. Highlighting the home schedule are a conference dual with South Dakota State and the annual Mutual of Omaha Invite, the Mavericks' two-day invitational meet at HPER Pool Dec. 5-6.

Women’s Basketball

The Omaha swimming & diving team is another Maverick program that has found early success in its Division I transition, and much of that is due to the leadership of head coach Todd Samland, who enters his 18th year at UNO. Samland has added 17 newcomers to his 201415 roster and returns 20 letterwinners from a year ago. Among those are four student-athletes who earned six All-Summit awards last season: senior Jenna Foiles (200 medley relay), junior Miranda Knipfer (3-meter diving) and sophomores Natalie Renshaw (200 medley relay, 100 free, 50 free) and Morgan Stepp (200 fly). Stepp in particular made her mark at the 2014 Summit League Championships, becoming the first athlete in Maverick swimming history to win a Division I conference title. Just a freshman, she captured the 200 fly championship with a time of 2:04.06. As a team, Omaha closed its run at the league championships with a fifth-place team finish last season.

"We're really excited about our final year of Division I reclassification," Samland says. "The last three years of competition, particularly against our Summit League peers, have us well prepared to compete at this level. Our athletes know what it takes to succeed now, and we're on the brink of a great season in 2014-15." Continued

Bits of the Bull

ATHLETICS

The Mavericks enter the post-Sami Spenner era in the winter of 201415. Spenner, the most decorated track & field athlete and perhaps most decorated UNO athlete ever, graduated in May, taking with her eight school records, including the American collegiate record in the pentathlon. She accounted for 50 of the Mavs’ 109 points in a third-place finish in the Summit League indoor championship in March. “It will certainly be a challenge with both Sami and Kathie-Lee Laidley graduating,” Head Coach Chris Richardson says. “We still have several individuals who can score points, as well as a strong recruiting class including three Nebraska state champions in Stephanie Ahrens (jumps), Maddie Buller (hurdles/ sprints) and Emily Everitt (jumps).” The Mavericks will get senior leadership from its distance runners. Ashley Kildow, MiKayla Peck, Kristin Rogers and Katarina Zarudnaya are UNO’s most accomplished runners over the short and long distances. Zarudnaya will compete only during the indoor season. Other seniors who will be relied upon by the Mavericks during the indoor season include Amanda Alexander (multi-events), Terri Armstrong (sprints), Madeline Glesinger (hurdles) and Celeste Robinson (sprints, hurdles). Senior Denneil Shaw (jumps) will compete only during the outdoor season. The Mavericks begin the indoor season at the K-State Winter Invitational on Dec. 13. – Dave Ahlers with Nate Pohlen and Bonnie Ryan, UNO Athletics

Arena Begins to Cast Prominent Profile ONCE A SPINDLY COLLECTION of steel beams, the UNO/ Community Arena is starting to take on a more muscular appearance at its location at 67th and Center Streets.

interior through the winter while being protected from the elements.

Work on the arena remains on schedule for its first-ever event, a hockey game against Air Force Oct. 23, 2015.

Site work also continues around the arena as crews build the span over Little Papio Creek that will carry the 67th Street extension past the arena to a connection with Spring Street south of the dome. The street is expected to be open by December. Pavement has begun on extensions to Arbor and Castelar Streets around the arena.

Additional work continues on the unique wall enclosing the community arena. Few arenas will be able to boast the amount of glass featured in that part of the building, allowing skaters and spectators a clear view to the outside.

Season tickets for the 2014-15 season of UNO hockey and men’s basketball are on sale now through the UNO ticket office. Current season ticket holders will have priority for season tickets in the new arena.

The addition of roof trusses, which were installed starting Aug. 7, give UNO’s latest building project a sense of scale on par with its expected impact on campus.

The goal is to have the entire main and community arenas enclosed by December so that crews can work on the

— Dave Ahlers, Assistant Athletic Director, Communications

Four Enter Athletics Hall of Fame On Oct. 9, four former athletes from UNO were remembered for their playing days when they were inducted as the newest members of the UNO Athletics Hall of Fame, a joint venture of the UNO Alumni Association and UNO Athletics. Entering the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014 were Tracy Ankeny Blair (volleyball), Stephanie Kruse (soccer), Marv Nevins (football) and Les Sigman (wrestling). Their inductions were part of the new UNO Alumni Night of Honor hosted by the Alumni Association at the Thompson Center (see more, Page 9) . Ankeny set the school record with 1,961 career kills and remains among the career leaders in digs (1,691) and attack percentage (.310). The Dixon, Neb., native was a second-team All-American as a freshman in 1997 and a first-team pick in 1999 and 2000. She was a four-time all-North Central Conference and all-region selection and was an academic all-NCC pick three times. Kruse was a first-team All-American and two-time first-team all-Central Region player in soccer. She was the 2002 North Central Conference player of the year, helping UNO win three NCC titles and a berth in the 2002 national championship match. As of her induction she ranked third in school history with 112 career points and second with 45 career goals and was among the leaders with 22 career assists. Nevins, who played for what then was Omaha University, was a football lineman from 1954-56 while also serving as a team captain and later an assistant coach. He was a starter at tackle during a stretch in which Omaha University went 30-5-1, including a win in the 1955 Tangerine Bowl game. The Omaha native was named to school's all-time Omaha U. team by The Gateway in 1972. Sigman had an outstanding career, finishing as the all-time winningest wrestler in UNO history. A part of three national championship teams at UNO from 2003-06, he became just the fourth wrestler in Division II history to win four national championships and was 179-7 in his career. A four-time All-North Central Conference champion, Sigman was named NCC Wrestler of the Year and Outstanding Wrestler in the NCAA II National Tournament in 2006 after going 47-0 his senior season. As a junior, he set the all-time single-season win mark in a 51-3 season. — Dave Ahlers, Assistant Athletic Director, Communications

Photo: Brad Williams Photography

Track & Field

founded on

faith a look at UNO’s religious roots

Above: University of Nebraska's first home, Redick Hall, located at 24th and Pratt streets. Below: Daniel Jenkins, university president from 1908 to 1927

By Les Valentine, UNO Archivist

At its start, the head of the University of Omaha was not a president. Not a chancellor. Not a trustee. The Bible, said the university’s founding fathers, was “supreme authority.” That’s what you’ll find in the University of Omaha’s 1908 Articles of Incorporation, penned by a group of mostly Presbyterian clergymen and laymen (with a few Baptists and Congregationalists to boot). The university, they wrote, was established… “For the promotion of sound learning and education…Under such influence as will lead to the highest type of Christian character and citizenship, with the Bible as supreme authority.”

THE CAMPAIGN TO FOUND the new institution was led by the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Omaha, established in 1891 and located on North 21st Street in Kountze Place neighborhood. The seminary supported OU in part to offer local Protestant dominations a higher education option other than Creighton, a Catholic, Jesuit university in downtown Omaha. The only other alternative at the time was Bellevue College, begun in October 1880 by the Presbyterian Synod of Nebraska and located on Elk Hill in Bellevue 20 miles south of Omaha. But that college had fallen on hard times and faced declining enrollment. Bellevue trustees believed greater support from Omaha would revitalize their small college. Debate about how to acquire this support centered around two severe courses of action: relocating the college to Omaha or remaining in Bellevue and changing the name of the institution to the “University of Omaha.” Either change, it was hoped, might foster alliances with Omaha medical and legal schools. Local residents and many Bellevue College officials were solidly against moving the campus. So in 1891, trustees changed the name of their institution, making it the first “University of Omaha.” Though enrollment increased somewhat over the next few years, additional support from Omaha never materialized and — understandably — the new name was unpopular with Bellevue College alumni. By 1908, Bellevue’s student count was plummeting. In August that year, trustees changed the name of their institution back to Bellevue College. They also voted to support and ally themselves with the attempt to organize an entirely new university in Omaha. continued

The official creation of the University of Omaha a few weeks later and the eventual acquisition of an OU campus at 24th and Pratt Streets, just blocks from the Presbyterian seminary, proved disastrous for Bellevue College. Donors, local students, and the professional schools so coveted by Bellevue officials preferred the new institution in Omaha. Unable to compete with OU, Bellevue College declined steadily over the next few years and permanently closed its doors in 1919. By supporting OU at the expense of Bellevue College, the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Omaha had assured that a Protestant Christian institution existed nearby. It also had a higher education alternative to Creighton. It was obvious from the Articles of Incorporation and announcements advertising the new university that OU founders desired to set the institution apart from their Catholic rival. Such documents assured potential students that the University of Omaha was nonsectarian and planned to provide students of all denominations with a practical and affordable education based upon Christian ideals yet “free from ecclesiastical control.” Freedom from ecclesiastical control; however, did not mean freedom from clerical control or freedom from religion. Of the first four presidents, three were ordained Presbyterian clergyman and former Presbyterian college presidents: Daniel Jenkins (1909-1927), Karl Wettstone (1927-1928) and Ernest Emery (1928-1930). Jenkins was a nationally known theologian greatly respected by students and faculty for his pious ideals. Jenkins and the OU faculty thought it essential to generate a campus environment of shared Christian ideals. One example was the “absolute requirement” that students complete at least four courses in sacred literature and history before graduating. Students were allowed to choose from such Biblical-related electives as Life of Jesus, Apostolic Christianity, English Bible, Old Testament Teachings, History of the Hebrew People, and Life and Times of Paul. Presbyterian pastors or scholars taught Bible and religion classes. Another example of the university’s religious roots was daily convocation exercises. Though technically not mandatory, attendance at “chapel,” as it came to be known, was expected. Jenkins reminded students in October 1922 that chapel was a University of Omaha tradition and warned that those habitually absent from the service risked being designated

“undesirables at the school.” Initially, the 30 to 60-minute daily chapel periods were relatively formal and included prayers, hymns and scripture readings. Students generally accepted this obligation and attended, but escapes during the 1920s to an off-campus student hangout called the Hash House were not unusual. OU faculty searched for ways to make the period more appealing and relevant. One solution was to encourage student participation by inviting outside speakers to lead discussions of current events. Slowly, chapel evolved into something a bit more social. By the 1929-30 academic year the service included a one-act play, a freshman musical program and a rehearsal by the Girls Glee Club. By then, even bigger changes were occurring at the University of Omaha. Like Bellevue College before it, OU faced likely closure because of mounting debt. Thanks to the citizens of Omaha, who voted to assume control of OU as the Municipal University of Omaha, the doors remained open. Coming to an end, though, was more than two decades of Protestant Christian leadership — and Biblical authority.

The first UNO campus — located at 24th and Pratt Streets — grew slowly. The first classroom building, Redick Hall (top, at right) was the former residence of Oak C. Redick. Next came Jacob’s Gymnasium (top, left). Redick Hall eventually was dismantled and replaced by Joslyn Hall, funded by George and Sarah Joslyn.

Schooling Church Ushers By Anthony Flott, editor

By 1944, Omaha University’s religious affiliations long since had been severed, those ties cut when the City of Omaha took control of the school in 1931 and made it a secular, municipal institution. That didn’t mean church was without a seat at OU, though. One of the most popular classes offered by Omaha University in the early 1940s was a church ushering course offered by OU’s School of Adult Education. So popular, in fact, that, Christian Advocate, The Saturday Evening Post and TIME Magazine devoted articles to it. It also grew beyond Omaha. By its second year, reported The Gateway, the five-week course was being offered via correspondence for home study. More than 100 ushers registered for the course in Lincoln. Instruction also was sent to British Columbia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Connecticut and other states. Why a class on church ushering? E.M. Hosman, director of the School of Adult Education, justified the course by quoting from letters received after the first course offering. “Next to the ministry, the usher is chiefly responsible for the growth of the church,” declared an Omaha letter as printed in The Gateway.

religion halfway,” the Post reported. “Some of them require softening up before the preacher begins.” Enter ushers. The Post cited ushering prerequisites noted in the course — ushers should be a man of good standing, have a pleasing personality and “a sense of the fitness of things.” He should be at least 25, of average height, married and able to take criticism. Ushers should: greet people by name; have a firm handshake; stand erect; hold seats when needed; pass out bulletins face-up; control the church’s temperature; not seat ‘wriggling adolescents’ together; and more. OU psychology Professor W.H. Thompson, for whom the UNO Alumni Association’s Alumni Center is named, was quoted for his unique seating style. “To combat attention loss and wool-gathering on the part of the congregation,” the Post reported, “Doctor Thompson would seat the more intelligent persons on the outside and at strategic points. Their intellectual force and attention hold less intelligent and less serious worshippers in line. The not-so-attentive folks he would seat in the middle, where, if they don’t follow all the preacher says, they can at least be impressed by the beautiful way in which he says it.” The first class produced 18 graduates, presented certificates by OU President Rowland Haynes on Dec. 14, 1943. A class picture was taken, the Post noted, and plans made for an annual reunion and spring dinner. The next class featured 40 graduates. Their commencement drew the notice of TIME Magazine, which in a Feb. 26, 1945 article, “How to Usher,” quoted commencement speaker J.S. Handy, A&P sales manager. Handy, TIME wrote, “’competes with the Devil’ of congregational boredom” as head usher at Des Moines’ Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Ushering, when done correctly, adds dignity and smoothness to the entire service. It helps to create a spirit of worship. An article, “Lay Workers — University Trained!” appeared in the Jan. 13 issue of the Christian Advocate explaining the program and purpose of the ushering course. Six months later The Saturday Evening Post in its June 3, 1944, issue devoted more than a page to the course in an article titled “Sunday-Morning Traffic Cops,” complete with illustrations. “Not all worshippers arrive at church on Sunday mornings in a frame of mind to meet the old-time

“The usher’s job is to put the buyers [congregation] in a receptive mood for the supersalesman in the pulpit to work on,” TIME

quoted Handy as saying. “There must be no distracting influences [from the service]. A good usher asks himself: ‘Is the sidewalk clean? Are the steps clear of snow and ice? Are the lights too bright? How is the heat?’ Heat makes or mars a service. If we see somebody nodding, we check the heat before we check the preacher.” Later that spring, The Gateway reported that one church had written Hosman, indicating that, “it will not now accept anyone for church ushering until they have completed the church ushers course.” Another church with average attendance of 2,000 had 33 people enrolled for the correspondence course. A month later it was noted that Stephen Fisher of Champaign, Ill., had become the 2,000th student to register for a correspondence course offered by Omaha University, having enrolled in the School of Church Ushers. By then, usher class grads had organized an Omaha Church Ushers’ Association, The Gateway reported. It was not a novelty by any means. The Post reported that in New York a board of ushers in that city was organized in 1897. In Chicago, the magazine noted, that city’s Fourth Presbyterian Church board of ushers included many prominent Chicagoans and was “harder to join, it is said, than an exclusive club.” Finding a seat, it appears then, could be difficult even for an usher.

By Susan Houston Klaus

More popular than ever, the ancient practice of tattooing is becoming a matter of faith UNO Professor Avery Mazor got his first tattoo on his forearm. It’s simple, but meaningful: two words of text that start on the inside of his wrist and continue to his elbow. Tikkun olam. The Hebrew phrase translates to “world repair,” or the idea of healing the universe. To Mazor, the words are at the crux of his Jewish faith. “This is about how we’re here to raise eternal sparks back to the source by doing good works in the world,” Mazor says. The phrase began to resonate with Mazor when he was in his 20s and reconnecting with Judaism. It became so much a part of how he aims to live his life that he wanted to make it permanent. Over the years, the tattoo — which the UNO art professor designed — has morphed and grown, climbing up his arm. Two additions have incorporated the phrase into a Mayan and Arab text design. “Tikkun” has become the legs of a dragon, “olam,” part of the crown of the dragon.

Avery Mazor photos: Ryan Henriksen, University Relations

Faithful to Tattoos Getting inked is more popular than ever. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center report, 45 million Americans, including 40 percent of those age 26-40, have at least one tattoo. It’s a $1.65 billion industry. But, as the saying goes, everything old is new again. For thousands of years, tattoos have been used as a form of selfexpression, rebellion, conquest, punishment … and faith. When archaeologists unearthed the 5,000-year-old “Iceman” in 1991, they found evidence of these permanent markings — once believed, perhaps, to alleviate joint pain. And the tattoo culture was alive and well in ancient Egypt, according to art found on well-preserved mummies. According to Christianity Today, early Christians tattooed crosses and other religious symbols on their bodies. To these believers, the designs gave them strength, even during adversity.

“Most Muslim scholars would say tattooing is not permitted,” says Kristian Petersen, assistant professor of Islamic studies at UNO. “The theological underpinning for this opinion usually goes along the lines of tattooing alters your body and you should not try to change God’s creation,” Petersen says. That being said, some Muslims do have tattoos, notably converts who may have gotten their art before they converted. In that case, Petersen says, there’s no theological penalty for these individuals because they were tattooed while they were in a pre-Islamic position — often referred to as an “age of ignorance.” Prior actions are forgiven when one comes to God, according to most Muslims. Similarly, the Jewish faith spells out its beliefs in scripture. “In an ultra-orthodox Jewish community, getting a tattoo is a form of idolatry,” Hutt says. “So according to Rabbinic traditions, it’s prohibited.”

In Judaism, Leviticus 19:28 says it rather explicitly. The passage reads, ‘You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves.’

Curtis Hutt, assistant professor of religious studies Tattooing has a rich history among Native Americans, who used sharpened bone or rock with soot or natural dyes to make designs. Brady DeSanti, assistant professor of religious studies and Native American studies at UNO, talks about tattoos as part of the warrior and secret societies of Native tribal nations. “Often, going off to war to bring honor to your people was a mark of transition from childhood to adulthood,” DeSanti says. “If you were a part of these societies, the controversy about a tattoo would be if you had met the criteria to have that symbol.” As much as it may have been therapeutic, ornamental or reverential, skin art also has had its dark side. Tattoos were used to mark slaves and criminals, or those audacious enough to speak out against leadership. Today, white supremacists brand their ideology in tattoos.

Tattoos as Taboo While it’s clear tattooing has gone mainstream, not all religions like the idea — or even allow it among their followers. Pope Hadrian I in 787 officially forbade any kind of tattooing in the Christian world. The rule, thanks to subsequent rulers who resurrected it over the years, would stick for centuries. Today, though, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is silent on the matter.

But, Hutt says, certain progressive denominations of Judaism may be more open to tattoos than others. Mazor echoes that. A member of Reform Judaism, he says having a tattoo “is much more OK,” despite the ongoing debate among Jewish leaders and practitioners.

Other faiths are more accepting, though for some who get tattooed, there can still be a stigma associated with it.

Putting Faith in Tattoos Sarah Kole, a UNO staff assistant in University Communications, grew up in what she describes as “a very conservative Christian home.” Tattoos and piercings were frowned upon. Like many young people, she saw an opportunity for independence and grabbed it. Her first week of college, she got her first tattoo — a cross on her lower back. It would be the first of many, all of which she says represent her Christian beliefs. “God and Jesus and faith are a big part of who I am,” she says. “With faith, you have to live it. I could tattoo any [kind of design], but that wouldn’t mean anything.” Kole’s body art includes a diamond and a cross on her ring finger, a cross on her left bicep and shoulder area, and a Bible quote from Isaiah — “I have carried you in the palm of my hand”— on her left arm. Two years ago, she took part in a fundraiser for a children’s hospital in Boston. Along with shaving her head to support the effort, she got the word “faith” tattooed behind her ear. That piece in particular, she says, represents who she is.

The days of choosing a tattoo off a wall posted with pictures — “flash,” as it’s called — may be waning. In the Pew survey, 43 percent of people with tattoos said having a tattoo with a personal meaning is the most important factor when getting inked. Jason Brown has seen a lot of religious imagery in his time as a tattoo artist at Omaha’s Liquid Courage. The UNO alum (BA, 2006; MA, 2013) says the art runs the gamut, from crosses and the Virgin Mary to St. Michael slaying a dragon. Sometimes, clients request religious or spiritual images like angel wings or a heavenly background as part of a memorial tattoo in honor of a loved one. “Even people who aren’t particularly devout reach for those symbols,” Brown says. “They’re in the boundary of our beliefs, so they’re considered safe and accessible to everybody.” One of the most unusual faith-related pieces he’s done are two full-color sleeves depicting Hindu deities. “I did a bunch of research into that and learned the significance of the gods,” he says. “The art that culture produces in relation to their religion is fantastic and really rich and exotic. I got a crash course in another faith system that was really interesting to me.” Michele Desmarais, associate professor of religious studies, teaches about the religions of southeast Asia, including Hinduism and Buddhism. In the Hindu faith, she says, some followers get tattoos to mark chakras, or the body’s energy centers. The tattoos are thought to serve as protection. While there aren’t cut-and-dried prohibitions against having tattoos in these religions, Desmarais says it depends on the region of the world. “Some conservative countries like Sri Lanka may have a problem with seeing an image of the Buddha tattooed,” she says. Many people may not have any problem at all, she adds, but travelers may want to consider covering their body art. Since 1990, Desmarais has studied the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Considered the oldest language in the world, it’s also the liturgical language of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. She offers a piece of advice for those considering a tattoo in another language. “I once saw a tattoo of a Sanskrit mantra, except the tattoo artist had gotten it wrong. It was a meaningless mess on this person’s arm. If it’s not part of your culture, think twice about doing that or make sure you have everything correct.” continued

UNO graduate and tattoo artist Jason Brown has inked customers with religious art, including this full sleeve depicting various Hindu deities.

Acceptance For some people with faith-based tattoos, tattoo art can be a conversation starter. Adam Ybarra, UNO team director for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, has tattoos that specifically reflect his religion.

HIDDEN MEANINGS A UNO professor’s research looks at the tattoo art of hate groups 88. Swastikas. The iron cross. Even a version of the Celtic cross. These tattoos are a staple among many subcultures and countercultures, including street gangs, biker gangs and extremists, says Pete Simi, associate professor of criminal justice. “Skinheads are very into the tattooing culture and tend to have a lot of tattoos.” Simi has interviewed members of the white supremacist movement in order to study their culture. In 2010 he published “American Swastika: the Hidden Spaces of Racial Extremism.” He says tattoos represent a sense of tribalism and a willingness to permanently inscribe the extreme beliefs of the group on one’s body. These individuals use tattoos to reflect their opinions much the same way as others. “These groups are adherents of a religious faith system,” Simi says. “They use it like any other person does who’s not part of a deviant subculture. There’s always the idea of appropriating symbols that are easily recognizable and have a sacred quality to them.” Take the Celtic cross, a traditional Christian image. According to the Anti-Defamation League, virtually every type of white supremacist group has adopted a version of it and made it their own hate symbol. In a way, says Simi, the group has done the same with the numbers 88. It’s a shorthand that references Nazi Germany — “H” is the 8th letter of the alphabet and together the numbers are meant to signify “Heil Hitler.” The number has gained enough prominence in its association with white supremacists that its use in this meaning has been publicly banned in Germany. These and other symbols have become popular tattoo designs, Simi adds. “It can be a way to suggest rebellion and also a way to use art for shock value — to force people to make an association” with commonly known symbols.

“People do come up to me and talk about it. I was in an airport in southwest Florida this summer. A guy came up to me and asked, ‘Are you a Catholic? I was just noticing your tattoo.’” One of Ybarra’s tattoos depicts the ancient Christian Chi Rho symbol — a P with an X intersecting it — with the Greek symbols for Alpha and Omega, representing the beginning and the end. Another piece was inspired by a trip to Rome’s catacombs. “Early Christians would put letters on the outside of a door marking a safe house for Christians to worship,” he says. “In order to be okay, you would look for these letters.” Ybarra chose those symbols for Iota and Chi, to tell others that he has become a walking version of a safe house. “I was once hoping somebody would help me have a way out” of some difficult times. “It’s a reminder of my own past and a way to look at how my faith played into that.” Are tattoos, faith-related or otherwise, becoming more accepted? Kole (right), the UNO staff assistant, thinks they are. “I think people’s perception of people with tattoos is changing.” She says she sees more tattoo art both on- and off-campus these days. Ybarra has observed more faith-based tattoos, at least the ones that are visible. “People are putting thought into what they put on their body.” But he also thinks there’s a trend to make tattoos more hidden, on the back, foot, or underneath a bicep. With 45 million Americans sporting tattoos and 21,000 tattoo parlors in the United States, there’s little doubt that tattoos are more accessible than ever. Tattoos are an outward expression of something we hold inside ourselves, Brown, the tattoo artist, says.

Adam Ybarra’s tattoo depicts the ancient Christian Chi Rho symbol — a P with an X intersecting it — with the Greek symbols for Alpha and Omega, representing the beginning and the end. Photo: Ryan Henriksen, University Relations

I think peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of people with tattoos is changing.

Sara Kole photo: Ryan Henriksen, University Relations

THE

BODY TEMPLE

A look at why religious Americans are healthier — and happier — than non-religious Americans

AS A

By Kevin Warneke

Kyle Kasperbauer eats right (paleo diet), exercises regularly (OK, a lot) and gets plenty of sleep (at least 8 hours). But there’s another, often overlooked component Kasperbauer says helps him be — literally — one of the Fittest Men on Earth. His faith. “Having a strong relationship with God is going to lead to being healthier,” says Kasperbauer (left), who this year finished 13th in the Reebok CrossFit Games determining the “Fittest Man on Earth.” Two years ago he finished third. A 2010 UNO graduate and former Maverick football standout, his physique is like something out of a superhero comic book. But it’s not just world-class athletes like Kasperbauer who say people are fitter because of their faith.

Photo: Courtesy CrossFit, Inc. All other rights reserved.

In his book “God Is Alive and Well: The Future of Religion in America,” Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport contends that religious Americans are healthier and happier than those who aren’t religious. “Religion is correlated with positive outcomes in the U.S. today. Being religious is related to happiness, well-being, and health,” Newport wrote. “We don’t fully understand how or why these relationships exist. But they are so commonly demonstrated and so powerful that I believe more and more people will pay attention to them in the future.” Newport • Many religions promote, in some fashion, behaviors associated offers three with higher well-being and healthy behavior. explanations for • Religion, by definition, includes a belief in God or a higher power. the findings: That belief can provide comfort and inner spiritual calmness. • Active participation in a religious community provides people with friends, social networks, social support and others with whom to worship.

Tending to the Temple Amy Hanson, UNO adjunct professor and author of “Baby Boomers and Beyond,” says Christians point to “1 Corinthians 6:19-20” as a motivating factor to live a healthy lifestyle.

“I think we have seen this now for a number of decades,” Desmarais says. “It’s easy to focus only on the negative aspects of religion — scandals, war — and discount this connection.”

“The apostle Paul talks about the fact that our bodies are not our own and that we should honor God with our bodies,” Hanson says, “Living a healthy lifestyle is one way of being a good steward of the body God has given us. I think this is a motivation for many people as they age.”

The connection between being religion and well-being occurs in Americans of all faiths, according to the study. Very religious Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and those who identify with other non-Christian religions have higher wellbeing than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious, according to the study.

That resonates with Max Aldridge, a 2011 UNO graduate who exercises most days when he’s not witnessing to students attending UNO as a field staffer for Campus Crusade for Christ. “The Bible says our bodies are a living temple,” says Aldridge, a regular at a bootcamp exercise class taught at the university. “I take that to mean my body is a gift from God. Gifts are worth caring for.” Newport’s writings were based in part on an analysis of more than 676,000 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index interviews conducted in 2010 and 2011. Gallup defines well-being using six components: overall life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors, work environment and access to basic well-being necessities. Newport, Dan Witters and Sangeeta Agrawal based their assessment of degree of religiousness on answers about the importance of religion and church attendance. Those who consider themselves very religious — meaning religion is an important part of their daily lives and they attend church, synagogue or mosque almost every week or in greater frequency — scored higher on the Well-Being Index for Americans than those who consider themselves moderately religious or nonreligious. That goes for mental health, too, Newport writes: “We don’t know the exact causes (of depression) and, in particular, the cure for depression. But we know that very religious Americans are less likely to report that they have been diagnosed with depression than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious.” The authors examined Americans’ response to whether they experienced worry, stress, sadness or anger during the day preceding the interview. Except for sadness, very religious Americans reported fewer occurrences. “Religious communities are good at giving us opportunities to promote community and have a focus on more than just ourselves,” says Michele Desmarais, associate professor in religious studies at UNO. Desmarais and Paul Falkowski, instructive and online coordinator for UNO’s Department of Gerontology, state concerns about Newport’s definition of religion. Desmarais questions the emphasis on belief in a higher power to define those who are religious. Falkowski says early studies measured spirituality by church attendance and participation in religious rituals. “There has to be an intrinsic piece,” he says. “Just because a person goes to church every Sunday doesn’t mean they are going to be healthier.” That said, neither is surprised by the link between religion and health.

Organized religions provide their members with critical components that can positively affect their well-being, especially as they age. Religion helps older adults maintain a sense of identity and continuity amid loss of spouse and cohorts, he says, and rituals help “keep people together.” Adds Aldridge: “The reality of God gives people hope — a reason to get out of bed in the morning.” Another reason for the connection between religion and health? Paul Williams, chairman of religious studies at UNO, says one foundation of Christianity is caring for others, including the sick. “Christians believe their faith calls them to care for the sick.” He cites James 5:14-15, which directs the sick to call for the elders of the church to pray for them and to anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. The expectation, Williams says, is that the Lord will raise up those who are sick. “This is still the practice for Muslims, Jews and everyone else who has found the conception of a higher power,” Williams says.

Uniting church and state? What can be done with this connection between religion and health? Newport wonders whether government and business might find the study results useful. Businesses and insurance companies use incentives — exercise, smoking cessation and regular preventive health screenings — to reward activities that lead to less use of health-care dollars, Newport notes. “Here’s the controversial premise: Religion could be included in this list of behaviors. The basis for this would be an assumption that highly religious employees will cost a company less over time.” “Insurance companies promoting strong religious activity — it’s an interesting concept,” Falkowski says. “I can’t see it as a negative.” Desmarais, though, laughs at the idea of government promoting religion. “I’m chuckling because … in this country we have separation of church and state — so I’m not sure how that’s going to work.” Separation of church and state is likely here to stay — no matter the ties between religion and health.

Chasing God ar A look at how some UNO faculty and alumni explore questions of religion and faith around the world By Kara Schweiss

Religious Studies Chair Paul Williams with some of the gifts he’s received during trips to the Congo, including a drum presented by Protestant pastor in a village called Lofoy to help communicate what’s happening in Congo with the rest of the world. Another pastor from the village Mondombe, where Williams was born, gave the UNO professor gifts including an anklet, ceremonial hatchet and spear point. “All symbolically significant in the traditional culture and given to make a point and to strengthen social bonds,” Williams says.

round the Globe The study of religion and faith isn’t about endless rumination over dusty, ancient tomes in dark libraries. It’s a complex endeavor that involves elements of history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy and political science as well as theology. And it leads its scholarly explorers all over the world in search of answers before bringing them home to share their insights with the UNO community and sometimes even larger audiences. Here’s a look at a few of those searches.

The Congo by Canoe Paul Williams is a son of Texas natives, but his birthplace and first home was central Africa. “I very distinctly remember the day we left, because it was traumatic to a lot of people, including me,” says Williams, chair of UNO’s Religious Studies Department. He was only 5 years old at the time. “We left when the Belgian Congo became independent … missionaries and other foreign nationals were encouraged to evacuate to avoid getting caught up in the conflict.” Williams’ parents, Disciples of Christ missionaries with two small children, took heed. “I remember walking next to my mother and reaching up and shaking hands with what seemed like hundreds of people. They said, they asked: ‘Don’t forget us. When are you coming back?’ I got on the plane, sitting next to my mother while she was holding my little sister. I turned to her and said ‘When are we coming back?’ And she said, ‘We’ll see.’” The family settled in Texas, but Williams never really stopped thinking of Africa as his real home. “About when I was 8 years old, I realized that we as a family were not going home and that if I got back to Congo it would be on my own,” he says.

He did return. Williams’ passion for his original homeland extended to his field of study and ultimately shaped his career. His research on religion, culture and society brought him home multiple times to what now is the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC]. When there, he’s traveled largely by canoe to connect with Congolese preachers, teachers and elders. That started with his doctoral dissertation on the Disciples of Christ Congo Mission from 1897-1932. He’s returned more recently to continue researching their history, focusing now on the period since 1960 and with an objective of bringing Congolese voices to the fore. An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who served congregations for eight years, Williams’ UNO courses range from traditional African religions to Islam to Religious Ethics. He also speaks regularly to civic and religious groups about the larger implications of religion in the world today. “This is true for me and I think it’s true for a lot of my students: people who study religions other than their own are likely to come to a better understanding and in some cases even a deeper foundation in their own faith because of their encounter with other religious traditions,” Williams says. continued

God’s Mailbox Intrigued by the universality of the desire to connect with a higher power in a tangible manner, Avery Mazor traveled to Jerusalem to study the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where paper messages are shoved into spaces between the stones. “It’s like God’s mailbox,” says Mazor, UNO assistant professor of art and design. “Many different religions and cultures leave behind an offering, make altars, leave (objects) where things have happened — both good things and bad things.” His exploration led to Text Messages and Other Works, a 2012 photography exhibit accompanied by pieces in other mediums that reflect his artistic vision of exploring the intersections of technology, memory and media. The idea of divine messaging is not only widespread, but also ancient, dating hundreds of years back. More than a million messages are inserted each year into the Western Wall alone. The papers are removed periodically, respectfully burned or buried to create space for more. Mazor says the practice has evolved with technology — virtual visitors can send notes online or via e-mail, fax or text messaging to have their messages or prayers printed and inserted in the Wall. “The more I talked about it with others when the exhibit was up, the more I was sold on the universality of this behavior,” he says. Mazor, who is Jewish, says his exhibit explored a commonality between Christian and Jewish faiths and invited viewers from all walks of life to contemplate communication with the divine. “All faiths are different roads to the same place,” he says.

Pitching a Tent For a guy who knows so much about pitching a tent, Michael Homan sure has done is fair share of traveling. It’s a must for his work. “For me, I can learn much better if I can see the place where the story is set,” says the 1993 UNO graduate, now an associate professor of theology at Xavier University in New Orleans. To better understand the Biblical exhortation, ‘To Your Tents, O Israel!,” that meant living with the Bedouin and visits to Jordan and Israel. His work can be seen in an academic book, “To Your Tents, O Israel! The Terminology, Function, Form, and Symbolism of Tents in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East.” The quote, he says, is a reference to military tents and mobilizing for warfare. “Whenever anyone got upset and wanted to have a revolution they’d make the statement, ‘To Your Tents, O Israel!,’” Homan says. “The broad question I was looking at was, ‘What does that mean, exactly?’” But his study of tents went beyond that. “I thought it would be interesting to study everything I could about tents, the ancient Near East and the

modern Near East,” he says. “You know, Yahweh’s most famous home was a tabernacle, so I spent a lot of time studying ancient tent shrines. It wound up being my dissertation and got published.” Homan has traveled repeatedly to the Middle East and even made his home there for a time. Recently he’s worked in the deserts of Jordan to study Bedouins, who come from a tent-dwelling past but have been forced to settle in recent years. A Catholic who teaches at a Catholic university, Homan says his life’s work certainly speaks to his faith, but his studies can have meaning for anyone. “Just to have this connection with people who lived thousands of years ago and to find out that they have the same fears and hopes that we have today, it gives you a lot of perspective,” says Homan, who co-wrote “The Bible for Dummies” in 2002 and who has published several articles about beer and its influence on the Bible and ancient Israel. “You’re thousands of miles away and thousands of years distant (but) you’re not so isolated.”

A Poor Man’s Cathedral Though Martina Saltamacchia’s research on the Milan Cathedral sends her to and from her native Italy, her greatest journey has been an academic one. Now an assistant professor in the UNO history department and director of medieval and renaissance studies, the internationally recognized expert on the Milan Cathedral Duomo di Milano started her studies in the field of economics.

Conflict in the Balkans Rory Conces has no blood ties to the Balkans. But, he says, the region “has become a second home to me.” And the source of his academic life. “Since 2001, I have made numerous trips to the Balkans, sometimes twice a year,” says Conces, an associate professor of philosophy and member of UNO’s International Studies and Religious Studies faculties. Conces has lectured or taught in nine countries in Europe and Asia, including at the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the University of Prishtina (Kosovo). He also is a board member of the Balkan Policy Institute in Prishtina, Kosovo. “I believe it is important to study international issues for the simple reason that we live in a global society, so that issues and problems that affect people in distant lands also affect us in one way or another,” he says. The troubled Balkans were a fitting backdrop for Conces’ area of academic interest. “I take my work in integrative philosophy as a way of creating coherent webs of meaning that help to understand and deal with ethno-nationalist conflicts in the Balkans and elsewhere,” he says. “If ethno-nationalism is just another ideology which itself is a cognitive framework that is at the root of some conflicts — and cognitive frameworks provide the ‘spectacles’

through which the world makes sense to us as well as a vision of how the world should be — then perhaps getting people to realize how their frameworks relate to the conflict might allow people to tinker with those frameworks in the hope of positively impacting the conflict.” There often is a relationship between religion and conflict, including in the part of the world he studies most, Conces says. “Religion does play out in my research, but often it is in terms of the ethno-nationalist conflict in the Balkans. Religion is bound up in the ethno-national distinctions. But religion can make its presence known in conflicts in a number of ways, and those are of interest to me as well,” he says. “As far as this relates to my personal faith, I am not very religious. Perhaps that has placed me at an advantage when it comes to inserting myself into a conflictual setting, given that I have no favorites in regards to religion.” Even when approached from the middle, he says, the conversation on religion and conflict is complex. “Religion can play a part in conflicts in a number of ways, but rarely are today’s conflicts simply conflicts over theology. Religion plays out in far subtler ways and so our conversations need to be more nuanced. Let us not forget that a case can be made for religion as a prime mover for peace and well-being.”

“In the weeks I was thinking about the topic of my dissertation, I heard a friend — in a total different context — say the sentence how one’s life is made for doing great things, like medieval Christians who lived in hovels and built cathedrals,” she says. “From an economical point of view, I thought, ‘Hmm, this sounds weird. Like a romanticized version of the Middle Ages, because how is it possible that poor people built the cathedrals?’” Her pondering roused her “to verify that point economically” via her dissertation. He real journey had begun. “By chance I stumbled upon documents nobody had looked at,” she says. “My research found out that the vast majority of income came from these miniscule gifts from the poor people … all put together it was like 84 percent of the (total) income. I was so shocked by this discovery that I decided that I would study the history instead.” She has explored documents six centuries old from when the cathedral was started. Its finishing touches didn’t come until the 1970s, Saltamacchia says, adding that the cathedral has become a metaphor for a long period of time. “In Italian, we say ‘As long as the construction of the Cathedral of Milan.’” She was enthralled by the level of detail and attention put into every remote facet of the structure by artisans and workers and by the financial sacrifices made by peasants. Her research ultimately led to several academic papers and books, was turned into an exhibition and even inspired a play. “All of these people have in a sense become my friends because I spent all this time with them. They were ready to give themselves completely for something they knew they would never see finished,” she says. “This idea of what does it mean to work in this way, to build something great, this is something that is universal and this is simply a great historical example of that.”

UNO Professor Bill Blizek is Among the World’s Foremost Authorities on Religion and Film

On the Big Screen by Assistant Editor Charley Reed, University Communications

Where is Christ to be found among Hobbits? Where is the Devil to be found in “The Matrix?” And what can “The Dark Night Rises” tell us about the human condition? UNO Professor Bill Blizek knows. For 20 years, the UNO professor of religious studies has brought his love for film into the classroom — and to the world. In 1997 Blizek launched the international Journal of Religion and Film, a rigorous exploration of religion in cinema, from Hollywood blockbusters to art films, shorts and documentaries. Blizek — an atheist — says it’s impossible to escape religion’s influence. “We all understand religion from a different perspective — sociologically, historical, philosophical and so on,” he says. “One of the ways we can understand religion is through film.” That’s one of the reasons Blizek has been a regular at the Sundance Film Festival for nearly 15 years. His latest effort at the Robert Redford film-fest is to find a sponsor to fund a prize for “Best Film on Religion.” Others are taking notice of Blizek’s work — worldwide. In April, Blizek launched the world’s first International Conference on Religion and Film, bringing two dozen scholars from numerous countries to UNO to present research on what film can tell us about religion — and vice versa. “There has never been anything like this before,” Blizek says. “There are sessions at the American Academy of Religion where they talk about religion and film … but this is the first time [a conference] has been devoted to religion and film.” Visiting scholars presented their own work during the three-day conference, viewed several short films with strong religious elements, and heard from actress and director Tamara Feldman about her short film, “Resurrection Slope.” The conference is an outgrowth of the successful Journal of Religion and Film, which Blizek began alongside fellow religious studies professor Ron Burk, who passed away in 2002. “Ron and I heard a lecture by the priest, sociologist and author Andrew Greely about finding the faces of God in movies, and what we wanted to know was would we find those same faces or was this a personal description on his part,” Blizek says. “So we rented the movies … and lo and behold there they were. So we decided we would teach a class and … we discovered that there weren’t resources available — maybe one or two books. Now there are hundreds.”

Over the years, the Journal of Religion and Film has published scores of articles on films that cover nearly every genre, religion and language, including Oscar winners like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and even “Avatar.” Such articles inspired Turkish professor Bilal Yourlmaz, who helped Blizek coordinate this year’s conference, to come to UNO as a visiting scholar. “My decision to come to UNO depends on that journal,” Yourlmaz says. “I found many institutions — some in New York and some in Edinburgh and Australia — but I decided to come here because of that journal. I figured that if they have a journal it means they are taking this seriously.” “Yourlmaz is the first religion and film scholar in Turkey’s history and one of only a few that exist in the country. The area is so new there that his proposed doctoral thesis on the topic confused his academic peers. “They were like, ‘What? Religion and film? What is that? What do you want to do? That is not a Ph.D. thesis,’” Yourlmaz says. “And it was strange because one was a theology professor and one was a communication professor. But when I found the journal, and UNO, I was like, ‘OK, it is not a bad idea.’” Now, after his work at this year’s International Religion and Film Conference, Yourlmaz is bringing the conference home to Marmara Üniversitesi in Istanbul. “I want to invite more than 100 people,” Yourlmaz says. “I want to invite directors and filmmakers and talk with them about their films.” Next year’s conference will accept paper submissions in Turkish as well as English. It’s slated for May 2015 and once again will be sponsored by the Journal of Religion and Film. “It’s a little hard [for international scholars] to get to Omaha, and I think people from the states will go to Istanbul,” Blizek says. “We think we’ll have a good turnout there.” Between the conference, the journal, and his yearly trips to the Sundance Film Festival, Blizek continues leading the charge in the field of film and religion. But new scholars like Yourlmaz, he says, will shape its future. “I discuss religion and games, educational technologies in religion, and other topics, but when I talk about cinema and religion people are focused on me and they ask a lot of questions,” Yourlmaz says. “I think this field will be so popular in 10 to 20 years.”

Bill’s Best Here are UNO Professor Bill Blizek’s 10 favorite films on religion. Tops? ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975) Directed by Milos Forman. Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd. Winner of five Oscars — Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. “Though the movie appears to be a criticism of mental health care in America during the 1960s, it can be interpreted as a retelling of the Passion story — betrayal through resurrection.” The others, in no particular order: IDA (2013) “Riveting storytelling. The movie appears to be about the discoveries of a young novitiate before she takes her final vows, but it is also an exploration of commitment and faith.”

TENDER MERCIES (1983) “This is a story about redemption and the power of love.” OF GODS AND MEN (2010) “The story of a group of monks whose lives benefit the people in the neighboring village. The monks are threatened by terrorists, but decide to stay and minister to the needs of the villagers. In the end, the monks are killed. Another story of commitment and faith.”

PRIEST (1994) “Widely criticized as anti-Catholic, this movie actually is an interesting exploration of what it means to be a priest, showing both the positives and the negatives. The end of the movie shows the power of forgiveness.”

JACOB’S LADDER (1990) “Often taken to be an anti-Vietnam war movie, Jacob’s Ladder also can be interpreted an expression of the ideas found in The Tibetan Book of the Dead.”

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008) “This mystery/love story can be interpreted as a retelling of the ancient poem, The Ramayana, a poem dear to the hearts of Hindus throughout the world.” MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (2011) “The story of a young woman ensnared by a religious cult. It is a horror story and what makes it particularly interesting is that the horror you experience as a viewer is similar to the horror the young woman experiences as part of the cult.” SOUND OF MY VOICE (2012) “The story of two young people bent on exposing a religious cult, led by someone from the future. What happens when the cult turns out not to be fake? The secret handshake is available online.”

THE ART OF FAREWELL (2001) “This short film (seven minutes) is an interesting twist on the idea of religion as the ritual creation of meaning, where the ritual is the application of a tattoo. It is a great love story and it provides an excellent example of the development of empathy for another human being.”

a Hunger for Reli

why people of all faiths take up the ancient practice of fasting By Rick Davis

TIM MCNEIL SAT IN silent prayer when he heard a calling: “I want you to fast.”

gion

The 1985 UNO journalism graduate didn’t immediately heed the message. “I was like, ‘Why? You know I like food,’” McNeil remembers. “But it kept coming back. I talked to my spiritual director, and he gave me good counsel: ‘The Lord has a purpose. The Lord has a purpose for this.’” And so McNeil, a Catholic, began to expand his fasting beyond the traditional period of Lent. He began fasting every Wednesday and Friday, eating just one small meal and drinking water. That was 15 years ago. “Great fruit came from it,” says McNeil (left). Since then, he has become a deacon, serving at Saint Bernard’s Church in Omaha, and left a job in public relations to become chancellor at the Archdiocese of Omaha, advising Archbishop George Lucas on matters of canon law. The idea of becoming a deacon — and preaching in front of a congregation — was a major decision for McNeil, who describes himself as more of a private person. And fasting played a role. “During those acts of self-denial, you become so aware and conscious of God in your life,” McNeil says. “And you start hearing how He may be calling you in different ways. I think fasting raises your mind toward God so much that you hear His voice more clearly.”

RESTRAINT, PURIFICATION While the act of fasting likely predates any of the known religions, the practice has found a foothold, to varying degrees, in today’s major religions. “Certainly, for what we think of as the ‘Big Five’ — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism — there are numerous traditions of fasting,” says Paul Williams, associate professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at UNO. While most of the major world religions recommend or encourage some form of fasting, the practice varies by individuals and religions. Many of the Protestant religions, for example, view fasting as a voluntary spiritual discipline, and for early church leaders, like John Calvin, it was more about eating sparingly and avoiding delicacies, Williams says. At the other end of the spectrum, in terms of prescribed fast days, is the Eastern Orthodox

Church. “They have a strict fast every Wednesday and Friday,” Williams says. “This is not just during Lent. This is throughout the year.” He adds: “Of course, in all of these religions, there are always exceptions made for health reasons.” Williams sees two major fasting themes weaving across these religions. “One is fasting as a form of restraint, and the other is purification,” Williams says. “On the restraint side, we’re talking about issues of selfcontrol, self-discipline, generally of controlling the body in order to cultivate the life of the spirit. Purification is more about cleansing. Especially in the Western traditions, that’s linked to the confession of sins.” Williams says fasting also can provide lessons about one’s mortality. “In the abstinence we see from Buddhist monks, it’s not about creating a closer relationship with God. It’s about disciplining the body, but, in many ways, as a preparation for death — as part of an acceptance that it’s part of the natural cycle of life.” That same theme, he says, can be seen in Christian religions, such as the Greek Orthodox use of fasting to “break down the individual, so they can see their ultimate dependence on God.” For many of the major religions, there are prescribed times of the year for fasting. For many Christians, it’s the 40-day period of Lent each spring, leading up to Easter. For Jews, Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is a time of fasting and intensive prayer. And for Muslims, Ramadan, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, marks a time of up to 30 days of fasting, from sunup to sundown, with no food or water.

MAKING CONNECTIONS Ibrahim Saad, a UNO student who moved with his family to the United States about six years ago, says the practice of fasting during Ramadan helps him more intentionally focus on his spiritual life. continued

“It’s really just connecting your soul to God,” says the 23-year-old Saad, whose family had previously lived in the predominantly Muslim countries of Qatar and Sudan. It also allows him to spend more time with sacred scripture. “When I wake up in the morning and I don’t have to worry about fixing breakfast, I can grab the Koran and read a verse or two,” says Saad (pictured). “And then at lunch, instead of finding a place to eat, I’ll grab the Book and read a couple more verses. So, in just a few days, I’ll have read the entire Book. And then I’ll read it again and again.”

Almsgiving and efforts to be more in solidarity with the poor also are intertwined with fasting in many of the major world religions, including Islam and Christianity. “It reminds you of those who cannot afford to buy food,” Saad says of the Ramadan fast. (Many Muslims also make their required charitable gift to the poor or less fortunate, called the zakat, during Ramadan.) “Your heart expands to the poor — the materially poor and the poor in spirit or any person who is lacking,” says McNeil.

A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE BODY WHEN FOOD IS RESTRICTED

SLOWING DOWN WHEN FASTING Within the first 12 to 24 hours of restricting food intake, the body’s metabolism begins to slow, says Kris Berg, professor and co-director of UNO’s Exercise Physiology Laboratory and Fitness Center. “And as one stays in a fasting state, the metabolic rate continues to drop,” Berg says. “It’s a survival mechanism.” While our cells are working to conserve and use energy more efficiently, the body also begins to tap into its

reserve of stored glucose — called glycogen — one of its primary fuels. “The brain and the central nervous system primarily use glucose for fuel,” Berg says. After a few days of no food, glycogen reserves are greatly reduced, sending the body on a hunt for more of this life-giving fuel. One of the primary targets is muscle, with its readily available amino acids that can be converted to glucose in the liver. “The body, at this point, begins to break down muscle protein,” Berg says. Another target is fat. As the body breaks down fat for energy, a by-product is the creation of a group of acids called ketones.

“When you’re fasting or on a low-carbohydrate diet, ketones build up in the bloodstream to higher levels than normal,” Berg says. “Because ketones have a diuretic effect, after several days, considerable water loss occurs, resulting in temporary weight loss.” Berg learned about fasting early in life. When he was 12 years old, he was diagnosed with diabetes. In an effort to control the disease, one doctor placed him on a very strict diet that severely limited his sugar intake. “This dietary strategy was common many years ago for people with Type 1 diabetes,” Berg says. “Carbohydrate intake was reduced as a means of preventing the blood sugar from rising to extreme levels after eating. It left me hungry most of the day as I was physically very active but had limited caloric intake.”

“It’s a way of recognizing the suffering of others,” adds Williams, the UNO professor.

NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONS Native American peoples also practice fasting as part of their spiritual tradition. It’s often connected to a right-of-passage custom, celebrated by most tribal nations, called “vision quest.” “These ceremonies mark the transition from childhood to adulthood,” says Brady DeSanti, assistant professor of religious studies and Native American studies at UNO. The ceremonies vary by tribal nations. DeSanti is most familiar with the Lakota tradition. In that tradition, boys and girls, around the age of 12 or 13, are sent to a specified location with minimal clothing and a blanket. There they fast, alone, for up to four days; the exact number, according to tradition, is foretold to them in their dreams prior to the vision quest. (A medicine person often is nearby, out of site, to make sure the child is OK.)

lodge. “There, through prayer and through discussion with the elders, the young person is encouraged to discern some of the nuances of their vision,” DeSanti says. Native Americans also fast when they want to ask the spirits for assistance (for instance, a medicine person often will fast before a healing ceremony), and when renewing kinships with other elements of creation (the bison, for example), who, in traditional tribal ways, are viewed as equal, older siblings of human beings. “Think in terms of a universe where everything fits together in balance,” DeSanti says. “If you want something, that’s fine. But there’s also going to be something that you have to give up to maintain that balance. Sometimes that’s understood in the form of sacrifice, such as fasting. It’s a way of humbling oneself before the spirits, before the creator.”

PRIOR TO PRAYER

“In a sense, they are to open themselves up to whatever revelation the creator will send,” DeSanti says. “They may be contacted by a spirit or a representation of the creator in the form of an animal, insect or other aspect of nature.”

Jews are asked to humble themselves before God and fast on Yom Kippur, the most solemn day in the Jewish tradition. “This is a classic case of a fast that is linked to confession of sins,” Williams says. “The process of Atonement is purification of sins in order to be reconciled with God.”

After the time of fasting and revelation is complete, the youth will join tribal elders in an inipi, or purification (sweat)

In the Bible, there are numerous references to fasting. The New Testament describes how Jesus fasted in the wilderness in

Pinar Saka, a two-time national champion sprinter for the UNO track team who competed for Turkey in the 2012 London Olympics, had to modify her fasting because of the caloric restrictions. As a Muslim, Saka was called on to fast during the month-long Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, which last several days. Ramadan, she says, “would make my trainings very, very hard” if she fasted regularly. “Because during training we push our bodies to the limits, we lose so much water, minerals, salt that we need to put them back as soon as possible not to get injured or to be unhealthy,” Saka says. “As an athlete, we do have to protect our bodies and keep very good care of them, and fasting would not really let me do this.” And so she fasted only on Sundays when she didn’t have practice. “Of course, fasting is one of the five

pillars of Islam, therefore all I could do was to ask God His mercy and forgiveness since I could not do the ritual properly.” Of course, no food or water for an extended period of time leads to dehydration, and can possibly lead to organ failure and death. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the average human can survive no more than a week without water. Humans can survive longer without food. In the extreme, one Irish Republican Army (IRA) political prisoner fasted for 70 days on a hunger strike in 1981 and survived. Beyond its religious value, can periodic fasting be good for your health? “That’s a good question,” Berg says. “There is little scientific evidence showing that in the long-term it’s healthy.”

preparation for his public ministry. (He also criticized those who purposefully “looked somber” when fasting in order to gain attention.) In the Old Testament, the Book of Ezra briefly discusses the purpose of fasting: “So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.” (8:23) “This passage from Ezra gets to another purpose of fasting, which you also find in the Christian tradition. That is, when you seek favor with God on any important matter or decision, it’s important to prepare oneself through fasting,” William says. “You also get that, interestingly, with (John) Calvin [a key figure in the Protestant Reformation], who recommended that churches fast when they are making a selection of a new minister or when they are confronting major challenges,” Williams says. “Fasting becomes a way of preparing oneself to go to God when you have to make a big decision.” Deacon McNeil believes fasting can be very powerful in that regard. “Fasting is especially helpful when someone is coming to God with petitionary prayer,” McNeil says. “Whether they are praying for healing, praying for themselves or looking for direction in their life.” And it’s not about the food, or lack thereof. “It’s about denying yourself, or sacrificing, for a higher purpose.”

Some claim that fasting, or “cleansing,” can help release toxins from the body. “A basic function of the liver and the kidneys is to cleanse the body of the so-called toxins,” Berg says. “These toxins are eliminated in sweat, urine and feces. There is no evidence that I’m aware of that supports any physical benefits of fasting.” Berg says that the water loss experienced through prolonged fasting — and the resulting loss of electrolytes — can, in some cases, throw off the rhythm of the heart (a condition known as cardiac arrhythmia), which can lead to fibrillation and heart failure. He says that short-term fasting as prescribed by many religions is most likely safe. He encourages those with any medical concerns, or those considering an extended fast, to consult with a physician first.

Players & Prayers As sports become more and more popular, so are displays of faith by athletes Sydney Hames and Sam Murphy photo: Eric Francis

By Greg Kozol

Sometimes, Sam Murphy finds himself in a jam. Perhaps Murphy, a left-handed pitcher on UNO’s baseball team, is facing the opposing team’s best hitter with the based loaded. Maybe the score’s tied. “I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get out of it,’” Murphy says. “It’s just me and the batter.” But Murphy senses another presence on the field — God. Murphy, a non-denominational Christian who attends Glad Tidings Church in Omaha, doesn’t ask God what pitch to throw next. In fact, Murphy says, he never prays for victory and rarely makes overt expressions of religious belief on the field. Rather, he says, his faith brings a sense of calm that puts the outcome of the game into perspective. “It’s nice knowing God is always there,” Murphy says. “He’s got my back. It helps me get the job done.”

Pinar Saka (left), an Olympian and two-time national champion sprinter at UNO, had a similar approach prior to races as she placed her feet in the starting blocks and waited for the “On your marks” command. “I was just praying and praying,” says Saka, an Istanbul native and Muslim who competed for Turkey in the Summer 2012 London Olympics. She just missed the semifinals in the 400 meters by .07 seconds. “I do not think of the race or how I will run or what I have done during my preparation phase. I just clear my mind and pray to God to help me to prove what I have already. “Knowing that I trained hard, put as much effort as I could, it was making the process easier to leave the rest to God to help me become successful. Because success doesn’t depend solely on your own efforts.” Religious belief has been ingrained in the fabric of athletics since before Christ, Buddha and Muhammad. The ancient Olympics in Greece were a festival begun in 776 B.C. as an honor to Zeus. Athletes caught cheating were fined and those sums used to erect the statue of a God.

America’s Bible Belt. At Nebraska, a Catholic priest often can be seen on the sideline during Husker games cheering for the Big Red. In 2011, Nebraska and Penn State football players gathered in prayer prior to a game just after the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal came to light. It made national news and video of it has topped 150,000 watches on YouTube. “It was very positively viewed,” Hawkins says. As sports become more and more popular, expressions of faith on the field become more and more visible. “Our society is sports-crazed,” says UNO Baseball Coach Bob Herold. “Sports provide a platform.”

At UNO Faith in athletics at UNO is not overt. You have to ask about it. But it’s there. Herold, a Catholic, takes a low-key approach. A Bible and barbed-wire cross are visible on his desk. But, he says, “I don’t preach Bible stuff to them.”

Sports, at least American sports, place where religious expression even encouraged.

Modern sports gives us Hail Mary passes, the Four Horsemen at Notre Dame, players who promise to take their team to “The Promised Land” and “John 3:16” signs in the stands.

No one bats an eye if an athlete thanks God after a big win. Consider the reaction if a stockbroker did the same after a rally on Wall Street. “Sports, at least American sports, seems to be a place where religious expression is accepted, even encouraged,” says Daniel Hawkins, a UNO sociology professor whose research interests include the sociology of sport. “I think a lot of it with sports, there’s a degree of randomness or luck, where players might want to give a reason for something happening. There’s a lot you can’t control.” Another factor, Hawkins says, is that American football — the most popular spectator sport in the country — appeals to a conservative fan base that’s comfortable talking about religion. The über successful SEC football teams play in the heart of

That said, he expects certain conduct from his players. “I want them to live right,” Herold says. “We try to tell them up front, we don’t do it, cursing or swearing.” Murphy says he participates in voluntary Bible studies with teammates. So does UNO softball player Sydney Hames (previous page), even when her team is on the road. She also prays in private on the field but says it’s important to take a light-handed approach to accommodate those who don’t share her views. “You have to have a mutual respect,” Hames says. “I think for me, I play it more subtly.” Prayer has always been a part of sports for Don Leahy (above right). The UNO athletic director emeritus

played at Marquette, coached football at Creighton Prep High School and served as AD at Creighton University — all Catholic institutions.

“It’s played a major role,” Leahy says. In recent years, Leahy has been present for a new tradition called the Circle of Prayer before UNO hockey games. Players gather in a small group — usually in a hallway outside the locker room — and each one will express his thoughts through a brief prayer. The experience is finished in a matter of minutes, Leahy says, and there are no prayers for victory. “We lost a very difficult game one Friday night and one of the players said, ‘Thank you Lord for the humbling experience the other night,’” Leahy says. “There was a lot of thought that goes into this. It’s part of their character development.” He says he’s never been told not to allow opportunities for prayer, even though UNO is a public university. He says the hockey prayer circle is entirely voluntary and held outside of the locker room to accommodate others who do not participate. As many as 13 players have joined it.

seems to be a is accepted,

He considers the experience of the hockey players to be a less visible version of what happens on high school football fields across the country, when players often gather in a circle after the game. “What goes on in those huddles, I would guess, is some sort of prayer,” he says. “I’ve experienced absolutely no problem at UNO.”

Voluntary Brian Conklin, Omaha-area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a national organization based in Kansas City, says his group works with coaches to ensure that prayer and expressions of faith are in compliance with laws covering separation of church and state. However, the organization tells coaches they don’t have to shy away from prayer. “There is a misconception about what coaches can and cannot do,” says Conklin, whose group has 32 Omaha chapters, including one at UNO.

Hawkins says the problem with faith and sports comes if there’s a sense of obligation to participate in some faithbased activity. He pointed to Dabo Swinney, head football coach at Clemson University, who in April 2014 came under fire with accusations he promoted Christianity and hired a team chaplain who actively proselytized to players. A Madison, Wis., organization called the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter of complaint to the university. “I think I would have a big problem if it wasn’t voluntary,” Hawkins says. “I think you have a gray area when someone in authority is making something voluntary.” That can be especially problematic as American athletes become increasingly diverse in their faith make-up. Today, Hawkins says, prayer in sports seems to take a non-denominational tone that welcomes Protestants and Catholics. But as society becomes more diverse there is potential for more tension. He noted that Muslims in the World Cup showed their faith by fasting during the tournament, which occurred during Ramadan. Saka says she never was bothered to see a Christian athlete make the sign of the cross prior to a race. “Apparently they were going through exactly what I had been going through and they were seeking God’s help as well,” she says. “Just the way we express ourselves was different. I actually loved it when I saw the athletes taking shelter in God’s patronage because He is the greatest and strongest.”

Degrees of Display Saka, who holds the Turkish indoor and outdoor records in the 400 meters, mostly was private about her faith. She especially leaned on it in the days leading up to the Olympics, reading prayers from the Quran and performing the Salaat — five daily prayers said to clean a person of all their sins. “This kind of doing something for God was making me feel more relaxed and comfortable for some reason,” says Saka, who recently retired after 19 years in track and now works for an Istanbul company as a business development specialist focused on solar, wind and hydro energy projects. She also provides personal fitness training for individuals.

continued

No one ever blames God for losing. That would be something.

Saka, though, says some athletes can take public display of their faith too far. She recalls watching an athlete who finished third in a world championship event running to his backpack and pulling out a Bible. It was, she says, “way too aggressive.” “I did not like the way he behaved,” Saka says. “Same would go for someone who would do the exact same thing with the Quran. People should not use religion, they should just believe and follow it.” The way a player displays religious belief sometimes is driven by culture. Herold played professional baseball in Latin America after a standout career at UNO. He remembers intense, public expressions of faith, such as women in Mexico going to church on their knees. On the field, players would look to the sky and cross themselves three times. Herold wondered if sometimes that served more as a good luck charm rather than a sign of devotion. More recently, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow elicited praise and criticism for “Tebowing” — taking a knee in prayer after a good play. Former NFL player and UNO All-American Chris Bober (left) was bothered when he saw the criticism directed at the former quarterback. “I never felt Tim Tebow did anything wrong,” says Bober, who played for the New York Giants and Kansas City in an eight-year NFL career. “I’ve seen people that were more outgoing in their faith, but they weren’t Heisman Trophy winners.” Bober, who played in the nation’s largest media market, says team Bible studies in the NFL were well attended. No one made much of a fuss about that, he says, because much of it was done outside of the public view. “There are so many teams that have Bible studies,” he says. “There are people in professional sports like you and I. Having faith helps them.”

Former NFL player and UNO All-American Chris Bober

After Football Faith helped Bober most especially on and after Sept. 11, 2001. Bober was a center for the Giants at the time. He recalls watching from a hilltop as a second plane struck the World Trade Center tower. The following days were filled with relief work, visits to ground zero and encounters with everyday people who had lost everything. “We got to see the enormity of what happened,” Bober says. “It touched something in me. It kind of drew me back to my faith.” Later, Bober says, his Catholic faith helped as his football career lost momentum. In New York, he was a starting center and in the top half of the league at his position. Then he signed with Kansas City and retired after three frustrating, injury-filled seasons. “As far as football goes, things didn’t go as well as they should have,” says Bober today a realtor for DEEB Realty. He lives across the street from his church and sends his children to a Catholic grade school. “I think God put me in Kansas City for a reason. My family got to go to every football game. That experience put me in a position for my after-football life.” For many athletes, faith is about life — not about wins.

Photo: courtesy Kansas City Chiefs

Or losses. “No one ever blames God for losing,” Hawkins says. “That would be something.”

CLASS 47

WALTER GRAHAM (BA) lives in Omaha. He

graduated after three years of naval service in WWII. He was in the printing business for 40 years and did magic shows as a hobby. Graham also conducted “Pasteup” workshops for printers, which taught them how to get printed material camera-ready. He also wrote “Complete Guide to Pasteup.” It was a best-seller in the graphic arts industry and was printed in Japanese. Magigraham@aol.com

MARIE FRANCO SHAFER (BS) lives in

Omaha and owns a business celebrating 50 years in the digital and screenprinting industry. Shafer’s husband, Don, passed away in November 2011. He also was a UNO graduate (‘53).

NO T E S

CLASS NOTES

JANET SEAMAN (BSE) retired in January

and moved to Palm Springs. She previously completed a motor assessment project for Head Start in 2012 and supervised student teachers in Sacramento. janseaman42@att.net

JOEL SNELL (MA)

recently retired from the Arlington Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. His latest article, “Deconstructing Statistical Analysis,” is in the 2014 spring issue of the journal Education. Snell’s essays, articles, books and commentary can be read at www.socialvibes.net. joelsnell@hotmail.com

GARY JOHNSON (BA) lives in Topanga,

marv.nevins@mail.com

Calif., and recently published a mystery/thriller novel, “Zipper.” It’s available on Amazon.com. Johnson was a longtime, Emmy-winning producer for “Jeopardy!” and received UNO’s Citation for Alumni Achievement award in May 2013.

RODNEY MURRAY (BA) is

gmsjohnson2002@yahoo.com

retired and lives in North Apollo, Pa. He is an interim pastor.

BILL MIRANDA (BGS)

don-marie@shaferdisplay.com

MARVIN NEVINS (BS) retired from teaching

in 1995 and is coaching softball at South Mountain High School in Phoenix.

rod-gerri@hotmail.com

TERRY FORSBERG (BA) lives in Omaha and

is co-owner/business manager of GranStan Events, a production service company that runs sound, lights and video for concerts, conventions, meetings, etc. The company also assists with event coordination. tgforsberg@gmail.com

is CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Latino Chamber of Commerce and publisher of a monthly magazine, Our Valley Santa Clarita. He lives in Valencia, Calif. bill@billmiranda.com

JAN RYDER (MA) lives in San Diego and completed training to become a certified master gardener, a program sponsored by the University of California. jryder1373@aol.com

Send your class notes to www.unoalumni.org/classnotes. Or, post your note on the UNO Alumni Association Facebook site: www.facebook.com/UNOAlumni

RICHARD HALL (BSCE) lives in Sioux City, Iowa, and retired from his job with the federal government. He now officiates high school track and conducts safety inspections on earthfill dams. Hall has been married to his wife, Marian, for 59 years. He enjoys playing golf and traveling to visit his five children and 17 grandchildren. rwhall@cableone.net

MIKE MENCH (BA) was named an Omaha North High School Viking of Distinction in May for his law enforcement career, which includes service with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, California police departments and FBI in Los Angeles and Denver offices. At UNO, Mench was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, a freshman class president, a student council member and was selected for the ODK honorary fraternity. mtmench@msn.com

VIRGINIA FRENCH INCLAN (BGS) lives in

Omaha with her husband, Jerry. They are “full-time 5th wheelers” and travel all over the U.S. greatgrannyjock@cox.net

JOHN PRESCOTT (BS) published “The Modern Compendium of Despicable Jerks,” illustrated by artist Tom Kerr. The book lampoons both ends of the political spectrum from the point of view of the majority caught in the crossfire. It’s available as an e-book or printon-demand from most distributors, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

ROBERT QUINN (BGS) lives in Stuart, Fla.,

LINDA PRIESMAN SMITH (BS) lives in

and handles legislative, regulatory and licensure issues on a part-time basis for the Visiting Nurse Association. He was VNA’s director of operations for 15 years. That followed 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. \He travels all summer with his wife in their motor home and spends time with his grandchildren. “Best wishes to all of my classmates,” Quinn writes. bobq41@att.net

Sun City, Ariz., and celebrated her 70th birthday in July with friends and family. She counts it as a milestone birthday because neither of her parents lived past the age of 58. L.S.Smith@cox.net

THOMAS BRANNING (BGS) lives in Henderson, Nev., and became a great-grandfather in June. tbranning2@cox.net

ALBERT DODAPP (MA) presented a paper,

“Media and Childhood,” at the Global Summit on Childhood in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2014. Dodapp is a retired school psychologist and lives in Mason City, Iowa.

J. PATRICK ANDERSON (BA) and his wife, Cynthia, completed a three-year assignment overseeing the Colorado Springs, Colo., Mission for their church. They have moved to Salt Lake City and would enjoy connecting with other UNO graduates in the area. 2patanderson@gmail.com

CLASS NOTES

KIRKE OLSON (MS)

recently wrote and published, “The Invisible Classroom: Relationships, Neuroscience, & Mindfulness in School.” The book takes lessons from brain science, mindfulness and positive psychology to help teachers understand students’ school experiences. He says teachers, administrators, parents and policymakers can use this book’s classroom-ready resources to “make the invisible visible, turning human investment in their students into the best possible learning outcomes.”

JOHN FEY (BS) writes: “I'm completing my fifth year as a sales associate at Peak Performance, the Omahabased running company. It's been an interesting career change as I head into the wonderful world of Social Security. I'd love to stay in touch with fellow UNO alums who may or may not know me, so give me a shout.”

jmfey1952@gmail.com

JAMES ADAMS (BS) has been in broadcasting for 40 years. He began his career in 1974 at KETV 7-ABC in Omaha, eventually becoming production manager. Adams writes: “After 23 years at KETV, I moved to UNO Television in 1997 as assistant general manager. Moving from commercial television to public television was an interesting experience.” Adams enjoys working on campus and being around students. He has two children from a previous marriage and gained three more when he married his wife, Leigh, in 2011. Adams likes spending time outdoors with Leigh and their dog, Zoe. jimadams@unomaha.edu

DEBRA WESSELMANN (BS)

published two books: “Integrative Team Treatment for Attachment Trauma in Children: Family Therapy and EMDR” and “Integrative Parenting: Strategies for

Raising Children Affected by Attachment Trauma.” The books are treatment guides to help clinicians heal children suffering from emotional dysregulation and mistrust due to the loss of a parent, separations, abuse, neglect or a history of a difficult foster or orphanage experience. They present the philosophy and step-by-step protocols behind the Integrative Team Treatment approach.

GEORGE ROGERS (BS) recently returned to

Omaha following his career as a professor and coordinator of engineering/technology teacher education at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. He also was affiliate director and national middle-level engineering consultant for Project Lead the Way at Purdue. There he co-authored the nation’s first middle-level engineering textbook, “Gateway to Engineering.” Rogers also served as president of the association for STEM teacher education and president of the Engineering and Technology Education Division of the Association for Career and Technical Education. Before working in higher education, he was a technology education teacher with Omaha Public Schools. RogersGeorge@clarksoncollege.edu

MARIAN O’BRIEN PAUL (MA) had two poems published in “The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine” in July. She will have two poems in “Pushing the Envelope: Epistolary Poems,” an anthology coming soon from Lamar University Press. Additionally, Paul’s work is featured in “The Gathering Poem,” a poem about Ireland by the people of Ireland. This poem consists of 50 lines chosen from 8,000 lines of submitted poetry. Paul’s is the seventh line in the poem. paul5200@comcast.net

VIRGINIA REECE HAIN (BFA) with her daughter Alesa Hain Hime Momerak and granddaughter Mickaela Hime held their second threegeneration art show, “Poles Apart,” at Bellevue University in October 2013.

TERRY MOORE (MSW) lives in Omaha and

was elected board president of the Association for Private Practice Therapists (APPT) through 2016. APPT is a multidisciplinary group of mental health professionals in Nebraska. The organization provides a forum for the exchange of practice management and the development of advocacy plans for mental health practitioners and consumers. terrance.moore@gmail.com

ROBERT R. JOHNSON (BSBA) on Oct. 1 became the ninth CEO and president in the history of The American College. Based in Bryn Mawr, Pa., it is the nation's largest non-profit educational institution devoted to financial

services. Johnson previously was a finance professor in Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. rrjphd@gmail.com

VICKI BEYER (BA) is president of Breakfast Toastmaster in Tokyo for 2014-15. Beyer has been working as a lawyer in Tokyo for nearly 15 years. banda@gol.com

MIKE KOHLER (MBA), with wife and UNO

alum Deborah Kohler, relocated to Fort Collins, Colo., to focus on teaching, writing and consulting. He is a faculty member of West Virginia University’s Integrated Marketing Communications master’s program.

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CLASS NOTES

Hiking the Canyon 89

ANDREW HOLYCROSS (MA)

became the third person ever to complete a 65-day hike the length of the Grand Canyon on both sides of the Colorado River on Nov. 25, 2013. Friends joined him in stretches during the entire 500-plus-mile hike of the north side, which he completed in a single trip, making him the ninth person to complete a through-hike there. Holycross previously completed sections of the south side. A biology professor at Mesa Community College in Phoenix and an adjunct professor at Arizona State University, Holycross says his achievement will enable him to bring firsthand knowledge of the geology and biology of the Grand Canyon to his students. Holycross has authored numerous scientific articles on amphibians and reptiles and is a co-author, along with Thomas Brennan, of “A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona.” Currently, he is editing a scholarly book on Arizona’s snakes and writing books about his late wife and about Robert Benson.

KATHERINE HAMILTON-SMITH (BA) lives in Libertyville,

Ill., and was named to the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council, which reviews Illinois nominations for the National Register of Historic Places and for the designation of National Historic Landmarks. She also is director of cultural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District in the north suburbs of Chicago. khamilton-smith@LCFPD.org

AMANDA DUFFY RANDALL (MSW)

lives in Omaha and became director of the Grace Abbott School of Social Work in 2013. arandall@unomaha.edu

GAYLE SPENCER (BS) lives in Savoy, Ill., and became director of the Illinois Leadership Center at the University of Illinois. Drgaylespencer1@gmail.com

GREG GUNDERSON (BSBA), vice president and CFO of Webster University, was selected 2014 CFO of the year in the category of large nonprofits by the St. Louis Business Journal.

MARK MANHART (BS) lives in Omaha and

“talks 2014 calcium therapy” in the United States and spots around the world. He also takes trips for fun and for business to both coasts. m@calciumtherapy.com

JULIANNE CROTTY-GUILE (MA)

lives in Omaha with her husband, Peter. The couple celebrated their silver wedding

anniversary in August. noteworthymusic@cox.net

KELLY MURPHY (BS)

writes: “My company, Triage Staffing, is looking to hire medical recruiters with an emphasis on UNO graduates. Please email me for more information.” kelly@triagestaff.com

LINDA JOHNSON (MPA) is vice president of

business development for Senseonics, which is developing the first transformational, long-term continuous glucose monitoring system for management of diabetes. Johnson lives in Germantown, Md. lindajohnson300@gmail.com

KELLY GREEN KELLER (BSW) lives in Omaha and recently was named director of the Center for Faith Studies at Countryside Community Church.

CHRISTOPHER BILDER (BS) published

his first book, “Analysis of Categorical Data with R,” with Chapman & Hall/CRC in August. The book is for graduate students in statistics and related disciplines.

SUSAN TOOHEY (MS) became director of educational initiatives for the Lozier Foundation. The first project she works on will be to open a private elementary school in North Omaha. Her dissertation, “What Makes Young Women More Resilient? Leadership, Work, Independence and Participation,” also was published by Scholars Press. susanrusselltoohey@gmail.com

CLASS NOTES ANGELA EIKENBERRY (BA) lives in Omaha and is an associate professor at UNO. She was selected for a 2014-2015 Fulbright US-UK scholar grant and will be located at the University of Birmingham Third Sector Research Center. While there, Eikenberry will conduct research on giving circles/collaboratives. Eikenberry also earned her MPA from UNO in 1998 and her Ph.D. from UNO in 2005. aeikenberry@unomaha.edu

DONNIE PRICE (BSBA) writes: “I am

currently using much of my UNO education (finance and banking) in running a nationwide credit union headquartered in Omaha. I am grateful for the great education and opportunities UNO afforded me.”

YOSIF JABIR (BS) lives in Plainfield, Ill., and is an assistant professor and group practice coordinator at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois. Yosif.jabir@icloud.com

JENNIFER WRIGHT SNOW (BA) lives in

Omaha and is celebrating the 12th anniversary of her and her husband’s startup company,

Catering Creations. They plan to open new event space, Founders One Nine at 19th and Jackson streets, in January 2015.

to communicate with your mobile phone to enhance safe vehicle operations. Learn more about their patent-pending products at autostickz.com.

JUDY JABENIS EPSTEIN (MS) has traveled to many places

chris@thoughtpuzzle.com

since graduating from UNO, including Antarctica and the Amazon. She traveled to Tibet this summer, where she was within two walking days from Mount Everest. She writes: “I have never been so enthralled with a place. The Tibetan culture was religious, colorful and musical, from life on the streets, to the many Buddhist temples we toured. The altitude of Tibet and at the Mount Everest Base Camp gave me a new respect for people who climb Mount Everest. The tenacity it takes simply can’t be measured. Tibet is a beautiful place.” Epstein is a world geography teacher in Las Vegas and can’t wait to share her experience with her eighthgrade students.

was among 10 graduate students awarded a $400 travel grant to present research at a regional or national conference. Shanks, a political science doctoral candidate, displayed “The Physical Implications of Political Anxiety: Visual Searches of Neutral and Non-Neutral Photographic Images.” The project chronicled 47 visual tests using the EyeLink II gaze tracking system housed in the UNL department of psychology.

Judyjaben@gmail.com

CHRIS AUGERI (BGS)

lives in Omaha and owns ThoughtPuzzle. The company launched AutoStickz, a brand that creates and sells automotive accessories. Many of its products in development are designed

ERIC SHANKS (MPA)

AMY DOSTAL (MBA)

relocated to Washington, D.C., where she works as a project/IT manager at U.S. Headquarters for Gallup. During a recent trip to Thailand, Dostal writes, she enjoyed scuba diving and seeing Asia for the first time. She also completed her first full marathon in Lincoln in May. dostal.amy@gmail.com

DAVID GERDES (BS) was promoted to master sergeant in the Nebraska Air

National Guard. He has earned many information technology certifications and works as an IT contractor at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base. davegerdes@hotmail.com

CRYSTALLE COTTON (BS) lives in

St. Louis and was accepted to Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo., for an MS in computer science/distributed systems beginning January. crystalle.cotton@gmail.com

MICHAEL ELBERT (PHD) lives in Cumming, Iowa, and has been the chief U.S. probation officer of the southern district of Iowa (Des Moines) since April 2007. michael_elbert@ iasp.uscourts.gov

MARGARET LUKAS (MFA) lives in Omaha and had her debut novel, “Farthest House,” recently published by Writelife Publishing Co.

LEE KAARUP (BGS) ,

a UNO Aviation Institute graduate, received his juris doctorate in May. He plans to open a family-run practice with his younger brother, who was an Army Ranger, focusing solely on Veterans’ Disability Law. Kaarup is a former air traffic controller and Air Force veteran. He lives in Glendale, Ariz.

MONICA CROSBY (BS) lives in Omaha and is director of Immunohematology Reference Labs at the American Red Cross. Monica.Crosby@redcross.org

MATT KUDRON (BS) completed a post-doctorate residency program in manual based orthopedic physical therapy. In May, Kudron and his wife moved from Arizona to Colorado Springs, Colo., where he works as a clinic lead at a physical therapy clinic. The couple is building a new home, expected to be completed this fall. Kudron writes, “We’re also looking forward to watching UNO play hockey at Colorado College and Denver University!”

CLASS NOTES BARBARA MURRAY (MSW) lives in Pueblo West, Colo. She recently published “Taking Back Parenting: How to Give Your Children What They Need to Succeed in Life.” “It is about helping parents and children succeed in life. I feel very grateful for my education at the school of social work and found my time there an amazing, life-changing experience,” writes Murray who owns a private mental health practice. She also teaches online classes for a university. bmurraylcsw@gmail. com

JOSHUA NOONAN (BA) is a recent graduate

of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and is a U.S. Presidential Management Fellowship finalist intending to work in the U.S. foreign policy apparatus as a Russia-Eurasia country analyst. On a freelance basis, Noonan writes country and political risk reports for the private sector in Russia and Eurasia. jnoonan3@jhu.edu

TYLER DAVIS (BS) is

looking for people to help raise money for Mosaic International, a former client of UNO’s EMBA program, which he graduated from in 2013. Mosaic International works to help save

children with disabilities from fire-related deaths in Tanzania. Davis writes: “Due to extreme poverty and little access to electricity, many families in Tanzania use kerosene lamps. In addition to toxic fumes, children are exposed to serious fire hazards. Their homes are often made of mud and flammable materials, and easily catch fire. Children with disabilities, who may not understand or be able to move, die in these fires — a horrible,

grueling fate.” Mosaic International has found an affordable solution in solar lights, which provide safe, renewable energy to families, and remove the danger kerosene lamps present. Mosaic International’s goal is to raise $10,000 to purchase solar lamps for each family in their program. For more information or to contribute, email Davis. tadavis@unomaha.edu

JACQUE HALL FISCHER (MA) and

her husband, Ryan, last October welcomed newborn son Rhett Harold Fischer. They also have a 3-year-old son, Will. The family lives in Blair, Neb.

IN MEMORIAM

A list of alumni whose deaths were reported to the UNO Alumni Association from April 16 to August 21.

Alumni 1935 1941 1942

1943 1945 1948 1949

1950

1951 1953 1954 1958 1959 1960

1961 Elizabeth A. Overstreet Ruth E. Wisner Roberta E. Long Harriet C. Wilson Dr. Nathan Leonard Morgenstern N. Leonard Morgenstern Charlotte M. Jagels Drexel J. Sibbernsen Thomas J. Vierling Robert G. Cunningham John C. Hall Fred R. Kudym Florence M. Maxwell Warren B. McLaughlin Adelio Tosoni Jim L. Essex Kurt W. Rosenwinkel Mildred K. Smock Donald J. Warner Gilbert R. Wilson Ray D. Barr Robert G. Janney Richard R. Rankin Ernest E. Lee Ronald D. Patton Frank B. Parks James F. Durbin Raymond F. Evers Harvey W. Gillette Charles C. Nelson Esther Pilster

1962 1963

1964

1965 1966

1967 1968

Robert H. Getscher Richard A. Kane John H. La Voy Horace G. Leadbetter Robert C. Morris Ralph H. Vohs Helen J. Howell David G. Jones James H. Kasler Morris B. MacCauley Daniel B. McGrath Hubert A. Newton David E. Pavel Larry D. Rankin Alfred E. Spry William D. Allfrey Charles A. McAfee John A. Mitchell Magnus R. Schuldt Michael L. Deegan Joan N. Herdzina William V. Wood Lang W. Anderson William A. Jones Mary J. Keel Aubrey C. Seal Loren A. Weishaar Gertrude E. Hufford Landon F. Overbey Herbert H. Kaiman John J. McOscar Orville K. Miller

1969 1970

1971

1972

1973 1974 1975 1976 1978

James G. Pauling James L. Sewell Julia E. Socha Pascal Adamo Marcus D. Bailey Robert T. Brafford Billy Broadway Coralie Dossel Franklin D. Kestner John Joseph Brennan Glenn M. Abbott Dale A. Davis Rodney R. Gaines Jerry C. Lewallen William C. Lutz William D. Mefford Lamont R. Wallin Horace E. Ervin Michael Foley Terry L. Heany Floyd H. Irlbeck George W. Phillips Charles C. Reynolds David L. Potter Michael P. Krehbiel Jeffrey K. Pepperell Charles E. Day Deborah J. Peterson Gail L. Gade Dorothy K. McPhaul Donald L. Rowland Robert J. Antczak Elizabeth P. Lewis Shirley M. Marsh

1980 1981 1982 1984

1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997 1999 2000 2004 2009 2011 2012

John J. Brennan Denise M. Clare Daniel Glynn Larry J. Eubanks Robert Garrett Michael J. Harrington John K. Wageman Joseph W. Brennan Steven Bridges Dennis Garland Todd A. Morrison Scot A. Stoner Mark S. Jackson Maxine E. Vaughn Nikki A. Ingram Laura M. Larson Chad J. Mann James P. Veiga Kevin R. Hering Stephen Sutera Maurice S. Pierce Mary M. Glassman Craig Ryan Linda M. Dierks Marnie L. Best Renie A. Cope Shawn A. Gosch Igor Soldo Michael H. Schildberg Preston J. Turner David A. Willingham

CLASS NOTES CHRISTA DIVIS (MBA) writes:

ZACHARY CARLISLE (BS)

“My husband and I have had a great time living in Seattle for the past three years. However, at the end of July, we are moving to Charleston, S.C. We are looking forward to the sun, heat and some southern food!”

joined the development office staff of Creighton Preparatory School as the research and prospect manager. He also is working toward his master’s degree at UNO.

cdivis@unomaha.edu

KIMBERLY STROBERG (MS) lives

in Papillion, Neb., and is teaching kindergarten through sixth grade elementary art and seventh grade art in Bennington, Neb. kstroberg@bennps.org

JIMMIE PINKHAM III (BS) lives in Omaha and graduated from Creighton University School of Law in May with a concentration in litigation. jimmie.pinkham@gmail.com

that this free clinic model will become a national phenomenon soon in China.” She extends special thanks to Dr. Haizhen Zhong in UNO’s chemistry department, who donates to the clinic each year.

MENGYI ZHA (BS) is

AMANDA MONZINGO (BS)

entering her third year of medical school at Dartmouth College. She is awaiting approval on her Schwartz Fellowship project of developing a street medicine elective at Dartmouth. If approved, Dartmouth will become one of the only schools in the country to offer students this elective. Zha’s student-run free clinic in Beijing, China, which she founded in 2010, is receiving donations and media attention. Zha writes, “It is my hope

lives in Omaha and was promoted to volunteer development specialist at Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska. She is responsible for duties relating to the retention and development of volunteers statewide.

amandajmonzingo@gmail.com

PHIL FOSTER (BGS)

writes: “Recently, I have been promoted to permanent status at UNO in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Therefore, I have many

benefits, including 15 credit hours of tuition-free education. I plan to procure my master’s degree in public administration in the near future!”

JOHN THOME (BGS) lives in Omaha and performs standup comedy in Omaha; Lincoln, Neb.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Denver. You can follow his latest jokes on Twitter at @john1980star. Thome is marrying Alex Luettel in June 2015. john1980star@gmail.com

DAVID GLEISER (MPA) lives in Sioux City, Iowa, and is director of the rural economic development department for Woodbury County, Iowa. dgleiser@sioux-city.org

DANNY RERUCHA (BS) lives in San Francisco and this summer interned as a technical director for DreamWorks Animation in Redwood City, Calif. He will return to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall to complete his master’s degree in computer graphics. After graduation, Rerucha plans to pursue a career in feature animation. DannyRerucha@ gmail.com

SUSAN FINDLAY (MS) was hired as the sixth through 12th grade media specialist for Falls City Public Schools.

LUCAS HARTMAN (BA) and a friend released “So Many Monsters,” a mobile game with KillSmile Studios.

Celebrate 100 years of dreams coming true. Since 1913, UNO alumni have come together to help today’s students pursue their goals and achieve their dreams. As we enter our next 100 years, join us in continuing that mission with a gift to the UNO Annual Fund today. Your gift will support alumni programs, events that support scholarships, the Thompson Alumni Center, and

communications like this magazine. Together with UNO’s worldwide alumni network, we can make our reach greater and our impact stronger. You are an important part of our 100-year history. Be a part of our future through the UNO Annual Fund.

unoalumni.org/give

BRIANNA KALLMAN HITT (BS) married her boyfriend of six years and spent the summer at the Summer Institute of Biostatistics at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., after graduating last May. This summer, she completed her first year of graduate school in Statistics at UNL and interned at Novartis OTC in Lincoln. Hitt will be taking comprehensive exams this fall and entering her second year as a graduate student.

CLASS NOTES GRACE RYLEE MASHHOUN, VIVIAN JANE ANDERSON, daughter of Marc and Jessica daughter of Ryan and Ellen (Stupfell, ‘06) (Schroeder, ‘04) Mashhoun of Anderson of Council Bluffs, Iowa

NICHOLAS CRUZ SEVENING, son of Nick and Kelsey (Zach, ‘08) Sevening of Elkhorn, Neb.

San Diego.

BLAKE RICHARD BERGLAND, son of Nicollette (Hughes, ‘09) and Adam (‘09) Bergland of Columbus, Neb.

KENLEY ANN BAWEK, daughter of Ryan Bawek and Ria Carpenter (‘13) of Spring Lake Park, Minn.

FUTURE ALUMS

Since 1991, the UNO Alumni Association has given more than 2,000 free shirts and bibs to the children and grandchildren of UNO graduates! Get YOUR child a new O baby! shirt today! Submit a birth announcement within 1 year of birth by completing the form at www.unoalumni. org/futurealums

FIONA IRENE MCFARLIN, granddaughter of Kathy (Welniak ‘65) and Lyle (‘63) McFarlin of St. Louis.

CELIA RUTHANNE GITT, daughter of Jennifer (Victor, ’07; ’09) and Eric BRUCE WILLIAM and BROCK (’03) Gitt of Omaha LANE CURTIS, twin sons of Lisa NOAH ERVIN DREWS, son of (Lane, ‘06) and Ryan (‘06) Curtis Rachel (Breeling, ‘11) and Benjamin

ANNA PATRICIA JANET MARTIN, daughter of Meghan and Kevin (‘95) Martin of Omaha, Neb.

of Omaha.

(‘12) Drews of Elkhorn, Neb.

VIVIAN MARIE KAUZLARICH, daughter of Blair (Schmidt) and Kyle (‘11; ‘12) Kauzlarich of Omaha.

AUDREY GRACE KAHLEY, grandson of Tom (‘69) Kahley of

RHETT HAROLD FISCHER, son of Ryan and Jacquelyn (Hall, ‘10) Fischer of Blair, Neb.

EVERETT RONALD LEE, son of Jon and Courtney (Nichols, ‘05; ‘08) Lee of Moorhead, Iowa

O’Fallon, Ill.

COLIN MICHAEL O’FLYNN, MADISON LEE RUOPP, daughter of daughter of Lesley (Lovette, ‘12) and Brandon and Jeana (Goswick, ‘09) Ruopp Michael (‘01) O’Flynn of Omaha. of Marshalltown, Iowa, and granddaughter of BARRETT ARLEN HUGHES, Janet Goswick (‘06) of Bellevue, Neb. son of Chance and Brooke LUCY ELIZABETH LORENZEN, (Groteluschen, ‘11) Hughes of daughter of Ryan and Stefanie (McGowen, Columbus, Neb. ‘10) Lorenzen of Omaha.

MARCELINO MICHEAL ASAAD, son of Demian and Micheal (‘15) Asaad of Omaha. GRACE ISABELLA PARKS, daughter of Lindsay (Kennitz, ‘02) and Derek (‘06) Parks of Omaha.

SEND A CLASS NOTE WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE GRADUATING FROM UNO? Send us an update online at http://unoalumni.org/ unoclassnote. Or, write us at UNO Magazine Class Notes, 6705 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182-0010. Include Name, Class Year, Degree, Phone, Address and Email. Fax to 402-554-3787.

ROOM RENTAL

When you host your company holiday party at the Thompson Center! Catering minimums apply

Contact Steven Summers to book your event! 402-554-3368 | ssummers@unoalumni.org

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

SIGHTS & SOUNDS A look at happenings on and off campus

Durango Days Thousands of students were welcomed back to campus with Durango Days, a weeklong series of events to start the Fall 2014 semester. The week began with hundreds of students at the New Student Convocation and continued with free food in the pep bowl and HPER After Dark, which allows students to use the Health, Physical Education and Recreation facilities from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Stormy Start UNO soccer got off to a stormy start — at least off the field. After 12 minutes of play, the Mavericks’ game against 20th-ranked Stanford was put on hold for three hours as strong thunderstorms rolled through Omaha. Play was tight once it resumed, the Cardinal scoring in the 95th minute of the game for a 2-1 overtime win at Caniglia Field. Photos by Evan Ludes, UNO Gateway Photo Editor

Packed House UNO Housing once again was at capacity in August with all 2,092 on-campus residences filled at the start of the fall semester. That matches last year for the most campus residents since UNO’s first housing, University Village, opened in 1999. Overall enrollment at UNO was 15,227 students. If UNO’s resident students made up their own metropolis they would be the 56th most populous Nebraska city.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

Rockin’ the End of Summer UNO and its colleges presented the End of Summer Concert Series from August through September, showcasing some of the area’s best live musical talent at Midtown Crossing’s Turner Park. Performers included the UNO Marching Mavericks, the UNO Percussion Ensemble and UNO Jazz One. UNO graduate Billy McGuigan was the headline performer to kick-off the series.

Painting the Past Thanks to the efforts of 150 teens in UNO’s SummerWorks program, Omaha’s Hanscom Park Greenhouse received a facelift in August with the unveiling of a new mural. In partnership with the City of Omaha Parks, Recreation and Public Property Department, high school students from across Omaha spent nine weeks painting the mural, based on a design by local artist Kristen Pluhacek. Nearly 70 feet wide and 14 feet tall, the mural is set in the early 1900s, depicting citizens walking through flower gardens and a rose-covered archway. UNO’s SummerWorks program, launched in 2011, provides summer jobs to area teens. Participants this year also constructed a turtle habitat at Fontenelle Forest and provided beautification to landmarks including Lauritzen Gardens, Pipal Park and Carter Lake.

Pictures by Jeff Beieremann, University Relations

FOR FUN Test your brainpower with these puzzles created by UNO graduate (and former football player) Terry Stickels (’76). An author, speaker and puzzle maker, Stickels’ FRAME GAMES is published by USA Weekend magazine and in 600 newspapers. For more information on Stickels, or to order any of his books, visit www.terrystickels.com

Visual — Puzzle 65

What is the total number of individual cubes below? All rows and columns run to completion unless you actually see them end.

Logic — Puzzle 74

Place six different cards in a row on a table. The third card from the left is a Queen of Diamonds. How many different arrangements of the six cards are possible if the Queen of Diamonds can never be at either end of the row?

Mathematics — Puzzle 85

I am thinking of a fraction where 5/9 is 11/13 of that fraction. What is it?

Language — Puzzle 145 prestigious

bourgeois

bivouac

paraphernalia

ventilate

seismograph

ANSWERS VISUAL: 39 cubes. 20 in the large stack on the left and 19 in the large stack on the right.

One of the words below is misspelled. Which one?

LANGUAGE: Paraphernalia MATHEMATICS: 65/99. Here’s one way to look at this: 11/13* x= 5/9 (x is the fraction we seek) 11x=65/9, so x=65/99. LOGIC: 480. If we exclude the Queen of Diamonds, there are 120 arrangements of the remaining five (5x4x3x2x1) cards. The Queen of Diamonds can be inserted in any of the four spaces between the 5 cards; so the answer is four times 120, or 480. ANSWERS

Puzzles taken from The Big Brain Puzzle Book, created by Terry Stickels for the Alzheimer’s Association.

online.nebraska.edu/alumni Choose from 100+ online degrees, certificates and endorsements. UNO Programs Include: • Education • Criminal Justice • Gerontology • Public Administration • Political Science • And More

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30 BODY OF FAITH

More people than ever are putting their beliefs on their body via the ancient practice of tattooing

38 C HASING GOD

AROUND THE GLOBE

A look at how some UNO faculty and alumni explore questions of religion and faith around the world

VOL. 5, NO. 3

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #301 OMAHA, NE

UNO Magazine is the flagship publication of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is published three times a year. It is mailed to all UNO graduates and to community leaders in and out of Nebraska. Please share your copy with anyone who might benefit from the work of our great university.

42 O N THE BIG SCREEN

How a UNO professor became among the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost authorities on religion and film

48 P LAYERS & PRAYERS

Displays of religion on the field