U N I V E R S I T Y
October 2003
O F
N E B R A S K A
A T
O M A H A
A L U M N I
A S S O C I A T I O N
www.unoalumni.org
IN THIS ISSUE:
Mavs take inaugural Victory Bell in Loper rivalry
Don’t Make the Mav Mad! Make it to
Homecoming 2003 Saturday, Oct. 4! Kids 12 & under of alumni attend picnic and game free! Details next page.
Get Bullishon Homecoming 2003! Join us Saturday, Oct. 4 oin us for food, fun and freebies at UNO Homecoming 2003 Saturday, Oct. 4. Kids 12 & under of alumni attend FREE!!! Here’s the lineup:
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11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Pre-game picnic/ tailgate party at W.H. Thompson Alumni Center
• Free games and prizes for the kids • A pep talk from Coach Pat Behrns • UNO Mascot Durango • Amazing Arthur and his magic, juggling and balloon animals.
1 p.m. UNO vs. So. Dakota St. Al F. Caniglia Field
• The Mavs commence their whipping!!!
All that for just $10 for adults. Kids 12 & under (of alumni) free!!!! Price includes ticket to the game, food & beverages. Sign up now! RETURN FORM BY SEPT 28!! To attend, fill out the form below, detach and mail with your check to: UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. For more info call toll-free UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-628-2586 or e-mail sking@mail.unomaha.edu
Sign us up for UNO Homecoming 2003!!! Name
Phone
City Reserve me
State adult tickets at $10 each and
Names for Name Tags (please include children’s names and ages)
Zip
children’s tickets at no cost!. I have enclosed $
for the tickets.
Make checks payable to UNO Alumni Association
Contents
October 2003
Departments AROUND CAMPUS 5 Summer commencement.
ASSOCIATION IN ACTION 6 Citation issued to Omaha Postmaster; ConAgra Foods issues scholarship; Association partners to offer grads student loan debt consolidation.
FUTURE ALUMS 24 New shirts—send us your pics!
CLASS NOTES 25 Brainiacs all.
Jeff Bundy/The Omaha World-Herald.
Features on the cover
MAVS RING IN SEASON 21
Editor: Anthony Flott
UNO downs UNK in the season opener for both teams to claim the “Victory Bell” commissioned by alumni associations at both universities.
Contributors: Kevin Bartram, Tim Fitzgerald, Eric Francis, Warren Francke, Don Kohler, Rich Kaipust, Eric Olson, Omaha WorldHerald, Nick Schinker, Bill Siztmann, The Topps Company, Wendy Townley, UNO Sports Information.
FATHER KNOWS BEST 10
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Alum Robert Dahlquist follows another UNO grad as Omaha’s Fire Chief—his father, Horton Dahlquist.
’HOLLER GUY’ 16 Joe Arenas struck gold with the NFL’s 49ers half a century ago.
STEPPING DOWN 20
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University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith to retire in 2004.
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A VERY GOOD YEAR 22
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A strong showing by UNO’s women’s program boosts the Mavs to its best-ever finish in the Sears Cup standings.
Alumni Association Officers: Chairman of the Board, Kevin Naylor; Past Chairman, Don Winters; Chairman-elect Steve Bodner; Vice Chairmen, Cookie Katskee, Adrian Minks, Rod Oberle, John Wilson; Secretary, Kevin Warneke; Treasurer, Dan Koraleski; Legal Counsel, Deb McLarney; President & CEO, Jim Leslie. Alumni Staff: Jim Leslie, President and CEO; Roxanne Miller, Executive Secretary; Sue Gerding, Diane Osborne, Kathy Johnson, Records/Alumni Cards; Sheila King, Activities Coordinator; Greg Trimm, Alumni Center Manager; Joan Miller, Accountant; Anthony Flott, Editor; Loretta Wirth, Receptionist. The UNO Alum is published quarterly by the UNO Alumni Association, W.H. Thompson Alumni Center, UNO, Omaha, NE 68182-0010, (402) 554-2444, FAX (402) 554-3787 • web address: www.unoalumni.org. • Member, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) • Direct all inquiries to Editor, W.H. Thompson Alumni Center, (402) 554-2989. Toll-free, UNO-MAV-ALUM • Send all changes of address to attention of Records • Views expressed through various articles within the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University of Nebraska at Omaha or the UNO Alumni Association.
October 2003 • 3
Letter
From the Chancellor
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The changing face of our student body
s this edition of the UNO Alum goes to press, summer is through and our campus has begun its 95th academic year. The sights and sounds of “Welcome Week” energized UNO’s north and south campuses with students returning for the fall semester. It’s an exciting time and, as Chancellor, I always look forward to meeting new students and faculty, and welcoming those who return. Over the years, UNO’s student community has grown and changed—the average age of our students in 1992 was 26 years, today it’s 23.4. Ten years ago, 57 percent of our students attended full time; in 2002, 72 percent were full time. These changing demographics reflect UNO’s growth and maturity as a metropolitan university, serving a diverse and dynamic community. A survey of first-time freshmen last fall revealed some other interesting facts: • 95 percent entered UNO immediately after high school; • 95 percent had UNO as their first or second choice, with 78 percent selecting UNO as their first university of choice; • 71 percent live within 10 miles of campus; 80 percent live within 50 miles; • 60 percent will live with family or friends; • 60 percent describe their political views as “middle of the road,” 20 percent are “conservative” and 17 percent “liberal;”
• 83 percent had a high school grade average of a B or higher; • 22 percent earned a high school GPA equivalent to an A or A+; • 46 percent took one or more advanced placement classes in high school; • 60 percent expect to work during college, and 91 percent say they will have enough money for tuition; • 12 percent want to major in education, 34 percent say they will study business or enter professional programs; and • 43 percent of their parents have college degrees. We’re proud to be the university-of-choice for these wellprepared “future alumni,” and pledge to help them see their dreams come true. In our 95th year, UNO’s motto rings more true than ever: To serve our students, that they might earn a living and live a cultured life; not as two processes, but as one. Until next time,
Chancellor Nancy Belck
The UNO Century Club entury Club membership today consists of more than 3,600 individuals who support their alma mater with gifts of $100 or more. Gifts support various alumni association programs and services that make for a stronger, more vibrant university. These include the Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards, UNO Alumni Legacy Scholarships, Alumni Outreaches and more. With their UNRESTRICTED gift, Century Club donors receive one of five personalized mementos, special recognition in an annual report and invitations to select events throughout the year.
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Welcome to the Club!* Thanks to these upgraded Century Club donors!* To Silver Greg Hoffman James E. Olafson Gary P. Smith Richard S. Stouferr Mark C. Jaksich
* From donor rolls June 1, 2003, through August 30, 2003
4 • October 2003
Welcome and thanks to these first-time Century Club donors!* Silver Dan Bouska Bronze Barbara M. Applegate Tyson A. Brown John A. Cherica John M. Chessnoe Brenda L. Cheuvront
Lorraine M. Chrastil Diane C. Cortese Mandy L. Fisher Lisa C. Flesner James A. Guretzky William A. Haskins Lars Hedstrom, Jr. Terri J. Howell Susan L. Johnson Helen M. Kleinsasser David G. Koehler Leo & Margaret Kollman Mary A. MacFerrin Serge R. Martinrod Fred McCurdy Ronald C. Milfs
Richard A. Minnis Ron Moravec Richard A. Needham William D. Nelsen Mark & Maureen Rohlfing Lawrence J. Ruh Diane M. Ruskamp Samuel C. Schram Thomas R. Shawhan Timothy P. Shea Dr. Mark E. Shirley Nancy L. Vanderlinden Emil H. Vollman Janice K. Welch Sara D. Woodby-Brown Michelle R. Wright
UNOALUM
Events & Happenings on the UNO Campus
Around Campus
Photo by Tim Fitzgerald
More than 500 graduate at UNO Summer Commencement
Student Speaker Jenni Bogenreif delivers her address, “Lessons I’ve Learned.”
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MAHA - The director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) was honored Aug. 15 at the commencement ceremony for UNO’s summer graduates. Rita R. Colwell, the 11th director of the NSF, was presented with an honorary doctor of science degree. More than 500 students received degrees at the ceremony, held at the Civic Auditorium. Since taking office in 1998, Colwell has spearheaded the agency’s emphasis in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. Under her leadership, the NSF has received significant budget increases, and its funding recently reached a level of more than $4.8 billion. Sunny Andrews, professor and director of the UNO School of Social Work, presented the commencement address. His planned retirement in December caps a 30-year career with the University of Nebraska. Andrews also received the Chancellor’s Medal, which was established to recognize the contributions of faculty and administrative staff who embody the institution’s mission and
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values. It is bestowed only to those within the university community who have demonstrated unusual excellence. In 2002, the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) honored Andrews by naming a new award after him. The Sunny Andrews Award recognizes ASWB board members who have made outstanding contributions to the protection of the public. Recipients are noted for their integrity and ethics. The Aug. 15 commencement ceremony also featured: Jenni Bogenreif delivering the student commencement address. Bogenreif received her bachelor of science degree in recreation and leisure studies with a concentration in recreational therapy. Her address was titled, “Lessons I’ve Learned.” The Order of the Tower, UNO’s highest non-academic award, recognized the lasting contributions of civic leaders David and Liz Karnes. Liz Karnes received the Order of the Tower at her home before passing away earlier this year. At UNO, David Karnes has played an important role in the growth and success of Maverick athletics. A nominator described the contributions of Liz Karnes thusly: “Liz Lueder Karnes touched education at every level as a teacher, administrator, professor, author, volunteer and leader. This activist, mentor and futuristic leader did not simply espouse the core values of UNO; she gave them life.” The Order of the Tower is bestowed upon community leaders whose service and/or financial support has made it possible for the university to address the academic, cultural and economic needs of Omahans and Nebraskans. Eva Jon Sperling received the Citation for Alumnus Achievement (see story Page 6).
UNO student shows imagination, wins award niversity of Nebraska at Omaha student Tu Nguyen has won the 2003 Imagine Cup, a first-ever international event sponsored by Microsoft that challenges creative and tech-savvy students to design new Web services solutions. Nguyen, 23, and currently working in Seattle for Microsoft, was unable to go to Barcelona, Spain, where the winners were announced. Microsoft linked him there via the Internet. “I wasn’t a developer, but I turned to Microsoft’s .NET Framework for Web services because my parents needed a better way for American-born waiters in their restaurant to communicate with the Vietnamese chefs in the kitchen,” said Nguyen in a Microsoft press release. His family operates the Saigon Restaurant at 121st and Center St. in Omaha. They came to the U.S. 13 years ago from Vietnam. His solution? A Point of Delivery System (iPODS), a multi-language wireless application that allows a waiter using a personal digital assistant to take orders in one language and transmit them immediately to a computer server for translation into the chef’s native language. The order is then sent, in the chef’s language, to a printer in the kitchen. The automated ordering process eliminates dual data-entry and the inconsistency of paper tickets. The result is saved staff time and money. Along with the recognition of being the Imagine Cup winner, Nguyen, who is a junior at UNO, receives $25,000 for taking first place.
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October 2003 • 5
Association in Action Omaha Postmaster Sperling receives Citation
6 • October 2003
Photo by Eric Francis
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he UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation for Alumnus Achievement on EvaJon Sperling Friday, Aug. 15, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The citation, instituted in 1949, is presented each year at UNO’s three commencement ceremonies. The highest honor presented by the association, the Citation encompasses professional or career achievement, community service, involvement in business and professional associations, and fidelity to UNO. Kevin Naylor (’78), 2003 chairman of the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors, presented the award. A 2000 UNO graduate, Sperling has been Omaha’s Postmaster since 1995. Under her leadership, Omahans have enjoyed postal service that ranks among the best in the nation. In 1999 and 2000 Omaha had the best local mail delivery in the nation with 96 percent of mailings reaching their destination in the amount of time promised (one day for cross-town delivery). The Omaha Post Office since has consistently achieved on-time delivery of at least 95 percent each year. Also, the Central Plains Performance Cluster, of which Omaha is a part, was awarded the Order of the Yellow Jersey (OYJ) in October 2000 and has retained that honor every quarter since. Inspired by four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, the OYJ is awarded for accuracy and consistency of delivery, and professionalism in serving customers. Sperling began her career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1972 as a part-time flexible clerk in Flint, Mich. She earned a bachelor’s degree two years later from the University of Michigan. She climbed the postal service’s management ranks in Michigan, Denver and Wausau, Wis., working in a variety of positions in all functional operations. Sperling came to Omaha in January 1990 as director of field operations. Her district stretched from the South Dakota to Kansas borders and included 364 post offices. In 1992 she was named manager of post office operations for the Central Plains District. Three years later she took over as postmaster. Today Sperling oversees approximately 1,100 employees and the delivery of mail to some 234,000 addresses with an estimated population of more than 425,000 people. About 68,500 miles are driven each week to deliver this mail. Working with an operating budget in excess of $65 million, the Omaha post office collects more than $650 million per year, ranking it among the leading revenue producers in the postal service. Sperling in 2000 graduated from UNO’s Executive MBA program. “I’ve been with the post office so long,’’ she said in Profiles, a 2002 Alumni Association publication, “that I got to the point where I only thought in terms of how things would affect that world. I may have thought I was open-minded before, but
Omaha Postmaster and UNO Citation for Alumnus Achievement recipient EvaJon Sperling.
going through the MBA program at UNO really opened my eyes. I wanted a picture that looked at what we do from a totally different angle, and that’s what I got. My professors and classmates were wonderful. We were lectured by professors from China and India. Having that diversity led me to think in ways I had never thought before.’’ Sperling’s other career experience includes a stint selling encyclopedias door-to-door, managing the Michigan secretary of state’s office and service in the U.S. Marine Corps. She is co-chair of the Omaha Postal Customer Council and the Metropolitan Omaha Postal Customer Advisory Council. She also is a board member of the United Way of the Midlands, the Downtown Rotary Club of Omaha and Omaha Network. She also has served on the Local Federal Coordinating Committee for the Combined Federal Campaign and is a member of the Federal Executive Association. Sperling is a member of the American Driving Society and Eastern Nebraska Driving Society and has competed in horse driving events in the United States and Canada. She currently has a 3-year-old mare in training for competition.
UNOALUM
UNO Alumni Association News & Information
ConAgra Foods establishes scholarship
Calling all alumni authors
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he UNO Alumni Association is pleased to announce the conferment of the Chancellor’s ConAgra Foods Scholarship. Justin Ptacnik, son of Gregg and Jody Ptacnik of Blair, Neb., has received the scholarship for the 2003-2004 school year. The Chancellor’s ConAgra Foods scholarship is a four-year Justin Ptacnik grant covering Ptacnik’s tuition at UNO up to $3,250 annually. He received the scholarship in recognition of his strong commitment to academic excellence, broad interests and involvement in the greater Omaha community and Nebraska. He has enrolled in the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute of Information Science, Technology and Engineering. Ptacnik graduated from Blair High School in May 2003. He had a 4.26 grade-point average and ranked 12th in his class of 175 seniors. He is majoring in Management Information Systems in UNO’s College of Information Science & Technology. The scholarship reflects an effort by UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck to partner with Nebraska businesses for the broadening of scholarship opportunities provided through the Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing. The Scholarship Swing golf tournament, in its 23rd year, raises more than $50,000 annually. “We appreciate ConAgra Foods’ strong commitment to academic excellence by establishing this generous scholarship,” Chancellor Belck said. “As a metropolitan university, these linkages are important as we seek to keep Nebraska’s best students in our state. Justin Ptacnik is exactly the high caliber of student that the Peter Kiewit Institute was created to serve. Through ConAgra Foods’ gift, we are proud to welcome him to UNO.”
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arlin Briscoe wrote about becoming pro football’s first black starting quarterback. Joel Jorgensen penned the definitive book on the birds of Nebraska. George Lindquist shared his secrets to buying a car. And Linda Lewis explored the “Promethean Politics of Milton, Blake and Shelley.” Their common bond? Not only are all four published authors, but they’re all UNO graduates, too. There are plenty more alumni authors with stories to tell. And so the UNO Alum will be writing about writers—graduates who have penned books. We’re collecting their names and works, then we’ll choose eight to feature in the March 2004 Alum. We’ve already begun compiling our own list of alumni authors from which to choose, but we also want your input. Have you written a book, or do you know a UNO grad who has? If so, let us know! We’ve provided an online submission form at www.unoalumni.org/alumni_authors/book_nomination. You also can e-mail your information to aflott@mail.unomaha.edu, or write us at: UNO Alumni Association, Alumni Authors, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182-0010. Of course, there are too many alumni authors to feature in the magazine, so we’re also creating space on our website listing UNO grads and their books. We’ll update this page regularly, and we plan to develop a “Book of the Month” feature. Sound interesting? Then get writing!
Planting roots at the Alumni Center he UNO Alumni Association, which makes available its spacious, treecovered grounds to the UNO Child Care Center, recently received this letter from its neighbor, signed by the little folks listed at right.
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“Dear UNO Alumni Center: We are sorry for pulling your plants out of the ground in your yard. We will never mess with your plants again. We are really, really sorry. We will clean up the sticks in your yard and put them in the trash. We will replace the plants that we hurt.”
October 2003 • 7
Association in Action Four grads receive 30th annual Outstanding Service Awards
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he UNO Alumni Association issued four of its Outstanding Service Awards during the organization’s annual Chairman of the Board Dinner Sept. 12. The dinner was held in appreciation of the efforts of the Association’s 27-member Board of Directors. Chairman of the Board Kevin Naylor hosted the dinner aboard the Union Pacific Railroad Dinner Train. Outstanding Service Awards honor faculty, staff, alumni or friends who have shown continuous, outstanding service to the Alumni Association and/or university. Receiving 2003 Outstanding Service Awards will be Michael Markey, George Sinos and Kevin Vanourney, and Don Winters. Markey is managing director of the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival (NSF), a nonprofit, professional theatre company based in Omaha. Markey, who has a BS (1982) and an MA (1988) from UNO in dramatic art, has been with NFS since 1990. The festival produces two plays each summer in its Shakespeare on the Green series. The performances are held adjacent to UNO’s campus at Elmwood Park and are free and open to the public. It is one of the top draws to the UNO campus each year, more than 35,000 people attending each season’s productions. Markey additionally has been instrumental in recent years helping the Association host an alumni night at the production, preceded by a picnic. A founding member of Omaha’s Circle Theatre, Markey has numerous professional acting and directing credits on stage and in film. Sinos and Vanourney played instrumental roles in the extensive redesign of the Alumni Association’s website, www.unoalumni.org. Both are UNO graduates and both work at Omaha Public Power District. Sinos graduated in 1973 with an associate’s degree in electronic technology. He is OPPD’s IT manager overseeing software engineering for OPPD’s Energy Services Group, which works directly with customers. Sinos heads teams supporting the Customer Information System, OPPD’s website and the company’s internal corporate intranet. Vanourney graduated in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and will receive an MBA from UNO in December. He is a programmer/analyst with OPPD’s Energy Services Group. He designs and programs web applications for management and employees in various OPPD divisions and departments. Sinos and Vanourney devoted considerable time, discussion and effort during the Association’s redesign of its website, which was published in May 2003. The pair provided input into the site’s restructured mapping, its functionality, design and layout. Vanourney provided additional assistance by creating a mock site that the Association provided to its eventual web provider, thus saving the Association considerable expense. Winters is past chairman of the Association’s Board of Directors. During his tenure as chairman the Association raised $50,000 at the annual Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing golf outing. Winters has been active on the committee organizing the Swing, the Association’s biggest single fund-raiser each year. The event helps raise money to provide UNO Alumni Legacy Scholarships to children of UNO graduates. Winters also oversaw creation of the Chancellor’s ConAgra Foods Scholarship, a $3,250 award presented this year. Winters is a 1969 UNO graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is director of employee benefits at ConAgra Foods. He has been a member of the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1998.
8 • October 2003
Senator Wehrbein receives inaugural Legislator award
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ebraska State Senator Roger Wehrbein received the UNO Alumni Association’s inaugural Outstanding Nebraska Legislator Award during the annual Chairman of the Board dinner Sept. 12. Sen. Wehrbein The award will be presented annually by the Association in appreciation of outstanding legislative service to the State of Nebraska in support of higher education. Wehrbein (District 2, Plattsmouth) first was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1986. He since has been re-elected four times. He currently is chair of the Appropriations Committee. “As chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Senator Wehrbein has an awesome responsibility,” Association Chairman of the Board Kevin Naylor says. “That committee must balance the varied needs of all state government programs. “In chairing that committee, he has always made adequate funding for higher education a top priority. Particularly in recent years, when state revenues drastically have fallen below projections and many have suggested that higher education take the brunt of budget cuts, Senator Wehrbein strongly advocated a lesser reduction for higher education. All segments of public higher education in Nebraska are better for his advocacy.” Wehrbein’s other committee service includes: Nebraska Retirement Systems; Executive Board (ex-officio); Reference (ex-officio); Building Maintenance; and Legislative Program Evaluation.
UNOALUM
UNO Alumni Association News & Information
Alum Hockey Night January 16 in new home
Gerding tops at UNO
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ant a look at the UNO hockey team’s new home? Then join the UNO Alumni Association for UNO Alum Hockey Night Friday, Jan. 16, 2004, when the Mavericks take on Western Michigan. The game will be held in the newly constructed Qwest Center Omaha. Tickets will be available to alumni at a discounted price (details to follow in the November Alum). The Association will host a reception prior to the game at the W.H. Thompson Alumni Center. Athletic Director Bob Danenhauer will be the guest speaker and door prizes will be awarded for adults and children. At the game, UNO graduates will sit together in one section and will be recognized during intermission. Tickets must be paid for by cash, check or credit card at time of registration. Registration forms can be downloaded at www.unoalumni.org/hockeyregistration, or completed over the phone. For more information or to register, call Sheila King at (402) 554-4802 or tollfree at 866-628-2586. She can be reached via e-mail at sking@mail.unomaha.edu.
s the UNO Alumni Association’s director of Records, Sue Gerding is good with numbers. And here are numbers she won’t soon forget: 9-3-2003. That’s the date Sue was informed that she had been named the university’s Employee of the Month for September. Sue was honored for her extensive efforts keeping the campus connected to its graduates. Sue processes all requests made by campus entities for graduate addresses, e-mail files, reports or other information. She extracts this information from the Association’s more than 90,000 records, many of which require multiple changes and updates each year. Information requested by campus groups is put onto mailing labels or other hard copy, or transferred electronically. Last year, Sue fulfilled a whopping 2,911 requests by the campus alone for such graduate records. And the constant changes required to keep records up-to-date do nothing to diminish Sue’s efficiency. Based on forms returned by her customers last year, at least 95 percent rated her department “Excellent” for timeliness fulfilling requests, matching the information requested, accuracy of information, and staff assistance. “Sue is also willing to go the extra mile whenever information is not readily available and will offer to research it further if needed,” wrote one of Sue’s nominators. “Her communication and interpersonal skills make her an asset to the Alumni Association and the campus.” Sue has worked for the Alumni Association since 1989. She began working at the university in 1976 for the Career Placement Center and also has worked for Athletics and the Learning Center.
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Visit us on the Web www.unoalumni.org Click on: Alumni Center Rental
• Patio and Landscaped Grounds and free parking!
October 2003 • 9
Photo by Bill Siztmann
10 • October 2003
UNOALUM
Father Knows Best By Anthony Flott, Editor
Robert Dahlquist carries on a family tradition, climbing to the top rung of the Omaha Fire Department
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ear the end of his 74 years, the old man decided he didn’t like his nickname any longer. “When I was a kid growing up,” recalls oldest son, Robert, “it was Swede. ’Swede this,’ ’Swede that.’ Swede. Then I guess . . . maybe when he got sick . . . he said, ’I don’t like Swede. I want to go by Horton.’ “Which is an odd name. Not too many people name their kids Horton.” Horton Dahlquist took his name with him March 3, cancer delivering its final blow. “It was 03-03-03 at 3:33,” says his son. “That’s kind of weird.” Just a bit more than a month later, Robert Dahlquist carried the family name once more to the top rung of the Omaha Fire Department. Both Dahlquists are UNO graduates—the father earning a BGS degree in 1966, the son an associate’s degree in 1988 and a BGS in 2002. In mid-April Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey named the 44-year-old Dahlquist fire chief, replacing Joe Napravnik. He also succeeds the old man, Horton, who held the post in the early 1980s. “He knew that I qualified for the position, that I sought the position,” the new chief says behind his desk at the department’s downtown headquarters. “And when he was feeling well, he encouraged me to do so. He was supportive. “However, his sickness took a lot out of him, and I really never got the opportunity to sit and discuss really the immense responsibilities that are associated with this. And nor would I even at that time, because I didn’t have the job. This was a long way to go. He was sick and ill, and that was the hardest part, and that’s the part we dealt with on a daily basis.” Horton Dahlquist was a career fireman, starting with the
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department Sept. 1, 1955. “I think he really believed that it’s an honorable and really a terrific way to pay back the community that provided so much for him.” He married Cathryn, moved from his South Omaha roots to the area around St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, and raised five kids. “I was blessed with two wonderful parents,” Robert says. “They made a great team.” His mother, who passed way in 1995, also was an active public servant, holding seats on the parole board and liquor commission. “We had been ingrained for many years that we had to look out for how and what we did because it could have a direct impact on our parents,” Robert says. “And I think in general we were very successful at that.” Robert was the oldest, and Horton shipped his son to Creighton Prep High School rather than Cathedral, which was right across the street. He graduated from Prep then bounced from job to job—at grocery stories, the city parks department, First National Bank, and UPS. But he never really considered following in his father’s footsteps until the old man put a challenge of sorts before him. “Horton mentioned, ’. . . they’re having a test. You might be interested. But it’s not easy. It’s very difficult.’ Many firefighters’ kids had attempted for several times to get on the fire department. However, they were unsuccessful. He reiterated the fact that it’s not about being a firefighters’ kid, it’s about being able to perform and do better than everybody else on the written and physical portion. Most of the kids weren’t able to do that. “It was more of a motivating factor. When you hear those things, it’s kind of a little challenge.” Robert Dahlquist passed the tests and joined the department July 6, 1981. Half a year later, Horton became fire chief. “It worked out really well,” Robert says. “I had some great relationships, and I still do. I think I maintained the . . . first couple of rules, which is show up for work, do your job, and keep your mouth shut. Simple as that. And that’s all anybody ever wants on this job. “It was the beset decision I ever made, without a doubt. Without a doubt.” And now he’s running the whole show, guiding a department radically different from when Horton rode the big red trucks nearly half a century ago. “Back then they used to be a ’You call, we haul,’ policy as far as medic units and those types of things. Generally, you just dealt with burning structures and dwellings, which was a great portion of the work done 50 years ago. And there were outstanding firefighters back then who didn’t have the equipment we have today. “Things have changed enormously in the last 50 years. We’ve basically become a . . . EMS provider, and that’s the majority of our runs.” The department today has more than 175 paramedics, extensive training and women firefighters. “We put the best product available on the street to serve the citizens of this community,” Dahlquist says. “You want first response, and that’s what we are. To be able to stabilize, pump drugs, whatever you have to do. And you want those skills on somebody’s front porch in four minutes.” And as Horton knew, four minutes could mean a lifetime.
October 2003 • 11
Photo courtesy Guinter Kahn
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UNO grad who earned millions from the discovery that the drug minoxidil can grow hair is using his money to help future political and business leaders better understand a painful chapter in the world’s past. Through his support of the Anti-Defamation League, Guinter Kahn, M.D., has helped provide the funding to send 73 college students to Poland and Israel to better understand the Holocaust. As participants in the March of Remembrance and Hope, a student leadership program of the March of the Living International in Tel Aviv, Israel, the students spend two weeks visiting sites including the death camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau. According to the March of Remembrance and Hope website, the program’s purpose “is to teach students of different religious and ethnic backgrounds about the dangers of intolerance . . . and to promote better relations among people of diverse cultures.” It works. “As a result of your generosity, 15 individuals from all over the country were able to join together in a life-altering experience,” says one participant in a letter thanking Dr. Kahn. “We were able to explore religion, gender, political, ethnic and regional differences and similarities. It was a monumental two
So That We Don’t Forget
By Nick Schinker
weeks that have begun a whirlwind of change in each of us.” Another student wrote: “I want to thank you for making it possible for me to experience the March of Remembrance and Hope. Our experiences shape who we become—and you have created a group of more compassionate, tolerant leaders. The world will be a better place because of you.” These are marvelous words to honor a man who has done marvelous things with his life. Guinter Kahn was born May 11, 1934, in Trier, Germany, a small village near the border with Luxemburg. He was the second son born to Sophie and Joseph Kahn, who earned a living raising and trading small numbers of cattle. The times, to put it mildly, were treacherous for all German Jews. Nazi leader Adolph Hitler had been named chancellor in 1933. Aggression against the Jewish race had begun. Dr. Kahn
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says that while his mother was pregnant with him, his father rebuked someone who had called him “a dirty Jew.” Soon afterward, Nazis surrounded their home, arrested his father and sent him to prison. Four years later, after his father was released, Dr. Kahn’s parents took him and his older brother, Marcel, and immigrated to the United States. In order for them to come to America, at a time when the effects of the Depression were still plaguing the economy, a prominent U.S. citizen had to sign an affidavit for each person, stating that he would undertake any financial responsibility for them after they arrived. That citizen was Grand Island resident Adolph Kaufman, a man who had married into Dr. Kahn’s family. Kaufman signed affidavits to bring 87 people to the United States. “He died
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when he was 87 years old,” Dr. Kahn says. “We all felt he lived one year for each affidavit he signed.” The Kahn family moved to Omaha, where his father got a job cleaning furnaces for the Parker Furnace Co. He earned one dollar a day. “He didn’t speak English,” Dr. Kahn says. “He was happy to have a job.” Dr. Kahn attended Central High School. He graduated from Central in 1951 and entered Omaha University (now UNO). He graduated cum laude three years later, and entered the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Medicine. He graduated with honors in 1958 (he plans to return this fall for his 45th reunion). He completed his internship in Pennsylvania at Philadelphia General Hospital before becoming a ship’s physician. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In 1965, he served a medical residency in dermatology at the University of Miami. In 1968, he left to teach at the medical school of the University of Colorado in Denver. It was there that his life would take another dramatic change. It was 1971. Dr. Kahn was a teacher and researcher in Denver. He was approached by a dermatology resident, Dr. Paul Grant, who told him that patients in an experimental ward who were receiving the drug minoxidil orally to treat hypertension were growing hair. Lots of it. Men and women alike. In places where they really didn’t want it. “We felt that if we could get the same reaction from a topical solution, we could possibly grow hair,” Dr. Kahn recalls. “So we said, ’Let’s try it.’” Try it they did, on themselves, applied to patches of skin on their arms. Sure enough, it grew hair. Drs. Kahn and Grant applied for a patent on the topical version in 1974, drawing the ire of the giant pharmaceutical company Upjohn, which had patented minoxidil in 1971 after developing it as a hypertension treatment. A court battle ensued, which lasted 14 years. According to documents filed last December in the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the FDA in 1988 approved the use of minoxidil for topical use to stimulate hair growth. Upjohn began manufacture and sale of the product we know as Rogaine. For their part in its development, and to settle a pending interference proceeding by the U.S. Patent Office to resolve the competing claims between the patent holders, the two dermatologists and Upjohn entered into an Interference Settlement Agreement. Under the agreement, Drs. Kahn and Grant received “in excess of $26 million in royalties.” Since then, Dr. Kahn, who has practiced dermatology in Miami the past three decades, has used his money and time in a variety of ways to help make the world a better—and wiser—place to live. He has proved a major benefactor to many institutions, not the least of which is the UNMC in Omaha. A floor at the Leon S. McGoogan Library of Medicine is named for Dr. Kahn,
whose endowed fund is responsible for much of the library’s computer hardware. He also is responsible for helping the library boost its resources pertaining to medical ethics. In 1996, UNMC’s College of Medicine honored him as its Alumnus of the Year. He visits Omaha several times a year, to see his mother, who is 95, and his brother. Last year, Dr. Kahn was in Omaha on his 68th birthday to receive an honorary doctorate of science from UNMC “in recognition of his pioneering discovery and contributions to the dermatology field.” He has also been a major contributor to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, where the dermatology department is named after him. And he travels extensively to lecture, including speeches he has given at 20 medical universities in Germany and Austria
So I asked her, in front of the packed audience, “What do you think the world would be like if Germany had won? See that lampshade? That might have been me.”
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on the reprehensible role German physicians played in the Holocaust, a role he has researched and documented. Though his lectures may expose a raw nerve among his German audiences, Dr. Kahn is compelled to continue. Despite their flight to freedom, he and his family were not spared the agony of the Holocaust. His grandmother and many other relatives became victims of the vile Nazi persecution of the Jews. It is a wound that will never heal. “For me, the speeches are an emotional release,” he says. “I feel it is something I should be doing.” Though it brings to light painful memories on both sides of the podium, Dr. Kahn says his lectures rarely provoke vocal opposition. “Often people approach me afterward and say, ’I thank you for forgiving us, but don’t ever forget.’” Recently, however, during a lecture in Munich, Dr. Kahn questioned his audience of university residents and professors as to how they could consciously elect time and again as president of the German Medical Association Dr. Hans Severing, a man he says is a proven former Nazi. “I told them I find that shameful.” A woman later identified as the daughter of an associate of Dr. Severing criticized Dr. Khan, saying he had been “too rough on . . . the old man.” “So I asked her, in front of the packed audience, ’What do you think the world would be like if Germany had won?’” When the woman failed to reply, Dr. Kahn continued, pointing to a nearby light fixture. “See that lampshade?” he asked. “That might have been me.” Startling words from a physician who refuses to allow the world to forget a time when other physicians prescribed genocide as a cure.
October 2003 • 13
be ’10’s—about doing the show. At the end of the week, the casting director would go over our ’numbers’ for the week . . . how many people we’d brought in to be put on tape and how many of those were kept for the show. I had a quota to meet every week, just like a used car salesman.” In summer 2002 Allen dialed his friend from the “Dreammaker” and secured a spot helping on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” That led to work on Bachelor 3, then this year’s ark Allen admits his student days at UNO were less Bachelor 4. “The people I work with are like family, and I than stellar. Sure, he didn’t have the time to devote enjoy making television that helps people forget about their to academics others may have had. That comes with own struggles and find some sort of escape,” Allen says. “It’s the responsibilities of a full-time student, husband and father holding down a full-time job waiting tables. But the communi- definitely a kick that 20 million people see my work. And the travel to some of the most beautiful places this side of the cations major didn’t exactly give his all, either. Whenever he had the time he’d join some buds for beers in the “UNO Men’s world hasn’t hurt, either.” It’s the fulfillment of an Group” after Monday night ambition that took seed in class. “It’s definitely a kick that 20 million people see northwest Iowa, where Allen Then there were days he my work. And the travel to some of was born and raised. “I wantdidn’t even show for class. to work in television since “In my television producthe most beautiful places this side of the world ed I was 6 years old. When I was tion class . . . I was the worst hasn’t hurt, either.” a kid growing up in Iowa, I’d student,” he says. “I think I cut pictures of cars and living pulled a ’C.’ I played hooky room sets of out the Sears catalog, tape them inside boxes and the day I was supposed to hang the lights on the set.” ’reveal’ them with a piece of old fabric cut in two. I was creatIf only his classmates could see him now. Allen, who ing my own game shows when I was 8 years old and forcing earned a BS in 1987, today is a segment producer for ABC’s my bother and neighbor kids to be the contestants. Later, at popular reality television show, “The Bachelor.” The show my desk jobs, I would sometimes draw game show sets and plops a desirably eligible hunk—this year it’s Bob—amid a go over formats for my own shows in my head. harem of beautiful women and follows him as he whittles “I grew up thinking that people who could do this work them down to Mrs. Right (or at least Mrs. Right Now). “We are in the middle of shooting our next season, which is were out there somewhere, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t me. Truth is, it is me.” going to be great,” Allen wrote via a July e-mail interview. He squeezed replies into a production schedule that sometimes included 36-hour stints. He was unable to disclose any “behind-the-scenes" info about the show. “Everyone associated with it signs an agreement of confidentiality, which comes with a huge penalty if breached,” he says. But he did expound on his career, launched while at UNO as a media intern for then-Omaha Mayor Mike Boyle. That turned into a paid full-time gig. Allen next undertook corporate communications for First Data, “for what seemed like forever,” then ran his own public relations firm. “I think I made about three dollars,” he says. “I was only helping those organizations I was passionate about and [that] had no money.” In 1999 he packed everything he owned into his ’93 Olds and headed for Los Angeles seeking work in the television industry. “I was 36, ancient by L.A. standards,” he says. “I lived in my car for three days.” He called a producer friend every day for six weeks until finally landing a spot helping produce the short-lived daytime show “Richard Simmons’ Dreammaker.” That led to more work. In a Spring 2001 UNO Alum Class Note submission he indicated that he was working with “On the Cover,” a proposed hour-long primetime game show for NBC. He also worked on a pilot for Fox and casted for participants on another reality show, “Blind Date.” “Which was difficult. The bubbles they run make it hard to convince women to do the show. I would literally go to the Leading the Bachelor’s life in LA -- ’87 grad Mark Allen. hottest clubs and approach good-looking women—they had to
Bachelor’s Life By Anthony Flott, Editor
14 • October 2003
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Photo courtesy Mark Allen
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Opa! Steve Seline gets a seat at the head table of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" By Wendy Townley
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t seems only fitting that a man whose heart lives in Omaha has a crisp, uncluttered view of Nebraska’s largest city when arriving at work every morning. Looking above and beyond One Pacific Place near 103rd and Pacific streets sits Steve Seline, vice chairman of Waitt Media and a 1975 UNO graduate. Waitt’s offices have been abuzz during the past year since its film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” unexpectedly filled seats in movie theaters from coast to coast. As of late July 2003, the film’s box office sales in the United States reached $240 million, putting smiles on the faces of Gold Circle Films and Playtone Productions, the other companies with interests in the film. Seline, 50, is quick to point out that he’s not rubbing elbows with Hollywood’s elite in the time he has worked with Waitt Media. Seline is preparing and revising movie budgets and establishing lines of credit, something he said has been aided by his economics degree from UNO. “I never thought I would be talking about Hollywood accounting and being a film distributor,” Seline says while reclined in his office chair this Tuesday afternoon. “That was not something I
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Photo by Bill Siztmann
Steve Seline, a 1975 UNO grad, uses his economics degree to prepare and revise movie budgets for Waiit Media. That includes work on one of 2002’s top-grossing movies. was thinking about when I was at UNO. The things that I learned at UNO about economics and the accounting courses I took really help shoot through a lot of the stuff so (I) get a better feel about what’s going on.” During his final months at UNO, after spending time with Sigma Nu, Omicron Delta Kappa and other campus organizations, Seline prepared himself for taking one of two career paths: law or medicine. After receiving a scholarship to Creighton University Law School, Seline was set. After graduating from law school in 1979, Seline joined the firm Kutak Rock, becoming a senior partner in the early 1990s. Despite his extensive experience in law, Seline says it’s his economic courses at UNO that prepared him most for the work he does every day. “I use my economics probably more
than my law degree,” Seline says. “It’s a great way to think. What makes it special for me was how useful what I learned was at UNO.” Seline didn’t initially anticipate attending UNO. After graduating from Omaha’s Benson High School in 1971 he received a scholarship from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Following his freshman semester, Seline discovered that Omaha was calling: “I was a homesick boy and came back to my roots and never left.” Waitt Media and the UNO Athletic Department inked a deal recently for Waitt’s radio stations to broadcast the school’s football and basketball games this year. It already airs Maverick hockey games on its station 1290 KKAR. In the early 1980s, Seline served as legal counsel to the UNO Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. October 2003 • 15
Photo courtesy Joe Arenas
Holler Guy T
he memories should not remain this vivid for Joe Arenas. Not when five more decades of life have meant so many additional twists and turns. But maybe it’s hard to forget when the bad and good—the worst and best of times—come so close in succession. Going from World War II veteran to National Football League veteran. From something you’d see on The History Channel to something airing on ESPN Classic. From fearing death on the Iwo Jima sands to feeling immortal on American football fields. “What I figured with football sometimes was, ’I’ve been through a hell of a lot more than this,’ “ Arenas says. “It gave me the attitude that ’You can’t hurt me.’”
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Squeezed between tours of duty with the Marines (1944 to 1945) and the San Francisco 49ers (1951 to 1957), Arenas started to mold his future at Omaha University. In three years at OU, Arenas took raw skills and became a football star. He was the school’s second All-American and its first player ever selected in an NFL draft. Among football players of Mexican descent, he is considered an icon. He was a spark plug for the San Francisco 49ers of the early ’50s, a player whom a sports editor for the San Francisco Sports Chronicle referred to as the teams’ “Holler Guy” (see story Page 19). He followed his pro playing career with 33 years as a college and high school coach. Only Arenas, who turns 78 in December, realizes how easily none of that could have happened. How he could have ended up in a shallow grave with so many others during a bloody battle between American and Japanese soldiers on that tiny volcanic island in the Pacific theatre. “I was one of the lucky ones, probably,” the 78-year-old Arenas says. “It was pretty terrible.”
laid on a stretcher surrounded by bodies, mostly dead, as medical personnel scrambled to attend to everybody. After what seemed like hours, and amid gunfire and explosions, Arenas was among those fortunate enough to eventually find safety. “We were supposed to go into that island and just walk through it,” he says. “We bombarded that thing for three or four months or better. I don’t know why it didn’t sink. “We didn’t expect anybody on there, but here they were, all over the place. How they survived, how they lived there, I don’t know.” Granted a medical discharge Arenas spent time in Naval hospitals in Salem, Ore., and San Diego before making his way back to Lincoln. There he joined the University of Nebraska basketball team
in 1946. Recurring back trouble, though, forced him to miss classwork, and with his eligibility in jeopardy, he transferred. When Creighton University was “slow letting me know if they’d accept me or not,” Arenas turned to Omaha U for the 1948-49 school year—just the second year after sports were reinstated after WW II. Though Arenas’ intentions were only to play basketball and run track, the late Lloyd Cardwell soon convinced him to also give football a try. “His inexperience was such,” says former teammate Rex Shober, “that he didn’t exactly know how to put on his shoulder pads when he first came out.” Once everything was where it was supposed to be, though, it all came Continued on next page
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e was born Guadalupe Joe Arenas in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 12, 1925. “Lupe Joe” he came to be called. His parents had migrated from Mexico because of his father’s work as a railroad foreman. Joe Arenas graduated from Lincoln High and enlisted with the Marines in 1944. He weighed just 138 pounds—well below the 180 pounds he later would play at in the NFL. But he felt so much bigger serving his country. “I was a Marine,” he says. “That’s where I wanted to be, man. That’s the uniform I wanted.” He wore it as part of the second wave of soldiers climbing the sandy banks of Iwo Jima in February 1945. Just a day in, Arenas was digging a foxhole, trying to make it just a little deeper, a little safer, when an incredible pain struck his back. Arenas had been shot; the shrapnel missed his spinal cord by a fraction of an inch. “All of a sudden it was like an axe hit me in the back,” Arenas says. “Hotter than heck.” Arenas’ corporal dragged him down to the beach. Hardly able to move, he w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
Photo by Kevin Bartram
At home in Galveston, Texas, Joe Arenas looks back on his life as a Marine, football star and coach. October 2003 • 17
From previous page naturally to Arenas. Arenas played halfback in Cardwell’s single-wing, affording him the opportunity to both run and pass. It was a combination he parlayed into 1,612 total yards in just eight games as a 1949 All-American. “He wasn’t a big man, maybe 5-11, but he was smart,” says Rudy Rotella, an All-American end at OU in 1954. “In those days, you called your own plays; they weren’t sending plays in. He had a good mind for that.” He staged show after show in the stadium now known as Caniglia Field. In perhaps his most memorable football game, Arenas, playing on a sore knee, threw for 219 yards and four touchdowns—a school-record then—in a 38-
26 loss to Wayne State (Mich.) that closed the 1949 season. “He was in such pain that he couldn’t set to pass,” Shober recalled. “We didn’t expect him to play at all.” Adds Rotella: “He was as good of a player as they’ve ever had out there. One of the top two or three who ever played at UNO.” It didn’t end there. San Francisco picked Arenas in the eighth round of the 1951 draft. The confident rookie immediately leaped into action, again playing halfback and adding value to his game by returning kickoffs and punts. In Y.A. Tittle’s autobiography, the former 49er and Hall of Fame quarterback tells the story of how Arenas jumped in at left halfback on the first day of training camp when the coaching staff asked its offense to line up. “Before anyone else can make a move, Arenas hops in,” Tittle wrote. “Rookies aren’t supposed to take such liberties, but there he is, big as life. Everyone looks at everyone else in amazement.” Tittle then described how Arenas’ “fighting spirit” infected the rest of the 49ers. As Arenas says, what was there to be scared of? Even if he was a little-known player from Omaha surrounded by veterans and college All-Americans. “I remember looking down the line, watching some of those guys workout, and thinking, ’I’m as good as some of these people,’ “ Arenas says. “That was my attitude.” Arenas went on to become the 49ers’ top punt and kickoff return man. “When Joe hauls in a punt or kick off,” went the back of one of his football cards, “get ready for fireworks. He can streak down the field full title and turn on a dime, leaving tacklers falling over themselves trying to catch him.” Arenas led the NFL in kickoff returns in 1953, averaging a healthy 34.4 yards an attempt. It remains the second-highest
kickoff return average in NFL history. Nearly a half century later Arenas’ feat would be duplicated by another UNO player, MarTay Jenkins, who topped all NFL kickoff returners with a 28.0 average for the Arizona Cardinals in 2002.
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renas’ old back problems flared up again as his NFL playing career ended. He played in 84 games over seven seasons, rushing for 987 yards and catching passes for 675 more with a total of 16 touchdowns. He also returned 124 punts for 774 yards and one score and 139 kickoffs for 3,798 yards and a score. He retired after the 1957 season. In a Houston VA hospital in 1961 Arenas met his future wife, then serving as his physical therapist. He remained in Texas, first working in property management then joining Bill Yeoman at the University of Houston to coach the Cougars’ receivers from 1963 to 1986. After moving to Galveston, Arenas helped out with a high school football team for 10 years before giving it up last season. Shober and Rotella say Arenas, always handsome and charismatic, still looked good when he returned to UNO in 1999 for a 50-year ceremony honoring Caniglia Field. Two knee replacement surgeries, Arenas says, have been the worst he’s had to deal with later in life. “I can still move pretty good,” he says. “If I had two good legs, I’d keep up with anybody.” For all he’s been through, Arenas deserves some La-Z-Boy time in retirement. He still likes to settle into his recliner and watch football. Arenas will make some 49er functions on occasion—always willing to rehash the glory days—and says that maybe football hasn’t changed as much as people might think. “They are bigger now, but we had some big guys,” Arenas says. “Back then, the Rams and Baltimore and Detroit and Cleveland, they had some monsters. Not as many as they do now, but they had people who would knock your socks off. “I played with some of the greatest and against some of the greatest. They’re in the Hall of Fame now, so they had to be something, right?” Just like you, Joe. Just like you.
Photo by Kevin Bartram
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Courtesy The Topps Company
Alum is ’Holler Guy’ For Football 49ers From the June 1954 University of Omaha Alumni Newsletter* ditor’s note: The University Alumni Association paid special tribute to six people at the sixth annual Achievement Day Banquet. Following is a special story on Joe Arenas, who received the 1954 Citation for Alumnus Achievement. In a backfield that captured everything but the National Football League championship, Omaha’s Joe Arenas was the least publicized of the San Francisco 49er quartet, but he was recognized by his own team and opponents as one of the most dangerous members. Arenas worked at left halfback, in the combination that included the league’s leading ground gainer, Joe Perry, at fullback, spectacular “sophomore” Hugh McElhenny at right half, and the accurate Y.A. Tittle at quarterback. For the first half of the 1953 season, Arenas, Perry and McElhenny were all among the NFL’s top ten ground gainers. Then in the latter half, Arenas dropped from among the leaders. But the reason was that the 49er coaches, faced with a shaky defensive alignment, called on Joe to
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operate on defense as well as offense. As a result, through the latter, stretch-drive games, Arenas was playing virtually 60 minutes of the toughest, roughest football in the nation. The coaches’ confidence in Arenas and his justification of that confidence established Joe as perhaps even more valuable than the backs that could go “only one way.” Arenas led the NFL in kickoff returns with 551 yards in 16 carries, for an astounding average of 34.4 yards each. In addition to his ball carrying and defensive exploits with the 49ers, he was additionally important as a “Holler Guy.” On the field first and off the field last, Joe kept up a continuous enthusiastic stream of chatter and exhortation, without which no team can maintain the high pitch required in professional football. Where Joe Arenas will be utilized in the 1954 season, only events on the field will determine. But whether it’s defense or offense—or both—it’s a certainty that the San Francisco 49ers won’t reach as high a level without him. Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle Written by Bruce Lee, Sports Editor
October 2003 • 19
University President Smith to retire in 2004
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niversity of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith nnounced Sept. 8 that he will step down effective June 30, 2004. He has served as president of the four-campus University of Nebraska system since March 1, 1994. Smith will take professional development leave to prepare for his return to the classroom in the fall of 2005. He will teach in the School of Biological Sciences at UNL. “I believe I am leaving a university that is better today than it was a decade ago,” Smith said. “We have weathered many storms. But I am proud of the accomplishments of the past decade – the university is solidly on the right course.” Smith said that his No. 1 goal throughout his tenure has been quality, and the quest to make the University of Nebraska one of the best public universities in the country. He detailed several accomplishments that have helped move NU toward that goal. “First,” he said, “we have the right people in place.” Smith hired all of the current chancellors and four of the five vicepresidents. “We have a team of chancellors and vice presidents who have dedicated themselves to hiring outstanding faculty and running the university efficiently. This is an extremely well managed university with some of the best faculty and staff in the United States.” The second area he cited is the growth of resources needed to build the academic reputation of the university. The success of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s $727 million Campaign Nebraska and a steady increase in federal grants and contracts – now nearly $150 million annually – are two examples. During Smith’s tenure, more than 5 million square feet of facilities have been renovated and constructed, including residence halls, classrooms and research laboratories. Among the new facilities constructed are the Lied Transplant Center at UNMC, Othmer Hall at UNL, the College of Education building at UNK, and the Peter Kiewit Institute and its adjacent South Campus facilities at UNO. Finally, Smith cited unique partnerships that have been created among campuses, and between the university and the business community. The result has been collaborations such as the Rural Initiative, the Peter Kiewit Institute, the Nebraska Medical Center and the Center for Biosecurity. “These partnerships are especially important in a state with limited financial resources,” Smith said. In accepting Smith’s decision to step down, Randy Ferlic, Chairman of the Board of Regents said, “Dennis Smith has refocused the University of Nebraska and made it a stronger academic institution. His emphasis on quality, his passion for research, his relationships with the business community, and his demand for more efficiency have served the university and the state of
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Stepping down: University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith will retire from his post June 30, 2004.
“We have weathered many storms. But I am proud of the accomplishments of the past decade—the university is solidly on the right course.” Nebraska exceptionally well.” Ferlic said a national search will be launched this fall to replace Smith. Even as he announced his departure, Smith noted that he “will not be idle“ during the next 10 months. He identified five objectives for the year, which will be elaborated in his State of the University address on October 17. Those include: * Completion of a $20 million fund-raising campaign to provide scholarships and other aid for students who would otherwise not be able to attend the university. * Technological improvements to lay the foundation for a wireless university with an integrated student information system, and to complete a statewide telecommunications network connecting educational and governmental facilities. * Stepped up efforts to recruit both in-state and out-of-state students. * A goal of $175 million in outside research grants – an increase of 20 percent over this fiscal year. * And finally, a vigorous ongoing effort to promote the university and improve its national academic reputation.
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Mavs ring in season with victory over Lopers
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he University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) Alumni Associations commissioned the famous PaccardFonderie de Cloches in Annecy, France, to cast a bell commemorating the longtime football series between the two schools. Dubbed “The Victory Bell,” it debuted prior to the seasonopening tilt for both teams Aug. 28, at Kearney’s Foster Field. UNO won the game 32-24 (see following story) and will keep the bell on its campus until the teams play again next season. “This is for more than bragging rights now,” said Kevin Naylor, 2003 UNO Alumni Association Chairman of the Board. “The Victory Bell will provide extra incentive in what is already an intensely fought game that illustrates everything that’s right about college athletics.” The 50-pound bronze bell rests on an oaken base that features brass plates to be etched with the scores of each game played since 1915. The scores of future games will be added, and each year’s victor will keep the bell on its campus until the two teams next play. The Paccard-Fonderie (est. 1796) which crafted The Victory Bell also cast the bells in towers on both campuses—UNO’s Henningson Memorial Campanile and Carillon (dedicated 1989) and UNK’s Memorial Carillon Tower (dedicated 1986). UNO and UNK first played each other in football 88 years ago in Kearney, the Lopers winning that game 20-0. “Omaha played clean football and the same treatment was returned by Kearney, making a very clean game despite the fact that it was not as fast as the usual college contests,” reported the Omaha World-Herald.
Rivals: UNO vs. UNK 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996
UNO 32-24 UNK 35-17 UNO 20-10 UNO 30-13 UNO 29-26 UNO 55-6 UNO 15-13 UNO 39-14
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1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983
UNO 19-14 UNK 13-12 UNO 38-29 UNO 17-3 UNO 40-14 UNO 44-21 UNK 17-14 UNO 25-7 UNO 14-0 UNO 3-0 UNO 10-6 UNO 17-13 UNK 44-34
(UNO leads 23-8)
1982 1948 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1915
UNO 35-3 UNK 32-13 UNO 19-0 UNO 38-0 UNO 6-0 UNO 12-0 UNK 13-8 UNK 34-0 UNO 19-13 UNK 20-0
The Victory Bell, commissioned by the famous Paccard-Fonderie de Cloches in Annecy, France.
Sophomore safety preserves UNO win By UNO Sports Information KEARNEY—Sophomore quarterback Brian Masek passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns and the Maverick defense withstood a Nebraska-Kearney comeback in the second half to post a 32-24 season-opening win Aug. 30. Sophomore safety Milan Gross-Rhode picked off two passes, the final one in the end zone with 3:15 to play to snuff the Loper rally in front of 8,526 at Foster Field. The win was No. 100 for UNO Head Coach Pat Behrns, staring his 10th season with the Mavericks. It also was UNO’s seventh-straight win in Kearney. The Mavericks jumped to leads of 12-0 and 19-9 in the first half,then scored a on its first second-half possession, Jeremy Anderson scoring on a 20-yard run for a 25-9 lead. The teams traded touchdowns before the Lopers made their late charge. A 42-yard touchdown pass by UNK’s Pat Korth and a 30-yard field goal by Jessup Pfeifer trimmed UNO’s lead to 32-24. UNK pinned the Mavericks deep and forced a punt, getting the ball at the UNO 40 with 5:52 left. A pass interference penalty and a short pass to Ross pushed the ball to the UNO 5, but on third-and-goal, Gross-Rhode stepped in front of a Korth pass in the end zone to seal the win for UNO.
October 2003 • 21
Softball
NCC Champions
It was a very Good Year By Eric Olson
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ou can’t say UNO’s newer sports teams started at the top. But they’re pretty darned close, and they are the reason why the Mavericks this year enjoyed their highest finish ever in the NACDA Directors’ Cup standings for Division II. Thanks largely to soccer, golf, tennis and swimming—the women’s sports added to create gender balance when men’s hockey started in 1997— UNO was 10th among 213 schools. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics started tracking the overall success of Division II programs in 1995-96. Before this year, UNO’s best finish was 20th in 2000-01. “It’s in our strategic plan to be in the top 25 of the Director’s Cup every year,” Athletic Director Bob Danenhauer says. Danenhauer, whose association with the university dates to the mid1970s when his father was head football coach, said he can’t recall a time when UNO athletics were healthier. Less than 20 years ago, there was a movement afoot to drop sports at UNO. Now the Mavericks have the largest budget in the North Central Conference and one of the largest in the nation among Division II schools— $6.5 million annually for 15 sports. Success is not just hoped for; it’s expected. “We give them the resources they need for scholarships and operational dollars,” Danenhauer said. Connie Claussen, who pioneered the women’s athletic program at UNO in the 1970s and for three decades was the senior women’s administrator, said UNO is “on a roll” athletically. While fellow NCC members North Dakota State and South Dakota State and former conference member Northern Colorado prepare to move into the Division I ranks, UNO is content in Division II. Danenhauer has done an informal study of costs associated with moving the entire program to Division I. The budget would require at least an additional $800,000 for increased travel, salaries and scholarships for an I-AA
Golfers 22 • October 2003
3rd in Region UNOALUM
Swimmers
7th at nationals
football program. The realist in Danenhauer know that politics in the state would not be on UNO’s side if it wanted to move up. So he’s concentrating on making UNO as good as it can be at the Division II level. To be sure, he likes what he’s seeing. Last year, on the women’s side, the soccer team was the national runnerup, golf and softball were third in the North Central Regional, swimming was seventh at nationals, cross country was 16th at nationals, and track was 44th at nationals. For the first time, the women won the NCC All-Sports Award. Wrestling carried the men’s side, finishing third at the NCAA meet. Basketball was 20-10 and just missed earning a regional berth. Hockey, because it competes in Division I, does not factor in the all-sports standings for UNO. But Claussen said hockey, the athletic department’s main revenue-producer, is a major factor in the Division II sports’ success. “Hockey along with the Diet Pepsi Women’s Walk help fund the women’s sports, and they’ve given us plenty to work with,’’ Claussen said. “Then you have to look at the quality coaches we’ve been able to hire. It has all come together so nicely.’’ Another gratifying aspect of UNO’s success is that most of the student-athletes are from Nebraska. Among the four new women’s sports, 44 of the 66 student-athletes are homegrown, including 16 of 22 on last year’s national runner-up soccer team. “That speaks volumes for the high school club and varsity programs around the state,’’ Danenhauer said. A new chapter in UNO athletics begins this year with the arrival of new associate athletic director Deb Denbeck, who succeeds the retired Cherri Mankenberg. “We just have to keep this thing going,’’ Claussen said, “and I think we can. Everyone has to keep continuing to do the good job he or she has been doing over the years, from the kids to the coaches, to the trainers to the sports information department people and the rest of the support staff.’’ Eric Olson, ’87, is a newsman for the Associated Press in Omaha.
Soccer team w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
Wrestlers
3rd at nationals
National runner-up October 2003 • 23
Future Alums
Sons & Daughters of UNO Alumni
Send us news of your baby—we’ll send a T-shirt and certificate and publish the good news. Include address, baby’s name, date of birth, parents’ names and graduation year(s). Please send the announcement within one year of the birth to: Future Alums, UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. FAX (402) 554-3787.
SUBMIT A FUTURE ALUM ON THE WEB: www.unoalumni.org/communications/submitfa.asp
A New Generation of UNO Mavericks Jackson Eckman Ward, son of William and Erin, (Eckman, ’01) Ward of Springfield, Va. Carolyn Marie Hire, daughter of Brian and Patricia (’86) Hire of Omaha.
Dayzee Mayfield, daughter of Terry and Betsy (’99) Mayfield of Omaha, great-granddaughter of Dixie (Felton, ’80) Trebbe of Rio Rancho, N.M., and great-great-granddaughter of Iola Vogt (’53).
Mia Rae Martinsen, daughter of Aaron and Sara (Hoefer, ’98) Martinsen of Gahanna, Ohio
Korey Wayne Pittman, grandson of Edna Brooks-Pittman (’86, ’89) of Omaha.
Amy Xu, daughter of Zhiqun Xu and Yinghua (’93) Huang of Norcross, Ga.
Cooper Christopher Campbell, son of Tiffany (Moore, ’99) and Chris (’00) of Omaha and grandson of Laurie Moore (’91).
ot a picture of your little G tyke? Send it our way as a print or in electronic
Joshua Alexander Boreham, son of Toby and Tracy (’98) Boreham of the United Kingdom
format and we’ll post it on our website!
Noah William-Sullivan Keith, son of Robert and Stephanie (Bucholtz, ’97) Keith of Omaha.
Jasen Robert Green, son of Casey and Robet (’99) Green of Omaha. Zachary Randal Bare, son of Randy and Michelle (Laird, ’94) Bare of Omaha Hayden Noah Sommer, son of Heidi (Park, ’99) and Mark (’01) Sommer of Omaha Jacob Cameron Carbee, son of Jason and Kim (Jiede, ’01) Carbee of Omaha Lane Daniel Howard, son of Mindy and Jeff (’94) Howard of Bellevue, Neb. Jacob Dale Jones, son of Jeff and Amanda (Dasovic, ’98) Jones of Omaha Ayden Millard Denholm, son of Noel and Robert (’96) Denholm of Omaha Rosemary Faith Brokke, daughter of Kim (Novak, ’86) and Greg (’84) Brokke of Papillion, Neb.
24 • October 2003
Geneva Grace Elliott, daughter of Noel and Kathy (Van Diepen, ’89) Elliott of Tucson, Ariz. Rami Abed Ajrami and Jenin Austin Abed Ajrami, sons of Abed and Heidi (’98) Ajrami of Victoria, Texas. Jason Demetri Streett, son of Fotini and Matthew (’95) Streett of Rockville, Md. Logan Wayde Evans, son of Mark and Kaeli (Thetard, ’96) Evans of Edwards, Calif. Alisse Katharine Quick, daughter of Debra (Smith, ’95) and Jason (’99) Quick of Omaha. Drew Michael Gray Doty, son of Kristen and Dane (’92) Doty of Sioux City, Iowa Morgan Elizabeth Muhlbauer, daughter of Robert and Sarah (’97) Muhlbauer of Carroll, Iowa, and granddaughter of Richard Muhlbauer (’74).
William Joseph Murphy, son of Natalya and William (’90) Murphy and grandson of Gene Murphy (’66). John Michael Tuttle, son of Jodi and Mike (’95) Tuttle of Hastings, Neb. Isaac Jerome Robinson, son of Natasha (’01, ’02) and Michael (’01) Robinson Jr. of Omaha. Hart Leslie Wilkinson, granddaughter of Herb Johnson (’71). Parker Ryan Kudym, son of Christina and Jason (’94) Kudym and greatgrandson of Ruth and Fred (’49) Kudym of Omaha. Emily Nicole Kirk, daughter of Thomas and Kelly (Tichauer, ’98) Kirk of Omaha and granddaughter of Fred (’73) Tichauer. Alexander David Vatnsdal, son of Tracy and Ted H. (’95) Vatnsdal of Fishers, Ind. Samuel Charles Lester Tuveson, grandson of Audrey (Lund, ’75) and Rick (’76) Mattson. Robert Kyle Jensen, son of Michelle and Howard “Phil” (’90 ’93) Jensen of Omaha.
UNOALUM
Class Notes
SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE ON THE WEB www.unoalumni.org/communications/submitcn.asp 1944 Griffith R. Fryer, BA, lives in Wataga, Ill., and writes via email that, “As of 6/20/03 I’ve had a patent pending on a quickly learned and used phonetic alphabet for the English language. In a year. . . I’ll have to apply for the patent— rather spendy. Easy to make the application if it weren’t for the expense. Hopefully, the English Department of some university/college will become interested and solve the expense problem. Possibly through a grant.” Send Fryer email at grfrjr@msn.com
O C T O B E R
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Flashback File
Enroll today! From the June 1914 Metropolitan yearbook
1945 Willard I. Friedman, writes via e-mail that “In January of 1943, I was sent by the Army Air Corp first to Carlten College, then eventually to Yale University where I was commissioned an officer. I ended up in Italy, which I still love. I received my degree from the University of Omaha while I was stationed in Naples, Italy. (Kind of like a “mail-order” degree!) Eventually returning to Omaha in 1946. I became a self-taught contractor, eventually building 1,250 single-family homes, and developing farms on the city fringes into residential subdivisions. I fell in love in 1946 and my wife and I have been married for 56 years, producing four children and an untold number of grandchildren, all of whom live in Omaha. I have built or traded for commercial strip centers and office buildings which is my income these days. I remember listening to Dr. Wilfred Payne lecturing and realizing how beautifully he spoke even though he seemed to get carried away, and the meaning was beyond my ken.” 1955 Carolyn Chapman Whitham, writes that a recent Alum Flashback article, “How Charming,” caught her eye. “It was dated 1936 and pictured Dr. Wilfred Payne, who spoke about ’Get Your Man’ for a charm school seminar. Payne was a famous professor and part of a team who taught Humanities. As I sat in this class in 1952, I had to strain in order to hear Dr. Payne, who often paced behind a large group of students as he lectured. Humanities quickly became my favorite class, even though it required much reading and note taking. I wonder if the subject of a ’charm school’ would be popular with women of today. My life after OU took me to Dayton, Ohio, and then to Southern California, where I am living in Claremont. I had further education in art and received my teaching credential in 1968. I taught High school for 22 years. Following that work I became a secretary at Pomona College for Career Development. I am retired after eight years at Pomona. For the past 20 years I have
w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
Help us find these “Lost Alums” from the Class of 1950. Send news of their wherabouts to sgerding@mail.unomaha.edu Maudean S. Bach Loral W. Barlow John H. Beales Richard L. Broderdorp Dorothy D. Brown Richard D. Brunn James Buck Joseph S. Conrey William G. Cramer Robert A. Dow Alma M. Drolick Barbara Eckert Madelyn Elliott Clifford Girompiny
Wayne A. Graybill Edward A. Hartman William F. Higley Leroy E. Holtz Dwain E. Johnson Richard B. Kirkpatrick Mary A. Linn William F. Madison Lois B. Martin Valaria L. McCaw Mildred R. Meigs Richard C. Nelson W. Sigsbee Nelson Robert P. Neujahr
Lost Alums 1950 Margaret A. Newell Earl C. Pace James H. Ross William E. Rowles Mary M. Savidge Paul J. Skrekas Eleanor M. Stastny Laverne E. Sweigard James G. Tagney Robert F. Walker George P. Wilcox Russell B. Wolf
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Class Notes been making ceramic sculpture, and a few small stone pieces as well. I resumed piano lessons several years ago, having studied in Omaha between the ages of 8 and 15. My focus now, as then, is classical music. Another hobby for 19 years is my teddy bear collection. It is fun and gives little grandchildren something to play with. Currently, I am furnishing a large Victorian dollhouse for a small family of bears. My husband, Paul, and I enjoyed visiting Omaha in 2002 to attend my 50th high school reunion from Benson High. UNO continues to grow in good ways. Thanks for the memories.” Send Whitham email at cpwhitham@juno.com
1996.
1958 Donald K. Heard, BS, is retired and lives in Norwood, Mo. He earned a master’s degree from Drury University in 1963, then a doctorate in business and public administration in 1973. He was director of education and information for the Missouri Department of Conservation until retiring in
Glen R. Dunlap, BGS, retired as a colonel with the U.S. Air Force after serving from 1942 through 1973. He received numerous decorations during his military career, including the Legion of Merit (2 OCL), Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (7 OCL), and the Air Force Commendation Medal
1961 Don Bilderback, BSBA, writes from Fort Calhoun, Neb., that he is “retired as president of Fort Calhoun State Bank. Hobbies: rebuilding old cars, bridge and enjoying life.” 1966 Donell Mathews, BGE, is a retired colonel (U.S. Air Force) and was inducted into the Hardee County (Florida) Schools Hall of Fame in April. Mathews, who also has an MS from George Washington University, lives in Melbourne, Fla. “UNO is a great educational institution,” he writes via email.
Class Focus—1965 at Halloran, BA, received Broadway’s most prestigious honor, accepting a Tony Award® as presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing each June in New York City. Halloran is president of the Memphis Development Foundation, which operates the Orpheum Theatre there. He was presented his Tony on stage at the Orpheum preceding the May 31 performance of The Full Monty. Halloran was honored for his role with Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway, last season’s biggest winner at the Tonys. Halloran is chairman of the Independent Presenters Network (IPN), which was a major producer of the show. IPN is a consortium of theater presidents of 70 venues across North America which. It presents touring Broadway productions and concerts in their communities. Halloran has been chairman since 2000. Thoroughly Modern Millie won the coveted award for Best Musical, which is given to the producers. Millie also was hon-
P
26 • October 2003
(3OCL). He served various assignments, including positions as a combat pilot, aidede-camp to the vice commander of Strategic Air Command and as assistant chief of staff at Strategic Air Command. After retirement he became vice president and director of the Bank of Bellevue in Nebraska. He later was elected president and chief executive officer of the Fort Rucker National Bank in Fort Rucker, Ala. Dunlap is active in the Boy Scouts of America and serves as treasurer of the Alabama-Florida Council. He was presented the Award of Merit in 1975 and the Silver Beaver Award in 1976. 1967 Jerry Slusky, BS, was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). Slusky, a shareholder and director of the Omahabased law Jerry Slusky firm Gross
& Welch, P.C., and chairman of the Real Estate Group of the firm, is the first Nebraskan since 1985 and only the third Nebraskan ever to be so honored. The ACREL has a nationwide membership of 850 attorneys. Admission is by invitation only and based on an individual’s outstanding professional reputation and demonstrated ability after at least 10 years of experience in real estate law, as well as contributions to the improvement of real estate law and practice. Members consult with national, state and local bar organizations, government agencies and other groups on developments in real estate law and practice. Slusky earlier was recognized by Chambers & Partners’ legal publication, “America’s Leading Business Lawyers Client Guide,” for his specialist experience in zoning, municipal law and finance matters, including tax appeals and taxdeferred transactions. He also recently was voted among the best lawyers in the United States by Best Lawyers in America, 2003-04 directory, and
ored for its leading lady, Memphis native Sutton Foster, as well as costume designs, choreography and orchestrations. The show won six Tonys total. “I’m thrilled that our production of Millie has realized such success, both critical and with the audience,” Halloran said in an Orpheum press release. “To have the opportunity to be a part of a project from the very beginning, and then to eventually receive a Tony Award for that project is certainly a high point in my career. And with Memphis being an early stop on the National Tour, everyone will see why those of us involved are so proud.” The League of American Theatres and Producers previously named Halloran Broadway Presenter of the Year in 1999. Halloran has been at the helm of the Orpheum Theatre for more than 23 years, overseeing two major renovations of the historic landmark during that time. The most recent, a $9-million backstage expansion, made it possible to bring larger touring projects to Memphis such as Phantom of the Opera and Disney’s The Lion King. The UNO graduate also has authored a book, “The Orpheum—Where Broadway Meets Beale (1997).” The Orpheum Theatre currently is celebrating its 75th Anniversary Season. For more information, go to www.orpheum-memphis.com.
UNOALUM
O C T O B E R has been recognized by Omaha Magazine as “One of Omaha’s Best Real Estate Attorneys.” Slusky received his law degree from Creighton University in 1971 and his LLM in taxation in 1973 from New York University School of Law. In 1990, he founded the “Nebraska Commercial Real Estate Workshop” and has continued to serve as its Planning Chairman for 14 consecutive years. The annual workshop has become the focal point of education for hundreds of Nebraska commercial real estate professionals each year. He has served as an adjunct professor for real estate law and development at Creighton University. He is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation Foundation. Lois L. Westfall, BS, writes from Omaha that she is retired after 34 years of teaching with the Omaha Public Schools, where she was a library/media specialist. She began her career in Grand Island in 1967 teaching third grade at Dodge School. She joined the Omaha Public Schools in 1970 and taught fourth and fifth grades before coming a library/media specialist in 1979. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1970 with a master’s degree and earned a doctorate from the University of NebraskaLincoln in 1985. Vicki Adam Zeigler, BS, lives in Pleasanton, Calif., and sends this email: “After being laid off by Verizon Wireless just days before 9/11/01, I began a job search that lasted nine months. In June of 2002, I was fortunate enough to land a great position with a wellestablished company at an office less than two miles from my house. I am now Public
w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
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Flashback File
The Computer Age, 1967 From the May 1967 University of Omaha Alumni Newsletter he computer age really came to the University of Omaha this past month with the installation of the NCR (National Cash Register) 315 RMC (Rod Memory Computer). The IBM 1620 which has been the main computer for the Computer Center could only store 20,000 digits. The NCR 315 can store six times as many—120,000. Besides that, the printer unit with the NCR 315 can print at the rate of 1,000 lines a minute. In addition to the basic memory banks which can store 120,000 digits there are also the CRAM (Card Random Access Memory) decks which can store up to 8 million digits of information. At the present time all alumni information just takes up a small part of one CRAM deck. In looking at the above picture we can briefly show you how the alumni mailing list of approximately 15,000 names was printed this time. The machine at the extreme left has programmed information on the magnetic tape which it fed into the next two CRAM units. At the rear, where the student is holding a sheet of paper, is the printer unit which printed the address labels. Art Ashley, Computer Center Operations Manager, is in the foreground, at the main console which checks the operation of the entire unit.
T
Relations Manager for Diamond of California, the world’s leading processor and marketer of culinary, in-shell and snack nuts. I am living proof that you can start over again at age 55+! I am thoroughly enjoying this new venture, which includes handling PR for our sports sponsorships with the U.S. Olympic Team, San Francisco Giants and the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl, San Francisco’s first-ever college football bowl game (new last year). Don and I have been married for more than 32 years. Our daughter, Liz, is a first-year law student at Tulane University in New Orleans. I’d love to hear from
fellow journalism grads from UNO.” Send her email at vickizeigler@yahoo.com 1969 Larry G. Alexander, BFA, writes from Sedalia, Colo., that he “is retiring after 28 years of teaching high school art at Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, Colo.” Look for his students’ sculptures on the east side of Interstate 25 passing through Castle Rock. The town logo also is a student design. Virginia French Inclan, BGS, sends this email from home in Omaha: “Virginia returned from Baghdad, Iraq, on May 23rd. She and 10 members of
the Omaha Rapid Response disaster relief team spent 11 days in Baghdad. There they held medical clinics and conducted food distributions. While there they also greeted and hugged many, many GIs. Omaha’s Rapid Response team is made up of volunteers from various Omaha churches. They volunteer to respond to disasters all over the world.” Send her email at: greatgrannyjock@aol.com Robert W. Kelley, MS, writes from Orange Beach, Ala., that “I retired in 1997 after 40 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. My last position with the Corps was as chief of the engineering division for
October 2003 • 27
Class Notes the Rock Island District in Rock Island, Ill. I moved to Alabama in 2002.” Send him email at bkelley@gulftel.com 1972 Michael D. Achey, BA, recently relocated to Phoenix to become chief of Voluntary Service at the VA Medical Center. This follows a stint with the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service in Nashville, Tenn., and a 25-year career with the U.S. Air Force (he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant out of the AFROTC program at UNO and retired as a Lt. Col). Achey and his wife, Tara, live in Peoria, Ariz. Send him email at michael.achey@va.med.gov 1974 R. John Buford Jr., BS, was named branch president for United Nebraska Bank at its Regency Center location in Omaha. Burford, a former member of R. John Burford the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors, has a banking career of more than 34 years. He has served as president and CEO of Bank of Nebraska and Northern Bank and was EVP of Security National Bank. He currently is on the board of directors of the Rebounders Club for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln basketball team and is a member and past secretary of the West Omaha Rotary Club. He also has served the boards of: Miller Park YMCA, Immanuel Charitable Foundations, LaVista Community Foundation and the Edmonson Youth Outreach
28 • October 2003
1981 John F. Conry, BGS, lives in Omaha and sends this email: “. . . have been with the Omaha Fire Dept. for over 30 yrs, the past 15 as a Battalion Chief. I especially remember fondly the late George G. Thompson of the CCS as a fine advisor and a good man. The improvements of the facilities at UNO over the past 25 years have been awesome.” Send Conry email at fireman451@mac.com. 1983 Bob Lineberry, BS, lives in Cocoa, Fla., and sends this email: “Commander Bob Lineberry recently assumed command of Helicopter AntiSubmarine Squadron SIX. HS-6 Screamin’ Indians are currently deployed onboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.” Send him email at: lineberryb@nimitz.navy.mil Kaynella Wallace, BS, lives in Las Vegas and notes via email that she “has accepted a fourthgrade teaching position at the Las Vegas Day School, a private, college-prep K-8 school.” Send her email at kwall1234@yahoo.com. 1985 Kris Lausterer, BS, is married to fellow alum Diane Gress Lausterer (’93; see entry). They have two children, Audrey, 4, and Nolan, 2, and live in Bellevue, Neb. Kris is a physical therapist at Nebraska Orthopeadics. He recently achieved orthopeadic certification through the American Physical Therapist Association. 1986 Scott A. Stocking, BA, writes via email that “After spending the last year working for Publication Services, Inc., in Champaign, Ill. As a lead inhouse editor and proofreader for Oxford Press’s “Dictionary
of American Family Names” and the updated edition of “Mosby’s Dental Dictionary,” he developed the curriculum for and is teaching Biblical Greek in Lincoln (Ill.) Christian College’s “LincUp” adult degree completion program. He also was recently hired to teach two sections of Religions of the West at Parkland College in Champaign. Stocking received his Master of Divinity degree in Old Testament from Lincoln (Ill.) Christian Seminary in 1995. He also preaches for a small congregation in Roberts, Ill. His email address is scottsox@illicom.net. 1987 Maxine Fawcett-Yeske, MM, an assistant professor of music at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, was awarded the Margaret J. Prouty Faculty Teaching Award in May. The campus-wide award “recognizes and rewards a faculty member for the pursuit of excellence in teaching and honors a professor who has made a distinct difference in the intellectual lives of students through effective and creative instruction and/or course development.” Fawcett-Yeske also recently was elected to the office of secretary of the Great Plains Chapter of the College Music Society for 2003-05. 1988 Gloria J. Edwards, MSW, lives in Bozeman, Mont., and sends this email: “I am the director of the Gallatin County Victim Assistance Program in Bozeman, Mont. I have been in this position for 10 years. In this time it has developed from a half-time position in a corner of the County Attorney’s Office to a complete center housing two victim advocates, a legal advocate and the Guardian Ad Litem/CASA program. We provide direct victim services as well as advocate for victims’ rights on the state and national
levels. On a personal note, Mike and I have been married 25-plus years and our two children, Zac and Anna, are both grown and completing their college educations.” Send Bozeman email at medw64@earthlink.net. Renee R. Minor West, BS, lives in Eden, Utah, and writes, “I went on to medical school at UNMC, then specialized in Family Practice. I joined the Air Force briefly and I am now in a multi-speciality clinic in Ogden, Utah. I have been married to Jim for 23 years and have three children and one grandchild. Send her e-mail at Renwest@aol.com 1993 Diane Gress Lausterer, BSW, is married to fellow alum Kris Lausterer (’85; see entry). They have two children, Audrey, 4, and Nolan, 2, and live in Bellevue, Neb. Diane has been a social worker and now stays home with their children. 1994 Martin Jacobsen, Ph.D., writes via email that his book, “’Transformations of Literacy in Computer-Mediated Communication: Orality, Literacy, Cyberdiscursivity,’ was published last August by The Edwin Mellen Press, 2002. The book deals with reading strategies associated with hypertext environments. Primarily a research tool, the book has been placed in libraries the world over.” He lives in Amarillo, Texas, and takes email at: mjacobsen@wtamu.edu Christopher R. Bilder, of Lincoln, Neb., writes this email: “I have accepted an Assistant Professor position in the new Department of Statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.” Send him e-mail at: chris@chrisbilder.com
UNOALUM
O C T O B E R Flashback File
Roger the Rocket From the Winter 1994 UNO Alum By Kevin Warneke hen Roger Sayers outstretched world-record holder Bob Hayes in the 100-yard dash, “Roger the Rocket" didn’t think much of the feat. Neither did Lloyd Cardwell, Sayers’ track coach at Omaha University. "It wasn’t a surprise,” Cardwell said. “Roger was a good runner. Roger had run just as fast as Hayes had.” Sayers nipped Hayes at the finish in their preliminary 100-yarddash heat at the 1962 NAIA Track and Field Championships. Sayers finished at 9.5, Hayes at 9.7. For good measure, Sayers defeated Hayes again in the finals. Sayers said Hayes, who attendThe Rocket ed Florida A&M at the time, didn’t show much reaction after the two races. “We didn’t say a lot,” he recalls. “We went our own ways. It was more of a shock to the athletes and the others in the crowd than to either of us.” Sayers, brother of NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers, later would compete for the U.S. National track team in duals against Poland and the Soviet Union. He was headed for a rematch with Hayes in the 1964 U.S. Olympic Trials, but was sidelined by an injury suffered during the national NAIA meet. Hayes went on to capture an Olympic gold medal, then starred for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Sayers also put his speed to good use for the OU football team. In fact, it helped him turn a trap pass into a 99-yard scoring play — an NAIA record that still stands.
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1995 Tamara L. Higgs Nabity, BS, writes via email that, “After working with First Data Corporation for almost 10 years, I took the plunge to become self-employed in September 2003. I am now a full-time professional realtor with the Nabity Team, associated with Prudential Ambassador Real Estate. Our team of agents service the Omaha and surrounding areas, including Iowa. If you are looking to take advantage w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
of the interest rates, which are at an all-time low, give me a call whether you’re buying, selling or investing. You can reach me at 402-740-SOLD (7653). Go Mavericks!” Send Nabity email at Tamara@639SOLD.com Ted H. Vatnsdal, BSBA, lives in Fishers, Ind., and sends this email: “Would love to hear from fellow Mavs . . . and if you find yourself in Indianapolis, give him a call and fill him in on what’s going
on in the Big O!” Send him email at: tvatnsdal@gsb.uchicago.edu. 1997 Raymond N. Walker, BS, lives in Coral Springs, Fla., and writes that he is “currently working as an Exceptional Student Education Teacher at Bair Middle School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I teach emotionally handicapped students and coach boy’s track. In addition, I am a football coach at Coconut Creek High School.
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I am currently pursuing my Master’s Degree at Florida Atlantic University in Educational Leadership. I hope to become a school administrator. Send him email at UNOHurt@aol.com 1998 Eric Shanks, MPA, is director of aquatics and head Masters coach for UNO swimmers. He is a member of the United States Masters Swimming Safety Education Committee. He supervises 25 fitness, swimming and diving instructors and swim coaches operating six aquatic programs. He is married with one child. Send him email at eric_shanks@unomaha.edu Janice D. Blake, BGS, writes via email from her home in Prattville, Ala., that she “Received master’s of political science from Auburn University at Montgomery. Have accepted position with the U.S. Army as a doctrine developer at Fort Lee, Virginia.” Send her email at: dblake1126@knology.net Heidi E. Ajrami, MA, sends this email from her home in Victoria, Texas: “I recently received tenure (March 2003) at Victoria College, where I have been teaching as an English Instructor, full-time, for the past four years.” Send her email at: hajrami@victoriacollege.edu Pam Schaefer, BS, was awarded the 2003 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year for her distinguished service to the Nebraska Dietetic Association and for nutrition education. She recently completed her term as president of the Omaha District Dietetic Association. Schaefer is program director for Nutrition Education at the Dairy Council of Nebraska.
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Class Notes IN MEMORIAM 1920 1927 1936 1937 1942 1949 1950 1951 1952
1955 1956
1957
1958
1959 1960 1961 1962
1963 1964
1965 1966 1968 1969 1970
1971
Jessie T. Jones Eleanore Peirce Slater Janet Berek Ted S. Farner Edna Mohr Lynn D. Wenstrand William Kellogg Thomas R. Gomez V. Jean Martin Lois Marie (Disney) Vawter Fred E. Healea Jr. Dorothy C. Watson Myrl C. Dempsey Beldora L. Hickey Raymond M. Schulz Joseph C. Lofshult Anne M. Johnston William D. Neu Frank Walljasper Jay Mahlon (Pete) Pilant William R. Knott Sidney Klopper Inez Mildred Peterson Margaret B. Hallbeck Ralph B. Thompson Charles L. Franklin John D. Hoile Donald P. Beckman Leroy McMath Roger S. Sharpe James L. Griffin Robert L. Loer Gerald J. Whalley Capt. John R. Madden Col. (Ret.) Marie W. Ganow Ethel I. Jones Rudolf W. Kogan Edward D. Kaufmann Randall W. Owens Kurt L. Jensen Grace Leona Estes Davis George F. Houck Reginald B. Hesling Thomas F. Henderson Gaylon W. Hart Col. (Ret) Michael J. Rega Vinton D. Loucks Virginia H. How Carl Heilbrunn Charles W. Hutchings Thelma M. McDonald
30 • October 2003
Flashback File
Domestic Science From the 1914 Metropolitan Yearbook he number of delightful hours that have been spent in our sewing and cooking laboratories during the past year of school would be hard to tell about. Much has been accomplished in this year and we will all be sorry to leave our department. As a grand windup, to show our mothers how much we have really learned and to prove to Cooking up some domestic science. them that we really can cook, we gave a mother’s luncheon. The room of the cooking laboratory was transformed into a bower of spring flowers. The whole luncheon was carried out in a color scheme of lavender and white. Of course our mothers all beamed with pride as one dainty dish after another was set before them. Every single article placed on the table was prepared by the girls. Even the delicious Parker House rolls that we just learned how to make, were baked right in our laboratory. With Miss Williams’ helpful suggestions and her wise planning and supervision, our mothers agreed that it was a grand success and hope to attend another one like it next year. During this year we have taken up the preparation of all kinds of foods. We have prepared fresh vegetables in delicious, dainty and economical ways, which everyone agrees taste much better than any they have ever tasted before. Doughs and batters sound simple enough but we spent many weeks studying the numerous kinds and learning to make accurate measurements and do away with all guess work. Preparing meats requires as much skill as many other things. Some have been wonderful concoctions. Last but not least by far, we made bread. Each girl had a tiny little loaf to take home and I am sure that some of the bakers will lose their customers as long as the girls can now prepare such delicate loaves. I am sure the whole school will agree that it is a pleasure to go into our laboratory, which is always so immaculately clean and on which Miss Williams has spent so much time and trouble. For this we certainly extend her a vote of thanks.
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1971 Col. (Ret.) Robert F. Maheu Lamont R. Wallin John R. Hatchett 1972 Carolyn A. Hradsky James J. Johnson Robert F. Johnson Earle Holmquist Walter H. Hiroshige George O. James Roland R. Laramee Stephen Jamison James E. Lewis 1973 Robert W. Anderson Bonny L. Smelser John Peter Green
1973 Jerry L. Isler Brian E. Legg Paul E. Halowen 1974 Maj. (ret) James W. Hardy Jacqueline Jurcich George R. Lewis Raymond N. Kill Janet E. Ludwig 1975 Karen M. Kurtz 1976 Thomas J. Hollingsed William L. Lee 1977 Ruth L. Greenwell Rodney Ingebritson 1978 De Ann Jaffe Roger P. Kavanaugh
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994
Janet R. Lenoir Kay L. Harris Leona B. Klippert Richard F. Lange James E. Hurd John McKeone Kevin J. Kennedy Scott T. Hembd Lawrence W. Jeffries Robert J. Pass Robbie Jean Gorlicki Muhe Huber 1996 Kerry von Gillern Timm 1997 Phillip H. Herring 2000 Terri L. Kreft UNOALUM
O C T O B E R
Campus Scene for Sale Proceeds benefit Scholarship Fund
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n 1938, construction was completed on the University of Omaha’s first building at its new Dodge Street site, originally called the administration Building. Now known as Arts and Sciences Hall, the building is just as impressive as it first was 65 years ago. Now, through the UNO Faculty Women’s Club, a limited-edition silk screen print of the building is available for purchase. Designed and printed by Omaha artist Judith Welk, the 13” x 18” print sells for $85. All proceeds of the sale go to the UNO Faculty Women’s Club Scholarship Fund. The club currently gives out five scholarships each year. To order a print, send a check or money order for $85, plus $5 for insurance and mailing, to: UNO FWC Print, Box 120, UNO, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. Delivery in Omaha is free. For more information call Anne Carroll at 5533251 or e-mail annecarroll@juno.com.
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Class Notes
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The UNO Annual Fund
www.unoalumni.org Aloha Annual Fund! In celebration of the UNO Annual Fund’s 50th year, we’re sending two donors to our 50th state–Hawaii! All donors of $50 or more are being entered in a random drawing* for a trip for two to Hawaii including: • Round-trip air from Omaha to Hawaii; • 3 nights in Oahu, 4 nights in Maui; • Accommodations at deluxe beachfront properties; • Airport transfers and all taxes. Don’t miss your chance to win a trip to Hawaii—return the enclosed envelope with your gift or make an online contribution today! *Drawing will be held in 2004 after all 2003 donations have been recorded.
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