UNO Alum - Winter 2005

U N I V E R S I T Y

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N E B R A S K A

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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

Winter 2005

Man of the Cloth

Scott Kuhlman makes a colorful splash in men’s fashion

SIGN UP FOR UNO ALUMNI NIGHT ON THE ICE! Details next page

out at UNO’s 3rd annual

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oin fellow grads for the 3rd annual Alumni Night on the Ice featuring:

• Pre-game buffet reception at the Hilton Hotel-Omaha.

• Glass-enclosed sky bridge from reception to game.

• Door prizes, free Mav Tattoos and hand clappers for the kids.

Friday Jan. 6, 2006

Contents

Winter 2005 Cover photo by Tim Fitzgerald

A LUMNI NIGHT ON THE I C E CHILL OUT!

5:30 p.m.

Pre-game buffett at the Hilton Hotel, 1001 Cass St.

7:05 p.m.

10-11

Gerontology dept. studying away.

12-13 14-17

The power of partnership with IS&T.

UNO vs. Notre Dame

Education

18-19

Helping after Katrina.

Qwest Center Omaha

Cover Story Page 30

Features 22

Billy is Buddy

Per-person cost of $15 includes game ticket and pre-game buffet (hot dogs, chips, pasta salad, baked beans, cookies, sodas).

Cash bar available. Limited parking at Hilton’s indoor garage (Cass St. entrance) for special UNO rate of $4 (less than half regular rate). Hockey tickets distributed at reception.

Parking stickers available at reception to be presented to parking attendant when leaving. Tickets must be paid for at time of registration. Register by completing form below and returning with payment (check or credit card). For more info, call Sheila King at (402) 554-4802 or toll-free at UNO-MAVALUM (866-628-2586). Email inquiries to sking@mail.unomaha.edu.

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Is that UNO graduate Billy McGuigan or rock legend Buddy Holly.

24

A Good Bet UNO stakes its claim on the future by proposing expansion on its north and south campuses.

28

Sign us up for UNO Alumni Night on the Ice Jan. 6!

Name

State tickets at $15 each I have enclosed $

for the tickets

Names for Name Tags (please include children’s names and ages)

Sue Kreifels headed west after graduation; now she’s making connections with the East.

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RETURN FORM BY DEC. 30, 2005: Mail with payment to: UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182.

Phone

Scott Kuhlman is a colorful guy, one reason why his new clothing company is making a splash.

34

Entrepreneur 36 Big-Game UNO grad Mike Bean has hit the mark—as an

Zip

34

The Art of Communication

UNO Professor John Wanzenreid continues to perfect communication skills during a long UNO career.

(Make checks payable to UNO Alumni Association).

Exp. Date_________________

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entrepreneur and a big-game hunter.

Association Departments

Signature:

Card No.

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Bridging Divides

Man of the Cloth

Email Address

Address

q Visa q MasterCard q Discover

CPACS

IS&T

All that for just $15!

Charge my credit card:

6-9

Spotlight on “Renaissance People.”

KVNO marks anniversary.

• Pep talk from Coach Mike Kemp

Reserve me

Arts & Sciences

C-CFAM

• Lower Bowl seating and recognition during the game.

City

College Pages

Alumni Association in Action

36

Longtime President Jim Leslie stepping down.

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Class Notes Lots of smart folks. w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

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Editor: Anthony Flott Contributors: Sonja Carberry, Steve Eskew, Jerry Holt, Tim Fitzgerald, Eric Francis, Warren Francke, Don Kohler, Stephanie Mandregan, Hugh Reilly, Nick Schinker, Shelly Steig, Wendy Townley.

Alumni Association Officers: Chairman of the Board, Adrian Minks; Past Chairman, Stephen Bodner; Chairman-elect Mike Kudlacz; Vice Chairmen, Cookie Katskee, Rod Oberle, Kevin Warneke, John Wilson; Secretary, Angelo Passerelli; 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, UNOMAV-ALUM • email: aflott@mail.unomaha.edu • 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.

Winter 2005 • 3

O

Letter from the

Chancellor

Attaining distinction

ctober 12th was a special day in the life of the UNO campus community. As we celebrated the 97th anniversary of the institution’s founding, we also recognized another significant milestone—that of UNO attaining its vision as a metropolitan university of distinction.

Since beginning the campus strategic planning initiative nearly nine years ago, we’ve set our sights on becoming one of the nation’s preeminent universities serving a metropolitan area. It was with a sense of pride, accomplishment and gratitude that I declared a measure of victory—citing the critical roles played by students, faculty, staff, alumni and benefactors in creating a dynamic learning environment of national stature.

A bold claim? Perhaps. But in reviewing our progress, I cited advances in enrollment, academic excellence, technology, on-campus housing and community outreach as contributing factors to UNO’s transformation.

Consider the following: • UNO attracts talented minds to the community from across the nation and around the world. This fall, students from 45 states and 103 nations are enrolled.

• UNO is committed to helping students earn their degrees and remain in the community after graduation. Today 33,000 alumni live and work in the metroplex, while another 5,200 contribute to towns across Nebraska. And, 75 percent of graduates remain in the state two years after graduation.

• As a university of distinction, we recruit a cadre of teacher/scholars who expand the boundaries of knowledge. Onethird of UNO faculty are involved in externally sponsored research; 98 percent have been published in national journals or have presented at academic conferences.

• Finally, a metropolitan university of distinction engages in civic partnerships. Students, faculty and staff each year undertake more than 300 civic engagement activities including 30,000 hours of service learning.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey cited UNO’s role as a metropolitan university of distinction during a panel discussion at our 2005 Spring Strategic Planning Advance. The mayor said, “With its great educational reputation and recent housing expansion, UNO is no longer a local school. It is attracting students from across the country, and certainly around the world. I am a firm believer that once people come to Omaha, and experience all that UNO and the city have to offer, they begin to understand what we are bragging about here.”

Catalyst, innovator, collaborator, instigator . . . these descriptors capture the essence of a metropolitan university of distinction—a university like UNO! Until next time,

Campus SCENE

Photo by Tim Fitzgerald 4 • Winter 2005

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The Agony of “Da Feet” was felt by Grand Valley State (Mich.) players after UNO’s Amanda Iwansky, No. 2, scored one of her two goals during the Mavericks’ 2-0 win Nov. 20 in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The win earned UNO its fouth-straight Final Four appearance. The Mavericks, 18-2 and ranked seventh in the country, will play Franklin Pierce (N.H.) on Dec. 1 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Iwansky, second on the team in scoring this season, was the North Central Conference Freshman of the Year.

Winter 2005 • 5

College of

Arts & Sciences

CAS: Leading a renaissance for the liberal arts egardless of major, students in the College of Arts and Sciences receive a broad-based education—one for the whole person, not just for the job.

All CAS majors study the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. Some students, though, choose more than one major, becoming “polymaths,” or what

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Photo by Tim Fitzgerald Chancellor Nancy Belck presented the Chancellor’s Medal to College of Arts and Sciences Dean Shelton Hendricks during the UNO’s spring commencement.

more traditionally are referred to as “renaissance” people.

The people with Arts & Sciences connections who are featured in this issue of the Alum are representative of such individuals. They go beyond the liberal arts concept of being well and broadly educated to excel in several fields.

That includes many of our faculty, who find their lives and talents as educators enriched by investing to the 6 • Winter 2005

point of excellence in more than one subject area. Such individuals come to understand the connections among the disciplines—the interstitial spaces, as Foucault referred to them—from which vantage one can see a larger picture of humanity and the world.

For one person in the college, maintaining those connections is a full-time job. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is charged with overseeing the teaching and research missions of all disciplines within the college, as well as managing the business side of things.

The dean must become the quintessential renaissance person to some measure, serving as political advocate for each department and program. The dean must be the creative genius who finds a way to achieve greater excellence with less state funding. The dean is the one who ultimately must decide whether a new mass spectrometer for chemistry or a new computer lab for physics takes highest priority.

And those are the decisions during the good years; in the lean years, the dean will decide which people to let go and which programs to cut.

Arts & Sciences Dean Shelton Hendricks, in his fifth year leading UNO’s largest college, this spring was recognized with UNO’s highest honor, the Chancellor’s Medal. The award is presented to a full-time faculty or staff “who has performed with excellence in his or her chosen profession.”

A full professor of psychology, Hendricks has been a university ombudsman, chair of the department of psychology and the dean of UNO Graduate Studies. He also has served four terms with the Faculty Senate (one term as president) and held membership in numerous campus and professional organizations.

Hendricks has administered and/or participated in research projects receiving funding support from 10 university research grants, six federal government research grants and 70 pharmaceutical industry contracts.

As dean, he has overseen a rise in student count while enrollments in the other colleges largely remain flat.

“These data for CAS are nothing short of amazing,” Hendricks says, “and, I believe, attest to the rightness of the strategies we have employed to serve students, the outstanding work our faculty do in and out of the classroom, and the rightness of the value we place on a liberal arts education.

“The head count of students enrolled in the college is the highest it has ever been. I have always had a strong faith that if you do the right thing, the worst that will happen is you will wind up broke and out of business and knowing you have done the right thing. But the more likely outcome is that you will thrive.”

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Musical Chemists: ‘Elegance of Style’ Writing about “M algebra adds up usic and science have an ancient connection,” says UNO Professor of Chemistry and pianist James Hagen. “Consider the Pythagorean studies of the mathematics of musical intervals, or Kepler’s passionate devotion to the idea of the ‘harmonies of the spheres’ in which he tried to connect planetary orbits to musical tones.

“One must, of course, mention Borodin, a Russian known more to the world at large as a composer, but who made his living as a chemist.”

The fascination that scientists have had with music since the very beginnings of civilization provides overwhelming anecdotal evidence for a connection between science and music. Though none of these scientists yet has been able to define the formula for good music, there are studies to prove that music appreciation and analytical processing do happen in the same relatively small area of the brain.

“I have heard that the connection between music and chemistry is through the octaves of music and the octets of chemistry,” says Chemistry Professor James K. Wood, bass player for The Rivertown String Band. “I have never really thought about that connection. I do know that over the years our outstanding chemistry majors have minored in music, were previous music majors, or already had degrees in music.

“Most, if not all of our chemistry faculty either play a musical instrument, sing in a choir or have a strong interest in music.”

Rivertown String Band The Rivertown String Band includes Wood, his wife, Kathy, and Jenni Wallace. The trio has played together for more than 20 years. “Jenni plays the hammered dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, banjo, fife and penny whistle. Kathy plays banjo, autoharp and now mainly guitar,” says Wood. “I just play the upright acoustic bass but sometimes will pick up a jaw harp and a mouth harp if needed. I am not allowed to sing.”

The group plays festivals, private parties, museum openings, fund-raisers for various organizations and historical functions for the national and state park services. Rivertown also plays for square and contra dances and is the primary band for Contra Omaha, where Associate Dean Eric Manley, associate professor of chemistry, calls the monthly dances.

Another chemist and musician, Instructor Ron Bartzatt, has played the flute and piccolo since he was a teenager. “Since then I have learned to play the classical guitar, mandolin and fife,” Bartzatt says. “Music is not only a means to reduce stress, but it also stimulates the mind to be creative. I am certain that music has not only helped keep my blood pressure down but greatly amplified my creative productivity in research and life in general.”

Hagen points out that the connections between the sciences and the arts don’t stop with music: “Experience in music and language are better predictors of success than grades in physics, math or even general chemistry,” he says. “I believe that the habits of mind that language and music induce . . . train the mind to think about vocabulary (notes), grammar and syntax— rhythm, melody, etc.”

Persons fluent in a language or who excel in musical performance, Hagen adds, also exhibit “elegance of style,” a term used frequently in commentaries on brilliant organic synthetic work. “It refers to a high level of compositional achievement that goes beyond the nuts and bolts of language or music or chemistry.” w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

’ve always looked at the elegance of language and seen mathematics,” Assistant Professor of English Marsha Watson says.

No surprise, then, that Watson enthusiastically greeted a proposal by Dean of Arts and Sciences Shelton Hendricks. His idea: establish a new course in which the traditionally active learning processes of writing instruction would be used Professor Marsha to understand and Watson reinforce algebraic concepts.

The new course will be offered for the first time this spring semester. All of the students enrolled in the “Writing about Algebra” course also will be enrolled in a “cohort” section of intermediate algebra.

Watson foresees a twofold benefit: writing assignments will give students a chance to process what they learn in their algebra lessons; algebra lessons will help students understand how to construct stronger essays with more logical arguments.

Watson didn’t realize she had her own special abilities in math until taking an aptitude test while in the Navy. After eight years performing electronics testing for the Navy, she decided to build on that experience by pursuing a degree in engineering. About halfway through her course of study, however, she found that field to be uninteresting and less than purposeful for her.

She switched disciplines, completing her degree in math and deciding to teach. When she was given the opportunity to continue in graduate study in either mathematics or English, she chose the latter field, feeling it would allow greater opportunities for creativity.

Watson, a member of the UNO assessment team, also will be taking a critical step forward in revising the way UNO does program assessment. Students in the Writing about Algebra course will create online learning portfolios using new laptop computers with wireless network access. The portfolios will be used both as learning tools for the students and as assessment tools for the institution.

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Winter 2005 • 7

College of

Arts & Sciences

Not taking the easy way out in the Big Easy urricane Katrina’s devastation

Hgave Michael Homan an out.

Instead, the Arts and Sciences alum decided to stick it out.

Homan, an assistant professor of theology at Xavier University of Louisiana since 2001, has returned to New Orleans to help rebuild that city and his school. The decision wasn’t easy.

“I’m nearly 40, ripe for a midlife crisis, and this would be a great time to move to another place and start over,” Homan wrote in his online journal. “Life can be very easy outside of the Big Easy. There are few places in this country with as much poverty, poor education and overall problems.

“But I think that for me and my family, returning to the devastation of New Orleans offers us a chance to really make a difference in the world. We could help to rebuild the great city that has become our home, and at least make our modest contribution to this Herculean task.”

Homan always has taken on more than most would dare—a renaissance person from his earliest days in CAS. He graduated in 1993 with honors and with majors in psychology, history and religion. Referring to his liberal arts education, Homan writes, “Then, I was no longer a kid from Omaha in the late 20th century. Instead, I was a human being, doing my best to connect to other people, appreciating their accomplishments while trying to understand their meaning for the future.”

His future included master’s and doctorate degrees in ancient history and the Hebrew Bible from the University of California at San Diego. He has lectured at Notre Dame Seminary, Loyola and Jerusalem University College. He has authored a number of books, including the forthcoming “Over, Under, and Through the Bible: An Archaeological, Historical, and Satellite Atlas” with co-authors

8 • Winter 2005

A&S grad awarded Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship atalie Black, graduate of the College of Arts and

NSciences, is one of 76 new recipients of a Jack Kent

Homan in Jerusalem with his wife, Therese Fitzpatrick, daughter Kalypso and son Gilgamesh.

Jeffrey C. Geoghegan and Robert A. Mullins.

“Writing is cathartic and can change the world,” offers Homan.

Case in point: Homan’s blog accounts of his escape from a flooded New Orleans. Brief excerpts follow; for more, visit http://michaelhoman.blogspot.com.

“As I lay in my bed surrounded by my flooded city I heard on the radio caller after caller cry out for help and ask why they and their loved ones were not being rescued. People lay in hospitals and nursing homes and starved to death. It occurred to me that it was more complicated than concluding that suddenly the American government was forgetting these impoverished people, these descendants of the slaves who built New Orleans and this country.

Instead, I realized that these poor people had been forgotten for hundreds of years.”

“I had heard that they were not letting people evacuate with their animals. But these guys said that had changed, and so I put my computer and a few papers in my backpack, loaded the dogs, let the birds go, and put out the sugar glider with food and water in Kalypso’s room to await my return, much like

Napoleon leaving for Elba I suppose.

We drove in the boat all over the city looking for people.”

“They promised they would take us to Baton Rouge. But then everything went to hell. Many refused to get out of the van but they were forced. The van drove away as quickly as it could, as the drivers appeared to be terrified, and we were suddenly in the middle of 20,000 people. I would estimate that 98% of them were African Americans and the most impoverished people in the state. It was like something out of a Kafka novel.

People said they had been there 5 days, and that on that day only 3 buses had shown up. I saw murdered bodies, and elderly people who had died because they had been left in the sun with no water for such a long time.”

“There was a group of officials going around and taking people’s animals away. It was then that I decided to try to escape. I knew there were armed looters outside the camp, but there were inside as well, and I had Mosey, who is a pretty big dog and can be scary when she is barking. I could not have ever told my children that I gave up the dogs to save myself.”

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Cooke Foundation scholarship. The scholarships, among the largest in the United States, are worth up to $300,000 each.

Black (pictured, who majored in biology with minors in chemistry and German, now attends medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).

“Natalie conducted research in my laboratory for over three years,” says Associate Professor of Biology Scott D. Snyder. “She is one of the most intelligent, conscientious and energetic students I have had the pleasure to interact with. She has a passion for the study of medicine, and I have no Photo by William O’Neill, UNMC question that she will sucPublic Affairs. ceed as a student and a physician.”

Black’s biography on the Kent Foundation website says that, “Natalie's aim is to become one of the caring doctors, and to make affordable, quality medical care available, especially to people who are elderly and poor. She is pursuing a master’s in public health along with her M.D. to qualify for work on policy issues with non-med-

ical professionals.”

Black, though just 22 years old, has been drawing connections between life and education for many years, and she speaks with great passion about the connections between the sciences and the arts. “I loved the Native American Studies course with Carolyn Fiscus,” she says.

Black credits Fiscus for guiding her toward an understanding of Native American culture, something that will help her in her future life. This spring she will take her first medical mission trip to a Native American reservation. There she will assist in basic medical care and educate young people about careers in medicine.

Black says a combination of language study and travel stimulated her passion for getting to know and work with other cultures. In addition to her minor in German, she also has begun studying Spanish. She was a member of UNO’s chapter of Delta Phi Alpha, the German Honor Society.

“Members of Delta Phi Alpha . . . recognized Natalie’s cheerful dedication, conscientiousness and excellent leadership capabilities by electing her to several offices in the executive committee, including the vice-presidency,” says German Professor Anthony Jung. “She is a very reliable self-starter, but also works patiently and productively on teams until a given task is successfully completed in her customary friendly and helpful manner.”

Black’s praise for the “outstanding” education she received from the sciences faculty is matched by their corresponding praise for her. Her chemistry professors, though, would no doubt point out her skill as a violinist.

New website to facilitate aid to College of Arts & Sciences he College of Arts and Sciences is launching a new website designed to assist students, faculty/staff, alumni and friends in keeping up to date on current news and critical information. The site will be available by the end of November at http://cas.unomaha.edu.

Though the college long has had a website with useful information for students and faculty/staff, the new website will place special emphasis on communication with alumni and friends. Features of the site will include news stories about alumni, faculty, and students of the college.

The site also will strengthen the college’s ability to uphold its mission as a result of financial support from alumni and the community, says Mary Bernier, director of development for the University of Nebraska Foundation. “This assistance is vital to the health of the college as state funding is greatly decreased due to budget

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constraints,” Bernier says.

Alumni, friends, businesses and corporations aid CAS programs and research in multiple ways. They include: • Gifts provided through the NU Foundation via annual fund phone and mail campaigns; • Memorials or honorary donations to remember a classmate, faculty member or loved one; • Research support, establishment of a named scholarship, or creation of a fellowship; • Named, endowed chairs and professorships, significant gifts that enable the college to attract and recruit outstanding educators; • Matched employee gifts by a company, doubling a donation.

Unrestricted gifts, which can be used for areas of greatest need within the college, allow the dean flexibility and responsiveness as the college’s requirements grow and change over time. Gifts to the UNO Arts and Sciences Fund for Excellence create new possibilities for many years to come.

Contact information for Bernier will be available on the new website, along with information on contributions through the NU Foundation.

Winter 2005 • 9

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

Department of Gerontology

Respondents were asked what services they desired and and then the person dies alone, which is a pity.” what were lacking in current programs. “Nobody said Society, however, is beginning to deal with these issues they needed more senior centers. Nobody said they need- in a more honest, matter-of-fact way. “We’re starting to ed more bingo games,” says Thorson. “What they need is see health care professionals entering into a dialogue someone who will give Grandma a bath, change her when it comes to important care issues such as how to dressing and make sure she has a hot meal.” control pain, keeping a person as comfortable as possiThe responses illustrate that the problems, issues and ble, adhering to their living wills and allowing them to concerns faced by the elderly are no different in remain in control of their life and their death,” Thorson Scottsbluff than in Omaha, Thorson adds. “They are all says. “The question of withholding treatment at the asking the same things. They want adequate home servicpatient’s request and whether or not that is euthanasia is a es and skilled in-home nursing. Basically, they want fami- big topic of discussion today.” ly members to be allowed to do their job but to help These discussions have sparked interest on the UNO them out when they need it.” campus. “We started a ‘death and dying’ course in 1972 In other research, a profile of home-care workers based with seven students,” Thorson says. “Now we have to cap on the 2000 census, researchers identified the characteris- it off at 110 because that’s the number of seats in the tics of the long-term-care workforce in areas ranging from room.” demographics to income and wages. This research, says For Thorson, the research became personal when in Dr. Karl Kosloski, can be extremely useful in helping find 1997 he helped care for his 84-year-old mother, who was and hire direct-care and home-care workers. “It gave us a dying. He wrote about his experiences in “Innovations in dramatically different picture End-of-Life Care,” an internathan the one we were used tional journal and online to,” he says. “This data will forum. allow those who need to “As the weeks went by,” he tudies recently published by the faculty of UNO’s Department recruit and retain the longof Gerontology include the following: wrote, “the docs were open • “Care Giving and Nebraska’s Elders,” a report on a survey term-care workforce very to my suggestions that the conducted by Drs. James A. Thorson and Chuck Powell of the specifically targeted areas heart and blood pressure Department of Gerontology at UNO. upon which to concentrate.”

• “A Profile of Home Care Workers From the 2000 Census: How meds my mother was on were in fact an echo of a preit Changes What We Know,” by Drs. Lyn Holley and Karl Kosloski The healing power of art of the Department of Gerontology at UNO, Jerome Deichert of vious time when we were UNO’s Center for Public Affairs Research, and Dr. Rhonda J.V. In a demonstration project hoping to extend her life.

Montgomery of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. at the House of Hope longThey agreed to withdraw • An examination of Creative Art Therapies conducted with term-care facility for demeneverything now that our Alzheimer’s patients at the House of Hope in Omaha. tia patients, artists gave resiintention was simply to keep • An in-depth analysis of the relationship between depression dents the opportunity to parand physical health conducted by Dr. Kyle Kercher of the her comfortable. Our goal Department of Gerontology at UNO. ticipate in five different art had changed, and it seemed activities: music, dance, necessary to articulate that painting, collage and sculpture. A research team of faculfact. Had I not brought it up, I’m sure everyone would ty and doctoral students observed the residents and rated have continued to pretend that she would get better.” their levels of participation according to three criteria: Keeping her comfortable meant limiting her visitors, yet their engagement in the activity, their apparent interest making certain she had company. Thorson would leave and their expressed affect. the university to have lunch with her then return in the “Overall, music, dance and painting elicited higher lev- evening. “One of the things she enjoyed most was being els of interest, engagement, and pleasure than did collage read to. I recall that the last book was a thick biography and sculpture,” Kosloski says. “All of the art activities, of the Windsors. Near the end, she asked me what page I however, elicited levels of interest, engagement and was on, and when I told her it was 86, she said, ‘Read pleasure at least comparable to some of the usual and faster.’” customary activities ongoing at the facility.

Old age. Diminished capacity. Limited independence.

“The findings suggest that all of the art activities can Sickness. Death. They can’t be eliminated. But because of appropriately be incorporated into the ongoing stream of research being conducted by UNO’s Department of activities designed to enhance the quality of life for Gerontology, they can be better understood, better patients with Alzheimer’s disease.” addressed, and less feared.

As the population ages, issues of care and of “death And keeping a human face on the data provides with dignity” are a growing concern, Thorson says. uniquely relevant answers to the questions that govern“People don’t know how to help when someone’s dying,” ment officials, care givers and families are asking every he says. “Too often, we’re scared of it so we stay away day.

Care-giving studies

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Photo by Tim Fitzgerald Gerontology faculty, from left, Professors Chuck Powell, Kyle Kercher, Lyn Holley, James Thorson and Karl Kosloski.

Putting a human face on the study of aging N

obody wants to get old. Nobody wants to give up control of their life or their health care to a person who changes every eight to 12 hours.

Nobody wants to die—and few of us have the fortitude required to stay beside and care for someone who is dying.

The subjects of aging and of those who give care to an increasingly aging population—along with the important questions and concerns these topics raise—form the foundation of several notable research studies (see sidebar) conducted and published recently by the faculty of the Department of Gerontology at UNO’s College of Public Affairs and Community Service.

Though research can be a study of cold numbers, pie charts and graphs, for the faculty, staff and students of the Gerontology Department, research takes on the added dimension of a human face. The face of a loved one, a

10 • Winter 2005

friend, or a study subject who two weeks ago was a stranger but now is called by name.

It is research that impacts all of us.

That includes the “Care Giving and Nebraska’s Elders” study commissioned by the Nebraska Office on Aging.

The study examined the responses of 1,000 persons, split evenly into two age groups: those 50 to 65 and those older than 65. Those surveyed were asked about their health, living status, functional ability, whether they have received care and from whom, whether they currently are providing care to a frail older person, and whether they ever have provided care to a frail elder.

Filling in the gaps Gerontology Chair Dr. James A. Thorson says the study revealed considerable useful data: “We found that most care giving, 42 percent, was done by a spouse. And we found many instances of people in their 70s taking care of people in their 90s.”

The study indicated that family members deliver approximately 85 percent of the services provided to the elderly. “This is a valuable study because state officials need to know where the gaps are in current programs and what is needed to fill them in,” Thorson says.

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Winter 2005 • 11

College of

Communication, Fine Arts and Media

KVNO Classical 90.7 marks 33 years with fund-drive success n an era of shrinking state budgets

Iand withering federal subsidies,

listeners receive from the programming,” says Mike Hagstrom, KVNO program director. “Why do they tune in and how do they use it? We previously had a hunch about these questions, but the core values research findings helped to solidify our under-

• Provides an escape from contemporary culture, preserving the beauty and majesty of a better time.

Such national research findings were aligned with KVNO's own listener studies. Both sets of research also found that classical listeners are curious about the music and the performers. With this in mind, Classical 90.7 listeners are treated to anecdotes and snippets of information about classical works, their com-

nationally recognized public radio station KVNO Classical 90.7 capped 33 years of growth with unprecedented success.

The station, part of UNO’s College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, exceeded its Fall 2005 On-Air Pledge Drive goal in less than 10 days, raising $75,000 in mid-October.

While some public radio stations in the country struggled to reach their autumn fundraising goals, Classical 90.7 staff busily penned thank-you letters in the midst of a 34-percent increase in the average pledge.

Even in larger metropolitan areas, finding an all-classical station on the dial has become increasingly rare. In Omaha, KVNO’s unique blend of loyal supporters, university-focused goals, and committed staff has helped it to thrive.

“KVNO enjoys such a positive image throughout the community,” says Debbi Aliano, KVNO general manager. “It’s an uplifting, intelligent alternaPhoto by Tim Fitzgerald tive. Few stations can make that Debbi Aliano, general manager, and Mike Hagstrom, program director, appealed to listeners during KVNO’s Fall claim.”

2005 On-Air Pledge Drive. Announcer Scott Blankenship looks on in the next studio.

To that end, KVNO closely standing, and consequently influence posers and recording artists, interstudies what listeners—locally and spersed with the music in a commerour programming philosophy.” nationally—value in classical music cial-free format. KVNO announcers Core Values studies have shown programming. Research such as the are not just “voices” reading from that the primary benefit provided by 2002 study conducted by the Public scripts; they are members of the local classical music radio is stress relief.

Radio Program Directors (PRPD) and and university communities who are Listeners also said that classical Walrus Research (Core Values of knowledgeable and passionate about music: Classical Music Radio; Core Values: classical music. This is important to • Is an intelligent alternative to the Classical Music Format) provides key listeners, who report that they care pop music heard on smooth jazz or insights for the station. deeply about classical music. They soft rock stations; “Core Values research has been do not like “chatter,” and feel that in • Produces clarity of mind and the instrumental in helping us identify today’s world the peace and comfort the benefits that classical music radio ability to focus; and,

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of classical music is needed more than ever.

As a public radio station, more than half of KVNO’s operating budget comes from community support.

Providing the best service possible to the community ensures listener support. That also enables the station to meet one of UNO’s overarching strategic goals—to actively engage urban, regional, national and global communities. In addition to its relationships with local listeners, many of whom volunteer their time and support to KVNO, the station offers its service via streaming programming

on its newly redesigned web site, www.kvno.org. During the Fall Pledge Drive, listeners from California, Ohio and Florida made contributions online, commenting that no stations like KVNO existed where they lived.

“Everyone takes pride in providing a public service that isn’t available anywhere else in our service area,” Aliano says. “And thanks to the World Wide Web, our service is increasingly recognized and appreciated beyond our traditional service area, which is pretty exciting.”

In addition to community engage-

ment, KVNO serves the student body and promotes academic excellence.

Nine of its full-time staff members are UNO graduates, and a number of students are employed and/or study part-time in capacities such as announcer, clerical assistant or broadcasting intern.

In KVNO offices, studios and corridors, there is an unspoken feeling, an understanding that hangs in the air like static on the radio. This is not “just a job”; it’s a mission.

One KVNO is looking forward to continuing with another 33 years of fine-tuning.

College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media Calendar of Events — January through May 2006 Art & Art Histor y Shows and events held in the UNO Art Gallery, 1st Floor, Weber Fine Arts Building.

Jan 15-Feb 24 Saving Faces: Art and Medicine Mar 3 Opening Reception for Spring 2006 UNO Art Student Exhibition, 6:30-8:30 pm Mar 5-31 Spring 2006 UNO Art Student Exhibition Apr 7 Opening Reception for Spring 2006 BFA Thesis Exhibition, 6:30-8:30 pm Apr 9-May 5 Spring 2006 BFA Thesis Exhibition, UNO Art Gallery

Music Performances start at 7:30 p.m. in the Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall, unless otherwise noted.

Call 554-3427 for event information or to reserve tickets.

Feb 12 NE Wind Symphony Concert, 3 p.m.

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Feb 25 Ecoutez: Slide Hampton, Trombone Feb 28 Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra & Concert Choir Smorgasbord Concert Mar 7 University Band & University Chorus Concert Mar 9 Jazz Bands Concert, Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom Mar 21 Ecoutez: Dora Seres, flute Mar 31 Jazz Band Big Band Dance, Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom, Lessons, 7 pm, Dance, 8 pm Apr 2 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concert Apr 7 Chamber Choir Concert Apr 12 Brass Ensembles Concert, 6 pm Apr 19 Percussion Ensembles Concert

Apr 22 Concert Choir Concert Apr 23 Symphonic Wind Ensemble & University Band Concert

Feb 2-5 FAUST presents Rebound & Gagged, WFAB 006, time TBA Feb 23-25, Mar 1-4 Tartuffe

Apr 25 Chamber Orchestra Concert

April 13-15, 19-22 Arabian Nights

Apr 26 Jazz Band Concert, Milo Bail Student Center

Writer’s Workshop

Apr 30 Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra In the Park Concert

Missouri Valley Reading Series Dates & times for the MVRS are TBA, Contact 554-2406 for info.

May 6 Symphonic Wind Ens Concert, 3 pm

Theatre Performance start at 7:30 p.m. in the the UNO Theatre, Weber Fine Arts Building, unless otherwise noted. For ticket information, call the UNO Theatre Box Office, 554-2335.

Jan 10 Acting Auditions and CallbacksArabian Nights, 6-10 pm, WFAB Theater Jan 11 Technical Theatre Interviews, 2-4 pm, WFAB 31

Writer's Workshop professor Art Homer reads from his new volume of poetry. His former student and current WRWS adjunct Neil Azevedo also will read from his new collection of poetry.

Novelist and Omaha resident Timothy Schaffert will read from his new novel, “The Singing And Dancing Daughters Of God.” Essayist Lisa Knopp, new faculty member in the English Department, will read from her most recent collection, “The Nature Of Home.”

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College of

Information Science and Technology

The Power of Partnership ince its inception, the Peter Kiewit Institute and UNO’s College of Information Science & Technology have worked to create

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and expand partnerships with the metropolitan Omaha business community.

“We are grateful for the tremendous support provided to our faculty and students from the business community,” IS&T Dean David Hinton says. “Over the past five years, we have had three different external reviews of our programs, and all speak to the high quality and involvement of our business

‘Scary smart’ students pass the grade during paper’s security audit hen the Omaha World-Herald newspaper needed to audit the security of its wireless computer connection between two offices in western Nebraska, it utilized the Nebraska University Consortium on Information Assurance (NUCIA) and the faculty and students of the College of IS&T. Dr. Blaine Burnham, NUCIA senior research fellow, took on the role of project director. IS&T faculty member and NUCIA senior technology research fellow Stephen Nugen served as the primary point of contact and report author; IS&T/NUCIA colleague Tim Vidas assisted. They put students Bryan Wilwerding and Jonathan Kamler to work on the audit.

“The World-Herald has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the college in other projects in the past, so it was really no surprise that we looked to the university for assistance this time,” says Jim Johnson, the World-Herald’s information systems security administrator.

He says the college had done research on the wireless network in its Security Technology Education and Analysis Laboratory, and Burnham decided the methods could be applied to the newspaper’s wireless implementation at the Star-Herald Publishing Co. facilities in Scottsbluff and Gering.

Not only did the team from IS&T identify the system’s vulnerable areas, Johnson says, it revealed that the vendor who sold the product to the World-Herald had not conformed it to the newspaper’s specifications.

“This project yielded an opportunity for us to sit down with the vendor and fix things,” he says. “It was a learning experience for the vendor as well. The team from UNO was able to teach him some things about how to securely set up these systems.”

He describes the IS&T team members who worked on the audit as methodical. “As Dean Hinton says, they’re ‘scary smart.’ They definitely knew what they were doing and how to find vulnerabilities.

“They began work even before we left Omaha, looking

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partners.”

Each year, more companies call upon IS&T for internships, research assistance, and project design and evaluation. The two articles here focus on the longstanding relationships between IS&T and the Omaha World-Herald Corp. and Baldwin Hackett & Meeks Inc., highlighting the value these partnerships produce.

at the system from inside out. As soon as we got out on the network in Scottsbluff, they began performing tests between that site and the site in Gering.”

Johnson, who has served as a member of the College of IS&T Advisory Committee since 2000, says the audit “was a good opportunity for our Information Technology (IT) staff to collaborate with people who are working with cutting-edge technology.”

The World-Herald implements its own share of new technology. The Freedom Center, the $125 million stateof-the-art Omaha production facility opened in 2001, is home to many high-tech devices, including Transfer Vehicle System (TVS) robotic vehicles used to deliver newsprint to the press.

The newspaper has a rich history with UNO and the College of IS&T. The World-Herald worked with other area corporations to help establish the Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) and the colJim Johnson, the World-Herald’s information systems lege, and the security administrator. paper employs five UNO graduates in its 40-person IT department, as well as many others throughout the company.

Johnson says the security audit underscores the value that the college, its faculty and students offer businesses in metropolitan Omaha.

“When I have people come in from out of town to visit the newspaper and the city, PKI is always one of my stops,” he says. “It is so far ahead of most other colleges.

People are in awe of the facilities and the resources that the school makes available to the community.

“Partnering with IS&T has proven time and again to be a wise decision.”

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IS&T interns excel at Omaha software firm even years ago, when it was suggested that the princi-

Spals at Baldwin Hackett & Meeks Inc. (BHMI) consider

hiring interns, they weren’t quite sure what to expect.

“We wondered what kind of assignments we could come up with that would be of use to them and yet still accomplish our goals,” recalls Michael Meeks, senior vice president of the software applications development corporation.

The answer? Give the interns from the College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T) at UNO and other universities the opportunity to work on challenging assignments similar to those delegated to the 65 full-time employees at the firm’s Corporate Development Center in Omaha. The assignments are scaled to fit with students’ academic demands, yet are meaningful contributions to projects.

The results have been impressive, says Meeks. “This is a fairly complex development environment that we throw them into. They have faced a wide range of pretty demanding work, and they’ve done well.”

For example, interns at BHMI have: • Built a measurement harness to drive software and gauge its performance in detail; • Conducted volume testing to define performance targets; • Developed user and Web interfaces and configured software simulators; • Made detailed presentations documenting their work to various groups at BHMI. Large scopes, teamwork “When interns come into some companies, they get bite-sized projects that they can complete quickly and move on,” Meeks says. “Here they get to participate in projects of a large scope, with lots of people working in teams. In my opinion, finding out what it takes to work as a team is the biggest eye-opener they can get.”

Real-world projects yield rewards for the interns, the businesses they serve and the university.

“We have hired several former interns,” says Lynne Baldwin, Ph.D., president of BHMI. “In turn, the university has tapped some of our interns as research and graduate assistants. It has been a beneficial relationship to everyone involved.”

Baldwin founded the company in 1986 with her husband, Jack T. Baldwin, Ph.D., who currently serves as chairman. Meeks is a 1979 UNO graduate, having earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He was recruited to join the firm in 1987 by Lynne Baldwin, who had served as his advisor at UNO. w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Meeks gives the company its technical direction, helping direct and manage the methods BHMI uses to develop software for clients that include the Federal Aviation Administration, MCI, Greyhound Lines and Union Pacific Railroad.

The majority of the interns BHMI hires are from the Peter Kiewit Institute and UNO. The quality of the applicants sets them apart, Meeks says.

“It’s been nice to see people come in fairly up-to-date on the latest technologies,” he says.

The skill sets that BHMI looks for when considering internship applicants include object-oriented design and

Lynne Baldwin and Michael Meeks have been surprised by the expertise exhibited by the IS&T interns they’ve employed: “It’s been nice to see people come in fairly up-to-date on the latest technologies,” says Meeks.

development, knowledge of relational databases, understanding Web technology, and performance testing.

“Whether it’s JAVA or C++, Oracle or DB2 isn’t really the issue,” Meeks says. “That they understand the concepts is more important.”

Ultimately, being able to function and produce as a member of a team may be the most sought-after quality, he says. “Managing large bodies of software with multiple people working on it—even basic exposure to that would benefit them.”

And benefit BHMI and the other business partners who put IS&T interns to work.

Winter 2005 • 15

College of

Information Science and Technology Sunpu Gate project documented for Sister Cities

Students of ‘Attic’ preserve historic event on Web he Attic, a group of UNO College of Information

TScience & Technology students who have an interest in

Clark and Beyond Web project (www.lewisclarkandbeyond.com), a collaboration between the Peter Kiewit Institute and the National Park Service’s Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, says the Sunpu Gate site was the first start-to-finish project for The Attic.

“The Attic is a collection of students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, who have or are learning skills in HTML, PHP, Flash, MySQL, XML, GIS systems, video editing, audio production and 3D modeling, to name a few,” he says. “They take on Web site projects for nonprofit organizations in the community.

Web design and multimedia presentation technologies, is documenting for history the Sunpu Gate project at Lauritzen Gardens-Omaha’s Botanical Center.

The Sunpu Gate in place at Lauritzen Gardens is a replica of the entrance gate at the Sunpu Castle in Omaha’s sister city, Shizuoka, Japan. It commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Omaha Sister Cities Association relationship with Shizuoka.

Initially tasked with designing, hosting and updating data on the Sunpu Gate website (www.omahasunpugate.org), the students of The Attic have taken their work a step further by permanently recording for future generations of Japanese and Americans the construction and installation of the gate and the dedication ceremonies.

Zac Fowler, Sunpu Gate project manager at IS&T, says documenting the gate’s construction through words and extensive photos placed on the website has allowed people in Omaha and Shizuoka to share the experience. Content is provided by Mel Bohn, vice president of communications for the sister cities association; photos are provided by Bohn and Photo by Mel Bohn A Kiyari Group standard bearer at the gate during the private family dedication ceremony Sept. 30. Copies of the webOmahan Steve Adams; IS&T senior Tim Hemmer site and slideshow were sent to Japan. designs the page layout “The intent is to research new ways to use technologies and the graphics. and present information in an interesting and understand“We also produced a video slideshow that was shown able form, while preserving data relationships across mulduring the dedication luncheon October 1,” Fowler says.

“The slideshow was put together to show each stage of tiple platforms and systems.” He says students of The Attic the construction process using photos taken by Mel and are proud of their work with the Sunpu Gate project.

Steve. Copies of the website and slideshow were sent to “Websites come and go, but what we’ve done is help proJapan by Larry Uebner, chairman of the sister cities assoduce a permanent record of an historic event.” ciation.”

More information about The Attic can be found at Fowler, who serves as project manager for the Lewis, http://attic.ist.unomaha.edu.

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Journal collaboration opens international doors to students nnovations in technology are changing lives around the globe. In Ecuador, Brazil and Peru, the establishment of informal “cyber cafés” are extending the reach of information and communication technologies to all ages and classes of people.

In Africa, farmers have a better chance of selling their produce for a profit by checking crop prices at a centrally located kiosk connected to the Internet.

In Pakistan, a street merchant with cell phone in hand can type text messages while hawking grilled kabobs to passing shoppers.

Many of these startling adaptations of technology are being made known to the world through the pages of the Journal of Information Technology for Development, a collaboration of the Commonwealth Secretariat, an International Development Funding Agency in the UK, the Peter Kiewit Institute and the College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T) at UNO. Dr. Sajda Qureshi, associate professor at IS&T, serves as editor-in-chief for the quarterly journal. Begun 22 years ago by a professor at Oxford University in England, the journal is a forum for the research and application of Information Technology (IT) infrastructures in emerging economies and their relationships with the developed world. It is the first journal to explicitly address global information technology issues by publishing social and technical research on the subject.

Maintaining the journal’s high standards is a group of associate editors that includes Dr. B.J. Reed, dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at UNO; Dr. Peter Wolcott, associate professor at IS&T; and academic representatives

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from: Washington, D.C.; Boulder, Colo.; Cairo, Egypt; the United Kingdom; and, Norway.

They are supported by an editorial board that includes Drs. Lyn Holley of the Department of Gerontology at UNO and Gert-Jan de Vreede of IS&T, plus professors and administrators from the United States, China, Canada, Pakistan, England, Finland, India, Norway, Australia and South Africa.

Each issue of the journal is a collection of compelling articles that document IT developments throughout the world. One of the journal’s goals, according to Qureshi, is providing a focal point for the generation and application of IT resources that will economically benefit regions around the world. By publishing papers that examine theory as well as practical methods, the journal can play a major role in the sharing of resources and knowledge that ultimately can improve commerce, communications and IT research throughout the world, she says.

“This journal has had a big impact over the last 20 years,” she says.

That impact continued in November as a delegation from the journal and IT faculty from UNO attended the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The UN General Assembly by resolution in 2001 endorsed holding the summit in two phases. During the first phase, a list of Millennium Development Goals called the Geneva Plan established the foundation for an equitable Information Society. The second phase, the meeting hosted by the Government of Tunisia, explored putting the plan into action.

“Attending the meeting in Tunis and representing the journal and UNO is really important for us,” Qureshi says. “It is important for

Nebraska, and it is important for the perception abroad about Americans.”

To be published in the journal is not an easy task. Once submitted, papers are put through an exhaustive review process. Authors are provided detailed evaluations, and if their article is deemed to have promise, they can make revisions and resubmit.

“We will work with authors through as many rounds of revisions as necessary,” Qureshi says. “I’m very proud of the associate editors, as they put considerable work into ensuring that papers meet the high standards of quality and relevance.”

She knows how difficult the process can be.

Editor-inchief since 2003, Photo by Tim Fitzgerald Qureshi prior to her appointment had submitted her own work to the journal—and was honored to have it published.

The standards maintained by the journal, as well as the cutting-edge nature of the articles it publishes, have yielded respect not only for the publication and the authors, but also for UNO. “The international recognition this journal receives opens up international opportunities for our students here,” says Qureshi. “Sets of skills are different in Malaysia and Singapore than here in the U.S. Learning the effect of Information Science in those countries makes our students’ skills more portable to the rest of the world.”

Winter 2005 • 17

College of

Education

Helping after the Hurricane

remain positive and provide services,” she says.

Seaberry feels her training gave her the strong diagnostic skills needed for short-term counseling. She also emphasized that mental health counselors in such volunteer circumstances are needed to assist other volunteers who experience tremendous stress. “It is important that the mental health professionals know their own self and their limits,” she says.

urricane Katrina’s devastation played itself out before our eyes, TV cameras capturing the heart-rending plights of those caught in its path of destruction.

Many of us made financial contributions to the Red Cross and other sources established to provide support. Two members of the College of Education Counseling Department, though, gave more than money.

Counseling faculty members Dr. Jeannette Seaberry and Dr. Paul Barnes took time away from their families and the comfort of their homes to provide sorely-needed professional assistance to persons who survived the hurricane. The two professors, with approval of the college, responded to a request for volunteers with specific credentials to meet the mental health demands in areas affected by the storm. The volunteers were asked to commit up to 14 days of service in an unspecified area of the Gulf Coast. The Red Cross described their service as “hardship assignments” due to adverse living conditions and the potential for emotionally difficult circumstances.

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Barnes in Biloxi Paul Barnes was one of two mental health professionals who worked, ate and slept with approximately 150 storm survivors in a shelter located in the damaged, but intact, D’Iberville Civic Center, located about one-half mile inland across the peninsula that is Biloxi, Miss. Barnes was gone from September 21 through October 4.

“The survivors ranged in age from toddlers to people in their 80s,” he says. “While in the shelter they were likely to encounter outbreaks of lice, flu-like symptoms and rashes, and grimaced at the invasion of maggots from piles of debris.”

Barnes worked in several different capacities at the shelter. Foremost was assisting individuals overwhelmed Happenings schedule with emotions as they recounted their survival experiollege of Education alumni can read more about fellow alumni, ences. “Many shelter residents reported witnessing horriffaculty and current students in Happenings, mailed in late ic sights during the storm, while others shared miraculous November. stories of survival,” he says. “Many survivors had lost everything, including loved ones, homes, autos, clothing, personal belongings and medications. Several residents of the shelter had physical disabilities, ailments or mental disorders that were going largely untreated and sometimes without medication. Daily tasks often involved working with these survivors to reconnect them with needed resources.”

As a part of the Red Cross shelter staff, Barnes also served meals, distributed supplies and cleaned portable bathrooms.

Though the shelter Barnes lived and worked in had restrooms, the facilities periodically would cease to function. Portable toilets located outside were the most dependable alternative. Outdoor showers made Photo courtesy Paul Barnes Buildings in the Biloxi-Gulfport region essentially were flattened, including this structure left only with its steps. of plywood provided the

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Seaberry in Tylertown Photo by Tim Fitzgerald Back to their classes at UNO, Professors Jeannette Seaberry and Paul Barnes can Seaberry was among 80 volunteers who served reflect on the devastation they witnessed after Hurricane Katrina. “Witnessing this up to 500 people each day at a center in kind of destruction and loss serves to trivialize my daily concerns at home,” says Tylertown, Miss., located approximately 60 miles Barnes. north of Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain. Volunteers shaking,” she says. While she was able to provide brief were housed in a Baptist Church basement, where they counseling during the interview, her primary responsibilislept on cots placed approximately 12 inches apart. They had access to three bathrooms and, when available, three ty was to interview as many of the families as possible so that those in need could secure help. outdoor portable showers.

Seaberry also walked among the people in the hot Seaberry and other volunteers assembled for the 12arena stands to identify individuals who should be moved hour workday in a roofed, open-air rodeo arena. Five to the front of the line, such as the very elderly and preghundred colored tickets were issued each day to storm nant women. “Temperatures were in the 100s, accentuatvictims seeking assistance. Victims waited in their vehiing the smell that emanated from the arena floor,” she cles in long lines for the tickets; those who received one says. were assembled in the stands, where they waited to be At the Tylertown center, donations such as diapers, toicalled to the arena floor. There Seaberry and other volunletries and limited food items donated by corporations teers interviewed families in regard to their need for servwere distributed. Seaberry was moved when volunteers ices. The volunteers authorized spending of up to $1,565 per family, depending on the family’s size and the amount pooled $7,000 from their own funds to be distributed to people in the community who were unable to come to of destruction to their homes. the center. She also was impressed with the services and Seaberry filled out forms for the families, many of organization of the Red Cross. “The professional Red which still were in shock from their experiences. “It was Cross workers emphasized the volunteers’ mission to not unusual for the hands of those interviewed to be 18 • Winter 2005

opportunity to keep clean.

Buildings in the Biloxi-Gulfport region essentially were flattened. People in the shelter were anxiously awaiting FEMA trailers to provide them a home and privacy. Those who owned land that was clear of debris were likely to receive a trailer before people without a place to locate the trailer. Work was being done to secure areas for people who did not own land, and a tent city was developing near the shelter as people awaited more permanent housing.

“Witnessing this kind of destruction and loss serves to trivialize my daily concerns at home,” Barnes says. “It was very satisfying to know I was able to help in even the smallest way. Despite their incredible resilience, the people in this region will need help for many years.”

The experience provided Barnes an opportunity to hone his crisis intervention skills. Such experience will help him in the classroom as he teaches and trains counselors.

He added that his past experience working as a school counselor was the best preparation for living in the shelter. “Life in the shelter taught you to expect the unexpected.”

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Winter 2005 • 19

Finding a home port

By Don Kohler

J

osh Krohn settles in behind the microphone each day, entertaining the devoted audience of radio station KUHB in St. Paul, Alaska, with music, weather reports, news and a call-in show. After years of drifting and trying to find his calling in life, the 26-year-old UNO graduate finally has his feet firmly planted in a career and place he enjoys.

At least for now.

“The thing is, I have always had an idea what I wanted to do in life, but I just wanted to do everything,” he says. “I feel very good about what I am doing right now. I am providing a very valuable service to our community and having fun doing it.”

Fairly conservative comments for the self-proclaimed “lounger” once known by the on-air handle “Woodstock.”

Whether the task is fixing automobiles, installing stereo equipment or swinging a carpenter’s hammer—all jobs he proudly lists on his resume—Krohn takes his work seriously.

“I still do a lot of work in those fields today,” he says. “I had a lot of different career interests when I was growing up, and I took them all seriously.”

Krohn’s interest in radio began at an early age. His parents, Ron and Martie Krohn, moved to Homer, Alaska, from Omaha when he was 5 after his mother accepted a teaching position.

Krohn graduated from high school in a home-school curriculum program and, at just 18 years old, went on to earn an associate’s degree in technical theater from the University of Alaska, Kachemak Bay Branch (1997). He followed that with an auto mechanic certificate from the Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Seward, Alaska (1999).

He also found time for “my share of traveling and lounging.”

Indeed. Krohn has visited nearly every state, Canada, Mexico (several times) and Japan (as an exchange student in 1995). He also made a trip to Nepal with his father, a hydroelectric engineer.

His interest in the airwaves began after high school when he started hanging out at the public radio station in Homer, volunteering his time in studio to help produce shows and fill in where needed. “I was really just tagging along to see how things worked,” he says. “Homer is a very friendly community, so I was able to get in there and get some hands-on experience with a National Public Radio (NPR) station before ever incurring any college expense.”

Looking to “bail out of the Alaska scene for a while,” PHOTO BY STEPHANIE MANDREGAN Krohn has dropped anchor at KUHB in St. Paul, Alaska. The station, owned by the Pribilof Islands School District, promotes itself as the westernmost radio station in the United States. St. Paul is located 300 miles off the west coast in the middle of the Bering Sea. “This is pretty much rural Alaska,” Josh says. “We are the only station here, so there are not a lot of options. We are the key source for any kind of communication to the residents of this area.”

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Krohn moved back to the Midwest in the summer of 2000 and began taking classes at UNO. He was accepted into the engineering program and had his sights set on a degree in mechanical engineering.

“After my second failed attempt at calculus, I had to bail out of that,” he says. “I spent a couple of semesters drifting, and then I kind of latched on to the communications department at UNO. It had always been a lifelong aspiration of mine to be able support myself in a career, and I thought if I started my own music recording company I could do that. The closest career program to that was broadcasting, so I got busy learning the field.”

Krohn volunteered to help the student-run Maverick Radio and in his second year of studies was offered the station manager’s post. Along with studio work, Krohn was hosting radio board meetings, overseeing staff and coordinating volunteers.

He eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies in May 2004.

“Earning my degree pretty much helped launch this current chapter of my radio career,” he says.

It began when Krohn returned to Alaska to serve as station manager for KUHB in St. Paul. His mother still was teaching in Homer and learned of the position while reading the statewide school bulletin. KUHB, which advertises itself as the westernmost radio station in the United States, is an NPR station owned by the Pribilof Islands School District. St. Paul is located 300 miles off the west coast in the middle of the Bering Sea. “This is pretty much rural Alaska,” Josh says. “We are the only station here, so there are not a lot of options. We are the key source for any kind of communication to the residents of this area.”

As station manager, Krohn oversees daily operations and staffing and is charged with leading the station’s strategic planning efforts. “We are always looking into new ways to stay on the forefront of technology,” he says. The station received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to create its first website (www.kuhb.org/) and, under Krohn’s guidance, was able to launch the site in just six months. Krohn also is coordinating the station’s upgrade to high-definition radio.

“It has been a lot of fun getting the web to function,” Krohn says. “Every time I dig into the web I find more ways to make the site more informative, which is a huge benefit to our listeners.”

Krohn says he is looking forward to his next challenge in the radio industry. “I would like to move into a larger market one day,” he says. “I would like to manage a station that is ready to develop and grow in terms of the web and HD, just like this station.

“Eventually . . . my own record label would be pretty cool.

I've got a ways to go before then, and a lot more skills to learn.

I've not forgotten that dream.”

Winter 2005 • 21

RAVE

B

illy McGuigan’s eyes are just fine –

the glasses are part of the job. But the guitar . . . McGuigan, a professional musician, has used that guitar to channel the spirit and sound of the legendary Buddy Holly since a 2002 performance at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Today, McGuigan has created a full-time career out of performing as the late Holly. His sold-out shows often are met by glowing reviews. His sound and moves leave audiences standing, clapping and chanting for more.

The experience of bringing Holly to life has surprised McGuigan, a 30-year-old married father of one living in Omaha. He describes himself as a rather shy person who’d rather carry on quiet conversations when he’s not performing.

He’s often stopped in public by fans who are surprised to see the youthful-looking McGuigan sans his spectacles.

“I do have a life outside of the glasses,” McGuigan says with a laugh.

That other life began when McGuigan was a student at Bellevue East High School in the early 1990s. McGuigan took to the stage at Bellevue East, performing in a number of plays and musicals at the school. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Northwest Missouri State University as a theater major.

One year later, though, he moved back to Omaha, throwing himself into the local theater scene and snagging roles at the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Bellevue Little Theatre.

But the work wasn’t taking McGuigan where he hoped to go: becoming a full-time actor. He picked up small roles doing voice and on-screen work while earning a BGS at UNO. McGuigan, who graduated from UNO in 1999, had been playing guitar in a small band, trying to meld his talents with a guitar pick and his love for the stage.

Then a phone call changed everything. The Omaha Community Playhouse was staging “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” in the fall of 2002, and officials felt McGuigan was ideal for the lead role. McGuigan auditioned and accepted the role, without much knowledge of Holly’s life.

“I’m an insanely huge Beatles fan, and I knew they covered some of Holly’s songs,” McGuigan explains. “I knew he died from a plane crash and wore glasses.”

McGuigan threw himself into the role of playing Holly. He even shed 40 pounds – something McGuigan never did for an acting role. He used the Internet to research Holly’s life. He watched “The Real Buddy Holly Story,” a documentary produced by Paul McCartney in 1987, every single day until the play closed. He read books about the late musician’s life.

He also began learning Holly’s music. Even the rehearsals felt different for McGuigan.

“They combined everything I really liked to do: to act and to sing. Before, I couldn’t do all of that at the same time. But I could do that with this role.”

Reviews By Wendy Townley

PHOTO BY ERIC FRANCIS The suit, the glasses, the guitar . . . Billy McGuigan becomes Buddy Holly during critically acclaimed “Rave On!” performances across the country.

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With each sway of his hips, each strum on his guitar, McGuigan’s excitement grew.

“It almost seems like (this role) was written for me,” McGuigan says. “In a weird way, I like how it fits me. I can act for part of the play. The rest of the play, I get to be a rock star.”

McGuigan’s talents catapulted him to rock star status during a preview performance of “Buddy” at the Omaha Community Playhouse. McGuigan says he was “in the zone” during the first half of the performance when a tornado warning cut the performance short and sent everyone to the basement. After a few musical performances to kill time, the warning was cancelled and the audience returned to the theater for the play’s final scenes of Holly’s concert.

“They (the audience) were on their feet for 25 minutes,” McGuigan recalls. “I remember my life changing at that moment. When that curtain fell down, people were just going crazy.”

The fall semester at UNO had begun, and McGuigan returned to obtain a second degree in teaching. However, his cell phone rang continuously from reporters requesting interviews about his performance. Most of those calls came while McGuigan was in class.

“I was virtually this unknown guy who’d done this play,” McGuigan says. “It was so chaotic. Thirty people wanted me (to perform) at parties and events. I thought this may have been the time to take a leap of faith.”

When classes ended that fall, McGuigan began his career playing Holly. He landed safely from that leap, inking a deal to perform “Buddy” twice a year at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

“Buddy” has taken to the road, as well. Both the Des Moines Playhouse and the Albuquerque Theatre reported “Buddy” as their highest-grossing performance in both attendance and ticket sales (The Omaha Community Playhouse saw the same success when “Buddy” opened in 2002).

With the help of fellow Omaha musician Chris Acker, the two created “Rave On!” – a musical celebration of the lives of Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Sold-out crowds packed the Funnybone, an Omaha comedy club, to see “Rave On!” and the performances of McGuigan and his seven musicians. The group took its show on the road, performing across the Midwest.

Today, “Rave On!” has evolved into a one-man show with a band in theaters across the United States. The “Rave On!” ensemble has performed as a pop concert with the Omaha Symphony, the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

These days, “Rave On!” doesn’t afford McGuigan many days off. He travels several months out of the year, leaving him just five weekends off every 12 months. “When I’m home, I’m really just home,” McGuigan says. “I can spend two solid weeks with my family.”

Despite the requests from reporters and the sold-out shows, McGuigan remains surprised that his performance garners such attention. “Over 180 performances of the (‘Buddy’) show, it still doesn’t get old. I feel like that guy who got lucky.”

Some might say Holly fans are even luckier.

Winter 2005 • 23

Room to

GROW

By Nick Schinker

Aerial photo by Tim Fitzgerald

A

south campus nearly double its current size. New soccer, softball and baseball fields, a grass football practice field and two ice rinks—one Olympic-sized, the other National Hockey League-regulation. Housing for grad students and “experts-in-residence.” More parking. More potential for recruiting athletes and scholars. More prestige for the university.

It’s all there on a “wish list” full of vision and promise set forth by UNO administrators and backed by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Constituting 71 acres immediately south of the former Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack property along Center Street, the land is being bought and plans for it are being drawn.

“We want to be a metropolitan university of distinction,” says UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck. “Not just in the city but a major part of it. Land is our only opportunity for growth, and this is the chance to do things we really need.”

As in many a good track race, though, there are hurdles to be overcome.

Hurdles Chief among the hurdles is money.

“Right now, it’s a wish list,” says UNO Athletic Director Dave Herbster. “What we end up with and how we make it all happen remain to be seen.”

Another stumbling block is opposition from a handful of

24 • Winter 2005

property owners who claimed that either the price offered them by negotiators was too low, or that they weren’t willing to sell at any price. That has prompted the regents to discuss the use of eminent domain to obtain the property.

NU Regents on Oct. 21 unanimously approved the purchase by the university of the largest piece of property—54 acres that was home to the now-bankrupt Chili Greens golf course. That tract, costing $1.75 million, is being purchased from the Ak-Sar-Ben Future Trust, a nonprofit corporation that owns the former racetrack.

The regents also approved a “land swap” with the Ak-SarBen Future Trust of approximately four acres of south campus property. The land is mentioned as the site of a hotel and parking for a new private development called Ak-Sar-Ben Village. In return UNO would receive two acres southwest of and across from the Scott Village student housing complex for “future development.”

Of the remaining property, 17 acres south of Center Street at 64th Street, approximately 68 percent had been purchased by the University of Nebraska Foundation as of early November, says Jennifer Arnold, the foundation’s director of communications. “The foundation is pleased with the progress made to date in acquiring these properties, and we are continuing to engage in discussions and, in some cases, negotiations with interested property owners,” Arnold says.

Continued on page 26 UNOALUM

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Winter 2005 • 25

POTENTIAL CHILDCARE OR COMMUNITY OUTREACH

POTENTIAL ACADEMIC SITE

POTENTIAL PARKING

SYMBOLS LEGEND

NEW CONSTRUCTION

UNDER CONSTRUCTION CAMPUS BOUNDARY

POTENTIAL ACADEMIC SITE

POTENTIAL STUDENT HOUSING

Courtesy BMW Consulting, Inc. South Campus short-range plans include potential buildings for academics, student housing and childcare or community outreach.

Room to Grow

From page 24 Three of those property owners appeared before the regents in September to state their opposition to the project and to plead against the use of eminent domain to forcibly buy their land. One called the offers made by the foundation’s real estate representatives, and the threat of eminent domain, “unAmerican.”

The regents listened, then formally urged administrators to negotiate with the property owners for voluntary sales. Any use of eminent domain would require the regents’ approval, and only after all “reasonable best efforts” have failed.

Nils Anders Erickson, owner of Rainbow Recording Studios, says he won’t sell at any price. He says Stevie Wonder’s band once recorded at his studio, and that the building has historic value. “You can’t move history,” he says.

History, Change History, however, can be replaced, as has been previously illustrated with the Ak-Sar-Ben property. Once the premier thoroughbred racetrack in the region, Ak-Sar-Ben and its 1920s-era coliseum, stables and arena have been demolished to make way for the Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) of Information Science, Technology and Engineering, the Scott Village residence halls, the Scott Conference Center, the Scott Business & Technology Development Center, and the offices of First Data Resources.

Further development calls for the relocation of the College of Business Administration to the existing south campus near PKI and for an expansion of PKI. Plans also exist for the construction of a 70-acre project called Ak-Sar-Ben Village, an area of business, residential, retail and public space that would extend from Center Street north to the UNO south campus

26 • Winter 2005

and from 63rd Street west to the Keystone Trail.

Ken Stinson, chairman of the Ak-Sar-Ben Future Trust board, says the plan for Ak-Sar-Ben Village, which could take seven to 10 years to develop, meets the board’s goal of preserving the legacy of the property as a gathering place for the community.

Though UNO administrators stress no specific plans have been drawn for the 71-acres south of Center Street, the main talk has been about using a good portion of the land to concentrate athletic facilities that today either are spread about the city or, as in the case of possible university-owned practice ice for the Maverick hockey team, don’t exist at all.

Wish list or not, it’s enough to increase the heart rate of Athletic Director Herbster. “This proposal would allow us to bring sports back on campus,” he says. “It creates a synergy for our programs, and I think it also gives some ownership for our teams.”

It would be a boost to UNO’s recruiting efforts, he adds.

“Having the best possible facilities and sports environment in one place like this would really show off UNO,” says Herbster.

“It would increase the overall image of the university, and when you bring a kid on campus for a day, that’s the impression of UNO they’d take away.”

He says the sports complex also could be a benefit to the community. “With two sheets of ice, for example, our hockey team would only use one sheet at a time for perhaps three hours a day. It doubles the amount of useable ice in the city of Omaha.”

This is not the first time the university has proposed utilizing space at or near Ak-Sar-Ben for sports facilities.

In “A History of the University of Nebraska at Omaha: 1908-1983,” UNO History Professor Tommy R. Thompson chronicles an effort in 1938 by University of Omaha regents to apply for a Public Works Administration grant “to partially finance a municipal fieldhouse and stadium somewhere in the city, perhaps on Ak-Sar-Ben land at Sixty-third and Center streets. The remainder of the necessary funds, another

The Plan

Proposals for expansion at UNO include: • The purchase of 71 acres of property south of Center Street near 64th Street to complement the existing 78-acre UNO south campus on the site of the former Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack. UNO’s north campus encompasses approximately 92 acres.

• Use of the 71-acre tract for athletic facilities, campus recreation, student housing, parking and “future academic purposes.”

• Addition of 1,200 beds in residence facilities to be built in increments of 300 to 400 beds, first on the north campus adjacent to the existing University Village living complex, then on the south campus near Scott Village and Scott Hall, and finally on the new south campus as part of the 71 acres being acquired.

• Addition of two parking structures on the north campus; additions to the Strauss Performing Arts Center, College of Public Affairs (engineering building) and Health Physical Education and Recreation buildings; expansion of the Peter Kiewit Institute building and construction of a child care or community outreach facility on the south campus.

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ARTS MUSIC ADDITION

NEW CPACS ADDITION

POTENTIAL PARKING STRUCTURE

POTENTIAL HPER ADDITION POTENTIAL STUDENT HOUSING SHORT-RANGE FACILITIES PLAN

(0-6 YEARS)

POTENTIAL CHILLLER EXPANSION

SYMBOLS LEGEND

RENOVATED BUILDINGS NEW CONSTRUCTION CAMPUS BOUNDARY

$100,000, would be raised through revenue bonds. However, the regents dropped the idea when they learned the federal government would not provide more than half the sum they desired.”

The current proposal has garnered the unanimous support of the board of regents, whose members have referred to the land acquisition as “a tremendous opportunity.” Board Chairman Howard Hawks says it’s the “kind of opportunity we cannot afford to pass up.”

“This opens the fence to a land-locked institution,” says Hawks, a 1971 UNO graduate (MBA).

As to what items on the university’s wish list stand the best chances of becoming reality, Hawks says that will be determined by the fact that much of the property alongside the Little Papillion Creek lies in a designated flood plain, and by funding. “What people want when they think it’s Christmas and what they get are two different things,” he says.

More Student Housing In appearing before the regents’ business affairs committee in October, Chancellor Belck presented facts and figures to support her effort to add 1,200 beds to the available housing at UNO. That would double the number of beds at UNO. To be built in phases and in increments of 300 to 400 beds at a time, the housing units first would be placed on the north campus to complement the existing University Village housing complex. More then would be added on the south campus to supplement housing at Scott Hall and Scott Village, and finally at the new south campus site south of Center Street. The latter housing would be used for “Graduate students, experts-in-residence and some traditional-age students,” Belck says.

Belck told the regents that waiting lists exist at the current residence facilities. She also said that in a study of 1,600 people who submitted applications at UNO but chose to enroll elsewhere, 10 percent cited a lack of available housing in their decision. “We’re losing students by not having more housing.”

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Courtesy BMW Consulting, Inc. North campus short-range plans include potential new buildings for student housing and parking, and additions to the HPER, CPACS and Strauss buildings.

If approved by the regents, the first phase of additional housing (on the north campus) would open in the fall of 2007.

Construction would take away some available parking and at least three former homes now used as office annexes. The offices of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service and the Schools of Social Work and Public Administration would move to the former Engineering Building, which is undergoing renovation.

The loss of surface parking could be offset by the construction of two parking structures on the north campus, one adjacent to the library, the other along University Drive West.

Plans call for the first structure, near the library, to be built within six years; the second within 12 years.

Belck says proposals for the existing south campus, the expanded south campus and the additional housing on the north campus all are part of an overall vision that is integral to the mission of a modern metropolitan university.

“I think this is very significant to the future of the university,” she says. “This gives us a tremendous opportunity for housing, academic life, athletic fields—all things that are a part of our mission.”

Times have changed, Belck says, and even a metropolitan university that draws 96 percent of its students from within a 90-mile radius needs to offer housing.

“It really changes the whole character of the campus. And, with the multitude of opportunities UNO affords its students in the form of internships and service learning, parents want on-campus living.”

Regent Randy Ferlic agrees. “The opportunities for work study and internships created by the unique public-private partnerships that exist between UNO and the community apply to a broader complex of our students than on other (NU) campuses,” Ferlic says. “In my mind, those are selling points.”

Selling points upon which UNO administrators hope to continue to build.

Winter 2005 • 27

ered that every word is magic, and I knew I had to become a journalist.”

Since leaving Omaha, Kreifels has lived in Guam, Manila, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., and Honolulu. She has written stories for USA Today, the Dallas Morning News, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Pacific Daily News and several other papers.

She currently is the media activities coordinator for the EastWest Center, “an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States.” Based in Honolulu, it promotes international media exchanges and fellowship programs, conducting seminars on topics ranging from professional development to oil and energy conferences. Congress and a variety of from the local philanthropic foundations fund it.

A communist insurgency arose on some of the southern islands, and the United States was removing its forces from the island chain. In 1983, in Mindanao, she was touring a small village with a mayor, riding on the back of his motorcycle. “We heard an explosion and it came from the local school.

Someone had thrown a grenade into the playground during lunch hour. I saw people die, and they were children, and I thought, ‘Why does this happen?’ They were killed for no reason.”

Later, while reporting on a battle between the guerillas and the Filipino Army, she was struck by the youth of the rebel fighters. “They all looked like boys to me. In death, they lay with their arms around each other.”

“We heard an explosion and it came school.

Someone had thrown a grenade into the playground

War and Disasters All rather placid-sounding, but Kreifels has seen enough turbulence to last a lifetime—from war to natural disasters.

She was living in Manila when during lunch hour. I saw the Mount Pinatubo volcano explodpeople die, and they were ed in June 1991. The explosion coincided with a typhoon, its rain bringchildren, and I thought, ‘Why ing down Pinatubo’s ash. “You could hear the explosions and see orange does this happen?’ fireballs, but that was all,” says Kreifels. “Everything was a murky black for 24 hours.”

It was the human cost she remembers most vividly. Almost 850 people died in the explosion and aftermath.

“My driver and I went to rescue his family. We piled in as many people as we could into the car. reliving of youth.

Children, old ladies, everyone we could.” As they were Later that day, father and daughter stopped at a little musepulling away from the village a man ran up to Kreifels’ car um in the town. “You had to knock on the door of the lady with an infant in his arms. “He thrust his child at me through next door and she’d take you in and show you photos of the my open window,” she says. “He cried, ‘Please, take my baby place in the 1940s,” Kreifels recalls. “She said she only had a with you.’ We drove away with this stranger’s child in my few visitors a year now since all the World War II vets were lap.” Kreifels left the child with some elderly Filipino women dying off.” and prayed he would be reunited with his family.

Orville Kreifels died this April at 81 years old. “I listened to Just four years later, in January 1995, Kreifels was one of my father’s stories and wrote them down and realized how the first reporters to write about the Kobe earthquake. More important it is for children of the vets to talk to them and hear than 5,500 people were killed and more than 26,000 injured. their stories while they’re still alive.”

Initial rescue efforts by the Japanese government were weak, That’s what a journalist should do, says Kreifels: tell stories and Kreifels’ reports helped to spur rescue efforts. “There was so people don’t forget. so much death, so many bodies,” says Kreifels. “I walked into It’s what she tries to do every day now, telling stories so a high school auditorium and bodies were laid in rows across that the peoples of America and Asia can better understand the floor. Looking across the bodies I saw an arm move. I was each other. shocked, but then I learned it was a family member who had “I was watching the news the other day,” she says, “a story curled up next to her dead relative and was honoring and about the war in Iraq. I thought back to all of the wars I had watching over the body.” covered and I thought, it’s a different time, a different country, but it’s the same story.”

Her time in the Philippines came during a period of unrest.

They were killed for no reason.”

Photo courtesy East-West Center Susan Kreifels stands with students at a pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, in Jakarta, Indonesia, while on the road with American journalists participating in the East-West Center’s Jefferson Fellowships.

BRIDGING DIVIDES

BY HUGH REILLY

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rofessor Warren Francke told her he could help get her an internship at the Omaha World-Herald. He was surprised when she told him she was moving to Guam.

“It stopped him in his tracks,” recalls Susan Kreifels. “He told me there’s nothing in Guam but sand and airstrips.”

Instead, she found a career and new life.

Twenty-five years later, Kreifels still lives in the Pacific and writes about Asia, but she’s never forgotten UNO and the

28 • Winter 2005

teachers who put her on the path toward “the best job I could ever have.”

Kreifels graduated from UNO with an MS in education in 1980. While working toward her master’s, though, she took a few journalism classes. Those with professors Francke and Bob Reilly led to a change in career plans.

“I wrote stories in Professor Reilly’s class,” she says, “and I found a passion for writing that I never knew I had. I discovUNOALUM

Telling Stories Covering conflicts and wars all over the world spurred Kreifels to wonder about her own father’s experiences flying bombers during World War II. Orville Kreifels, though, was reluctant to talk. Susan learned that he had spent some time training at an airbase in western Nebraska and that he would visit the place on occasion. She arranged to go with him on one such trip, using the opportunity to get him to finally talk about the war, during which he had won the Distinguished Flying Cross.

They found the small airstrip overgrown by weeds. Orville drove to the end of the concrete, turned the car around then stepped on the gas, barreling down the runway in a

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Winter 2005 • 29

coat in a big, oversized plaid, a pink- and blue-striped shirt, and a brown polka dot tie. But he’s a snappy dresser who loves football, does the renovation work on his 100-year-old house, and builds desks for his firm’s Minneapolis headquarters.

MAN

BY

C

SHELLY STEIG Photo by Jerry Holt

lothes make the man, claims an adage in the business world. UNO graduate Scott Kuhlman has turned this wisdom on its heels, establishing a thriving business by being the man who makes the clothes.

His fashion corporation, Kuhlman Company, will open its 60th retail store by the end of 2005, a mind-boggling achievement considering Kuhlman didn’t open his first store until August 2003. With upscale locations in the likes of New York’s Rockefeller Center and Washington, D.C.’s, Georgetown, Kuhlman and his partner-wife, Susan, are on the fast track to success.

Kuhlman found his niche targeting mission-oriented males who didn’t want to wander through women’s lingerie searching for the men’s department, as well as the 30-ish newbie professional who was looking for a fun and affordable shopping experience.

Naysayers predicted Kuhlman’s approach wouldn’t work,

30 • Winter 2005

OF THE CLOTH

but people have flocked to the stores.

“Our customers love us because we’re giving them an incredible product for an understandable price,” he says.

Inside the small, colorful and well-organized Kuhlman stores, shoppers find traditional and fashion shirts in a rainbow of hues and patterns, as well as suits and ties. A broad audience constitutes the clientele—a surfer dude in jeans and flip-flops might be wearing the same shirt as a business professional in coat and tie. The Kuhlman brand has become hot, riding the coattails of the “metrosexual” trend into the era of the “ubersexual,” defined recently by Daniel Altiere of Fox News as “the man who can talk fashion with women but also compete for them with the fireman at the bar.”

Few epitomize the newly coined term better than the 41year-old designer and UNO graduate Kuhlman. During the interview he wore a pair of flat-front khaki chinos made out of canvas from an Italian cotton mill, a washed cashmere sport

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Fashionable Family He inherited the building skills from his father, Donald, a well-known contractor in Ogallala, Neb., who also was an impeccable dresser. The designing skills evolved from a variety of factors: His mother, Marbara, is a cloth spinner and weaver, so Kuhlman’s always been around textures and colors; his grandmother, Bette Padley, was an excellent seamstress who created Halloween costumes for the seven Kuhlman siblings—costumes that Kuhlman’s two children, 12year-old Ellen and 9-year-old Audrey, still use. And Kuhlman’s grandfather, William S. Padley, an attorney who tried several cases before the Nebraska Supreme Court, always dressed “to the nines.”

It was Kuhlman’s seventh-grade science instructor, though, who introduced Kuhlman to the retail side of fine dressing.

Dick Lungrin left teaching to open a namesake men’s store in Ogallala and invited Kuhlman to work there after school.

Kuhlman continued working at Lungrin’s during his years at Ogallala High School, where he also was the starting varsity quarterback.

It was at a sporting event during his junior year in 1982 that Kuhlman saw capri-clad Susan Andersen. Kuhlman approached her with a somewhat unconventional pickup line: “Hey, I’ll buy the rest of the fabric for your pants.” The harbinger of a future life worked, and the two began dating.

Susan graduated from Cozad High School and headed to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while Kuhlman stayed in Ogallala his senior year. He joined her the following semester at UNL. After unloading his car at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, he snagged a job at Ben Simon’s in Lincoln.

Susan graduated in four years, but Scott was on the six-year plan. Between his job—he had worked his way up to become a buyer—and courting, there was little time left for school. The couple married in 1987, then moved to Omaha so Kuhlman could manage the Ben Simon’s men’s department there. He enrolled at UNO and in 1989 completed his bachelor’s degree in finance.

From there Kuhlman had a series of jobs, including stints with designer Joseph Abboud, wholesaler Hartmarx (where he attempted to revive the Perry Ellis brand), and S.F.I. International, a Canadian company that wholesaled to Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

During that time he learned about the sourcing and development sides of fashion, built an impressive Rolodex of clientele and suppliers, and created the look he now calls “AngloItalian.”

“When most people think about Italian men, they picture big, huge shoulders and a black suit,” Kuhlman explains. “But that’s not the case at all. It’s usually earth tones and very round shoulders and elegant, luxurious fabrics. Brits love color. The look we’ve achieved by combining the two is one

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that we see in Europe all the time, but we’ve Americanized it.”

The demand for Kuhlman products has been high. The company’s website, kuhlmancompany.com, is nearing 1 million hits per month, and stores are earning an average of $700 per square foot. The company went public on June 9, 2005, through a reverse merger with Gaming Venture Corp., USA. Kuhlman has applied for the American Stock Exchange and currently trades under the bulletin board as KHLM at approximately $2.85 a share. He plans to move into the European market with the opening of an Italian store in a few months and is launching a new brand aimed at the weekender called “SK2.” His recently launched women’s line has been well received—so much so that women’s fashions will share equal space in Kuhlman stores.

Daring to Dress All of it has come just since August 2003 when Kuhlman opened his first store—on the equivalent of a dare.

At the time, Kuhlman was traveling extensively in Europe through his job at SFI. There he noticed shirt shops on nearly every corner and wondered if the concept would work in the United States. He offered the concept to management at Marshall Field’s, but they weren’t interested. So Kuhlman took matters into his own hands, opening an 800-square-foot shop in downtown Minneapolis. “I leased the space and within a week had the store open,” he says. “I had all intentions of closing it down once Marshall Field’s said ‘Uncle,’ but from the first day it opened it had a tremendous response. I couldn’t produce shirts fast enough. And I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got something.’”

Kuhlman has translated that “something” into a Starbucksor Southwest Airlines-like business plan that allows him to systemize and cut costs, then pass the savings along to customers. He uses an “Extreme Makeover” approach with the opening of stores; Kuhlman can have keys in possession on a Monday and get the store open for business by the weekend.

He trains management through the use of video emails, employs only four to five workers per store, and does very little advertising other than an email “blast” detailing new products and sent every 10 days to registered customers.

And the pricing can be as attractive as the clothes, sometimes running one-fourth the price of some designers. “It’s who you know and how you put it together,” Kuhlman says.

“You have to know what you can take out and what you can’t.

With garments, it’s the fabric and yarn that you use. For instance, in our suits we use the finest fabric from this little region in Italy called Biella. You can’t reproduce it because of the water in the region. And no one in the world can make fabric like they make it. It’s the best of the best. So I go to Biella and buy fabric from the finest fabric mills. The masses want fine things. We are giving it to them.”

Does Kuhlman worry that his company’s bright future (as well as his bright shirts) might be dimmed by a fading fad?

Kuhlman laughs and says, “The world has changed dramatically. I wore a pink, gingham checked shirt to my 20th reunion. We’re not a bunch of football jerseys and oversize print shirts at the barbeque any more.”

Winter 2005 • 31

Big-game entrepreneur

By Sonja Carberry

M

eliminate customer feelings of “FUD–fear, uncertainty and ore than 20 years ago, entrepreneur, big-game doubt,” he says. “Now I’m fortunate enough to have four IBM hunter and 1973 UNO alum Mike Bean talked his way into a date at a local Baker’s grocery store. Bean engineers who retired from IBM,” Bean says. “We work 24-7 and we won’t maintain something if we don’t have a whole saw Deborah Preston walk by and was immediately smitten machine for parts in the warehouse. You know it’s pretty good by her good looks and professional dress. when IBM comes to me for a part.”

“I was in the magazine aisle with a friend and I saw her,” Bean grew up in Benson, a fairly typical kid of schoolhe recalls. “I told my friend, ‘I’ve got to go talk to this one.’” teacher parents Frederick and Jane. He had a lawn mowing Bean doesn’t remember exactly what he said, but he business and often worked weekends at his grandfather’s growalked away with a date at Gallagher’s and, eventually, a marriage. Today the couple is raising two teenagers, Brian and cery store, Bean’s IGA, in David City, Neb. What he acquired was the kind of common sense that’s rooted in fast math.

Kate, in Omaha’s Keystone area.

“I don’t understand the kids today. They’ll stop at Subway Using similar initiative and a straight-shooting style, Bean to get a pop and they can get a liter at the grocery store for built his thriving business, Midwest Computer Products.

“My whole philosophy is do what you do well and remem- less,” he says.

In school, Bean wasn’t a computer ber what got you there,” he says. “What fanatic. He also wasn’t a diligent student, people sometimes don’t understand is remembering more about snowy aftersales is a relationship. I take the time to noons at the Dundee Dell than about the bull--- with everyone. My customers are actual class work. But he did graduate, my friends.” landing a job with mainframe giant Bean’s client list is heavy on insurance Burroughs. companies, including Physicians Mutual Bean’s worked in sales for the compaand Farmers Mutual, in a territory that ny for five years, acquiring communicaincludes Omaha and Lincoln. Essentially, tion and technical skills. Attracted by he buys computer hardware from compahigher salaries, he then worked for two nies that no longer need it–sometimes due local computer companies, Inforex and to bankruptcy–then leases the hardware to Storage Tech, both of which went Chapter companies that do need it.

UNO Professor 11.

Bean is not one to talk shop, as UNO John Hafer “When Storage Tech went belly-up, I Associate Professor of Marketing John thought, ‘I could do this myself,’” he says.

Hafer discovered while learning to trap“I know my customers. I just thought, ‘I’m shoot from Bean. Hafer never did get a precise fix on Bean’s business, but was immediately impressed going to start my own business.’”

In 1987, Bean started knocking on his former clients’ doors. by what he called a true example of entrepreneurship.

“Metro Mail in Lincoln had been one of my good cus“Bean makes like a gazillion dollars a year, and I’m thinktomers. When I was still with Storage Tech, I’d gone to a class ing he must have inherited it,” Hafer says. “But everything in Canada on Hitachi printers. Now, Metro Mail needed qualithat Mike Bean has got he thought up himself. ty printers. So I took this product to Metro Mail and it worked “Guys that are really entrepreneurs, they know five or six really well for them.” sort of rules, and they know if you do these five or six rules, His business grew as Bean continued his straight-shooting you can’t screw this up. Some people never know the rules.” style. “I remember I took over an IBM printer once and I couldn’t even read what it put out. It was like looking at FOLLOWING THE RULES Chinese. I said to my customer, ‘You’re paying for this?’”

One rule Bean is willing to share about his business is the Bean called his company’s growth of the past 18 years as necessity of quality support. “controlled.”

“I try to give my customers world-class service. One thing “I’ve been on the cautious side,” he says. “I’d rather have we do is we still do what you call preventative maintenance.

10 $1,000-per-month guys than one $10,000-a-month guy.”

For example, we go in and check error logs, clean the tapes.

The business niche Bean has carved out allows him to The customers like having the guys around. It opens the BTW indulge in pricey hobbies. His favorite is big-game hunting. gate: ‘By the way, I’m having problems with . . ..’”

Bean has traveled to Africa four times, hunting in Botswana Bean has six employees, including himself, who work to

“Everything that Mike Bean has got he thought up himself.”

32 • Winter 2005

UNOALUM

Photo by Eric Francis “Don is a student and teacher of the game of soccer and has been successful wherever he has been,” says UNO Athletic Director Dave Herbster.

twice and in South Africa and Zambia. He’s also trekked so far into the Northwest Territory that compasses don’t work because of nearness to the pole.

Bean says Botswana is his favorite destination, describing the experience as Teddy Roosevelt-esque. “It’s so primitive, you don’t even see vapor trails of jets,” he says. “The bushmen heat up water for your shower. At night you lay there and watch monkeys throw sticks at the tent.”

Bean has a house full of trophies, including an African lion and three Cape buffalo, to show for his travels. “I really like dangerous game,” he says. “They look at you like you owe them money. But the killing is actually anticlimactic. Seeing the cultures, that’s what’s really awesome, to see how these people survive.”

Bean described an Inuit village of 200 in the Northwest Territory where a dead caribou sat in nearly every yard because the outdoors was their freezer. He also described how tribesmen in Botswana do not look you in the eye because it is w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

considered rude, but who will carry away a handful of M&Ms to share with everyone rather than eating them alone.

Hunting also takes Bean back to a time he wishes lasted longer.

“I started hunting with my dad–deer, quail, pheasant. I think a lot about my dad when I’m hunting,” he says.

Bean’s father died when Bean was 26 from what’s called positional asphyxiation. He’d fallen asleep compressing a major blood vessel in his neck. The freak accident still hits Bean in the heart.

“I realized you can die any time,” he says. “So I’ve always wanted to be a good person.”

That’s why he says he works to build strong relationships with his kids, and why he now is leaving something behind.

Bean recently bought a farm in Nebraska City that has sturgeon, turkeys and 600 acres of trees.

“I’m calling it Legacy,” he says.

Understandably so.

Winter 2005 • 33

The Art of Communication

By Steve Eskew

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Photo by Tim Fitzgerald, University Affairs

34 • Winter 2005

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efore Communication Professor John Wanzenried left his 24-year teaching tenure for an administrative post in 1990, he’d suffered his share of “slings and arrows,” though he confesses that he instigated most of the mayhem himself. That included the terror of a shot-put ball speeding toward his head and the shock of having a pie placed firmly into his face.

Could such chaos have helped motivate him to trade teaching for the position of associate dean of arts and sciences? Not a chance. As he approaches his 40th year at UNO, Wanzenried remembers his days as an instructor with a twinkle in his eyes.

“I loved teaching, but when the opportunity arose to test my communication skills as an administrator, I agreed to give it a whirl on a trial basis,” he says. “I quickly became fascinated with the job and decided to stay.”

Wanzenried decided to put into practice what he he’d been preaching all those years. His favorite course to teach had been interpersonal communication.

Gratified that his students were learning lifelong communication skills for more effective discoursing, he regarded their progress as a compliment to his competency.

“The most frustrating aspect of teaching was that it restricted my own participation as an interpersonal communicator,” he says. “Basically, I instructed, observed and recorded the results; “[This position] is all about immediate gratification. In my administrative duties, I practice the fine art of conversation and receive feedback on the spot.

This enables me to continuously note the validity of some interesting interpersonal theories.”

Wanzenried’s tenure at UNO began in February 1966. Holding a master’s degree in theater from Bowling Green State University, he taught classes while functioning as the technical director of the university theater. At that time, however, the departments of theater and

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speech communication were combined, and Wanzenried soon discovered that he favored teaching the speech courses. In addition to interpersonal communication, he taught persuasion and nonverbal techniques, eventually serving as director of speech communication.

As for the shot-put story, Wanzenried had assigned his class to perform any risky nonverbal act that they’d never before attempted. Rising from the back of the classroom, a UNO athlete lifted a shot-put, took direct aim at the short, slightly-built Wanzenried, and hurled the ball. Panic-stricken people were ducking and screaming all around the classroom.

“As for my reaction,” Wanzenried says, “I froze like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights, already past shock and nearing cardiac arrest. The ball turned out to be made of foam rubber. Angry? Heavens no. I was just glad to be alive. I had, after all, set no limitations, and I liked the creativeness that the assignment activated. I kept it in the syllabus.”

Years later, Mary Ferdig tackled the same assignment, surprising the educator as he entered the classroom by planting a pie in his face. “Doing this to a professor made me a nervous wreck, but my anxiety was fully unfounded. He loved it. He was always so high-spirited and good-natured,” recalls Ferdig, a former UNO instructor and now the director of the Sustainability Leadership Institute in Middlebury, Vt. Another former student (and onetime UNO communication instructor) is Mary Bernier, now director of development for the University of Nebraska Foundation. “We would perform such spirited tasks as entering a crowded elevator and then facing the back wall, or standing uncomfortably close to strangers in an open space,” Bernier says. “Consequently, we learned on a deeper level than through just lectures or texts.”

Such breaking of cultural convention

reflected Wanzenried’s personal style and history. He’d been forbidden to attend graduation ceremonies from Bowling Green in the 1960s for organizing civil rights protests. “I was more than just an activist. I was a real rebel,” he admits. “I organized countless demonstrations to help the cause, once even marching beside the thenunknown Jesse Jackson.”

UNO Communication Professor Dr. Dennis Fus remembers that Wanzenried remained rebellious but tactful as he launched his teaching career. “I’d arrived [about three years] before John.

We were both incredibly young and soon became as close as brothers, socializing frequently as well as sharing educational strategies and techniques.

Furthermore, we performed unprintable stunts, things we would never do today, Fus says.

KMTV newscaster Mary Williams confirms Wanzenried’s reputation as an effective educator. “When I happened to mention his name in the newsroom . . . three or four others spoke up, saying that he’d been their professor as well.

Our consensus can be summed up in a sound bite: ‘Lots of fun. Made you think.’”

Martha Bruckner, now associate superintendent of Millard Public Schools, remembers him by his nickname, “Coach,” a handle he acquired because he coached the debate team.

“He’ll always be Coach to me,” Bruckner said. “Our team traveled all over the country together debating our hearts out. He was tough on us, but through Coach Wanzenried’s tutelage, I learned about public speaking, poetry and so very much about myself. He was a grand teacher who inspired me in ways that changed the direction of my life.”

Wanzenried now considers himself as perhaps a life coach to many troubled UNO students. He makes it clear that the dean’s office is out to “get” no one: “We’re here to help. ‘How can I keep you from being suspended?’ is a question I frequently utter.

“I’ve loved both my jobs here,” he adds. “Forty years is a long time, and I’ll surely miss it all when I leave.”

And when will that be?

“Not yet, not quite yet. Someday.”

Winter 2005 • 35

Association in Action

News & Information

Longtime Association President stepping down in 2006

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fter guiding the UNO Alumni Association for more than one-third of its existence, Jim Leslie will step down as president and CEO of the organization some time in 2006, then will retire at the end of that year.

Leslie made his intentions public at the association’s monthly board of directors meeting Nov. 15. He previously had notified the board’s executive committee, which will hire his replacement after January 2006. Leslie will remain with the association in an advisory and fund-raiser capacity until December 2006, when he turns 65. He says two factors were primary in his decision.

“I’ve spent 32 years with the university and the Alumni Association, and UNO Alumni Association President there are those who would and CEO Jim Leslie will retire in say, ‘Thirty-three years is December 2006, ending 33 years of long enough, Jimmy,” Leslie service with the organization. said with a laugh. “The other part is that last year I underwent angioplasty surgery, and God certainly got my attention. You start to reflect on what you want to do the rest of your life . . . and I just need to give back to the good Lord in different ways.”

Leslie has headed the UNO Alumni Association since 1973.

Since then, more than 50,000 graduates have been added to the organization. The association’s UNO Century Club, meanwhile, has raised more than $10 million, and more than 150 scholarships and 12 professorships were begun, the latter totaling more than $660,000 in the past 21 years.

The Association, meanwhile, moved out of the Storz Mansion residence it occupied when Leslie took over in 1973 and eventually acquired what is now the W.H. Thompson Alumni Center. The center was expanded and renovated in 1994 and again in 2005. Since 1994 the rental facility has hosted more than 10,000 functions and generated nearly $1.8 million in gross revenue, furthering the association’s ability to support the University. Complimentary use of the center has saved the university more than $600,000 in the past 10 years.

Leslie also instituted an aggressive awards campaign.

Nearly 100 Citations for Alumnus Achievement have been issued since 1973, while the UNO Athletic Hall of Fame, the Outstanding Service Award, UNO Alumni Horizon Award and Outstanding Nebraska Legislator Award all were begun.

UNO Chancellor Emeritus Del Weber, who worked with

36 • Winter 2005

Leslie for 20 years, says the association’s growth is astounding.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that when Jim Leslie came to assume the directorship of the Alumni Association, there was nothing,” Weber said. “There was an organization, but . . . the Alumni Association is far more robust than it was in 1977 when I came. That’s largely due to the work of Jim getting the first funds that made all of this possible and the leadership he gave to it.”

Leslie’s ties to the university date to 1959, when he began attending then-Omaha University. He graduated in 1963 after an active student career in which he served as president of the student council and as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Pi Kappa Alpha. He also was student chair of the 1963 mill levy campaign.

After serving six-months with the U.S. Army Reserve Leslie joined Mutual of Omaha, first as a life underwriter then as an assistant manager of life policy issue. But he continued to serve his alma mater during that time, putting in a stint on the Alumni Association’s board of directors and chairing the 1972 Homecoming festivities. Since 1973 he has chaired or been a member of numerous campus committees, including the UNO Chancellor’s Council. He has received several awards on and off campus, including the Chancellor’s Medal in 1995 and the association’s Outstanding Service Award in 2003 marking his 30 years as association president.

“Jim bleeds Crimson and Black,” Weber said, referring to UNO’s school colors. “He is a loyalist through and through and through. There isn’t any one person who’s more of a consistent supporter of the university than Jim. He’s a solid guy with good values, good ethics.”

After stepping down as president/CEO Leslie will remain with the association through December 2006. Among his primary duties will be raising funds for the Alumni Center Centennial Campaign supporting the renovation and expansion of the rental facility.

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Mark your calendars

2-for-1 hockey ticket benefit made www.unoalumni.org available to UNO Alumni Card holders Asked and

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he UNO Alumni Association has negotiated with UNO Athletics to offer its donors a first-ever benefit: 2-for-1 single-game tickets to a Maverick hockey game.

All donors to the UNO Annual Fund (suggested donation of $25 or more) can present their UNO Alumni Card and receive one free hockey ticket for every ticket purchased to one of the games listed below. The promotion is good for upper level ($12 regular price) or lower level ($15) seats. A limit of five tickets can be purchased, resulting in 10 total tickets.

The lineup featured includes a Jan. 20 game against perennial power Michigan State. UNO swept the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich., when Michigan State was ranked No. 6 in the country.

UNO this season also has defeated two other ranked teams, New Hampshire and AlaskaFairbanks.

Tickets can be purchased at the Qwest Center Omaha box office. The 2-for-1 hockey ticket promotion is good for the Mavs’ following home games at Qwest Center Omaha: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.: Ferris State; Thursday, Dec. 29, 7:05 p.m.: Alabama-Huntsville; Saturday, Dec. 31, 4 p.m.: Yale; Friday, Jan. 20, 7:05 p.m.: Michigan State; Friday, Feb. 3, 7:05 p.m.: Lake Superior State.

Donations to the UNO Annual Fund can be provided by completing the form on Page 47 and returning it with a contribution (provided via check or credit card).

Donations also can be made in person at the W.H. Thompson Alumni Center and online at www.unoalumni.org/give_to_uno.

UNO Alumni Cards are processed soon after donations are received.

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he questions were asked, and UNO graduates answered, giving their opinions on three online surveys since the last UNO Alum was mailed in September. Monthly survey results: September Should John Roberts be confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court judge?

• Yes—72% • No—23% • Undecided—6% October What theory of human origins should be taught in public schools?

• Teach Evolution only—34% • Teach Intelligent Design only—10% • Teach both—55%

November (through Nov. 21) Should Samuel Alito be confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court justice? Want to add a comment? Send an email to My Two Cents. Click “archive” below to see posted comments and past survey results.

• Yes—60% • No—33% • Undecided—8%

Alumni Center renovation nears January completion T

he renovation and expansion of the W.H. Thopmson Alumni Center is nearing completion. Changes include a new ballroom, a hospitality/serving room, a built-in registration area and other pre-function space, and a state-of-the-art audio/visual presentation system.

To encourage use of the facility when it opens in January, the Alumni Center is offering a 50-percent discount on business events and audio/visual rentals hosted prior to May 1, 2006 (up to three consecutive days). Reservations for 2006 are encouraged to be made as soon as possible.

For additional details about the changes to the building, visit the Alumni Association’s website at www.unoalumnicenter.org. For rental information, contact Greg Trimm, director of Alumni Facilities, at 554-3368 or email gtrimm@mail.unomaha.edu.

he 2006 UNO Calendar will be delivered to all 2005 UNO Annual Fund donors of $25 or more beginning in early December.

The annual publication, entering its 13th year, features color panorama photographs of UNO as taken by longtime University photographer Tim Fitzgerald. It also includes listings of important university and alumni association dates and events.

UNOALUM

Answered

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Winter 2005 • 37

Association in Action

News & Information

Scholarship Swing nets $55,000 for students

Union Pacific President/COO Young to receive Citation

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he UNO Alumni Association will bestow its Citation for Alumnus Achievement upon James R. Young, president and chief operating officer of Union Pacific Railroad, during the university’s winter commencement ceremony Friday, Dec. 16, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

The Citation is presented at each UNO commencement. The Alumni Association’s highest honor, it encompasses professional or career achievement, community service, involve- Union Pacific President and Chief Operating Officer James R. Young will ment in business and became the 139th recipient of the professional associations, Citation for Alumnus Achievement. and fidelity to UNO. Adrian Minks, 2005 chairman of the Association’s board of directors, will present the award to Young, who earned a BSBA in 1978. He will be the 139th recipient of the Citation, first bestowed in 1949.

Young was named to his current post with Union Pacific in January 2004 and was elected a director of Union Pacific Corporation in February 2005. In January 2006 he will become CEO, replacing Dick Davidson, who is retiring.

Young currently is responsible for the railroad’s operation, information technology and marketing and sales. The largest railroad in North America, Union Pacific has nearly 33,000 route miles covering 23 states across two-thirds of the western United States. It is the nation’s largest hauler of chemicals and moves more than 250 million tons of coal each year. It makes $3.9 billion in purchases, has 48,000 employees and a payroll of $3.3 billion.

An Omaha native, Young graduated from Omaha South High School. White attending UNO he was married and worked at Northwestern Bell. He began his career with UP after graduating in 1978 and has held a variety of professional, managerial and senior management positions.

In 1995 Young was named vice president of re-engineering and design, and in 1997 vice president of customer service planning and quality. He was named senior vice president and corporate treasurer of Union Pacific Corporation in 1998, senior vice president of finance and corporate controller in March 1999, and executive vice president of finance and chief finan-

38 • Winter 2005

cial officer of Union Pacific Corporation in December 1999, the position he held before appointment to his current post.

Young serves on the board of directors of Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano. He also is area chairman of the United Way of the Midlands campaign cabinet and has served on the boards of Girls Incorporated and the Nebraska Council on Economic Education.

He and his wife, Shirley, have three children.

Young is one of three UNO graduates on Union Pacific’s executive staff, including: John J. Koraleski (BSBA, 1972), executive vice president of marketing and sales; and, Dennis J. Duffy (BS, 1973), executive vice president of operations.

Young also is the third UP employee to receive the Citation for Alumnus Achievement. Koraleski received the Citation in 1999. Ron Burns, UP president in 1996, received the Citation in 1990, though at the time he was president of Enron Corporation’s Gas Pipeline Group in Houston.

Alumni Night on the Ice Friday, Jan. 6, 2006

5:30 p.m.—Buffet 7:05 p.m.— UNO vs. Notre Dame

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oin fellow grads for the third annual UNO Alumni Night on the Ice Friday, Jan. 6, when the Mavs take on Notre Dame!

The exciting evening will include: • NCAA Division I hockey action at the Mavs’ home, Qwest Center Omaha.

• A pre-game buffet reception at the Hilton HotelOmaha, Nebraska’s only four-diamond property.

• Door prizes.

• Free Mav Tattoos and Hand Clappers for the kids.

• Lower Bowl seating and recognition during the game.

All that for just $15!* To attend, return the registration form on Page 2 and submit it by Dec. 30 with payment (check or credit card). For more information, call Sheila King at (402) 554-4802 or toll-free at UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-628-2586). Email inquiries to sking@mail.unomaha.edu.

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* Per-person cost of $15 includes game ticket and pre-game buffet (hot dogs, chips, pasta salad, baked beans, cookies, sodas). Cash bar available. Limited parking at Hilton’s indoor garage (Cass St. entrance) for special UNO rate of $4 (less than half regular rate). Hockey tickets distributed at reception. Parking stickers available at reception to be presented to parking attendant when leaving. Tickets must be paid for at time of registration.

UNOALUM

T

he UNO Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing was held Sept. 12 at Tiburon Golf Club as the UNO Alumni Association once more teed off for student scholarships.

Held for the 25th consecutive year, the Swing raised more than $55,000 for student scholarships. The UNO Alumni Association began hosting the tournament 10 years ago. Since then, more than $350,000 has been raised for scholarships.

“This is the Association’s biggest single-day fundraiser for the UNO campus,” said Sheila King, director of Alumni Programming and Activities.

“But there are many days put behind it to ensure its success. I’m especially thankful to our Swing Committee, which has logged invaluable time and expertise throughout the past year.”

King singled out the efforts of two student groups, the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the UNO Ambassadors, for help on the day of the tournament.

The money raised helps support various Associationsponsored student scholarships, including UNO Alumni Legacy Scholarships, $1,000 grants instituted in 2000 and awarded only to children of UNO graduates.

More than $230,000 in UNO Alumni Legacy Scholarships has been awarded since the program’s start.

UNO graduates John Wilson (’78) and Jim Czyz (’71) chaired the committee that oversaw the tourna-

w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

ment’s organization. Other committee members include UNO graduates: Jim Garbina (’87), Mark Grieb (’81), Mike Jones (’66), Cookie Katskee (’80), Dan Koraleski (’86) and Don Winters (’69). Earl Leinart also served on the committee.

Nearly 200 golfers played in the tournament. The foursome with the lowest score in the Texas Scramble event was sponsored by Smith Barney.

The team was composed of Jim Kineen, Charlie Narmi, Bruce Wrona and Jim Foley.

Numerous businesses also

contributed financial support via hole sponsorships and prize donations. All were recognized after play during a buffet dinner at Tiburon.

The 2006 UNO Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing will be held Sept. 11 at Tiburon.

Chancellor Scholarship Swing Sponsors O nce more, numerous businesses contributed to the UNO Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing via various levels of sponsorhip. The UNO Alumni Association thanks the following sponsors: Chancellor Scholarship Swing Sponsors Hole-in-One Sponsor Mercedes Benz of Omaha

Dinner Sponsors Superior Honda of Omaha and Acura of Omaha Beverage Sponsor Pepsi Bottling Group

Prize Sponsors Anthony’s Restaurant Brandeis Catering Cabaret Theatre Cummins Central Power First National Bank-Omaha Great Western Bank/ Harlan Falk The Flatiron Café Grande Olde Players Theater Hilton Omaha Harry A. Koch, Co. Kona Grill KPMG LLP Rod Kush’s Furniture Earl & Grace Leinart The Market Basket Metro Marketing Mutual of Omaha Omaha Public Power District Omaha Steaks International Omaha World-Herald

Outback Steakhouse P. F. Chang’s China Bistro Scheels All Sports Tiburon Golf Club UNO Alumni Association UNO Athletics Upstream Brewing Company U. S. Bank V. Mertz Kevin & Diane Warneke John & Mary Wilson Don & Linda Winters

Sponsors Anderson Partners Alex McPherson Mid-American Insurance Group

Course Sponsors AAA Nebraska America First Companies R. D. Barr Co. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Nebraska Brandeis Catering Children’s Hospital Cox Communications Cummins Central Power DLR Group Duncan Aviation First Data Resources First National Bank-Omaha Fraser, Stryker Law Firm/ Westside Community Schools Hancock & Dana PC HDR, Inc. (i) Structure Mike & Marji Jones Kiewit Construction Co. Harry A. Koch Co.

KPMG LLP Lexus of Omaha Jim Mancuso/Interstate Printing MarketSphere Consulting LLC Millard Public Schools/ Young & White Law Ofc. The MSR Group Nebraska Methodist Health System Nebraska State Bank Nelnet NEXADENTAL NWW Investments, Inc. O’Donnell, Ficenec, Wills & Ferdig Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Power District Pinnacle Bank Prairie Life SilverStone Group Smith Barney TAC Air TierOne Bank UMB Bank Union Pacific Railroad University of Nebraska Foundation University of Nebraska Medical Center UNO Athletics UNO College of Business Administration U.S. Bank Valmont Industries Vente, Inc. Wally & Barb Weitz Werner Enterprises John & Mary Wilson Woodmen of the World

Winter 2005 • 39

Association in Action

“In Care Of” roll call adds UNO-affiliated U.S. soldiers

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he UNO Alumni Association’s In Care Of program continues with seven more care packages sent to UNO-affiliated soldiers currently at war. Since the program’s start, 34 care packages have been issued.

Each care package includes: first aid and grooming kits, phone cards (generously provided by Family Support Center of Offutt Air Force Base), a Nebraska Life Magazine (generously provided by Nebraska Life publishers), a UNO Alum magazine, an LED keychain mini flashlight, waterless hand sanitizer, single-use camera with American flag design, retractable utility knife, sunscreen, lip balm, UNO baseball cap, Life Savers candy and notes from alumni.

For more information on the In Care Of program, visit the Association’s website at www.unoalumni.org/incareof. Soldiers receiving care packages since the last Alum was published in September:

Brantley Honeycutt Rank, Branch: NCMB 3rd Class, U.S.Navy Current Assignment: Falluja, Iraq UNO Affiliation: Grandson of Lt. Col. (Ret.) John J. Trankovich (BGS, 1967).

Gary Mauss Rank, Branch:Major, U.S. Air Force Current Assignment: Defense Contracts Management Agency, Baghdad, Iraq UNO Affiliation: Graduate (BGS, 1988).

Matthew C. Misfeldt Rank, Branch: 2nd Lt.,U.S. Army Current Assignment: Iraq UNO Affiliation: Graduate (BSBA, 1995; MBA, 2001).

Kyle A. Moulton Rank, Branch: Captain, U.S. Army Current Assignment: Camp Arifjan, Kuwait UNO Affiliation: Graduate (BGS, 2000) and son of UNO graduate Bruce Moulton (BS, 1966; MS, 1969).

Ralph N. Perkins IV Rank, Branch: Major, U.S. Army Current Assignment: Baghdad, Iraq

UNO Affiliation: Graduate (1995), son of UNO graduates Mary (1967) and Ralph Perkins (1967).

Ron Schwery Rank, Branch:Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Current Assignment: Iraq UNO Affiliation: Graduate (BS, 1999).

Class Notes

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE ON THE WEB www.unoalumni.org/communications/submitcn.asp

Patrick C. Williams Rank, Branch: Captain, U.S. Army Current Assignment: Physicians Assistant at FOB Marez in Mosul, Iraq UNO Affiliation: Son of UNO graduate Sheryl Claussen Williams (MPA, 1994).

Annual Meeting Dec. 13

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niversity of Nebraska at Omaha alumni can help select the 2005-2007 members of the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors by voting for candidates at the board’s annual meeting.

Alumni are encouraged to attend the public meeting, set for Tuesday, Dec. 13, in the W.H. Thompson Alumni Center (Rhoden Board Room). The annual meeting will immediately follow the monthly board meeting, which begins at 5 p.m.

Final Weekend Getaway drawing remains for LA

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he UNO Alumni Association is asking its graduates to “Make a World of Difference” through a contribution to the 2005 UNO Annual Fund.

The 2005 campaign focuses on ways donors can make a difference not only on campus, but also in the world. That includes “In Care Of” care packages sent to UNO-affiliated soldiers at war (see above) and “Aid to Afghanistan” supplies for children and teachers in that war-torn country.

To promote these efforts, the Association has conducted random drawings among donors of $50 or more for Weekend Getaway trips emphasizing UNO’s presence in the world. Trips include travel, lodging and performance tickets for two people. One donor is chosen for each drawing.

All donors of $50 or more also

40 • Winter 2005

receive a UNO Alumni Gold Card and its benefits, entry in December’s prize drawing and a 2006 UNO campus display calendar. To qualify for the final Grand Prize Weekend Getaway drawing, complete the form on page 46 and return with a donation.

Online donations can be made at www.unoalumni.org. Details on the final Grand Prize Weekend Getaway: Grand-Prize Getaway: Los Angeles Donation Deadline: Dec. 31 VIP tickets to a taping of “Jeopardy!” where UNO grad Gary Johnson is producer-head writer, and tickets to a taping of sister show “Wheel of Fortune.” Package also includes a “Jeopardy!” board game and the DVD “Jeopardy! An Inside Look at America’s Favorite Quiz Show.” Travel and lodging included.

Drawing held in January 2006 after

all 2005 donors are recorded.

Affinity partner offers discount to UNO alumni

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NO alumni, supporters and friends can generate new funds for the Alumni Association by purchasing wellness, water and personal care products that promote healthy lifestyles.

The opportunity was created through an affinity marketing program with Team in Focus, which each month will contribute to the Association 15 percent of total online purchases. To further explore this opportunity, visit www.unoalumni.org. The $10 certificate below can be redeemed at the linked-to Team in Focus site.

UNOALUM

1938 Dale Wolf, BA, of Omaha, writes of the present he received for his nonagenarian celebration. “My family presented me with a wonderful gift for my big 9-0 birthday—a memorial marker in my name on a seat in the UNO Fieldhouse. It is nice to be remembered.”

1939 Clitus W. Olson, BA, lives in Westminster, Colo., and writes, “Dear Friends: We are living in the assisted living part of Covenant Village of Colorado. My wife, Dorothy, also attended U of O some time; she has an RN from U. of Nebr. She has a fair amount of trouble with Alzheimer’s disease. I don’t think I have the disease yet but my memory is extremely poor.

My lone brother, Orvin, died of Alzheimer’s this year. Dorothy lost a sister and brother-in-law, both of cancer. We are able to keep in contact with the situation in Africa by email.” Send him email at oldole1@aol.com

1952 Richard Beem, BA, recently was recognized by the YMCA for having run 50,000 miles since March 14, 1961. George Reid, a fellow UNO graduate (BS, 1951) and retired past president of the Omaha YMCA Association, presented Beem with a trophy commemorating his accomplishment.

Lost Alums -- 1958 Ellis J. Alexander Patricia J. Brown Ashley Carroll N. Baker Thomas J. Barr Eugene W. Bendel John R. Bennett James E. Bowman Inez L. Broderick Kenneth L. Brown Charles R. Bruno Terrance O. Buchanan Harper J. Buck Rodlin E. Bunney Keith P. Canfield Robert R. Clark Jerry L. Clark Richard S. Clark Clifford H. Clifton Karen E. Childs Collins James E. Conn Eugene C. Covell John Crudge Mabel I. Dall Gardner E. Daniel Scott M. Davison

w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

James A Dawdy Edythe J. Jensen DeBuse Chester W. Dixon Ann Donahy Milford R. Downey Florence R. Durkee Marie J. Erbes Barbara Langfeld Evans David C. Feiler William J. Ferguson Robert W. Fillman John J. Flood Frank J. Fogarty Georgiana Frost Gary Sandra Cheyne Gillotte Arden K. Gollnik Robert D. Greenberg Michael D. Guerin Martin H. Gureasko Bettie L. Hadley Alice T. Hall Delos G. Hartwig Ronald P. Haselhuhn James M. Hayes Leonard H. Heath

W I N T E R

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Flashback File

TV tower rises, 1966

From the 1966 Tomahawk yearbook

E

yes were turned upward to view the sight. Perched high above the ground, construction workers clung to their steel supports. They carried on their tasks nonchalantly, shouting signals, back and forth to fellow workmen. Now completed, the 407-foot steel TV structure has given the entire campus a new look.

From Dodge Street, it seems to sprout from the Applied Arts Building. The tower was erected this fall by the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Broadcasting Association. KYNE-TV, channel 26, began beaming its signals into area classrooms October 25.

The MOEBA studios are located in the A.A. Building, where seven teachers produce taped programs for 80,000 elementary school youngsters. Paul Borge, director of radio and television, is station manager.

1960 David E. Bloom, BGE, notes from his home in Naples, Fla., that he is retired from Exxon Corp. as a senior advisor with the corporate human resources staff. He also recently published his first novel, “Labyrinth: Libyan Odyssey.” A press release promoting the novel notes that it centers on reporter Johnny Follyn who “lands the job of a lifetime when he accepts an assignment to Libya to write a story on the Standard Oil Company. Intent on showing just how beneficial the oil company is to the people of Libya, Johnny isn’t

prepared for what he discovers. As Johnny tracks the operations of Standard Oil, he also becomes more involved with Libya’s history.

When Johnny stumbles upon the secrets of an ancient riddle, he sets out to find the answers. With the help of a professor and his friend Ismail, Johnny delves deeper into the past, never thinking of the consequences. But someone doesn’t want Johnny to succeed, and they will do anything in their power to stop him. Set against a thrilling backdrop of oil fields, cultural clashes and lost civilizations, ‘Labryinth’ is a fascinating odyssey

Help us find these “Lost Alums” from the Class of 1958.

Send news of their whereabouts to sgerding@mail.unomaha.edu Lyndell T. Highley Ruth Virginia Ward Hoff Alfonso J. Iaderosa Leonard D. Ingram William J. Jackson Lavon M. Jobes Henry E. Johns Martha M. Johnson Wilson W. Johnson Richard L. Johnston Roy M. Jones Bruce G. Keltz Charles F. Kern David L. Knauber Edward D. Kobs Alvin E. Kohler Kenneth Korinek Thomas F. Kozul Robert F. Lanferman Adrianne G. Leader Gilbert E. Lee John G. Lesman Roy L. Liles Laurence W. Long Paul N. Loveday

John A. Luce Jack B. Maher Kenneth L. Marolf Judith Weiser Marsh Thomas E. Mason Lavon E. Mattes Thayne O. Mauch Robert D. McArthur Richard D. McCloskey Patricia A. McGee Ann McIntire George H. McKee Walter R. Meade Hugh H. Meyers Richard W. Meyers Raymond R. Middleton Joseph H. Morgan Ronald L. Nelson Mabel G. Nielson John R. Niemela Dennis E. Norman Joe L. Ogan Henri R. Ouellet Janet Ann Wagner Paluka Aileen Peterson

Frederick P. Pfeffer Joseph C. Pica Raymond Pollack Arnold W. Postelle Norma J. Probst Gene R. Pugh Hewlett E. Rainer Helen Peabody Ramas David Rasey Tom Reid Charles M. Rice Julie Marr Robinson Mildred Root Edythe Rosenblatt John W. Roy Alan Saunders Carolyn E. Schuelke Joseph E. Seale Myron I. Seamons Charles L. Sedlacek John L. Silva Margaret R. Simon Frank C. Sinclair Lee A. Skaggs Jasper D. Skinner

Britton C. Smith Eucie D. Spencer Edward L. Stout James E. Streitwieser Harry J. Studer Clarence L. Summers Eugene A. Sway Walter H. Thomas Leslie S. Thompson James I. Tittle Sterling L. Tuck John R. Twardoska Oscar E. Unser Dorothy E. Vallier John E. Walsh Wilma T. Wendt John F. Wheeler Albert J. Whipple Jesse W. Whitley Aileen Lowson Williams Edward Q. Wood Wendell C. Wright John Yackman Donald Edward Zboray Ora Zocholl

Winter 2005 • 41

Class Notes through history and the minds of people—past and present.” The novel is available at major bookstores and online booksellers and from publisher iUniverse, Inc.” Bloom spent 25 years in the oil business, working in locations from Libya to New York. Send him email at bloom@naples.net

1966 Marjorie Littlewood, BS, in May retired after 45 years as a teacher, the last 21 at Washington Elementary with the Council Bluffs Community School District.

Her last dozen years was as a first-grade teacher. She was featured in an article in the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil.

Ward Schumaker, BFA, from his home in San Francisco sends images from the most recent book he’s illustrated, “Two Cats and the Woman They Own,” written by Patti Davis (daughter of President Ronald Reagan). “I was asked if I could create images that would appeal to women over 40 who like cats,” he writes. “I created 20 images for the book, which will appear in bookstores in the spring of 2006. The publisher is Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Other happenings in my life revolve around non-commercial work I’ve shown recently in Nashville and Sacramento: large scale handmade books and paintings with a spiritually-based content that form a show called “Grace.” Visit Schumaker’s website at www.warddraw.com.

1967 John J. Trankovich, BGE, lives in Normandy, Tenn., and writes that he was “retired from the U.S. Army in 1977 as a Lt. Col., guided

42 • Winter 2005

missile systems engineer, working in development of the Patriot Missile System and culminating with an MBA from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas.

A stint with Raytheon Co., the Patriot developer, was followed by five years in Saudi Arabia as weapon systems advisor to Lt. Gen. (then Lt. Col.) (HRH) Prince Khaled Bin Sultan and the Saudi Arabian Air Defense Command and School, Ministry of Defense.

Returning to the United States brought an assignment with Computer Sciences Corporation, Edwards AFB, Calif., and an MS in environmental management from West Coast University in Los Angeles.” Trankovich currently is a consultant and contract auditor in Environmental and Quality Management Systems with DQS German-American Registrar for Management Systems, Chicago and the Federal Mogul Corporation.

Send him email at trankj@direcway.com

1969 Raymond E. Ramsey Sr., MS, was inducted into the Moton/Strong High School Hall of Fame in July, awarded a plaque inscribed, “For Outstanding Service To All Mankind.” A 1955 Moton/Strong grad, Ramsey also was presented a citation from the state of Arksansas commending him for strength of character, tenacity and willingness to “roll up his sleeves” to help a neighbor or friend. Ramsey was an educator with Omaha Public Schools for 31 years. He was assistant principal at Omaha Technical and Bryan High Schools. He retired as principal of Bryan Middle High School in 1999.

W I N T E R 1970 Claude L. Westerfield, BGS, lives in Farragut, Iowa, and notes that he now is pastor of the First Congregational Church there. The church celebrated its 130th year of service. A retired U.S. Air Force major, Westerfield is starting his eighth year as pastor in Farragut. “A small town with old-time values and interest,” he writes. “It is a great place to live and raise a family.”

Send him email at meltedclaude@earthlink.net 1971 Virginia “Ginny” Correa Creager, MA, lives in Payson, Ariz., and was appointed to the AARP Arizona Executive Council, a volunteer leadership committee that helps set the strategic direction for the national nonprofit organization in Arizona. In this role, Creager will be involved in community outreach, helping to raise awareness of AARP’s activities in rural communities throughout the state.

Creager will also be leading efforts to build awareness of AARP’s services and programs in Arizona’s Hispanic communities. Creager previously was participating in AARP Arizona’s Advocacy Network where she was the volunteer coordinator for Northeastern Arizona. She received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of NebraskaLincoln. She has taught in universities for 17 years holding faculty positions at Northern Arizona University (Payson Campus) and at Arizona State University West. She also has taught with the Payson Unified School District and spent a number of years in corporate and state administration and training. She has a rich history of volunteerism with numerous nonprofit organi-

zations, including the Arizona Arthritis Association, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. She also has worked with the local Senior Circle Association, Kiwanis, Rotary and Payson Art League.

1971 Alan L. Caldwell, BGS, writes from Bastrop, Texas, that he, “graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in 1983. Divorced in 1985. My children left home and joined me in Austin, Texas. I practice family, criminal defense, business, probate and property law. Last year I moved my practice to the friendly and quiet town of Bastrop, about 25 minutes east of Austin. I now have the best of both worlds. Happy as a clam.” Send him email at acaldwell@aol.com 1971 Gene L. Bentley, EDS, is administrator/headmaster of Trinity Christian School in Omaha. He writes from his home in Fremont, “I have also taught at Westside and been a principal at Millard and Fremont. Have been district representative for the Association of Christian Schools International five years.” Send him email at tcsbentley@aol.com Cheryl Wild, BS, with her husband, former UNO student Steve Wild, was awarded the 2005 Hearts of Grace Award by Grace University in recognition of the couple’s community service and dedication to their Christian faith.

Nearly 400 people attended the Hearts of Grace Award Banquet in August. Proceeds from the event are going toward the expansion of Grace University Library resources.

UNOALUM

1974 R. John Burford, BS, was named community banking president for Equitable Bank’s new loan production office in Omaha. Burford most recently was branch president for United Nebraska Bank in Omaha. He has been part of the banking industry since 1990. At Equitable he will oversee the LPO’s conversion to a fullservice bank in the coming months.

1975 Patricia Gale Belew, BA, is associate director of human resources at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. She writes, “St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founded

by Danny Thomas, the entertainer, treats children from around the world for catastrophic diseases, including cancer, West Nile, sickle cell and others.” Send her email at pat.belew@stjude.org 1976 Terry Stickels, BA, has released his first Sudoku (Japanese for “numbers singly”) calendar, “Sudoku 2006, 365 Fiendishly Difficult Puzzles,” published by Barnes & Noble Publishing as a collaboration between Stickels and sudokuworks.com. Sudoku is a logic-based puzzle that requires the placement of the numbers 1 through 9 in each section of a 9x9 grid arranged in 3x3 “regions.” To start, some numbers called “givens” are already in place in the puzzle. Each row, column and region must contain each numeral only once.

Completing the puzzles takes patience and thought. He also recently published “Little Book of Bathroom Sudoku.” Stickles has authored or co-authored 20 books, card decks and calenw w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

dars of puzzles. His column FRAME GAMES is published in USA Weekend magazine and carried in 600 newspapers read by 50 million people weekly. His STICKELERS puzzle column is syndicated

daily by King Features and appears in many of the largest newspapers in the United States and Canada.

See more at his website, www.terrystickels.com

Future Alums Got a picture of your little tyke?

Send it our way as a print or in electronic format and we’ll post it on our website!

Editor’s Note: The birth announcement for Dominic Angelo Vincentini was incorrectly published in the Fall 2005 Alum. The Alum apologizes for the error. The correct information is as follows: Dominic Angelo Vincentini, son of Diane (Mach, ’93) and Chris (’90) Vincentini of Omaha and grandson of Jerry (’64) Vincentini of Bennington, Neb.

Annabella Marie Schechinger, daughter of Jeremy Schechinger and Tina (’97) FloresSchechinger of Papillion, Neb. Brock Alden Dyer, son of Matt and Amber (McCreary, ’02) Dyer of Glenwood, Iowa, and grandson of Ron Bales (’62) of Glenwood, Iowa.

Hollis Grey Nelson, daughter of Tyre and Stephanie Himel-Nelson, ’96, of Chesapeake, Va. Sierra Lillian Downes, daughter of Scott and Melissa (Nihsen, ’97) Downes of Yakima, Wash., and granddaughter of Rhonda Chantry (’94) of Omaha.

Blake Harris Cogdill and Grant Alexander Cogdill, twin sons of Chad and Robbin (Rockwell, ’91) Cogdill of Omaha.

Katie Marie Douglas, daughter of Bethany (Langdon, ’00) and Michael (’98) Douglas of Omaha.

Alayna Ellie Prunty, daughter of Veleka (Lindner’03) and Ryan (’05) Prunty of Omaha.

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1979 Grant Eklund, BS, lives in Indio, Calif., from where he writes, “In Sept. 2005, I became the city engineer for the City of Indio (near Palm Springs) after working for the

Sons & Daughters of UNO Alumni

Dylan Paul Asmus, son of Carla (Newberry, ’03) and Brian (’03) Asmus of Omaha.

Annie Marie DelSenno and Sophie Rosa DelSenno, daughters of Cathy (Smith, ’97) and Sam, (’98) DelSenno of Omaha.

Jackson Erick Steger, son of Jason and Michelle (Patterson, ’00) Steger of Fort Bliss, Texas, and grandson of Gerald (’95) Patterson of Ralston, Neb.

Treyton Michael Dodd, son of Carlton Williams and Sarah (’05) Dodd of Morton, Ill. Skylar Rae Ostronic, daughter of Scott and Kelly (Kisicki, ’99) Ostronic of Omaha and granddaughter of Mary Kisicki (’86) of Omaha and Ray Ostronic (’73) of Omaha.

Camdin John McGuigan and Caitlin Ann McGuigan, twin son and daughter of Craig and Cindy (Wagner, ’82)McGuigan of Wahoo, Neb. Finley Kay Roberts, daughter of Mike and Angie (Echtenkamp, ’98) Roberts of Underwood, Iowa.

Grace Elizabeth Colbert, daughter of Kimberly and Robert (’96) Colbert of LaVista, Neb.

Connor Michael Smith, son of Andrew and Karen (Wordekemper, ’00) Smith of Omaha and grandson of Michael Wordekemper (’79) of Omaha.

Ella Diane Dall, daughter of Timothy and Heather (McCowen, ’02) Dall of Omaha.

Klaire Melodie Lathrum, daughter of Kip and Jennifer (Hennig, ’94) Lathrum of Omaha and granddaughter of Judith (’66; ’73) and Ronald (’68) Hennig of Omaha.

Submit a Future Alum on the Web

www.unoalumni.org/magazine/submit_future_alum/

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 at www.unoalumni.org/magazine/submit_future_alum. Or, mail to: Future Alums, UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. FAX birth announcements to: (402) 554-3787.

Winter 2005 • 43

Class Notes

City of Carlsbad, Calif., as their construction manager since 1999.” Send him email at boji2001@aol.com

1982 Carol Ann Woods Murphy, BS, lives in Grants Pass, Ore., after retiring from public school teaching in Kent, Wash., in 2002. “We moved to Grants Pass and I am now teaching keyboard and recorder classes at Music4Kids, a local music store. In addition, I have several private piano students.”

Send her email at mommamurf@budget.net 1983 Wm. Andrew Dorsey, BA, lives in Wichita, Kansas, and writes that, “Since graduating from UNO, I have gone on to make a career in the U.S. Air Force, spending most of my time as a navigator on the KC-135 Tanker. This past summer of 2005 I was deployed to the Persian Gulf, and just recently promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel. I am currently assigned with the Air Force Reserves at McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas. My wife, Susan, and I have been married for 17 years and we have four daughters.” Send him email at sixdorseys@cox.net 1985 Rosemary Chamberlain, BA, lives in Citrus Heights, Calif., and is in private practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist there. She also has developed a coaching business entitled, “Streamline Your Psychotherapy Practice: Intake to Discharge,” which helps other therapists manage the business side of being in private practice. Send her email at rosecmft@sbcglobal.net

44 • Winter 2005

1987 James A. Angele, BS, in September was awarded the Spirit of Plainsman Award and inducted into the Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame. A release from the university notes that, “During his tenure as Nebraska Wesleyan’s sports information director, Angele gathered records from coaches and coordinated the compilation of all-time statistical charts in order to improve the overall quality of information contained in Nebraska Wesleyan’s media guides. He generated regular news releases for each intercollegiate team and was the first to undertake writing player profiles on every letter winner in all 18 sports. These player histories proved helpful when he nominated them for honors, including the

GTE/CoSIDA Academic AllAmerica Team, an award NWU student-athletes had received 21 times prior to Angele’s arrival in July 1990.

But by the time he departed Nebraska Wesleyan in 1998, that number had grown to 61.

In other words, it nearly tripled in less than eight years. Angele earned the respect of his peers across the country as a district coordinator for the Academic AllAmerica program, and his publications won awards on a regular basis from the College Sports Information Directors of America. In fact, Nebraska Wesleyan athletic posters won “Best in the Nation” designations in 1991, 1994 and 1997, as did NWU’s 1994 track and field brochure.

Before his stint at NWU was complete, he also helped the sports information office start its transition into the era of

computerized statistics. The benefits of Angele’s meticulous record keeping are still felt every year when NWU’s Hall of Fame committee meets to review profiles on its field of Hall of Fame candidates. Angele now works as an assistant director for the Nebraska School Activities Association, where he has continued to work with NWU students, offering internships to those in Nebraska Wesleyan’s sport management program.”

1988 Steve Abraham, BS, writes, “Currently living in Overland Park, Kansas, with my 10year-old son Alex. I have started a new company called Commercial Carpet Care, which focuses on repair and cleaning of commercial flooring. Business has been strong the past year. I enjoy getting

Flashback File

Art in the Joslyn (hall, that is)

J

Photo courtesy University Archives

oslyn and art, of course, go together like peanut butter and jelly. That connection, though, was made long before Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum was built in 1931. Pictured above is a 1928 Omaha University art class held in Joslyn Hall, one of OU’s buildings on its North Omaha campus. The building was constructed in 1917 and named in honor of early university donor George A. Joslyn.

UNOALUM

back to Omaha to see family and friends.” Send him email at sabraham2@kc.rr.com 1989 Loral Langemeier, MA, lives in San Rafael, Calif., and recently signed a three-book deal with McGraw-Hill. The first book, “The Millionaire Maker,” will hit stores in January. The book, indicates a press release, “is living proof to women everywhere that they too can achieve the wealth of their dreams. ‘The Millionaire Maker’ . . . is a stunning and engaging book that reveals the formula for success anyone, especially women, can use to reach millionaire status, regardless of their educational or financial background.”

1994 Martin M. Jacobsen, MA, lives in Canyon, Texas, and was promoted to associate professor of English at West Texas A&M University and awarded tenure. He also is assistant director of the WTAMU Honors Program.

Send him email at mjacobsen@wtamu.edu

Calling all Carolers

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S

anta shows up every year, and so does Vincent Leinen. Thirty years ago, Leinen joined the St. Mary Catholic Youth Organization in Dow City, Iowa, to sing at rest homes. He continued that tradition while attending UNO, and he’s still at it today, now involving his fellow UNO graduates.

On Sunday, December 12, Leinen will be among a group of carolers and musicians (and a certain red-suited fella toting a big bag of fresh flowers) bringing holiday cheer to residents of the Nebraska Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 7410 Mercy Road.

It’s the 30th year for the annual holiday caroling event, organized by Leinen and Tom McCurdy.

“We want to bring happiness and joy to the elderly residents, and at the same time instill a heightened awareness in the carolers that they should be more appreciative of what they have in life and what they might take for granted,” Leinen says.

Leinen and McCurdy are seeking singers and musicians of all talent levels to take part in the event. Participants are invited to meet at the main entrance of the Nebraska Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 for refreshments and to receive their music book. The group then will proceed at 3 p.m. to entertain the residents.

The event, which will include an estimated 100 participants, is free and open to the public.

Immediately following the caroling all participants are invited to socialize and dine at Godfather’s Pizza, 7515 Pacific St. For further information, contact Leinen at (818) 342-9336 or email him at bd754@lafn.org, or McCurdy at (402) 493-3136. More information also is available at www.ReachForTheStars.com/caroling.

Christine T. Cleary Carmichael, BA, lives in Omaha and writes, “I earned my master’s of science in library and information science from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign in May 2004. I am now the web services/reference librarian and College of Business Administration liaison for the Reinert Alumni Memorial Library at Creighton University.” Send her email at ccarmichael@creighton.edu

opened my own law practice.

I specialize in workers compensation and also serve as legal counsel for Resource Financial Compliance, a professional administration company handling custodial work for Medicare Set-Aside Accounts. Personally, my husband and I have enjoyed meeting fellow Nebraskans by joining GFN (Georgians for Nebraska). Just a couple blocks away, we have neighbors originally from Bellevue and we joke about how much we miss Runzas!” Send her email at lisaschrage@bellsouth.net

1995 Lisa S. Ruskamp Schrage, BS, lives in Duluth, Ga., and notes that she has “made the transition from a multiple attorney firm to solo practice in January 2004 when I

1997 Craig Richter, BA, lives in Franklin, W. Va. He and his wife were ordained in the summer of 2004 and the couple “began our ministries in the beautiful hills of Eastern

w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

W I N T E R

West Virginia. I realized after a recent visit to campus with my father and wife what an imprint the University of Nebraska at Omaha made on my life. I thank everyone for the many leadership opportunities granted to me.” Send him email at craig_1856@yahoo.com 2000 Heather H. Wrenn-Kassube, BS, lives in Omaha and in an email notes that “After graduating I spent time at a small local advertising agency, followed by Ameritrade. I currently work for PayPal (an eBay Company) in their Acceptable Use Policy division, and really enjoy my work. My involvement in the Public Relations Student Society of America helped prepare me for the ‘real world’ of work! On a person-

al note, I was married in the summer of 2004 and purchased a house that fall. I look forward to returning to UNO to pursue a graduate degree. Go Mavs!” Send her email at heatherwrenn@yahoo.com 2004 Adam Mattheis, BS, was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in September. He is attending school at NAS Pensacola, Fla., for flight navigation.

Send him email at adam_mattheis@yahoo.com 2005 Kristin R. Kelly Ballard, BA, lives in Coppell, Texas. Send her email at ballard_kristin@yahoo.com

Winter 2005 • 45

W I N T E R

2 0 0 5

In Memoriam 1926 1930 1936 1937 1941

Helen A. Campbell Kuhn

Marietta Casebeer Earl W. Haffke Willa Robin Jensen Violet G. Dubois Bergsma

Robert E. Landstrom 1942 Charles A. Adams Robert L. Matthews Betty C. Kinney Mills 1949 Bettie N. Blissard Hickman Roberta “Bobbie” Muir Wirtz 1950 Leo E. Anderson William E. Hargens Carolyn M. Jackson Mancuso 1952 Jack E. Goodrich 1953 James B. Wright 1954 Richard L. Smith 1955 Eugene S. Jacobs 1956 Margaret Alley Broggini 1957 John J. Pusey Robert C. Thompson 1959 Mary Jane Fout Frederick E. Scheurer 1960 Lois A. Husted Norman McQuillen 1961 Ralph Castillo Lyon B. Childers James L. Frisby Mary L. Schoep Zaruba

Class Notes

1961 Evelyn Borg Lubberstedt William B. Oxford Howard E. Pearsall Adeline E. Reis 1962 Glen F. Avery Robert E. Fairchild Irwin B. Goodrich 1963 Kathryn H. Egenberger Frank A. Micholle William L. Ross Henry J. Witkowski Leo S. Zafron Richard E. Morrow 1964 John A. Mellor Stanley F. Nelson James R. Schumacher Harold B. Watson 1965 Kenneth W. Jeffry Walter E. Julin Francis P. Le Mere James J. Stanek Francis E. Woith 1966 Gwyn D. Penisten Barker William L. Conant Geraldine “Gerri” M. Hallgren Terrance “Terry” J. O'Connor 1966 Thomas E. Morris 1967 Leo J. Tisa

1967 Earl B. Whited John W. Wagstaffe Jack R. Stampley 1968 Eunice R. Casey Darrell B. Kampschror David R. Miller Robert W. Smith John A. Toohey 1969 Warren G. Campbell Helen M. Olsen Hansen Harold R. Knotts Harold B. Roberts 1970 Kenneth Adams Jean E. Schmidt Beyer Jack S. Hardison Lionel Wesley Simmons 1971 Hugh J. Hagadorn Nelson J. Cooper Richard L. Francis Linda J. Gehrig Linda K. Harder Donald L. Lehigh James L. Thaxton 1972 Marian E. Meis Halpine 1973 Robert L. Sklenar Thomas Clyde Worthy 1974 Charles S. Myers 1975 Orin B. Anderson, Sr. Francis “Frank” J. Kenney 1975 George E. Collins, Jr. Verlyn J. “Vern” Sieh

1975 Gail J. Minarik Slattery 1976 Malinda L. McKenzie John H. Vaughan 1977 Guy E. Stone 1978 Charise C. Villella 1979 James J. Hines Ronald E. Saxon 1980 Beverly J. Booker Robert D. Hunter 1981 Margaret B. Whidby Friestad Kell Frank J. Kotera David P. Lust 1982 Robert W. Wilson 1983 Brenda L. Bembry Kohout 1984 Mary C. White Bailey 1986 Nancy C. Marinkovich Naujokaitis 1987 Mary K. “Kathy” McGovern Eleanor B. Launey Schenck 1988 Peggy J. Aufenkamp Wheeler 1989 Emy Lou Garms Lipsys 1997 Brenda L. Hansen Hamilton 1999 Joel E. Cahill Brittawni L. Olson 2005 Kimberly L. Miller

Submit your class note over the web at www.unoalumni.org

What have you been doing since graduating from UNO? Your fellow alumni would like to know! Give us an update by filling out the form below. We’ll publish the news in a future issue of the UNO Alum and on our website. Send the news to Class Notes Editor, UNO Alum, 67th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182-0010, or Fax to (402) 554-3787.

Name__________________________________________

Employer ___________________________________

Class Year_______Degree________

Position_____________________________________

Address________________________________________

Career/Personal News__________________________

City ___________________________ State, Zip______________________

Is this a new

q Yes q No address?

Phone_____________________________ E-mail_________________________________________ May we post your email address in the next Alum?

q Yes q No

46 • Winter 2005

May we include your name in our website’s email directory (email addresses not shown)?

q Yes q No

May the Alumni Association periodically share info with you via e-mail?

q Yes q No

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

The UNO Century Club C

entury Club membership consists of 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.

With their UNRESTRICTED gift, Century Club donors receive one of five personalized mementos (pictured at right), special recognition in an annual report and invitations to select events throughout the year. *From donor rolls Sept. 1 through Nov. 15, 2005.

Welcome to the Club!

Thanks to these upgraded Century Club donors!

To Diamond ($1,000 or more) Robert R. Pahl

John J. & Debora S. Mackiel Barbara J. Magnuson Cheryl E. Miller Ann & Jack Newton Dr. Herbert G. Parker Maj. (Ret) James G. Parks Barry J. Thoendel Col. Thomas B. Vaughn Thomas & Aileen Warren Dennis A. White

To Gold ($500 or more) Michael F. Baumert Wallace A. Burkett Michael & Mary Beth Kudlacz Patricia A. Lamberty Ann Mactier Marlene R. Meyer Tom & Joan Quinlin Elizabeth Wickstrom Diane R. Wood Ilze Zigurs

Jeffery D. Hurst Kevin Kadow Daniel Kinsella Kathleen K. Klaas Edwin T. Kraemer, M.D. Lary & Trudy Lundquist Dana J. McKinley J.H. Miller John A. Miller Laurel B. Niday Diane M. Osborne Col. (Ret.) Maynard L. Park M.K. Pfauntsch Deborah D. Robinson Rebecca A. Schmidt Don & Marie Shafer Piyuah Shah David L. Stone Helen Stork Reg L. Stupp James R. Taylor Thomas P. Tosoni Felix F. Turk Leonard E. Wheeler Normita B. Willis

Welcome to these firsttime Century Club donors!

Bronze ($100 or more) Victoria Badura Kimberly R. Balkovec Worsham Caldwell, Sr. James C. Casey Donald P. Chapman John & Mary Connell Jerry Cornett Carter H. Cowan Randy L. Davis Charles F. Engh Ronald V. Euler John H. Grandfield Mark A. Hoffman

To Silver ($250 or more) Col. Steven L. Andraschko Gregory A. Baker Vicki L. Beyer Richard T. Burress Diane M. Cameron Thomas & Phyllis Campbell Pat M. Carlson Kathy L. Divis Gary Kathol

2005 UNO Annual Fund Donation Form

STEP 1—Check level

q Alumni Card Donor

STEP 2—Mark payment information

Less than $25

A.q Check enclosed for $

$25 or more

B.q Bill me for $

q Calendar Donor q Gold Card Donor $50 or more

q Bronze Century $100 or more

q Silver Century

$250 or more

q Golden Century $500 or more

in

Name month

.

C.q I authorize the UNO Alumni Association to collect my gift of $ through my:

q

Visa

q

MasterCard

Expiration Date:__________

Card No.:

$1,000 or more $2,500 or more

.

Payable to UNO Annual Fund.

q Diamond Century q Platinum Century

STEP 3—Complete Name and Address

Signature

q

Discover

As you wish it to appear in our 2005 Annual Report

Address City/State/Zip Phone E-mail Save time and a stamp . . .

Donate online at www.unoalumni.org

_______________________________________________ UNOALUM

w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Winter 2005 • 47

Make a World of Difference 2005 Annual Fund

Make a World of Difference through a contribution to the 2005 UNO Annual Fund. In addition to traditional support of campus, donations support the following endeavors:

Aid to Afghanistan: Through coordination with UNO’s Center for Afghanistan Studies the Association is providing supplies for students and teachers in Afghanistan schools.

In Care Of: The Association has established “In Care Of” — military care packages sent to UNO alumni, students or children of UNO alumni/students/faculty/staff who currently are at war.

Win a trip to Los Angeles!: Donate by Dec. 31 and

qualify for our Grand Prize Weekend Getaway random drawing—a trip for two to Los Angeles!

Donate today at www.unoalumni.org/give_to_uno or fill out the form on page 47 and return it to us today.

Questions? Call us toll-free at UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-6282586).

University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Association W.H. Thompson Alumni Center Omaha, NE 68182-0010 Address Service Requested

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