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SMASHING ATOMS / ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME / WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
NEBRASKA Magazine EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
The Art of the
DEAL Gerard Keating (’87)
Volume 111 / No. 2 /Summer 2015 huskeralum.org
SPECIAL DISCOUNT Special discount for University of Nebraska Alumni Association members! By now, you probably have heard about how much money GEICO could save people on their car insurance. But did you also know as a member of the University of Nebraska Alumni Association you could save even more with a special discount? Simply visit geico.com/alum/naa or call 1-800-368-2734 and mention your University of Nebraska Alumni Association membership and see how much you could save. Since fellow Nebraskan Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired GEICO in 1996, the two have seen GEICO grow to become the second-largest personal auto insurer in the nation. GEICO has a longstanding history of helping people save money on their car insurance. With your special University of Nebraska Alumni Association member discount, you could be saving on GEICO car insurance, too. Your free quote awaits! Visit geico.com/alum/naa or call 1-800-368-2734 for your free rate quote today. And remember to mention your group affiliation; you could save even more with a special discount.
geico.com/alum/naa 1-800-368-2734 Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Discount amount varies in some states. One group discount applicable per policy. Coverage is individual. In New York a premium reduction may be available. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2015. © 2015 GEICO
INSIDESUMMER 5 Alumni Voices 6 University Update 20 Alumni Authors 53 Alumni News 56 Chapters & Affiliates 57 Class Notes 59 Alumni Profiles Pete Allman, ’79, ’92 Cody Asche, ’12 Matt Heng, ’14 Maddie Sheils, ’12
Cover Photo Credit: Alyssa Schukar Photography, Chicago.
Students and parents spill out of Pinnacle Bank Arena following UNL Spring Undergraduate Commencement May 9, headed for the NAA’s ConGraduation festivities in the Railyard and other area venues.
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Smashing Atoms
University of Nebraska-Lincoln physicists play a prominent leadership role in one of the world’s biggest physics experiments – the Large Hadron Collider and its two particle detectors – particularly the Compact Muon Solenoid detector – that capture and measure the results of atoms smashed in the collider.
The Art of the Deal
For real estate investor Gerard Keating, completing more than $500 million in property transactions over the past 25 years was all about daring to trust his own entrepreneurial instincts. It was also about “keeping faith with the spirit of Nebraska.”
A Dream Job
Writing Contest profile winner Mekita Rivas talks about Kay Kunze’s job as a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ranger, which goes along with her love of the ocean and scuba diving.
Country Boy Becomes Network Sports Director Writing Contest nostalgia winner Ken Fouts recalls 42 years as a director of sporting events for NBC Sports in New York, ABC Sports, Turner Broadcasting, ESPN and FOX Sports.
Nebraska Athletic HOF
The creation of the University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame will honor Husker programs and student-athletes who have won 26 team national championships, captured 156 individual NCAA titles, and continue to lead the nation with 315 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 17 NCAA Top 10 Award winners.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 3
alumnivoices NEBRASKA Magazine For alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00 Executive Director, Nebraska Alumni Association Andrea Wood Cranford, ’71 Editor Move Creative Design Kevin Wright, ’78 Layout and Photography; Class Notes Editor A.T. Greer Advertising Sales Nebraska Magazine (USPS 10970) is published quarterly by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the known office of publication is 1520 R St., Lincoln NE 68508-1651. Alumni association dues are $50.00 annually of which $10.00 is for a subscription to Nebraska Magazine. Periodicals postage is paid at Lincoln Nebraska 68501 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address corrections to: Nebraska Magazine in care of the Nebraska Alumni Association, 1520 R St., Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. Requests for permission to reprint materials and reader comments are welcome. Send mail to: Nebraska Magazine Wick Alumni Center / 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 Phone: 402-472-2841 Toll-free: 888-353-1874 E-mail: nebmag@huskeralum.org Website: huskeralum.org Views expressed in Nebraska Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nebraska Alumni Association. The alumni association does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.
Alumni Association Staff Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00, Executive Dir. Brooke Busboom, ’14, Venues Mgmt. Spec. Alex Cerveny, ’13, Alum/Student Relations Coord. Andrea Cranford, ’71, Sr. Dir., Publications Charles Dorse, Custodian Derek Engelbart, Sr. Dir., Alum Relations Paul Goedert, ’14, Venues Coord. A.T. Greer, Director, Alumni Development Sarah Haskell, ’09, Dir., Alum Engagement/ Outreach Ryan Janousek, Venues Mgmt./Oper. Spec. Wendy Kempcke, Admin. Asst. Jessica Marshall, ’11, Dir., Written Comm. Kim Miller, Projects Asst. Carrie Myers, ’03, ’11, Dir., Alumni Engagement Larry Routh, Alum Career Spec. Viann Schroeder, Alum Campus Tours Deb Schwab, Assoc. Dir., Venues Sarah Reitz, ’11, Assoc. Dir., Brand Comm. Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07, Sr. Dir., Oper./ Outreach Judy Weaver, Projects Asst. Sara Werner, ’14, Exec. Asst. Katie Williams, ’03, Sr. Dir., Marketing Comm. Hilary Winter, ’11, Digital Comm. Spec. Kevin Wright, ’78, Dir., Design
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Summer 2015 n Vol. 111, No. 2
Zaborowski Named NAA Executive Director Shelley Zaborowski has been appointed executive director of the Nebraska Alumni Association. Bill Mueller, president of the association’s executive board, made the announcement March 7. “Shelley has demonstrated solid leadership as interim director and is willing to serve on a longer-term basis in the capacity of executive director,” Mueller said. “The NAA board and Chancellor Harvey Perlman agree that Shelley is the right leader at the right time.” A search for a new director began last September following the departure of Diane Mendenhall, who led NAA from September 2008 to August 2014. Mendenhall became associate athletic director for development and ticket operations. “We are fortunate that Shelley has agreed to continue to serve in this role and the board has high confidence in her ability to move the organization ahead during this critical juncture in the history of the university,” Mueller said. Zaborowski said she was honored to be asked to serve her alma mater as alumni director. “The momentum and potential of the alumni association at this time present an exciting professional opportunity,” she said. “As a Nebraska alum, I know I will derive a great deal of personal satisfaction as well. I look forward to working to further develop the engagement of our alumni in Nebraska, the nation and globally.” Perlman said that in the past several months, Zaborowski has done “an outstanding job” in moving NAA forward. “As an interim director, it would have been easier for her to maintain status quo during the search for a new director,” Perlman said. “Instead, she has stepped into the leadership role and has worked to continue to grow the organization.” Zaborowski said she has agreed to continue to lead the NAA through the transition to a new chancellor. Perlman has announced he will retire in June 2016. “We have a great team and I’m comfortable expanding the work that is already under way to make continuous progress,” Zaborowski said. “Obviously a new chancellor may have his or her own ideas about the direction of NAA but for now we will work hard to pursue the goals set by our board and by Chancellor Perlman.” Zaborowski has been with the NAA for 18 years, administering a variety of programs including the Student Alumni Association, Alumni Masters Week, Alumni Advisory Council and the Nebraska Women’s Leadership Network (formerly Cather Circle), which she helped develop. A native of Omaha, she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UNL in 1996 and a master’s degree in higher education administration in 2000. She and her husband, Keith, have two children, Madeline, 13, and Ethan, 12.
alumnivoices 2014-2015 NAA EXECUTIVE BOARD Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, President, Lincoln Erleen Hatfield, ’91, ’96, New York City, N.Y. Bill Nunez, UNL L.G. Searcy, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Joe Selig, ’80, ’87, NU Foundation Judy Terwilliger, ’95, ’98, Lincoln Steve Toomey, ’85, ’89, Lenexa, Kan.
2014-2015 Alumni advisory council Damon Barry, ’00, Westminster, Colo. Graten D. Beavers, ’71, ’74, Kearney Stephanie Bolli, ’89, Omaha Lynn Canavan, ’86, ’90, McKinney, Texas Jennifer Christo, ’97, ’99, Omaha John Clarke, ’74, Mitchell, S.D.
Your article (“Passion in the Desert” by Tom Nugent, Spring 2015) spurred an instant interest for my family. My daughter and son-in-law were acquainted with Dr. McDowell during undergraduate school, my daughter being a sorority sister. My son-in-law recently returned from India with the dreaded Leishmaniasis parasite imbedded in his arm. Most doctors in Omaha had no idea what this was until one called Frank and said he needed to come to his office immediately. By the time treatment was started, his right forearm had a cyst the size of a golf ball and was steadily growing to an even greater size. Wife Carol took daily pictures of it as treatment gradually slowed down the process and eventually conquered it. Upon reading your article they made plans to send their pictures to Dr. McDowell and I said I would contact you to say how accurately those descriptions of Leishmaniasis described the trauma they experienced. Until your article, Frank did not know the source of the parasite … so, thank you for clarifying that with both a picture and description of the sand fly and how it operates!
Daniel Dawes, ’06, Mableton, Ga.
Dr. Gene Armstrong Grand Island
Megan Dreyer, ’03, Lincoln Kendra Eberhart, ’79, Peoria, Ariz. Jessica Erstad, ’96, Lincoln Rick Grady, ’98, ’98, ’04, New Albany, Ohio Pam Hemann, ’70, Pasadena, Calif. Troy Heuermann, ’92, Saint Paul, Minn. Jane Hirt, ’89, Chicago, Ill. Greg Johnson, ’89, ’93, Denver, Colo. Ka’Ron Johnson, ’00, Houston, Texas Lauren Kintner, ’92, Papillion Jeffrey Kratz, ’03, Washington, D.C. Duane Kristensen, ’76, ’78, Minden Desi Luckey-Rohling, ’81, Edgerton, Wis. Steven Miller, ’81, Lincoln
@NebraskaAlumni retweets April 18 – Successful golf outing today for SOAZ4NE. #lovenebraska @ NebraskaAlumni – Jerry Hilbrook @omshusker, Tucson, AZ
Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, Lincoln Emily Murtaugh, Current Student, Omaha Gregory Newport, ’76, Lincoln Mike Pate, Omaha Jamie Reimer, ’03, ’08, Papillion Russ Ripa, ’99, Lincoln
April 18 – Had a great day volunteering for the @TheBIGEvent_ UNL – Scarlet Guard @UNLSG
Paul Schreier, ’00, ’01, Boston, Mass. Robert Scott, ’94, Lincoln Christine Scudder Kemper, ’87, Kansas City, Mo. L.G. Searcey, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Lee Stuart, ’91, Lincoln Judy E. Terwilliger, ’95, ’98, Lincoln Dale Tutt, ’88, Wichita, Kan. Mat Weekly, ’84, ’87, ’91, Aberdeen, S.D. Renee Wessels, ’82, Omaha
April 22 – Can’t believe I’m graduating in a couple of weeks. The cap and gown just make it seem more real. @NebraskaAlumni – Sarah Doyle @anartistspeaks
April 22 – I just purchased my cap & gown and joined the Nebraska Alumni Association. Yup, I’m feelin’ it now. #GraduationIsAlmostHere – Liz Kuhlkin @liz_kuhlkin24
May 14 – Tonight concludes a great year w/ @NebraskaAlumni’s Young
Alumni Academy. Thanks for the opportunity to network and learn more about #UNL! – Kevin Force@kevinforch
May 7 – So honored to have been awarded a scholarship by @NebraskaAlumni tonight and to be in a room with so many outstanding UNL graduates! – Michaela Niemeyer @MacNiemeyer
May 7 – It was an honor and an inspiration to attend the @NebraskaAlumni Awards banquet tonight! So many prestigious alumni being awarded. #UNL – Emily Schoening @eschoe13
May 9 – It’s #UNL2015 graduation day! The day where #UNL students become @NebraskaAlumni #HuskerAlum – UNL @UNLincoln
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huskeralum.org/linkedin alumni@huskeralum.org
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 5
UNIVERSITY UPDATE TRUMAN, FULBRIGHT, GOLDWATER, BOREN
Top UNL Scholars Earn Prestigious Awards TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP UNL junior Annie Himes, a triple major in Russian, history and global studies, has been named a Annie Himes 2015 Truman Scholar. She is one of about 60 students nationally to receive the $30,000 scholarship, which rewards students who demonstrate leadership potential and have an outstanding record of public service. Himes, a 2012 graduate of Papillion-La Vista High School, has been a legislative intern and page, an Association of the Students of the University of Nebraska senator, a member of the University Honors Program, a member of the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women, a Chi Omega sorority member and a volunteer with the progressive advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed. She plans to attend law school with an eye on a career working for policies and change in the treatment of women.
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FULBRIGHT AWARDS Five University of Nebraska-Lincoln students have earned Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grants. The Fulbright ETA Program is a nationally competitive award that places recent graduates in classrooms abroad to provide assistance to local English language teachers. These students are also cultural ambassadors for the United States. Julia DeLaRosa, a secondary education and Spanish major with an emphasis in English for Language Learners, will add to her experiences in Mexico, Costa Rica and Spain Julia DeLaRosa by traveling to Brazil for her ETA. DeLaRosa is a Reicher Catholic High School graduate from Waco, Texas, and is an international student mentor, UNL Cultural Ambassador, and English tutor for Catholic Social Services. While abroad, DeLaRosa will use her interest and knowledge in music to engage outside of the classroom. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in
foreign language education to teach Spanish, Portuguese or ELL at the secondary level. Jennifer Gotrik, a 2014 UNL graduate with degrees in journalism and art and a Gretna High School alumna, will travel to Turkey. She has previously studied in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Norway, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Gotrik will complement her English teaching by reaching out to the community through her skills in art and mass communications. She plans to apply to a master’s program in photojournalism and documentary filmmaking to continue her work with human rights and environmental issues. Gotrik has been involved with UNL Globetrotters, Habitat for Humanity and two UNL Jennifer Gotrik photojournalism documentary trips. Bryan Howard, a graduate of Howell High School near Farmingdale, N.J., and an English and theatre arts and human behavior major, will travel to
Annie Himes (second from left) talks with (from left) Chancellor Harvey Perlman, Matthew Boring and Patrice Berger, director of the University Honors Program, during a Truman Scholar celebration in Canfield Administration Building on April 9. Boring, marketing and sales manager at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, was named a Truman Scholar in 2010. Photo by Troy Fedderson, University Communications.
Indonesia. This will build on his experiences as an English as a Second Language tutor in Lincoln Bryan Howard Literacy and a Reading is Leading tutor at Clinton Elementary. Howard said he hopes to create a space for communal cultural and theatrical sharing through exploring Western theater and Indonesia’s traditional wayang puppet drama. Howard will continue his education through a graduate program in dramaturgy to pursue his plans to work as a freelance dramaturge and professor. Kelsey Lee, an anthropology major with a minor in human rights and humanitarian affairs, will travel to Thailand. A graduate of Lincoln East High School, Lee has been a youth coordinator for Americorps, serving Karen refugee youth from Thailand Kelsey Lee through the
Asian Community and Cultural Center. She will continue her work with refugees in Thailand by working with the DEAR Burma and Shanti Volunteer Association to support literacy and language development. Lee plans to use her newly acquired skills for English teaching and community engagement by pursuing a master’s degree in teaching, learning and teacher education. Courtney Leikam, a German and global studies major with minors in women’s and gender studies and human rights and humanitarian affairs, will return to Germany, where she studied in 2014. A graduate of Lincoln Southwest High School, Leikam plans to get involved in women’s groups abroad because of her interest in supporting and promoting women’s health. Courtney Leikam She also wants to provide a setting for cultural engagement and exchange by using American films and television shows as a way to explore the similarities and differences between cultures. Leikam plans to work for an international organization like the United Nations. GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIP Aaron Calderon, a UNL junior majoring in mathematics and philosophy, has been awarded a Goldwater scholarship for his mathematics research for the 2016-17 academic year. With the scholarship, he will continue his research on applications of geometry and computer Aaron Calderon science to the
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
mathematical study of braids, which he has been studying for over a year under the direction of Susan Hermiller, professor and graduate chair in the Department of Mathematics. Calderon, who is currently studying mathematics in Moscow, Russia, plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics to conduct research in either the private sector or academia.
BOREN SCHOLARSHIP Maggie Dawson, a UNL Honors Program student and senior majoring in nutrition and health sciences, has earned a Boren Scholarship that will take her to Mozambique. While abroad, she will learn Portuguese and volunteer Maggie Dawson through CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), an international organization focused on alleviating poverty. Dawson applied to Mozambique because of the effects of malnutrition on the country’s health and economy after a period of civil war. She plans to apply to the Peace Corps to further her international work. She then plans to attend graduate school and receive her master’s degree in public health before beginning a career with the U.S. Agency for International Development as a nutrition specialist and registered dietician. – Deann Gayman, University Communications; UNL Fellowship Staff
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 7
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION
Perlman to Step Down as Chancellor He made the announcement on April 1, but it was no April Fool’s joke. On the day marking his 14th anniversary as UNL Chancellor, Harvey Perlman announced that he will step down on June 20, 2016 and return to teaching on the Nebraska Law faculty. A native of York, Nebraska, Perlman came to the NU College of Law in 1967. He served on the law faculty until 1974, when he joined the University of Virginia Law School. He returned to Nebraska in 1983, when he accepted the deanship of the law college, a post he held until 1998. Historic advances have marked Perlman’s tenure as UNL chancellor. Among the most noteworthy: • The formation and continued development of Nebraska Innovation Campus, a research campus designed to facilitate new and more in-depth partnerships between the university and the private sector, on the former Nebraska State Fair site in Lincoln. Upon full build- out, NIC will be a 2.2 million- square-foot research, meeting
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and office space with up to 5,000 people working at the site. • The university’s 2011 admission to the Big Ten Conference. Along with a shift in the Huskers’ athletic landscape, UNL also became a member in the prestigious Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the nation’s premier higher-education consortium of top-tier research institutions. • Steady growth in student enrollment, most recently to 25,006 in the 2014-15 academic year – the second largest student body in the university’s history. Since 2001, UNL’s enrollment has increased by 12.3 percent. • Sustained growth in the university’s research expend itures, from $157.5 million in the 2001 fiscal year to a total of $266.5 million in FY2013. • Investment in campus infrastructure and facilities, including Nebraska Innovation Campus, Othmer Hall, Jorgensen Hall, the Center for Brain,
Biology and Behavior in East Memorial Stadium, the Nebraska Center for Virology on UNL’s East Campus and many other physical projects. • Increased international partnerships, including significant efforts in globalizing UNL and Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, through joint research and partnership degree programs. In 2011, Perlman was named an Honorary University Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong. He also serves on the board of directors of the Middle- East, North Africa Network of Water Centers. In addition, Perlman has been prominent on matters of national intercollegiate athletics, including a seat on the NCAA’s Board of Directors. He also is past chair of the Bowl Championship Series Presidential Oversight committee and currently is chair of the College Football Playoff Association Board of Managers. – Steve Smith, University Communications
UNIVERSITY-WIDE AWARDS
UNL Faculty Earn Top Awards
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
the Center for Child and Family Wellstudents’ interest in soil sciences and Four faculty members and one Being. His research on improving the her research is advancing global food department have been honored lives of children with behavioral and security. for winning the most prestigious mental health disorders has resulted Two faculty members won the systemwide awards from the University in a major shift in the field of child Innovation, Development and Engage of Nebraska. Award (IDEA). Stephen Reichenbach, mental health. Charles Wood, Lewis Lehr/3M professor of computer science and The university-wide Department University Professor and director of the Nebraska Center for Virology, won the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award (ORCA). Woods has devoted his career to driving innovations in HIV/AIDS research that have resulted in Charles Wood Martha Malmo Stephen Reichenbach Michael Epstein new prevention and Teaching Award (UDTA) went to the management efforts and new treatment engineering and founding director Department of Entomology in the College of GC Image LLC, is a role model methods that suppress the virus. of Agriculture and Natural Resources. to colleagues interested in pursuing Winning an Outstanding Teaching Entomology faculty are widely known collaborative research or developing and Instructional Creativity Award for their student-focused approach, university-based spinoff companies. (OTICA) was Martha Mamo, soil innovative ideas and commitment Also winning the IDEA was Michael science professor in the Department to sharing their knowledge in the Epstein, William E. Barkley Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture. Mamo’s community. of Special Education and director of teaching methods are inspiring
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Green Named Interim Senior Vice Chancellor Ronnie Green, Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the NU system, has been appointed interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNL. Green, who has been with the university since 2010, will continue in his IANR role during the interim period. Green earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University, respectively, and a
from Pfizer Animal Health, doctorate in animal where he was senior global breeding and genetics director of technical services jointly from UNL and for animal genomics. the USDA-ARS U.S. Ellen Weissinger, who had Meat Animal Research been senior vice chancellor Center. for academic affairs since He was on faculty at December 2009, announced Texas Tech University Ronnie Green last fall that she would step and Colorado State, down on June 30. A university search and was the national program leader committee for her successor will for animal production research for the resume their work next year after a new USDA’s Agricultural Research Service chancellor is named. and executive secretary of the White – Steve Smith, University House’s interagency working group on Communications animal genomics within the National Science and Technology Council. In 2010, Green returned to UNL NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 9
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
“The Song of the Lark” by Jules Breton (1884)
Lindsay Andrews, co-curator of “Visual Cather: The Writer’s Pictorial Imagination” Photo by Troy Fedderson, University Communications.
SHELDON MUSEUM OF ART
Exhibit to Focus on Cather’s Imagination Visitors to the Sheldon Museum of Art can walk in Willa Cather’s footsteps this summer while viewing works of art that inspired her narratives of sweeping vistas in her novels. “Visual Cather: The Writer’s Pictorial Imagination” will run through Aug. 30 at the Sheldon Museum of Art, 12th and R streets. The new exhibition is co-sponsored by the Cather Project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was curated by Lindsay Andrews, a graduate student of English, and Ashley Hussman, associate curator at the Sheldon. The exhibit’s centerpiece is a popular 19th-century painting that directly inspired Cather’s “The Song of the Lark,” a significant novel celebrating its 100th anniversary of publication this year. The painting, also titled “The Song of the Lark,” by Jules Breton, is on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibit will take CONNECTION BOX visitors on a sheldonartmuseum.org journey through
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Cather’s career, starting with the art she likely encountered as a student at the University of Nebraska. Cather was known to enjoy both visual and performing arts, often including references
ist W.T. Benda, whom Cather commissioned to illustrate key scenes in “My Antonia,” and copies of the novel “The Song of the Lark,” whose covers were emblazoned with the Breton painting
The exhibit will take visitors on a journey through Cather’s career, starting with the art she likely encountered as a student at the University of Nebraska. Cather was known to enjoy both visual and performing arts, often including references to works in her short stories and novels. to works in her short stories and novels. “The exhibition celebrates Cather’s maturation as a writer and her craft as an artist, beginning with her time as a student in Nebraska, followed by her European travels, where she acquired her taste for European art and further developed her skill of descriptive writing as she saw more of the world,” Andrews said. Another wall posits that Cather’s authorship was its own kind of artistry. Works there include sketches from art-
during its early publication. The exhibit wraps up with a wall of Cather portraits, or “Cather as subject,” where her likeness inspired artists. Most of the artwork was pulled from the Sheldon archives. Other pieces are on loan from UNL’s Archives and Special Collections, Omaha Public Library and the Willa Cather Foundation. – Deann Gayman, University Communications
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY
Alumni Art on Display Forty-three alumni from UNL’s Department of Art and Art History will show their work this summer in the exhibition “UNL Alumni Artists 1970-1973” in the EisentragerHoward Gallery in Richards Hall. The exhibition continues through Aug. 7 in the gallery, which is located on the first floor of Richards Hall at Stadium Drive and T streets. Visitors can stop by room 120 of Richards Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for access to the gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. The Department of Art and Art History solicited alumni who graduated from UNL between 19701973 to send artwork for the exhibition. The exhibition will be repeated in future years with different graduation dates included. Last summer’s exhibition featured the work of alumni from the class years 1945-1969. Participating alumni include: Anna (Tilts) Anderson (B.A. 1971), Karen Blessen (B.F.A. 1973), Rod Bouc (B.F.A. in education 1973), Tom Bouse (B.F.A. in education 1971), Susan Brasch (B.F.A. in education 1972), Mary Bruns (B.F.A. in education 1971), Jim Butler (M.F.A. 1970), Mary Butler (B.F.A. in education 1972), Mary Chaney (B.F.A. 1972), Jan Christensen (B.F.A. 1971), Margaret (Peg) Conway (B.F.A. in education 1971), Bob Culver (B.F.A. 1973), Lynn
Dance (B.F.A. in education 1972), Barbara Durham (B.F.A. in education 1973), Susan Eckenwalder (M.F.A. 1971), Ben Gibson (M.F.A. 1973), Marcia Goldenstein (B.F.A. 1970, M.F.A. 1973), Gretchen Hancock (B.F.A. 1972), Lawrence Hernandez (B.S. 1972), Chad Keel (B.F.A. 1970, M.B.A. 1974), Bernie McNally (B.F.A. 1971), Ron Milhoan (B.F.A. in education 1973), Ron Nordyke (B.F.A. 1971), Phil Perry (B.S. 1971 and M.A. 1974), Gretchen Peters (B.F.A. in education 1971), Martha (Haack) Pettigrew (B.F.A. 1972), Sheryl Piere (B.F.A. in education 1973), Max Reis (B.F.A. in education 1973), Tex Richters (B.F.A. 1973), Tom Riesing (B.F.A. 1971, M.F.A. 1973), Steve Ryan (B.F.A. 1973), Dee Schaad (M.F.A. 1973), Patricia Schulz (B.F.A. in education 1972), Melanie Schwartz (B.F.A. 1972), Jody Shields (B.F.A. 1974), Linda Stych (B.S. 1970), Mary Tanner (B.A. 1972), Nancy Teague (B.F.A. in education, 1971), Shelley Thornton (B.F.A. 1973), Jan Weishaar (B.F.A. in education 1973), Lynn Wilson (B.S. 1970), Steve Yates (B.F.A. 1972) and Dave Young (B.F.A. 1971). Shelley Thornton, “REMY,” fabric, wool batting, wooden balls, 2009.
NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM/INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER
Free Summer Admission for Blue Star Families The University of Nebraska State Museum at Morrill Hall and the International Quilt Study Center and Museum are two of more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense. Morrill Hall and the quilt center will offer free admission to activeduty military personnel including the
National Guard and Reserve and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day as part of the Blue Star Museum program. The State Museum is offering exciting science exhibits and educational activities this summer. The quilt center, with an international collection and world-class exhibitions, has recently opened expanded galleries. The free admission program is available to anyone with a Geneva Convention common access card
(CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID) or DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps – and up to five family members.
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 11
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
ROBERT B. DAUGHERTY WATER FOR FOOD INSTITUTE
UNL Researcher’s Soil Moisture Detector Helping South African Forest A UNL researcher’s high-tech soil moisture detector is being put to the test in the wild. Hydrogeophysicist Trenton Franz is applying technology developed for precision agriculture to help protect an endangered native forest in South Africa.
CONNECTION BOX tfranz2.wix.com/trenton-franz#!research/ca4p
Under a National Science Foundation-supported project, Franz is working with collaborators in South Africa to help assess the environmental impacts of commercial groundwater pumping from the Venetia Diamond Mine and well fields near Mapungubwe National Park. Franz’s cosmic-ray neutron detector measures hydrogen in
The cosmic ray detector is mounted to a tree in South Africa’s Mapungubwe National Park.
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the park’s ecosystem and detects water stress in the trees and shrubs that make up its rare gallery forest. The park, rich with biodiversity and cultural history, is located along the Limpopo River and serves as a major regional wildlife conservation area. The park’s vegetation provides a safe haven for elephants, lions, hyenas, meerkats, crocodiles and more. However, the park’s once dense tree canopy has become endangered due to excessive water extraction for agriculture and mining, along with damage from elephants. “The region’s semi-arid climate combined with high summer temperatures, sometimes topping 113 degrees, creates challenging growing conditions,” said Franz, a Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow. “Effective groundwater monitoring and management is critical for the park’s plant ecosystem to survive.” In March, Franz’s partners at the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) and South African National Parks installed a cosmic-ray neutron detector to monitor the park’s soil moisture and the amount of water inside its vegetation canopy. The device, strategically mounted on a tree out
The endangered riparian vegetation at Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa.
of reach of wild animals, sends data in real time across the globe to Franz’s Trenton Franz lab in Lincoln for analyses. Franz is working closely with SAEON hydrometeorologist Colin Everson in Pietermaritzburg to combine the data with detailed local vegetation monitoring to determine if and when the forest is being affected by water stress. Once a mathematical relationship between the cosmic-ray neutron detector measurements and the vegetation water stress measurements has been established, the technology may be used by De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited as part of its conservation efforts. De Beers’ Venetia Diamond Mine is 10 miles from the park and relies heavily on the area’s water resources to support its operations. Franz’s technology has the potential to serve as an early warning system, providing information the company can use to more effectively manage its groundwater pumping and mitigate any detrimental effects on the forest. – Dana Ludvik, Water for Food Institute
NEBRASKA CENTER FOR ENERGY SCIENCES RESEARCH
Study Models New Atomic Structures of Gold Nanoparticle They may deal in gold, atomic staples and electron volts rather than cement, support beams and kilowatthours, but chemists have drafted new nanoscale blueprints for lowenergy structures capable of housing pharmaceuticals and oxygen atoms. Led by UNL’s Xiao Cheng Zeng and former visiting professor Yi Gao, new research has revealed four atomic arrangements of a gold nanoparticle cluster. The arrangements exhibit much lower potential energy and greater stability than a standardsetting configuration reported last year by a Nobel Prize-winning team from Stanford University. The modeling of these arrangements could inform the cluster’s use as a transporter of pharmaceutical drugs and as a catalyst for removing pollutants from vehicular emissions or other industrial byproducts, Zeng said. Zeng and his colleagues unveiled the arrangements for a molecule featuring
68 gold atoms and 32 pairs of bonded sulfur-hydrogen atoms. Sixteen of the gold atoms form the molecule’s core; the remainder bond with the sulfur and hydrogen to form a protective coating that stems from the core. Differences in atomic arrangements can alter molecular energy and stability, with less potential energy making for a more stable molecule. The team calculates that one of the arrangements may represent the most stable possible structure in a molecule with its composition. “Our group has helped lead the front on nano-gold research over the past 10 years,” said Zeng, an Ameritas University Professor of chemistry. “We’ve now found new coating structures of much lower energy, meaning they are closer to the reality than (previous) analyses. So the deciphering of this coating structure is major progress.” Knowing the nanoparticle’s most
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
This rendering shows the atomic arrangements of a gold nanocluster as reported in a new study led by UNL chemist Xiao Cheng Zeng. The cluster measures about 1.7 nanometers long – roughly the same length that a human fingernail grows in two seconds.
stable configurations, Zeng said, could allow biomedical engineers to identify appropriate binding sites for drugs used to treat cancer and other diseases. The findings could also optimize the use of gold nanoparticles in catalyzing the oxidation process that transforms dangerous carbon monoxide emissions into the less noxious carbon dioxide, he said. The team, which received support from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and UNL’s Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research, performed most of its computational analyses through the university’s Holland Computing Center.
Xiao Cheng Zeng
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 13
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Tony Bennett
“Riverdance”
LIED CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS
2015-16 Lied Schedule Announced The Lied Center for Performing Arts will kick off its 2015-16 schedule Sept. 24-25 with one of the most enduring Broadway shows of all-time, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Part of the Glenn Korff Broadway Series, “Joseph” will be followed by some of Broadway’s biggest titles including “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder “ (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) “Flashdance the Musical” (Feb. 1920) “Riverdance” (March 15-17) and “Annie” (April 21-22). “Thanks to the Glenn Korff Endowment, we are able to attract higher-profile shows than we’ve had in the past,” said Bill Stephan, executive director of the Lied. Following the success of the 25th anniversary season, the Lied Center will present bluegrass group Punch Brothers on Sept. 29 and 18-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett on Oct. 2. The Fab Four, a tribute to The Beatles, returns on Oct. 9 as well as Take 6 with a new holiday concert on Dec. 11. One of country music’s
14 SUMMER 2015
greatest living legends, Merle Haggard, will make his Lied Center debut Nov. 10, the Texas Tenors will play Jan. 21 and Dennis DeYoung – the voice of Styx – will perform March 4. On Feb. 27, the Russian National Orchestra will return for the first time since 2001 to perform with superstar pianist Yuja Wang. The allRussian program will be highlighted by Stravinsky’s masterpiece “The Firebird.” The Lied Center’s classical music programming begins with the Shanghai Quartet on Sept. 27. On Nov. 3, men’s vocal ensemble Cantus will perform a program of both traditional and contemporary selections. The Piano Series returns for a third year with leading concert pianists Stephen Hough (Dec. 1) and Garrick Ohlsson (April 6). The jazz and world music lineup is highlighted by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring singer Dee Dee Bridgewater and trumpeter Irvin Mayfield on March 11. The Lied Center will present “A Romantic Evening with
Jackie Allen” at the Rococo Theatre on Feb. 13. The Pablo Ziegler Quartet for New Tango, famous for pioneering the Argentine New Tango movement, performs on March 31 and Broadway hit “FELA!” comes to the Lied stage April 8. Doc Severinsen, longtime bandleader for “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, will perform at the Lied for the fourth time on April 16, this time with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. On Feb. 5, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returns to the Lied Center blending incredible technique, impeccable comic timing and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe. The Lied Center’s spring dance program will include performances by Parsons Dance on April 2 and the
NEBRASKA INNOVATION STUDIO
Maker Space Gets Jumpstart with Cooper Grant The Cooper Foundation of Lincoln has provided a grant of $200,000 to support the Nebraska Innovation Studio, a 16,000-square-foot maker space in the Innovation Commons Building at Nebraska Innovation Campus. The one-of-a-kind place for all kinds of makers will let students, faculty members and the community design, prototype, create and learn. The studio will provide membership access to high-end equipment, classes on a variety of ways to make things and access to an innovative community. It will offer a wide range of equipment, including tools for 3D printing and prototyping, woodworking, metal working, welding, sewing, screen printing, electronics, robotics and more. With the support from the Cooper Foundation, plans for the studio are getting off the ground, said Shane Farritor, professor of mechanical and materials engineering and faculty adviser to the UNL Maker Club. Maker spaces are a growing trend, but Nebraska
Moscow Festival Ballet’s renditions of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Carmen Suite” on April 19. On Dec. 2, Netherlands-based dancer and
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Innovation Studio will be unique. No other maker space features an in-house business accelerator and the close proximity of tenant companies and research labs offered by the Nebraska Innovation Campus community. Once complete, everyone who enters the studio will be greeted by a gallery that celebrates the creative items being made within the space. It will be named the Cooper Foundation Makers Gallery in recognition of the foundation’s support for the program and its tradition of helping the university. With the building space provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Nebraska Innovation Studio has partnered with the University of Nebraska Foundation to raise $4.2 million in private donations needed to build the studio and equip it. The studio will be completed in phases as funds are available, and the grant from Cooper Foundation enables it to move forward with phase one of construction.
choreographer Erik Kaiel will captivate audiences with an intimate performance in the Johnny Carson Theater. Dr. Seuss’s beloved “Cat in the Hat” will bring all sorts of trouble to the Lied Center on Feb. 12-13, and on April 14, one of PBS Kids’ biggest celebrities, Daniel Tiger, will perform in a new live production filled with singing, dancing and laughter. One of the Lied’s most extensive theater schedules in years will include L.A. Theatre Works’ adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” on Oct. 23. As part of the Grow A Show program, the Lied Center will present two new productions, “The Things They Carried” and “Puddin’ and the Grumble.” Based on the best-selling novel, “The Things They Carried” chronicles author Tim O’Brien’s journey to the jungles of Vietnam in a oneman production to be performed in the Johnny Carson Theater. “Puddin’ and
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
The Grumble” is an uplifting family musical that explores overcoming the challenge of childhood hunger. The theater program will conclude with a performance of “The Exonerated” by the Actors’ Gang, under the direction of Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins, capturing the real-life experiences of six wrongfully convicted death row inmates. The Lied Center closes the 2015-16 season with Ryan Stiles and some of improv comedy’s biggest superstars in “Whose Live Anyway?” on April 29. Tickets to all Lied Center events are available for reservation as part of CONNECTION a 2015-16 season liedcenter.org ticket package. If the performances are not sold out through season ticket orders, remaining tickets will be available for single-ticket purchase starting Aug. 11. – Carrie Christensen, Lied Center for Performing Arts
BOX
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 15
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Architectural rendering of the new College of Business Administration building.
UNL FACILITIES
Campus Construction Projects Underway Several state-of-the-art facilities are currently under construction or renovation on both the City and East campuses: – Demolition and redesign of all firstfloor biology labs and student support space in Manter Hall is scheduled for completion in December. The $8.125 million renovation also includes an office suite on the fourth floor and elevator work. – The first floor of Love Library North is being transformed into a technologyrich, open academic space where faculty and students can seek expert assistance, collaborate on projects and create content. The $10 million project, to be known as the Love Library Learning Commons, is scheduled to open in December. – Demolition and renovation of primarily lab space on the three main floors and basement of Behlen Laboratory (not including the Extreme Light Laboratory and Diocles laser space) will be completed in August 16 SUMMER 2015
2016. The $9.8 million renovation includes a remodel of the link between Behlen Lab and Brace Hall. – A groundbreaking ceremony for a new College of Business Administration building was held March 4 at the Esther L. Kauffman Academic Residential Center Great Hall. The new building will be located north of Kauffman. Expected to open before the fall 2017 semester, the $84-million, 240,000-square-foot facility will be the largest academic building project in UNL’s recent history. – A new $14.9 million East Campus Activities Building has been completed. An open house will take place midJuly, and the building will open in August. – An April 10 groundbreaking marked the start of construction for a $4.5 million, 14,000-square-foot addition to the University of Nebraska College of Law on UNL’s East Campus. The new facility, to be near the main entrance to the law college on the
south side of McCollum Hall, will house four legal clinics where thirdyear law students work with actual clients handling civil, criminal, immigration or entrepreneurship matters. Construction is expected to be complete in June 2016. – Ground was broken April 29 for a new, $44.7 million Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center on East Campus, scheduled to open in 2017. The new center, which also serves as a teaching space for UNL students, is a national center of excellence for testing of certain diseases in livestock. The existing structure is out-of-date and insufficient to meet modern needs. – Construction of a new 370-bed East Campus Residence Hall began with the demolition of Biochemistry Hall in May. Scheduled to open in August 2017, the $37.5 million housing facility will offer a mix of traditional and apartment-style units, replacing the 300-bed, 1950s-era Burr and Fedde residence halls.
Photo
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
STUDENT VETERANS CENTER
UNL Launches Home Base for Veterans
Photo by University Communications
This fall, the UNL’s student veteran population will have a home base to support them with all aspects of university life. UNL’s new Student Veterans Resource Center, located in the Nebraska Union, will assist military, veterans and their dependents with a number of services including academic support; recruiting and admissions counseling; mentoring and orientation; career placement; and providing a location for student veterans and military service members to communicate and network with one another. Viewed as an extension of the university’s First-Year Experience and Transition Programs, the
center will provide academic and transition coaching, peer mentors and empowerment and support of all students in and out of the classroom. In fall 2014, UNL had more than 500 veterans or dependents enrolled who received Montgomery GI or Post-9/11 educational benefits. The university is beginning to closely track additional military and student veterans who often have unique requirements compared with more traditional students. Darrell D. Everhart, a retired U.S. Navy captain, an academic success coach at UNL and the adviser for the university’s Veteran Student Organization, is the center’s founding director.
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 17
CAMPUS BRIEFS KUDOS n Alexey Kovalev, UNL assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is among 44 national recipients of an Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Kovalev’s research is in the field of theoretical spintronics, the study of the intrinsic spin of an electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge. n The American Mathematical Society has recognized the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Jim Lewis with its 2015 Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. An Aaron Douglas Professor of mathematics at UNL and former department chair for 15 years, Lewis directs the university’s Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer
Michael James Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communications
Education. n A founding leader of the “art quilt” movement, UNL’s Michael James has been named one of the top five craft artists in the nation. James, department chair and Ardis James Professor of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, will receive the 18 SUMMER 2015
“Masters of the Medium” award. n Thomas Borstelmann, E.N. and Katherine Thompson Professor of Modern World History, received the Annis Chaikin Sorensen Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Humanities during the All-University Honors Convocation in April. n Katrina Jagodinsky, UNL assistant professor of history, and Amanda Ramer-Tait, UNL assistant professor of food science and technology, received the Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award for demonstrating creative research, extraordinary teaching abilities and academic promise. n Two Willa Cather/Charles Bessey professorships and $5,000 stipends were awarded to Stephen DiMagno, Willa Cather Professor of Chemistry; and Sebastian Elbaum, Charles Bessey Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. n Five associate professors received the Susan J. Rosowski Professorship and a $3,000 stipend. They are: Jinsong Huang, mechanical and materials engineering; Matthew Jockers, English; Ming Li, psychology; Roland Vegso, English; and Jun Wang, Earth and atmospheric sciences. n Three faculty members received the Louise Pound-George Howard Distinguished Career Award. They are: Lloyd Ambrosius, Samuel Clark Waugh Distinguished Professor of International Relations and professor of history; Patricia Crews, Willa Cather Professor of Textiles and founding director emeritus of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum; and James Specht, Francis and Dorothy Haskins Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. n Two other faculty members were named to faculty chairs, including Robert Brooke, John E. Weaver Professor of English, and Concetta DiRusso, professor of biochemistry and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, George
Holmes University Professor. n Receiving special awards for teaching and service were: Jake Kirkland Jr., senior career adviser in Career Services, James V. Griesen Chancellor’s Award for Exemplary Service to Students; Jenelle Reeves, associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education, Donald R. and Mary Lee Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence; and Evelyn Jacobson, professor of German and chair of modern languages and literatures, James O’Hanlon Academic Leader Award. n UNL’s Outdoor Adventures Center earned a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business award from the League of American Bicyclists. It is only the second Nebraska group to earn the award, which honors employers for encouraging a more welcoming atmosphere for bicycling employees, customers and the community.
Grants and Gifts n To prepare skilled graduates for in-demand careers in global trade and finance, the University of NebraskaLincoln has announced the start of a private fundraising initiative to establish an international trade and finance institute at the university. Renowned trade expert and University of Nebraska alumnus Clayton Yeutter has made a $2.5 million leadership gift commitment toward the initiative through outright and planned gifts, which established the Clayton K. Yeutter International Trade Program Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation. n A $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology to digitally preserve four major collections of parasite specimens donated to the University of NebraskaLincoln during the past five years. The specimens represent the work of four top-ranked U.S. scientists who toiled
Carrie Heitman
for decades, collecting and studying myriad parasites from around the world. n UNL chemist Patrick Dussault has earned a three-year, $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to explore new methods for synthesizing the class of chemical compounds known as ethers. Dussault will also use the NSF funding to create a website for researchers interested in working with or learning more about peroxides, some of which can be dangerously unstable. n A National Science Foundation grant will fund a new summer research program at UNL that will train the next generation of scientists in both minority health disparities and social network analysis. The three-year, $350,000 grant will fund a Research Experience for Undergraduates program through NSF. Kirk Dombrowski, professor of sociology, will lead the program. n UNL’s Dennis Alexander will use a $309,000 task order award from the Office of Naval Research to advance a study into how a wide range of metallic surfaces function under extreme conditions. Alexander, a professor of electrical engineering and courtesy professor of mechanical and materials engineering, is the principal investigator on the research project. n A new $300,000 grant will allow a UNL professor and a team of researchers to digitize millions of artifacts, specimens and samples from excavations of a 1,000-year-old Pueblo civilization in northwest New Mexico. Carrie Heitman, UNL assistant professor of anthropology, will help
lead the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project to digitize the Salmon Pueblo Archeological Research Collection. n Matt Waite, professor of practice in journalism, won a $35,000 grant from the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education. One of 11 winners nationwide, Waite’s project is “An Internet of Food Trucks: Adding Maker Culture to J-Schools through the Internet of Things.” n The National Endowment for the Arts has announced $20,000 awards for the Sheldon Museum of Art and the Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The award to Sheldon will support an initiative to photograph and digitize principal paintings in the museum’s collection. The award to the Lied will support the presentation of a theater series that will include the one-man play “The Things They Carried” and the musical “Puddin’ and The Grumble.”
BOOKS n The American Dream is shifting. No longer just a vision of a house, a family and a good life earned from hard work, now the dream includes stocks, bonds, the latest gizmos and gadgets and building a wealth portfolio as quickly as possible. The prevalence of acquiring wealth rather than creating it has given rise to get-rich-quick schemes, housing bubbles that burst and the hedge fund industry. In his new book, “Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream,”
UNL scholar Aaron Duncan explores how changes in society have also given way to a significant rise in gambling – a boom, he said, that’s not going bust anytime soon. “In the 1980s, you could really only gamble in Las Vegas and Atlantic City,” said Duncan, an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Communication Studies. “Now, 48 states have some form of legalized gambling, the average American lives within 100 miles of a casino and over half of Americans have been in a casino in the last 90 days. There’s also internet gambling and there’s even been discussion of making sports betting legal online.” In the book, published in March by Routledge, Duncan focuses specifically on the rise in popularity of poker, a game of luck, risk and skill. He
Aaron Duncan
traces the rise in gambling to several societal developments. A central idea he researches and draws connections to is a concept developed by German sociologist Ulrich Beck that claims we now live in a “risk society,” where globalization, technology and mass media have caused us to constantly perceive and analyze risk in everything, from our retirement funds to global terrorism. This preoccupation with risk, Duncan said, has allowed gambling to become normal, along with changes in politics and the economy.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 19
Tattered Legacy A Nora Abbott Mystery Midnight Ink, 2015, (paper), $14.99 midnightinkbooks.com
Shannon Dyer Baker In the third Nora ’84
Abbott Mystery by Shannon Baker, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s 2014 Fiction Writer of the Year, Nora risks her career at Loving Earth Trust on a film project to influence Congress to expand the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. But someone is desperate to keep the secrets of the land hidden. When her best friend, the director of the film, is found dead, Nora is convinced it wasn’t an accident. Nora’s Hopi kachina messenger has vanished and now it looks as though Cole Huntsman, the man she’s finally allowed herself to love, has left her, too. As she draws deeper into danger, will Nora put all the pieces together in time to prevent disaster? Set in the iconic red rocks of Moab, Utah, “Tattered Legacy” finds Nora racing to discover what really lies beyond the stars.
ALUMNI AUTHORS 20 SUMMER 2015
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor
Boots and Saddles Military Leaders of the American West
Coffee House Press, 2015, (paper) $16.95 coffeehousepress.org
Ifi and Job, a Nigerian Julie couple in an arranged Iromuanya marriage, begin their ’05, ’10 lives together in Nebraska with a single, outrageous lie: that Job is a doctor, not a college dropout. Unwittingly, Ifi becomes his coconspirator – that is until his first wife, Cheryl, whom he married for a green card years ago, reenters the picture and upsets Job’s tenuous balancing act. Author Julie Iromuanya holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of NebraskaLincoln and was the inaugural Herbert W. Martin Post-Graduate Fellow at the University of Dayton. She is currently an assistant professor at Northeastern Illinois University where she teaches creative writing and Africana literature.
Caxton Press, 2015, (paper), $18.95
Thomas D. caxtonpress.com Phillips The Indian Wars of the ’62
American West were fought over a period of more than three decades across a landscape that spanned more than half of the land mass of the lower continental United States. The leaders of the small army that was sent to carry out the government’s policies faced formidable adversaries. Tenacious and aggressive, Native warriors formed what some have called “the best light cavalry in the world.” The officers who confronted them faced daunting tasks. Some succeeded brilliantly; others failed utterly. “Boots and Saddles: Military Leaders of the American West” provides an encompassing look at the leaders and the battles they fought, often in conditions notable for difficult terrain and inhospitable climate.
Angie Hallier
’87, ’90
The Wiser Divorce
Student Mobility
Three Questions
Positive Strategies for Your Next Best Life
Creating an Environment for Social and Academic Success
Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?
Megeve Press, 2014, (paper), $14.95 AngieHallier.com
Divorce is never an easy time, but going into it prepared can make the difference between just surviving and achieving your next best life. “The Wiser Divorce” offers advice from how to talk to your children about divorce, to finding the right attorney, to how to keep judges and courts from controlling too much of your destiny. It is about strategically controlling how you think, talk and act about your divorce in order to achieve the optimal outcome for you at the end of the legal process of divorce and for the rest of your life.
Jane Stavem
’08
Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, (paper), $18.95 Rowman.com
Student mobility is an issue that affects school districts large and small across the nation. Schools can do very little to control the causes of mobility, but a great deal can be done to reduce the negative effects for mobile students through effective planning and consistent practices. Schools must focus on collaborative efforts to provide a welcoming environment for all families, assuring a positive transition for every student at any point during the school year. Mobility is rarely convenient or planned. Children are not in control of the choices that result in frequent school changes. An educator’s job is to help all students effectively transition into new schools, making connections with other students, staff members and the community.
John Paul Shaw, Sr.,
’75, ’80
2015, (paper), $12 amazon.com
Some time in the dim, distant past, a Homo sapiens (with his belly full, the hearth fire burning brightly and the predators at bay) must have looked up at the starry sky and mused over the questions posed here. Throughout recorded history – and no doubt even before – humankind has pondered these questions. This book is a survey of time and culture’s proposed answers to these questions.
Children’s books: warren the honking cat and the exciting winter recital Virginia White
Tate Publishing, 2015 (paper), $12.99
’60 The second book in the “Little Honker” series by Virginia White, this time Warren the Honking Cat has discovered he loves music. When he has a chance to play the bells at a winter concert, excitement and chaos erupts.
Show US YOUR TALENT Featured books are not sold or distributed through the Nebraska Alumni Association. Publishing information is provided to help consumers locate the title through local booksellers or online retailers unless otherwise noted. To be considered for inclusion in Alumni Authors, send a complimentary copy of a book published in the last year and a description of its contents to: Alumni Authors Editor, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 Please include the author’s full name, class year, current mailing and e-mail addresses and telephone number. The author must have attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 21
SMASHING ATOMS
UNL Researchers take key role in global effort
22 SUMMER 2015
By Gillian Klucas, ’91
A
s UNL physicist Aaron Dominguez squeezed into the spartan conference room, he’d never seen anything like it. Scientists were packed into every video-networked room, spilling into hallways at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The heady excitement felt more like a rock concert than a scientific symposium. Around the world, thousands of particle physicists were tuning in to find out if they had, collectively, found it: the Higgs boson, the subatomic particle at the heart of all matter in the universe. The search for the so-called “God particle” was the largest global scientific collaboration ever attempted. It was culminating in this moment: Had they unlocked a key mystery of the universe or was the pursuit hopeless? Dominguez and his colleagues in UNL’s particle physics team had played a significant part in that pursuit. Thunderous cheers greeted the successful results announced that summer day in 2012. Finding the Higgs boson – one of the most important discoveries ever in the field – heralded a new era of fundamental physics. This spring, CERN again revved up the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, the world’s largest supercollider buried deep below the countryside on the French-Swiss border. The collider began smashing atoms together – this time with twice the energy. Scientists hope the resulting subatomic wreckage will reveal, for a blink of time, additional clues about the nature of the universe. As the latest LHC experiments begin, UNL’s particle physicists continue their leadership roles in two key aspects of this international collaboration. One team pilots the U.S. efforts to provide vital components for one of the LHC’s two particle detectors. The other team contributes to the worldwide computing grid that processes and stores the unprecedented volume of data this massive research project generates.
Large Photo Above: A 3-D composite illustration shows a portion of the Large Hadron Collider tunnel. Right: First half of the pixel tracker barrel of the Compact Muon Solenoid detector. UNL researchers were part of the team that built the CMS detector in 2009 and are now leading U.S. efforts to improve the detector. Photo credit: CERN NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 23
Above: Undergraduate student Seth Kurfman (left) and graduate student Jose Andres Monroy assemble detector modules using a computer-controlled robotic gantry. Left: A computer-controlled robot encapsulates a module’s delicate wires. Photos by Craig Chandler for UNL Office of Research and Economic Development
Detecting Particles Building components for an instrument more than four stories tall, just as wide and weighing 28 million pounds takes place in a surprisingly small space on UNL’s campus, a room about the size of a large walk-in closet. Inside, a tabletop robotic arm and several specialized microscopes conduct minuscule maneuvers. 24 SUMMER 2015
“You don’t need a big space to do tiny little things,” explained Frank Meier Aeschbacher, a postdoctoral fellow who oversees assembling and testing pixel detector modules. Within two years, the modules will be doing their job inside the not-so-compact Compact Muon Solenoid particle detector, or CMS. Each module resembles an electronic circuit board that could fit inside a pack of gum, but these circuits must withstand tremendous radiation. CMS is one of two particle detectors spaced around the 17-mile-long LHC supercollider ring. Each was designed differently, but their goals are similar: to capture and measure the properties of the products that result when two beams of protons circling in opposite directions at near the speed of light crash head-on. CMS takes 40 million snapshots of the events every second, captured in part by pixel detector modules. The U.S. team is responsible for building 1,000 modules, half of which will come from Nebraska. These intricate, custom-made components produce 90 percent of the results from the CMS experiment, said Aeschbacher, who was lured from his native Switzerland to work for Dominguez on the project. Thousands of scientists at more than 180 institutes in 42 countries are involved in the CMS project. They will analyze the data to look for new fundamental particles and study their characteristics. They hope the insights will shed light on such mind-numbing theories as how the universe was formed, what’s up with dark matter, and the possibility that additional universes exist. UNL was part of the multi-institutional collaboration that built the original CMS detector in 2009. The LHC shut down for upgrades two years ago. Now, with $11.5 million funding from the National Science Foundation, Dominguez is leading researchers
from several U.S. universities to improve CMS’s capabilities. “We’re increasing the intensity of the accelerators. Our detectors need to be able to handle the increase in data or it becomes self-defeating,” he said. “This will be the most precise pixel-tracking detector ever built.” Dominguez’s prominent leadership role has boosted the university’s contribution – and reputation – in one of the world’s biggest physics experiments, said Dan Claes, a member of UNL’s particle physics group and chair of the physics and astronomy department. Dominguez’s hard work and amiable nature helped him quickly climb the leadership ranks, and he now oversees the contributions of numerous U.S. teams on the project. “It raises the prominence of Aaron; it raises the prominence of our group; and it raises the prominence of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,” Claes said. For Dominguez, who grew up relishing science in Albuquerque, New Mexico, studying the universe at its most fundamental level is “the best job in the world.” He joined the hunt for the Higgs particle, which had occupied physicists since it was first proposed in 1964, as an undergraduate student at the California Institute of Technology in the early 1990s. “Finding the Higgs boson required, literally, the cooperation of thousands of physicists around the world,” Dominguez said. “That we finally pulled it off is really quite satisfying in ways that are hard to express.” The Higgs particle was the last missing piece predicted by the Standard Model, a theoretical framework that explains the fundamental structure of matter in the universe. The model describes how forces acting at the subatomic level govern the interactions of elementary particles that make up all matter. Though often called the “theory of everything,” the Standard Model is far from complete. It doesn’t address important phenomena such as gravity, the dark matter that makes up most of the universe, or the even more mysterious dark energy. “There’s still a lot we don’t know,” said Dominguez. “We have a great opportunity to look for evidence of other new particles and to open up the next generation of models into how the universe works.”
The God Particle Shown below are images of Protons collide in the CMS detector. This image provided evidence of the Higgs boson, the subatomic particle at the heart of all matter in the universe. The search for the so-called “God particle” was the largest global scientific collaboration ever attempted. Images provided by CERN.
Computing Power In 2004, recently hired particle physicist Ken Bloom listened as Vice Chancellor for Research Prem Paul urged UNL’s new faculty to “think big.” Afterward, Bloom jumped up to tell Paul that he and fellow newcomer Dominguez had a big idea, and they would fulfill it in their first year. “I didn’t know how to interpret him,” Paul recalled with a laugh. “It’s exciting that he’s trying to do exactly what I’m asking him, but then I thought, ‘Is he brash?’ I think my reaction was probably not what he was looking for.” Supercollider collisions generate such enormous quantities of data – the equivalent of about 7 million DVDs worth each year – that the computing power to store, move, process and analyze it requires a global network of computer NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 25
systems pulling together. When CERN began setting up its computing grid in the early 2000s, UNL was a dubious choice to participate. But that’s exactly what Bloom and Dominguez hoped to achieve: to put the university on this global computing grid, responsible for storing vast amounts of data and making it accessible to physicists worldwide. It would be a big, if unlikely, coup. The university’s 600-megabits per second bandwidth capacity seemed meager compared with other universities already breaking into gigabit territory. “We were two young professors,” Bloom recalled. “What did we know about what was possible or not?” They enlisted David Swanson, head of what is now the university’s Holland Computing Center. Swanson saw it as an exciting opportunity, but to impress CERN officials, the team would need to convince UNL’s administration to invest in upgrading the university’s network. Recognizing the potential benefits, Paul backed the project with a million-dollar investment in fiber optic upgrades. He admits it made him nervous. “I didn’t know what I was getting into,” he said. “The good thing is this project really was big, and I’m very proud of our faculty for their leadership, their vision.” Administrative support was critical to UNL’s successful 2005 bid to join the worldwide LHC computing grid. Several upgrades later, Nebraska’s 100-gigabit capacity and highly dependable computer networking system is considered one of the world’s most reliable “Tier 2” CMS sites, Aeschbacher said. Tier 2 sites store and share the final layer of data used by physicists around the world. “The performance of our Tier 2 center put Nebraska on the map,” Claes said. “Most of the benchmark measures of performance are set by the team at UNL. That was under Ken’s supervision. He’s inexhaustible in managing and taking care of details in ways that few people are.” Bloom’s early success led to an even greater role within CMS when he was quickly chosen to lead all seven CMS Tier 2 sites in the U.S. This year, Bloom accepted an even larger responsibility, managing the entire software and computing
operations program for U.S. CMS. It’s a long way from his reign as captain of the physics team at his New Jersey high school. After graduation, Bloom headed west to attend the University of Chicago. Like Dominguez, he began working for a particle physicist as an undergraduate and never looked back. “We want to be sure that nothing holds anyone in the U.S. back from doing the best science possible,” Bloom said of his new responsibilities. Supercomputing in research – from astronomy to zoology – has advanced considerably in the past decade. UNL’s early investment in its computing infrastructure, stimulated by the CMS project, is helping other researchers across the university stay on the cutting edge as well, Swanson said.
A Special Place Founded in the aftermath of World War II, CERN’s goal was to rebuild atomic physics through peaceful international collaboration. That the $10 billion LHC program continues to receive funding from numerous governments, some of which don’t get along, speaks to what it’s accomplished and the prospect of more discoveries. “The next year or two has the potential to be really exciting,” Bloom said. “We’re very hopeful that we’ll see something interesting and unexpected.” UNL’s particle physics team, which also includes physicists Greg Snow and Ilya Kravchenko, will be there. Since 2005, the team has won more than $30 million in grants from NSF and the U.S. Department of Energy to support this research. Its growing reputation brings new research opportunities and draws students, who have the opportunity to train on a significant, international project. “The CERN laboratory, I think, is one of our greatest achievements of humankind. It’s a special place,” Dominguez said, speaking of both its ability to unite tremendously diverse talents and perspectives to work toward a common goal and the scale of its scientific achievements. “It’s truly amazing. You go there and you see millions of cables, and every single cable has to work,” he said. “It’s pretty humbling, but it makes me proud to be part of this effort.” v
UNL physicists Aaron Dominguez (left) and Ken Bloom have leadership roles in the Compact Muon Solenoid pixel detector experiments for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Switzerland. They’re part of UNL’s particle physics team that collaborates with thousands of scientists worldwide on the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest atom smasher. They’re standing in front of an illustration of an “event” captured by the CMS detector that provided evidence of the Higgs boson. Credits: Craig Chandler, UNL photography, and Joel Brehm, UNL Office of Research and Economic Development with background image courtesy CERN.
26 SUMMER 2015
ALUMNI AWARDS Nebraska Alumni Association Awards Program The alumni awards program is designed to recognize outstanding alumni, students and former faculty from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in several categories. Alumni Achievement Award Established in 1974, the Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have a record of outstanding achievements in a career and/or civic involvement. The association seeks to recognize alumni at all stages of their lives and careers, including young alumni. Outstanding International Alumnus Award Established in 2006, this award honors alumni who were non-U.S. citizens during their attendance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and who have attained national/international prominence through their efforts in education, sciences, technology, agriculture, the arts, business, humanities, government or other world endeavors. Alumni Family Tree Award Established in 1995, the Alumni Family Tree Award honors one family per year that has at least three generations of University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates and at least two family members with a record of outstanding service to the university, the alumni association, their community and/or their profession. Distinguished Service Award Established in 1940, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes alumni who have a record of distinguished service to the Nebraska Alumni Association and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Shane Osborn Student Leadership Award/Scholarship Established in 2002, this award honors Lieutenant Shane J. Osborn, a UNL Naval ROTC graduate who on April 1, 2001 courageously piloted a U.S. reconnaissance plane to a safe crash landing after it was hit by two Chinese fighters. Subsequently, Lt. Osborn endured an aggressive interrogation and, along with the rest of his crew, eleven days of captivity by the Chinese government. The award is not limited to students with ROTC involvement. The winner of the award will also receive a scholarship stipend.
Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award/Scholarship Established in 1998, the Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award recognizes undergraduate students who have shown exceptional leadership capabilities through energetic participation in student activities, commendable classroom performance, and the personal integrity, perseverance and sense of honor demonstrated by those who successfully lead their peers. The winner of this award will also receive a scholarship stipend. Doc Elliott Award Established in 1986 to honor a retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty or staff member who has exhibited a record of exemplary service, whose caring has made a difference in the lives of students and alumni and who has gone beyond traditional expectations. Recipients must be former faculty or staff members of UNL who have been retired at least five years. RULES: 1. Recipients MUST attend the awards ceremony to receive an award. If a recipient is unable to attend during the year in which they were selected, they may defer to the following year. 2. The fact that an individual has previously received an alumni association award in another category does not preclude him/her from receiving another award. 3. The awards committee will accept nominations from any alumnus, friend or alumni affiliate organization of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 4. The awards committee retains and considers nominations for three years or until selected. 5. If a recipient is deceased, a representative of the family may accept the award. 6. The deadline for submitting nominations is November 1 of each year. INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Complete the award nomination form. Be sure to indicate for which award you are placing this nomination. 2. Submit a letter of nomination describing the nominee’s accomplishments and why you believe he/she is deserving of the award. 3. Send the completed form and the letter of nomination to: Alumni Awards, Nebraska Alumni Association, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. Nominations may also be placed online at huskeralum.org.
Nominators will be notified of their candidate’s status whether or not they are selected for the award. This notification generally happens in December. Only nominees who are chosen to receive an award will be notified of their selection/nomination.
huskeralum.org
#huskeralum
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 27
THE ART OF THE
DEAL By Tom Nugent
T
For real estate investor Gerard Keating (BS ’87), completing more than $500 million in property transactions over the past 25 years was all about daring to trust his own entrepreneurial instincts. It was also about “keeping faith with the spirit of Nebraska ... which is a willingness to believe in the possible and then to work very hard at making it happen.” Said the 50-year-old former UNL agribusiness major, while describing his extraordinary career: “I love to buy stuff that’s broken and then do my best to fix it and give it more value. And I love the way creating that new [real estate] value so often results in new jobs ... along with new tax receipts that can help pay for schools and teachers and gym equipment and arts programs and all the rest. “For me, the real excitement is in changing things, in creating things – and I’m not afraid to take a risk now and then in order to make an investment pay off for everyone involved. “I’m definitely the round peg in the square hole.”
he phone rang and Chicago real estate agent Gerard J. Keating grabbed it. The caller was a highprofile urban broker at a major real estate firm in the Midwest. He didn’t waste any words. After quickly introducing himself, he asked the former president of the University of Nebraska student body if he might be interested in purchasing a 73-year-old, 12-story office building in the heart of downtown Lincoln. Keating’s ears perked up when he heard the word “Lincoln.” But when he asked the broker how much the current owners wanted for their office building, he got a shock. “Only ten dollars,” said the broker ... and then went on to point out that the historic old office tower at 13th and N streets was a moldering wreck. The once-luxurious Gothic Revival-style building – now a paint-peeling, mostly unoccupied derelict – had deteriorated so badly in recent years that it was scheduled for demolition. Keating listened to the broker’s description of Lincoln’s time-ravaged Federal Trust Building, and then he
surprised himself. Instead of politely thanking the caller and hanging up, the entrepreneur uttered two words that would send him on a 10year financial rollercoaster ride. “I’m interested!” announced the unflappable Keating. And so it began, on that fall afternoon in 1999, when the former farm boy from Atkinson, Nebraska, took a huge gamble in order to “fix something that was broken” and bring a half-dead Lincoln landmark back to bustling, dynamic life. During the next few years, as he struggled to raise the cash needed to renovate the once grand building in Lincoln, Keating came perilously close to losing more than $5 million. But he also had a great deal of fun!
A Deep Breath ... And Then the Leap
When Keating took the plunge in 1999 and decided to buy the badly decayed Federal Trust Building (the deal was formally closed in 2000), he was already a veteran real estate investor with a proven ability to transform rundown, failing properties into glittering gold. In less than a decade, the fifth-generation Nebraska businessman had risen from neophyte real estate salesman to all-star broker at Chicago’s Hiffman Shaffer Associates, Inc., one of the Midwest’s savviest and best-connected real estate brokerage firms. So successful had the onetime UNL business student been – while orchestrating a series of shopping center and agricultural and industrial manufacturing real estate deals worth tens of millions of dollars – that he was already in the planning stages of launching his own real estate investment firm during the next couple of years. And then, out of the blue, Keating was presented with an entrepreneurial challenge: find a way to renovate and
The Federal Trust Building in Downtown Lincoln.
revitalize a classic office building that for decades had been a shining symbol of the city of Lincoln and the state of Nebraska. Could he really pull it off? The obstacles were immense. In order to restore the building to its erstwhile luster, he would have to completely renovate it from top to bottom. For starters, the wooden flooring on all 12 levels would have to be torn out, so that the original marble beneath could once again gleam softly in the light from new overhead fixtures and lamps. And there was much more. To become habitable again, the structure would require a brand-new roof. Its interior would have to first be gutted, then rebuilt and repainted. All of the window sills and frames and drapes would have to be replaced ... and all of the elevators would have to be scrapped and then outfitted with brand-new, top-of-the-line passenger cars. And so he struggled. Night after night, as the 20th century gradually melted into the 21st, Keating sat alone at his desk and scribbled figures on a list that was headed in letters of bold black ink: PROJECTED COSTS. After months of relentless number crunching, he finally decided on a renovation-figure he thought he could live with: $2.2 million. After that, he took a deep breath. And then he took the leap. The $10 check at the 2000 settlement was easy to write ... but he swallowed hard when he signed on the dotted line for the loan that paid for the accompanying land: $242,000. But he did sign ... and the deal was done. With the swipe of a ball-point pen, the farm kid from tiny Atkinson (population: 1,245) had become the owner of a 77,000-square-foot office tower that nobody else on Planet Earth had wanted to buy. Remembering that moment, more than a decade later, Keating smiled quietly.
“I was very fortunate,” he said, “to have two very wise parents who encouraged their children to dream. Really, my father [Atkinson businessman John Keating, now 88] was probably the most entrepreneurial person I’ve ever met – and along with my mother [the late Dolores Batenhorst Keating], he taught us to focus on the possible rather than the impossible.”
Support From a Mentor, Ken Morrison Having closed the deal and signed the papers, Keating went straight to work on the renovation of the Federal Trust Building. Things seemed to go smoothly at first ... as dozens of workers swarmed through the building with clattering power-saws and pneumatic hammers and thousands of square feet of new lumber. During the first ten months or so, Keating’s renovation schedule – and his costs – seemed to be fairly well under control. But then a series of delays caused by bad weather and a shortage of building materials began to gnaw away at the budget. One year into the massive refurbishment, he realized that its actual cost would be double his early estimates. To finish the project, he had to find another $2 million ... somewhere. After being turned down by several potential lenders, Keating knew he was down to his final hope – Kenneth Morrison, a good friend and mentor who also happened to be one of the most successful agribusiness entrepreneurs in the history of Nebraska. A resident of Hastings for more than 60 years, Morrison had put together a global network of agriculture-based enterprises, headed by his successful Morrison-Quirk Grain Corp. The two men had already worked together on several projects in the past, and Keating knew that Morrison respected his skills and his experience as NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 29
GIVING BACK TO UNL It was a gift that will “keep on giving” to UNL students, faculty and friends for decades to come. That’s because the recent contribution to UNL of $500,000 from mega-real estate entrepreneur Gerard J. Keating (BS ’87) and his wife, Janet, was designed to help defray the costs of expanding (and considerably enhancing) UNL’s legendary East Memorial Stadium. The Keating family – including son Alec, 17, and daughter Reese, 9 – lives in the west-Chicago suburb of Geneva, Illinois. But on football Saturdays, they can often be found at the recently spiffed up and modernized, 92,000-seat stadium in Lincoln. Completed in 2013, the East Stadium expansion added 6,000 new seats, eight new elevators, 38 new suites and 36 new restrooms – to say nothing of the additional 12 concession stands that will help feed thousands of Cornhusker football fans in the years ahead. In recognition of the family’s generosity, UNL officials formally unveiled the “Janet and Gerard Keating Family Concourse” at the stadium during ceremonies also aimed at thanking hundreds of Nebraskans who’d helped with the successful campaign to gussy up the old football palace.
an entrepreneur. After taking a few deep breaths, he called the mentor and laid it on the line: “Ken, I’m gonna need $2 million more to make the Federal Trust deal work.” Morrison didn’t hesitate. Rescued by the Hastings mogul’s lastminute cash infusion, Keating was able to complete the renovation, even though it came in several years behind schedule. Then, in 2011, having rented 95 percent of its space to a dozen different Lincolnarea businesses (including “anchor tenant” First National Bank of Omaha, where Keating had worked for a while right after graduating from UNL), the entrepreneur made headlines by selling the resurrected office tower to a team of California investors for a cool $5.8 million. In the end, Keating made more than a million bucks on his $4 million investment – while also restoring a historic landmark and helping to create new jobs and new property tax revenues for the citizens of his beloved Lincoln. “That deal worked out very well,” said Keating, “but the hero of the story is really Ken Morrison. He believed in me and he believed in the project – and for that I will always be grateful.” But then the entrepreneur’s face fell, as he went on to describe his 93-year-old friend’s death in January of 2015. “Ken was 30 SUMMER 2015
Keating said it was “a bit strange” to walk through the family-named concourse for the first time, but that the emotional impact soon wore off. “I don’t take myself all that seriously,” he noted with a smile, “so having our name on the facility wasn’t something I cared much about. But what I did care about was the chance to give back to UNL in a major way. “I owe a big part of any success I’ve had to the University of Nebraska, and this was my way of saying ‘thank you’.” He was also quick to point out that a key motivator for him and Janet was the university’s decision to include several research and teaching facilities in the refurbished stadium ... all of which are now dedicated to studying the complex relationship between athletic activity and human health. “As soon as I heard [former Nebraska football coach and athletic director] Tom Osborne describe his vision for including a sports-research center at the stadium, I was sold on the project,” said Keating. “The labs and the classroom space they’ve built there are going to help all of us achieve better health in the years ahead,” he added, “and I think that was a win-win outcome for everyone involved in the expansion.”
Keating with his mentor, Ken Morrison (left) and Tom Osborne in a new East Stadium suite.
a Nebraska legend and he was a wonderful mentor,” said Keating. “And only a few days before his death, he was working with me on another huge project in Miami. He was full of energy and full of optimism, and he kept on going right to the end ... because he believed in the possible.”
“Nebraska Teaches You How to Dream” Spend a few hours hanging out with Gerard Keating, his 17-year-old son Alec and their energetic, curly-coated retriever, Dash, and you’ll quickly discover that this entrepreneur prefers to focus on the future rather than dwell on the past. But when he does open up about his
Real Estate Mogul’s First Deal Was a “Fixer-Upper” at UNL These days he’s an international player in agricultural real estate ... a globe-trotting mover and shaker who has masterminded deals worth more than half a billion dollars in recent years. For Gerard Keating, who today owns shopping centers, office buildings and industrial plants (along with 5,000 acres of prime farmland near his beloved hometown of Atkinson, Nebraska), there’s no joy quite like the joy of pulling off “a really complex real estate transaction in which you’re able to create value by thinking your way through the process and also working very, very hard.” Make no mistake: during nearly 30 years as a super-savvy real estate broker and investor, this tireless deal-maker has known both the euphoria of earning tons of money on a project and the misery of losing his shirt. Interestingly enough, however, he said that one of the most thrilling and exciting deals he ever orchestrated was his first one: the daring 1985 purchase of a rundown duplex on a back street that flanked his UNL fraternity house. “I was living in the Alpha Gamma Sigma house,” Keating said during an interview at his Chicago-area home, “and one day I noticed this old house around the corner that had a ‘for sale’ sign on it. “Well, I was kind of curious, so I stopped by and talked to the owner. He was a professor at UNL, and he told me: ‘If you can come up with ten percent down [on the $65,000 asking price], I’ll finance the rest for you.” For the fired-up agribusiness manager, the deal was too good to resist. But there was one small problem. “I had no money,” Keating remembered with a chuckle of nostalgia. “I needed $6,500, and I also needed some money to renovate the duplex, if I hoped to rent it out.” And the solution? No problem: Keating simply “picked up the phone and called” his brother Matthew (BS ’85). “I told him what I wanted to do,” he said, “and I was really excited when he told me he had the money to make it happen.” Next step: the two ambitious brothers bought the falling-down duplex, along with a large quantity of shingles and paint. Then they went to work on the building in their spare time. It took them several weeks to build up “sweat equity” with their brooms, mops, sanders and buckets of paint … but in the end, they
Photo by Alyssa Schukar.
wound up selling the building and doubling their investment – all within five years. Said the grinning Gerard Keating, while pointing out that his brother, Matt, is today a partner in the Illinois-based real estate outfit known as Keating Resources LLC: “That purchase was a great experience because of the way it taught me some very important things about ‘creating value’ in real estate. “And you know what? If you go by that home today, you’ll see written into the concrete foundation the name we created for our new business, MGM Rentals, which was short for Matt and Gerard Master Rentals.” Like several of his professors at UNL, Keating’s Alpha Sigma Gamma fraternity brothers were highly impressed by the launch of the hard-working sophomore’s first-ever real estate enterprise, right down the street from the AGS house. “That’s where his real estate empire started,” said Lincoln attorney John Bergmeyer (BA ’89), who was one of Keating’s bemused frat brothers back in ’85. “Gerard was already a pretty smart businessman at the age of 19, and it looks like that hasn’t changed during the past 25 years.”
“There’s no joy quite like the joy of pulling off a really complex real estate transaction.”
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 31
sentence. “The values we lived by when I was growing up, those are the values of Nebraska,” said the indefatigable deal maker, who in recent years has invested tens of millions of dollars in agricultural and industrial projects in Latin America, Louisiana and Florida. Keating also maintains 5,000 acres of prime farmland near Atkinson, where he and his wife, Janet, frequently spend time in order to enjoy “the peace of the Niobrara Valley” at the ranch they Keating with his 88-year-old Dad, built a few years back. John, at their family ranch in “Nebraska teaches you Atkinson on April 29. that your reputation is everything, and that you will be judged by how well you keep your promises. early years in Atkinson – where four “But Nebraska also teaches you how to generations of successful Keating farmers dream ... how to believe in your dreams and businessmen (Patrick, Frank, Phillip and work for them as hard as you can. I and John) had preceded him – you can hear think it goes back to the frontier days on the reverence he has for that world in every
the prairie ... back to people like my greatgreat-grandfather Patrick, who came to this country from Ireland with nothing and built a new world for his family through sheer effort and determination and hard work.” And the future? Ask the 50-year-old Keating to predict where the next few years will take him, and he’ll tell you flat out that he has “no plans for retirement – ever. “There are several different types of investors,” he said while describing the huge kick he still gets out of risking millions of dollars on far-sighted projects each year. “Many people like buying a stable business that’s operating well; they like the cash flow they can get from that. “But that’s never turned me on. What I like is buying things that are broken, things that have failed or are declining in value. And then I try hard to add value to them. I do think that God gave me this gift for finding value where others might not see it ... and what I enjoy most is using that gift to try and improve things a little bit now and then. “The simple fact is that I truly love the game, so why would I ever want to quit?”v
A 150-Pounder on the Football Field, Keating Wasn’t Afraid to Take a Hit He was a smaller-than-average running back (only 5 feet 7 inches tall and 150 pounds) ... and just about every time he carried the ball, he got walloped by giant Nebraska farm boys twice his size. Ka-plooey! Flattened once again, he’d jump up off the turf ... shake his head to get rid of the cobwebs ... then dart back to the huddle for his next assignment. “It’s true that I was pretty small – but I was also pretty fast and I didn’t feel any fear,” said the former ball carrier for the Huskies of Atkinson West Holt High School. “As soon as they knocked me down, I’d get back up. And that’s been my attitude throughout my entire life. “These days, as a real estate investor, I compete with billion-dollar companies. And I’m a nobody. But I just go ahead and do my best. I put a team together and we try to go out there and close the deal.”
Although Gerard Keating’s small stature was a drawback on the gridiron, it didn’t slow him down at all on the wrestling mat. While representing his north-central Nebraska high school during the early 1980s, he finished among the top three statewide finalists in his weight class (119 pounds) for two years in a row. Ask him to pinpoint the key to his wrestling success, and the standout grappler will tell you “it’s all about selfdiscipline. “Wrestling is a sport that demands a whole other level of discipline,” said the successful deal-maker. “Not only do you have to be in great physical condition, but you also have to control your mind during the match. You have to focus with great intensity on every move you make. “You have to think about what you’re doing on that mat, and if you stop thinking out there for even a moment, you will pay the price.”
2016 Dream Book
Dear Nebraska Alumni and Friends: Huskers share a unique bond with one another. No matter where you meet another Husker, you can rest assured you’ll share the same pride and loyalty. Our 2016 alumni adventure trips will allow you to forge memories with fellow alumni and friends as you experience beautiful and inspiring scenery and places around the world. We’re excited to share our list of destinations with you. We partner with the most trusted names in alumni travel to ensure you’ll enjoy the vacation of a lifetime. Throughout the year, we’ll be cruising the South China Sea, hiking the Galapagos Islands, exploring Cuba’s diverse culture, tracing the path of Lewis and Clark and much more! On each trip, you’ll have opportunities for exploration, relaxation and education, and of course, plenty of mingling with fellow Huskers!
Sarah Haskell & Derek Engelbart NAA Travel Team
Alumni Adventure Facts and Tips • • • • •
Friends and family are welcome! You don’t have to be an alum to travel with the NAA. Be our guest. You will always have a tour agency host on your trip – and if enough Nebraska travelers join the group, there will be an additional host from the NAA. Forge new friendships. Not only will you get to travel with fellow Huskers, most trips include alumni and friends from other universities. Book early. Save Big. Be picky. Booking early not only allows you to take advantage of significant discounts, but you also receive first priority when making room selections. Check huskeralum.org for all early-bird deadlines. The delights are in the details. Each of our travel partners has different benefits. Some trips offer free airfare, two-for-one pricing or extra excursions. Make sure to read the fine print or ask us for clarification; we want to ensure you take advantage of all available perks!
huskeralum.org/adventures for the most up-to-date information.
*The following dates and prices are subject to change. Please visit
Pagodas and Palaces Prices: From $5,999 per person
JANUARY 6-24, 2016 Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, South China Sea, Vietnam
Discover timeless pagodas and palaces, exotic landscapes and captivating cities as you cruise the South China Sea aboard Oceania Cruises’ intimate Nautica from Singapore to marvelous ports in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
The Galapagos Islands Prices: From $3,995 per person
JANUARY 13-20, 2016 (SOLD OUT); ADDITIONAL DATE: APRIL 20-27, 2016 Ecuador, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Espanola, San Cristobal
Undiscovered by Europeans until the 16th century, the Galapagos Islands hold a central position in modern scientific and evolutionary history. From your accommodations on the Isabela II, you can explore these fascinating islands and observe the iconic species that have become exquisitely adapted to the surrounding environment.
Alluring Andes and Majestic Fjords Prices: From $3,995 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $4,000 per stateroom if booked by July 29, 2015.
FEBRUARY 6-28, 2016 Peru, Chile, Chilean Fjords, Argentina, Falkland Islands, Uruguay
Behold South America’s awe-inspiring fjords, mystical mountains and enchanting cities, as Oceania Cruises’ regal Regatta takes you on an incredible 21-night voyage to historic ports in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands.
Tanzania Migration Safari Prices: From $6,395 per person
FEBRUARY 26 – MARCH 8, 2016 Arusha, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, Western Serengeti
Experience Orbridge’s Tanzania Migration Safari, a oncein-a-lifetime journey encompassing views of incredible wildlife, including lions, leopards, black rhinos, hyenas, elephants and zebra, and scenery.
Cuban Discovery Prices: From $5,499 per person
MARCH 10-18, 2016
Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Santa Clara
Cuba’s turbulent economic and political past and vibrant, culturally rich present unfold on this enriching journey developed for the Nebraska Alumni Association. Specially designed to showcase the island’s authentic spirit, this nine-day adventure will reveal the rich culture, compelling history and architectural majesty of this long-forbidden island on the verge of great change.
Colorful Caribbean Prices: From $1,999 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $1,000 per stateroom. Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
MARCH 13-20, 2016 Florida, Caribbean, Honduras, Belize, Mexico
Imagine a cruise on one of the finest vessels afloat, Oceania Cruises’ Riviera, where every port of call is a colorful vision of paradise. Savor the splendors of Cozumel, Trujillo, Belize City and Key West as you sail the glistening turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
Passage of Lewis & Clark Prices: From $3,999 per person
MAY 7-15, 2016 Washington, Sacajawea State Park, Oregon
Trace the fabled path of Lewis and Clark on this epic voyage that highlights the natural grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. From Clarkston to Portland, cruise the Columbia and Snake Rivers aboard the elegant American Empress, stopping at Sacajawea State Park, The Dalles, Stevenson and Astoria.
Mediterranean Spring Serenade Prices: From $4,499 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $3,600 per stateroom. Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
MAY 20 – JUNE 2, 2016 Italy, Montenegro, France, Spain
Acquaint yourself with the classical splendors of the Mediterranean on this spring sojourn in Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, France and Spain aboard Oceania Cruises’ luxurious Riviera.
Vis
Glacier Splendors of Alaska *Visit huskeralum.org/adventures for pricing details and booking deadlines.
JUNE 19-26, 2016 Vancouver, Anchorage
Cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage on an epic sevennight journey aboard award-winning Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity. Enjoy ample time to explore the rich wonders of Alaska and the northern coastline of the Pacific Ocean. Best of all, discover Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.
Ireland *Visit huskeralum.org/adventures for pricing details and booking deadlines.
JULY 3-13, 2016 Galway, Kylemore Abbey, Moher, Inishmore, Killarney, Dublin
Discover the best of the Emerald Isle on this program that highlights the important landmarks of Dublin and some of Ireland’s most famous counties. In Dublin, Ireland’s exciting capital, visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and admire St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Age of the Vikings Prices: From $8,399 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $4,600 per stateroom. Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
JULY 14 – AUGUST 4, 2016 England, Scotland, Denmark, Iceland, Prince Christian Sound, Greenland, Ireland
Be captivated by fascinating Viking history, quaint villages, majestic snow-capped mountains and dramatic fjords as Oceania Cruises’ intimate Nautica takes you on an incredible 20-night odyssey to historic ports in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Ireland and England.
The Magnificent Great Lakes Visit huskeralum.org/adventures for pricing details and booking deadlines.*Solo travel friendly; single supplement waived!
AUGUST 22-31, 2016 Chicago, Mackinac Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron, Detroit, Windsor, Niagara Falls, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Montreal Picture yourself surrounded by pristine islands draped in verdant wilderness and rocky shores caressed by sparkling blue waters. From Chicago to Montreal, cruise all five Great Lakes and the scenic St. Lawrence River.
Italy’s Magnificent Lake District Visit huskeralum.org/adventures for pricing details and booking deadlines. *Solo travel friendly; single supplement waived!
SEPTEMBER 20 – 28, 2016 Lake Orta, Island of San Giulio, Borromean Islands, Milan Ascona, Cannobio Discover the unique character of Italy’s turquoise lakes while you explore the charming towns, majestic Renaissance villas and lush gardens that adorn their shores. Conclude the journey by crossing the Switzerland border to explore lovely Ascona’s Old Town and admire Cannobio’s medieval architecture.
Iberian Inspiration Prices: From $4,199 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $2,200 per stateroom. Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
OCTOBER 4-15, 2016 Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy
Explore the Mediterranean—where every port of call is an inspiring haven of history—on a voyage aboard Oceania Cruises’ graceful and intimate Marina. Savor a striking palette of colors, sounds and cultures from Lisbon to Spain, France, Monaco and Italy.
European Empires of Artistry Prices: From $2,899 per person *Two-for-one cruise fares, free airfare and early booking savings of $1,200 per stateroom. Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
OCTOBER 14-22, 2016 Spain, France, Italy, Monaco
Take in quaint European towns and cosmopolitan cities on a luxury cruise. Unwind on the lovely Spanish island of Minorca, explore cultural charms in Sète, Marseille and Monte Carlo, and delve into the intriguing history of Portofino, Florence and Pisa.
Polar Bears of Churchill Prices: From $5,495 per person *Visit huskeralum.org/ adventures for dates and booking deadlines. Churchill, Winnipeg
When polar bears awaken from summer hibernation, they descend upon the tiny seaport town of Churchill, forming the largest congregation of polar bears in the world. On this six-day wildlife expedition, watch the bears from a custom-designed Tundra Buggy during two day-long safaris.
Cruise the Caribbean *Prices: From $5500 per person Visit huskeralum.org/adventures for early-booking and final deadlines.
NOVEMBER 8-11, 2016 Ft. Lauderdale, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands, French West Indies, Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica and Cayman Islands
Cruise the Caribbean Escape the chill of November in favor of white sand beaches, sunny skies and the easygoing spirit of the Caribbean.
Travel Insurance Whether you’re traveling on one of our Alumni Adventures or taking a family vacation on your own, the Nebraska Alumni Association has you covered. The NAA works with a travel insurance company that can supply you with coverage on your next adventure. We have carefully selected a business partner who has your best travel interests in mind and allows you to select the level of coverage you need. Coverage options can include: • Trip cancellation or interruption reimbursement • Insurance for luggage loss, delay or theft • Worldwide medical expense and emergency evacuation coverage The travel insurance is option to all Nebraska alumni and friends. Visit travelinsure.com/Nebraska or call 800-937-1387 to learn more.
Alumni Adventures Brochure and Travel Interest Request We would love to provide you with more information about our alumni adventures and athletic trips. To request brochures as they become available, please complete and mail in the form below or contact Sarah Haskell at shaskell@huskeralum.org. Please also indicate if you would like to be added to our travel interest email list. n Pagodas and Palaces n The Galapagos Islands n Alluring Andes/Majestic Fjords n Tanzania Migration Safari n Cuban Discovery n Colorful Caribbean
n Passage of Lewis & Clark n Mediterranean Spring Serenade n Glacier Splendors of Alaska n Ireland n Age of the Vikings
n The Magnificent Great Lakes n Italy’s Magnificent Lake District n Iberian Inspiration n European Empires of Artistry n Polar Bears of Churchill n Cruise the Caribbean
Name___________________________________________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip_____________________________________________________________________________ Home phone/Cell Phone_____________________________________________________________________ Email Address_____________________________________________________________________________ n Please add me to the travel interest e-mail list. I prefer to receive brochures via: n Mail n E-mail
ATHLETIC TRAVEL Cheer on the Huskers on the Road or at Home! Join the alumni association on the official 2015 Nebraska football tours:
MIAMI Sept. 18-20
*Land-only package includes a hotel stay in downtown Miami for two nights with the option to add a third.
MINNESOTA Oct. 15-18
Charter motor coach with pickups in Lincoln and Omaha and a hotel stay in downtown Minneapolis.
RUTGERS in NYC Nov. 13-15
*Land-only package includes a hotel stay in Times Square for two nights with the option to add a third.
*All travel packages include game tickets, admission to official pregame events and transportation on game day. Packages do not include airfare. Headed to Lincoln for a game? Let us plan a customized VIP Home Game Package for your group! • Packages include game tickets, Haymarket hotel accommodations, Nebraska Champions Club passes, a VIP stadium tour and drink tickets to the alumni association’s Football Friday event. • For full trip and VIP package details, visit huskeralum.org/athletic-travel.
Wick Alumni Center
Nebraska Champions Club
Nebraska Innovation Campus
The Venues of the Nebraska Alumni Association • • • • •
Managed by the Nebraska Alumni Association • Host small meetings to large conferences Perfect for parties and wedding receptions • Capacity for groups from 15 up to 400 • Offering a variety of catering options
Creating the best experience for each client’s guests Open to the public for rental Contact us at 402-472-2841 or venues@huskeralum.org.
www.travelinsure.com/huskers
PROFILE WINNER, HONORARY MENTION 2014 Writing Contest Mekita Rivas is a communications associate for the School of Natural Resources at UNL. A 2012 graduate of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, she is a member of the American Copy Editors Society and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
A Dream Job on Great Barrier Reef
Kay Kunze
By Mekita Rivas, ’12
42 SUMMER 2015
F
or some, scuba diving along the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast may be the mark of one exotic vacation. For Kay Kunze, it’s just part of an average workday. “The most enjoyable part of my job is scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef in order to assess its condition,” Kunze said. “I was recently involved in a survey project with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for crown-of-thorns starfish, where I lived and dived off a vessel in the Coral Sea.” The class of 1998 graduate has spent the last six years Down Under, calling Queensland, Australia, home. She works for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ranger.
“I don’t believe I have picked up an Australian accent, although I do say some words differently,” she said. “I also use many Australian words and phrases such as ‘Fair Dinkum?’ (Are you being honest?) and ‘Good on ya!’ (Well done!).” In addition to picking up the local lingo, Kunze spends a lot of time in the water – both for her job and for everyday enjoyment. “I moved to Australia because of my love of the ocean and scuba diving,” she said. “My husband and I own a boat and often go camping on the local Whitsunday Islands and explore the area’s dive sites.” While it may seem that Kunze is worlds away from UNL and all things Husker red, the York, Nebraska, native said that her education is an integral part of her success story. “My schooling provided the foundation in which all my knowledge stems,” she said. When it comes to professors who had a lasting impact, Kunze identified emeritus professor of wildlife Ronald Case. “(He was) my most influential professor,” she said. “He always made himself available for a chat and to bounce ideas off of. He was supportive and challenged students to push themselves more.” During her time at the university, Kunze was an active member and officer of UNL’s Wildlife Club. “I met lifelong friends with similar interests and goals,” she said. The summer before she graduated, Kunze interned at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. “This put me on the path of working with sharks in Nebraska,” she said. Ultimately, Kunze’s internship experience landed her an aquarist position at the zoo, where she worked in the Kingdom of the Seas aquarium. “While there, I was responsible for several exhibits, including the large shark tunnel exhibit,” she said. “I also took an active interest in, researched and published a paper on the husbandry of the Zebra shark.” Following her stint at the zoo, Kunze began working at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a cytogeneticist, studying and detecting hereditary diseases and abnormalities. During this time, she was sponsored by an Australian pathology company and moved to Brisbane, Queensland. When Kunze made the transpacific leap from Nebraska to Australia, it was the first time she had ever lived outside of the state. “All my family still lives (in Nebraska),” she said. “I usually try to visit every year or two during my favorite time of year – Thanksgiving and of course the next day’s Husker game.”
Upon moving to Australia, Kunze never lost sight of her professional aspirations. “I wanted to pursue my marine interests and was hired by the Queensland government as an environmental officer,” she said. “This led to opportunities working as a Great Barrier Reef protection officer, conservation officer and my current position.” Kunze said that although she loves her work, it comes with its fair share of challenges. “The most challenging part of my job is the public speaking I do in order to educate the public and interest groups,” she said. “But this is getting easier with practice.” Keeping herself in check hasn’t always been easy and – if she could change anything about her college days – she wouldn’t have been so self-critical. “I would try to be less hard on myself,” she said. “Things have a way of working out for the best – eventually. The only thing in life you can be certain of is change. If you want something in life, believe in yourself, be patient and persevere, and you will enjoy the rewards.” Looking to the future, Kunze said having one of nature’s greatest wonders as her office space isn’t something she takes for granted, and she’s always trying to experience something new. “I am pretty content,” she said. “But my bucket list still includes diving with Great White Sharks.” v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 43
NOSTALGIA WINNER, HONORABLE MENTION 2014 Writing Contest Ken Fouts’ journey from milking cows and doing farm work on the family farm in northwest Iowa as a boy to his office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York overlooking the famous Skating Rink on 49th Street as an NBC Sports television director was one of the results of his years at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
Country Boy Becomes National Network Sports Director
This scene from 1975 finds NBC sports director Ken Fouts (center) flanked by producer Dick Auerbach (right) and technical director Gene Schwarz, during the NBC television coverage of World Championship Tennis from La Costa, California.
By Ken Fouts, ’64
Fouts preparing to go on air in 2002.
44 SUMMER 2015
I
t was the winter of 1950; I was 9 years old and my family lived on a farm in northwest Iowa. There were four of us children, our father a farmer and our mother a farmer’s wife. The harshness of the winter with deep drifting snow prevented us from driving the eight miles to town for almost three months. Dad would ride our horse, Beauty, to the main county highway and hitchhike to town for necessities. We always had a big summer garden and Mom canned and put up plenty of vegetables and, of course, we had milk from our nine hand-milked cows and meat from an occasional butchering to get pork or beef. By today’s standards, it was a tough life but back then we took it all in stride. We walked to the one-room country schoolhouse just three quarters of a mile from home, no matter what the weather. The teacher stayed with a farm family next door to the schoolhouse, so there were no snow days. Our evenings were occupied by the entire family gathering around the radio to listen to our favorite shows. It was then that I clearly remember I wanted to be in broadcasting, especially radio. I wanted to grow up to be like Gary Moore, a wellknown announcer in network radio at the time. Dad only finished the eighth grade
and Mom got to her basement was KUONthird year of high school TV, then the only studios and no one on either for the educational side of our family had television channel which ever thought of college. eventually became the So even then, I just Nebraska Educational knew I wanted to be in Network. It was there radio, but had no idea I spent many hours how to achieve such a learning how to operate a lofty goal as a farm boy television camera, direct from Iowa. shows, write scripts and It wasn’t until 1957 even do announcing. when our family had It was also suggested left the farm to follow to me to switch to the Dad to Omaha, where Teachers College to he worked in the stock receive a teaching degree yards, that college was in case the broadcasting brought to my attention. career did not work We were in the midst out, so I did that after of a cold war with the two years. In the winter Fouts as a child on the family farm in northwest Iowa. Soviet Union or “Russia” graduation of 1964, I as we called it. The became a proud graduate Russians launched a of the University of small satellite called Sputnik and the race in space began. Nebraska and the first on both sides of my parents’ families to Soon the government started a campaign directed at those of achieve that level of education. I was married by that time, and us in high school, that in order to keep up with the Russians we my wife and I lived in the married student housing on Holdrege all needed to try to further our education by going to college. those last few semesters where we built many lasting friendships. Speakers came to our school to urge us to seek out higher What happened to me next is proof that the University of education. It was that event that convinced me that even to Nebraska does make a major difference in people’s lives. Upon pursue a career in radio, college was probably necessary. leaving Lincoln, I spent 42 years as a director of sporting events My parents had no experience in that area nor did they have for NBC Sports in New York, ABC Sports, Turner Broadcasting, the financial ability to send a child to college, so I would be on ESPN and FOX Sports. I covered more than 3,000 events, my own. By then, the thoughts of being the next Gary Moore traveled more than four million miles and worked in 15 different were replaced by wanting to be a rock and roll disc jockey on countries around the world including the Soviet Union in 1986. radio, but even that was an area I had no idea how to enter. So, I covered multiple Major League Baseball World Series and college seemed to be the answer and the University of Nebraska Playoffs, a Super Bowl and the 1984 Summer and Winter in Lincoln was attainable for me as a Nebraska high school Olympics. Ironically in my retirement year of 2002, one of graduate. my final college football games was in Lincoln with the Texas Upon graduation from Bellevue High School in the spring of Longhorns playing the Cornhuskers, and I was proud to be 1959, I entered the university in Lincoln, using a small student acknowledged on the Big Screen that night. I have been awarded loan and getting my first job as a radio disc jockey at KLMS seven Emmys and was the first to do many High Definition radio on weekends to help with my expenses. That job led to projects, including producing and directing coverage of John a more substantial position at KLIN Radio (meaning I made Glenn’s return to space in 1998. $1.50 an hour instead of $1.25) a year later. Eventually, at the My wife of 53 years, a registered nurse, and I have four adult advice of Bob Zenner, the voice of the Cornhuskers football children and each is a college graduate. One is an aeronautical team on radio and local sports announcer for KOLN-TV at the engineer, another a business manager, a third a college professor time, I changed my goal from being a disc jockey to working with a doctorate and the fourth a veterinarian. The university behind the scenes in television in the role of director, telling not only changed my life for the better; it helped me create an the cameras where to point and directing the announcers. A entire family of educated people making major contributions in fairly active athlete in high school, I loved sports and decided their own fields. somewhere along the line that I wanted to cover sports for “Thank you” may not seem enough, but our thanks to those television. in Lincoln that guided me are deep and sincere. I was able to go I entered the College of Arts and Sciences as a broadcasting a long way from that farm boy in Iowa listening to the radio on major. Our home for that was the old Temple Building, now those cold winter nights almost six decades ago. Thanks again home of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film. In the Nebraska! v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 45
Hall-of-Famers Coaching at
Nebraska By Randy York, ’71
O
lympic gymnastics Gold Medalist Jim Hartung team national championships, captured 156 individual NCAA said being part of a 22-person inaugural class of titles, and continue to lead the nation with 315 CoSIDA the 2015 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Academic All-Americans and 17 NCAA Top 10 Award winners. Fame was a lifetime dream for a boy who grew The inaugural class includes one inductee from every current up in South Omaha. Canadian native and Olympic softball Nebraska sport, plus an honoree from the men’s swimming and pitcher/coach Lori Sippel cried when learning she received the diving program, a recognized varsity sport from 1921 to 2001. same honor from the state she fell in love with, then adopted. The class combined for eight national player-of-the-year awards, Both icons share a strong, unified belief from two bordering 127 All-America certificates, 32 individual NCAA titles and countries. Convinced there truly is NO PLACE like Nebraska, 11 team national championships. Eight HOF members were both planted their roots so deeply into their alma mater, Olympians who competed in a combined 19 Olympic Games they’re still at the University of Nebraska serving, teaching and while winning 15 medals, including five Gold. Three legendary coaching the same sport they played so successfully in college. Husker All-Americans who became first-round draft choices Hartung, the 22-time All-American and 7-time NCAA and successful professionals are also included – Alex Gordon in individual champion, led Nebraska to four consecutive NCAA baseball, Eric Piatkowski in basketball and Dave Rimington in Team Championships in 1979-80-81-82. Sippel, the two-time football. All-America pitcher, became Nebraska’s only CoSIDA Softball Feature honoree Merlene Ottey is the most decorated Academic All-American of the Year, and led the Huskers to student-athlete in Nebraska history, and Shannon Pluhowsky four Big Eight regular-season championships, four conference is still ranked as the world’s No. 1 female bowler 10 years after tournament titles and two Women’s College World Series her collegiate finale. Ottey and Pluhowsky each led the Huskers appearances. to three national Hartung and championships. Sippel join a Allison Weston is cavalcade of 22 another trailblazer distinguished after leading student-athletes Nebraska to its first who will be national volleyball formally enshrined championship. In and celebrated the classroom, the when Nebraska inductees produced opens its football a total of three season on Sept. CoSIDA Academic 5. The creation of All-American-ofthe University of the-Year accolades, Nebraska Athletic seven Academic Hall of Fame will All-America honors honor Husker and two NCAA Top programs and 10 Awards. v UNL Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Jim Hartung stands in front of a display of student-athletes Husker gymnast Olympians. Hartung remains at Nebraska working with the who have won 26
Hall-ofHartung,
Famers
gymnastics program.
46 SUMMER 2015
2015 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame
UNL Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Lori Sippel is congratulated by 2015 Huskers Softball players for her selection. Sippel has served as a Nebraska Softball Coach for 26 seasons.
Lori Sippel
Jim Hartung
SOftball
gymnastics
Lori Sippel, Softball, 1985-88 (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is the most dominant pitcher in Nebraska softball history and was named the 1988 CoSIDA Softball Academic All-American of the Year, the only Husker to earn that honor. After leading Nebraska to four Big Eight regular-season championships, four conference tournament titles and two trips to the Women’s College World Series, Sippel played internationally and earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a double major in coaching and special education-mild/moderately handicapped from the University of Nebraska in 1988.
Jim Hartung, Men’s Gymnastics, 1979-82 (Omaha, Neb.) owns the most individual NCAA titles (7) and most All-America (22) accolades of any male studentathlete in Nebraska Athletics history and is the only member of the 2015 class to lead his Husker teams to four-straight NCAA Championships (1979-1982). A seven-time NCAA champion, Hartung twice won the NCAA All-Around. A three-time NCAA still rings champion and a two-time parallel bars national champion, Hartung earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1983 with a major in business administration.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 47
2015 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame
Merlene Ottey
Steve Friesen
TRACK
GOLF
Merlene Ottey, Women’s Track and Field, 1980-84 (Hanover, Jamaica) won 14 individual national titles and 24 All-America awards – the most AllAmerica awards of any student-athlete in Nebraska Athletics history. A member of Nebraska’s indoor national championship teams in 1982, 1983 and 1984, Ottey became the most decorated Olympian in school history, winning nine Olympic medals in seven different Olympics. Competing in more Olympic Games than any other track and field athlete in history (male or female), she represented Jamaica six times and Slovenia once. Ottey earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in art from the University of Nebraska in 1984.
Steve Friesen, Men’s Golf, 1996-99 (Lincoln, Neb.) excelled on the course and in the classroom for the Nebraska men’s golf program. He was recognized for his achievements in both areas when he was named the recipient of the 1999 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to collegiate golf ’s top scholar-athlete. On the course, he was a 1999 All-American and the only three-time all-conference honoree in program history. Friesen earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Nebraska in 2000 with a major in biological sciences.
ALEX GORDON
CHARLIE GREENE
BASEBALL
TRACK
Alex Gordon, Baseball, 2003-05 (Lincoln, Neb.) is the only Nebraska baseball player to be named national player of the year. A first-team All-American in 2004 and 2005, Gordon became a two-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner with the Kansas City Royals, winning the 2014 Platinum Glove Award as the top defensive player in the American League and helping the Royals to a 2014 World Series runner-up finish. He also donated $1 million toward the Alex Gordon Training Complex, an indoor training facility for the Nebraska baseball and softball programs.
Charlie Greene, Men’s Track & Field, 1965-67 (Seattle, Wash.) was a six-time national champion while winning the most NCAA titles of any Nebraska male track and field student-athlete. Greene won three NCAA 60-yard dash titles and three NCAA 100-meter titles. The two-time Olympian and 100-meter world record-holder was a member of the 1968 U.S. 4x100-meter relay team that set a world record, enabling Greene to become the first Husker to win Olympic Gold. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Nebraska with a major in physical education and athletics in 1967.
48 SUMMER 2015
Penny Heyns
Karen Jennings
Swimming
Basketball
Penny Heyns, Women’s Swimming and Diving, 1993-96 (Amanzimtoti, South Africa) earned multiple All-America accolades as a Nebraska women’s swimmer. She capped her career by winning the 1996 NCAA 100-yard breaststroke, the only NCAA title in program history. Heyns was a 15-time All-American and 14-time conference champion, and helped Nebraska win three consecutive conference titles. A three-time Olympian, Heyns won a pair of Gold Medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, becoming the first woman in Olympic history to win both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events at the same games.
Karen Jennings, Women’s Basketball, 1990-93 (Persia, Iowa) was named the nation’s best women’s basketball player and the sport’s top student-athlete. The three-time first-team Academic All-American won the 1993 Margaret Wade Trophy and the CoSIDA Women’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year that same year. The only female studentathlete at Nebraska enshrined in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, Jennings earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in health, physical education and recreation studies from the University of Nebraska in 1993.
Steve Jung
Joe Kirby
Tennis
Cross Country
Steve Jung, Men’s Tennis, 1986-89 (Hacienda Heights, Calif.), is the only All-American and the only CoSIDA Academic All-American in Nebraska men’s tennis history. Jung earned All-America accolades as a senior in 1989 and was a first-team Academic All-America selection that same season. Jung finished as the runner-up at the 1989 NCAA Singles Championship. He teamed with his brother Stuart to qualify for the 1989 NCAA Doubles Championship. Jung earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1989 with a major in finance.
Joe Kirby, Men’s Cross Country, 1987-90 (Jefferson City, Mo.) is the first Nebraska men’s cross country runner to earn multiple All-America awards. Kirby earned two All-America honors and helped Nebraska finish eighth, the first top-10 NCAA finish in program history. In track, Kirby was a two-time Big Eight steeplechase champion and All-American. He also holds Nebraska’s record in the 5,000-meter run. Kirby earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1991 with a major in electrical engineering.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 49
2015 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame
Christine Latham
Liz Mooney
Soccer
Tennis
Christine Latham, Soccer, 1999-2002 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is one of only two three-time AllAmericans in program history, earning All-America accolades in her final three seasons. The 2000 Big 12 Player of the Year helped Nebraska sweep the conference regular-season and tournament titles, then repeated as the league’s player of the year in 2001. Latham helped the Huskers make four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and one trip to the Elite Eight. Latham played internationally and professionally and earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in sociology from the University of Nebraska in 2005.
Liz (Mooney) Shaffer, Women’s Tennis, 1983-86 (Englewood, Colo.) was a four-year letterwinner for the Nebraska women’s tennis program, earning AllAmerica honors in 1984. She teamed up with Cari L. Groce at No. 1 doubles to earn the first All-America accolades in program history. The first Nebraska women’s tennis player in the NCAA era to notch 50 singles wins, 50 doubles wins and 100 combined victories, Mooney earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in business administration from the University of Nebraska in 1986.
Eric Piatkowski
Adam Pine
BASKETBALL
Swimming
Eric Piatkowski, Men’s Basketball, 1991-94 (Rapid City, S.D.) earned first-team All-Big Eight honors in 1993 and 1994 after leading Nebraska to the program’s best four-year run. Qualifying for the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, the Huskers’ 1994 Big Eight Tournament Championship is the only conference tournament title in program history. Piatkowski finished as NU’s No. 2 all-time scorer before going on to play 14 years in the NBA – the longest stint in Nebraska history. The only Husker to win Gold Medals at the World University Games and U.S. Olympic Festival, Piatkowski earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1995 with a major in finance.
Adam Pine, Men’s Swimming and Diving, 19972000 (Ballina, Australia) was a 19-time All-American in men’s swimming, earning the second-most accolades of any male student-athlete in Nebraska history, behind men’s gymnast Jim Hartung. He culminated his career by becoming the only NCAA champion in program history. Competing for his native Australia, Pine also won Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medals on three relay teams in the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 2001 with a major in business administration.
50 SUMMER 2015
Shannon Pluhowsky
Dave Rimington
Bowling
Football
Shannon Pluhowsky, Bowling, 2001-02; 2004-05 (Phoenix, Ariz.) is a four-time All-American at Nebraska and three-time National Collegiate Bowler of the Year. Pluhowsky’s individual achievements helped Nebraska win three national championships in her four seasons. A 26-time international medalist with more than 30 300-games to her credit, Pluhowsky was elected to the International Bowling Hall of Fame in 2011. Pluhowsky earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and Human Sciences from the University of Nebraska in 2005 with a major in family and consumer sciences.
Dave Rimington, Football, 1979-82 (Omaha, Neb.) became a member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and the first Nebraska student-athlete enshrined in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2004. The only two-time Outland Trophy winner in college football history, Rimington has two awards named after him – the Rimington Trophy and the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year Award. A two-time, first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Rimington earned the NCAA Top 10 Award. He played seven years in the NFL and returned to the University of Nebraska to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1990 with a major in economics.
Sarah Sasse
Bill Scherr
Golf
Wrestling
Sarah Sasse-Kildow, Women’s Golf, 1999; 200003 (Lincoln, Neb.) is the only Nebraska women’s golfer to earn first-team All-America honors. She led Nebraska to a Big 12 Championship, becoming the only Husker women’s golfer to compete in three NCAA Championships and the only Husker to post two top-50 finishes. A 2003 NGCA Scholastic AllAmerican, Sasse was the 2000 World University Golf Championship runner-up. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 2003 with a major in marketing.
Bill Scherr, Wrestling, 1981-84 (Mobridge, S.D.) became Nebraska wrestling’s first three-time AllAmerican. He won two Big Eight championships and one NCAA title while leading NU to three consecutive top-10 finishes, a feat unmatched in Husker wrestling history. Scherr’s 133 career wins were the most at Nebraska for more than a decade, and his national title helped NU finish fourth at the NCAA Championships. A Bronze Medalist at the 1988 Olympics. Scherr earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in social science from the University of Nebraska in 1985.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 51
2015 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame
Richelle Simpson
Fran ten Bensel
Gymnastics
cross country
Richelle Simpson, Women’s Gymnastics, 2002-05 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was Nebraska’s first female gymnast to earn first-team All-America honors on all five events, helping Nebraska to a fourth-place national finish, the best in program history. A twotime NCAA champion and Academic All-American, Simpson posted eight perfect scores and owns a school-record 39.825 all-around score. Nebraska’s first AAI Award winner and a NCAA Top 10 honoree, Simpson earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska in 2005 with a double major in international studies and French.
Fran (ten Bensel) Benne, Women’s Cross Country, 1989-92 (Arapahoe, Neb.) became the only threetime All-American in program history. She is also Nebraska’s only conference, district and regional champion. Her ninth-place NCAA finish is the second-highest in school history. She also won the Big Eight individual title to lead the Huskers to a conference team title. On the track, ten Bensel was a five-time All-American and six-time Big Eight champion. A 1993 University of Nebraska graduate, ten Bensel earned a Bachelor of Journalism with a major in advertising.
Amanda Trujillo
Allison Weston
Rifle
volleyball
Amanda (Trujillo) Scrivner, Rifle, 2000-03 (Brush, Colo.) earned All-America accolades in Small Bore and Air Rifle in four seasons, the first Husker to accomplish that feat. An eight-time All-American, she earned the maximum number. Trujillo was the air rifle runner-up at the 2001 NCAA Championships, one season after she finished seventh in the small bore competition. Trujillo was the first Husker to post a top-10 finish in both disciplines. She earned a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Nebraska in 2003 with a major in nursing
Allison Weston, Volleyball, 1992-95 (Papillion, Neb.) helped Nebraska win its first national volleyball championship in 1995, becoming a first-team AllAmerican and AVCA Co-National Player of the Year in the process. She was also a first-team All-American in the previous two seasons. A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and two-time Big Eight Player of the Year, Weston was the team captain for the 2000 American Olympic Volleyball Team. In 1997, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources from UNL with a major in fisheries and wildlife
52 SUMMER 2015
NEWS Huskers Forever This summer incoming UNL students have an opportunity to become life members of the Nebraska Alumni Association at a discounted rate. During New Student Enrollment, the NAA launched Huskers Forever, offering participants an opportunity to connect with fellow Huskers – both students and alumni – and forge unforgettable memories, lasting friendships and a lifelong alumni
connection to the university. Huskers Forever benefits include: • • • • •
Membership in Scarlet Guard, the NAA’s student cohort Exclusive events A complimentary cap and gown for commencement Career Coaching Nebraska Magazine, the NAA’s quarterly publication for members
• Discounts and event tickets • And much, much more! Membership in CONNECTION BOX Huskers Forever is huskeralum.org/forever $75 a semester. The first payment is made to the NAA, and all subsequent payments are applied directly to the student’s tuition bill for an additional seven semesters. v
Scarlet Guard Earns Campus Honors In April, Scarlet Guard and its members were publically recognized for exceptional campus leadership, character and integrity. UNL’s Student Impact Awards honor outstanding student organizations and their officers, members and advisers. Scarlet Guard received the following recognition: • Scarlet Guard: Outstanding Student Organization, Award Finalist • Kallie Speltz: Outstanding Officer, Award Finalist • Emily Murtaugh: Outstanding President, Award Finalist • Ashley Stone: Outstanding New Adviser, Award Winner
In addition, 32 students were named to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan Franco’s List for their outstanding character and integrity. Seven Scarlet Guard members were among those honored: • Katelyn Dickes, sophomore nutrition science major from Fordyce • Betsy Hardin, junior family science major from McCook • Elizabeth Keuter, senior animal science major from Gilbert, Ariz. • Emily Murtaugh, senior textiles and communication major from Ralston • Michael Shively, junior broadcasting major from Lincoln • Kallie Speltz, senior finance major from Saint Joseph, Mo. • Dillon Thoman, sophomore finance major from Omaha. v (From left) Kallie Speltz, Emily Murtaugh, Ashley Stone, Katelyn Dickes NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 53
On April 18, more than 3,000 UNL students, faculty and staff gave back to Lincoln by volunteering at numerous businesses and residences. While inclement weather cancelled many projects around town, more than 40 Scarlet Guard and Nebraska Alumni Association staff members assisted with projects at the Community Action Center and the Lux Center for the Arts.
NEWS
Writing Contest Winners Announced The results of the 2015 Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest are in, and this year we have 12 winners instead of the usual eight. With a record number of entries in the Nostalgia Category, the judges opted for two sets of prizes: one set for nostalgia pieces about student days and one set for nostalgic thoughts about a favorite professor. In student days nostalgia, first place was claimed by John Mohr, ’04, Alexandria, Virginia, with “There Is No Trash Like Nebraska’s.” Second place went to El Siebert, ’64, ’66, Omaha, with “A Pivotal Year – 1964” and third place to “How ‘Bout A Tune” by Joel Schnoor, ’84, Apex, North Carolina. Robert Kerr, ’84, Hastings, earned Honorable Mention with “What Can I Get You?”. In professorial nostalgia, David Martin, 66, Omaha, earned first place with “Les Whipp: A Lighthouse Teacher.” Second place went to Judy McDonald, ’65, ’68, ’80, Bemidji,
Apply Now for the Young Alumni Academy
CONNECTION BOX http://huskeralum.org/yaa 54 SUMMER 2015
At their April gathering, members of the Young Alumni Academy and alumni staff tackled the climbing wall at the Outdoor Adventures Center on city campus.
Minnesota, for “JGW Lewis: An Overdue Tribute” and third place to “The Impact of Larry Andrews” by Vivian Hecht Eucker, ’72, Albion. Jerilyn Adam Weaver, ’68, ’69, Bethesda, Maryland, received honorable mention for a piece on Professor William Morgan. Winners in the contest’s alumni profile category were: First place, Jim Schaffer, ’71, Lincoln, “High and Dry, One Leg at a Time;” Charlyne Berens, ’95, ’00, Lincoln, a profile on Paula LaVigne; Marcia Robertson, Hampton, Virginia, a profile on Steven B. Robertson and honorable mention, Kelly Riibe, ’03, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, “Not Your ORD-inary Brew.” Third-place winners’ entries will be published in the fall issue of Nebraska Magazine; second place in the winter issue, first place in the spring issue and honorable mention in next summer’s magazine. Watch for details on the 2016 contest in the fall magazine. v
Applications are now open for the 2015-16 class of the Young Alumni Academy. The selection process occurs in August and September each year, and the class runs from October through May. Now in its fourth year, the Nebraska Alumni Association created YAA to bring recent graduates back to campus for behind-the-scenes tours of the university’s exciting progress. Members of this exclusive group will: • Hear from university leaders about the opportunities that come with UNL’s status as a Big Ten Conference university • Tour premier campus facilities • Network and make friends with other successful young alumni • Learn more about Nebraska Alumni Association outreach and programs • Discover opportunities to be a part of UNL’s exciting progress v
Alumni Have Volunteer Opportunities Contribute to the growth and progress of the Nebraska Alumni Association and the university by making a donation or volunteering your time. Most volunteer opportunities take little time and can be completed at your convenience. Giving opportunities range from student scholarships to donordirected support of an alumni program or initiative. • Huskers for Higher Education is a statewide organization of Nebraska citizens united in their desire to move UNL forward by communicating with their state senators. • Postcards of Pride, a program of the NAA and the UNL Office of Admissions, asks volunteers to encourage prospective students to attend UNL by sharing campus memories and life lessons via postcard. • Volunteer Hotlist coordinates alumni and friends in the Lincoln area, to help fulfill volunteer needs from the university.
• Chapter Scholarships help recruit outstanding students across the country to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. • Nebraska Legends Scholarships support student recruitment and retention, and are a critical piece of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s efforts to reach enrollment of 30,000 students. • UNL Office of Admissions equips alums for hosting information booths at regional college fairs. • Local Alumni Chapters serve alumni and friends across the country and around the world. Find a chapter in your area and see how you can become involved.
NEWS
Learn more by visiting our website and signing up for the Volunteer Hotlist. v
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/volunteerhotlist
Alumni Adventures
In March, 18 Nebraska alumni traveled to Cuba to learn about the country’s turbulent economic and political past and vibrant, culturally rich present. (Our travel partner holds a People-to-People license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC], authorizing registered travelers on this educational exchange program to visit Cuba.)
Alumni travelers watched a native woman hand roll Cuban cigars. She has practiced the art for 35 years and knows the different leaves, lengths and circumferences of all the cigars on the chart behind her.
Big Ten pride dominated the deck of the Oceania Cruises Riviera as schools displayed their alumni flags.
In late April, alumni cruised the Mediterranean to Spain, France, Monaco and Italy aboard the Oceania Cruises Riviera. With 38 schools represented on the ship, Nebraska had the second largest contingent. NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 55
ALUMNI
CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES
The Upstate New Yorkers alumni chapter gathered for the Huskers spring game, a “Taste of Nebraska,” a silent auction and election of officers.
Upstate New Yorkers “Taste Nebraska” CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/upstatenewyorkers
Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska held the chapter’s fourth Founders’ Day in as many years on April 11 at Ely-Fagan American Legion Post 1151 outside Rochester, New York. Approximately 25 Nebraska alumni and friends gathered for an afternoon to watch the Huskers’ Spring Game, enjoy a “Taste of Nebraska” menu
featuring Valentino’s pizza as well as chili and cinnamon rolls, and shop from the chapter’s most extensive silent auction to date. Some members of the geographically diverse group traveled as far as 150 miles to participate in the afternoon of camaraderie with fellow Nebraska fans. Founders’ Day attendees also elected the chapter’s leadership for the 201516 year. Volunteer leaders include Jessica Walcott Murray (President), Candy Ingwersen (Secretary), Jessica
Wells (Treasurer), Brian Sharp (Watch Party Coordinator), Paul Campbell (Special Events Coordinator), and Jesse Edwards (Social Media Coordinator). Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska, formed in August 2011, hosts football watch sites in Rochester and Syracuse. The chapter plans to augment its fall 2015 watch gatherings with a variety of events throughout the year. The group welcomes suggestions for and help with future programming ideas and inquiries about the chapter and its activities. v
CHAPTERS: Update Your TV Watch Sites Football season is rapidly approaching, and alumni across the country will be searching for watch sites to view their favorite collegiate team in action. Make sure your alumni chapters watch site(s) are up to date on the Nebraska CONNECTION BOX Alumni website. huskeralum.org/watch-sites And if you’re looking for a place to join fellow Huskers in cheering for the Big Red, check the web page to find a location closest to you. v
56 SUMMER 2015
Bill Glaser, president of Northern Nevadans for Nebraska, presented the Nebraska Book Award (a copy of “My Antonia” by Willa Cather) for an outstanding student in English to Elizabeth McCullough of Archbishop Manogue High School in Reno, Nevada.
CLASSNOTES 1939
News/Weddings/Births/Deaths
n Ron Douglas of Crete became
a centenarian on March 31.
Roy and Ileen Smith of Lincoln noted their 55th wedding anniversary April 9.
1944
1960
Ed Holscher, 92, continues to volunteer at Hospice Savannah (Georgia) as the wheelchair ramp facilitator. ■
1946
Boyd Clements of South Padre Island, Texas, noted his 90th birthday Feb. 22.
1947
Elaine Thayer, Denton, turned 90 on April 22.
1948
n LaRoy Seaver, a retired Methodist pastor in Estes Park, Colorado, was recently profiled by the Estes Park (Colorado) News. n Bob and n Sue Wenke, ’51,
celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary June 17. The Wenkes live in Long Beach, California.
1951
Jay Philip Holman marked his 90th birthday May 2.
1952
n Dick and n Jackie Hovendick,
’53 of Beatrice marked 60 years of marriage on April 11.
1954
Duane Schulz of Lincoln turned 94 on March 30.
1957
Jane Hermsmeyer has earned Lifetime Achievement status as an agent for Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln.
1958
n Grant Peters chaired the Missouri Federation State Convention of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) held in Kansas City, Missouri, in April. Peters is president of the Greater Kansas City Chapter.
n Dennis and n Glenda Boesiger
of Lincoln marked 50 years of marriage in April.
1961
Francis and Marge Musil of Lincoln celebrated their golden wedding anniversary May 1.
1962
Alfred and n Carolyn Coffman Hanson, Osceola, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 22, 2014. Hanson retired from teaching K-12 vocal music in the Osceola Public Schools in 2006 and occasionally substitute teaches. n Robert D. Kuzelka, associate professor emeritus in the School of Natural Resources at the University of NebraskaLincoln, was the 2014 Maurice Kremer Groundwater Achievement Award winner. The award, presented by The Groundwater Foundation, honors Nebraskans who have made substantive contributions to conservation and protection of the state’s groundwater.
1963
Tom and Helen “Jinx” Dawson of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 18.
1964
n Richard “Dick” Callahan,
a pioneer in digital wireless and cable-based services, was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the University of NebraskaLincoln College of Business Administration Advisory Board. Callahan is the founder of Callahan Advisory LLC of Denver. n Daniel and RoJean Craig Stiffler of Erie, Colorado, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 5, 2014.
1965
50 years of marriage June 19. Gary and Miriam Kimbrough, ’67, of Geneva, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary April 18. n Eugene and n Lettie J. Morse,
’66, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 8. Eugene is a retired United Methodist clergyman and Lettie continues working as a certified public accountant. They reside in St. Louis.
1966
n Gary and n Vera Dale Salmon,
’69, noted their 50th wedding anniversary on April 19. The Salmons live in Lincoln.
1967
Jim Specht, emeritus professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of NebraskaLincoln, received the 2015 Special Meritorious Service Award from the American Soybean Association.
1968
Joe Inguanzo, president and CEO of Professional Research Consultants Inc. of Omaha, has been inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Computing by the UNL Computer Science and Engineering Department.
1969
n Rosemary Horner was selected for Lifetime Achievement status as an agent of Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln. n Michael Jedlicka, vice president of customer relations at Norfolk Iron and Metal Co. in Norfolk, is in his 41st year at that business. n Robert and n Jean Kent, ’67,
will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 5 at a friends and family party after the NU vs. BYU game. The Kents have lived in Cazenovia, New York, since 1969 and are returning to the campus where they were married at the Newman Center, Sept. 5, 1965.
n Ned and Sandy Criscimagna of Annapolis, Maryland, marked
■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member
■
Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member
1970
Jeff Greenwald, Lincoln, has been appointed chairman of the board for INSPRO, a Nebraska-based insurance company. Pat Kurtenbach ended her 45-year teaching career in the Lincoln Public School System in May. Larry Lundquist was appointed chief executive officer of LundRoss Constructors of Omaha. Dennis Mehrhoff of Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln, was awarded the highest level of service achievement in the real estate industry, Quality Service Certified Platinum. David Rasmussen is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz PC LLO.
1971
Steve and ■ Judy Epstein, ’94, of Las Vegas marked 45 years of marriage June 14.
■
Dennis Flesner has earned the Lifetime Achievement status as an agent with Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln. n Dennis Jorgensen, Panora, Iowa, sold his ownership in three pharmacies last year and has retired. He is presently a relief pharmacist.
Linda Robinson Rutz of Union Agency has been elected vice president of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors.
1972
n Gary Kuklin, an associate broker in Omaha with NAI NP Dodge Commercial Real Estate Services Worldwide, was presented with an award in recognition of his sale of a Class A Industrial property as the largest single transaction in his office in 2014. His $4.4 million dollar listing sold in three days.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 57
CLASSNOTES n Nick Cusick of Bison/IMSCORP will serve as president of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors.
Leslie Peterson was named a 2015 inductee into the Omaha Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Peterson is a principal in the Omaha-based engineering firm of Lamp Rynearson.
1973
n Allen Henriksen, speech therapist for Woodland Park Elementary and the Middle School in Norfolk, has retired after 40 years of service to the Norfolk Public School District.
1975
Frank Andelt is the 2015 recipient of the Howard L. Wiegers Nebraska Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award, which honors individuals or groups that promote the preservation and creation of habitat for wildlife. Andelt works the family farm and other parcels near Crete. n John Miles of the Lincoln law firm Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather LLP has been added to the Tabitha board of directors.
Holly Miller, a faculty fellow and lecturer at the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was selected as a recipient of a 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award by the UNO Alumni Association.
1976
Gary Goranson was named the top-producing agent for 2014 by Lincoln First Realty in Lincoln. Maxine Ernst Schiefelbein celebrated her 90th birthday in May. Steve Sloup has been promoted to executive vice president and chief information officer for West Gate Bank of Lincoln.
1977
n W. Kim Austen, president of
Allied Group, has retired after 58 SUMMER 2015
39 years of service with Nationwide Insurance. Austen lives in Ankeny, Iowa. Deb Cabela retired after many years of teaching at Fredstrom Elementary School in Lincoln. Jim Essay has been added to the staff of Cornhusker Bank of Lincoln as a private banking officer. n Jeni Lloyd Howard has retired
after serving as a speech pathologist at Educational Service Unit #9 in Hastings. Paul D. Merritt, Jr., a Lancaster County (Nebraska) District judge, has been presented the highest honor the Nebraska Supreme Court bestows, the Distinguished Judge for Service to the Judiciary Award. n Bill Mueller, Mueller Robak Law Firm, has been chosen as secretary of the board of directors for the Lincoln Community Foundation. He also is serving on the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors. n Kim Robak of Mueller Robak
LLC has been chosen as a member of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors. She also was elected to serve on the Executive Council of the Nebraska State Bar Association.
1978
Bob Bals is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz PC LLO. n Ann E. Deck, a realtor with Woods Bros. Realty in Lincoln, was honored for having the highest volume of closed sales in 2014.
Catherine Lang of Accelerate Nebraska, is a member of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster board of directors. n Jerry L. Pigsley has joined the labor and employment practice group of the Lincoln law firm Woods & Aitken.
1980
Lesley Larson, Napa, California, has been promoted to vice president of marketing for Vintage Wine Estates in Santa Rosa, California.
Robert Kao, an adviser for Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship and assistant professor of finance at Park University, Parkville, Missouri, was selected the 2015 Student Organization Adviser of the Year at the Dr. Doris A. Howell Leadership Awards. In addition, Kao was the recipient of the Excellence in Academic Advising Award, which recognizes faculty who contribute outstanding mentoring and advising to Park students.
Doug Meier has been promoted to maintenance engineer at NAI FMA Realty, a Lincolnbased commercial real estate company.
Sheri N. Everts was installed as the seventh chancellor of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
Susan Puelz, Lincoln, was presented with the 2015 Alumni Achievement Award in Art by the UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Lisa Walters, elementary counselor at Bel Air Elementary in Norfolk, retired recently after 35 years of service in the Norfolk Public School District.
1981
n Wendy Birdsall was presented the Business Excellence Award at the University of NebraskaLincoln College of Business Administration Advisory Board Annual Awards. Birdsall is the president of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. ■ Sarah A. Chavez has written “All Day, Talking,” a collection of poems. Chavez, an assistant professor of English at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, was honored with a book signing and reading at the Memorial Student Center.
n Kathryn Dusenbery, Parkville, Missouri, was appointed to the Alphapointe board of directors. Alphapointe is a service provider for the visually impaired, headquartered in Kansas City. Dusenbery is a long-time community activist, having served a four-year term as mayor of Parkville, alderman for seven years and Platte County commissioner for one term.
n Tonn M. Ostergard, president and CEO of Crete Carrier Corporation of Lincoln, is the recipient of the Business Leadership Award, presented at the UNL College of Business Administration Advisory Board Annual Awards. n Jim Rieker of Gretna is the executive vice president of multifamily acquisitions for Seldin Company, a regional commercial real estate and property management company headquartered in Omaha. n Glenn E. Smith has retired after 25 years with the Mayo Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Psychology to become the Elizabeth Faulk Professor and Chair of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Greg Thomas has joined the Omaha office of the law firm Dyer Law, where he handles cases involving negligence, workplace accidents and medical malpractice claims.
1982
Ann Bleed has been honored with the 2015 Ditchrider Award, sponsored by the Four States Irrigation Council. Bleed, a Lincoln resident, former Nebraska Department of Natural Resources Director and Nebraska State Hydrologist, was noted for her dedication and integrity in working with irrigators and water officials of all four states (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming). n Sally Buchholz has been hired as director of development for Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach of Lincoln.
BY ANTHONY FLOTT
Alumni Profile ’79, ’92
A Lifetime of Help … in Three hours Pete Allman
For some youth, the final bell doesn’t just signal the end to school. It also means the start of trouble. Pete Allman knows this all too well. The University of Nebraska graduate is a co-founder and president of the board at Lighthouse, an after-school program in Lincoln that last year assisted more than 700 youth. “What we come to find out is most teen pregnancies occur Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.,” Allman said. “Most drug and alcohol experimentation Monday and Friday between 3 and 6. Most petty and violent crimes by teens occur Monday through Friday between 3 and 6.” Get the picture? Allman has since 1990 when he created Lighthouse after visiting a similar facility in New York City called Covenant House. His wife, Maureen, and Jim Perry helped him set up something similar in his hometown. Twenty-five years, three moves and one new building later, Lighthouse is the place to be for Lincoln middle school and high school youth looking for a place to get school help, play, socialize, grab a snack or just hang out. Most come from Lincoln High, although Lighthouse now has a program at Lincoln Southeast that gets up to 110 kids a day for tutoring and mentoring, too. “It’s a safe harbor,” Allman said. And one needed more than ever. “This is not a Lincoln problem. This is a social problem,” Allman said. “There are just lots of kids that don’t have an adult to kind of help navigate activities after school. I would say probably my biggest disappointment
in 25 years is lack of parental involvement. Teens will say, ‘We never have fun with our family or our parent.’ We create a parent-child volleyball tournament; no parents show up. We have problems with the kid, we call the mom or dad, leave a message. They never call us back. It makes sense these kids are … at risk.” Kids like Bill Michener. He was a teen but wasn’t enrolled in school. That violated one of three Lighthouse requirements of youth: to be actively attending school or working on a GED; to not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and, to demonstrate unconditional respect to the people and property of Lighthouse. It wasn’t that Michener wasn’t smart. He was. “I was bored with school and wasn’t feeling challenged,” he said. And he didn’t exactly have good family role models. “I stayed away from school because that is what was laid in front of me. No boy in my family had graduated from high school. Both my older brothers went on to prison.” A close friend told him about Lighthouse and said it was fun. Michener gave it a try. Allman and company got him back into school. He graduated as a fifth-year senior. “What I liked was it made me feel like I was a part of something, that the adults cared and loved me,” Michener said. “It helped me find self-worth and opened up the world of possibilities to me. Lighthouse gave me a safe place with caring adults to help me believe I could do it.”
Pete Allman
That was in the early 1990s. Michener went on to earn his college degree, then a master’s. He volunteered at Lighthouse, then was hired as facility manager. Now he’s its executive director. Michener oversees an eightperson staff and a budget of almost $400,000, about 80 percent of which is raised from private gifts. There also are three to five volunteers who show up each day to help youth with homework, teach social skills or play games. From 45 to 55 kids show a day. Lighthouse provides them with computers, monitors student grades after getting release forms from parents and provides snacks, an evening meal or just a hug. A retired woman hosts an ACT prep class. They celebrate birthdays and holidays. Allman recalled one girl thrilled to receive a Lighthouse t-shirt for Christmas. The only gift she got from her mother was a carton of cigarettes. “We become kind of their pseudo-family,” Allman said. “Love is our great change agent.” The doors open at 2 p.m. and close at 9 p.m. Since 2008 they’ve been working out of a new building at 2601 N Street. There are video games (not until 4:30), table tennis and a gym. The walls are covered with photos of past Lighthouse regulars who graduated from high school. “If you come to Lighthouse you will graduate,” Allman said. “These kids will be the first person in their extended family to get a high school diploma.”
Continued on Page 60 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 59
CLASSNOTES aContinued lifetime of help... from Page 59 Lincoln High, just a three-block walk away, has a 75-percent graduation rate, Allman said. That means lots of traffic to Lighthouse. Most years 800 or more kids show. “We’re a drop-in center,” Allman said. “We’ve never had to recruit kids. Truly, the word gets out.” Allman mentioned Gary as a recent success story. He’d been attending Lighthouse since sixth grade but stopped coming after he dropped out of school his senior year. CONNECTION BOX He lived just two blocks from the lincolnlighthouse.org facility. Allman and Michener walked there more than once, knocked on his door and tried to convince him to return. It finally worked. He got back on track, graduated as a fifth-year senior and now is in the Air Force. All this has changed Allman deeply.
1984
John C. Foley has been appointed as president and CEO of KMCO LLC, a specialty and custom chemical company headquartered in Crosby, Texas.
1985
Kyle Poppe is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for West Gate Bank of Lincoln. n Scott Porter of Omaha has been appointed vice president of enterprise sales for Infofree. com, a provider of sales leads, mailing lists and email lists. n Rebecca Richards-Kortum,
the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University in Houston, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Rocky Weber, managing partner of the Lincoln law firm Crosby Guenzel, has been selected as president and general counsel 60 SUMMER 2015
After graduating from Nebraska he had joined his father’s business, Paramount Linen and Uniform Rental. Brother Tom, two years older and also a Nebraska grad, still works there. So does their 94-year-old father on occasion. Allman returned to Nebraska to get his master’s in counseling and then began a private practice working with, of course, teens. He works half time there, the other half at Lighthouse. Allman’s change goes deeper, said Michener. He talked of his board president being a “T,” or thinker, on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory. He recalled a story that he
of The Nebraska Cooperative Council board of directors.
1986
Ila Gabel, a resource teacher at Fredstrom Elementary School in Lincoln, retired in May. Kathryn Witte was named director of marketing and public relations for Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital in Lincoln.
1987
n Kent Endacott, an attorney
with the Lincoln law firm Endacott, Peetz and Timmer, has been chosen a member of the Great Plains Federal Tax Institute board of directors. Timothy J. Kadavy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was confirmed by the United States Senate to be the 20th director of the Army National Guard. Kadavy holds the rank of major general, but will be promoted to lieutenant general upon assuming his new role.
said means Allman is moving to an “F,” or feeler. A country singer came to Lighthouse to sing and to talk to the youth. None of them are necessarily country fans. “To be honest, I didn’t think this would be impactful,” Michener said. But a connection was made. The singer asked them to share why they came to Lighthouse. Things got deep. For everyone. “I look over to Pete crying because he was so moved,” Michener said. “Pete continues to transform lives, including his own, by being involved with Lighthouse. “Pete is a driven individual that really wants to help society by giving young people opportunities. There are very few that have the passion toward something, and Pete’s runs very deep.
1989
Nancy Marcy is the 2015 Alumni Achievement Award in Theater and Film recipient, an honor presented by the UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Marcy is a professional actress who lives in Kansas City.
n John Bergmeyer is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz, PC LLO.
n Troy McCain of Aurora has joined the Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center as the swine operations manager.
Brian Beck of Zoetis, is a member of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors.
n Julie Schuldt Rahm was named
Matthew J. Bock is a partner in the Omaha law firm Walentine, O’Toole, McQuillan & Gordon, LLP.
the winner of the 2014 Doris Kraus Humanitarian of the Year Award, presented for resolving non-academic barriers to learning for children in Pamlico County, North Carolina.
1988
James T. Blackledge has been appointed chief executive officer for Mutual of Omaha, where he has been employed since 1989. Mark McKenzie was promoted to vice president of ACCESSbank of Omaha.
1991
Vikki Carlson was honored by the North Platte Public School Foundation as one of four North Platte Public Schools Employees of the Year. Carlson has 22 years of experience in education, including the last five as an administrator for the North Platte public school district. Bradley Pfeifer has been hired as chief executive officer for West Holt Medical Services in Atkinson.
BY DAVID DRIVER
Alumni Profiles ’12
Phillies Third Baseman Relies on Husker Ties Cody Asche
Although he grew up in Missouri, Cody Asche’s Show-Me State as a young boy was actually Nebraska. Both of his parents grew up in the Cornhusker State and he fondly remembers trips to see his grandparents there – even though he had to endure six-hour car drives from suburban St. Louis. Asche remembers visiting relatives in Columbus with a side trip to Lincoln. “My first time on campus might have been in the late ’90s,” he said of stopping by on the way to see his grandmother. Then there was the first time he saw the football stadium. “Wow, this is breathtaking,” he said. Meanwhile Asche was developing into a talented high school baseball player in Missouri, although big-time Sun Belt-region schools were not clamoring to recruit him. While he attracted attention from other Division I programs, Asche had no doubt where he wanted to play college baseball. “I took an official visit and then they offered,” Asche said of the Huskers. “I knew that was where I belonged. Once they offered me it was a done deal. It was my lifelong dream. I grew up a Huskers fan.” As a junior in 2011 at Nebraska he hit 12 homers to lead the Big 12 conference, was a second-team
Cody Asche
All-American and was a standout student as an economics major. He was drafted in the fourth round by Philadelphia in 2011 and he moved quickly up the minor league system. David Seifert is the scout for the Phillies who helped sign Asche. “I coached at the University of Evansville and I tried to recruit him to Evansville,” said Seifert, who is based in Illinois. “I then scouted him in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at Nebraska. He is what we call a baseball player; we drafted Cody because of his bat and because he is a hard worker. I know Cody fairly well; he will give himself every chance to succeed.” Asche made his Major League debut in 2013 at third base and the lefthanded hitter is now a starter for the Phillies. “I see good things from him. I think he is going to have a breakout year this year,” said Pete Mackanin, the third base coach for the Phillies and a former Major League infielder. “The last four months of the (2014) season he was as good as anyone out there (at third). … I expect him to have a solid year offensively” in 2015. Asche, who turned 25 in June, was among the National League leaders in hitting in the first few weeks of the 2015 season. He hit .252 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in his first full season in the majors, in 2014. “Asche’s swinging the bat well,”
said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman with the Phillies and Chicago Cubs. “I like the way against the left-handers he (uses) the left-field stroke of his” by hitting the ball to the opposite field. But Asche’s rise to The Show didn’t come without challenges. He hit just .192 and struck out 50 times in 239 times with his first pro team in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the New York-Penn League the summer of 2011. “Skill-wise I thought I was (ready). But I had a lot to learn about baseball,” Asche said. That included the daily routine – and grind – of pro baseball, which offers very few off days. Then when he was called up the majors for the first time in 2013 he had just one hit in his first 17 at bats before rebounding and hitting .333 in his next 84 at bats. He was on his way. “One thing I have had to fight my career is the whole change aspect,” he said. “Now I am able to handle the changes that go on during a season.” One of those changes came recently. After Asche had two hits on May 11 against the Pirates, the Phillies sent him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to learn how to play the outfield. The Phillies wanted to make room for young third baseman Maikel Franco – “on his way to be a superstar,” Asche said –
Continued on Page 62 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 61
CLASSNOTES phillies third baseman Continued from Page 61 but also keep Asche in the lineup for Philadelphia. Asche played 15 games for Lehigh Valley in May and hit .295, then returned to the Phillies on May 29 to face the Colorado Rockies. Mackanin, the Phillies coach, said Asche struggled at third base early in the 2014 season. “For the month of April he lacked confidence. But he worked on his footwork and the last four months of the season he was very good defensively,” Mackanin said. Asche gives a lot of credit to his wife, the former Angela Albers, whom he married January 10, 2015. She grew up in Nebraska, they met as freshmen in college and they live in Lincoln during the off-season. “She has been a big part of my life. She is a huge help to me and keeps me focused,” he said.
n Jennifer Strand was named chief operating officer, general counsel of Nebraska Title Company in Lincoln. ■ Lee
Stuart, Nebraska Bank of Commerce, has been selected as a member of the board of directors for the Lincoln Community Foundation.
1992
Sandy Cook-Fong, a licensed clinical social worker, is a parttime therapist at Wholeness Healing Center in Kearney. Jason Dworak was recognized as one of Barron’s “Top 1,200 Financial Advisors” and one of the Financial Times “Top 400 Advisors” for his work in the Lincoln office of UBS Financial Services Inc. n Lori McClurg of the UNL
Raikes School of Computer Science, is a member of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors. Connie Peterson is the human resources manager in 62 SUMMER 2015
During the winter he works out with Phillies pitcher Jake Diekman, who was born in Wymore, Nebraska, and played at Wymore Southern High School. “You would not think that two guys in Lincoln would be on the same (Major League) team,” Asche said. Another Phillies teammate is infielder/ outfielder Darin Ruf, a native of Omaha who played at Creighton. A pitching prospect for the Phillies is Mike Nesseth, a 2010 graduate of UNL who began this season at Double-A Reading (PA) of the Eastern League. Off the field Asche said he still relies on Nebraska head coach Darin Erstad, the former Husker star who played in the Major Leagues for 14 years and led the big leagues in hits in 2000 while with the Angels. “His office is always open when I am
the Lincoln office of INSPRO Insurance.
1993
Nickie Casburn was announced as the full-time relocation director for HOME Real Estate of Lincoln. Travis Clark is vice presidentrisk management for the Lincoln office of Ameritas Life and Ameritas Life of New York. Darren Gray has been chosen senior director of menu and culinary innovation for Marco’s Pizza franchise of Toledo, Ohio.
1994
n Ed Gaither has been promoted
to president of EAD Engineering, a division of EAD Management Services. The engineering/construction company is headquartered in Omaha. Chris Heinrich is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz, PC LLO.
back there, to come in and chat. He is so welcoming and he lets me use the facilities there and get my work in,” Asche said of Erstad, a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. Erstad was a volunteer assistant coach for the Huskers when Asche had his big season as a junior in 2011. Asche said it was a bonus that he got to work with the former big leaguer while at Nebraska. “I had no idea he would be the head coach (one day). It really didn’t matter what was going on. If they offered (a scholarship) I was going,” Asche said. Editor’s note: David Driver covers the Washington Nationals for The Sports Xchange, a national content provider, and has contributed to Baseball America, Baseball Digest and milb.com.
Patty North has been promoted to general manager of Celebrity Staff, which serves the administrative, management and legal sectors of the Omaha area. n Angela Wilson Pennisi was appointed treasurer of the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. Pennisi is the founder and owner of Lakeshore Sports Physical Therapy PC in Chicago. n Scott Thompson was selected as president of Lund-Ross constructors of Omaha.
stormwater leader in the water division.
1996
n Robert Blair, associate professor in the College of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was named a recipient of a 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award by the UNO Alumni Association.
Brian Clanton was named director of operations for UNICO Group and Midlands Financial Benefits, which merged last year.
1995
Jason Doll is the director of ancillary services and physician practices for the Lincoln and Omaha campuses of Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital.
n Andy Sauer of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was hired by Kansas City-based engineering company Burns & McDonnell as the green infrastructure and
Christopher Elbow, owner of Christopher Elbow Artisan Chocolates in Kansas City, was chosen to develop one of six new flavors by the premium ice cream producer, Haagen-Dazs. Spiced Pecan Turtle is one of Elbow’s signature chocolate flavors.
n Ed Wiley is chief data scientist for Sears in Chicago.
Jennifer Katz is director of gift planning in the Omaha office of the University of Nebraska Foundation.
BY ANTHONY FLOTT
Alumni Profile ’14
He Drives a Giant Hot Dog Matt Heng
You can’t drive a giant hot dog across America and not have a sense of humor. Matt Heng does. He says things like, “It’s definitely a hot hotdog day today” and “We’re pretty aero-dognamic” and “I’ve yet to scratch my buns.” Laugh if you will at Heng’s corny puns and career choice, but piloting the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is among the most coveted jobs in the country for college graduates, attracting more than 1,200 applicants annually. He makes decent bread, has benefits, gets expenses paid and wears company clothes. He’s also seen 40,000 miles of America while throwing back some Sam Adams in Boston, downing Phillies in Philly and enjoying beignets at Café Du Monde in New Orleans. He’s met J.J. Watt, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Gene Simmons (a bull on a North Carolina ranch, not the KISS star). The 23-year-old, York, Nebraska, native has gained invaluable professional experience, too, furthering his social media and marketing expertise while dealing with media from smalltown newspaper reporters to the talent at “Fox and Friends.” His buds teased him upon finding out he’d pilot the Wienermobile after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May 2014. Now ... not so much. “I think now I would say they’re a little jealous of everything I have gotten to do with the Wienermobile,” Heng said. “It’s definitely an experience to relish. “I want to reiterate how lucky I am I had this opportunity and how thankful I am about the education I got at
Matt Heng
Nebraska that turned me into the kind of person able to cut the mustard.” Heng attended UNL on a Regents scholarship and held four internships while there, with Nebraska Appleseed, the OpenSky Policy Institute, Nelnet and UNL Career Services. He was closing in on his diploma with a degree in advertising and PR when he saw a blog post promoting the Wienermobile opening. There were 12 of them, actually. Oscar Mayer hires a dozen hot dog drivers each year, pairing them to drive its six Wienermobiles across the United States for one-year stints. The company recruits drivers on 10 college campuses, including the home-state University of Wisconsin, but not Nebraska. Heng applied online in January. He made it through two rounds of phone interviews then in-person interviews over two days at Oscar Mayer headquarters in Madison. Testing included time singing the Wienermobile jingle in front of others. By March, Heng had the job. Just weeks after graduation came two weeks at “Hot Dog High.” Hotdoggersto-be there learned about its history, which dates to 1936 when the first Wienermobile was designed by Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl Mayer. Today’s 27-foot long, two-wheel drive model is built on a modified Chevy truck frame. Heng’s ride features a ceiling painted with a blue sky, a sun roof, flat screen TV and “Oh I Wish” Wisconsin plates.
Drivers at Hot Dog High also learned their marketing responsibilities and how to interact with the media and public. And they spent 40 hours of driver’s training with off-duty Madison Police Department officers. They start in vans before climbing behind the wheel of the Wienermobile. “It handles a lot like a delivery truck would,” Heng said. “It’s really not too difficult to drive after you get used to it. I drive a random car now and it feels very weird to me after 11 months in the Wienermobile. “By the end of Hot Dog High we’re ready to hit the Hot Dog Highways.” For Heng that meant a two-day trip from Madison to Washington, D.C., with his first copilot, Alexandra Longo, a University of Wisconsin graduate. They drove mostly in the northeast. Six months later he got new copilot Jessica Smith, a University of Missouri graduate. The pair has traveled mostly in the south. In late April they were driving 60 miles per hour north from Houston to an event in Texarkana, Texas. Two days later it would be on to Bentonville, Arkansas, to appear at the Benton Film Festival. As usual, they were getting lots of attention. “Every day with the Wienermobile we get a lot of lookers,” Heng said. “A lot of honks, a lot of waves. Today is no different.”
Continued on Page 62 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 63
CLASSNOTES he drives a giant hot dog Continued from Page 63 The Wienermobile today gets more attention than ever as it barrels down America’s highways and byways. “No one can resist taking a photo with the Wienermobile,” Heng said. “Back in the day you saw it going down the highway next to you, waved and kept on driving. Now people whip out their smart phone and post those moments all over Twitter and Instagram.” Heng has been to 33 states in his hot dog vehicle. He even made it back to Lincoln in March, visiting his native York, Nebraska, where his parents, Allan and Teresa Heng, own Heng Farm Management. He’s hit platinum status on his hotel rewards program. Hotels are
home and the only time he gets to be off duty. If he or Jessica need to pick up toothpaste? “I don’t get to hop into a normal car,” Heng said. “I hop into the Wienermobile.” Heng and Smith typically drive into a town on a Monday, take that day and the next to sightsee, then spend Thursday through Sunday working. That means appearances at festivals, retail events and even parades. In New York they helped deliver meals for Senior Services of Albany and visited staff and patients at a VA hospital. They also produce content for Oscar Mayer corporate folk to post to social
media. They don’t sample product and don’t distribute coupons, though they do hand out Wiener Whistles from time to time. In Texas, as he neared Texarkana, Heng considered the end to his days behind the wheel of Wienermobile. What’s next? “That’s my biggest stressor nowadays is trying to figure out life post-Wienermobile. I don’t quite know where it’s going to head yet. I know I’m not going to find an opportunity that’s necessarily as exciting as the Wienermobile.” Whatever job comes next, Heng might have to make one demand: A company car.
Christian Erickson, coordinator of music theory and music technology at Sheridan College in Sheridan, Wyoming, is the winner of ARTCORE’s new music competition with his piece, “The Matachina Dance.”
1998
David Lautenschlager, Mission Viejo, California, was promoted to vice president, product design, retirement solutions division, for Pacific Life Insurance Company.
2000
Chris Murray has been hired by Wilderness Ridge Golf Club of Lincoln as the general manager.
Domino Renee Perez, an assistant professor in English and in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, authored a column in the Houston Chronicle noting the 20th anniversary of the murder of Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla.
Levi J. Scheppers was appointed chief executive officer of Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital in Omaha.
1997
Chris Harnly was selected as a vice president for Lund-Ross Constructors of Omaha. ■ Gene
Heiland was promoted to sustainment, restoration and management (SRM) program manager at Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. A retired U.S. Army colonel, Heiland is responsible for improving performance goals, audit readiness and logistics response time by leveraging contractor logistics support assets within the theater of operations.
Nancy Johnson has been named director of sales and marketing for Hotel Vandivort in Springfield, Missouri.
64 SUMMER 2015
1999
Paul Landow, Omaha, an assistant professor in UNO’s College of Arts and Sciences, was selected for a 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Association. ■ Vladimir
Oulianov, a realtor with Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln, was named the 2014 Salesperson of the Year with the highest volume of closed listings. He also received the Century Award, indicative of closing more than 100 transactions in a calendar year.
Dave Sumner is assistant vice president, facilities manager, as the result of a promotion at Security National Bank in Omaha.
Garner Girthoffer, Gretna, has joined the Omaha law firm of Baird Holm LLP, where he is part of the government relations, tax credit and alternative finance practice area.
2001
Chris Bedient has joined HBE Wealth Management of Lincoln as a financial adviser. Jay H. Buckley of Orem, Utah, has been selected as the 2015 William P. Sherman Fellow Award recipient. The award is presented by the Portage Route Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Elizabeth Grimpo, associate professor of music at Concordia University in Seward, was presented the 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award at that institution’s commencement ceremony in May.
Seth Gutz is the national sales manager for Laminated Wood Systems Inc. of Seward. Christian “Chris” Jensen has retired from the United States Navy after 26 years of service. In 2006, Lieutenant Commander Jensen was selected to attend the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a dual master of science in physical oceanography and meteorology. Eric Kamin, an electrical engineer at the DLR Group, has been named a principal with that Omaha-based architecture, engineering, planning and interior design firm. n Angie Klein, vice president, northeast marketing and sales for Verizon, received the Young Alumni Award presented at the UNL College of Business Administration Advisory Board Annual Awards. Klein lives in Morristown, New Jersey.
Adam Prochaska is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz, PC LLO. Lucas Schulte, Pomona, California, will join the faculty of
BY ANTHONY FLOTT
Alumni Profile ’12
thinking straight Madeleine Sheils
It’s a good thing Madeleine Sheils was a philosophy major because as her sterling Nebraska golf career came to a close, she had a lot of thinking to do. Specifically, what would she do post-Huskers? “Great question,” she said in a 2011 Athletic Department Q&A when asked about her plans after college. “Let me know if anyone has an idea for me.” Four years later, Sheils knows exactly what she wants — a spot on the LPGA tour. She’s pursuing that as a regular on the qualifying Symetra tour, whose top 10 finishers at the end of 2015 will be playing in the LPGA in 2016. It’s a great career to have … Golf every day, beautiful outdoor worksites, financial backers and sponsors, a regular caddie and coaches and getting to wear shorts to work. “I’m still doing what I love … trying to work to be great at something,” Sheils said in late April after a firstday round at the Guardian Retirement Championship in Sarasota, Florida. “I’m entirely lucky to be able to do that just as my job. It’s an amazing thing I get to do every day.” But golf … can be a grind. Her parents and friends live hundreds of miles away from her Phoenix home and she sees them only a handful of times a year. From April to October she’s hopping from city to city. And as of May 1, her career earnings over twoplus years had come to ... $28,026. Add to that a struggle at the start of 2015. Sheils had finished no better than 31st in her first five tournaments, missing the cut in one of them. “You’re putting everything you have into something, chasing your dreams, and results aren’t coming,” the 25-year-old said. “It can be very difficult at times. Golf can be like that.
You’re doing everything right, playing well and results don’t come. I know I’m a better player than I was last year. I can see the improvement in my games. I’m really having trouble making that show up on the scorecard right now.” Don’t expect the funk to last. And do expect to see Sheils make the LPGA, said Michael Pinkey, director of golf performance at Phoenix-based EXOS and one of Sheils’ two coaches. “Everything in my heart believes that Maddie will make the big tour and stay there,” Pinkey said. “She will be a great ambassador for this game and a great role model. It’s not if, it’s when.” Sheils’ track record seems to support such confidence. She started playing golf at age 5 in her native Boise, Idaho, and soon became one of that state’s best young players. As a freshman at Bishop Kelly High School she won the 2005 Idaho state championship. She also was junior state champion that year and the next and in 2007 won the PGA Junior Series Championship in Las Vegas. As a senior she led Bishop Kelly to a fourth-straight team championship and was ranked No. 29 in the country by Polo Golf Rankings for the Class of 2008. Sheils headed for Nebraska and four years later finished as one of the program’s best golfers ever. Her career stroke average of 76.88 was the second-best in school history and she was First Team All Big 10 as a senior. She had seven top-10 finishes overall and won the 2011 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Washington, with a then-school-record 67.
Madeleine Sheils (Courtesy photo)
Oh, yeah, she’s smart, too. Sheils ranked No. 1 in her graduating class at Bishop Kelly and three times was an NGCA Scholastic All-American at Nebraska. She also earned NU’s prestigious Student-Athlete HERO Leadership award for her commitment to Nebraska’s Life Skills program. Still, with all that, Sheils wasn’t sure she’d pursue professional golf as a career. She majored in philosophy and business and considered attending law school. Then, “maybe something in sports law.” But love for the links prevailed. “Golf was such a huge part of my life. It was hard to ever imagine it not being there.” She graduated in December 2012 and the next month moved to Phoenix, where she trains at EXOS, a performance institute with clients including athletes from numerous sports. She has two swing coaches – Pinkey and Terry Rowles. The pair coach 12 players across all tours, plus amateur players and other teaching professionals. She has a regular caddie, veteran Wayne Uyeda. She also established Madeleine Sheils LLC, invested in mostly by close family, friends and a few others who have watched her develop. They’ll evaluate the business at the end of four years. “We don’t make enough money on the Symetra tour to sustain ourselves,” Sheils said. “They’re helping me cover my costs and I provide them a return on what I make.” Sheils also landed sponsors – Mutual of Omaha, Boise’s Hillcrest
Continued on Page 66 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 65
CLASSNOTES thinking straight Continued from Page 65 Country Club and Aromaflage, a botanical fragrance and insect repellent. Sheils is a different golfer than she was with the Huskers. Then, she was adept at chipping and putting. She’s hitting it farther now, thanks in large measure to her work at EXOS. “Maddie is one the hardest working students I have ever had,” Pinkey said. “She has made huge gains in strength and stability in the gym and it’s translated into her game for sure.” But, Pinkey added, her real strength isn’t physical: “Maddie’s strength is her character for sure. I wish I had 12 more like her.” About 300 players will compete over
the course of 23 tournaments in the 2015 Symetra tour. Only the top 10 advance to next year’s LPGA. Sheils finished 60th as a rookie and was 40th last year (with fifth- and seventh-place finishes). Her 2015 start wasn’t what she expected – 60th on the money list after five events with $2,562. “All it takes is a couple good weeks and you’re right there,” she said. “My hopes are still high even though I’m off to a bit of a rough start.” Pinkey doesn’t sound worried. He said she’ll make the jump. “If she plays her best she has every right to be at the highest level of her sport,” he said. “There is no difference
between Symetra and LPGA for this girl in my mind.” Sheils doesn’t sound as if she’s defeated by her 2015 start – or that the LPGA won’t happen. “I think of myself as a fighter. I’m not someone who ever gives up on the golf course, which can come in handy when every stroke counts toward every dollar toward earning your top 10 card. I believe I still have what it takes to develop into a really fantastic player. I think things are unfolding just like I envisioned they would.” Sounds like she’s given it some thought.
2003
Sarah Bishoff is a real estate agent for Nebraska Home Sales in Lincoln. Monica Ledbetter of Scheels, is a member of the 2015 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors. Patricia Ryberg was honored by Park University during its annual Honors Convocation with the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. Ryberg is an assistant professor and program coordinator of biology at the Parkville, Missouri, institution.
2004 The Husker women’s bowling team hoists their fifth NCAA bowling championship trophy after claiming the national title in St. Louis in April. It was the 12th consecutive appearance for NU in the tournament. Husker Senior Liz Kuhlkin (center front with the trophy) was named National Collegiate Bowler of the Year. Photo by Paul Heumphreus.
the University of NebraskaLincoln as a lecturer in the Classics and Religious Studies Department for the 2015-2016 academic year. Logan Veath has joined Markham Family Dental of Harlan, Iowa. Prior to earning his dental degree, Veath served six combat tours in Afghanistan 66 SUMMER 2015
and Iraq in the United States Army.
2002
Barbara Zach is the recipient of the 2015 Alumni Achievement Award in Music presented by the UNL Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Zach is the executive director of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra.
Jeremy Warren has been promoted to chief financial officer at the Omaha Home for Boys.
Karen Heinzle is a part of HOME Real Estate of Lincoln’s Pine Lake office sales team.
Dustin Bauer was promoted to loan officer, assistant vice president, for West Gate Bank of Lincoln. David Bogus, assistant professor of art at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, was named a 2015 Emerging Artist by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. Jennifer Turco Meyer has joined the Omaha office of the law firm Dyer Law, where her focus is client compensation in state and federal courts.
CLASSNOTES Mary K. Stillwell, Lincoln, has had “Maps & Destinations: New and Selected Poems” published by Stephen F. Austin University Press. Sam Stroh has been hired as boys basketball coach for Free State High of Lawrence, Kansas.
2005
Chris Ehlers is a vice president at Lund-Ross Constructors of Omaha. Aaron and Traci Blongewicz Kanne live in Marietta, Georgia, where Traci works as the HR coordinator for Voya Investment and Aaron is the director of implementation services for CareLogistics. Justin Klemsz was promoted to interactive strategist in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell. Beau Starkel has joined Footprints Asset Management &
Research Inc. of Omaha as portfolio manager and director of business development. n Shawn Toovey, Gretna, is the
director of guest experience at the Omaha Children’s Museum. Katie Zulkoski of the Lincoln lobbying firm Mueller Robak LLC has been elected to the Executive Council of the Nebraska State Bar Association.
2006
Sean Conway became a partner in the Omaha law firm Dornan, Lustgarten & Troia PC LLO earlier this year. Amy Frerichs is an agent for Nebraska Home Sales, a Lincolnbased real estate company.
Omaha as the result of a recent promotion. Kate Smith is the marketing and communications manager for Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln.
2007
Amberly Austad works in account services for HenkinSchultz Creative Services in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Nolan Day has been hired by INSPRO Insurance of Lincoln as an account executive. n Chad Kruse has joined Sinclair Hille Architects of Lincoln as an intern architect.
2008
Sean Hagewood has joined the university communications department at UNL as news coordinator.
Megan Freeman is an account manager for Lincoln Industries, a leading supplier of products requiring high-performance metal finishing.
Brian Poppe is vice president and actuary for Enterprise Risk Management at Mutual of
Kate Pittack is the Texas A&M AgriLife extension agent for 4-H in Athens, Texas.
Tyne Muggy Ringsmuth completed the necessary requirements for the credential of licensed mental health practitioner at the Lincoln Family Medicine Program.
2009
Kelly M. Ekeler is part of the labor and employment practice group for the Lincoln office of the law firm Woods & Aitken LLP.
2010
Adam Fieldson, New York City, was awarded third place in the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, an international theater singing contest. Noah Greenwald was named a shareholder and vice president of the Lincoln office for INSPRO Insurance Agency. Marcelo Lian, a pianist and resident lecturer/visiting artist at Linfield College (McMinnville, Oregon) was part of a March concert “Keyboard Kapers: An Evening of Piano Music” in
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 67
CLASSNOTES which he performed a duopiano version of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” n Annaleah Pappas Morrow is
the associate vice president of enrollment management at Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Kristin Riekenberg is a physical therapist at the Beatrice (Nebraska) Community Hospital. ■ Tyler Thomas, social media specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was a profile subject in a recent edition of collegewebeditor.
2011
Ean Garrett, founder and chief innovation officer of Infinite 8 Institute in Omaha, has been leading the effort to raise money for a $3.9 million social impact bond that would assist at-risk youth in North Omaha. Emily McKeone returned to Omaha in October 2014 after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Zambia for more than two years. McKeone is working as a private citizen to raise money through an existing nonprofit to fund fish farming and other water-related projects in Zambia. ■ Sarah Van Dalsem Towle, a communications strategist for Washburn University, received the Communicator of the Year award from the International Association of Business Communicators, Topeka, Kansas, chapter.
Mike Zundel has been promoted to director, marketing services, for Assurity Life Insurance Company in Lincoln.
2012
Zach Bock is an associate interactive designer in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell. Jared S. Carnahan has graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. Carnahan is an Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class.
68 SUMMER 2015
2013
Megan Carroll was named associate interactive producer in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell. Brittany Freeman is the project manager in the account service department of the Lincoln office of marketing communications company Swanson Russell. Natalie Hanson has been promoted to account executive at Redstone, a marketing and communications firm in Omaha. Lindsey Moore, former Husker women’s basketball standout, has been chosen as a graduate assistant coach for the Midland University (Fremont) women’s basketball team. ■ Christen
Nino de Guzman has taken a position with Popsugar in San Francisco, California. She is the marketing and community coordinator for Popsugar, which is a global women’s lifestyle brand focusing on media, commerce and technology. n Emily Thornburg, Lincoln, has been hired by the Nebraska Corn Board as director of communications.
2014
Ameer Abdullah has entered into a marketing and promotion agreement with Gary Michaels Clothiers of Lincoln. The former Cornhusker football standout was recently signed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. Wes Goranson is an attorney affiliated with the recently formed Lincoln-area law firm O’Neill, Heinrich, Damkroger, Bergmeyer & Schultz, PC LLO.
WEDDINGS
Craig Hollmann, ’05 and Jennifer Black, March 14. The couple lives in Quincy, Illinois. Nathan Schulz and Stacy Norman, ’07, Oct. 11, 2014. The couple lives in Lincoln.
Jeremy Brozek, ’09, and Stephanie Murnan, Oct. 4, 2014. The couple lives in Lincoln. Rob Frazier and Katie Guenther, ’09, Oct. 4, 2014. The couple lives in Bloomington, Minnesota. John Aylward and Megan Douglass, ’10, Nov. 29, 2014. The couple lives in Ogallala. ■ Erick
Reitz, ’10, ’13, and ■ Sarah Fay Smith, ’11, May 28 at Greve in Chianti, Italy. The couple lives in Omaha.
Dale E. Hunt, ’40, Templeton, California, April 23. Mildred Freeman Heusel, ’41, Gibbon, May 3. Aldyth Francke Paschold, ’41, Firth, April 3. George M. Cockle, ’42, Omaha, April 4. Edwin F. Dosek, ’42, Crofton, Maryland, April 28. Harold E. Dreyer, ’42, Winter Park, Florida, Feb. 16, 2014.
Alexandre Daly, ’13, and Chelsey Charlton, ’12, Jan. 2. The couple lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Bernice Premer Johnson, ’42, Omaha, May 6.
BIRTHS
Paul A. Archer, ’43, Beaufort, South Carolina, March 9.
■ Justin,
’01, and Lisa Kauk, their second and third children, twin boys, Ashton Tag and Anderson Allen, Feb. 27. The family lives in Frisco, Texas. Brett Hudson and n Trisha Spiegel, ’01, their second and third children, twin boys, Quade Henry and McCoy Del, March 30. The family lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Todd Harris and n Ieva M. Augstums, ’02, their first child, a daughter, Emilija Grace, April 2. The family lives in Washington, D.C. ■ Molly Merrell, ’04, her first child, a son, John William “Liam,” March 12. The family lives in Huntersville, North Carolina.
Aaron, ’05, and Traci Blongewicz Kanne, ’05, their first child, a daughter, Tessa Joelle, Jan. 1. The family lives in Marietta, Georgia.
DEATHS
Valeria Bednar Thayer, ’38, Grant, Jan. 14, 2014. Mary Erickson Madden, ’39, Duxbury, Massachusetts, Feb. 20.
Samuel C. Turnbull, ’42, New York City, May 14, 2014.
Howard E. Fonda, ’43, Detroit, Sept. 2, 2014. Yale W. Gotsdiner, ’43, Omaha, Feb. 13. John B. Kuhlman, ’43, Missouri City, Texas, Jan. 8. Boyd L. MacDougall, ’43, Lincoln, March 21. Carol Wheeler Nolda, ’43, Plattsmouth, April 17. Alice McCampbell Bukacek, ’44, Lincoln, March 1. Walter H. Luers, ’44, Grand Island, April 21. Alta Young Sumida, ’44, Billings, Montana, July 7, 2014. Margaret Corbitt Higley, ’45, Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 23, 2014. Everett L. James, ’47, Olathe, Kansas, Dec. 24, 2014. Thomas A. Noble, ’47, Lubbock, Texas, Aug. 10, 2014. Betty Chipman Pesek, ’47, Chicago, March 24. Jean Chilquist Bell, ’48, Rapid City, South Dakota, March 27.
CLASSNOTES Harold J. Bleyhl, ’48, Garden City, Idaho, Nov. 2, 2014. Thomas C. Cleveland, ’48, Houston, Feb. 25. Ray W. Frantz, ’48, Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 11. Elwood P. Iverson, ’48, Hawarden, Iowa, Feb. 24. Verna Loos Damm, ’49, Irvine, California, Feb. 27. F. Wayne Friedly, ’49, Eagle Point, Oregon, April 14, 2014. Marvin W. Houtz, ’49, Wichita, Kansas, July 28, 2014. Lawrence L. Morris, ’49, Hastings, Oct. 16, 2014.
Robert W. Hackbart, ’50, Citrus Heights, California, June 23, 2014. Lyle W. Japp, ’50, Omaha, March 23. Dorothy Softley Kauhl, ’50, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Dec. 18, 2014. James F. Koca, ’50, White Stone, Virginia, Feb. 11. Carol Strong Oberg, ’50, Marco Island, Florida, Oct. 12, 2014. Sidney E. Salzman, ’50, Ainsworth, Feb. 21. Donald D. Steinacher, ’50, Omaha, May 2.
Joe K. Piggott, ’51, Starkville, Mississippi, March 7.
Robert D. Severson, ’53, Ord, Feb. 18.
Robert W. Shively, ’51, Fort Collins, Colorado, April 30.
Marion D. Sisley, ’53, Clifton Park, New York, April 20.
William L. Siegel, ’51, Morrill, March 18.
Berton T. Akeson, ’54, Warrensburg, Missouri, Jan. 2.
Harlan L. Franey, ’52, Lincoln, March 17.
John L. Niehaus, ’54, Cave Creek, Arizona, March 22, 2014.
Sheldon M. Jacobs, ’52, Paradise Valley, Arizona, March 20. John H. Morehead, ’52, Falls City, April 12. Gerald L. Warren, ’52, Falls Church, Virginia, March 20. Anna Lammers Campbell, ’53, Sunriver, Oregon, Jan. 29.
William S. Gibson, ’50, Monte Vista, Colorado, Feb. 13.
Robert D. Vanderslice, ’50, Lenox, Massachusetts, Nov. 28, 2014.
Donald S. Glasgow, ’50, Omaha, Dec. 30, 2014.
Dean B. Whitmore, ’50, Reston, Virginia, March 15, 2014.
Margaret Arriaga Robinette, ’53, Lincoln, March 23.
Donald R. Hagel, ’51, St. Augustine, Florida, Feb. 2, 2014.
Herbert A. Saxton, ’53, Huntington Beach, California, Feb. 18.
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Thomas B. Murray, ’53, Kearney, April 23.
Robert A. Woolman, ’54, Glenwood, Iowa, March 21. Robert D. Diers, ’55, Lincoln, April 27. Karl J. Mueller, ’55, Los Gatos, California, Feb. 28. John D. Sebold, ’55, Holiday Island, Arkansas, Feb. 27, 2014. Willard E. Cox, ’56, Payson, Arizona, April 3. Diane Tompkins Irvin, ’56, Redlands, California, Feb. 22.
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 69
CLASSNOTES Ivan L. Ward, ’64, Evansville, Indiana, Feb. 26. Rodney B. Spoor, ’65, Las Vegas, Feb. 27. John R. White, ’65, Phoenix, Oct. 10, 2014. Mary Marrissey Haack, ’66, Nebraska City, May 3. Jerry D. Kotschwar, ’66, Culbertson, Feb. 28. Larry R. Logemann, ’66, Decatur, Illinois, Feb. 21. The Nebraska Alumni Association co-hosted a farewell for students participating in the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program, a one-year, non-degreed program for Brazilian students to study abroad in the United States. Since 2012, UNL has been a host institution for BSMP.
Lois Landholm Johnson, ’56, Holdrege, April 8.
Myrna Grunwald Corzine, ’59, Sacramento, California, March 9.
Letitia Low Pemberton, ’56, Rancho Mirage, California, March 11.
James R. Hubbard, ’59, Dakota City, June 10, 2014.
Margery Polzkill Schmidt, ’56, Rawlins, Wyoming, March 14.
John D. Johanson, ’59, Stamford, Connecticut, Feb. 4, 2014.
Carole Unterseher Smith, ’56, Lincoln, March 11, 2014. Lois Richmond Song, ’56, Portland, Oregon, Feb. 13. Judd J. Gillespie, ’57, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Aug. 1, 2014. James L. Peters, ’57, Lincoln, March 17. Laverne J. Torczon, ’57, Columbus, April 18. Donald D. Hall, ’58, Kettle Falls, Washington, April 11. Leland W. Keister, ’58, Leavenworth, Kansas, March 12. Hazel Ahlschwede Peterson, ’58, Lincoln, April 5. Robert W. Severs, ’58, Macomb, Illinois, April 9. Wayne E. Wolford, ’58, Cozad, Nov. 16, 2014. Raymond R. Burchett, ’59, Sun City West, Arizona, March 1. SUMMER 2015
Robert C. Lucas, ’59, San Antonio, April 17. Larry P. Schrag, ’59, Annandale, Virginia, Jan. 19. Paul D. Smith, ’59, Lincoln, Feb. 8. Donald G. Ennis, ’60, Citrus Heights, California, Feb. 19. Leonard D. Fountain, ’60, Paris, France, April 10, 2013. Jerry L. Myers, ’60, Cairo, March 14. Milan B. Dady, ’61, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Feb. 23. Ted R. Hughes, ’61, Seward, March 17. Lyle D. Spence, ’61, Fort Mill, South Carolina, May 1. Deanna Davison Cline, ’62, Westminster, California, Dec. 22, 2014.
Frances J. Cronin, ’62, Grand Island, March 31. Donald D. Geis, ’62, Lincoln, April 20. Dale E. Hall, ’62, Dumont, Colorado, April 25. Grace Gorker Hess, ’62, Lincoln, March 18. Genon Micek Kerby, ’62, Kearney, March 15. Monty E. McMahon, ’62, Lincoln, March 30. Lorance H. Newburn, ’62, Martell, Feb. 14. Fred C. Ress, ’62, Omaha, Feb. 14. Philip R. Hockenberger, ’63, Columbus, March 8. William C. Letzkus, ’63, Kerrville, Texas, Feb. 15. Rex A. Stewart, ’63, Bella Vista, Arkansas, April 20. Sandra Bergstadt Cooper, ’64 Omaha, Feb. 6, 2014. George T. Corkle, ’64, Omaha, April 6. Judith Luhe Farmer, ’64, Tega Cay, South Carolina, Nov. 20, 2014.
Neal J. Westphal, ’66, Lincoln, April 7. Michael E. Riley, ’67, West Des Moines, Iowa, Nov. 20, 2014. Dorothy Clare Behrends, ’68, Cortland, April 27. Mark T. Gilderhus, ’68, Fort Collins, Colorado, Jan. 22. Michael L. Grush, ’68, Omaha, March 24. Robert W. Korba, ’68, Highland Village, Texas, March 10. George A. Woolsey, ’68, Grand Island, Feb. 12. Claris A. Bellinger, ’69, Gothenburg, April 16. Julia Flick Madsen, ’69, Aurora, Feb. 26. Elmer W. Corbit, ’70, Stromsburg, April 16. Thomas A. Hoff, ’70, Loveland, Colorado, April 9. Chip L. Maricle, ’70, Saint Edward, March 20. Michael C. Tedesco, ’70, Signal Mountain, Tennessee, Jan. 19, 2014. Jo Hall Childress, ’71, Lincoln, April 8. Harold L. Davis, ’71, Green Valley, Arizona, April 6. Michael J. Ekstrom, ’71, Lincoln, April 4.
CLASSNOTES Terry P. Geistlinger, ’71, Omaha, April 28.
David P. Owen, ’77, Lincoln, May 6.
Joan T. Hamilton, ’91, Omaha, March 7.
Lynette TenHulzen Brown, ’72, Oxford, Feb. 15.
Mary Dickson Hewett, ’78, Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 15.
Jennifer L. Wagner, ’93, Omaha, April 25.
Frederick W. Henninger, ’72, Lincoln, March 4.
Iva Foreman Zajicek, ’78, Fort Collins, Colorado, April 22.
Ken Hui, ’95, Omaha, May 2.
Richard A. Steffen, ’72, Hartington, Aug. 27, 2014.
Peter G. Beeson, ’79, Lincoln, Feb. 16.
Jack E. Hinman, ’73, Etowah, Tennessee, April 4.
John M. McCormick, ’79, Garr, Iowa, March 7, 2014.
Allen R. Spangler, ’73, Oconto, April 24.
Lynn R. Porter, ’79, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, Oct. 12, 2014.
Linda Echerd Douglas, ’74, Lincoln, March 27.
Larry D. Smith, ’79, Kearney, Jan. 12.
Philip H. Grabouski, ’74, North Platte, April 15.
Ronald L. Bachman, ’80, Lincoln, Feb. 18.
Kenneth L. Gray, ’74, Omaha, March 4.
Donald F. Uerling, ’80, Lincoln, April 11.
Daniel Jeran, ’74, Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 20.
Robert G. Diekmann, ’81, Papillion, April 28.
John G. Whitten, ’74, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Aug. 29, 2014.
Marlene Fleischmann Mink, ’81, Greenwood, May 2.
Steve A. Moslander, ’75, Beatrice, March 20. Gretchen Weibert, ’75, Omaha, Feb. 9. Boyd L. Witter, ’75, Kearney, March 29. Marjorie Topil Witulski, ’75, Beatrice, April 19. David M. Clark, ’76, Lincoln, May 5. Clara Thoren Rottmann, ’76, Lincoln, May 5. Martin L. Ruhter, ’76, Dubuque, Iowa, March 29. Stanley E. Taylor, ’76, Alexandria, Virginia, March 11. Cecil J. Tillman, ’76, Omaha, April 17. Audie J. Wise, ’76, Lincoln, Feb. 25. Dee Lores Prochaska Hancock, ’77, Fremont, March 22.
Stephen J. Abariotes, ’84, Omaha, Feb. 21. Hilde Gratz Jensen, ’84, Anchorage, Alaska, Jan. 24. Teresa Priefert Demma, ’85, Lincoln, April 1. Kathryn L. Jacquot-Sledge, ’85, Omaha, Dec. 16, 2014. John W. Shuart, ’85, Lincoln, April 21.
Heather Bohaty Dougherty, ’96, Lincoln, Dec. 22, 2014. Julie L. Baum, ’99, Lincoln, March 26. John E. Kucirek, ’99, Omaha, April 30. Denise J. McClain, ’99, Cranston, Rhode Island, Jan. 19. Stuart W. Slocum, ’09, Thompson, Pennsylvania, March 15.
FACULTY DEATHS
Larry Andrews, UNL professor emeritus of English and retired administrator, Lincoln, May 9. Nels Forde, professor emeritus of history, Gold Valley, Minnesota, May 12. Gerald W. Johnson, professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics, Lincoln, April 27. Jack Siegman, professor emeritus of sociology, Laguna Woods, California, April 21. John K. Ward, professor emeritus of animal science, McPherson, Kansas, April 22.
Jacqueline M. Hoppes, ’11, San Antonio, Feb. 19. Nolan J. Hannan, ’14, Omaha, April 5.
CLASS NOTEPAD Tell us what’s happening! Send news about yourself or fellow Nebraska alumni to: Mail:
Class Notes Editor, Nebraska Magazine, Wick Alumni Center,1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651
E-mail: kwright@huskeralum.org Online: huskeralum.org
Elnore Burns Shear, ’86, Lincoln, May 27, 2014.
All notes received will be considered for publication according to the following schedule:
William S. Ray, ’87, Lincoln, April 27.
Spring Issue: January 15 Fall Issue: July 15
Elmo T. Falcon, ’89, Marietta, Georgia, Feb. 26.
Items submitted after these dates will be published in later issues.
Summer Issue: April 15 Winter Issue: October 15
John F. Sleddens, ’90, Duncan, Feb. 26. Sharon Carter Bahe, ’91, Aurora, April 21. Robert A. Calhoun, ’91, Omaha, Nov. 5, 2014.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 71
N E B R A S K A
A lu m n i A s s o c i at i o n
Wick Alumni Center 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651
ENJOY A VIP FOOTBALL WEEKEND IN LINCOLN Let the Nebraska Alumni Association plan a stress-free football weekend in Lincoln with a 2015 VIP Football Package. Just get yourself to Lincoln, and we’ll take care of the rest. Packages make a great weekend visit for parents of students and for groups coming back to Lincoln. VIP Packages include: • A guaranteed game ticket • Two nights’ accommodations at the Courtyard Marriott or Embassy Suites • A pass to the Nebraska Champions Club • A VIP Stadium tour the day before the game • Two drink tickets to the NAA’s Football Friday event Contact Brooke Busboom at 402-472-4202 or bbusboom@huskeralum.org to register. Visit huskeralum.org for more details.
72 SUMMER 2015
2015 NU Home Games BYU – Sept. 5 South Alabama – Sept. 12 Southern Miss – Sept. 26 Wisconsin – Oct. 10 Northwestern – Oct. 24 Michigan State – Nov. 7 Iowa – Nov. 27