Nebraska Magazine: Winter 2014

Plus THE RISK TAKER / SAM BOON & THE WOOD TURNERS / I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE

NEBRASKA Magazine EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

B.S. ’72

Marty Liggett

Blood, Sweat & Cheers

Volume 109 / No. 4 / Winter 2014 huskeralum.org

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INSIDEWINTER 4 Alumni Voices 6 University Update 20 Alumni Authors 36 Alumni News 48 Chapters & Affiliates 51 Class Notes & Alumni Profiles Davis Anderson, ’03 Paul, ’09, and Stephanie Jarrett, ’05 Maggi Escudero Thorne, ’05 Carly Froehlich Ulrich, ’09

A snow-capped blue head, an untitled sculpture by Jun Kaneko, watches over the Sheldon Museum of Art on a blustery December morning.

22 24 26 32

Sam Boon and the Wood Turners

Wood turning is an ancient art that traces its history back to the Egyptians. But retired pathologist Sam Boon and 30 of his friends are bringing the art into the 21st century as they craft bowls, pens, platters, bottle stoppers and more with wood from dead or decaying box elder, elm, sycamore, maple, black walnut and birch.

‘I Am, Because You Are’

A semester with the CIEE Community Public Health program in Botswana changed Thomas McHale’s career path from veterinary medicine to human medicine and instilled in him an overwhelming need to provide medical care to lives torn by crisis and devastation in the far corners of the world.

The Risk-Taker

As managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, another Cather Circle alumna is deciding on news coverage and front-page story-play for a publication that serves more than 400,000 daily readers in print and 500,000 online in a brutal journalistic environment where the future of newspapers themselves often seems to be in peril.

Blood, Sweat and Cheers

Marty Liggett wants to tell the whole world about hematology and the dedicated physicians and researchers fighting blood diseases of every kind. And that’s exactly what the York native and former NAA Cather Circle chair is doing as executive director of the American Society of Hematology.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 3

alumnivoices

Winter 2014 n Vol. 109, No. 4

A Note From Diane NEBRASKA Magazine For alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Diane Mendenhall Executive Director, Nebraska Alumni Association Andrea Wood Cranford, ’71 Editor Jeff Abele, ’98, Move Creative Design Kevin Wright, ’78 Layout and Photography; Class Notes Editor Andrew Washburn, ’00, ’07 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 Diane Mendenhall, Executive Director Claire Abelbeck, ’09, Director, Digital Comm.

Andrea Cranford, ’71, Sr. Director, Publications Charles Dorse, Custodian Derek Engelbart, Director, Alumni Relations Jenny Green, ’07, Director, Alumni Relations Andy Greer, Assoc. Director, Alumni Relations Sarah Haskell, ’09, Assoc. Dir., Alumni Relations Wendy Kempcke, Administrative Assistant Carrie Myers, ’03, ’11, Director, Venues Pam Penner, ’01, Programs Assistant Larry Routh, Alumni Career Specialist Viann Schroeder, Special Projects Assistant Deb Schwab, Associate Director, Venues Shannon Sherman, ’00, ’04, Sr. Dir., Comm.

Sarah Smith, ’11, Asst. Dir., Communications Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07, Sr. Dir., Operations Judy Weaver, Assistant to the Executive Director Paul Weber, Venues Coordinator Katie Williams, ’03, Director, Alumni Relations Kevin Wright, ’78, Director, Design Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00, Assoc. Exec. Dir.

Happy New Year! The changing of the year is always a time of joy and optimism, and this year more than any other in recent memory, the Nebraska Alumni Association has reason to celebrate.

In 2014, the Nebraska Alumni Association turns 140.

Think about that accomplishment for a minute. On June 24, 1874, the first five graduates of the University of Nebraska started the alumni association to advance the interests of the university. In the nearly century and a half since, tens of thousands of alumni who love the university have continued this legacy—coming together, year after to year, to help move Nebraska forward.

As if that weren’t reason enough for celebration, 2014 is a milestone anniversary year for three of the NAA’s most popular programs: Alumni Masters Week (50th), Scarlet Guard (40th) and Cather Circle (15th). We’ll pay tribute to each throughout the year. Before the celebrations begin, I wanted to share a bit about each: • Alumni Masters Week – Every fall, accomplished alumni return to campus to share their experiences and knowledge with students, and help them consider potential career paths.

Every year, students tell us the Masters have inspired them. The Masters leave with a renewed sense of pride in their university and excitement for these students/future alumni.

Alumni Masters Week is truly the NAA’s mission at work.

• Scarlet Guard – At the heart of the college experience are relationships. SG (formerly known as Student Alumni Association and Student Alumni Board) offers students a place to belong. And with more than 20 social and mentoring events throughout the year, there are always opportunities for fun, personal growth and shared experiences with friends. There’s a reason why Scarlet Guard is UNL’s largest, fastest-growing student group.

• Cather Circle – Alumni living in 45 states and Canada have been a part of this nationwide network of female leaders with ties to UNL. In addition to participation in professional development activities, alumni can opt to mentor promising female students. Members have represented dozens of professions— Pulitzer Prize winners, state senators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, authors, artists—and are scattered across the country. But their Nebraska ties keep them connected.

It’s fitting that these programs are approaching milestones during a historic year for the NAA, because they are so essential to our mission. Our goal, every day, is to promote the achievements and aspirations of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by engaging its students, alumni and friends. This work became more critical following the 2008 economic crisis.

Universities need alumni to become more engaged—and not just financially.

Through programs like Masters Week and Cather Circle, our alumni are enhancing the student experience. There are many additional opportunities for you to make a difference— from helping to recruit prospective students (Postcards of Pride) to voicing support for UNL priorities to state legislators (Huskers for Higher Education). If you’ve thought about getting more involved, now is a great time.

As 2014 begins, we applaud those who have participated in these programs, as well as all NAA members. It is because of you that we have so many things to celebrate!

2013-2014 NAA EXECUTIVE BOARD Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, President, Lincoln Eric F. Brown, ’67, Lexington Jennifer Carson, ’98, Kansas City, Mo. Erleen Hatfield, ’91, ’96, New York City, N.Y. Joe Selig, ’80, ’87, NU Foundation Bill Nunez, UNL Steve Toomey, ’85, ’89, Lenexa, Kan.

4 WINTER 2014

Diane Mendenhall Executive Director

2013-2014 ALUMNI ADVISORY COUNCIL Cathy Alley, ’88, ’91, Lincoln Graten Beavers, ’71, ’74, Kearney, Chairman Stephanie Bolli, ’89, Omaha Mark Carney, UNL student, Lincoln Jennifer Christo, ’97, ’99, Omaha John Clarke, ’74, Mitchell, S.D. Daniel Dawes, ’06, Mableton, Ga. Lynn DiDonato Canavan, ’86, ’90, McKinney, Texas Jisella Dolan, ’98, ’01, Omaha Jessica Erstad, ’96, Lincoln Philip Gosch, ’91, Denver Rick Grady, ’98, ’04, New Albany, Ohio Ted Harris, ’97, Denver Pam Hemann, ’70, Pasadena, Calif.

Troy Heuermann, ’92, St. Paul, Minn.

Jane Hirt, ’89, Chicago Libby Jacobs, ’78, West Des Moines, Iowa Ka’ron Johnson, ’00, Houston Lauren Kintner, ’92, Papillion Jeffrey Kratz, ’03, Washington, D.C. Duane Kristensen, ’76, ’78, Minden Desi Luckey-Rohling, ’81, Edgerton, Wis. Steven Miller, ’81, ’84, Lincoln Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, Lincoln Bill Munn, ’90, ’94, Denver Gregory Newport, ’76, Lincoln Mike Pate, Omaha Jamie Reimer, ’03, ’08, Papillion Russ Ripa, ’99, Lincoln Kevin Schneider, ’85, ’87, Raymond Paul Schreier, ’00, ’01, Boston Robert Scott, ’94, Lincoln Christine Scudder Kemper, ’87, Kansas City, Mo. L. G. Searcey, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Lee Stuart, ’91, Lincoln Dale Tutt, ’88, Wichita, Kan. Mat Weekly, ’84, ’87, 91, Aberdeen, S.D. Renee Wessels, ’82, Omaha

About the writers in this issue Anthony Flott lives in Omaha, and has been a freelance writer since 1990. He has published articles on a variety of subjects in numerous publications across the United States. He also is editor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s UNO Magazine and teaches a class on magazine editing.

Tom Nugent has written frequently for Nebraska Magazine during the past 11 years.

He is the author of several books of non-fiction, including “Death at Buffalo Creek” (W.W. Norton), a book of investigative journalism about coal mining in Appalachia. He lives in Hastings, Mich.

Navannah Slezak is a UNL senior from Bellevue majoring in advertising and public relations. She is also an active member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and a sports marketing intern at the university.

After graduation, she hopes to work at an advertising agency or in sports marketing.

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Online! www.diplomaframe.com/uneba/store.aspx NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 5

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES

Speech and Debate Team Wins Third Big Ten Title The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Speech and Debate team became three-time champions of the Big Ten Conference Challenge Tournament on Oct. 12-13 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. UNL led the field with a two-day point total of 293 points, ahead of second-place finisher Northwestern (163 points) and the University of Illinois (52 points).

In addition to the team championship in a conference that has a long tradition of excellence in speech and debate, UNL students captured eight individual Big Ten Tournament titles. Students

winning conference championships included senior Josh Planos of Omaha in informative speaking and program oral interpretation, senior Grace Kluck of Lincoln in poetry interpretation, senior Amanda Stoffel of Raymond in prose interpretation, junior Reece Ristau of Omaha in persuasive speaking, junior Daniel Wheaton of Cozad in extemporaneous speaking, and sophomore Grace Solem-Pfeifer of Omaha in impromptu speaking and communication analysis.

“This is an outstanding accomplishment by our students and team. None of these students receive any scholar-

UNL speech and debate team members are, left to right: Reece Ristau, Daniel Wheaton, Josiah BeDunnah, Amanda Stoffel, Roger Allen, Grace Solem-Pfeifer, Josh Planos and Grace Kluck.

6 WINTER 2014

UNIVERSITY UPDATE ship money for being on the speech team, none of them will be drafted into the professional ranks,” said Aaron Duncan, a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies who directs the UNL team. “They compete because of their love for this university and have tremendous passion for sharing their ideas.”

The team is CONNECTION BOX part of UNL’s comm.unl.edu Department of @UNL4N6 Communication Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

UNIVERSITY Donors Give $236.7 Million to University UPDATE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION

Alumni and friends gave $236.7 million to the University of Nebraska this year, making it the University of Nebraska Foundation’s best year ever for private gifts. This record represents a 43 percent increase over the last fiscal year and a 37 percent increase over the previous gift record of $172.1 million in 2011.

The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at UNMC, the Biomechanics Research Building at UNO, the Veterinary Diagnostic Center and College of Business Administration at UNL, and the Health Science Education Complex at UNK were among those receiving private support this year.

Some donor gifts are endowed, with only the income transferred to the university year after year. In 2013, the total amount transferred to the university from the foundation was $174.7 million. Of that amount, nearly $94 million was designated by donors for campus construction or renovation projects, $21 million was provided for student scholarships and $45 million for direct support of academic programs.

Business highlights for the year were shared Oct. 4, at the annual meeting of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s trustees.

Tonn Ostergard, president and CEO of Crete Carrier of Lincoln, became the

new chair of the board of directors and will serve through 2015. Mark Chronister of Bloomington, Minn., was named chair-elect. Chronister is a retired partner and former manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Minneapolis.

John Gottschalk of Omaha received the Perry W. Branch Award, which is the foundation’s top volunteer service award. Paul Sather, director of the Service Learning Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, received the Harlan J. Noddle Award, for service to development.

– Robb Crouch, University of Nebraska Foundation

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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 7

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

Eichorst congratulated soccer player Caroline Gray at the Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet in April.

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS SHAWN EICHORST

A Look Back at Year One “My expectations are to carry on the history and tradition. I don’t think this is a place where you have to reinvent the wheel. I think what you have to do is get yourself immersed in everything Nebraska. My goal would be to make something that is already great, better.”

– Shawn Eichorst on Jan. 3, 2013, his first day as director of athletics at NU

Fast forward 365 days, and it’s readily apparent what “immersed in everything Nebraska” means to Shawn Eichorst.

In that time span he has made 173 appearances – almost one every other day, including 146 in state and 27 out of state. He has met with the campus senior administrative team and every dean and director on campus as well as donors, alumni, Nebraskans, season ticket holders and members of the media across the state and nation.

8 WINTER 2014

“The one thing I always hear from alumni who’ve met Shawn is how approachable and genuine he is,” said Diane Mendenhall, executive director of the Nebraska Alumni Association.

“Shawn has been very generous with his time at our alumni events. We’re so happy to have him as a Husker.”

Eichorst’s predecessor, Tom Osborne, said, “Shawn has worked hard to meet people throughout the state and the university and has developed a good understanding of some of the unique aspects of Nebraska and the athletic program.”

Building dedications, ribbon cuttings, athletic tributes, graduation ceremonies, award banquets, campus activities, Big Ten meetings and more have filled the pages of his calendar.

He started semi-monthly Connecting on Campus columns for Husker fans and has completed 12 monthly radio shows, with a guest coach or expert

and student-athlete accompanying him each time, predominantly from underpublicized sports.

“Shawn is an unique AD, maybe one of a kind, in his understanding of and respect for the role of athletics on a research campus,” said Ellen Weissinger, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “He spent his first few weeks at UNL forming close relationships with the academic deans and learning a lot about our strengths in creative activity, scholarship and research all across campus. He writes about UNL’s academic successes in his weekly column – including a story about Dean Donde Plowman’s plans for a new CBA building and a feature about our philosophy faculty coaching an award-winning Ethics Bowl team.”

Eichorst also accompanied Weissinger on a visit to the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the academic consortium that connects the

Big Ten universities plus the University of Chicago.

“Needless to say he was the first AD ever to come calling in the CIC’s 60-year history,” Weissinger said. “The CIC leaders were so impressed with his intellect and his sophistication on academic issues, and I have to admit I was really proud of the way that Shawn enhanced our reputation in this very prestigious group.”

For her part, CBA Dean Plowman is equally enthusiastic about the new director of athletics.

“Shawn spoke to 250 CBA partners in September and they were blown away by him and his interest in partnering with the colleges,” she said.

“We are lucky to have him at UNL. He has an incredibly important job and yet he makes himself available to the rest of the campus. He is a campus leader – not just the leader of the Athletics Department.”

Perhaps most importantly, Eichorst has attended countless Husker athletic contests, including approximately 100 home events since Aug. 1 alone, and has made multiple road trips with teams.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman recalled asking him during his job interview how he would be able to measure his success as an athletic director five years from now. Eichorst

In November, Eichorst greeted members of the military at the Nebraska vs. Northwestern football game salute to veterans.

replied: “If the coaches and the student-athletes have been successful and nobody knows my name, it will be a success. The athletic department is all about the success of coaches and student-athletes.”

A year later, those coaches and student-athletes understand what the farm boy, lawyer and former athletic administrator at Wisconsin and Miami meant.

“The University of Nebraska and Shawn are a perfect fit,” said baseball coach Darin Erstad. “From the first time I met him it felt like he had been here for years. His mentality is identical to the blue collar work ethic Nebraska hangs its hat on.

“The first thing Shawn said to me was what can I do to help you be successful,” he added. “He wants nothing more than to support the student-athletes and coaches and let them do their thing. As a coach it is very important to know he has the trust in all of us to lead our programs.”

That trust was evident in Eichorst’s support of football coach Bo Pelini late in the season.

“My approach has always been not to comment publicly about our coaches

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

until their full seasons are complete, as I strongly believe it is unfair and counter to best practices,” he announced on Nov. 30. “However, given the volume of unfounded speculation and conjecture about our head football coach, I want to reaffirm what I have said many times since I arrived at the University of Nebraska – that I positively respect, appreciate and support our football student-athletes, coaches and staff, as we do everyone in the Husker family. We very much look forward to our upcoming bowl game and Coach Pelini continuing to lead our program in the future.”

Student-athletes believe in Eichorst’s approach as well.

Continued on Page 10

Eichorst with CBA Dean Donde Plowman.

Baseball coach Darin Erstad and softball coach Rhonda Revelle assisted Jamie and Alex Gordon and Eichorst in cutting the ribbon on the Alex Gordon Training Complex, made possible in part by a million-dollar gift from the Husker and Kansas City Royals baseball great and his wife.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 9

Husker soccer players gathered around Eichorst after a match at Purdue in October.

A LOOK BACK AT YEAR ONE Continued from Page 9 Sunny Russell, a senior on the rifle team, is president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee that includes representatives from all 24 men’s and women’s varsity sports.

“Eichorst has done an exceptional job intentionally reaching out to connect with and serve our studentathletes,” Russell said. “He requests regular feedback from us about our experience at Nebraska, and he reminds us regularly of his open-door policy. His focus on bettering our experience helps student-athletes feel more connected to the athletic administration, and facilities and improvements that are made are more suited for our needs because he seeks our feedback,” she added.

During the director of athletics’ first year, the women’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 while the women’s gymnastics and tennis teams and the men’s outdoor track and field team won Big Ten championships.

The softball team advanced to the College World Series and their coach, Rhonda Revelle, became NU’s all-time winningest coach, while the bowling team captured the NCAA title.

This fall, the soccer team won the Big Ten Soccer regular season and tournament titles and UNL hosted four rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament to determine a final four team (not yet completed as the magazine went to press). Nebraska continued to lead the nation in

10 WINTER 2014

Academic All-Americans, reaching 310 and counting, and increased its lead in NCAA Top Ten Award winners when tennis player Mary Weatherholt earned this most prestigious individual student-athlete honor based on academic achievement, athletic accomplishment and community service.

In addition, Nebraska now boasts some of the finest athletic facilities in the country with the opening of the East Stadium Expansion project, the renovated Devaney Center and Pinnacle Bank Arena, as well as Eichorst’s recently approved plans for a Nebraska Soccer and Tennis Complex adjacent to Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Beyond the playing fields and facilities, the director of athletics has been quick to emphasize the importance of the student-athlete experience.

From the beginning, he made academic services and life skills among his highest priorities, according to Keith Zimmer, associate AD for Life Skills and N-Club.

“He has genuinely honored this commitment,” Zimmer said. Our student-athletes have been impressed with his accessibility and direct presence at meetings, practices and competitions. He welcomes studentathlete feedback and has already demonstrated his conviction to ensure the best student-athlete experience possible.”

And for the alumni, Eichorst revamped the N-Club to be more inclusive, linking the previously independent group to the Athletics

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

Department’s Life Skills program.

Husker baseball alum and current N-Club Advisory Council member Charlie Colon welcomed the move, calling it “an important and very strategic move for two reasons. One, it creates alignment with the overall mission of the athletic department and ensures that the events/reunions moving forward have a consistent approach. Two, it focuses on the mission of Husker alumni helping current Huskers by sharing various life and career experiences,” he said.

“It creates specific opportunities for mentorship and sharing, and ultimately, the ability to connect the past to the present through relationships.”

“Nebraska letter winners have a strong sense of pride and ownership in the university and the facilities the athletes have at their disposal,” said another N-Club council member and football alum, Frosty Anderson.

“Shawn recognized that the N-Club could benefit from the direct support of the athletic department to embrace that connection … a win-win for all involved.”

“I know it must be hard to follow a legend,” Vice Chancellor Weissinger concluded. “But I have a feeling that Shawn will be our next generation legend. Under Shawn’s leadership, we are building a 21st century athletic department that will add even more academic value for our students, including students who are not directly a part of the athletic department.”

Husker football alumni Tony Davis, Doug Dumler and Jeff Kinney chatted with Eichorst at a Best of Nebraska reception in Denver in August.

UNIVERSITY Book Tackles Biological Aspect Of Politics UPDATE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Puzzled why Congress is so tied in knots that it would shut down government rather than compromise?

Quite frankly, the divide between liberals and conservatives may not be something that responds to logic, according to “Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives and the Biology of Political Differences,” released last month by Routledge Publishing.

“Information and persuasion don’t work,” said co-author Kevin B. Smith, a UNL professor of political science. “You can’t enlighten them, or scare them, or guilt them into changing their minds.”

Intended for popular audiences, “Predisposed” provides an overview of a growing research field linking political orientation to biology, genetics and psychology. Smith and his co-authors – fellow UNL political science professor John Hibbing and John R. Alford of Rice University – are nationally recognized leaders in the blossoming field.

Because political orientation is so deeply ingrained, liberals and conservatives might actually be viewed as “somewhat distinct species,” they say in their book.

“Liberals might perceive that conservatives are scared of everything, that everything is a threat,” said Hibbing. “Conservatives might say ‘that liberals just don’t get it.’”

That makes it very difficult to change minds, at least those on the extreme ends of the scale.

“Pretending that some middle-ground nirvana can be reached if only we listen to the other side is counterproductive and a source of endless frustration,” the book says. “We want liberals and conservatives to understand why they are different from each other and why those differences frequently seem so unbridgeable.”

or other issues of the day. They are The political scientists note that bedrock social differences that have shared political orientation is the third existed at least since Athens and most common factor – after shared Sparta, the authors say. drinking habits and shared religion – “Politics is deep and fundamental to used in selecting a spouse. It comes humans; it defines us as a species and ahead of shared education levels, is likely, quite literally, in our DNA,” economic backgrounds and personality they write. types.

Those with the strongest Pointing to how gay rights gained wider acceptance as more people came predispositions tend to be more politically active. In the middle are to view homosexuality as an innate moderates wondering what all the fuss characteristic, the “Predisposed” is about. authors argue that people may become The authors offer some caution more tolerant of political differences about their theories, however. They are if they believe political orientation is careful to make a distinction between innate. their concepts and the idea that people “We need to get past the stage where liberals/conservatives are in a contest to show that they are the most outraged by their ideological opponents,” the authors say. “Accept the fact that the main reason your political opponents hold the views they do is not laziness, a lack of information, or willfully bad judgment, Kevin Smith (left) and John Hibbing but rather physiological and (photo: Craig Chandler / UNL University Communications) psychological contours that are are genetically programmed to act the fundamentally different than yours.”

They say that political predispositions way they do. Environment and life events also shape predispositions, they are strongest at either end of the say. spectrum.

“To say it’s nature, not nurture, is At one end are conservatives who too simplistic,” Hibbing said. “It’s not lean toward supporting tradition as simple as ‘you’re born that way.’ and the status quo, view outsiders Biology is more than genetics. with suspicion and support strong “All the relationships we describe sanctions for rule breakers. At the are only tendencies, not hard and other are liberals who lean toward fast rules. Predispositions are not experimentation and untested destiny, but defaults – defaults that experiences, view outsiders with can be and frequently are overridden. curiosity and are tolerant of rule There’s a reason the title of this book is breakers.

‘Predisposed’ and not ‘Fated’.”

Those are not merely Republican– Leslie Reed, University Democrat divides, nor are they simple Communications disagreements over health care reform, building transnational oil pipelines

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 11

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Water-sipping Drones Under Development University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists are leading a national research project to develop unmanned aerial vehicles that collect water samples from lakes, streams and ponds.

The project – led by UNL’s Carrick Detweiler and Sebastian Elbaum, professors of computer science and engineering – received a $956,210 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The award for the three-year “Co-Aerial Ecologist: Robotic Water Sampling and Sensing in the Wild” project is part of the National Robotics Initiative, a collaboration between the National Science Foundation and other agencies.

The multidisciplinary collaboration includes researchers in UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Journalism and Mass Communications, as well as the University of California, Berkeley. A fourth partner, NET, Nebraska’s public broadcasting service, will produce outreach components.

“Water is a critical resource but scientists often cannot sample an area of study often enough or soon enough after a major rainfall or related event,” Detweiler said. “Our basic idea is to create a UAV that can be located near a study area, can fly out over the body of water as needed, dip a hose down to a certain depth and pump samples into a collection reservoir.”

Use of a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) would also help with logistical 12 WINTER 2014

Carrick Detweiler (left) and Sebastian Elbaum hold a prototype of the water samplecollecting drone they are building. The project received a $956,210 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

(Photo: Troy Fedderson / University Communications)

issues related to collecting water samples.

“Normally, a water scientist must haul equipment, boats and people to collect samples,” Elbaum said.

“With this type of collection vehicle, you could bring it to a test area and collect samples quickly with just a few people.”

Working with the research team, Detweiler and Elbaum have already developed a UAV that can successfully collect three 20-milliliter water samples. In the next year, they will use the USDA grant to focus on developing key algorithms to improve the safety and reliability of the water sampler.

The water-collecting prototypes cost about $5,000 each. Detweiler said a project goal is to offer scientists a lessexpensive model.

The research effort will focus on developing UAV systems that offer the right level of autonomy and reliability without compromising safety. Ultimately, the researchers hope to make the UAVs autonomous, with scientists programming in global positioning data and letting the drone go collect samples.

“Within three to four years, we hope that these devices will be able to do on-board analysis,” Elbaum said.

“That would allow them to throw away samples that are no good or do not contain anything interesting.”

Elbaum said testing of the UAVs would continue inside UNL’s Nebraska Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab. The team is also applying for authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly in test sites relevant to the grant.

Additional members of the research team include Amy Burgin, an assistant professor with UNL’s School of Natural Resources and water scientist; Matt Waite, a professor of practice and director of UNL’s Drone Journalism Lab; Michael Hamilton, co-director of UC-Berkeley’s Blue Oak Ranch Reserve; and Sally Thompson, an assistant professor in surface water hydrology at UC-Berkeley.

– Troy Fedderson, University Communications

UNIVERSITY UPDATE Off-site Counselors to Help Reach Enrollment Goal

OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has lofty goals when it comes to increasing enrollment. It has now been two years since Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced his intentions of increasing the university’s enrollment to 30,000 in the next few years.

To aid in accomplishing that goal, the UNL Office of Admissions has recently added five off-site recruiters to help increase enrollment for nonresident students. These recruiters will be stationed in three major cities.

Two counselors each will be assigned to Minneapolis and Chicago, with the fifth working from Denver. In each city, counselors will provide a “personal presence” for prospective students. In the past, UNL has had staff members travel across the country to recruit nonresident students. However, spending

so much time away from UNL became a problem for the counselors.

In his 2012 State of the University Address, Chancellor Perlman stated, “We prioritized undergraduate education because it reflected Nebraska’s need for attracting more talented young people to the state.”

Minneapolis, Chicago and Denver were specifically chosen based on the high volume of students coming to UNL from these locations. They are also centrally located, allowing the counselors to travel to other cities and schools in the area for recruitment. For example, the counselor in Denver can easily cover Western Nebraska schools as well.

Amber Williams, director of the Office of Admissions, thinks including these counselors will be very

beneficial for the university.

“Many years ago, the university used to have off-site recruiters,” Williams said. “We believe it’s beneficial and it will help our recruitment.”

Already the Admissions Office has seen progress being made. This year’s enrollment has increased by 1 percent over last year’s. Partially driven by a freshman class of 4,420 students, which was also one of the largest freshman classes in UNL’s history, total enrollment has reached 24,445 students. In November, Chancellor Perlman set the 30,000-enrollment goal date to the year 2020, and UNL is well on its way.

– Amanda Schmidt, Office of Admissions intern and UNL junior in journalism

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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 13

UNIVERSITY UPDATE

2013 NU soccer team: Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Champions.

Photo courtesy of Nebraska Media Relations Department

department of athletics

Soccer Team Claims Big Ten Titles “Big Ten Champs!�

A preseason goal that evolved into a rallying cry for the Nebraska soccer team became a reality on Nov. 1 as the Huskers claimed the 2013 Big Ten Conference title, their first regularseason championship since 2000. The Huskers defeated Indiana by a 3-1 decision to cap off Senior Day at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

Nebraska added a second 2013 Big Ten Conference trophy to its mantle on Nov. 10 with a 1-0 win over Iowa to claim its first Big Ten Soccer Tournament Championship. It was the

14 WINTER 2014

seventh shutout of the year for NU as the Huskers held Iowa scoreless for the first time in 2013.

The 2013 tournament title is the 10th conference championship for Head Coach John Walker after starting the NU soccer program 20 years ago.

Nebraska captured regular-season titles in 1996, 1999, 2000 and now 2013, while taking home tournament titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2013.

Nebraska defender Ari Romero and midfielder Jordan Jackson were named to the All-Big Ten team and Jaycie

Johnson was named to the Big Ten AllFreshman Team. All three were named to the Big Ten Soccer All-Tournament Team. Romero was also named a first-team All-American and Big Ten Defender of the Year. Jackson was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year and Coach Walker was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The Huskers advanced to the 64team NCAA soccer tournament as a second seed and hosted several regional rounds. They lost their second match in the tournament.

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5:00 PM

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 15

UNIVERSITY UPDATE Adirondack Chairs to be Auctioned for Scholarships

UNL WOMEN’S CLUB

Would you like to own an Adirondack chair autographed

by Tom Osborne? How about one painted by the International Quilt Study Center or one by noted wildlife artist Neal Anderson?

The UNL Women’s Club will auction 20 such chairs, each uniquely painted and many autographed, at the Country Club of Lincoln, Feb. 6, 2014. The event – “Take a Seat for the Night” – includes both a live auction of the chairs and a silent auction of other items with proceeds going entirely to scholarships for UNL students. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the auction beginning at 6:30.

The chairs are currently on display at the following locations:

Kimball Hall, 11th and R streets: • Noteworthy Roses – UNL’s Glenn Korff School of Music Lincoln Municipal Airport: • Fruit of The Vine – Urban Legends • UNL’s Great Legend – Tom Osborne • Dog Days of Summer – Lincoln Saltdogs

Information on purchasing tickets to this event is available at www.unl.edu/womensclub/auction.

UNL’s International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 33rd and Holdrege streets: • Head Coaches Chair – Athletics Department A chair autographed Golden Eagle Warrior Nebraska Sunset by • Words of Wisdom – Legacy Retirement

by Tom Osborne. by artist Neal Anderson. artist Justina Slattery.

Communities • Praying Mantid – UNL Department of Entomology The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Women’s Club began • And the Greatest is Love – Pius X High School in 1894 to help newly arrived immigrants and students, • Golden Eagle Warrior – Neal Anderson faculty and faculty wives new to the university. The • Nebraska Sunset – Art and Soul • Natural Charge – UNL Electrical Engineering Dept. club began raising money for • Time With Grace – International Quilt Study Center & Museum CONNECTION BOX scholarships for UNL students • Chair in Bloom – Paint Yourself Silly unl.edu/womensclub/ in 1901.

• Good Wine! Good Life! – Terry Hostetler

COLLEGE OF LAW

Law to Offer Grad Program in U.S. Legal Studies Next fall, the University of Nebraska College of Law will open its doors to attorneys from other countries with a new program designed to teach them about law and the legal system in the United States.

The new LL.M., or master of laws, is open to students with a law degree from schools outside the United States.

Students of the program will be trained to meet the demands of legal practice in a globalized world by attending courses with J.D. students at the college.

“Our goal is to engage these attorneys in U.S. legal studies and to provide a wider worldview for our J.D. students,” said Elsbeth Magilton, executive director of graduate programming for the college.

During this one-year program, LL.M. students will take an introductory course, U.S. Legal System and Constitutional Principles, and legal writing. They will select the rest of their 16 WINTER 2014

classes from the regular juris doctorate curriculum.

The LL.M. degree will prepare students for global law practice in their home countries by educating them about the United States’ laws and legal system. The college plans to enroll up to five students in 2014 and then expand the program to as many as 20 students.

The new program will be the second LL.M. degree offered by the college. The other is in space, cyber and telecommunications law. Graduates of that program have gone on to careers working for private companies like SpaceX; for civilian agencies like the State Department and NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; for military operations such as the U.S. Cyber Command and Space Operations at Vandenberg Air Force Base; and for think tanks, consulting firms and law firms.

– Molly Brummond, College of Law

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CAMPUS BRIEFS Appointments n Brad Roth has been named president of NUtech Ventures and will also serve as UNL associate vice chancellor for technology development. n Kate Engel has accepted the position of community engagement and operations manager and Terence Bowden has accepted the position of business accelerator director for Nebraska Innovation Campus. n Christopher M. U. Neale has been named director of research for the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at UNL. He also holds an academic appointment in the UNL Department of Biological Systems Engineering and a research appointment in the UNL School of Natural Resources Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies.

KUDOS n Xiao Cheng Zeng, Ameritas University and Willa Cather Professor of Chemistry, has been named a Xiao Cheng Zeng Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. Fellows are the most senior category of membership in the Royal Society of Chemistry and the honor recognizes those with substantial career progression and demonstrated seniority and maturity of experience in any field that involves or promotes the advancement or wider application of chemical science.

18 WINTER 2014

n Two UNL mathematicians have been chosen as fellows of the American Mathematical Society. John Meakin, Milton Mohr Professor of Mathematics, and Srikanth B. Iyengar, Willa Cather Professor of Mathematics, have joined the esteemed group of mathematicians from across the world, including five fellows from UNL inducted in 2012, the first year of the award. n The UNL Glenn Korff School of Music and Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s collaborative, large-scale

“Candide”

musical production of “Candide” was awarded first prize in Division IV of the 2012-2013 Opera Production Competition sponsored by the National Opera Association (NOA). n UNL’s Ethics Bowl team won the Rocky Mountain Regional Competition of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl on Nov. 2. The UNL team’s undefeated run through the regionals assured its spot in national competition in Florida early next year – a first for the university. UNL’s Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics sent two teams to compete in the regional event at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In the competition, teams presented resolutions to ethical dilemmas before a panel of judges and an opposing team.

GRANTS n The late Mary Riepma Ross has donated $7.7 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation through

John Meakin (left) and Srikanth B. Iyengar

her estate to create a permanent endowment for the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Her gift will provide annual net income to support facilities, equipment, academic and community outreach programs, host visiting media artists and more. Ross also donated much of her personal collection of art to the Sheldon Museum of Art, a gift she first announced in 1990. Art works given over the years by Ross will be presented in an exhibition curated by Norman Geske, director emeritus of the museum and longtime acquaintance to Ross. “Mary Riepma Ross: A Personal Collection” will run from Jan. 31 to May 11 at the Sheldon, 12th and R streets on the UNL City Campus. A past president of the New York Mary Riepma Ross Women’s Bar Association, Ross died on Feb. 2 in New York City at the age of 102. n Lester “Les” C. Krogh, a Nebraska native who helped lead product research and development teams at 3M for nearly 40 years, established the Lester C. Krogh Scholarship and Fellowship in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a planned estate gift of more than $345,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation. Annual net income from the endowment will provide about $15,000 or more annually for awards to fulltime undergraduate or graduate students in chemical and biomolecular engineering.

BOOKS n When Abraham Lincoln took his oath of office as the 16th Kenneth Winkle president of the United States in March 1861, Washington, D.C., was a city under siege. The new president quickly realized that without securing the capital city, the Union would fall to the Confederacy and slavery – a practice Lincoln loathed – would continue unabated. Lincoln forged ahead, “cleaning the devil out of Washington,” as he said, transforming the city into a Union fortress. All along, the city also shaped the man who has become one of the most revered presidents in the nation’s history. This relationship between a man and a city besieged by war is explored in a new book by Kenneth Winkle, a UNL historian and Abraham Lincoln scholar. Winkle’s book, “Lincoln’s Citadel: The Civil War in

Washington, D.C.,” is an examination of the time Lincoln spent in Washington from his days in Congress through his assassination. n John Janovy Jr., professor emeritus of biological sciences who taught at UNL for 46 years, has produced a fourth edition of his book, “Outwitting College Professors.” Based on all the tricks his students used, both on him and to be successful in college, Janovy says “although the book is ostensibly about outwitting profs, the simple truth is that if even a small fraction of students in some large class use these, the teaching experience is truly enhanced, in a positive way, for the prof.” One of Janovy’s former students, Nicole Searcey, whom he calls a “champion outwitter,” has contributed a new chapter to this latest edition.

n In “From Troublesome Creek,” former IANR Vice Chancellor and retired Kansas State University president Duane Acker chronicles his early life, leading up to the moment his mother told him he had won a sizeable college scholarship, ultimately transforming the course of his life forever. As he shares anecdotes from college, his teaching years, and his university leadership roles, Acker offers a glimpse into the characters he encountered along the way, including a beloved school janitor, a wise associate dean and a decisive governor. Acker also shares fascinating extracurricular” experiences, such as dining in the White House next to the President’s wife and reviewing the impact of the post-World War II Marshall Plan as a guest of the West German government.

Enter the 2014 Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest and compete for a byline!

The Categories

• Alumni Profiles: Write about a Nebraska grad with an interesting hobby or career.

• Nostalgia Pieces: Tell us about a memorable student activity you participated in at UNL, or write about a favorite professor.

The Prizes Three prizes will be awarded in each category, and the winning articles will be published in Nebraska Magazine.

• 1st Prize: $500

• 2nd Prize: $250

• 3rd Prize: $100

The Details Articles must be 750 to 1,000 words in length, typewritten. Entry deadline is April 15, 2014. Submit entries, along with the author’s name, address and phone number.

• By mail: Magazine Writing Contest, Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651.

• By e-mail: nebmag@huskeralum.org • Online: huskeralum.org/writing-contest

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 19

George Norris, Going Home University of Nebraska Press, 2013, (paper) $18.95 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu

After 40 years of Gene A. congressional service, Budig five terms in the House ’62, ’63, ’67, and five in the Senate, and Don George William Norris Walton (1861–1944) was going home to Nebraska.

Norris had lost the 1942 Senate race and felt the defeat keenly. But as his train rolled westward, he was forcefully reminded of what his legislative efforts had wrought, from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to the Rural Electrification Act (REA), which brought power to the land unfolding before him. It is here that the authors begin their journey with this statesman, perhaps the last progressive Republican, a tireless champion of “public power” and the common man.

The book carries readers back through Norris’s career and accomplishments: the establishment of the TVA and the REA as well as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and the shaping of Nebraska’s unique unicameral legislature. Norris recalls the battles he waged, one of which landed him in John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage,” and the alliances he formed with leading political figures of his day.

ALUMNI AUTHORS 20 WINTER 2014

Fangirl St. Martins Press, 2013, (cloth) $18.99 www.stmartins.com

In Rainbow Rowell’s third novel, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, Rainbow the whole world is a Rowell Simon Snow fan, but ’95 for Cath, being a fan is her life – and she’s really good at it.

She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates.

Cath is on her own, completely outside her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words ... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

River City Empire University of Nebraska Press, 2013, (paper) $24.95 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu

Issued as a Bison paperback for the Orville D. Menard first time, this ’61, ’64 edition of “River City Empire” includes a new introduction by the author. Orville Menard chronicles Dennison’s life, beginning with his experiences in Colorado mining towns. In 1892 Dennison came to Omaha, where he married and started a family while solidifying his position as an influential political boss. Menard explores machine politics in Omaha as well as the man behind this machine, describing how Dennison steered elections, served the legitimate and illegitimate business communities, and administered justice boss-style to control crime and corruption.

The microcosm of Omaha provides an opportunity for readers to explore bossism in a smaller environment and sheds light on the early 20th-century American political climate as a whole.

Eleanor & Park

Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies

St. Martins Press, 2013, (cloth) $18.99 www.stmartins.com

Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011, (paper) $29.99

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to Rainbow Rowell try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember ’95 your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under. “Eleanor & Park,” Rainbow Rowell’s second book (the first was “Attachments”), is the winner of the 2013 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Best Fiction Book and New York Times Bestseller.

21st Century Global Health Diplomacy World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2013, (cloth), $108 www.worldscientific.com

A compilation of essays and analyses dealing with the interface of public health and Thomas E. foreign policy, this book examines in depth Novotny ’69, and Ilona the different components of global health Kickbusch, diplomacy, including security concerns, global Michaela governance, foreign policy consistency, military Told health diplomacy, historical legacies and humanitarianism. Global health diplomacy can be a critical pathway to assure collective action on the critical health challenges that transcend borders in the 21st century and can help to better international relations among the great and emerging powers in pursuit of health and security goals.

www.amazon.com

Jim

Jim Doty, Jr., an internationally published Doty, Jr., landscape, portrait and event photographer, ’71, ’76 opened what he thought was a spam e-mail and ended up writing a “how to” photography book for the ubiquitous “For Dummies” series.

More than just a guide for beginners, the book explores basic, intermediate and advanced exposure techniques. There are chapters on artistic choices with depth of field for more dramatic images, the creative use of shutter speeds, an exploration of ways to work with the different qualities of photographic light, and how to use automatic and manual flash more effectively. Special techniques covered include close-up photography, low-light photography, night sky photography, moonlit landscapes, city lights, fireworks and lighting. There is even an exploration of 10 photographic mistakes digital photographers are prone to make and how to avoid them.

Writing in Community: Say Goodbye to Writer’s Block and Transform Your Life WriteLife LLC, 2013, (paper) $11.95 www.WriteLife.com

Rebecca Knipe Breed

’70, ’71, ’97 and

Lucy Adkins

“Writing in Community” is a book of inspiration and encouragement for writers who want to reach deep within themselves and write to their fullest potential. There is magic in a successful writing group. This book helps writers tap into that magic, and with gentle wisdom and humor, experience unprecedented breakthroughs in creativity.

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 recently published book 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

Profile WINNER, second place (Tie) 2013 Writing contest A frequent entrant and winner in the Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest, Jim Schaffer is a journalism professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He and his wife Mary Lynn, also a UNL graduate, have two daughters and a son.

Unlikely Artists:

Sam BooN and the Wood Turners

By Jim Schaffer, ’71

Sam Boon (in the foreground) pauses in his workshop with some of his friends at a meeting of the local chapter of the American Association of Wood Turners.

They’re a band of brothers (and a few sisters). A group of about 30 middle-aged men and women, most in sweatshirts and jeans, gather around a large lathe and grip smooth pieces of wood. Bikers? Woodworkers? Actually, they’re artists.

The local chapter of the American Association of Wood Turners is meeting this December evening at the northeast Lincoln workshop of Sam Boon, a retired pathologist. They’re sampling cider and swapping stories, patiently waiting for the chance to show off. Later in the evening each one will present his or her latest project.

Wood turning is an ancient art that traces its history back to the Egyptians. Today, a piece of wood, preferably one with a unusually grainy pattern, spins on the lathe while the wood turner uses a variety of craftsman tools to cut and shape it.

“You never know what is going to happen,” explained club member Elmer Miller. “It could just be outstanding because of the color or the grain. On the other hand, it could end up as firewood.”

Boon’s gleaming workshop is neatly arranged around a refrigerator-sized table saw, jointer, planer and various sanders. Pity the

22 WINTER 2014

in its stomach. Boon’s job was to collect rumen for study. Both professors played an important role in Boon’s gaining acceptance to UNMC. Boon marked another important milestone between his first and second years of medical school when he married Pat, his wife of 44 years now. (Pat, by the way, maintains an impressive garden just outside Sam’s workshop, raising a healthy crop of tomatoes, peppers, squash, okra, beans and leeks.)

This evening, however, Boon is interested in a different kind of diagnosis, this time the Pens are meticulously crafted by the wood turners. anatomy of a piece of wood.

“The older I get,” Boon commented, “the smaller my projects.” Many of the projects on display tonight are examples of meticulous poor slip of sawdust. Each stray speck is quickly scooped up and craftsmanship: bowls, pens, ornaments, platters, bottle stoppers away through a network of silver tubes running from each work and earrings. area to the ceiling.

Part of the fascination “I admire anyone who can make a living by woodworking,” with this craft is the said Boon, who already made his living through a distinguished material itself: these career at several Lincoln hospitals. Now he’s a hobbyist.

Nebraska wood turners use During Boon’s medical career, he served as Director of Clinical box elder, elm, sycamore, Chemistry for Pathology Medical Services for 23 years. PMS maple, black walnut and provides diagnostic services to hospitals throughout the eastern birch.

Many try to salvage half of Nebraska. He also served as laboratory director and chief wood from dead trees or of staff at St. Elizabeth Hospital. In 1993 Boon was chosen as lumber piles that would president of the Nebraska Association of Pathology. otherwise go to waste.

Despite such a remarkable career, Boon said that his proudest accomplishment was graduating from the University of Nebraska The stories of their harvest often complement a tip or Medical Center in 1973. two about technique.

“Almost no one in my family had any post-graduate Boon learned the education,” he said. Boon’s dad and granddad ran a lumber trade through courses business in Naponee, a hint of what would become a lifelong at the highly regarded passion for him. “I had one aunt who was a school teacher and a Marc Adams School cousin who was a dentist so my graduating from medical school of Woodworking.

His seemed like a big deal at the time.” inspiration, however, It was a big deal, but getting to med school required a roundabout trip for Boon. He attended Kearney College for two came from the nature dioramas at Morrill Hall. years and then joined the Navy in 1963 to decide “if medicine He sometimes adds a was the right career for me.” hand-painted crane to Boon was stationed at the Navy Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. the surface of some of the “Pensacola was where the early astronauts were given their medical exams,” he said. Boon quickly became convinced that he beautifully “cored” pieces on his lathe. was on the right path.

“There’s nothing like Upon discharge from the Navy in 1967, he enrolled at the the satisfaction of building University of Nebraska where he majored in microbiology and something,” said Boon, minored in chemistry. whose carefully trained eye “Dr. Thompson was my mentor and a great source of advice,” saved lives and now helps Boon said. “I also worked with Dr. Carl Georgi, chair of the produce striking works of Microbiology Department, on one of his research projects.” The art. v project involved a cow on East Campus with a plastic window

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 23

Profile WINNER, second place (Tie) 2013 Writing contest Sondra Jonson-McHale was born in Philadelphia, but returned to her dad’s home state of Nebraska to give her children the advantages of small-town, Midwestern upbringing. This proved a worthwhile move for the children and for her own career as an artist. S. L. Jonson Studios has installed more than 70 large sculptures at locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, including several in Lincoln.

The three McHale sons have pursued their undergraduate degrees at the University of Nebraska, with two returning to the university for doctorate studies. As someone who grew up in an urban environment, Jonson-McHale has a special love for rural Nebraska – its people and landscape.

‘I Am, Because You Are’

Thomas McHale and friends at the orphanage in Botswana.

By Sondra Jonson-McHale “Motho ke motho ka batho.”

This is Setswana for: “I am because you are,” or roughly put: “Respect.”

These words were written by my youngest son, Thomas, in his last blog post from his semester with the CIEE Community Public Health program in Botswana. This proverb, or “Botho” for short, Thomas realized, is the quintessential core of Botswanan society, and the root from which the entire, beautiful culture of this country springs.

The idea of “Botho,” he explained, is that individuals in a community are not as important as the community itself, and the community defines the individuals. Especially evident in the rural areas, every member of the society is recognized and each shares whatever they have with whoever has a need. Despite the

24 WINTER 2014

poverty, AIDS prevalence and hardships of daily life in Botswana, “Botho” prevails. A general outlook of gratitude for each person and widespread optimism permeates the social structures and is contagious.

Thomas had, for most of his life, aimed at pursuing veterinary medicine. Growing up in the rural Nebraska community of Cambridge provided the perfect environment to encourage his ambition. Surrounded by a strong ag culture, he took advantage of the many opportunities at hand: 4-H involvement, ag clubs, student government, athletics, academic achievement and assisting the local veterinarian made up his daily life. However, in the midst of high school, guided by some very talented teachers, his interest took a turn toward human medicine.

He entered the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

at UNL to pursue a degree in biochemistry and to discern just where his calling lay. Additional studies at the university – particularly one of his minors, humanities in medicine – inspired him to consider a life of service to those in severe need. And he questioned what his role should be … should it be in medicine?

Crossing eight time zones and venturing three-quarters of the way around the globe may not have been the most expedient way to discover if one truly had a calling to be a doctor; but this is the path Thomas chose.

The 18 hours of plane travel to get to Botswana must have been unnerving for a young man whose previous horizons were the wheat and cornfields of western Nebraska. But the long flight home five months later was even more poignant.

In the dramatic landscapes and amongst the poor and the sick of southern Africa, Thomas had found his heart, his calling and his future. There he found that the biochemistry research he had pursued during undergrad years, while fascinating, paled in comparison to working one-on-one with suffering patients.

There he found the friendship of orphans and the joy of reaching them in their loneliness.

There he also began to study the work of James Orbinski, and felt the call to provide medical care to lives torn by crisis and devastation. And there he encountered his own inner core – that constellation of values, beliefs and commitments that form the spiritual column upon which he will build his life as a physician and a human being.

Thomas’s fellow travelers, all students from New York, Washington and Boston, had never before met someone from a town as small as Cambridge (population 1,000). They were stunned that his future trip had made front-page headlines in the local newspaper.

They had never heard of FFA or met anyone who spent countless hours each week practicing for 4-H horse and livestock shows. Thomas, a rather typical Midwesterner, was as much an anomaly to them as the villagers in Botswana. Yet the practicality, the simplicity, the sense of community, in short the “Botho,” of rural life in Nebraska was the perfect bridge to rural life in Africa.

McHale enjoyed fresh milk in Botswana.

While Africa was the continent that opened so many doors and answered so many questions for Thomas, his family is unspeakably grateful to have him back in the United States.

However, we cannot avoid knowing that the career he plans will be brave but unglamorous, challenging but arduous, and that his thirst to serve will likely take him again to distant continents and remote populations.

But we have faith in the realization that this young man, bred in the fertile soil of our ag community and educated in the challenging classrooms and cutting edge labs of our university, goes forward knowing exactly who he is and what his purpose is in the vast evolution of mankind.

On May 4, 2013, with degrees in biochemistry and microbiology, Thomas McHale joined the ranks of University of Nebraska alumni. Following eight weeks serving at a homeless mission run

by Franciscan brothers in New York, he entered medical school.

As he delves into this new and complex educational challenge, he will no doubt be counting the days and months until he can return to the mission fields as a licensed physician. These next years will again require a time of striving, but it is an inner certainty that assures his goal and guides his meeting each experience, each person and each fresh demand with “Botho – Because you are, I am.” v

McHale with his “family” in Serowe, Botswana.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 25

26 WINTER 2014

Photo by RedEye photographer Wendy Pierro.

After five years of running the Chicago Tribune’s daily news-gathering operation, Managing Editor Jane Hirt (B.J. ’89) said she’s still “enjoying the challenge.” Her high-profile assignment: deciding on news coverage and front-page story-play for a publication that serves more than 400,000 daily readers in print and 500,000 online ... in a brutal journalistic environment where the future of newspapers themselves often seems to be in peril.

By Tom Nugent NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 27

Hirt and the news team discuss photos for the Chicago Tribune’s election coverage in November 2008. By Tribune photographer John Konstantaras.

The cover quickly became a collector’s item with the Tribune printing several hundred thousand extra to meet demand.

One afternoon back in July of 2008, Jane Hirt received an important telephone call.

The caller was a man named Gerry Kern – the recently appointed editor of the struggling Chicago Tribune.

He asked the then-41-year-old Hirt if she would walk across the Trib’s busy fourth-floor newsroom and step into his office.

She agreed. When she got there, he motioned her toward a nearby table.

“I was sitting at the table,” Hirt remembered, “and he just said: ‘Would you like to be the managing editor?’”

Staring at him, she took a deep breath. Then she thought about the offer for several days.

“Gerry’s an out-of-the-box kind of thinker,” she told Nebraska Magazine recently in Chicago, “and I think he wanted someone who would do things differently.”

After several days of introspection, the nervy Hirt said yes. She would take on the challenge.

“I had to get my head around it,” she said, while describing her decision and the great newspapering struggle that followed it.

Q. Were you afraid?

A. Yeah, sure. I mean, if you’re not kind of afraid to take on something new, then it’s not a good enough

28 WINTER 2014

opportunity.

Q. Woody Allen used to say, back in the early days when he was doing stand-up comedy: “If you don’t throw up right before you go on, you’re probably going to have an off night.”

A. (Laughter.) I didn’t throw up. But it was a challenge. It was a big beast to wrestle ... but I think I’ve always been good at just focusing on what lies before me ... and not to be fretting so much [about] what I can’t control. I’m pretty easygoing ... and I do think I have some tolerance for risk.

Her Self-Portrait: “A Hard Worker from Nebraska” When Gerry Kern tapped former UNL journalism major Jane Hirt to be his top lieutenant in the summer of 2008, the mighty Chicago Tribune was in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Known to generations of Windy City readers by its own famous and selfinvented moniker (“World’s Greatest Newspaper”), the Trib by 2008 wasn’t just losing readers and ad revenue. As unbelievable as it seemed to everyone, the Midwest’s largest and most-read paper was facing significant challenges to its long-term financial success. Like

the industry in which it had long been a leader, the paper was struggling to adapt to declining print advertising, the tanking national economy – and sweeping changes in the way people got their daily news. For Robert Rutherford “Colonel” McCormick’s legendary flagship of Republican rectitude, the future seemed increasingly threatening.

So desperate was the struggle, in fact, that the Tribune Company, which owned the legendary Chicago paper – along with seven other U.S. newspapers and about two dozen TV stations – in December of 2007 had taken the once-

unthinkable step of selling itself to a real estate mogul named Sam Zell.

The deal with Zell – valued at more than $8 billion – would hopefully buy the Trib some time (even if it meant the company had to part with its beloved Chicago Cubs pro baseball franchise, along with legendary Wrigley Field). But that same deal (as more than a few print media analysts were already warning) had been built atop a shaky financial structure that required huge amounts of risky borrowing.

All too soon, the bottom fell out.

Less than a year after the buyout, in fact, the entire deal toppled headfirst into nearby Lake Michigan, as Zell & Co. filed the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the history of newspapering.

At that point, Gerry Kern and Jane Hirt had been in their current jobs for only about six months.

When the fiscal catastrophe struck in December of 2008, triggering a series of earthquake-like buyouts and layoffs in the newsroom and plunging several other once-great U.S. newspapers in the Tribune chain (including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and the Hartford Courant) into sudden bankruptcy, the two Trib news executives were doing their best to help keep the paper from crashing on the jagged rocks of the Sam Zell deal.

Kern knew they were going to be tested to the max ... and he was very grateful that Hirt had agreed to join his management team.

He’d called on her for one crucially important reason: during the previous six years, Hirt had gained “star status” in the Trib newsroom, while helping to lead a massive effort to create (and then steer into solid profitability) one of the few Tribune editorial products that could claim notable success in recent years.

The name of that high-flying, money-making Tribune publication was: RedEye. Launched in 2002 with Hirt and Joe Knowles as co-editors (she later became sole editor), RedEye was a new kind of tabloid-sized “pop culture” publication that focused

on young, socially minded and very busy adults who weren’t reading daily newspapers anymore. And it eventually became a smash hit in Chicago. Why? It was simple. Hirt and her two dozen or so colleagues on the start-up proved over the course of several years that they could package news and entertainment for an audience that had simply stopped reading print journalism. Within three years of launch, in fact, the Hirt-led team was circulating more than 200,000 copies each weekday and had begun making a profit for the Tribune Company.

Most of the new tabloid’s readers were riders of the fabled “El” trains that carry Chicagoans to work each day ... and the good news for Hirt and her colleagues was that they totally dug the zippy layouts and the non-traditional, high-octane snapcrackle-and-pop of fun-to-read, trendbased stories that made them feel hip each time they turned a page.

In short, Hirt had done it. In an era when newspapers and newspaper ad revenues were making like the USS Titanic from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles, she and her team had demonstrated that you could start a new daily print publication that young people would actually read.

In the Trib newsroom, she was now a major success story. After having spent 13 years as a hardworking editor (and copy chief ) in the sports, and national/foreign news departments of the paper, she’d been willing to take a flying leap into the unknown by agreeing to help lead the RedEye experiment ... and she had brought home a huge winner.

Which is why Gerry Kern – the brand-new editorial skipper of the city’s soon-to-be-legally-bankrupt, 166-year-old newspaper – grabbed the telephone and summoned Hirt to his office on that fateful afternoon in the summer of 2008.

“I’m proud of my choice [of Hirt],” Kern told Nebraska Magazine. “I knew we had to make huge changes here, in order to move the paper forward in a time of turmoil – and I saw in Jane a charismatic leader who could make change happen. I’d seen

2003

$45 BILLION

REVENUE decline 2012

$19 BILLION

Total U.S. Newspaper Revenues

DAILY reads

71% 23% 1965

2012

% of U.S. Adults who Read a Daily Newspaper 1990

MORE THAN

60,000 2012

LESS THAN

40,000

JOB loss

Total U.S. Jobs at Newspapers

160+

Number of U.S. Newspapers Since 2008 that have Closed or Stopped Publishing and Printing Editions Sources: Pew Research Center, Washington Post, Editor & Publisher

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 29

Living in “Mortal Fear” ... at UNL! Ask Jane Hirt what it was like to study journalism at UNL in the 1980s, and the Chicago Tribune’s feisty managing editor will tell you that she was thoroughly intimidated by Professor Alfred (“Bud”) Pagel’s course in advanced reporting, which was reported to be extremely difficult.

According to Hirt, who’s been running the Trib’s newsgathering operations since 2008, the now retired former chairman of the UNL News-Editorial Department was a demanding instructor who was determined to prepare students for what he knew was a tough career choice.

“That course was so hard,” said Hirt with a wince of remembered pain. “And I actually think they [UNL] made it hard because they didn’t want to unleash any bad journalists on the country. And he often pointed [in class] to a huge banner on the wall that said: ‘Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.’

“Professor Pagel’s approach was simple: if you made any mistake in a story, you’d have to write an obituary.

I’m talking about any mistake – a bad comma, a misspelling, an incorrect fact. Each one would [require] you to write an obituary. And if you made a mistake in the obit, you’d have to write another one to make up for it. And so you wrote all your news stories in mortal fear of making a single error.”

While describing how some of her struggling classmates “were on their 20th obituary” after making too many mistakes, Hirt recalled a truly Bud Pagel memorable incident in which she turned in a story that misspelled the name of the great German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven.

“I handed it in and I walked out ... and I was a couple of blocks away from the journalism school when I suddenly realized that I’d misspelled Beethoven. So I ran back to the classroom and was able to grab my paper out of the box and fix it.”

Looking back on Pagel’s class from her current perch as the Trib’s news chief, Hirt said she’s now “very grateful” that the relentless Pagel put her through so much reportorial rigor.

“Taking that course taught accuracy,” she said with a gleam of nostalgia for those long-ago days on the Nebraska campus. “For a Richard Streckfuss journalist, that lesson is essential, and UNL is where I first learned it.”

30 WINTER 2014

her in various roles over the years, and then she went to RedEye, where she was stellar.

“She did a spectacular job. She’s got a very upbeat, optimistic personality. She sees the possibilities in things – and that’s the kind of personality we needed [in a managing editor]. She’s not going be deterred.

She’s not going to get down. She’s willing to take risks.”

Remembering the huge struggle she went through while leading RedEye from start-up to profitability in only a few years, Hirt doesn’t pull her punches. “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” she recalled.

“To start something from scratch ... it was a blur, and I just wondered: can you even do it? I mean, I remember, we had to hire people [to work on the new tabloid] without telling them what they were being hired for, because we were trying to keep it a secret. It could have failed spectacularly.”

Q. How difficult were the early years at RedEye? Lots of 12-hour days?

A. Oh, sure. The only thing I thought about, day and night, was RedEye. And the only thing that would get my mind off it was [watching] movies. So I saw a lot of movies then. Because you get so obsessed when you start a start-up, you can’t think of anything else. Every day you go in and you don’t know if it will be your last.

Q. Why was it so hard?

A. We were trying to make a newspaper for non-newspaper readers, and we were trying to get them to read it. But the people we were aiming at really loved it from the beginning.

The company gave us three years to become profitable, and we did. When you get on an El train and you see everyone reading RedEye, you say: “Oh, this is working!”

Q. How tough was the grind?

A. It was really tough. But I’m a hard worker from Nebraska; I don’t shy away from hard work. You lose yourself in it, and you don’t even realize how many hours you’re putting in.

Inspired by Pagel and Streckfuss Born in Manhattan, Kan., Jane Hirt moved to Lincoln with her public-school-teacher parents at the age of 12. A graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School, she arrived on the UNL campus in the mid-1980s. After settling into her room in Piper Hall, she began pursuing what she hoped would be a biology degree and a career as a dentist.

But that didn’t happen.

Hirt worked hard as a freshman student, but the introductory-level science classes she took failed to turn her on. “I’d worked on the yearbook in high school,” she remembered, “and I always knew I was good writer. So I

Hirt runs editorial meetings twice a day. At the head of the table is Tribune Editor Gerry Kern. By Tribune photographer Alex Garcia.

thought: I’ll try journalism. So changing my major wasn’t a completely off-the-wall move. And my parents were very supportive, which helped a lot.”

Within a year or so, she was hooked on newspapering.

Inspired by such legendary journalism teachers as Bud Pagel and the late Dick Streckfuss, she eventually wound up as managing editor of the Daily Nebraskan ... while also landing internships at the Omaha World-Herald, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel and then the 1989 post-graduate internship that launched her 24-year career at the Tribune.

Once established in the Windy City, Hirt worked hard as a copy editor who first spent several months on the sports desk, before moving up the editorial ladder in national/foreign news editing. By 2002, the stage was set for her leap to RedEye – and the great editorial adventure that eventually helped boost her into the office of the managing editor.

For the past five years, Hirt has been directing daily online and print news coverage at the huge Chicago daily, while also deciding (during the two daily staff meetings she directs) which particular stories will make the front page.

“Each morning I want to give you enterprise journalism,” she said when asked to describe her daily goals as ME. “But I also want to surprise [readers] with something they haven’t seen online or on TV [the day before].

“I think the perfect [front] page has an investigative piece, and plenty of local news. And I also like to have people on the front page, because people like to read about other people. [I want] compelling stories that really grab the reader emotionally as well as intellectually.”

Q. As you know, print journalism is in a lot of trouble these days. How do you feel about the future of newspapers?

A. I’m optimistic. People will always want news and information. They want [them] more than ever before. And if we can see ourselves as journalists providing that news and information, the consumer is going to pick it up – whether he or she reads it on her [mobile] phone, or through social media.

That’s the consumer’s choice, and we have to be okay with that.

If you see yourself linked to [only] one platform, such as print, I can see why it looks hopeless – because fewer people want it that way.

But we’re not in the newsprint business, and we’re not in the paper business. We’re in the news and information business, and people are always going to want that. v

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 31

BLOOD,

SWEAT

Cheers

&

By Tom Nugent

Marty Liggett’s typical workday begins at 5:30 a.m., when

she plunges head-on into a full-speed-ahead exercise workout at an outdoor fitness class just outside Washington, D.C. And that’s the easy part of her daily work schedule ... as the veteran executive director for the 14,000-member American Society of Hematology (ASH). Liggett’s crucially important mission: Helping to facilitate research and publication for a professional association that includes the world’s largest

group of physicians and researchers dedicated to fighting blood diseases of every kind.

32 WINTER 2014

I

t was an afternoon that Martha (“Marty”) Liggett cells by blocking a key enzyme reaction essential to the process.

(B.S. ’72) said she will never forget.

Until the 1999 ASH meeting, however, no researcher had And it took place during an annual meeting of come forward with the results of the introductory clinical physicians and medical researchers that she had trials (known as “Phase 1 Trials”) that would be the first step helped to organize, down to the smallest detail. in determining just how effective the discovery might be in The date was Dec. 3, 1999 ... and the gathering of protecting human beings from CML. thousands of medical professionals in New Orleans that Marty Liggett and her staff had put together Enter Dr. Druker was known formally as “The 41st Annual Meeting of the “You can imagine how I felt,” she told Nebraska Magazine American Society of Hematology.” during a recent interview in her Washington office. “Our It was there that a hematologist (blood specialist) would whole purpose [at ASH] is to facilitate communication among announce a huge research breakthrough in the battle against hematologists – through our publications and by organizing one of the world’s most lethal forms of blood cancer: chronic and managing meetings like that one, so that pioneering myelogenous leukemia, or CML. research can go forward with maximum effectiveness. And Although the biochemistry involved in CML was extremely there was Brian Druker coming forward to deliver some complex, the basic disease process and its effects on human research findings that would permanently change the world of beings were frighteningly clear. Put simply, CML was a bone leukemia.” marrow stem cell disorder in which genetic flaws caused When the Oregon researcher stepped up to the microphone potentially fatal cancer in white blood cells. that day to announce that the “Phase 1 Trials” had been Until the late 1990s, when medical researchers began to overwhelmingly successful and that Imatinib showed immense make inroads in understanding the disease and designing drug promise as a therapy that could prevent CML from killing compounds that could fight it, CML had been a merciless people, the response was electrifying. killer. For most patients, in fact, a CML diagnosis usually Thrilled with the knowledge of what this meant for CML meant a rapid decline into disabling illness – followed by patients and what it could promise for many others, thousands months of agonizing pain in bones and tissues, and then death. of doctors and researchers in the great hall rose to their feet in But now there was a new sense of hope among the nation’s roaring waves of spontaneous applause. hematologists. And that feeling of hope was palpable, as Recalling that astonishing moment later, Druker himself more than 10,000 of them gathered that December to listen told reporters: “It was a standing-room-only crowd and there to presentations and review was an enormous amount of excitement. You could have research findings in a number heard a pin drop during my of areas related to treating blood presentation, and there was ... cancers and other blood diseases. thunderous applause at the end.

For months preceding the That was unusual because the New Orleans meeting, there had typical reaction to a Phase 1 been growing speculation about Trial is: ‘Well, that’s interesting, new CML discoveries being but it’s still pretty early – we’ll made by a group of hematology need more studies to confirm researchers in the United States. [the findings].’

One of those cutting-edge “But in this case, there was investigators, Brian J. Druker, none of that. Just this incredible M.D. – then a 44-year-old validation and genuine scientist at the Oregon Health enthusiasm.” & Science University – was even And the eventual results? rumored to have found a drug Before the discovery of compound that could interrupt Imatinib and other related drug the growth of CML cancer compounds, more than twoby preventing a key enzyme thirds of the people who are reaction in the reproduction of annually diagnosed with CML the malignant cells. worldwide died within a few This powerful new compound years. (known medically as a tyrosineToday, however, about 90 kinase inhibitor) was eventually percent of U.S. CML patients called Imatinib ... and its great survive at least five years ... and strength was its ability to shut Marty Liggett in her office in Washington, D.C. the survival rate is climbing down protein growth in cancer

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 33

rapidly in most other then I worked for areas of the globe as about a year as a dental well. hygienist in Kearney For many American – and I immediately researchers, the story knew that wasn’t the of how Druker and his job for me. It just wasn’t team revolutionized the sufficiently challenging It was the kind of academic trial-by-fire that sends fear into the treatment of CML (and intellectually... and after heart of every college undergrad. began saving thousands a while, I was afraid that Organic Chemistry 101! of lives each year as a I’d lose my enthusiasm For Marty Liggett, the agony took place in the early 1970s, as she result) now ranks as one for the profession if I struggled toward a degree in dental hygiene at UNL. of the most thrilling and couldn’t expand my “It wasn’t my long suit,” she recalled with a shudder. “The class uplifting chapters in horizons.” was at eight a.m. – and they took attendance. And sometimes I went the history of medical While preparing for to class with my overcoat on top of my pajamas, just so I wouldn’t research. what she had assumed get counted as late.

But the story has would be a career “And I got a D!” a special poignancy in dental hygiene, The lousy grade was bad enough. But facing up to the director of for Marty Liggett, the Liggett worked many the dental hygiene program – the no-nonsense professor Betty War63-year-old former hours at the School of ren, who also served as Marty’s adviser – was even more terrifying UNL dental hygiene Dentistry on the East than nearly failing the course. student who has been Campus. In the late “She called me in,” Liggett remembered, “and she said: What are serving as the executive 1960s, she said, gender you going to do about this D? You can’t have a D! director of Washingtonstrongly influenced “And all I could say was: I’ll have to take the course again ... and based ASH for the past the organization of the I’ll have to figure out a time I can take it and make sure I get to class 17 years. training program at the on time.”

“What’s especially dental school.

She did. And she went on to graduate with a B.S. in dental hyrewarding for me is that “There were very few, giene, back in 1972. the father of one of my if any, women dental “I found a way to make it fit into my schedule – and I showed up,” own colleagues here at students back then,” she she said with a groan of remembered suffering. “It wasn’t easy ... but ASH has CML,” said said, “and there weren’t I got it done!” the fiercely determined any men dental hygiene medical association students. As a [female] administrator. student, you had to wear “There’s very little your white uniform doubt that before the emergence of this new drug therapy, he whenever you were in clinic. And pre-clinical laboratories would have died of CML within a short time. But now he’s were even worse, as we were locked away in the dental hygiene thriving ... by taking a single pill each day. And for me, that’s area ... in order to keep us away from [the men in the dental just terribly meaningful. school].”

“I mean ... our job at ASH is to help move the science The program was administered by professor Elizabeth Warner of hematology forward, and to facilitate the sharing of new Waggoner, who ran a tight ship, according to Liggett. And yet research – just like the research that is now saving so many she was also a source of inspiration for the hungry kid from people from CML. And when you see the effects of that up York: “She’d actually worked in Washington [D.C., before close ... where a man is still alive and enjoying his family every coming to UNL to teach], where she’d worked developing single day ... oral health policy at the Department of Health and Human “Well, I just think it makes you want to tell the entire world Services. about hematology!”

“And I was impressed by the fact that she’d lived and worked in Washington, and she’d had the experience of shaping health Facing the Gender Barrier care on a national level. And that had great influence on me Born and raised in York – where she grew up as the daughter later, when I went to work myself for the same dentist she had of one of the city’s leading dentists, George Liggett – Marty worked with at DHHS. Liggett readily admits that she became a dental hygienist in After earning her degree in dental hygiene at UNL in 1972 order to please her hard-working dad. “I wound up in dental and then spending a year cleaning teeth in Kearney, Liggett hygiene because my dad thought I should have a career that I decided that she needed a bigger stage on which to perform. could do part-time [while raising children],” she will tell you “I had tried like crazy to make [cleaning teeth] as interesting with a smile of bittersweet nostalgia. as I could,” she recalled. “But it didn’t work, and so I went “I went ahead and studied it at UNL, and I did okay. And ahead and applied to graduate school in dental hygiene, so that

Facing Up to the Horrors of Organic Chem

34 WINTER 2014

I could teach it. I kept thinking: I gotta do something that’s “That was a very exciting meeting,” she said with the bright, challenging. energetic smile that is her trademark. “We’ve been working for “So I applied for a master’s at Columbia in New York City nine years now to help foster a group called the International ... and as part of that, I got a [paid] teaching internship at the Consortium on Acute Leukemias, and in Rome we were able to university. And my dad said: ‘Well, if they’re gonna pay for it, I work with some very committed partners from these developing think you should go there ... because if you think I’m going to countries. We’re trying to help them form their own research pay for a master’s degree for a woman, you’re crazy!’” networks and their own educational programs in acute leukemia (But Liggett also pointed out that her father grew much more – and we’re very encouraged, because in some of these countries understanding after that ... and that by the time she entered law now, the survival rate for the cancer we have focused on is school at Georgetown University, her next major career move, beginning to approach Western levels. he was “actually very supportive and very helpful in my taking “So a lot of patients are getting saved, and hematologists that next step.”) have started working with each other in the countries that are After earning the Georgetown law degree (and also being participating in this project. They’re helping each other, and admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C.), Liggett settled into providing free training, and there’s just a lot more dialogue her first long-term career post, as general counsel and assistant going on. And ASH is helping to facilitate that. executive director for the American Association of Dental “This is a very exciting time for hematology, and I just feel Schools. There she established a growing national reputation as very privileged to be a part of it all.” v a legal-eagle with a keen eye for understanding what makes a successful D.C. lobbying outfit tick.

Tapped in 1996 for her current post at ASH, Liggett today manages a staff of 70 educators, managers, public relations professionals, meeting organizers, medical journal editors (ASH’s in-house Blood hematology journal is the leader in its field) and administrators – while running a globally oriented non-profit that includes dedicated physicians and bloodresearchers from around the world in its ranks.

Headquartered in its own $64 million, ten-story highrise on Washington’s downtown “L” Street (the building recently won a coveted LEED “Platinum” designation for its environmentally friendly energy conservation The important work of hematologists has led to significant features), ASH in 2013 ranks easily as one of the advances in health care over the past century, through an premiere research-and-publication non-profits now at work in the world of medical science. increased understanding of how the blood system functions.

Lean and fit (she’s an enthusiastic golfer Research on the function of platelets in blood clotting has who’s also proud of having completed the D.C. Marine Corps Marathon in just over resulted in the development of drugs – including aspirin – five hours), Marty Liggett typically puts to prevent heart disease and stroke. in a 10-to-12-hour day in the ceaseless In the 1950s, hematologists performed the first successful quest to do everything she can to bone marrow transplant. Today, new techniques have “facilitate the exchange of ideas and new research findings throughout the world made stem cell transplant an effective therapy for a of hematology, whether it’s through our number of cancers and other diseases.

Blood journal or our annual meeting A diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia (the most each year, or the smaller meetings of common childhood cancer) was fatal for every child doctors and researchers that we frequently orchestrate.” diagnosed 50 years ago, but today more than 80 percent of Example: Only a day before sitting these patients are cured. down with Nebraska Magazine to talk In the 1960s, patients with hemophilia had to spend days about her life in the nation’s capital in the hospital to be treated for bleeding episodes, but (husband Dr. Jim Bader is a successful dental researcher, and son Nicholas is today they can be treated at home with portable, easily currently serving in the Peace Corps in stored clotting factor concentrates.

Nepal), Liggett had returned from a conference Recent advances in screening techniques have enabled in Rome that was designed to help developing doctors to identify children with sickle cell disease who countries better implement the latest research findings in hematology. are at risk for stroke in order to treat them with blood

5

Things you may not know about Hematology

1

2

3

4

5

transfusions to prevent this deadly complication of the disease.

Source: American Society of Hematology NEBRASKA MAGAZINE

35

NEWS

The new YAA class posed with Chancellor Harvey Perlman at their October gathering.

New Young Alumni Academy Class Named The Nebraska Alumni Association has selected 35 alumni to participate in its second annual Young Alumni Academy.

Introduced in 2012, the Young Alumni Academy is designed to connect recent graduates with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at a unique time in the university’s history. Over the course of eight monthly events, participants will hear from university leaders about UNL’s progress in the Big Ten Conference, tour premier campus facilities, network with successful young alumni and learn about ways to become involved with UNL and the alumni association.

Young alumni who apply are

CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/young-alumni-academy

36 WINTER 2014

evaluated based on the quality of their application, professional achievements, community activities and involvement with UNL and the NAA. The Young Alumni Academy 201314 class includes (with graduation year and current city of residence): Charise Alexander Adams (Omaha, 2010); Sarah Barg (Lincoln, 2009/2013); Megan Burda (Geneva, 2006); Jenna Busboom (Pickrell, 2011/2012); Ryan Clark (Lincoln, 2012); Evan Fullmer (Omaha, 2010); Amanda Gilmore (Lincoln, 2009); Hannah Hassler (Lincoln, 2012); Brooke Herbig (Omaha, 2012); Kelsey Hohlen (Lincoln, 2010); Ross Jensen (Lincoln, 2013); Yanghui Ji (Lincoln, 2013); Sammi Kaiser (Omaha, 2010/2012); Steven Kaiser (Omaha,

2010); Andrew LaGrone (Omaha, 2012); Adam Little (Lincoln, 2012); Boone McAfee (Leigh, 2013); Megan McKillip (Omaha, 2011); Kaitlin Mazour (Omaha, 2013); Erin Moran (Omaha, 2006); Ryan Mueksch (Lincoln, 2013); Sophie Norman (Lincoln, 2006); Michaela O’Neill (Lincoln, 2010); Keith Peterson (Lincoln, 2012); Megan Preheim (Lincoln, 2010); Crystal Pribyl (Le Mars, Iowa, 2011); Ryan Pryor (Lincoln, 2012); Max Rodenburg (Lincoln, 2013); Jennifer Schmidt (Lincoln, 2012); Jordan Spatz (Bennet, 2004); Eric Sturm (Lincoln, 2007); Robert Tualaulelei (Lincoln, 2010); Christine Wanless (Sioux Falls, S.D., 2008); Lane White (Lincoln, 2008/2010); Tony Wiedenski (Chicago, 2006). v

Come Home to Nebraska for a Quality Career The Nebraska Alumni Association is pleased to announce the launch of the website nebraskaruralsourcing. org. In partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney Center for Rural Research and Development and Xpanxion LLC, the project is designed to bring quality career opportunities to rural Nebraska for the betterment of

on a successful “cross-sourcing” model currently used by the software company Xpanxion.

Current opportunities posted on the site include positions in the technology industry as well as executive “C-level” positions. These career fields will be narrowly targeted during the project’s pilot phase, and will later be expanded

the state and the alumni and friends who live there. Existing high-level positions will be highlighted for those who have left the state and wish to return.

The concept of rural sourcing involves existing and start-up companies strategically locating operations in rural areas to reduce labor costs and increase employee reliability. This project expands

as the project grows.

During this pilot phase, alumni who meet certain demographic criteria will receive invitation e-mails, encouraging them to explore the site and register to receive regular project updates. One measure of the project’s success will be the number of alumni who opt-in to this feature. However all alumni and friends are invited to explore the site, and spread the word to others who

may be interested.

The ultimate measuring stick will be the creation and fulfillment of jobs for rural Nebraskans, and those who are able to return to their roots.

“Technology is dramatically changing how business and commerce operate in today’s world, resulting in new

opportunities for job growth

in rural environments,” said

NU Vice President and IANR

Harlan Vice Chancellor Ronnie Green. “This University of Nebraska Rural Futures Institute funded project, now underway between UNK, Xpanxion and the Nebraska Alumni Association, is a unique and novel approach that offers huge CONNECTION BOX potential for nebraskaruralsourcing.org the future.”

– Abby Wexler v

NEWS

Among the 115 alumnae and students in attendance at the fall meeting of the NAA’s Cather Circle in September were (left to right) Rachel Sheehy, Liz Abel, Carla Tortora Hartsell, Pam Leeper and Barbara Arnold.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 37

This 1890s-vintage football and the football uniform worn by Edmund F. Turner, a right guard for the Nebraska Bugeaters football team in 1896-98, were donated to the Nebraska Alumni Association by Jim Turner, class of 1957 and his family.

NEWS

1896 Bugeater Football Uniform on Display at Wick Thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of 1957 UNL grad Jim Turner and his family, the Nebraska Alumni Association is now in possession of an 1896 Nebraska Bugeaters football uniform – complete with dirt from the athletic field that ran east to west on the site where Memorial Stadium has stood since 1923.

The uniform belonged to Turner’s great uncle, Edmund Frederick Turner, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound right guard for the 1896, 1897 and 1898 Nebraska teams. In addition to football, Edmund

was active on campus in the cadet corps and the Palladian and Delian literary societies. Upon graduation from NU in 1899 with a degree in civil engineering, he began work for a railroad. He was “superintending some bridge work” at Cedar Falls, Iowa, when he was killed in a construction accident at the age of 26 on Nov. 3, 1901.

When the last of Edmund’s brothers (he had five) moved to a nursing home in Wilbur in the 1970s, the family found his uniform and a football in the upstairs of the family farmhouse. v

Huskers for Higher Education Volunteers Needed You can make a difference! If you believe a stronger university is important to the future of Nebraska, we encourage you to volunteer for Huskers for Higher Education (HHE). In as little as a few minutes during each legislative session, our volunteers communicate their support of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s priorities to Nebraska legislators and the governor. HHE volunteers are pivotal in addressing issues that are important to the forward movement of the university.

The working philosophy of HHE is simple: • We e-mail you clear, concise,

results-oriented information

during the legislative session

on how policy and legislation

will impact the university and

its students.

• You decide if you support an

issue or bill. If you agree, we

ask you to call, e-mail, or write your state senator and/

or the governor to register

your support … and encour age your family and friends to

do the same.

CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/huskers-for-higher-education vschroeder@huskeralum.org

Volunteering for HHE is easy.

Sign up today by sending your name and e-mail address to vschroeder@huskeralum.org, or sign up online at huskeralum.org/ huskers-for-higher-education. You’ll hear from us right away as the 60-day legislative session begins in January 2014. Your influence can have a lasting impact on your university. v These 38 WINTER 2014NAA travelers enjoyed a “Taste of Europe” aboard the Oceania Cruises Nautica,

sailing from London to stops in France, Spain and Portugal, Aug. 26-Sept. 26, 2013.

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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 39

NEWS

Alumni Masters Week Recognizes Top Grads

Nine UNL alumni were honored during Alumni Masters Week in November. They spent three days interacting with students and faculty, sharing how their UNL education paved the way for successful careers.

In addition to speaking to classes in their colleges, the alumni masters took part in a civic engagement panel, met with Scarlet Guard and Nebraska Legends students for lunch, and enjoyed a medallion dinner tribute.

The 2013 Alumni Masters: Maj. Gen. Daryl L. Bohac, Adjutant General of the Nebraska Military Department, earned three degrees in psychology from UNL in 1987, 1991 and 1994. He began his military career in 1978 as an enlisted member of the U.S. Marine Corps and was commissioned in 1988 at the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science. Bohac has served the Nebraska National Guard in command of the 155th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and as deputy chief of staff for operations; director of staff; and vice-director of the joint staff, Joint Force Headquarters. From December 2008 until May 2009, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Bohac and

Students enjoyed the civic engagement panel at the Nebraska Champions Club on the opening night of Alumni Masters Week.

40 WINTER 2014

his wife, Kristie, reside in Waverly and have two children.

Charles Dalluge is executive vice president of Leo A Daly Co. Headquartered in Omaha, he works closely with Leo A. Daly III to direct the Leo A Daly and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) components of the company, contributing to strategy and policy that guide the firm’s long-term, global growth. Since joining Leo A Daly in 1989, he has assumed a variety of roles including designer, senior project manager, corporate director of development, assistant to the chairman, managing principal and president of Leo A Daly International.

Dalluge has worked in the Hong Kong, Singapore, Honolulu, Phoenix, Omaha and Washington, D.C., offices. He has promoted the Leo A Daly concept of green design and has a LEED® Accreditation from the US Green Building Council. Dalluge earned a bachelor of architecture degree from UNL in 1982.

Sharon McIlnay is a member of Matias Energy LLC, an energy industry focused consulting and project development company formed in 2007 by McIlnay and her business partner, Tom Miller.

Matias Energy provides international and domestic energy infrastructure project consulting and management services, including support for project development, ownership and operation, acquisition and divestiture.

Prior to 2007, McIlnay served as vice president and general counsel of CMS Enterprises Company, the non-utility subsidiary of CMS Energy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1976, an MBA in 1980 and a J.D., cum laude, in 1989 from UNL. She and her husband, Gifford Rogers, Jr., live in Franklin, Mich.

Karen Jennings is a real estate agent with CBS Home Real Estate. She has received countless awards from CBS Home including Top Sales Agent in 2008, Top Producer in 2009-2012 and Best of Omaha Winners Circle 2013. Prior to her career in real estate, Jennings worked as a physical therapist for Methodist Hospital in Omaha. As a student-athlete at UNL, she played basketball and was a threetime first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for women’s basketball. Jennings received her bachelor of science from UNL in 1993 and her master of science in physical therapy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1998. She and her husband, Ronald Peoples, have one daughter.

Joe Stone visited with Scarlet Guard and Nebraska Legends students during lunch at the Wick Alumni Center.

Dean Rasmussen is president and CEO of Grandmother’s and Don & Millie’s restaurants and Prairie Life Fitness. Following graduation from UNL in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in music, Rasmussen began working full time for Kings Food Host USA, first as a restaurant manager in Lincoln and then as a state manager, opening and supervising 12 restaurants in Indiana. Today he and his partners own and operate nine restaurants in the Midwest, and Rasmussen owns nine Prairie Life Fitness Centers in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Tennessee. He is active in the Omaha, the Nebraska and the National restaurant associations and has served on the boards of the Omaha

AgHorizons and Grain and Oilseeds business units before joining the Cargill World Trading Unit in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2005, he joined his current unit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1984 in agricultural economics from UNL. Stone serves on the board of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at UNL and is a member of the Campaign for Nebraska Advisory Board. He and his wife, Chris, live in Chanhassen, Minn., and have two sons.

Cecil L. Walker retired in 2001 as the chairman and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting. A Nebraska native who graduated from the UNL College of Business Administration in 1959, Walker began his media career in Denver and held financial and officer positions for years with a company purchased in 1979 by Gannett Co. Inc. In 1984, he was promoted to president and general manager of WXIA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta.

In 1985, Walker was promoted to president of Gannett Television and in 1987 to president and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting. Walker and his wife, Jeanette “Jan” Turner Walker, ’59, who have three children and 11 grandchildren, have established family endowments to make annual awards of Walker Family Scholarships at several universities, including Nebraska. v

NEWS

The alumni masters were feted at a Medallion Dinner in the Van Brunt Visitors Center. They are: back row, left to right – Daryl Bohac, Charles Dalluge, Cecil Walker, Luke Smith; front row, left to right – Tim Roesler, Sharon McIlnay, Karen Jennings, Dean Rasmussen. Not pictured: Joe Stone.

Chamber of Commerce, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and more.

Rasmussen and his wife, Jessie, live in Omaha and have two daughters and four grandchildren.

Tim Roesler is chief business development officer and senior vice president for American Public Media, where he supervises business development, business planning, sponsorship sales (underwriting) e-commerce, and ticketed events for APM and its subsidiaries Minnesota Public Radio, Southern California Public Radio and Classical South Florida. He also is president of MPR’s Fitzgerald Theater Company. Before joining APM in 2001, he was director of sales for Internet Broadcasting, which created and operated digital assets for commercial TV companies like Hearst-Argyle, Post-Newsweek and NBC-TV. Roesler earned a degree in broadcast journalism from UNL in 1977. He and his wife, Marci, live in Deephaven, Minn., and have two daughters.

Luke Smith is a consultant based in Scottsdale, Ariz., who specializes in start-ups and launches, international business and turnarounds. He currently provides consulting services for a California-based fabless semiconductor start-up and is a director of ITAC (aerospace design services), a fellow

of NUTech Ventures at UNL and an adviser for Newport Media Inc. Previous positions include chief operating officer of Newport Media; president and CEO of Potentia Semiconductor Inc.; chief operating officer and site manager for Philsar/Conexant; vice president of operations for Synergy Semiconductor; and vice president and manufacturing general manager of Analog Devices Inc. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from UNL in 1970 and 1971, respectively.

Joe Stone is the business unit leader for the Cargill Feed and Nutrition business globally, with responsibilities for serving customers and more than 10,000 employees across 26 countries. He also serves as a member of the Cargill Risk Committee. Stone joined Cargill in 1985, spending the majority of his career with Cargill

Alumni Master Cecil Walker shared an amusing anecdote with a class at the College of Business Administration.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 41

NEWS

Scarlet Guard Knights Introduced “Serving knight and day to enhance the student experience” is the mission of the inaugural, 29-member class of Scarlet Guard Knights. The Knights are an extension of Scarlet Guard, the Nebraska Alumni Association’s student group and the largest student organization at UNL. Charged with coordinating and volunteering at numerous campus events, promoting university traditions and encouraging school spirit, the Knights work closely with the Nebraska Alumni Association to help students connect with UNL alumni.

Selection is based upon leadership and Scarlet Guard involvement, making the Knights a diverse group representing all undergraduate class ranks (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior), eight states and 24 academic majors.

The 2013-14 Knights, listed with hometown and academic major, are:

• Cecilia Abbey - Omaha, English • Timothy Blaser - Bloomington, Ill.; actuarial science • Jazmin Castillo - South Sioux City, fisheries and wildlife • Abigail Cerveny - Aurora, nutrition, exercise and health science • Tessa Culbertson - Aurora, Ill.; audiology/speech pathology • Katelyn Dickes - Fordyce, undecided • Travis Eubanks - Beatrice, business administration • Hannah Fahrlander - Omaha, finance • Erin Fick - Luverne, Minn.; math and Spanish • Kasey Gaughen - Cedar Bluffs, business administration • Lucy Koch - St. Louis, forensic science • Alexander Lahargoue - Olathe, Kan.; supply-chain management • John-Emmett Mahon - Lincoln, biological sciences • Erica Marshall - Luverne, Minn.; food science • Kayla Morgan - Blair, family science • Mitch Musel - Aberdeen, S.D.; architecture • Bryson Nemeck - Lincoln, biological sciences • Michaela Niemeyer - Oregon, Wis.; pre-health • Claire Oduwo - Omaha, pre-health • Devyn Prodoehl - Brookings, S.D.; business management and pre-dental • Alex Pudenz - Lincoln, biology • Daniel Rousseau – Hastings, accounting • Emily Schoening – Lincoln, family science • Sean Selko – Hastings, biochemistry • Alisha Sheets – Lincoln, criminal justice • Rachel Sherman – Omaha, psychology/pre-occupational therapy • Taylor Shoen – Truman, Minn.; actuarial science • Chyann Smith – Storm Lake, Iowa; pre-occupational therapy • Stephanie Sprinkel – Omaha, dietetics/pre-physician assistant v

Once each month, Scarlet Guard members wearing SG gear are spotted on campus by our “golf cart” crew and get to collect cool prizes.

A few days before each Husker home Big Ten football game, Scarlet Guard members lined up for the chance to collect one of 150 free BEAT T-shirts.

These lucky students snagged BEAT Northwestern T-shirts at 42 WINTER 2014Cook Pavilion Oct. 30 and then struck a Nebraska pose.

Scarlet Guard Gives a Hand to #UNL24 #UNL24 is a one-day social media surge aimed at curating stories from across campus to collectively tell the story of what it’s truly like to be a part of UNL. Coordinated by University Communications, the theme in the project’s second year was “Seize the Day.” Scarlet Guard did its part this year with a “hands-on” project. As the official tradition keepers on campus, members guarded the original university bell around the clock on Sept. 24, encouraging their 1,337 members to draw the outline of their hands on the Holling Garden wall surrounding the bell at the Wick Alumni Center.

“It was our way of ‘giving a hand’ to make UNL the best campus in the Big Ten Conference and the country,” said SG board member Alex Cerveny. v

NEWS

NEBRASKA BOOKSTORE 1300 Q St. neebo.com/unl

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 43

Homecoming 2013 NEWS

Homecoming jester candidates gathered for a group shot before the title competition began.

Scarlet Guard members took the 2013 homecoming theme, “Around the World,” to heart as they manned a parade float boasting an inflatable globe, and carried placards illustrating their adventures in various locations across the world.

CNN Headline News broadcast “Morning Express with Robin Meade” live from 5-9 a.m. at the Union Plaza Oct. 4, to the delight of Scarlet Guard members in line to claim their BEAT Illinois T-shirts.

A crowd of 2,000+ attended the post-parade homecoming pep rally on the Student Union Plaza.

UNL seniors Anders Olson of Tekamah and Jordyn Lechtenberg of Ainsworth were crowned homecoming king and queen at halftime of the Nebraska-Illinois football game Oct. 5. Each received an official class ring from the alumni association.

44 WINTER 2014

Football Friday at the Railyard drew its own homecoming crowd as alumni attending the Volunteer Leadership Conference donned hats, courtesy of balloon artist Larry Pickrel. In stylish attire, left to right, are: Kelly Donnelly, New York City Huskers; Emily Fay, Nashville Huskers; Ashley LeClaire, Minnesotans for Nebraska; and Kim Reed, Central Illinois Huskers.

contestants 15 seconds to woo the

festivities.

Brungardt has been twirling since the age of four, a talent that came in handy after her lastminute decision to compete.

Although she was surprised to win (and even thought a close friend would take the title), Brungardt represents UNL’s biggest fan in many ways.

She grew up with a father who was a football referee, and as an infant she was always dressed in a red diaper.

Since attending UNL she has never missed a home game, and though she isn’t someone who likes to be the center of attention, she “screams her butt off” from the sidelines every game. Brungardt only applied to UNL and is a die-hard Husker fan, “the biggest advocate for UNL.” In addition to being the social chair of Mortar Board, she is involved with her sorority, Alpha Phi; is a UCARE recipient; volunteers for Voices of Hope and has three minors in addition to her major in psychology.

“This was so much fun and (it was) exhilarating,” said Brungardt. “I’ve never felt so affirmed by a group of people.”

While Alpha Phi and fellow Mortar Board members showed strong support, Green was also proud of Brungardt.

“She was grateful and humbled by the entire experience,” Green said.

“She’s genuinely super, super sweet and a very talented young woman” who loved looking out during the jester competition to see more than 2,000 students supporting one another in the name of school spirit. v – Becca Hurst, grad student in the integrated media communications program

NEWS

Kate Brungardt posed with the homecoming jester judges: (left to right) assistant men’s basketball coach Kenya Hunter, Brungardt, former Husker volleyball player Amanda Gates Sjuts, director of admissions Amber Williams and Jack Hoffman.

Meet UNL’s Biggest Fan Kate Brungardt wasn’t expecting to win the title of homecoming jester, but the senior psychology major turned out to be UNL’s biggest fan.

The Omaha native volunteered to represent her organization, Mortar Board, the night before the competition when another member couldn’t make it as planned. After coming up with a twirling routine with hours to spare and hitting the books to study Husker history, Brungardt was surprised when she won the title Oct. 4.

Scarlet Guard came up with the idea to hold a competition for “UNL’s biggest fan” four years ago. SG adviser Jenny Green looked at other universities and couldn’t find any that held a competition to find the biggest fan among the student body.

The homecoming jester, a title first bestowed in 2010, represents what homecoming is about: school spirit, sportsmanship and NU pride. Student organizations that compete in different events during homecoming week may pick one individual from their group to vie for the title of homecoming jester.

There are three rounds in the competition. The first round gives

judges and the crowd and then a winner is selected from each of three categories (Residence Halls, Recognized Student Organizations and Greek Triads). Those three go on to compete in the second round, which tests trivia knowledge about the university. The two contestants answering the most questions correctly proceed to round three where they have 30 seconds to perform and show why they should be the next homecoming jester.

A panel of judges determines the winner. Each year’s competition features a celebrity judge, and this year’s guest was Jack Hoffman (who also served as grand marshal of the homecoming parade). Hoffman, an 8-year-old pediatric brain cancer survivor, made national headlines in April 2013 when he ran for a touchdown during the Nebraska spring football game.

After performing her twirling act and winning the jester competition, Brungardt had the opportunity to have her picture taken with Hoffman and then performed on the field during Saturday’s pre-game football

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 45

Athletic Travel 2013 NEWS

NAA travelers had plenty to cheer about as Nebraska defeated Michigan, 17-13 in Ann Arbor, Nov. 9.

The Hoosiers For Huskers hosted a pre-game tailgate in Lafayette, Ind., before Nebraska’s game with Purdue.

The Pour House in Minneapolis was the site of Football Friday for Nebraska travelers on Oct. 25.

The NAA tour group that flew to South Carolina to watch the Husker men’s basketball team compete in the Charleston Classic also joined local alumni at the Charleston Beer Works to watch the NU / Penn State football game and hear from the NU basketball coaching staff.

46 WINTER 2014

There is no place like Nebraska (Crossing Outlets).

Nebraska Crossing Outlets is proud to be The Official Outlet Center of Husker Nation.

For special promotions, discounts and upcoming event information join the NEX Club at nexoutlets.com.

nexoutlets.com NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 47

ALUMNI

CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES

Leaders of 12 of the chapters sponsoring Legends Scholarships posed with Chancellor Harvey Perlman and NAA Executive Director Diane Mendenhall during the CORNYs.

CORNYs Salute Chapters and Groups The NAA honored 10 alumni chapters and affiliate groups at the second annual Chapters and Organizations Recognition Night Oct. 3, in conjunction with the 2013 Volunteer Leadership Conference.

CORNY awards were presented to chapters and groups that have demonstrated extraordinary service to the NAA and UNL, with “large” (alumni population of 1,501 or more in their region) and “small” (alumni population of 1,500 or less in their region) winners in each category.

The Award of Excellence winners were: • Leadership: Hoosiers for Huskers, Washington Cornhuskers • Membership: Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska, Oregonians for Nebraska • Programming: Hoosiers for Huskers, Chicagoans for Nebraska • Communications: South Florida Huskers, North Texas Nebraskans • Scholarship: Nashville Huskers, Coloradans for Nebraska • Newcomer of the Year: UNL Honors Program Alumni • Chapter or Group of the Year: Washington Cornhuskers

48 WINTER 2014

Eighteen NAA chapters were also recognized for their support of Nebraska Legends Scholarships at the CORNYs. The Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program supports the recruitment and retention of top students to UNL. Chapters recognized included:

• Arizonans for Nebraska • Chicagoans for Nebraska • Coloradans for Nebraska • Georgians for Nebraska

• Huskers N Arizona

• Idaho Huskers

• Iowans for Nebraska

• Kansas Cornhusker Club

• Mad City Huskers

• Nashville Huskers

• North Texas Nebraskans

• Northern Nevadans for Nebraska

• NYC Huskers

• Oregonians for Nebraska

• Siouxland Huskers

• South Carolina Huskers

• Tampa Bay Huskers

• Washington Cornhuskers

Since the banquet more chapters have launched legends funds. The NAA would also like to recognize six chapters who recently established Nebraska Legends Scholarship funds: Bay Area Huskers, Las Vegas Nebraskans, Minnesotans for Nebraska, New Mexicans for Nebraska, North Carolina Huskers and San Diego Huskers. v

In attendance at the AFL Hall of Fame induction, left to right, were: alumni staff members Jenny Green and Derek Engelbart, Daren and Jessica Erstad, and Huskers N Arizona chapter members Deborah and Charlie McBride (former NU defensive coordinator).

Arizonans Applaud Erstad’s Induction Nebraska Baseball Coach Darin Erstad became the 34th member of the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame Nov. 13 at Scottsdale Stadium in front of a crowd that included a large contingent from the local Nebraska Alumni Association chapter.

A former Husker baseball and football player and Gold Glove Major Leaguer, Erstad was introduced by AFL Director Steve Cobb, who said: “We’ve had over 4,500 players in the Arizona Fall League, and he accomplished things none of the others have.”

Erstad suited up for the Tempe Rafters in 1995, less than a year after punting in Lincoln and with only 131 professional at-bats on his resume. Seven months later, he was in Anaheim, playing center field for the Angels. v

Women’s Gymnastics Alumni Weekend Set for January Alumni of the Husker women’s gymnastics program are invited to attend the 2014 Women’s Gymnastics Alumni Weekend, Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb 1., 2014.

A dinner is planned for Friday night, followed by facility tours and a gymnastics meet on Saturday with a hospitality suite for alumni guests.

Register now! v

CONNECTION BOX Sixty NAA chapter and affiliate leaders returned to Lincoln for homecoming and the 2013 Volunteer Leadership Conference Oct. 3-5.

huskeralum.org/womens-gymnastics-registration

1968-70 Civil Engineering, ROTC Alumni to Host Spring Reunions Civil Engineering graduates from the classes of 1968, 1969 and 1970 are planning a reunion April 11-12.

Festivities may include a golf outing, department and facility tours, athletic department tours and a banquet on Friday; and a pre-game tailgate party and group seating at the Red/White Spring Game on Saturday.

Those interested in more information should contact Mike Furrow, mfur@ huges.net.

Also planning an April reunion is the ROTC and Military Alumni Affiliate.

The group will host their annual spring banquet Thursday, April 17, to honor the graduating and soon-to-becommissioned cadets and midshipmen.

The affiliate will also present scholarships to three underclassmen.

Registration is required and will open in February at huskeralum.org/rotc. On the afternoon of April 17, alumni are also invited to attend the Joint Service Chancellor’s Review. v

Centennial College Plans Fall Reunion Alumni of the Centennial College program: Mark your calendars for Oct. 10 -11, 2014 for a reunion. Note: By request, this is a non-football weekend.

The Centennial Alumni Affiliate will kick things off Friday with an hors d’oeuvres reception. Saturday’s program includes a mini-symposium with presentations by Centennial alums. The reunion closes with a dinner Saturday night. v

CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/centennial-college-reunion

Yell Squad Alumni Find Husker Spirit and a Hail Mary

Anna “Hink” Aasen Sahs, ’47, accompanied by her sister, Betty Aasen Kjelson, ’49, happily displayed her 1940s-era yell squad sweater.

1950s Yell Squad members.

1960s Yell Squad members.

1970s Yell Squad members.

Around 170 Husker yell squad alumni from the 1940s through the 2000s marked the group’s 110th anniversary with a weekend of Big Red spirit, Nov. 1-2. One member of a mid1940s squad even brought her original cheering sweater to the event.

The reunion included campus tours and a yell squad social, dinner and dance at the Wick Alumni Center on Friday. Saturday festivities kicked off with a pre-game party at Embassy Suites, followed by the Nebraska/ Northwestern football game, where a Hail Mary pass gave the Huskers a last-second win.

Members of the reunion committee included: Jeff Castle, ’83, Marietta, Ga.; Jane Porter McLeay, ’83, Omaha; Debra Kleve White, ’80, Austin, Texas; and Kari “Cookie” Koziol McConkey, ’85, Gretna. Castle is president of the Yell Squad Alumni Affiliate Group. v

1980s Yell Squad members.

1990s Yell Squad members.

2000s Yell Squad members.

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 49

ALUMNI

CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES Ohioans of all Ages Enjoy Husker Watch Party The Miami Valley Huskers of Southwest Ohio gathered to watch the Husker football team defeat Wyoming 37-34 in September. Area alumni came out in force with 92 fans arriving at Champps Americana in Dayton, Ohio. Of that total, 10 were newcomers and 16 were children.

Numerous events and games were staged for the younger Huskers and two avid fans did handstand pushups for each point scored! The chapter also introduced their MVH Watch Site Store where fans can purchase the necessary Nebraska gear. v

Alumni toured the Daily Nebraskan offices in the basement of the Student Union.

DN Brings Alumni Up to Date Former Daily Nebraskan staff members – 120 in all – gathered for a weekend of reminiscing about the DN’s past and learning what’s new, Oct. 11-12.

The affiliate reunion kicked off on Friday with campus tours, a reception at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications and informal gatherings by decade, hosted by Michelle Carr Hassler (1970s), Jane Hirt (1980s) and Sarah Baker Hansen (1990s and 2000s).

First up on Saturday was a DN Open House featuring tales from the current staff, followed by a Nebraska vs. Purdue football watch party. Ad staff alumni and students also met at the home of the J School’s own student ad agency – Jacht Club – in the Haymarket District. The event concluded with a reunion banquet at the Nebraska Champions Club.

Members of the reunion committee were: Dan Shattil, DN 1982-present; Jill Zeman Bleed, DN 1999-2003; and Jane Hirt, DN 1986-89. v

Huskers fans come in all ages and sizes in southwest Ohio.

The Central Ohioans for Nebraska enjoyed a summer picnic Aug. 18 at the home of Tom and Gwen Weihe.

50 WINTER 2014

Mid-1970s DN cartoonist Ron Wheeler, whose Ralph Crabtree comic character was elected 1975 homecoming queen, reminisced with friends.

1950s era editors Ruth Raymond Thone (red blouse) and Bruce Brugmann (blue shirt) traded stories with younger DN alumni.

The Oregonians for Nebraska found their Big Red spirit at a picnic Aug. 17.

CLASSNOTES

News/Weddings/Births/Deaths

1940

1952

marked her 95th birthday Sept. 14, 2013.

Scottsbluff marked their 60th wedding anniversary Oct. 10, 2013.

n Carol Taylor of Lincoln

1941

Paul and Eileen Kern of Lincoln celebrated 70 years of marriage Aug. 23, 2013.

1943

Irene Alexander of Lincoln turned 92 on Oct. 17, 2013.

■ Robert Taylor of Newnan, Ga. marked his 92nd birthday Sept. 19, 2013.

1946

Mildred Schlaphoff Wittmuss of Lincoln turned 90 on Nov. 13, 2013.

1947

n Phyllis Cummins of Lincoln celebrated her 90th birthday Sept. 14, 2013.

1949

n Howard and Shirley Duncan of

n Wayne A. Schild, Austin,

Texas, recently self-published a limited edition of his first book, “Personal Memoirs of a Retired Geologist,” and is working on a second, “Wayne’s World Travelogue and Memoirs.” Schild is a member of the Traveler’s Century Club, having been to 205 countries and island groups, and the Circumnavigator’s Club that requires traveling around the world.

1954

Buford and Jane Grosscup of Lincoln celebrated 70 years of marriage Nov. 5, 2013.

Ross and Joyce Schneider Hecht of Lincoln celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 23, 2013.

professor emeritus at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), where she was a member of the faculty in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences for 22 years. In August 2013, she was appointed editor of The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management, a national journal published by the School Nutrition Association.

1958

Charles and Donna O’Grady of Lincoln marked their 50th wedding anniversary Oct. 19, 2013. n Raymond and Roberta Schrom Schmidt, are enjoying their new home in historic Franklin, Tenn., after moving from Bethesda, Md. Schmidt, a retired captain in the United States Navy Reserve, is recuperating from his sixth hip operation and continues to do pro bono research and writing.

1960

n Bob “Orin” and Helen Hayes

1956

of Walton celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Aug. 22, 2013.

Doug and Phyllis Heimann Jensen of Lincoln marked their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 10, 2013.

’83, of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Oct. 12, 2013.

Lois Scheve of Lincoln turned 90 on Oct. 22, 2013.

n Robert and n Patricia Reed,

Larry and n Carol Vermaas Fuerst of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 18, 2013.

1950

Bob and Doris Pollock of Lincoln marked their 65th wedding anniversary July 21, 2013. n Charles and n Ruth Thone, ’53, of Lincoln celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 16, 2013.

1951

George Alexander of Lincoln celebrated his 92nd birthday on Oct. 22, 2013. n William C. Nuckolls of Lin-

coln, formerly of Fairbury, was inducted into the Nebraska Journalism Hall of Fame in October 2013. He is a retired owner-publisher of The Fairbury Journal-News.

’55, were named Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, Calif., Volunteers of the Year for their involvement in the city of Los Altos. The two have been active volunteers in the Los Altos History Museum, Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, Los Altos Stage Company, The Community Foundation and City Hall. n James Thorson, Albuquerque,

N.M., and his wife Connie C. Thorson, both retired professors from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, spent an exciting month in the Republic of Georgia in spring 2013. Thorson gave lectures at three universities in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and another at the University of Batumi on the Black Sea coast.

1957

Carolyn Bednar of Denton, Texas was recently named

n Ron and n Valery Wachter,

1961

n James L. Linderholm retired

from Alfred Benesch & Co. in October 2013 after 48 years in the consulting engineering business in Lincoln. He served as president, chairman and CEO of HWS Consulting Group, a predecessor company, for 25 years.

1962

n Jeanne Garner Salerno of

Omaha is president of the board of directors for the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney.

n Donald and n Catherine Mas-

ters Witt of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 18, 2013.

■

■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member

■

1963

Stephen D. Andersen, an adviser with Midlands Financial of Lincoln, has qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table for the eighth time. n Dave and Sandy Langemeier

of Lincoln celebrated 50 years of marriage Sept. 1, 2013.

n Tom Osborne has been named

to the 13-person College Football Playoff Selection Committee that will have the final word next year on the four teams that will launch a new era of college football. Osborne also was honored in November when the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics renamed their football championship trophy the Dr. Tom Osborne National Championship Trophy.

David and Jo Anne Shaw of Lincoln marked 50 years of marriage Aug. 24, 2013.

n Don and n Janet Peterson Wadell, ’62, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Nov. 28, 2013.

1964

n Julian and n Nellie Stewart, ’64, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Nov. 27, 2013. They live in San Diego.

Georgianne Mastera has been named chair of the board of trustees for Bryan College of Health Sciences in Lincoln.

1966

Bill and Judy Sheldon Shonerd of Lincoln marked their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2013.

Dale and Kay Cook Softley of Lincoln celebrated 50 years of marriage on Dec. 27, 2013.

1967

Milan Wall, co-director for Heartland Center in Lincoln. is the recipient of the 2013 Community Development Achievement Award, which is presented by the International Community Development Society.

Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 51

CLASSNOTES n James Walters, an attorney

and senior partner in the Atlanta law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP, has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014.

1968

n Bill Bonitz of Bellevue retired

after 20 years as a senior information technology specialist with IBM.

1969

Keith Fickenscher received the 2013 Nursing Home Administrator of the Year Award from the Nebraska Nursing Facility Association. Fickenscher is director of operations at the Lancaster Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln.

■

Fred and Sharon Richardson of Lincoln marked 50 years of marriage Oct. 20, 2013.

1970

n Kenneth Kalkwarf retired from

the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on Sept. 1, 2013 following 26 years of service (24 years as dean of the Dental School, and the last two years as interim president of the university).

David and Margaret Novacek of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Oct. 12, 2013.

Thomas L. Williams, an Omaha pathologist, was presented the College of American Pathologists Excellence in Teaching Award at a special ceremony in October 2013.

1971

Gordon Baird of the Department of Geosciences at SUNY Fredonia (New York) has been selected to receive the Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologist’s Outstanding Educator Award.

Lynn and Luise Berner, ’65, of Lincoln celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Nov. 16, 2013.

52 WINTER 2014

n Bob Grundman, a senior

benefit strategies adviser with Midlands Financial Benefits in Lincoln, has become an affiliate with the company.

n W. Peter Guthmann was

honored for his 40 years of membership in the American Dental Association and the Vermont State Dental Society. It is also the 75th anniversary of the father/son Guthmann Family Dentistry, as Guthmann’s father, Dr. William P. Guthmann, also a graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry, class of 1938, founded the dental practice on Aug. 12, 1938.

1972

Marvin Moser of Hickman celebrated birthday number 94 on Oct. 17, 2013.

1974

Larry C. Hartman has been named chief operating officer of New Cassel Retirement Center, a faith-based residential facility in Omaha.

1975

n Nancy Biggs has retired after

38 years with Lincoln Public Schools, beginning as a special education teacher and the last 19 as associate superintendent for human resources. Biggs is now chair of the education department and a professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.

n Charles F. Long, Sycamore,

Ill., turned 100 on Oct. 12, 2013.

Timothy Loudon, a partner in the Omaha office of national law firm Jackson Lewis LLC, has been named the 2014 “Lawyer of the Year” for labor law-management in the Omaha metropolitan area by U.S. News – Best Lawyers.

1977

Jake Cabell, Nashville, Tenn., represented Chancellor Harvey Perlman and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at the inauguration of Glenda Baskin Glover, who became the eighth

president of Tennessee State University.

1980

Mary Greenwald, Farmington, N.M., retired from Wells Fargo in July 2012.

ed to a three-year term on the Stewardship Advisory Board of Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, located southwest of Lincoln.

■

Jolanda Junge, Lincoln, was named executive director of We Support Agriculture, a joint effort of Nebraska Cattlemen, State Dairy Association, Farm Bureau Federation, and pork producers and the poultry industry in the state. n William J. Mueller and n Kim M. Robak of Mueller Robak LLC have been selected for inclusion in the 2014 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” in the field of government relations law. This is the sixth consecutive year that the couple have been noted by the guide. Mueller Robak LLC is a lobbying and governmental relations firm in Lincoln.

1978

Larry and Sue Frahm of Denver celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2013.

Penny Hamilton, Granby, Colo., had her book detailing the history of Granby, “Around Granby,” published in December 2013.

■

n Mari Lane Gewecke was elect-

n Lori Graham is now part of

the Lincoln-based window design firm, Custom Blinds & Design.

n Ernest Weyeneth is senior

vice president/investments in the Lincoln office of financial services holding company Stifel Financial Corp.

n Marcia White has joined The

Community Health Endowment of Lincoln as program manager.

1983

Rick Berry has joined the Omaha-based engineering firm eConstruct.USA LLC as coowner along with Samar Gogol.

George Khawand has been selected director of innovation for Lincoln Industries. n Pete McClymont of Lincoln

has been selected executive vice president of the Nebraska Cattlemen, where he previously served as vice president of legislative affairs.

Howard Huffman, president of Huffman Engineering Inc. of Lincoln, was inducted into the Amateur Athletic Union Powerlifting Hall of Fame in October 2013.

n Kimberly Rath is now co-

John Keller, Searcy, Ark., represented the University of Nebraska at the September 2013 inauguration of Bruce McLarty as the fifth president of Harding University in Searcy.

Susan Bredthauer has joined the Lincoln office of Charter West National Bank, where she will be part of the mortgage team.

1979

Mary Aldrich-Knight, senior director of finance and administration at the United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County, has been selected to serve on the United Way Worldwide Financial Issues Committee.

chairman of Talent Plus, a Lincoln-based management consulting firm.

1984

Jerry Meyerle, vice president of investments with Wells Fargo Advisors, has transferred to the firm’s Lincoln branch.

1985

Colleen Haack is director of the Omaha campus of Doane College of Crete, responsible for the initial launch of the campus as well as program development, student and faculty recruiting, and developing

Alumni Profile ’03

Aboard the Navy’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Davis Anderson

Petty Officer 1st Class Davis Anderson is going to leave an indelible mark on the U.S. Navy that will last for most of the next century. How many University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni can say the same?

A mass communication specialist, Anderson is stationed aboard the Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the first ship in its class and the successor to the Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers that have been in operation for the last half century.

Anderson and the rest of the 500-person crew are slowly bringing the ship to life. The crew will eventually grow to more than 4,500 when the ship is at sea. When complete, the aircraft carrier, powered by two nuclear reactors, will measure more than 1,000 feet in length and weigh more than 100,000 tons. It will be capable of sailing at nearly 35 mph and will carry more than 75 Navy aircraft.

As one of the sailors who will commission the ship, Anderson will get to see all the improvements the Navy has incorporated into the design of the ship – from a redesigned flight deck to allow for more efficient aircraft operations to equipment that requires less maintenance.

Newport News Shipbuilding officially named the ship in a christening ceremony in November. As the crew grows and works toward the end goal of joining the fleet in 2016, Anderson and other Gerald R. Ford sailors will be overseeing and approving work done on the ship, training to operate it and building a legacy that will

last beyond their lifetimes.

Anderson said it is an exciting time to be in the Navy, helping to build a crew and a ship from scratch, something he never expected to be doing just a couple years ago.

“We have the opportunity to build this command with the ideals of our namesake and we can create the command climate that we have always wanted from the very beginning,” said Ford’s commanding officer, Capt.

John F. Meier. “Integrity and moral courage underpin those ideals. Petty Officer Anderson demonstrates those attributes and he displays a level of professionalism that far exceeds what I would expect of a sailor at this stage of service. I am thrilled to have him as a member of this command.”

Training for the crew has to come from some unique sources. There are no Navy schools for some of the new equipment, so the sailors meet regularly with vendor representatives to learn about the systems they will be taking out to sea.

“As a ‘first-of-class’ aircraft carrier, Gerald R. Ford is host to enormous advances in technology and equipment, and we are faced with

a wide variety of challenges, such as training,” said Meier. “In order to meet this challenge, the crew is actively engaged with Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding as the construction progresses. This is a unique opportunity to see firsthand how the systems are installed, which is an advantage that future crews won’t have an opportunity to experience. They are becoming the subject matter experts who will work hand in hand during the testing phase and, in turn, teach the Navy how to run this new class of ships.”

As a 10-year Navy veteran, Anderson thinks joining the Navy was a good decision because of the possibilities his career has created for him.

“I started when I was 26. The Navy was there when I wanted to start a family, and I have circumnavigated the globe,” said Anderson. “I’ve gotten to see ports in Europe and in Asia, and I got to do stuff that I feel is important like fighting terrorism and supporting the wars we’re fighting.”

Anderson is ready to accept the sacrifices the Navy and his country are asking him to make. The reward is being a part of something bigger than himself.

“It’s awesome to be part of the crew. When orders came up for this, I volunteered right away. I get to be on the ground floor of building a department,” said Anderson.

“I am meeting challenges here every day that are fun to overcome, and this is an awesome milestone in my career. It’s hard work, but it’s good work.”v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 53

CLASSNOTES relationships with the Omaha community.

Thomas M. Sack, interim president and chief executive officer for MRIGlobal, was recognized as the 2013 winner of the St. Ignatius Award from Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Mo. Leslie Volk, Bennington, has been named vice president of Security National Bank of Omaha.

1986

Christine Denicola is executive vice president of grants, outreach services and scholarships at EducationQuest Foundation in Lincoln.

Ralene Klostermeyer of Lincoln was promoted to vice president and trust officer in corporate trust for Union Bank & Trust. n Matt Meister has been in-

stalled as the 2014 president of the Nebraska Realtors Association. Meister is employed

by Coldwell Banker Town & Country in Kearney.

1987

Tyler Mainquist, a financial consultant with the Lincoln office of Thrivent Financial, has been awarded the professional designation of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) by the Richard D. Irwin Graduate School of The American College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

■

Susan Keisler-Munro, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Assurity Life Insurance Company of Lincoln, is one of 10 women insurance executives who received the 2013 Women in Insurance Leadership Award from the industry publication Insurance Networking News.

1988

David Jesse has been appointed a director and member of the board of directors for The Harry A. Koch Co., an Omaha-based insurance agency and broker. n John Korff was recently

promoted to environmental and 54 WINTER 2014

occupational safety and health program manager of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Logistics Center in Oklahoma City.

1992

David Merrell of St. Edward was elected to remain secretary/ treasurer of the Nebraska Corn Board for a second term.

1993

Tim Scheer, St. Paul, was voted to remain chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board for a second term.

James Vigesaa, Brighton, Colo., marked 10 years as owner of BVB General Contractors.

During the decade, BVB has garnered many awards, including 2008 Top 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. from Inc. Magazine and the 2007 Silver “ACE” Winner for Most Difficult Project for Waterworld’s Turbo Racer from AGC. In 2012 Vigesaa was a finalist for the Top CEO Award presented by Colorado Biz Magazine.

1989

Doug Koenig was promoted to vice president and trust services adviser in personal trust and wealth management at Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln.

Scott Morris has been promoted to senior vice president at The Harry A. Koch Co., an Omahabased insurance and financial consulting firm.

1990

David Peace has launched Peace Studio Architects, a Lincoln-based architecture firm. n Steve Zabel has been selected

James Murray of Littleton, Mass., is now vice president of information technology, MinuteClinic at CVS/Caremark.

■

Brian Chaffin, Waverly, is the office leader for the Lincoln headquarters of the engineering and design firm Olsson Associates.

Jennifer Wooster was promoted to vice president – group actuarial and compensation in the Lincoln headquarters of insurance company Ameritas.

1994

Ellen DiSalvo, Lincoln, is vice president of laboratory services after being promoted by The Nebraska Community Blood Bank.

John Majerus is part of the South Lincoln Family Physicians practice, which he recently joined after 12 years of service in the capital city.

Natalie Kuijvenhoven Tysdal, Lone Tree, Colo., has launched her own production company, Everwise Entertainment, which produces cable shows, documentaries and general videos for corporations and charities.

1995

Jenni Christiansen, Lincoln, has been selected relationship manager and vice president in the Wells Fargo Regional Commercial Banking Office in Nebraska.

1996

chief risk officer of Unum Group, an insurance company headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Jill Anderson has been named the new assistant manager at the 129Dodge sales office of NP Dodge Real Estate in Omaha.

1991

n David H. Milligan of Omaha

n Pamela Dingman was pre-

sented the 2013 Gladys Forsyth Award from the Lincoln YWCA in November. She also received the Society of Women Engineers 2013 Entrepreneur Award in Baltimore, Md. in October.

has started a new, Nebraskabased intellectual property firm specializing in patents, technology, portfolio management and licensing.

Leonard Weyeneth is vice president/investments in the Lincoln office of financial ser-

vices holding company Stifel Financial Corp.

1997

Greg Young is the implementation engineer with P&L Technology Inc.

1998

Amy Amundson, Omaha, was promoted to leadership training and development coach at Bellevue University.

■

Jeff Engdahl is now part of the mortgage loan officer team with the Bank of Nebraska, headquartered in Omaha.

Ben Haffke has joined ScanMed, a La Vista company specializing in the medical imaging field, and will serve as engineering manager.

Cynthia R. Hestermann is a nurse practitioner with the Homestead Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln.

Bronson Riley was promoted to director of clinical research at the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center in Lincoln. Riley is also a board certified and licensed genetic counselor.

1999

Brian Austin has joined the Omaha office of The Schemmer Associates Inc., a full-service architecture, engineering and planning firm, where he is a mechanical engineer.

Brian Benge was promoted to assistant vice president of the investment management group of Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln.

Ellie Charter is senior project manager in the Omaha office of advertising agency Bailey Lauerman, where she coordinates the firm’s creative work for Beechcraft, TD Ameritrade and The United Way of the Midlands.

Rusty Divine is senior software engineer for Five Nines Technology Group, a provider of managed services, IT services and consulting in Lincoln.

By anthony flott

Alumni Profile ’09 and ’05

Thinking Beyond the Bulu Box

Paul and Stephanie Jarrett Halloween was seven days ahead, but the orange-and-black-branded company Bulu Box had two treats come a week early.

First, a post from Inc. Magazine listing the newbie company among “8 Silicon Prairie Startups Worth Watching.” Then came a shout-out from Visa Small Business bragging on the Bulu Box commitment to customer service.

That ran alongside a big photo of Bulu Box owners – black-clad Paul Jarrett and his wife, orange-attired Stephanie.

“I think the PR gods are smiling on us,” Paul Jarrett said.

The Jarretts are beaming, too. In less than a year the pair of University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates have made their mark as hipster entrepreneurs. And with a relatively simple concept – Bulu Box subscribers pay $10 a month to receive a monthly box bearing four to five health-related product samples. One subscription delivers a box with vitamins and supplements; another offers supplements and other items to help with weight loss.

Based in Lincoln, the company has blown up since its June 2012 launch with more than 30,000 customers and $100,000 in monthly revenue. It raised $500,000 in its first round of funding and likely was to surpass that in the second round this fall.

“It’s been an amazing, wild ride,” said Jarrett, 32. “The greatest surprise is … how much love and support we get from the community. That’s been a total shocker. I’m a competitor. I want to crush the competition and beat everybody.”

But, he said, “If I help other people it comes back 10 times. That’s the one real shocker with Bulu Box. If I

were in New York or San Francisco, I’d still have that shark mentality. It took me too long to learn that.”

It was in San Francisco – at the end of a half marathon in February 2012 – when the idea for Bulu Box came to Jarrett. That he was running at all was quite an accomplishment. A dozen years ago Jarrett was a 6-foot5, 307-pound nose tackle for Iowa State. But the meat grinder that is the defensive line took its toll on his Achilles, shoulder, knee and neck.

“It just wasn’t fun anymore.” The one-time star at Lincoln Pius X left football and Iowa State and returned home, enrolling at Nebraska.

Eventually, he went about shedding the pounds. The first 25 or so came off easily. After that, weight loss grew difficult. He turned to vitamins, supplements and appetite suppressants for help. It worked – Jarrett lost about 100 pounds.

That made running the 13.1-mile San Francisco half marathon much easier. After he and Stephanie crossed the finish line, both were hit with free handouts of health products.

“But no one was asking for any of our marketing information,” Paul said.

“E-mails or anything like that.”

The Jarretts knew that end of the business.

Paul had worked in marketing and advertising at five companies after graduating from UNL. Most recently he was vice president of marketing with Omaha-based Complete Nutrition, helping it boom from $5 million in revenue in 2008 to $93 million in 2012. Stephanie, from Wahoo and a one-time intern for UNL University

Communications, was a user interface designer for tech-toy giant LeapFrog.

Prior to that she was art director for Ervin & Smith Advertising with three other professional stops on her resume.

The couple was living in San Francisco, Stephanie working for LeapFrog and Paul fielding offers to work for start-up companies.

After the marathon, he reached for one of the supplements he received to help with post-run aches. As he did, he got the idea to “put something together that would help people sample products.”

He Googled to see what existing services there might be. “I assumed it already existed,” he said.

Nada. There was a similar model in the makeup industry – Birch Box – but no one offering vitamins and supplement samples.

He and Stephanie got to work. The company was incorporated in April 2012, headquartered in Lincoln with Paul as its CEO and Stephanie as its CMO. Its website launched in June.

The site went live at 3 p.m. and by the end of the day had sold 80 boxes. The next day brought a couple hundred more orders. “We knew we were on to something,” Jarrett said.

Adam Choate was brought on as CFO and Kate Stous as director of brand relationships. Original milestones were to reach 2,000 subscribers and to establish the e-commerce portion of the website so that customers could purchase full-size versions of the products they’ve sampled.

Continued on Page 56 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 55

CLASSNOTES thinking beyond the bulu box Continued from Page 55 The company has gone from $4,000 in revenue in August 2012 to more than $100,000 in August 2013.

It has more than 10,000 subscribers and three times that many customers. More than 1,000 products are available for purchase on its website – from protein bars to seaweed snacks to energy drinks. The company has grown to nine full-time employees and four interns.

And the focus has shifted a bit. Bulu Box gets 93 percent of its business from women age 22 to 55, most seeking help with weight loss. The company is looking at developing a muscle-gain box marketed to men.

Customer surveys help Bulu Box partners know which products resonate and which don’t – and why.

“Everyone thinks it’s one thing,” Jarrett said. “They’re looking for one magic one-liner, one magic flavor, one magic packaging. That’s not the case. It’s like a recipe. If we can take the time to go through the data with the brands that take us up on that and use us as consultants, always the next time around they sell more products.”

The company already is on its third home in Lincoln.

They started in the basement of Jarrett’s parents, moved to a building on P Street and most recently to one on O Street.

Married since 2007, the Jarretts are without children but have plenty to keep them busy. They get six to eight hours of sleep a night and put in one hour of cross-fit exercise each day. The rest of their time, though, is devoted to Bulu Box. “We know if we want this company to be acquired we have to set aside the next couple years of our lives to hammer away and get this done,” Paul said.

Venture capitalists or their lawyers occasionally contact Jarrett wanting to know about the Nebraska start-up and how they might get a piece of the action.

The idea is to be so successful a larger company wants to make them an offer they can’t refuse.

After that? The Jarretts are always thinking outside the box.

“There’s never a shortage between Steph and I of ideas,” Paul said. “Dinners always turn into us on napkins mapping out our next plans. The scary ones are the ones that stick. There’s about two of them. I still don’t know why no one is doing them.

“One-hundred percent of our focus is on Bulu Box, but I never think we will be short of ideas.”v

n Eric Drumheller was promoted

to assistant vice president of grants and scholarship for EducationQuest Foundation, a Lincoln-based nonprofit organization that improves access to higher education in Nebraska.

Kirk Hazen is now the director of quality after being promoted

by Lincoln Industries, a supplier of products requiring highperformance metal finishing.

2000

Patrick Finnegan has been added to the account service department of the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

He will serve as an associate account supervisor.

Anthony Johnson, administrator of Lancaster Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln, recently completed nearly four years of service on the Nebraska Nursing Facility Association board of directors.

moted to sales manager of the Manhattan and Junction City, Kan., markets for Eagle Communications.

2002

David Ciavarella has been promoted to senior associate at the DLR Group Lincoln office.

Margie Hobelman was elected by the West Gate Bank of Lincoln board of directors to the title of vice president bank operations.

Cari Kaup, Omaha, has been promoted to vice president within the 529 College Savings Group Client Services Call Center of Union Bank & Trust in Lincoln.

Kurt Mantoya, a senior associate with the Heartland Center in Lincoln, has been elected to the board of directors of the Community Development Society (CDS).

■

Julie Schoolmeester of Sioux Falls, S.D., was selected as executive director of Face It TOGETHER® Sioux Falls, a nonprofit organization working to solve addiction.

Victor Martinez, Lincoln, has become part of the University of Nebraska Foundation development officer team, where he works with the UNL College of Arts and Sciences.

2001

Mary Pat Moeller, director of the Center for Childhood Deafness at the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, received the Honors of the Association Award from the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association.

Jason Dubs, New York City, was awarded a Ph.D. in the history of art and archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

■

Amy Frohloff is an account supervisor in the Omaha office of marketing communications firm Bailey Lauerman, where her clients include Beechcraft and The United Way of the Midlands.

Aaron Gilson, an adjunct professor at two Omaha area universities, has joined the treasury management team at Wells Fargo.

Mark D. Kratina, Jr., an attorney with the Omaha law firm Mark D. Kratina, P.C., has become a partner in that firm.

56 WINTER 2014

n Scott Olesky has been pro-

Jody Schmidt has been welcomed to the Pine Lake office of HOME Real Estate of Lincoln as an agent.

2003

Sarah K. Amstuz has been promoted to vice president of the Lincoln office of US Bank.

Heather Anschutz has joined Lincoln insurance firm Ameritas as second vice president and associate general counsel – group division.

Andrew Bateman is now working full time at his Lincoln optometry clinic, Clear Vision Eye Care.

CLASSNOTES Matt Belka of Lincoln is the director of marketing and communications for the Nebraska Association of School Boards.

Kevin M. McCroden has been promoted to vice president, commercial lending, at Core Bank in Omaha.

2004

Matthew Hubel has joined the Omaha office of architecture/ engineering company The Schemmer Associates Inc. as a senior civil engineer.

Thomas Irvin has rejoined the Omaha office of advertising agency Bailey Lauerman, where he brings his experience in pre-press, design and audio and video production.

Nia Nielsen has been hired by Cornerstone Print & Marketing of Lincoln as director of marketing and new business development.

Denise Robeson was hired by Lighthouse, a Lincoln nonprofit after-school program for middle and high school youth, as an education program coordinator.

2005

Shannon Fallon is an attorney in the Lincoln office of the law firm Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather.

Leah Gibson has been added to the staff at Heartland Optical in Lincoln as an optometrist.

2006

Alexis Abel was hired by the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell and serves as a public relations counsel.

Ellie Kyser of Verona, Wis., is a licensed professional counselor as of October 2013.

earned her human resource certification from the Lincoln Human Resource Management Association.

Robert Mizerski of the Liberty First Credit Union in Lincoln, has been awarded the Credit Union National Association compliance expert designation.

Dave Saccoman has joined the Bank of Nebraska in Omaha as a mortgage loan officer.

Amber Wolff has been promoted to associate account manager in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

2007

Justin Fujan is a part of the community outreach team at Tabitha Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln.

2008

Jessica Langenberg, a judicial branch education trainer with the state of Nebraska, has

writer for the Louisiana Baptist Message.

Jeremy Lohrman has been added to the staff of Five Nines Technology Group in Lincoln as senior account executive.

2009

Saul Bakewell is a realtor with HOME Real Estate in Lincoln.

Tony Essay is a trust and fiduciary specialist in the Lincoln office of Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Blake Loper has been added to the legal team of Omaha firm Kutak Rock, where he is a member of the intellectual property and information technology group.

Kate E. McClymont, Novi, Mich., has joined the national law firm Husch Blackwell as part of its business litigation group.

Brian Blackwell, Pineville, La., has been named staff

■

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2:01 PM NEBRASKA8/24/12 MAGAZINE 57

CLASSNOTES Kristin McNaughton has been welcomed by the St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, where she is part of their pharmacy residency program.

2012

Nolan Gauthier, Lincoln, has joined marketing communications firm Swanson Russell as a project coordinator.

Nicholas F. Sullivan is an associate with the Omaha law firm Erickson | Sederstrom.

Kaila Shirey is a media buyer at the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

2010

■

AriAnna C. Goldstein is an attorney with the Omaha law firm Baird Holm LLP, where she focuses on patent law.

Aaron Jarzynka has been promoted to interactive designer/ motion graphics at the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

Jenn Kanne is a commercial credit analyst in the Heartland Commercial Group of the Omaha office for the Great Southern Bank.

2011

Jordan Burroughs won the gold medal at the 2013 FILA World Championships of freestyle wrestling in the 74-kg weight division, his third consecutive world title.

■ Joye Fehringer is now a development officer for the University of Nebraska Foundation and will be affiliated with the UNL College of Arts and Sciences.

Lakelyn Hogan has joined the West Omaha branch of Home Instead Senior Care as the client and service coordinator.

Caitlin Kern is the coordinator of alumni relations at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo. Connor Mahoney is enrolled in dental school at A.T. Still University, Kirksville, Mo. Jessica Simpson was named public relations associate at the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

■

Chelsey Wahlstrom has been hired as an account coordinator in the Lincoln office of marketing communications firm Swanson Russell.

2013

Jordan Anderson, West Des Moines, Iowa, accepted a position as the Successful Farming magazine digital content editor for the Meredith Corp. of Des Moines.

Heather Carver has joined the Omaha office of the law firm Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather, where she will concentrate on real estate and transactional areas.

Joe Kozal is an account coordinator in the Lincoln office of marketing communications company Swanson Russell.

Morgan St. John is a development associate with Teach for America in her hometown of New Haven, Conn.

■

David Voorman of Lincoln has been hired by the Omaha law firm Lamson Dugan and Murray LLP as an associate.

WEDDINGS

Larry Lausten, ’78, and Cathy Doyle, Aug. 13, 2013. The couple lives in Lincoln.

Roger Olson and ■ Amy Mohrman, ’80, June 7, 2013.

The couple lives in Bellevue, Wash.

CB Davis and Amy Ehlers, ’98, Sept. 7, 2013. The couple lives in Annapolis, Md.

D. Todd Harris and n Ieva M. Augstums, ’02, Sept. 14, 2013. The couple lives in Washington, D.C. Andy Stand, ’07, and Steph Stull, May 18, 2013. The couple lives in Kansas City, Mo. Matt Gillespie and Molly Kamrath, ’09, May 17, 2013. The couple lives in Osceola.

Luke Dingledine, ’10, and Hillary Ulrickson, ’09, Aug. 17, 2013. The couple lives in Omaha.

Drew Weedin and ■ Paige Farmer, ’10, May 4, 2013. The couple lives in Aurora.

Kyle Stukenholtz, ’10, and Emily Elam, ’10, May 4, 2013. The couple lives in Kansas City, Mo. Joe Porto, ’11, and Courtney Kenny, July 27, 2013. The couple lives in Omaha.

Jeff Sheets, ’13, and Emily Ptacek, Aug. 3, 2013. The couple lives in Seward.

DEATHS

Helen James George, ’35, Plano, Texas, Dec. 20, 2012.

Margaret Heald Hobert, ’36, Estes Park, Colo., June 6, 2013.

John W. Bengtson, ’37, Lincoln, Sept. 5, 2013.

Althea Barada Byers, ’37, Lincoln, Aug. 19, 2013.

Hazel Anderson Flaum, ’37, Lawrence, Kan., April 20, 2012.

Ruthanna L. Russel, ’39, Lincoln, Sept. 20, 2013.

Helen Kovanda Myers, ’40, Winchester, Va., March 17, 2013.

Otto H. Woerner, ’40, Morganton, N.C., Oct. 10, 2012.

Bruce E. Ewers, ’41, Yukon, Okla., April 6, 2013.

Denver D. Gray, ’41, Atlanta, Sept. 7, 2013.

Ray J. Rhoades, ’42, Columbus, Sept. 21, 2013.

Randall A. Pratt, ’43, Kurtistown, Hawaii, Nov. 6, 2012.

BIRTHS

Jesse, ’98, and Kassondra Kosch, their second child, second daughter, Ariel Ann, Nov. 1, 2013. The family lives in Estes Park, Colo. n Ryan, ’00, and n Olivia Clark

Gottsch, ’99, their fifth child, second daughter, Rosemary Frances, Oct. 9, 2013. The family lives in Omaha.

Rob and n Jacqueline Scoular Meadors, ’02, their first child, a daughter, Claire Ann, May 19, 2013. The family lives in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Robert G. Rohwer, ’43, Stillwater, Okla., Dec. 1, 2012.

George W. Briggs, ’44, Fort Worth, Texas, July 7, 2013.

Patricia Pierce Feuerstein, ’44, Fremont, Sept. 14, 2013.

Charles A. Stutt, ’44, Philadelphia, July 16, 2013.

Richard K. Miller, ’45, Ashburn, Va., July 4, 2013.

Helen Fricke Anderson, ’47, Sioux City, Iowa, Dec. 15, 2012.

William W. Burr, ’47, Gaithersburg, Md., Sept. 28, 2013.

William S. Latta, ’47, Santa Barbara, Calif., April 23, 2013.

Lyman E. Lorensen, ’47, Davis, Calif., Aug. 14, 2013.

58 WINTER 2014

By Navannah Slezak

Alumni Profiles ’05

She Never Gives Up Maggi Escudero Thorne

It all happens so fast: The clicking of the metal starting blocks being adjusted, a whistle blowing, the starter announcing that the runners must now take their marks and the athletes stepping into the blocks.

There’s a brief moment of complete silence. Then: Get set. Bang!

Life is like a race. You spend countless hours training because practice isn’t something you do once you’re good, it’s what makes you good and prepares you for what lies ahead. Former Husker track and field student athlete, current UNL athletic administrator and Mrs. International top-ten finalist Maggi Escudero Thorne knows the definition of hard work.

For her it’s not about winning a title or adding another award to her collection. It’s about the road she took to get there, growing as a person and making a difference. She was the first person in her family to earn a college degree and to get it from Nebraska was a steppingstone for the rest of her life. Thorne graduated in 2005 with a degree in community health.

Right after college Thorne knew that she wanted to work somewhere where she could remain a part of the Nebraska family. She volunteered on the track team and worked with the

Craig Estudillo interviews Maggi Thorne at Football Friday festivities.

facilities grounds crew picking up the trash after events. Then she became a design intern. Two years later, Thorne found herself working as the assistant director of capital planning and construction in the UNL Athletic Department.

Four years into the job, Thorne has been a key member of the project leadership team in planning and implementing the Hendricks Training Complex; the East Stadium expansion, including the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory; and the Devaney Center improvement project. She is currently working on the athletic research center project where she will help facilitate the floor-plan design and is responsible for capital project communication.

“Despite anyone’s surroundings you can’t let that define you,” Thorne said. “You have to make your own choices and it might be hard work but you can choose what you want. It is way easier to live in what you are given, but I don’t think that is what we are all meant for.”

Over her lifetime she has overcome unhealthy relationships and habits on

and off of the track and wants to send the message across the globe to never give up. She is now an international spokesperson for Soles4Souls to help build a foundation of self-confidence and healthy lifestyle choices for youth through raising awareness of the nearly 300 million children without shoes. Soles4Souls is a global notfor-profit institution in more than 127 countries dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty.

“I’m just really excited to have their name out there. It’s just a basic need that people have a pair of shoes.

We’re going to be changing the world one pair at a time.”

From championship athlete to Mrs. Great Plains International 2014, Maggi Thorne wants to share her story of perseverance with the world. One of her guiding principles comes from boxer Muhammad Ali who once said, “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.”

Maggi Thorne believes it is through hard work, determination and a good work ethic you can conquer anything because … “Impossible is nothing.” v

NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 59

CLASSNOTES Richard McConnell, ’47, Estes Park, Colo., April 3, 2013.

John B. Lacey, ’50, Plano, Texas, Nov. 7, 2012.

Ruth E. Frank, ’48, Lincoln, Oct. 12, 2013.

Gus N. Peters, ’50, McAllen, Texas, Sept. 30, 2013.

Mark F. Gardner, ’48, Lincoln, Oct. 22, 2013.

Maria Constantinides Pulos, ’50, Lincoln, Sept. 11, 2013.

Arden E. Kersey, ’48, Abilene, Texas, Sept. 29, 2012.

Mary Hischier Reed, ’50, Billings, Mont., Nov. 16, 2012.

Nancy King McEachen, ’48, Omaha, Nov. 7, 2013.

Lyle R. Schreiner, ’50, Lincoln, March 14, 2013.

Miriam Hahn Mueller, ’48, Los Gatos, Calif., Aug. 22, 2013.

Thomas O. True, ’50, Lincoln, Aug. 22, 2013.

Richard L. Agnew, ’49, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Oct. 20, 2012.

Lee F. Carter, ’51, McCook, Oct. 18, 2012.

John H. Binning, ’49, Lincoln, July 29, 2013.

Robert C. Busby, ’49, Conifer, Colo., June 7, 2013.

Patrick A. Christel, ’49, Two Rivers, Wis., March 7, 2013.

Bernard E. Dow, ’51, Lincoln, Oct. 2, 2013.

Raymond W. Heuke, ’51, Kearney, Nov. 3, 2013.

Robert R. James, ’51, Omaha, Dec. 31, 2012.

Betty Hathaway Spencer, ’53, Willow Street, Pa., Oct. 16, 2013.

William H. Grant, ’54, Columbus, March 16, 2013.

Edward B. O’Connor, ’54, Omaha, Sept. 19, 2013.

Kenneth F. Rystrom, ’54, Enterprise, Ore., Aug. 4, 2013.

Suzanne Marshall Scott, ’54, Omaha, Sept. 9, 2013.

James K. Varney, ’54, Springdale, Ark., April 19, 2013.

Robert N. Atchison, ’55, Cozad, Oct. 11, 2013.

Carol Gillett Groebe, ’55, Palatine, Ill., Sept. 4, 2013.

Boyd D. Haley, ’55, San Jose, Calif., Feb. 10, 2012.

Waldo H. Johnson, ’55, Laurel, May 12, 2013.

Judith Douthit Todd, ’59, Monterey, Calif., Sept. 26, 2013.

Bruce O. Young, ’59, Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 19, 2013.

Dorothy Norman Johnson, ’60, Minden, Sept. 15, 2013.

Claude E. Berreckman, ’61, Cozad, Sept. 28, 2013.

Beryl M. Cropley, ’61, Sun City, Ariz., Aug. 9, 2013.

Charlotte Douglas Kelley, ’61, Bennet, March 1, 2012.

Earl W. Kersten, ’61, Sparks, Nev., Sept. 5, 2013.

Phyllis Schinzel Samuelson, ’62, Lincoln, Sept. 11, 2013.

JoAnne Buck Stanek, ’62, Omaha, April 14, 2013.

Marie Willey Focht, ’63, Lincoln, Oct. 14, 2013.

Donald D. Heller, ’63, Stanton, April 19, 2012.

Harlan J. Dutton, ’49, Lincoln, July 30, 2013.

O. Donald Meaders, ’51, Okemos, Mich., Dec. 10, 2012.

Walter E. Flynn, ’49, Blair, Nov. 7, 2013.

John Parobek, ’51, Lodi, Calif., Dec. 14, 2012.

Jodene Kuxhaus Chappell, ’57, Scottsbluff, Sept. 5, 2013.

John R. Freethy, ’49, Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 4, 2013.

John M. Stalder, ’51, Humboldt, Oct. 21, 2013.

Judith Hope Daggett, ’57, Knoxville, Tenn., May 3, 2013.

Allen L. Boettcher, ’64, New Port Richey, Fla., Aug. 16, 2013.

Milbert O. Grummert, ’49, Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 10, 2013.

Hubert S. Unger, ’51, Puyallup, Wash., Aug. 15, 2013.

Donald G. Erway, ’57, Lincoln, Oct. 10, 2013.

Jerry C. Elliott, ’64, Wilcox, Oct. 30, 2013.

Roger T. Larson, ’49, Lincoln, Oct. 8, 2013.

Patricia Heebner Bauerle, ’52, Omaha, Aug. 26, 2013.

Joyce Ingram Speak, ’57, Ogden, Utah, Aug. 24, 2013.

Louis R. Hoyer, ’65, Pueblo, Colo., June 5, 2012.

Roger F. McNeill, ’49, Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., Oct. 18, 2012.

Harold T. Dibelka, ’52, Omaha, Oct. 1, 2013.

Roland G. Struss, ’57, Ames, Iowa, Aug. 17, 2012.

Glenn H. Korff, ’65, Boulder, Colo., Aug. 27, 2013.

Wayne R. Douce, ’52, York, Pa., Nov. 2, 2013.

Barbara Eicke Armstrong, ’58, Flint, Texas, Aug. 11, 2013.

Donald S. Wiggans, ’49, Dallas, Oct. 29, 2013.

Marilyn Morgan Helleberg, ’52, Green Mountain Falls, Colo., Sept. 17, 2013.

Jeanette Blattert Becker, ’58, Westminster, Md., Aug. 10, 2013.

Karen Boyer Argotsinger, ’66, Smithville, Mo., Aug. 30, 2013.

Herbert J. Armbrust, ’50, Fremont, Nov. 10, 2013.

Ralph P. Hild, ’52, Plattsmouth, Nov. 3, 2013.

Elmer L. Brune, ’58, Golden, Colo., Oct. 5, 2013.

Charles B. Dodson, ’67, Green Bay, Wis., Sept. 15, 2013.

Axel C. Boilesen, ’50, Lincoln, March 21, 2013.

Daniel D. Koukol, ’52, Omaha, Aug. 29, 2013.

Leo L. Allen, ’59, Lincoln, June 30, 2012.

Janet K. Frohn, ’67, Lincoln, Oct. 12, 2013.

Ralph M. Handren, ’50, Carmel, Ind., Oct. 14, 2013.

Thomas R. Pope, ’52, Hobart, Okla., Sept. 9, 2013.

George L. Baumert, ’59, Howells, Sept. 3, 2013.

Carlyle A. Sorensen, ’67, Monticello, Minn., June 21, 2013.

Louis J. Kash, ’50, Lexington, Nov. 11, 2013.

Richard E. Sievers, ’53, Fountain Hills, Ariz., April 4, 2013.

Marvin H. Morgaridge, ’59, East Haven, Conn., May 13, 2013.

Roger A. Wilkening, ’67, Lincoln, Oct. 8, 2013.

Clifford J. Walstrom, ’49, Ceresco, Oct. 17, 2013.

60 WINTER 2014

George E. Hartman, ’56, Paxton, Nov. 3, 2013.

Lloyd R. Lamb, ’63, Burwell, Sept. 16, 2013.

Dennis A. Bargen, ’67, Columbus, Sept. 18, 2013.

By anthony flott

Alumni Profile

’09

PGA Grad Making Mom Proud

Carly Froehlich Ulrich The only swing coach Carly Froehlich Ulrich ever knew lay in a hospital bed demanding to see videotape of the flaw in her pupil’s swing.

The coach – Carly’s mother, Cindy – was slowly dying from leukemia. But mom knew that swing so well. She had been teaching her daughter the game since she was 5. Had driven her around Norfolk Country Club every summer for junior golf.

So Carly would bring her the tapes.

It was good medicine for both of them.

“She would figure out real quick what was wrong,” Carly said.

But they couldn’t fix what was wrong with her mother. Doctors sent Cindy home from the hospital the day before the state golf tournament in 2002, Carly’s junior year at Norfolk High. The tournament was at Riverside Golf Club in Grand Island. Cindy’s parents lived on the course. She would watch Carly play the first seven holes, head to her parents’ house for a nap, then return to the course to see Carly play the 12th hole.

Carly gave her plenty to watch. She was in second place after the first day with an opening round of 77 before finishing fourth.

Cindy Froehlich died two months later.

“State golf was the last round she watched me play,” Carly said.

It was a turning point in Carly’s life in more ways than one.

“I decided to pursue a career in golf as I knew it’d make my mom proud,” Ulrich said. “She always told me that I needed to find something I loved and find a way to show Christian love

to all those around me.

My personality has always been to serve others, to find something that will make me happy making others happy.”

Ulrich did plenty of that this summer during the U.S. Senior Open, hosted at the Omaha Country Club.

She’s the assistant professional and head merchandiser at the historic course, just four years removed from becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Professional Golf Management Program.

“The experience I gained from working the 2013 U.S. Senior Open was monumental for my career,” she said.

Truth be told, soccer was Ulrich’s first love. She had hopes of playing collegiately, but two blown ACLs dashed those hopes. So she turned to golf. Not a bad option, either, after earning three top 5 finishes at the state tournament with Norfolk. She went on to play for the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she was a psychology major. That seemed a natural fit.

“I just like fixing situations, I guess,” she said. “And I always liked the mental game of golf. But, honestly, I didn’t look at golf as a career at all.”

Her aunt, Taunya White, changed all that in the summer of 2005. White lived on South Carolina’s Seabrook Island near Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

She arranged for her niece to speak

with the resort’s president, Roger Warren, now past president of PGA of America. Warren encouraged Ulrich to join a PGA program.

Excited at the prospect, she returned to UNO, dropped all her psychology classes and picked up courses that would transfer to UNL. She enrolled there as a junior.

“It was on a whim,” she said, “but it worked.”

UNL’s PGA program is a wellrounded major, preparing students for the many responsibilities they might face managing a golf club.

Students take courses in accounting, economics, soil, insectology, nutrition, hospitality, marketing, human relations and more. Students also are required to complete 18 months of internship.

Ulrich first interned at Happy Hollow Club, where she grew to enjoy merchandising from Happy Hollow’s merchandise coordinator Amy Peterson. Her second internship was at Prairie Dunes Country Club. There she managed leagues, taught lessons, helped run a junior golf program and purchased merchandise.

At Prairie Dunes she also met Matt Ulrich, a former golfer at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Ulrich was there to visit and play with one of his college teammates, Jon Deines, also an assistant golf pro at Prairie Dunes.

Continued on Page 62 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 61

CLASSNOTES pga grad making mom proud Continued from Page 61 Carly and Matt didn’t exactly hit it off.

“The first time I met him, I wasn’t a huge fan,” Carly said.

But, she added, “Second time, we just clicked.”

They dated long distance. In the meantime, Carly turned her internship into a paid position at Prairie Dunes.

Life was good.

In 2011 it got better – Ulrich returned home to begin working for the 350-member Omaha Country Club as its merchandising director. She handles purchasing, receiving, floor sets, invoicing and more. She and Matt also married, in October 2012. They live in Dodge, where Matt needs to be to operate his company, Brute Cattle Equipment. Carly commutes the 70 minutes to and from work.

Not long after she joined OCC the club announced it would host the U.S. Senior Open – perhaps the biggest golf tournament ever in the state. It would draw more than 150,000 spectators and coverage on ESPN and NBC. Her workload started to increase during the 2012 holidays. “Honestly, I hardly moved from my desk starting in November of 2012,” she said.

She started working 45 to 55 hours a week, dealing with vendors and area corporations, helping them learn how to cater to guests in hospitality events during the tournament.

As the tournament approached she lived for three weeks at a friend’s house in Omaha, visiting home in Dodge just a few times. During the week of the tournament, she and her intern from UNL’s PGA program, Jami Melson, arrived at the course at 4:30 a.m. each day and didn’t leave until 8 p.m. some nights. Their “office” then was the 8,000-squarefoot retail tent where spectators could purchase all manner of Open-branded gear. Merchandise from 24 vendors stuffed two semi trailers, almost 2,000 items that Ulrich and Melson “counted and counted and counted.”

She wouldn’t give numbers but said the club exceeded its sales goals. “We were very happy.”

So were those who reaped the fruit of Ulrich’s hard work.

“Whether a member or somebody who had been to multiple championships or a guy who just walked in, everyone’s reaction was ‘Wow, this place is awesome,’” Ulrich said. “To have that instant reaction, just watching those people and how much they were excited to be on the property made all the work worth it.”

She’s found something she loves to do. And, surely, mom’s proud. v

62 WINTER 2014

Milton L. Cochell, ’68, Firth, Oct. 14, 2013.

Gerald J. Lang, ’68, Thousand Oaks, Calif., July 26, 2013.

Calvin D. Prebyl, ’68, Beatrice, Sept. 6, 2013.

Eric J. Abraham, ’69, Lucas, Kan., Sept. 7, 2013.

Gary L. Hargus, ’69, Crane, Mo., Sept. 15, 2013.

John Hiza, ’69, Boulder, Colo., Sept. 26, 2013.

Adrian L. Wolfe, ’69, Allenspark, Colo., Sept. 1, 2013.

Russell Homa, ’70, Fremont, Aug. 16, 2013.

Kathleen Miller Jacobitz, ’70, Pawnee City, Oct. 16, 2013.

William J. Strateman, ’70, Laguna Beach, Calif., Nov. 4, 2013.

Cara L. Alfson, ’71, Omaha, Aug. 14, 2013.

Frank M. Andreesen, ’71, Ord, Aug. 25, 2012.

Roger A. Clough, ’71, Omaha, Oct. 16, 2013.

Terrance J. Peters, ’71, Bowie, Texas, Sept. 27, 2013.

Richard G. Reider, ’71, Laramie, Wyo., Aug. 14, 2013.

Virginia Slabaugh Rager, ’74, South Sioux City, Feb. 24, 2013.

Jack B. Williams, ’74, Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 9, 2013.

Jerry L. Jares, ’75, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Oct. 19, 2013.

Floyd R. James, ’76, Englewood, Fla., Sept. 15, 2013.

Mary Holdt Schudel, ’76, Lincoln, Nov. 8, 2013.

Virgil R. Dirks, ’77, Tahlequah, Okla., Sept. 19, 2013.

George P. Miller, ’78, Omaha, May 23, 2013.

Stephen W. Mechling, ’79, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept.

1, 2013.

Wesley L. Peyton, ’80, Omaha, Oct. 13, 2013.

Julianne Clifford Taylor, ’81, The Woodlands, Texas, Aug. 22, 2013.

Keith A. Peterson, ’82, Ord, Aug. 13, 2013.

William L. Gengenbach, ’83, Brady, Jan. 21, 2012.

Patrick E. Maginnis, ’84, Grand Island, Aug. 20, 2013.

Galen W. Miller, ’84, Alexandria, Va., Aug. 22, 2013.

Marian Inness Beckner, ’72, Bennington, Aug. 16, 2013.

Richard A. Schleusener, ’84, Rapid City, S.D., Sept. 11, 2013.

Michael M. Hroch, ’72, Wilber, Nov. 5, 2013.

Rolland L. Fenster, ’85, Lincoln, Oct. 16, 2013.

Brian C. Silverman, ’72, Alliance, Aug. 23, 2013.

Jerald D. Hopkins, ’85, Omaha, Aug. 20, 2013.

James R. Hairston, ’73, Bellevue, Sept. 3, 2013.

Dwaine K. Marshall, ’85, Independence, Mo., May 8, 2012.

David J. Schlegel, ’73, Mitchell, Aug. 29, 2013.

Cathy J. Hollins-Schubert, ’86, Fremont, Sept. 29, 2013.

Lorraine M. Keilstrup, ’74, Omaha, Jan. 8, 2012.

David M. Price, ’87, New Albany, Ohio, Sept. 2, 2013.

John P. Marinkovich, ’74, Omaha, Nov. 11, 2013.

Mary Walters Reed, ’87, Lincoln, Sept. 29, 2013.

CLASSNOTES Cynthia Rethmeier Pilkington, ’88, Lincoln, Nov. 6, 2013.

Donald E. Seger, ’98, Fairbury, Nov. 9, 2013.

Terrence L. Scott, ’88, Topeka, Kan., Aug. 23, 2013.

Dan H. Poulos, ’99, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Oct. 4, 2013.

Stephen P. Van Neste, ’88, Heredia, Costa Rica, July 23, 2013.

Sandra J. Clark, ’01, Phillipsburg, Kan., Sept. 4, 2013.

James J. Aksamit, ’90, Hastings, Oct. 6, 2013.

Doris K. Teichmeier, ’90, Lincoln, Aug. 22, 2013.

Daryl R. Warday, ’90, Lincoln, Sept. 28, 2013.

Lori S. Marcuson, ’94, Lincoln, Aug. 9, 2013.

Alexander N. Lamme, ’97, Fremont, April 11, 2013.

Pamela S. Isaacs, ’98, Lincoln, Aug. 28, 2013.

Mari F. Pesek, ’10, Brainard, Sept. 11, 2013.

FACULTY DEATHS

Richard Lonsdale, professor emeritus of geography (197192), Lincoln, Oct. 8, 2013.

Samuel Treves, professor emeritus of geography (1958-2004), former department chair and former associate dean of Arts and Sciences, Lincoln, June 10, 2013.

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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 63

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