AC C E S S TO E XC EPT I O N A L P OIN T S OF PRIDE | 2018–2019
STUDENT BODY HIGHLIGHTS
STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC) HIGHLIGHTS
PROVIDED BY AYA YOUSUF, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT AND STUDENT REGENT
PROVIDED BY STEVEN SUMMERS, STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF THE THOMPSON ALUMNI CENTER
• Following record flooding impacting the state of Nebraska, UNO provided support to students through options for emergency housing and academic flexibility for those directly impacted. UNO Men’s Soccer collected donated items and students like senior Alyssa Spartz donated their summer to helping communities rebuild from the damage.
• Staff Advisory Council (SAC) proposed and received support for the SAC Professional Development Fund, a one-year pilot program to support in-depth, job-specific, and domain-specific professional development opportunities for UNO staff, making UNO a national leader in this area.
• Junior Aya Yousuf and Senior Jabin Moore were voted UNO’s 20192020 Student Body President and Vice President. The pair, who are both first-generation students, were sworn in on April 15, 2019.
• SAC joined Faculty Senate in launching a new membership option for all employees to make use of UNO Campus Recreation facilities.
• Students came out to support UNO and the University of Nebraska in March 2019 for the second annual “I Love NU” Advocacy Day, where supporters from across the University of Nebraska System spoke directly with members of the Nebraska Legislature in support of higher education.
• A first-of-its-kind SAC staff climate survey was launched and completed with an overwhelming response. The information gathered is being used to develop next year’s SAC Strategic Plan and, along with feedback from UNO’s RESPECT Engagement Survey, build additional advocacy programs based on the most immediate concerns of UNO staff.
FACULT Y SENATE HIGHLIGHTS
OFFICE OF GR ADUATE STUDIES
PROVIDED BY MATT HALE, FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CYBERSECURITY
PROVIDED BY DEBORAH SMITH-HOWELL, ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES
• In 2018-2019, Faculty Senate engaged with faculty and administration to increase access to mental health services under the new UMR health care administrator. Payouts to providers were increased by as much as 300% following this effort.
• Graduate Studies continues to increase its offerings for the modern student with almost 100 graduate programs at the doctoral, master’s, and certificate levels. These include dual degree program partnerships with UNMC and UNL, and additional programs offered through digital delivery.
• Continued support of individual faculty web pages by working with ITS to secure funding for the Reclaim Hosting Service. The official project was launched August 2019.
• The number of graduate students from underrepresented populations has increased by 75% since 2012.
• Faculty Senate committees reviewed and revised senate bylaws to increase operational efficiency.
• Within the past year, Graduate Studies awarded over $46,000 to support 94 master’s and doctoral students presenting at academic conferences around the country, showing a commitment to research and creative activity.
• In an effort to promote sustainability on campus, Faculty Senate submitted a grant during Summer 2019 to seek funding for a universitywide initiative to bring solar panels to the UNO campus.
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COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES (CAS)
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTR ATION (CBA)
PROVIDED BY DAVID BOOCKER, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
PROVIDED BY LYNN HARLAND, INTERIM DEAN FOR THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
• CAS is offering the region’s first academic major in Medical Humanities beginning Fall 2019 to prepare graduates for careers in the health care industry through its focus on the humanistic aspects of medicine, which promotes patient-centered care and resilient professionals. The major plays a critical role in support of the mission of the new Kooser Health Humanities Center, a partnership between UNO and UNMC.
• Work is now underway on a 44,000 square-foot addition to Mammel Hall, home to UNO’s College of Business Administration (CBA). The privately-funded project will add six new classrooms, four seminar rooms, an expanded Koraleski Commerce and Applied Behavioral Lab and a 180-person general purpose room. Construction is scheduled to be complete in late 2020.
• Joe Biden, the 47th Vice President of the United States, presented prepared remarks to more than 300 at the Inaugural Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership, an event sponsored and organized by CAS with support from University Communications. Biden told the crowd, “It’s in our naked self-interest to stay engaged, not because we are the only country who can save the world, but because we can’t do it alone.”
• In July 2019 the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the formation of the School of Accounting, highlighting the growth and academic achievement of accounting programs in CBA. The new program will administer UNO’s undergraduate accounting concentration courses and the Master of Accounting graduate degree program.
• From January through April 2019, the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy partnered with Yahad-In Unum to present “Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Forgotten Aspects of the Holocaust.” The events, including a multimedia exhibit of eyewitness testimony to the shooting deaths of more than 1.5 million Eastern European Jews, a two-day workshop for educators and a keynote by Father Patrick Desbois, provided an extraordinary experience for hundreds in the community.
• Founded in May 2019, the UNO Center for Professional Sales supports the university, sales students, and the Omaha community through a new “Professional Selling” concentration and minor; extracurricular activities; and opportunities that bring together faculty, students, business professionals, for-profit organizations, and non-profit organizations to develop skills and professional networks.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (COE) PROVIDED BY NANCY EDICK, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
• The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the leading voice of educator preparation, has invited faculty and administrators from UNO’s College of Education to join the Reducing the Shortage of Special Education Teachers Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to examine and investigate issues in special education teacher recruitment and retention, including shortages and a lack of diversity in the field. • The Division of Biomechanics and Research Development is preparing for the grand opening of the 30,000 square-foot expansion to the Biomechanics Research Building, which will house a 3D Printing Lab; Bioinspired Robotics Lab; new Virtual Reality Lab; an expanded Machine Shop; and an outreach and instruction space.
COLLEGE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNIT Y SERVICE (CPAC S) PROVIDED BY JOHN BARTLE, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
• The BODYMODELS program wrapped up the second summer of exciting interdisciplinary collaboration in July. A team of elementary school teachers and science leaders—along with Teacher Education and Biomechanics faculty and UNO Noyce Scholars—worked together to develop STEM and Biomechanics curriculum to roll out this fall in Omaha-area classrooms.
• UNO’s Aviation Institute was one of four university aviation programs selected by Southwest Airlines for a “pathway” program that accelerates students into careers as pilots. Southwest will provide qualified students internships and coaching to complement UNO’s education to prepare the next generation of pilots. • US News & World Report ranked the Criminology and Criminal Justice online master’s program No. 1 in the nation. Six other graduate programs in CPACS are also ranked among the Top 30 in their fields across the nation.
• Metro Omaha Education Consortium (MOEC) led the charge for Metro Omaha to become Nebraska’s first member of the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading. MOEC also organized yearlong, philanthropy-funded professional development for mathematics teachers in 12 school districts, two community colleges, and UNO. A similar program for early literacy educators will begin in September.
• Every first-year student in the Goodrich Scholarship Program returned for their sophomore year in Fall 2018 — a 100% retention rate.
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COLLEGE OF INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (IS&T )
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS PROVIDED BY SACHA KOPP, SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEBORAH SMITH-HOWELL, ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES
PROVIDED BY HESHAM ALI, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• The College of IS&T established its 13th degree program, the Master of Science in IT Innovation, to help meet the critical need for more transformative technologists. The degree will help more entrepreneurs shape their ideas and answer problems with a technical solution.
AIR FORCE ROTC (AFROTC)
• Fifty-six AFROTC Scholarships were awarded for the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters, totaling over $260,000 going to help support UNO students.
• IS&T’s partnership with the Department of Defense continues to grow. With software developed by IS&T faculty and students, IS&T is helping forensic anthropologists with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identify the remains of fallen soldiers, giving their families closure.
DUAL ENROLLMENT/GENER AL EDUC ATION
• Over 2,800 distinct dual enrollment students enrolled in 18,580 credit hours of UNO courses. ONLINE LE ARNING
• For the past five years, IS&T faculty have led and/or participated in 399 external and internal grants and contracts totaling over $19 million.
• In 2018-19, students and faculty continued to use online learning and find opportunities for growth as part of their UNO experience: Online student credit hours increased 6.8% from 2017-18, funding was provided by the Office of Digital Learning for 27 online course development grants across all six colleges, and, through collaboration with UNO Libraries, the use of Open Educational Resources (free or reduced cost digital course materials) available through Canvas continues to build momentum.
COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION, FINE ARTS AND MEDIA (CFAM) PROVIDED BY MICHAEL HILT, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION, FINE ARTS AND MEDIA
SERVICE LE ARNING AC ADEM Y (SL A)
• A group of 18 UNO Theatre students traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform an original play titled “Little Wars” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The festival is the world’s largest festival of its kind, and provides the opportunity to perform in front of thousands, as well as see dozens of other theatre productions from all around the world. The trip was led by UNO Theatre Program Coordinator Steven Williams and graduate student Jeremy Stoll.
• The UNO Service Learning Academy helped support 208 unique service learning courses, which is a 15% increase from the number of courses offered in 2017-2018. Through these courses, 3,125 UNO students and 126 faculty partnered with 119 different community partners. UNO students and faculty also worked with 2,144 students and 48 school partners through the P-16 initiative. • UNO and the Omaha Public Schools were named the national winners of the Excellence in Community Partner Engagement Award from the Engaged Scholarship Consortium for their years-long partnership through the P-16 Initiative. The award will be presented on Oct. 8, 2019.
• The recently renovated and expanded Strauss Performing Arts Center, home of the School of the Arts, opened with much anticipation. Originally built in 1973, the new 25,000-squarefoot addition includes the John and Jan Christensen Recital Hall, practice rooms, and teaching spaces that include studios for the keyboard, brass, percussion, and technology areas as well as a recording studio.
THOMPSON LE ARNING COMMUNIT Y ( TLC)
• The UNO Thompson Learning Community is welcoming 306 news students for Fall 2019, building on growth from Fall 2018 where 301 new students enrolled—35 more than Fall 2017. UNO TLC is also keeping more of those students enrolled with a projected 94.5% first-tosecond year retention rate for first-year students who enrolled for Fall 2018.
• MavForensics, UNO’s nationally-ranked competitive speech team, finished in the Top 10 in the nation for the 10th year in a row. The American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET) held its National Championships and the MavForensics earned sixth place nationally in 2019. Senior Ameres Groves also became just the eighth national champion in UNO history at the tournament.
• UNO TLC supported 1,054 total students at UNO in 2018-2019, which makes up 8.4% of the total undergraduate population. All students have a scholarship from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. UNIVERSIT Y HONORS PROGR AM
• University Honors student, Alejandra Escobar-Serrano was selected as a finalist for the national Truman Scholarship (one of four from Nebraska) and one of 20 students selected nationally for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. • The number of incoming University Honors students for Fall 2019 has increased by 52% over Fall 2018 with 193 new students enrolled.
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BUSINESS AND FINANCE PROVIDED BY DOUG EWALD, VICE CHANCELLOR FOR BUSINESS, FINANCE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
• In July, James Kamm was named UNO’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance. Kamm, a UNO alumnus, earned his MBA from UNO in 1994 and spent more than 30 years in financial services prior to joining UNO. • Parking Services preserved permit prices for the second straight year and added a new late-night shuttle route between Dodge and Scott Campuses to help meet student, staff, and faculty needs. • Accounts Payable has joined with UNMC to create a new “Payment Services” unit, which is led by Teresa Carlson, who has been a part of the UNO family for 30 years. • UNO continues to maintain a safe and supportive campus through efforts by the UNO Department of Public Safety, including preventative education opportunities like providing tips to avoid email scams and offering active shooter trainings. • Facilities Management and Planning celebrated the completion of the Strauss Performing Arts Center addition and renovation. Other projects, including the Biomechanics Research Building addition and Stage I of the Arts and Sciences Hall, renovations are nearing completion.
ATHLETIC S (GO MAVS!) PROVIDED BY TREV ALBERTS, VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ATHLETIC LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
STUDENT SUCCESS
• For the first time in school history, the Omaha baseball team earned the Summit League Tournament Championship and played in its first NCAA Division I Regional. The team ended the season with a 31-24-1 overall record and an impressive 20-10 record in the Summit League.
PROVIDED BY DAN SHIPP, VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
• In 2018-19, a core group of faculty, staff, and students formed “The First-Generation Guild,” to bring campus and community resources together to organize and enhance support for the over 40% of UNO students who identify as first-generation students. First-Generation Guild partners include College Possible, Dreamers Pathway Scholarship, Enrollment Management, Goodrich, Academic Affairs, Multicultural Affairs, Thompson Learning Community, Service Learning Academy, Success Academy, Young Scholars, the Urban League of Nebraska, and Student Success.
• Omaha Athletics announced the construction of a new, privatelyfunded baseball and softball facility that is scheduled to open in spring 2021. It will be the first on-campus home for both teams. • Over the last year, UNO’s Baxter Arena hosted 191 unique events, bringing more than 430,000 people to UNO’s campus. This includes hosting 17 different college and high school graduations with nearly 100,000 visitors, as well as important community events like the Komen Walk for the Cure, the ALS Walk, and three Red Cross Blood Drives.
• This past spring, Campus Recreation joined Faculty Senate and Staff Advisory Council in launching a new block membership program to best fit individual wellness needs at an affordable price. • In 2018-19, the Office of the University Registrar embarked on the challenge of having one office serve two campuses, creating numerous efficiencies and collaborations across UNO and UNMC. This has included hiring Maureen Pope as the new Academic Records Assistant Registrar as well as streamlining a number of new services that directly benefit UNO and UNMC students.
• Four teams earned second place in their respective Summit League tournament appearances this past season: Men’s Basketball (2111), Women’s Soccer (8-11-2), Men’s Soccer (7-8-1) and Women’s Tennis (2-3). Men’s Basketball and Men’s Soccer also finished the regular season in second place in the Summit League. • UNO placed 135 student-athletes on the Summit League’s Academic Honor Roll (3.20 GPA or better) and 60 student-athletes on the Summit Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence (3.50 GPA or better). In addition, a conference-leading 24 Mavericks were named NCHC Academic All-Conference (3.0+) and 15 were named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes (3.5+).
• In fall of 2018 the Walter Scott Jr., Scott Scholars Program was enhanced to feature a whole-person learning agenda integrating technical skill development with world-class experiential learning opportunities.
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BARBAR A WEIT Z COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT CENTER (WEIT Z CEC)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (ITS)
PROVIDED BY SARA WOODS, DIRECTOR OF THE BARBARA WEITZ COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CENTER AND EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE TO THE SENIOR VICE CHANCELLOR FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
PROVIDED BY BRET BLACKMAN, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND NU VICE PRESIDENT FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
• ITS teams supported digital course content for faculty and students in 2018-2019, including 5,243 courses in Canvas with 105,751 assignments submitted by over 15,000 students. Usage of VidGrid accessible video software increased, with over 20,000 videos for teaching and learning created and nearly 70,000 minutes of captioned content produced.
• The CEC continues to be a model of community engagement in the United States. Now celebrating their fifth year of operations, 35 building partner organizations call the CEC home. CEC building partners offer extensive service learning, internship, research, and volunteer opportunities to students and applied research and consultation opportunities to UNO faculty.
• For the protection and safety of the UNO campus community, DUO multi-factor authentication and support was implemented in 2018-2019. This added feature is a best practice for password protection and login management. These tools enhance the security posture of the institution and allow ITS staff to monitor dashboards for security risk events.
• In a 2019 survey, 94% of CEC building partners indicated that residing in the CEC has contributed positively to their mission. • Since opening in 2014, the CEC has welcomed almost 500,000 people attending workshops, trainings, conferences, dialogues, and meetings in the facility. These events have been hosted by more than 880 different community and campus organizations. The total estimated value of contributed space and IT services in the CEC has exceeded more than $12 million, and represents operational dollars saved by community organizations that have used this space.
• ITS hosted the second annual Digital Learning Showcase in May 2019. This event provided the opportunity for faculty to showcase how they use technology to create innovative teaching methods. The event allowed for greater visibility into UNO’s digital courses, where instructors have created effective strategies for engaging with distance students or creating community in the virtual classroom. College of Education faculty member Erica Rose was recognized as the first recipient of the ITS Outstanding Innovation in Teaching with Technology Award.
GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROVIDED BY JANE MEZA, ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
• In 2018-2019, International Programs worked with more than 1,600 international students, scholars, and participants from more than 100 countries. • Education Abroad sent 358 participants abroad to 42 different countries, and offered 23 faculty-led programs. • The Center for Afghanistan Studies brought in more than $1.2 million in grant-funded projects working in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and other areas across Central Asia. • In March 2019, The Center celebrated its 3rd Annual CASA Celebration Week providing UNO students and community members an opportunity to learn more about the countries in Central and South Asia. The Center also offered two new courses to UNO students in Spring 2019: “Politics of Central Asia and South Asia” and “Water Resources of South-West Asia.”
OFFICE OF RESE ARCH AND CRE ATIVE AC TIVIT Y (ORCA)
• International Programs celebrated the 40th anniversary of UNO’s partnership with Shizuoka University in Japan and the Shizuoka Summer Tour across Nebraska and South Dakota.
PROVIDED BY KEN BAYLES, INTERIM ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY AND SARA MYERS, ASSISTANT VICE CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY
• In 2018-2019, the Office of Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) submitted 391 different proposals for external funding with 181 awards being issued. • A variety of research projects were funded at the federal level, including nearly $3 billion in grant funding provided by the National Institutes of Health. • ORCA provided more than $580,000 in internal funding to 200 faculty and students, including $133,757 for undergraduate students and $335,419 for graduate students.
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UNIVERSIT Y COMMUNICATIONS (UCOMM) PROVIDED BY MAKAYLA MCMORRIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
• Makayla McMorris was named UNO’s Executive Director of UNO’s Office of University Communications (UComm), bringing with her extensive digital, marketing, branding, and community engagement experience, including a role as marketing lead of local ABC-affiliated television station KETV. • UComm launched strategic marketing efforts to enhance recruitment efforts in collaboration with campus partners. These efforts, including a suite of new marketing videos that aired in the Omaha television market and a United Airlines Magazine print ad, have expanded UNO’s reach among local and global audiences. • In partnership with the UNO Alumni Association and the academic colleges, UComm developed a summer storytelling initiative highlighting seven alumni who are leading change in their respective fields. “I am the ROI” videos were viewed more than 41,000 times, driving hundreds of people to the website via boosted social media posts.
UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PROVIDED BY LEE DENKER, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE UNO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
• UNO’s alumni network grew to more than 111,000 living alumni — more than half of whom live in Nebraska. • The UNO Alumni Association celebrated their ninth class of the award-winning Young Alumni Academy. More than 340 graduates have gone through the program.
• The UComm Digital Communications team, in partnership with ITS, enhanced website accessibility through technical and contentrelated changes, and continues to make enhancements to ensure international accessibility guidelines are met.
• The UNO Alumni Association launched a mobile app tailored to alumni.
UNO LIBR ARIES
UNIVERSIT Y OF NEBR ASK A FOUNDATION
PROVIDED BY DAVID RICHARDS, DEAN OF UNO LIBRARIES
• The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library recorded 481,783 visits in the 2018-19 academic year. The KANEKO-UNO Creativity Library recorded 11,843 visits over the same time period. The Creative Production Lab hosted 8,959 visitors, who used the lab’s 3-D printers, laser cutter, studio space, and large format printers.
PROVIDED BY MIKE BIRD, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNO ADVANCEMENT
• Thanks to nearly $100 million in current and anticipated private funding, major construction projects including the Strauss Performing Arts Center addition, Biomechanics Research Building addition, Mammel Hall addition, new baseball/softball facility and renovations to the Durham Science Center are recently completed, underway, or currently in the planning stages.
• In partnership with Digital Learning, UNO Libraries distributed funds to 13 faculty members to transition from traditional course materials to low or no cost materials as part of the new Affordable Content Grants: OER@UNO. • Oral history interviews were collected from over 300 Omahans, including members of the UNO community, Native Americans, LGBTQ+ folks, veterans, and other community members. Interviews from 1976 to 2019 are currently available online from Archives and Special Collections.
• In 2018, the University of Nebraska Foundation was recognized by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of the nation’s Top 100 charities for 2017. • Two newly funded professorships were identified in 20182019: the Atherton Professorship in Counseling and the Koraleski Professorship in Collaboration Science, which was awarded to Gina Ligon, UNO associate professor of management.
• The 50th anniversary of the creation of the University of Nebraska system was marked with the exhibit “The Day OU Became UNO” in Archives and Special Collections with an online exhibit collaboration between the four NU campuses entitled “All Together Now: The 50th Anniversary of the University of Nebraska System Merger, 1968-2018.”
• New professorships and chairs have been developed, showcasing the excellence of UNO’s faculty and highlighting the community’s support. These include the Goldstein Center for Human Rights and Community Chair, the fifth Haddix Community Chair in STEM, and the Atherton Professorship in Counseling.
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The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. Facts and figures presented in this book are based off of statistics obtained from the 2018-19 academic year. 0097BKCHAN0919