Summer 2007 - UNO Alumni Association

Transcription

U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
N E B R A S K A
A T
O M A H A
A L U M N I
A S S O C I A T I O N
www.unoalumni.org
Summer 2007
Mountain Man
UNO Geology Professor
Jack Shroder combines
discovery with
daring and détente
also inside:
John Christensen named
UNO’s 14th chancellor.
Join KING HENRY and his
BAND OF BROTHERS
at the annual
Shakespeare
on the Green
Alumni Picnic
Thursday, July 5
J
Picnic: 6 to 7:15 p.m.
Performance: 8 p.m
Thompson Alumni Center
(rain or shine)
oin the UNO Alumni Association Thursday, July 5, for the Shakespeare on the
Green Alumni Picnic followed by a performance of “King Henry V.” Cost is
$12 per person. Here's the lineup:
• Picnic Buffet (Chicken, BBQ pork, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw,
cookie, beverages).
• Reserved spot “down front” at the play.
• Reserved parking near the Green.
• “Henry V” preview by UNO Professor Cindy Melby Phaneuf,
co-founder/artistic director of Nebraska Shakespeare Festival (NSF).
• Satisfaction knowing part of your fee helps underwrite a donation to the NSF.
“H e n r y V” Synopsis: The young
King Henry leads a small but gallant band of soldiers into a slow
and arduous war across the French
countryside. At the Battle of
Agincourt the English faced a
French army that outnumbered
them five to one. How heavy the
crown for young Henry as he rallies
the courageous “band of brothers”
toward the ultimate challenge and
glory.
To register, complete form and remit with payment. Questions? Call Sheila King at 554-4802 or e-mail [email protected]
“HENRY V” SHAKESPEARE ON THE GREEN UNO ALUMNI PICNIC REGISTRATION -- Submit by June 30!
Name
Phone
Address
Email
City
State
q I (we) will attend “Henry V” AND the picnic! q I (we) will only attend the picnic.
I have enclosed $
Charge my:
for
people to attend at $12 each. (Make checks payable to UNO Alumni Association).
q Visa q MasterCard q Discover.
Exp. Date ___ / ___
Names for Name Tags
Zip
Signature:
Card No.
Send to:
Shakespeare Picnic
UNO Alumni Association
6705 Dodge St.
Omaha, NE 68182-0010
Contents
Summer 2007
On the cover:
College Pages
Profiling the career of longtime UNO Geology Professor
Jack Shroder: Page 16. Photo courtesy Jack Shroder.
Education
Also: UNO Chancellor John Christensen with UNO
Student Regent Alexander Williams, right, and Kyla Sanden,
chief administrative officer for UNO Student Government.
Arts & Sciences
26-27
Youth on campus for summer blast.
28-31
The heritage of Allwine Prairie.
CPACS
32-33
Focus on college’s diverse alumni.
IS&T
34-37
Tech help wanted: students need apply.
CBA
38
Distinguished Achievement awards.
8
Editor: Anthony Flott
Features
Christensen named chancellor
8
John Christensen is named UNO’s 14th chancellor,
becoming the first UNO graduate to hold that post.
Tour guides
12
Longtime UNO figures Les Valentine and Oliver Pollak
collaborate on a UNO photo history book.
LaCasa’s slice of UNO
16
12
20
Local pizzeria LaCasa boasts
extensive UNO ties.
Making a difference while making a grade
22
UNO’s Service-Learning Academy
provides lessons outside the classroom.
14
All in the family
39
Omaha’s Gehringer and Monico clans
have made a UNO education family affairs.
Association Departments
Alumni Association in Action
6
Deadline nears for UNO season hockey ticket drawing;
Citation and Alumni Outstanding Teachings awards issued;
Association begins outreach to young grads.
39
w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
Class Notes
Updates from the school of hard knocks.
41
Contributors: Leo Biga, Adam Bird, Tim Fitzgerald,
Eric Francis, Tom McMahon, Wendy Townley,
Melinda Wenner.
Alumni Association Officers: Chairman of the
Board, Deborah McLarney; Past Chairman, Michael
Kudlacz; 1st Vice Chair, Rod Oberle; 2nd Vice Chair,
Mark Grieb; Secretary, Patricia Lamberty; Treasurer,
Dan Koraleski; Legal Counsel, Martha Ridgway
Zajicek; Special appointments, Angelo Passarelli,
Kevin Warneke, John Wilson; President & CEO, Lee
Denker.
Alumni Staff: Lee Denker, President & CEO;
Roxanne Miller, Executive Secretary; Sue Gerding,
Diane Osborne, Kathy Johnson, Records/Alumni
Cards; Sheila King, Activities Coordinator; Greg
Trimm, Alumni Center Manager; Anthony Flott,
Editor; Business Manager, Brian Schram, Loretta
Wirth, Receptionist.
The UNO Alum is published quarterly by the UNO
Alumni Association, W.H. Thompson Alumni Center,
UNO, Omaha, NE 68182-0010, (402) 554-2444, FAX
(402) 554-3787 • web address: www.unoalumni.org
• Member, Council for the Advancement and
Support of Education (CASE) •
Direct all inquiries to Editor,
(402) 554-2989. Toll-free,
UNO-MAV-ALUM • email:
[email protected] •
Send all changes of address to
attention of Records.
Views expressed through various articles within the magazine do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the University
of Nebraska at Omaha or the
UNO Alumni Association.
Summer 2007 • 3
Letter from the
Dear Alum:
S
Chancellor
ometimes, dreams do come true. Ever since arriving on campus as a
faculty member 30 years ago, it has been my goal to serve this institution
to the best of my abilities – a passion I know I share with the UNO
community. Last fall, our collective desire to serve was put to test as the
institution faced a crisis of confidence and trust, previously unknown in its
proud history.
The road to recovery has been a long and, at times, difficult one. But,
together, we’ve worked through many of those challenges, restoring
traditional UNO values and moving the institution forward. I sincerely
appreciate the support, vision and encouragement I’ve received during the
past eight months as interim chancellor. Quite
simply, we would not be where we are today
without the combined efforts of our students,
faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.
It is indeed an honor and a privilege to be
named UNO’s 14th chancellor, an appointment
which I find at once both humbling and
exhilarating. Humbling because I follow in the
footsteps of leaders such as Ron Roskens and Del
Weber, who laid the foundation for the modern
UNO and for whom I have great respect and
admiration. It is exhilarating because everyday I see new possibilities and
exciting opportunities for UNO to serve and lead this community, state and
region.
I truly believe that, as UNO prepares to enter its next 100 years, the best
is yet to come. There is nowhere else I would rather be than at the helm of
this great institution on the threshold of a new century of discovery,
teaching and learning.
The future offers us unique opportunities and challenges to reach out to
our students and community as never before. Now is the time to “think
outside the box” or, as I’ve suggested, build a new box. I will encourage the
entire campus community and our supporters to share their thoughts on
how UNO might approach its important responsibilities to serve students
and the community more efficiently and effectively. At the same time, work
will continue or begin immediately to:
• Organize search committees to fill several key administrative roles,
including the vice chancellors for Business and Finance and Academic and
Student Affairs;
• Explore the feasibility of expanding our academic offerings and
operations to encompass a full 12-month schedule;
• Develop the enormous potential available on the Pacific and Center
Street campuses; and,
• Expand our partnerships with our various constituents, including
business, industry, education, social services, the arts and public policy.
Since my appointment, I’ve been genuinely moved by the offers of
support and assistance from the campus, the community, and our alumni.
Your good wishes mean more than you could ever know.
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves, continuing our work for this
institution about which we care so deeply. Thanks for everything you do,
everyday, to make UNO a place we are proud to call our own. Let’s get
started . . .
Until Next Time,
Campus
SCENE
Photo by Tim Fitz gerald
Under Construction
CPACS finally is getting its own home. The
College of Public Affairs and Community
Service will occupy the former Engineering
Building after extensive renovations and additions costing $18.7 million. Construction on
the building began earlier this spring and is
expected to be completed by August 2008. See
details at www.unomaha.edu/cpacs/building
John Christensen,
UNO Chancellor
4 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
Summer 2007 • 5
Alumni Association in Action
he UNO Alumni Association
kicked off a new outreach to
younger alumni on May 16, hosting a Young Alumni Dinner at the
Thompson Alumni Center.
The gathering included more
than 30 young alumni who share
the association's interest in
attracting young alumni and
expanding opportunities for them.
The group met in roundtables to
discuss the events and activities
through which that might happen.
It shared those insights with association President & CEO Lee
Denker, Director of Activities
Sheila King and board member
Jamie Herbert of Union Pacific
Railroad.
"This group of dynamic leaders
is on a mission to create the
finest young alumni program
around,” Denker says.
“Their enthusiasm for UNO and
their level of energy are contagious."
Of the association’s 80,000
living graduates, 45 percent are
40 or younger, including 29 percent who are in their 30s.
Participants at the meeting
established a Young Alumni
Steering Committee that will
develop a young alumni involvement plan for implementation in
2008. The group next will meet in
June.
"It was very clear from all in
attendance that young alumni are
eager for opportunities to remain
involved with UNO,” says Denker.
“Our Young Alumni Steering
Committee is excited to get to
work and make that happen."
Young alumni interested in
joining the association’s outreach
efforts should contact Activities
Director Sheila King at
[email protected] or call
her at (402) 554-4802.
T
6 • Summer 2007
First National’s Hart receives Citation
he UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation
ber for the boards of Opera Omaha, the Nebraska State
for Alumnus Achievement upon Timothy D. Hart
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Nebraska
during the university’s spring commencement May
Bankers Association. He also has served as state presi4 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
dent, multistate director and chair of the national planHart, senior vice president and treasurer of First
ning committee for Financial Executives International, an
National Bank of Nebraska (FNN), received a bachelor’s
organization with more than 15,000 CFOs and treasurers.
degree in business administration from UNO in 1980.
Currently, Hart is national chair of legislative policy for
The Citation, inaugurated in 1949, is presented at
FEI’s Private Companies group.
each UNO commencement. The association’s highest
Hart is past chair of the Nebraska Tax Research
honor, it encompasses career achievement, community
Council and the Nebraska Choral Arts Society, and is a
service, involvement in business and professional associpast board member of the Salvation Army, United Way of
ations, and fidelity to UNO. Association President Lee
the Midlands Allocations, the Committee to Study
Denker presented the award to
Hart, the 143rd Citation
recipient.
“Tim Hart is truly deserving of the Alumni Citation
because he has not only distinguished himself through a
very successful banking
career, but he also serves
UNO and his community in
so many meaningful ways,”
said Denker.
With more than $16 billion in assets and millions of
customers across the United
States, First National of
UNO Chancellor John Christensen, far left, joined Association President & CEO Lee
Nebraska is the largest privately held bank holding com- Denker, far right, to present the Citation for Alumnus Achievement to Tim Hart.
T
pany in the United States. Hart
joined FNN in 1983 and has held several positions,
including chief financial officer, treasurer, corporate secretary and division head. He joined the Board of Directors
of First National Bank of Omaha in 1998 and served until
December 2006.
Hart’s service outside FNN is extensive. He is a mem-
City/County Merger, and the Governor’s Commission on
Welfare Reform. He and his wife, Debbie, a 1979 UNO
graduate, are active in the Omaha community and have
chaired several fundraisers. The Harts have three children. A California native, Hart attended Westmont High
School in Campbell, Calif.
Hockey ticket promotion ends June 30
ll UNO Annual Fund donors who contribute an unrestricted donation of $50 or more by June 30 will be entered in
random drawings for pairs of 2006-07 UNO season hockey tickets. Three winners will be selected.
The UNO Alumni Association has added two other random drawings to its 2007 UNO
Annual Fund campaign. All donors (unrestricted) of $50 or more also will be included in
these drawings:
• Grand Prize Drawing — $1,000 gift certificate to Borsheims Fine Jewelry and
Gifts.
• Seven First Prize Drawings — Omaha Steaks Gift Packages ($268 average retail
value each).
All donors receive the UNO Alumni Card, which provides various benefits and
discounts. Century Club donors of $100 or more also receive various mementos
corresponding to giving level.
Qualify for the drawings today by completing the donation form inside the
attached envelope and returning it to the Alumni Association with your gift.
A
UNOALUM
Tim Fitzgerald, University Affairs
Association
kicks off
Young Alumni
Initiative
News, Information & Activities
Shakespeare on the Green
Alumni Picnic set for July 5
oin the UNO Alumni Association Thursday,
July 5, for the 21st Shakespeare on the
Green! The Association is hosting grads and
friends for a picnic, followed by a performance
of “King Henry V.” Cost is $12 per person.
Here’s the lineup:
Picnic: 6 to 7:15 p.m. (rain or shine) at the
Thompson Alumni Center
Performance: 8 p.m.
All for just $12 per person! Here’s what you
get:
• Picnic Buffet in the Thompson Alumni
Center: Chicken, BBQ pork, potato salad,
J
Performance Synopsis: The young King Henry leads
a small but gallant band of soldiers into a slow and
arduous war across the French countryside. At the
Battle of Agincourt the English faced a French army
that outnumbered them five to one. How heavy the
crown for young Henry as he rallies the courageous
“band of brothers” toward the ultimate challenge
and glory.
baked beans, coleslaw, cookie, beverages.
• Reserved spot “down front” at the play.
• Reserved parking near “The Green.”
• “Henry V” preview by UNO Professor
Cindy Melby Phaneuf, co-founder/artistic
director of Nebraska Shakespeare Festival.
• Satisfaction knowing part of your fee
helps underwrite a donation to the Nebraska
Shakespeare Festival.
To register, complete the Shakespeare
Registration Form on page 2 and return with
payment by June 30. Direct questions to Sheila
King at (402) 554-4802.
From left, Neal Grandgenett, Dora Matache, Gary Krause, Jody Neathery-Castro, Ann Fruhling, Lisa Sample and Barbara Pickering. Phani Tej Adidam not shown.
2007 Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards issued
he UNO Alumni Association marked the 11th year of its Alumni
Outstanding Teaching Awards program when it presented the honor to
nine faculty members at the UNO Faculty Honors Convocation Breakfast
April 12.
Association President Lee Denker presented the awards, established in
1997 to honor distinguished teaching in the classroom. Peer committees in
each college chose recipients, each of whom received a $1,000 award. Denker
presented recipients with commemorative tablets during the convocation
breakfast in the Milo Bail Student Center. With the 2007 awards the association has issued $95,000 in AOTAs since the program’s start in 1997.
Bios of the 2007 AOTA recipients follow.
Phani Tej Adida m, marketing and management, College of Business
Administration.
T
Randall Adkins, political science, College of Arts & Sciences.
Ann Fruhling, information systems and quantitative analysis, College of
Information Science and Technology.
Neal Grandgenett, teacher education, College of Education.
Gar y L. Krause, civil engineering, College of Engineering.
Dora Matache, mathematics, College of Arts & Sciences.
Jody Neather y-Castro, political science, College of Arts & Sciences.
Barbara Pickering, communication, College of Communication, Fine Arts
and Media.
Li sa Sam ple, criminology and criminal justice, College of Public Affairs
and Community Service.
Recipient biographies can be seen on the association's Web site at
www.unoalumni.org/awards
Summer 2007 • 7
University News
Christensen tabbed as UNO’s 14th Chancellor
niversity of Nebraska President James B. Milliken on May 8 announced
the appointment of Dr. John E. Christensen as UNO’s next Chancellor,
doing so at a press conference in the Thompson Alumni Center.
Christensen becomes the 14th chancellor in the university’s 99-year history but the first UNO graduate to lead the institution. He earned a master’s
degree in speech-language pathology from UNO in 1974. Christensen, 58, has been interim chancellor
since September 2006 following the resignation of Nancy Belck from that post. He was chosen after a
national search chaired by College of Arts & Sciences Dean Shelton Hendricks. The appointment was
approved by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents May 18.
“Over the past eight months, John has demonstrated integrity and openness and has provided energetic leadership for the campus,” Milliken said. “It's clear that John Christensen loves UNO, and he has an
ambitious vision for its future. He has outlined objectives which will ensure that no time or momentum is
lost at UNO.
“We had an impressive group of candidates and four outstanding
finalists for this position, reinforcing what we all know: that UNO is
• See page 4 for Chancellor
Christensen’s address to UNO an excellent institution with enormous potential.”
alumni
Christensen has spent his entire academic career at UNO, beginning in 1978 as a faculty member in the College of Education's
• Read a previous UNO Alum
department of special education and communication disorders. He
feature story on Chancellor
subsequently served as chair of that department for 12 years. He was
Christensen and other stories at
www.unoalumni.org/Christensen dean of the College of Education from 1998 to 2003 and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs from 2003 until his appointment as interim chancellor.
Christensen received his bachelor's degree in speech and communication from Dana College and his
Ph.D. in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas. He has been active in Omaha community affairs and in national professional organizations related to his academic field.
A graduate of Omaha Benson High School, Christensen and his wife, Jan, have three adult sons. All
three are UNO graduates.
Longtime UNO figure
elevated from interim status
U
University Chancellors, 1908 - 2007
1909-1927
Dan i el Jen ki n s
Born in England,
1866. An ordained
Presbyterian minister, he was a gifted
orator
and
began
teaching at
the
Omaha Theological
Seminary in 1900.
Nine years later he
became founding
president of the
University of
Omaha, retaining
that position until
his death in 1927.
8 • Summer 2007
I n t e r im
W. Gil bert James
Came to University
of Omaha in 1919
as a dean. Was acting president three
times (1926-27;
1928; 1930-31) and
in 1933 became
dean of the newlycreated School of
Fine
Arts.
Held
that
post
until
1937 then was
head of English
department until
retiring in 1948.
1927-1928
K a r l W ett sto n e
Born in Genoa,
Italy, in 1893, the
son of
a missionary.
Also
an ordained Presbyterian
minister. Replaced
Jenkins as OU
president in 1927
but left after one
year to become
pastor of the
Bethany Temple
Presbyterian
Church in
Philadelphia.
1928-1930
Ernest Emer y
Born near Sedalia,
Mo., around 1888.
Ordained minister
of the United
Brethren Church;
with wife served as
missionaries for
three
years
in
British
West
Africa.
President of York
College in Nebraska
from 1927 to 1928.
until becoming
University of
Omaha president.
Top: Christensen’s warm welcome included an
embrace from his wife, Jan. Middle: UNO
Wrestling Coach Mike Denney was on hand with a
warm greeting, too. Bottom: Numerous media
attended the appointment conference.
1931-1935
Wi l l ia m S e al o c k
Born
in
Rural
Dale,
Ohio,
in
1877. Dean of Univ.
of Nebraska’s
Teachers College
before appointment
in 1931 as first
president of what
became the
Municipal
University of
Omaha. Remained
president until
committing suicide
in 1935.
1935-1948
Ro w l a n d Ha y n e s
Born in 1878 in
Worcester, Mass.
Served on
President Hoover’s
Organization for
Unemployment
Relief and in 1934
was appointed by
President Roosevelt
as Nebraska Relief
Director. Oversaw
university’s move
from north Omaha
campus to
present
location.
1948-65
P h i l li p M il o B ai l
Born in 1899 in
Boonville, Mo.;
Served in World
War I.
Held
various
educational
posts, serving as
president of Chevy
Chase Junior
College and dean of
Butler University’s
College of
Education. Fourth
longest-serving
president with 17
years in that post.
UNOALUM
Information & Activities
President Milliken on Christensen’s appointment
his morning I am announcing the appointment of the next chancellor at the University
of Nebraska at Omaha.
I first want to thank Dean Shelton Hendricks,
chair of the search committee, and the other
members of the committee for their excellent
work. I also want to thank all of you — the faculty, students and staff of UNO and members of the
community — who participated in this process.
You attended events, asked good questions, and
provided me with valuable advice.
Most of the comments I received first
acknowledged the outstanding job John
Christensen has done as interim chancellor.
People praised his integrity, openness, values,
and poise under pressure. They expressed gratitude for the work John has done to get UNO
quickly back on track and make sure that morale
and momentum were not lost. Without question,
we all owe John a debt of gratitude for his service
to this campus over the last year.
After all this advice, conversation, referencing
and deliberation, I am quite confident in my decision to name John Christensen chancellor of the
University of Nebraska at Omaha.
UNO has great momentum and is very well
poised for the future. The success over the last
decades has positioned the campus very well. The
new physical development of the campus will be
transformational, and it is one of the most important opportunities in the life of this institution.
And while bringing in new and fresh ideas is very
valuable, I think John’s grounding in Omaha and
The following is condensed from an open letter
University of Nebraska President James B.
Milliken wrote to the UNO community on May 8.
T
1965-1967
Leland Traywick
Born in Okmulgee,
Okla., in 1915.
President of
Southwest Missouri
State College from
1960 until resigning in 1964. Fired
by the Municipal
University Regents,
in part because of
his
opposition
to the
university
joining the
University of
Nebraska system.
1967-1971
K i r k N a y lo r
Born in Kansas in
1918. Came to
University of
Omaha in 1960 as
dean of administration
and
professor
of
educational administration. Became last
OU president in
1967 and first UNO
chancellor after
merger. Returned
to teaching in 1972
until his retirement.
NU President James Milliken makes way at the Thompson Center podium for John Christensen after
announcing his appointment as UNO’s 14th chancellor.
on the campus, the high regard in which he is
held on campus and in the community, his values
and his well-known commitment to UNO will
allow him to continue to make important decisions immediately about the future of the campus.
During the interviews and in our private conversations, John has outlined an impressive set of
objectives, some of which will ensure that there is
new thinking and energy brought to bear right
away.
By taking the position immediately, John will
be in a position to commence a national search
right away for his replacement as vice chancellor
I n te r i m
J o hn B l a c k we l l
Born in Yale, Okla.,
in 1919. Came to
OU in 1957, eventually becoming
dean of the College
of Arts and
Sciences. Was
interim chancellor
in 1971. Returned
to deanship for
several years
beginning
in
1972,
then
to
teaching.
1972-1978
R o n a l d Ro s k e n s
Born near Spencer,
Iowa, in 1932.
Beginning in 1959
held
several
positions
at
Kent State Univ.,
lastly as executive
vice president for
administration.
Became UNO chancellor in 1972,
serving until he
became president
of the University of
Nebraska system.
for academic affairs — a key position and an
essential partner with him in leading the campus.
The same is true for the position of vice chancellor for business and finance.
And the list goes on. John and I have discussed his “punch list” for the next 30, 90, and
180 days, and I am pleased and excited that we
will not only not miss a beat, we will significantly
advance the campus with a set of decisions and
initiatives.
I am grateful for John’s service, but more
importantly, I am excited about his leadership for
UNO in the future.
1977-1997
D e l b e r t We b e r
First native
Nebraskan to
become UNO chancellor. Born in
Columbus, Neb., in
1932. Held positions at Cleveland
State University
and Arizona State
University, the latter
as
dean
and
professor
of
education. Served
as UNO chancellor
until retiring.
1997-2006
N an cy B el c k
Born in Ruston, La.
Held posts at the
Univ. of Arizona at
Tucson, Univ. of
Tennessee, Central
Michigan Univ.,
Louisiana State
Univ. in Shreveport
and Southern
Illinois
Univ.,
where
she
was
chancellor. Was first
woman chancellor
of UNO until
resigning in 2006.
2007John Christensen
First UNO graduate
to lead the institution as
chancellor.
Has
spent
entire
academic career at
UNO, beginning in
1978 in College of
Education's department of special
education and communication disorders. Later chaired
that department
then was dean of
College of Ed.
Summer 2007 • 9
University News
ore than 1,200 students received
degrees May 4 during UNO’s spring commencement ceremony held at the Civic
Auditorium.
Justin Ptacnik, a Blair, Neb., native, presented the student commencement address.
He received a bachelor of science degree in
management information systems. Ptacnik
will begin working in the Management Trainee
Program at First National Bank following
graduation and plans to pursue an MBA.
The commencement ceremony also recognized Timothy Hart, senior vice president and
treasurer of First National Bank of Nebraska
(FNN) with the Citation for Alumnus
Achievement Award. Read more about Hart on
page 6.
Commencement features 1,200 grads
M
CBA students
get high marks
nationally
NO College of Business
Administration students performed near the top nationally
based on recent standardized
exams from the Educational
Testing Service (ETS).
UNO MBA students ranked in
the top 5 percent overall while
undergraduates ranked in the top
15 percent.
“These scores are extremely
gratifying for the college,” said
CBA Dean Louis Pol. “Major Field
Testing is a national benchmark,
and this underscores the quality
of our students and programs.”
ETS exams rank student
achievement within a field of
study to national comparative
data. More than 170 UNO students
enrolled in the final business
course took the Major Field Tests.
Their average scores were in the
top 5 percent nationally in
accounting, finance, marketing
and international issues sections.
Undergrad scores were ranked
against 553 colleges and universities, including Rutgers, Texas
A&M and Xavier University.
UNO’s 31 MBA students ranked
in the top 5 percent nationally in
all five sections of the exam:
managerial accounting, finance,
marketing, management and
strategic integration. MBA scores
were ranked against results from
109 MBA programs, including
Clemson, Minnesota State
University Mankato, Xavier and
the University of Wyoming.
U
10 • Summer 2007
Lindsey Zach, a graduate from UNO’s School of Communication, gets
her special message across to her parents during the university’s
spring commencement.
Maher, Abdouch receive awards
he 2007 UNO Mary Ann Lamanna Award for
Excellence in Women’s Studies has been awarded
to Susan Maher, a UNO professor of English who
nominators cited for “infectious enthusiasm, good sense,
deep compassion and enduring feminism.” Maher
received the award April 27
at the annual Women’s
Studies Program luncheon.
The award recognizes
extraordinary service to
the UNO program in
Women’s Studies and can
involve teaching,
research/creative activity
or service.
Maher, recognized in all
Maher . . . a UNO profesthree areas, often teaches
sor since 1990.
courses focused on female
authors — from Jane
Austen to Willa Cather to
current writers — and encourages students to submit
papers to major conferences. Of her students, one nominator noted, nine have continued into Ph.D. programs
and numerous others have attended scholarly meetings.
The scope of Maher’s work includes conferences
around the nation, a book chapter for “Jane Austen and
Mary Shelley and Their Sisters,” and published articles
ranging from Chicana writer Sandra Cisneros to children’s author Laura Ingalls to a variety of American West
writers. She currently is working on a book-length study
of Great Plains nonfiction writers titled “Deep Maps: The
Literary Cartography of the Great Plains.”
Maher’s service has included 10 years on the UNO
T
Women’s Studies Committee, chairing the “One
Book/One State” initiative and serving on the Board of
Governors of the Cather Foundation. In 2005 she became
the first woman to chair the UNO English Department.
Ron Abdouch
on Abdouch, executive director of the Neighborhood
Center for Greater Omaha, received the B’nai B’rith
Award for his leadership and coordinating role in
“Address It Now,” a public safety initiative that assists
homeowners post visible addresses on their residences.
He received the honor at the National Safety Council
Awards luncheon May 17.
The Neighborhood Center, established in 2001, is a
non-profit organization that provides information and
assistance to neighborhood associations to enable them
to come together and develop their own leadership and
decision-making structure and effectively address issues
affecting the quality of life in their communities. It is
associated with UNO’s College of Public Affairs and
Community Service.
The “Address It Now” campaign started last year in
six neighborhoods and focused on increasing the proportion of properties with visible house address numbers to
improve public safety. The project came about after the
neighborhoods participated in Omaha Neighborhood
Scan, a joint effort between UNO and the City of Omaha,
which collected neighborhood information.
“Address It Now” in April also received an Omaha
Community Excellence Award from the City of Omaha.
“‘Address It Now” has been a great experience and
makes a difference in the community,” Abdouch said.
“Having the campaign honored this way is very gratifying."
R
UNOALUM
Information & Activities
Mavericks cap memorable season in College World Series
One of the most memorable UNO baseball seasons in school history came to an end in Alabama one day after Memorial Day. There the Mavericks lost 4-2
to Cal State-Los Angeles, eliminating UNO from the Division II College World Series. UNO began the tournament with a 9-2 win over No. 3 seed Kutztown.
Defending national champion Tampa handed the Mavs a 9-2 defeat in UNO’s second game, however, forcing the final contest against Cal State. UNO finished the season 37-24 after making its first-ever appearance in the championship tournament.
Former SMU official assumes post in May
New Mav AD on the job
four years beginning in 1996. He was at SMU from 2000 until Jan. 1, 2007.
Miller earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio
University and a bachelor of business administration from Regis University.
He also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1984 to 1995.
NO Chancellor John Christensen on May 17 presented David Miller as
UNO’s new director of athletics beginning May 24.
The appointment was approved by the University of Nebraska Board of
Regents at its meeting May 18.
“David has impressed us all with his thoughts on college athletics and the
importance of placing the student-athlete front and center,” Christensen said
at the news conference announcing Miller’s appointment. “David wants the
students in his program to succeed both on and off the playing field.”
Miller, former associate athletic director at Southern Methodist University
(SMU), replaces David Herbster, who announced his resignation last year.
Herbster came to UNO in 2005. Tom Frette, the UNO Athletic Department’s
head athletic trainer, had served as interim athletic director since November.
“I’m excited about coming to UNO. The university has an excellent reputation for athletics and academics,” Miller said. “Being given the opportunity to
lead a program like this is a wonderful and rare challenge.”
Miller’s athletic department experience began with the U.S. Air Force
Academy program from 1989 through 1995. He then became an assistant
athletic director at Truman State (Mo.) before moving to Ohio University for
On the job: David Miller took on his new duties as UNO athletic director
beginning May 24.
U
Summer 2007 • 11
Tour guides
BY LEO BIGA
TIM FITZGERALD, UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
Two longtime UNO figures team
for a photo book taking readers
through 100 years of UNO history
U
NO history Professor Oliver
Pollak looks at the life of his
university and sees progress
that is “positively relentless.”
Now Pollak can show others just
what he means thanks to a new book he
has co-authored to give readers a primer
on the events and persons shaping the
school over its nearly 100-year existence.
The book, simply titled “University of
Nebraska at Omaha,” is part of Arcadia
Publishing’s “Campus History Series.”
Text for the photo-rich work is mostly
by Pollak, holder of the Martin Chair in
History at UNO. He’s taught at the
school since 1974 and is the author of
two previously published Arcadia
books.
Selecting the 200-some images that
illustrate the volume’s 128 pages largely
fell to Les Valentine, a UNO graduate
(BS 1972; MA 1980) who has served as
university archivist since 1986. Calling
on his deep knowledge of UNO history
and his intimate familiarity with the
thousands of images and documents in
the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library’s
archives, Valentine provided Pollak the
context needed to flesh out the narratives and personalities behind the pictures.
Longtime acquaintances, the authors
at Pollak’s suggestion teamed for the
book — their first collaboration — in the
spring of 2006.
“It was fun working with Les,” says
Pollak, who notes that each has been at
UNO for a third of the school’s existence. “We would get together on
Saturday mornings and pull tables
together on the lower level of the library
and spread out these pictures and mess
12 • Summer 2007
Pollak, left, and Valentine each have been at UNO for a third of its existence.
around with the order . . . what picture
should be facing what picture. Les has
been working the archives for so long he
had stories and newspaper clippings to
support the stories.”
Space issues meant only a small fraction of archival materials made the final
cut. “It was a selection process,” Pollak
says, adding that he and Valentine chose
from among digital images, prints,
slides and negatives. “There was a variety. We managed to get high-quality
images and I think they got reproduced
very well.” Some choices, he says, “are
forced by technology and ratios of width
to height.” Enough good photos had to
be left out that he and Valentine have
toyed with the idea of doing a presentation of them. “There’s still some good
images out there,” Pollak says. Or, as
Valentine put it, “There’s enough to do
four or five photo books, easy.”
Continued on Page 14
UNOALUM
Opposite page: The university’s technical institute
featured a grounded P-47 Thunderbolt used for
student instruction. The plane arrived on campus
in 1944 and was scrapped nine years later, the
Gateway reporting birds nesting underneath its
fuselage. The photo is from 1949.
Top: The OU Cardinals opened their 1927 home
campaign at a new football field, located at 24th
Street and Ames Avenue and built with help from
the North Omaha Business Men’s Association. OU
lost its inaugural game there 20-0 to the Grand
Island College Zebras. In commemoration of the
field’s opening the Overland Tire Company donated a ball, dropped by a low-flying plane.
Left: The Ma-ie Day parade of 1946 featured an
Alpha Sigma Lambda Float named “In War and
Peace.” Parade judges included journalism department chair Robert Mossholder, far left, and Omaha
Mayor Charles W. Leeman.
Photos courtesy the University of Nebraska at Omaha
Archives. Information condensed from “University of
Nebraska at Omaha.”
Summer 2007 • 13
From page 12
Among their favorites making the cut
is the cover image of a circa 1971 campus life scene. It pictures a diverse
group of students gathered for a concert
outside Arts and Sciences Hall, then the
administration building. The columned
structure’s familiar cupola towers overhead. Pollak calls the photo “the iconic
vision” of UNO.
“It’s students spread out on the
green, it’s 1971, it’s music, it’s diversity,
it’s an urban university, it’s a school on a
hill, it’s springtime. It was just a natural.”
Adding to its significance is the fact
that the 1938 building was the first
structure built on the present north campus.
Valentine likes the background cover
image, composed of smiling student
14 • Summer 2007
faces and documenting a significant
aspect of the school’s past. The picture is
from a 1951 mill levy election victory
party. During the institution’s municipal
era from 1938 to 1968 funding hikes
were at the whim of city voters. Often as
not, elections went against then-Omaha
University. Some students actively campaigned in these elections.
The authors agree on the milestone
events in UNO’s history, each well documented in the book:
• The school’s 1938 move from its
original north Omaha site to the current
main campus; and,
• The 1968 move from the municipal
model into the University of Nebraska
system.
Just as the transition from municipal
to state funding opened new horizons —
including an expansion program that’s
never really stopped — the university’s
Top: OU faithful gather at the Douglas
County Courthouse for a football pep rally
in 1955. The crowd included Gov. Victor
Anderson, Mayor Johnny Rosenblatt and
Miss Nebraska Sandy Speicher.
Bottom: OU President Milo Bail and
Student Council President Ben Tobias
unveil the new Philco 17-inch television
installed in the student center in 1952.
severing of ties to its Presbyterian roots
also ushered in new growth.
UNOALUM
The physical move to the new campus, Pollak said, was key to OU gaining
accreditation by the North Central
Association, another major event in the
school’s life.
“You can’t live without accreditation.
It’s important because it’s sort of like a
seal of approval,” says Pollak, who has
published two other books with
Arcadia: “Jewish Life in Omaha and
Lincoln” and “Nebraska Courthouses.”
“You can’t live without a physical
plant that’s attractive, just as you couldn’t live on Presbyterians alone.”
He said that the school achieved
three major defining goals in the 1930s
— to municipalize, to relocate and to be
accredited — amidst the constraints and
struggles of the Great Depression “is an
accomplishment.”
Change runs through UNO’s history,
but the authors say its mission of providing a quality higher-ed option to
urban, working-class students has
remained constant.
What may surprise readers? One
thing the authors point to is how early
in the school’s life that it welcomed
women and racial minorities.
UNO’s latest sea changes, they say,
include the addition of dormitories, the
development of the south campus and
the embrace of information technology.
Pollak says that the way the university adapts to its times “is like a breederreactor” — putting out an ever exponentially greater return than what it takes
in.
UNO’s growth, while not always
smooth, moves forward.
“Some hiccups, some burps, some
setbacks, some waiting a little bit longer
than you thought you would want to
wait for innovation, and then crafting it
in a way that fits Omaha,” Pollak says.
“Some people oppose it because it’s
state funds, some because ‘They’re coming into my neighborhood,’ but it’s positively relentless.”
The book is replete with examples
through photos documenting the university’s people, programs, activities,
classes and rituals. From parades, athletic contests and commencements to
groundbreaking ceremonies to visiting
dignitaries to student protests to
class/team photos to walks in Elmwood
Top: Stumping for his brother, Robert F. Kennedy visited Omaha University’s campus
on Sept. 23, 1960. The former “Snack Shack,” a physical education classroom at the
time of Kennedy’s visit, was transformed into the “White House” for the day.
Bottom: Lambda Chi Alpha finds out how many members can fit into a Volkswagen in
the 1970s.
Park, it’s all charted. Even life in those
infamous annexes/Quonset huts.
Valentine says the book should
appeal to a wide readership beyond
alumni.
“Certainly people in Omaha should
enjoy the book. It was their institution,
for years and years and years, and in
fact it’s still their institution,” he says.
“We kind of grew up along with the city
in many ways.”
The book is available online at
www.arcadiapublishing.com and in
bookstores.
Summer 2007 • 15
Science, peacemaking
and a dash of
adventure
UNO Geology Professor
Jack Shroder combines
discovery with daring
and détente
By Melinda Wenner
COURTESY JACK SHRODER
Shroder standing in front of K2 mountain, second
highest on the planet at 28,253 feet altitude.
16 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
with its makeup that he stole a piece of petrified wood. That
“little infraction,” as he calls it, was the first manifestation of
his love for geology.
Bigger adventures awaited after he completed his studies,
which included a doctorate from the University of Utah in
1967. That same year he began working in East Africa, studying high-altitude “bog-burst” landslides on the Nyika Plateau
while also mapping the Inselbergs (“Island Mountains”) and
various Malawi geologic features.
He later was chosen to represent Malawi at an international
geography conference in India. That prompted his first look at
the Himalayas — a mountain range he describes as “bigger,
better and faster” than the Rockies with plenty of geological
phenomena for him to sink his teeth into.
When he returned to the United States from Africa in 1969
to recover from a bout of drug-resistant malaria, he joined the
faculty of the University of Omaha. Longing to study the
Himalayas, he joined Christian Jung in 1972 to form UNO’s
Afghanistan Studies Center. Since then, and as a result of his
many travels to the region, he has established himself as one
of the world’s great experts on the geography and geology of
Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush, the Western Himalayas and
Pakistan.
That didn’t sit well with Mr. Shroder, though. “My dad
One of his biggest discoveries came in 1983 while studying
found out, and he went ballistic,” says Shroder. “He called me
Nanga
Parbat on the Pakistan-Kashmir border, the ninth highand said he didn’t pay for me to go to college for me to waste
est
mountain
in the world. Working with Pete Zeitler from
my life being a damn bum.”
Lehigh
University,
Shroder noticed that the mountain’s rocks
Shroder reconsidered and completed his master’s in geolowere
far
too
young,
considering the depth from which they
gy at the University of Massachusetts. At that point he fell in
came,
to
be
on
the
surface
of the earth. That meant the rocks
love with the discipline and “never looked back.”
accelerated out of the earth
Looking back now, it’s
with faster uplift than virtuclear Shroder chose his path
ally any place else in the
wisely. His has been a career
“Water crosses boundaries and
world.
of discovery, daring and
Shroder and Zeitler realeven détente. A quarter-cenclimate pays no attention to
ized
that they were looking
tury ago Shroder uncovered
at
a
“tectonic
aneurism.” The
a new means by which
boundaries.
nearby
Indus
River was
mountains radically form.
causing
such
rapid
erosion
More recently he helped
that
“this
aneurism
squeezed
identify Osama Bin Laden’s
and
up
out
of
the
ground
whereabouts after 9/11,
became
Nanga
Parbat,”
making him the subsequent
Shroder explains. This type
target of death threats and a
of mountain building had
go-to for bounty hunters.
never been known of before,
Today he is promoting peace
so “everybody got excited
in a conflict-ridden part of
U
N
O
G
e
o
l
o
g
y
about it,” he remembers.
the Middle East.
P
r
o
f
e
s
s
o
r
J
a
c
k
S
h
r
o
d
e
r
Another round of attenShroder, says colleague
tion
came in 2001. In the
and friend Richard Marston
days
after 9/11, when the
from Kansas State
United
States
was
trying
to
locate
Osama
Bin Laden, a videoUniversity, has “worked in some of the most remote areas on
tape
of
him
was
widely
televised
around
the
globe. “I was
the planet” and is even today, at 67, “always looking for fresh
watching
it,
and
I
yelled
to
my
wife,
‘I
know
where
that is!
new adventures.”
That’s the west end of the Spin Ghar range in Afghanistan,
just south of Jalalabad,’” Shroder recalls. He considered phonLove of Geology
ing Washington to tell them, but “I didn’t think it mattered —
That search and his love of the land began early. Shroder,
I mean, everybody knew he was in Afghanistan.”
who grew up in Vermont, recalls a family cross-country road
Shroder casually mentioned to a colleague that he knew
trip at the age of 8 to the Grand Canyon. So fascinated was he
Jack Shroder
wanted to be a
cowboy. And so it was that
after graduating from New York’s
Union College with a degree in
geology, Shroder decided to forgo
higher education for what he
thought was his higher calling. “I
bought a six shooter and cowboy
boots,” he recalls. “The whole nine
yards.”
We
have scientific
interests in
ignoring the
boundaries.”
Summer 2007 • 17
1973 MAVERICK YEARBOOK
Now one of UNO’s most well-known programs, the Center for
Afghanistan Studies was founded in 1972 by Shroder and fellow UNO
Professor Christian Jung. The center’s start was documented in the 1973
Maverick yearbook. From left: Shroder, Professor Harold Retallick,
Professor Gordon Schilz and Jung.
where the video had been recorded. The next thing he knew,
“all hell broke loose,” Shroder says. The press hounded him at
his workplace and his home, and he became a point of contact
for bounty hunters.
He also received a few threats vie email. “All similar in
saying how did I think I was going to get away from
whomever was noticing that I was threatening the ‘Great man,
Bin Laden?’” Shroder recalls. “One threat came from somebody from the old USSR. Other threats came from places I
could not identify. One threat came from Bodega Bay, Calif.,
and that guy got a visit from the FBI. But what happened after
that, I never heard.”
The government advised Shroder to lay low and to avoid
leaking detailed information to the media, and he followed
their advice, all the while trying to help them track Bin Laden.
Ultimately the attempt failed, in Shroder’s opinion because
the military refused to deploy enough troops to surround the
area.
Strange Bedfellows?
Straddling the realms of science and politics isn’t uncommon to scientists working internationally, Shroder says, especially in countries with which the United States has relation18 • Summer 2007
ships. Science’s greatest potential in the political arena, he
says, is in promoting peace. Because science requires multinational collaboration, it is in a sense, he says, borderless.
Geology is especially this way, he says. “If you’re tracking a
good geological contact in the rocks, and you arrive at a political border, then you have to backtrack hundreds of miles and
come around in a different direction just to get right back
where you just were,” he says. “And, of course, water crosses
boundaries and climate pays no attention to boundaries. We
have scientific interests in ignoring the boundaries.”
The Siachen Glacier region near Kashmir is a good example. Since 1984, India and Pakistan have fought over territorial
claims to the area. But when the Kashmir earthquake devastated the region in October 2005, Shroder realized just how
important it was for Indians and Pakistanis to be working
with, not fighting against, each other. So Shroder, along with
Saleem Ali from the University of Vermont and Harry Barnes,
the former U.S. ambassador to India, decided to build a
“Science Peace Park” in the region.
It’s hoped that the park will allow scientists from both
countries and other nations — including China, which has
expressed interest — to collaboratively study geology, glaciology, landslides and the effects of climate change on the region.
UNOALUM
COURTESY JACK SHRODER
Shroder in 2005 climbed to 15,400 feet at
Concordia on the Baltoro Glacier in northern
Pakistan. It stands in front of K2.
A group of multinational scientists, including Shroder, are
meeting in October in Katmandu, Nepal, to discuss its plans.
The concept would link existing national parks in
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India down along the whole of the
Siachen Glacier over which Pakistan and India are fighting.
“The earth surface processes of glaciers, landslides, avalanches, catastrophic floods and the deep-earth processes of
such unusual lift, however, make it a scientifically enigmatic
place that many of us want to keep studying,” Shroder says.
“Hence, a science peace park because it is not worth fighting
over and could be a place that will give us some answers to
good scientific questions.
“The whole peace park idea is only an idea and has no
physicality to it at all. In fact, some scientists don’t want anything at all to do with Siachen Glacier because it is such a
dump — literally — of all the human waste, garbage, war
trash, chemicals, etc., that have accumulated there as a result
of the long-term combat.
“Ultimately, all of this in the Siachen ice will go into the
Indus River drainage because it is a headwater area. In ice and
permafrost areas, such contaminants do not break down
because they are frozen. It should be cleaned up in this otherwise pristine place.”
Working vacation
Shroder currently is working on more concrete efforts,
helping Pakistani and Afghan scientists maximize their countries’ land and water resources, as well as prepare them for
earthquakes, by providing them with geological technologies
and remote-sensing capabilities. He’s working in the high-altitude-related portion of China’s Monsoon Asia Integrated
Research Studies (MAIRS) program as well.
“He’s one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met,”
according to Marston, who says that at scientific conferences
Shroder rather than socializing frequently is seen sneaking off
to his hotel room to finish proposals or to round up scientific
meetings.
Even Shroder’s upcoming summer vacation is less of a holiday than most, seeming better suited to an adventuresome
college kid than a 67-year-old scientist. He’s off to Steamboat
Springs, Colo., but not to ski — instead, he plans to climb
mountains in preparation for a busy autumn, which includes,
in addition to his trip to Nepal, a trip to Kabul and a jaunt up
part of Mount Everest.
“I’ve got a lot of stuff to do and I’ve got to get in shape to
do it,” he says.
The six-shooter will stay at home.
Summer 2007 • 19
La Casa’s slice of UNO
Midtown icon LaCasa Pizzeria
serves up extensive UNO ties
L
a Casa Pizzeria is the answer. The question? “What popular Omaha eatery was mentioned in a 2003 ‘Jeopardy’
episode?”
Here’s the behind-the-scenes connection: the question was
asked by Jeopardy head writer and producer Gary Johnson, an
Omaha native and UNO graduate. Johnson so loved La Casa’s
pizza that he brought show host Alex Trebek to the midtown
Omaha restaurant and developed an on-air question about
Omaha that included the pizzeria’s name.
That kind of devotion probably comes as no surprise to the
La Casa faithful, a following that began more than a half century ago — and that incorporates extensive UNO ties.
Pizza evolution
Helen Patane’s immigrant parents, Joseph and Nellie
Patane, started the pizzeria in 1953. Helen, who graduated
from the University of Omaha with a sociology degree two
years earlier, helped at the restaurant. Her four children, three
of whom are UNO graduates, now run it. There’s Joel Hahn,
who earned a BA in communications in 1978, Victor Hahn
(BA, communications, 1981) and Nicole Jesse (BS, business
administration, 1984; MBA, 1989). Fellow sibling Danielle
Emsick, who attended the College of Saint Mary, also helps.
Joel’s son Brandon, a UNO junior, works at the restaurant part
time.
It’s a family of restaurant veterans who began as anything
but.
“The first night we opened we ran out of everything,”
recalls Patane, whose Sicilian immigrant parents had never
before operated a restaurant. “I remember we were all scampering around making the dough.”
She says her father traveled to New York City to get recipe
ideas, returning to develop the thin-crusted, Romano
cheese-covered pizza that remains La Casa’s signature
item. “It evolved,” Patane says. “He added things and
took them away.”
While the pizzeria serves a full range of Italian dishes, its unique pizza keeps generations returning to the
45th and Leavenworth streets location (a second La
Casa was added at 8216 Grover St.).
“People who’ve moved away and come back for
a visit say the first thing they do is come to La Casa,”
says Nicole Jesse, general manager.
Joel Hahn, the restaurant’s business manager, says
he’s traveled to numerous pizza trade shows throughout the country and has yet to find a product like La
20 • Summer 2007
Casa’s. “Pizza is a basic of our menu,” he says. “Our product
is unique, and that is a big plus for us with all the pizza
restaurants out there now.”
Assistant Manager Victor Hahn says the family’s pizzeria
was the first Omaha eatery to specialize in serving dine-in
pizza. “When we opened, it was us and Caniglia’s,” he says,
referring to another longtime Italian restaurant.
Growing up LaCasa
Patane grew up on Seventh Street near the Caniglia family
in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood. Her parents didn’t
speak English. “They couldn’t help me with school,” Patane
says. “I had to change languages when I got home.”
She credits Central High School teachers and her UNO professors with helping her break the language barrier and attain
her college degree. Patane, who took her maiden name after
her 1967 divorce, initially used that degree to help children,
spending four years as a child welfare worker before focusing
her efforts on the family business.
Patane’s children grew up around the restaurant and began
busing tables in their preteen years. “I got my first paycheck at
12,” Nicole Jesse says. “Nana (her grandmother Nellie) gave
me pocket change before then.”
Jesse never quit the pizzeria, working part time after high
school and through her UNO years. She says she considered
leaving Omaha and La Casa to pursue her bachelor’s degree
but, “I decided it would be stupid to go somewhere else as
UNO had one of the best business programs around.”
Her decision to stay resulted in UNO educating yet another
La Casa employee. Jesse met her future husband, John, while
both were employed at the restaurant. “He got a full ride to
Lincoln (UNL), but came to UNO. He blames me for his student loans,” she says with a grin.
Jesse’s husband wasn’t the last Maverick to spend time in
La Casa’s kitchen. “We usually have four or five UNO students working for us at any one time,” Joel Hahn
says. And the siblings are helping those employees
“We get a lot of old-timers
from both UNO and
Creighton who say
this was a big
hangout for them.”
Victor Hahn (BA, 1981),
LaCasa assistant manager.
UNOALUM
From left: Joel Hahn, Nicole Jesse, Brandon Hahn, Victor Hahn and and Helen Patane.
reduce their student loan amounts, having initiated a tuition
reimbursement program.
None of Patane’s children remember their family’s eatery
being a big UNO hangout when they were on campus —
Sortino’s and other 72nd St. establishments served that role.
“We get a lot of old-timers from both UNO and Creighton
who say this was a big hangout for them,” Victor Hahn says.
He notes that the pizzeria went from being one of the only
pizza joints in town to competing with a glut of fast-food and
sit-down eateries serving the cheese-laden Italian pie.
“We are really more of a family restaurant,” Joel Hahn says.
La Casa is one of those places where the siblings see successive generations come through the front door. “People who
came in as kids are now bringing their youngsters here.”
That’s how the pizzeria’s matriarch remembers it — and
prefers it.
A matriarch’s pride
Patane takes great pride in the fact that her four children
and several grandchildren earn a La Casa paycheck — and
that multiple generations continue to come for the thin-crusted pizza her father created more than 50 years ago.
The faithful include 1983 UNO alumna Ann Downey, an
Alpha Xi Delta sorority sister of Jesse but never a La Casa
PHOTO BY ERIC FRANCIS
patron until she and her family moved into a nearby neighborhood about 12 years ago. Now she and her family are regulars.
“We kept hearing about it from people in the neighborhood.
The food is excellent, the prices reasonable and the people are
really friendly,” Downey says. “It is always crowded.
Sometimes we order carry out so we can enjoy the food and
don’t have to wait.”
While Patane has officially retired from the restaurant business, she drops in regularly, experimenting with new recipes
between tai chi classes, walks around the nearby University of
Nebraska Medical Center indoor track and creating works of
art. Patane designed the colorful pizza dough sculpture in La
Casa’s foyer. She also created the pizzeria’s bruschetta mix
and the creamy Romano salad dressing so popular with customers.
Joel Hahn encourages such kitchen creativity from his
mother and other family members. He heads the restaurant’s
marketing effort and says adding new menu items is critical to
its continued success. That sentiment is reflected in one of his
ad campaigns: “Nana’s favorite hits — some with a twist.”
“You have to try new things,” Hahn says. “We live in a culture where people always want new things. Even if they don’t
order it, they want to know you are changing some things.”
“It makes the restaurant seem alive to people,” Victor adds.
Summer 2007 • 21
“In the end we could
really see how we
transformed a house
into something
livable. We were
actually making a
difference in
someone’s future in
that house.”
UNO student
Abbey Schindler
Photo: UNO students at work on a
Service-Learning project.
22 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
Making a difference
while making a grade
Students put theory into practice
while giving a helping hand with
UNO’s Service Learning Academy
S
upplementing the educational experience within the traditional classroom walls to include the “real world” has
become full-time work for UNO’s Service-Learning
Academy.
In the nearly 10 years the program has been operational at
UNO, the Academy has been witness to tremendous growth.
Its annual enrollment has grown from 133 students in seven
courses in 1998 to an average of 1,700 students each academic
year spanning 110 courses campus-wide.
The program, under the direction of Paul Sather, attempts
to provide the “A-ha!” moment educators strive for with students.
“That is a great day,” Sather says with an ear-to-ear grin
from his office inside Arts and Sciences Hall. “When at the
end of some experience with a student you see those eyes light
up and the student says, ‘Oh! I get it.’ There are a lot of ways
to achieve that moment, but certainly this practical application
of an idea in the community is really a powerful one. The
added benefit there is the students see [that their work] really
matters. This is not just some hypothetical exercise.”
The practical application Sather refers to brings together
UNO students looking for additional experience in their chosen field of study while benefiting a variety of businesses and
non-profit organizations. Students provide a variety of services: from mentoring middle school students to teaching English
skills to Sudanese women to teaching inmates basic computer
skills to use when their lives are no longer lived in orange
jumpsuits.
In some cases, professors and instructors from across UNO
contact the Academy about identifying a local organization
that would provide a semester-long work opportunity for students. In other cases, organizations contact UNO in search of
students.
One of the reasons the program has become so successful is
UNO’s presence in the heart of the metropolitan area — some-
“The added benefit there is the
students see [that their work]
really matters. This is not
A UNO graduate (MSW, 1979), Paul Sather heads UNO’s
Service-Learning Academy
just some hypothetical
exercise.”
Paul Sather, Director,
UNO Service-Learning Academy.
Summer 2007 • 23
Service-Learning Academy participants this spring refurbished six homes during “7 Days of Service.”
way,” says Cabrera, 22. “I know the rest of the team share my
thing that’s allowed close-knit relationships between school
sentiments to make a difference.”
and community.
Cabrera has written press releases in class and explored the
“The faculty here really embrace the metropolitan mission
most effective ways to secure media coverage. Having the
of the university,” Sather explains. “UNO is having this seamless, reciprocal relationship with the community. We aren’t vis- opportunity to promote the renovation project with the working media tipped the educational scale in Cabrera’s favor.
itors. The community is our partner and community members
“Regardless of what you are
are also teachers. They are powstudying or hoping to do in life,
erful teachers of students. There
to put the skills and education
is this give-and-take that makes
procured in a classroom into a
sense to everybody.”
real-life situation with the outThe work students perform
come entirely dependent on you
is closely tied to course content
is the best education one could
and earn them course credit. A
ever receive,” Cabrera explains.
learning objective must be
“It’s one thing to read and take
defined before a project is given
tests, but to be entrusted with
the green light.
the success of an event . . . realUNO student Greg Cabrera,
ly puts life into the lectures and
who’s majoring in journalism,
textbooks. I can only hope that
through the Service-Learning
more universities require it.”
Academy managed public relaSome do. Schools such as
tions for a renovation project at
Northern Kentucky University
the South Omaha Arts Institute.
UNO student Greg Cabrera
and California State University,
The program recently sent 150
Monterey Bay, offer similar proUNO volunteers from a variety of
grams for students. Sather says UNO is “holding our own” in
disciplines to refurbish the facility. Cabrera’s role was to proterms of its number of service academy students compared
mote the project in all forms of media.
with universities of comparable enrollment.
“I remember that feeling of reward and accomplishment of
“We have room to grow but want to do that in a paced,
doing something that affected the community in such a great
put the skills and
education procured in a
classroom into a real-life
situation with the outcome
“To
entirely dependent on you is the
best education one could ever
receive.”
24 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
Helping out UNO’s Service-Learning Academy
T
he following organizations have partnered with the Service-Learning Academy at UNO. For additional information about the
program visit www.unomaha.edu/servicelearning.
Girls Inc. of Omaha
Girl Scouts of America,
Great Plains Council
Grace Lutheran Church – Sudanese
Greater Omaha Neighborhood Center
Heartland Family Services
Hope Center for Kids / Hope Skate
Joslyn Art Museum
Lutheran Family Services –
Heartland Refugee Resettlement
Near North Side Senior Center (ENOA)
Nebraska Aids Project
Nebraska Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce
Nebraska Raptor Recovery
Nebraska Urban Indian Health Centers
fairly deliberate way,” Sather says.
While Sather seeks growth in numbers for the program, his
greatest joy as director is to ensure individual growth for each
student. The program seeks to instill a lifelong sense of service
in students who complete a semester of coursework.
“We work to build in a notion of a lifetime of service,”
Sather explains.
“An ethic of caring and service that students will take with
them after they graduate. In some way, they will remember
this (experience) when there’s a United Way campaign or
when people are in need of volunteers.”
Sather stresses to students that service doesn’t have to
mean giving up possessions or moving to a distant country to
conduct mission work.
“It can be getting a group of your friends together and running in a corporate cup run, or even making a pledge (to a
non-profit group),” Sather says.
Journalism major Abbey Schindler, 24, recently participated
in the “7 Days of Service” project where UNO volunteers
refurbished six homes. The event occurs during spring break
each year and renovates homes in north and south Omaha.
“Coming together as a diverse student body to do something that truly gives back to the community was very
rewarding,” says Schindler, who managed public relations for
the weeklong project. “We had a fun week and in the end we
could really see how we transformed a house into something
livable. We were actually making a difference in someone’s
future in that house. That realization was very powerful for
me.”
Schindler says the educational experience came full-circle
when she discovered how such work extends beyond the
classroom.
“Service-learning projects build skills and give you the
tools necessary to transition from college to the professional
world,” she says.
“It is an absolute necessity, as far as I’m concerned, in the
North Omaha Good News Bears
Omaha Chinese Christian Church
Omaha Earned Income
Tax Credit Coalition
Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Public Schools – Magnet
Schools Program
Omaha Police Department – NE Precinct
One World Community Health Centers
Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare
Social Settlement Association
South Omaha Arts Association –
Casa de la Cultura
Survival English Program
Wells Fargo Bank
Wesley House After School Academy
curriculum of any degree. I would never hesitate to take a
service-learning project on. The knowledge you gain from that
type of project is more than you could ever learn from a textbook.”
There has been discussion of recruiting the volunteer help
of UNO alumni on various projects through the Academy. Fall
break, spring break and a volunteer day in April are busy
times for the program, when volunteers from across campus
work together on major community projects. Sather envisions
the addition of alumni as beneficial for students, providing
them with face-to-face access to adults who may have followed career paths of interest to the students. It’s that reciprocal relationship that Sather and the academy participants find
most rewarding.
“There is a kind of caring that goes into this kind of teaching and learning,” he says. “We’re not really OK until we’re all
OK. That’s what we’re doing here. Never forget that you’re
making a difference.”
Bethesda After
School Academy
Boys and Girls
Clubs of Omaha
Catholic Charities —
Juan Diego Center
Charles Drew
Health Center
Christ Child Society
of Omaha
Durham Western Heritage Museum
Educare
El Museo Latino
Family Economic Success Initiative
Family Housing Advisory Services
First National Bank
Homes in north and south Omaha have benefitted from the work of
students through the Service-Learning Academy.
Summer 2007 • 25
College of
Education
Participants in the Lewis and Clark Summer Program soak in sun and study during the 2006 program.
Summer Blast
College of Ed. programs
bring youngsters to campus
an you feel the action? Can you sense the excitement? A summer blast is going on within the
College of Education, blowing beyond its walls to
reach young people of many ages.
C
Lewis and Clark Summer Program
June 19 through June 22.
Fifty to 60 students from Lewis and Clark Middle
School this summer are involved in a variety of activities
designed to introduce them to college and motivate them
to perform well academically.
Students who have not performed in the classroom, but
who have high ability, are invited to participate in the
program. UNO faculty members and staff from Lewis and
Clark collaborate to make the project a success.
Funded by grants from the University of Nebraska, the
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
(EPSCoR) and Omaha Public Schools, the project is in its
second year. UNO faculty and staff deliver most of the
activities. The program begins with a campus tour and
moves on to a virtual scavenger hunt. A motivational
speaker, library activities, cognition exercises, satellite
and robotic activities, writing activity, participation in the
biomechanics lab, physical education activities, and art
activities provide a well-rounded experience for the stu26 • Summer 2007
dents. When asked at the end of the 2006 project, “What
was the best thing about the UNO experience?” one student answered, “Everything.”
UNO students serve as interpreters for any middle
school student who is enrolled in an English as a second
language class. All students receive backpacks, water bottles, lunch on one day and snacks on other days, and $1
with which to begin a college savings plan.
Dr. Connie Schaffer is the program’s coordinator with
assistance from Brooke Lampe and Brandy Klipfel, both of
whom work in the College of Education Student Services
Office. Other UNO personnel involved include: Brooke
Wiseman Dowse, Mel Clancy, Melissa Cast-Brede,
Jeannette
Seaberry, Jim
Wolfe, Nancy
Chalupa,
Joseph Siu,
Leslie Decker,
Mike
Messerole,
and Shari
Hofschire,
Metta VolkerFry and Bob
Goeman.
Lewis and
Clark staff participants
include
The Lewis & Clark Summer Program concludes with
Principal Lisa
a commencement exercise that includes “Pomp and
Sterba, Summer Circumstance” and certificates.
UNOALUM
School Principal Mary Claire Morgan, Rita Murphy, Holly to participate in the activities were provided a multitude
Ortega, Elizabeth McKeone, Phillip Taylor and Barb
of possibilities throughout the very fast four days they
Brimmerman.
spent on campus. They now
The four-day event conhave in their minds they can
cludes with a commencement "They now h ave in their minds they can
do and be whatever they put
exercise that includes “Pomp
do and be whatever they put their minds their minds to.”
and Circumstance,” mortar
The program theme for
to.”
boards and certificates.
this year is “An Excellent
L ew i s a n d C l a rk
Parents are invited, observConnection!” The theme
P ri n ci p a l L i s a S t e r b a
ing participants as they are
rises from the mottos of the
recognized for completing the
College of Education
activity.
(“Building a Legacy of Excellence”) and of Lewis and
Principal Sterba wrote in 2006, “Thank you for providClark Middle School (“A Tradition of Excellence”).
ing an incredible experience and opening up possibilities
“It is a privilege to have these bright, energetic scholars
for Lewis and Clark students. The students who were able
and their teachers on our campus,” Schaffer notes.
Jason Moran observes a clinician's session with his child.
Popular camp helps build
speech-language skills
Sp ee ch- La ng uag e Su m m er C am p
May 29 through July 3
A much younger group of students also are spending parts of their
summer with the College of Education, meeting two days a week for
five weeks in Kayser Hall.
The students range from 2 to 6 years old. The summer clinic is coordinated by Kathy Miklas, the new speech-language clinic coordinator in
the college and a UNO alum of the speech-language program, having
received her master’s degree in 1985.
She coordinates two pre-school sessions that run from 1 p.m. until 3
p.m. each weekday during the five weeks of the program. On Mondays
and Wednesdays nine children ranging in age from 2 to 4 years of age
work on specific speech-language concerns that have been identified by
their parents, doctors, school or other agency.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, seven children ranging from about 4 to
6 years of age also work on specific speech-language skills.
A “speech-language camp” format is used to deliver the program
with a different theme each of the five weeks. Four graduate student
speech-language clinicians have developed the camp themes and specific therapeutic activities for individual or small-group sessions during
the pre-school sessions.
Parents can observe their children through an observation window
during the small group sessions.
Many requests were received from parents for their child to participate in the program. So far, the response from parents has been one of
appreciation for the services. At the end of the sessions parents will
receive a written report of their child’s progress on specific goals and a
summary of the camp activities.
Miklas emphasizes that the project is mutually beneficial for the children, the parents and the student clinicians.
“The children we serve are those who are not eligible for summer
services from their school districts,” Miklas says. “The speech-language
camp gives
them an
opportunity to
develop critical
language
development
skills during
the summer.
The parents
Kathy Miklas, coordinator,
can observe
S p ee ch -L a n g u a g e C l i n i c
and pick up
strategies and
techniques they can use at home that will further facilitate the child’s
development.”
One of the UNO student clinicians working with the pre-school camp
is Betsy Beach. “This experience helps me get ready for practicum in
school settings,” said Beach.
During the regular school year student clinicians have experiences
working with students in one-on-one situations, though most of them
will work with students in groups when they graduate and find employment.
Yes, we are having a blast this summer in the college. Young people
in the community are having an opportunity for additional learning
experiences and students and faculty in the college are gaining experiences working with program participants.
“ Th e c a m p g iv e s t he m a n
o p p o r t un i t y t o d e v e l o p c r i t i c a l
la n gu a ge s k ills d uri ng t he
summer. ”
Happenings schedule
ollege of Education alumni can read more about fellow alumni, faculty and current students in Happenings, a newsletter
mailed in June.
C
Summer 2007 • 27
College of
Arts & Sciences
Allwine Prairie: Natural heritage
Biology and Dean of Graduate
Studies at UNO.
For the last 30 years Bragg has
devoted himself to the preservation
of UNO’s Allwine Prairie. Spreading
north and west from 144th and State
Streets in Omaha, the virgin prairie
hosts more than 109 species of
birds, 12 species of amphibians and
reptiles, 24 species of mammals and
more than 250 species of woody
and herbaceous plants on 160 acres.
Bragg’s efforts extend well beyond
prescribed burning and preserve
management. To fully protect and
complete the prairie, he has worked
for years with local, regional and
federal government agencies and
with private citizens to fund the purchase of surrounding land. The
intention is to protect the prairie
from the effects of urban developwelve-thousand to 14,000 years
ment by isolating the entire waterago, when the last continental
shed.
glacier receded north, it left behind
Toward that end, Bragg recently
vast, largely treeless prairies — grazhas been awarded a $1 million grant
ing ground for immense herds of
from the Nebraska Environmental
bison. To the
Trust to help purchase
Indians who fol126 acres that would
lowed the bison, “This is the last
join the existing prairie
Mother Earth
with Big Papillion
moment in time to
provided the
Creek (see schematic
bounty of the
protect this resource.” at top left).
grasslands, as
According to Bragg,
well, the plants
“This initiative will
Biology Professor Tom Bragg also preserve the
providing herbs
for healing, tanGlacier Creek corridor,
nin for tanning hides, berries, conefrom its source on Allwine Prairie
flower and sumac stems for baskets.
downstream to the riparian habitat
Early settlers were similarly bound
of the Big Papillion Creek, and
to the land, out of which they built
improve the environmental quality
their homes and lives.
of the site by restoring natural feaToday, only 2 percent of
tures, such as the addition of a large
Nebraska’s prairie land survives in
wetland/lowland prairie habitat
small parcels guarded by scientists
complex.” The inclusion of the entire
and environmentalists.
array of prairie and related wetland
“This land is our natural heritage,”
habitats will make this preserve
explains Tom Bragg, Professor of
unique in this region.
Photo by Eric Francis
T
Bragg . . . preserving the prairie for 30 years.
For more information, visit the prairie website at www.unomaha.edu/prairie
28 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
High Season
“On Sunday morning I rose early and got out of
Black Hawk while the dew was still heavy on the
long meadow grasses. It was the high season for
summer flowers. The pink bee-bush stood tall
along the sandy roadsides, and the cone-flowers
and rose mallow grew everywhere. Across the
wire fence, in the long grass, I saw a clump of
flaming orange-coloured milkweed, rare in that
part of the state. I left the road and went around
through a stretch of pasture that was always
cropped short in summer, where the gaillardia
came up year after year and matted over the
ground with the deep, velvety red that is in
Bokhara carpets. The country was empty and
solitary except for the larks that Sunday morning,
and it seemed to lift itself up to me and to come
very close.”
Willa Cather, “My Antonia”
Antonietta Allwine’s work lives on
n 1880, Rochus Koehneman purchased today’s Allwine Prairie from
O. B. Selden, one of Omaha’s early
settlers.
Selden told Koehneman about the
important role this piece of land
played in westward expansion.
Travelers crossing the Missouri by
ferry from Council Bluffs would settle
by the creek and wait until enough
families had gathered for a safe journey west.
Koehneman’s daughter, Antonietta,
grew up with a love for the prairie
much as her contemporary Willa
Cather did.
In 1942, with her husband Arthur
Allwine, Antonietta dedicated the
land as a wildlife preserve and began
her work to cultivate and protect the
native flora and fauna.
The Wilderness Society in the early
1950s honored her for such efforts.
In 1959, with her health failing,
Antonietta decided the time had
come to pass on her precious charge
to the keeping of the Biology faculty
at UNO, assured that her work
would be continued.
Graphic courtesy Randy Brown Architects
Allwine Prairie: Cultural heritage
I
Research, Education facility among plans
B
e c a u s e o f i t s l o c a t i o n w i t h i n 3 0 m i n u t e s o f t h e O m a h a m e t ro p o l i t a n a re a , t h e e x i s t i n g p re s e r v e p r o v i d e s a u n i q u e e d u c a ti o n a l s e t t i n g f o r h a n d s - o n e n v i r o n m e n t a l e x p e r i e n c e fo r a r e a
s c h o o l s a n d f o r a v a r i e t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s a n d o rg a n i z a t i o n s .
R a i s i n g f u n d s f o r a r e s e a r c h a n d e d u c a t io n f a c i l i t y t o m a k e t h e p r a i r i e a c c e s s i b le t o t h e g e n e r al public (archit ect ’s rendering above) is high on Bragg’s list of priorities. He has applied for fede r a l fu n d i n g b u t a l s o h a s h i g h h o p e s f o r p r i v a t e d o n a t io n s . T h e 1 0 ,0 0 0 - s q u a r e - fo o t f a c i li t y w i l l
i n c lu d e a l a b t o a c c o m m o d a te 1 0 t o 1 5 r e s e a r c h e r s o r s t u d e n t s a n d c l a s s r o o m s p a c e fo r 3 0 . T h e
e d u c a t i o n a l c e n t e r w i l l o f f e r i n f o r m a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s fo r v i s i t o r s a n d a p e r m a n e n t r e s i d e n c e f o r a n
on-site caretaker.
Summer 2007 • 29
College of
Arts & Sciences
Stover Scholarship honors 30-year career
lbert Schweitzer wrote, “At times our own light goes
Aout and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of
those who have lighted the flame within us.”
Former students, family and friends of Professor Dale
Stover have worked together to establish a scholarship in
his name, showing their gratitude for the flames he lit
and honoring a teaching career that spans more than 30
years.
Photos by Tim Fitzgerald, University Affairs
S t o v e r . . . s l o w in g d o w n n o w t h a t t h e “ p r o g r a m i s i n g o o d s h a p e . ”
Each spring, a sophomore in the Religious Studies program will be awarded the Stover Scholarship and $1,000
to put toward educational costs. This year’s recipient is
Blythe Fox.
“Blythe is a very bright and promising student,”
Professor Guy Matalon says. “She distinguished herself
by being able to interpret a variety of medieval mystical
and philosophical Jewish texts. Moreover, her analytical
skills made discussions in the Jewish Ethics course much
more lively.”
In addition to excelling in classes, according to Stover,
students who compete for the scholarship compose an
essay on one of a variety of topics “dear to my heart.”
Each essay addresses religion and one of the following:
30 • Summer 2007
healing, gender, oral narrative, dreaming, plant and animal kinship.
In part, the essay topics reflect Stover’s own search.
“I came of age during the McCarthy era, which taught
me to mistrust the political processes of mainstream
American culture,” Stover explains. “I went looking for
answers in religious studies that might offer meanings
that transcended political and cultural borders. Early in
my academic career, I focused on hermeneutical theory
as the key to understanding the sacred texts that seemed
to underly all cultures. Eventually, I shifted to a more
empirical and experiential approach, including immersion in religious traditions and practices outside my own
cultural experience. For example, I changed my research
focus to Islamic studies after 1976, and I changed again
after 1986 to focus on indigenous religions, especially
North American.
“While I made changes, the search for meanings from
beyond my own cultural and intellectual base in the
European Enlightenment remained much the same as the
original impulse.”
Born on a farm in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, in 1935,
Stover received his BA from Washington University in St.
Louis in 1957, a bachelor of divinity (1961) and a master’s (1964) in sacred theology from Andover Newton
Theological School in Boston, and a Ph.D. from the
Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University,
Montreal, in 1967.
In 1968 Stover accepted an assistant professorship at
UNO. He was promoted to associate professor in 1971
and to professor in 1979. In 1981 he accepted an
adjunct professorship with the Department of Preventive
and Societal Medicine at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center. He became a member of the Women’s
Studies Faculty in 1988, the Native American Studies
Faculty in 1992, and a Fellow of the Center for Great
Plains Studies in 1992. Stover also has been active in
administrative roles. He served as chair of the
Department of Philosophy and Religion from 1976 to
1979. He was the first coordinator of the Native
American Studies program from 1992 to 1995.
Stover delayed his retirement until this May out of a
commitment to the Religious Studies program. He
explains, “In my program, the way things happened, all
the sudden we lost a lot of senior professors. I was the
only senior professor for the last five years. The workload
was intense.”
Now, however, he is looking forward to his retirement
and “slowing down.” “It’s OK now,” he says. “We’ve
recruited for Native American religious studies and
Islamic studies. The program is in good shape.”
UNOALUM
Neathery-Castro, Reiter-Palmon
honored at Faculty Convocation
s usual, College of Arts and Sciences faculty were well-represented at
AUNO’s annual Faculty Honors Convocation held April 12. Jody Neathery-
Photos by Tim Fitzgerald, University Affairs
Castro, political science, was presented with the University Excellence in
Teaching Award and Roni Reiter-Palmon, psychology, received the Faculty
Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentor.
Jody Neathery-Castro: University Excellence in Teaching
Jody Neathery-Castro practices what she teaches: “Get involved.”
Nominators wrote that Neathery-Castro’s teaching displays
a unique combination of personal involvement with students while upholding a rigorous model of liberal arts
education. She served as the First Year Experience academic advisor from 2002 through 2006, helped coordinate and lead American Democracy Project events at
UNO, and has sponsored a two-week student study trip to
Britain since 2004.
Her goal as a professor has been to make her subjects
accessible and politics exciting.
Neathery-Castro joined the Political Science
Department in 1998 with specializations in West European politics, decentralization, and subnational politics. She also is a faculty member in the Women's
Studies and International Studies programs. Her bachelor’s degree is from
Texas Christian University and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees are from Rice
University. Neathery-Castro received UNO’s Outstanding Faculty in Service
Learning Award in 2001.
Roni Reiter-Palmon: Outstanding Graduate Mentor
It only makes sense that a nationally ranked graduate program such as the
Industrial Organizational Psychology Program at UNO would be directed by a
faculty member devoted to mentoring.
Roni Reiter-Palmon’s nominators described her as a
strong believer in and an advocate for her graduate students, helping them in the pursuit of internships, academic publication and contact work. She routinely
involves students in her research and has co-authored
40 articles with students or former students. One student
nominator wrote that Reiter-Palmon, “places her students first and defines her success through the career
accomplishments of her students.”
Reiter-Palmon accepted her first position with UNO in
1993, the same year she earned her Ph.D. from George Mason University. As
with her Ph.D., her master’s from George Mason also was in industrial/organizational psychology. She completed her BA at Tel-Aviv University.
Four years after Reiter-Palmon accepted the role of Director of the I/O program, the program received national recognition. The IndustrialOrganizational Psychologist published a ranking of programs in its July 2004
issue, ranking UNO’s program No. 6 among more than 100 similar programs.
The ranking was based on a survey of students in such programs.
Lamanna fund to aid
visiting speakers
octor Mary Ann Lamanna touched countless
lives as a sociology teacher and continues to
do so now as a University of Nebraska
Foundation donor.
Lamanna began teaching at UNO in 1977 and
retired as a full professor 24 years later.
Throughout her tenure, Lamanna was frustrated
by a lack of department funds available to offer
even a small stipend to notable scholars who
might otherwise have visited campus.
Thus she recently has established the Mary
Ann Lamanna Lectureship in Sociology/
Anthropology endowment fund. The fund eventually will be used to host academics from other
institutions to speak to faculty and students in
the areas of sociology and/or anthropology.
It’s no surprise that Lamanna’s fund supports
dialogue. Discussion in the classroom always
was her favorite part of teaching, she says, and
UNO’s diversity of students enhanced those discussions.
She also enjoyed working one-on-one with
students.
“I tried to see students as individuals — each
with personal interests and lives — and always
strived to be respectful of all points of view,”
she says.
Lamanna received her doctorate in sociology
from the University of Notre Dame in 1977 and
her master’s from the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Her most notable publication, “Marriages and
Families: Making Choices in a Diverse Society,”
now is in its 10th edition and continues to be
the most widely used sociological textbook
about marriage and families in the United States.
Those interested in making a contribution to
the Mary Ann Lamanna Lectureship in
Sociology/ Anthropology fund — or who want
to learn more about establishing a fund to support UNO — should contact Mary Bernier, director of development for the University of
Nebraska Foundation, at (402) 502-4108.
D
Summer 2007 • 31
College of
Public Affairs and Community Service
CPACS alumni diverse and successful
lumni of the College of Public Affairs and
Community Service are a cross section of
society today, diverse in race, gender, age
and lifestyles. Some hold entry-level positions.
Others lead large agencies and organizations.
Some teach. Others are still learning. Yet all
share a commonality — an education at UNO
that formed the foundation for their careers
and lives. Featured here are four CPACS graduates who have earned their doctorate
degrees.
A
S c o t A d a m s , Ph . D .
Director, Nebraska Department of
Hea l th a n d Hu m a n S er vi ce s
cot Adams was on his way home
from his job at Catholic Charities
in Omaha when he had a revelation.
“A couple friends had talked to me
about the frustrations in their lives,”
he recalls.
“I told
them that I
thought
they were
calling
change into
their lives.
That’s when
it dawned
on me: I
was the
one calling
change into
Adams . . . “I was the one
my life.”
calling change into my life.”
Adams,
who earned
his master’s degree in social work
from UNO, had 31 years experience
at Catholic Charities in organizations
serving families in the areas of substance abuse treatment and poverty.
The past 13 years were as executive
S
32 • Summer 2007
director. “There was no anger or frustration; I just felt it was time to move
on.”
A newspaper article about his decision caught the eye of Nebraska Gov.
Dave Heineman, who offered Adams
directorship at the Department of
Health and Human Services. The
appointment took effect in March.
Adams is eager to put his experience to work. “There’s a great deal of
energy here. Some areas need work,
but we have many successes to build
upon.”
He values his degree in social
work. “Social work in particular
teaches a person to look at any issue
from a host of different variables, like
economics, psychology and so on.
That encouragement to consider an
issue from so many points of view
really strikes home here because the
issues are large and often complex.
“For a social worker, this is the job
of a lifetime.”
He advises others to keep in mind
that the journey is as important as the
outcome. “How you get there, and
what happens along the way, will
make a difference in your life and the
lives of others around you.”
M ark F oxall, P h.D.
Assistant Director for Community
C o r re c t i o n s , D o u g l a s C o u n t y
D e p ar t m e n t o f C o r r e c t i o n s
ike many good detectives, Mark
Foxall began his career by following a trail.
Foxall’s uncle and father spent
decades serving with the Omaha
Police Department (OPD). “Watching
them as I grew up, I saw how strong
the bond was between them and
other officers. I can’t remember a
time when I wasn’t going to be a
cop.”
Foxall
joined OPD
in 1980
and stayed
until 1986,
the same
year he
earned his
bachelor’s
degree in
criminal
justice from
UNO. He
Foxall . . . “I love to teach.”
spent 10
years as an
agent with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, serving in California on
the drug and gang squad.
He returned to Omaha and served
as director of Project Impact with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office before joining
the Douglas County Department of
Corrections in 2000.
While his father and uncle inspired
him as a law enforcement officer, it
was his mother, Martha Foxall, who
inspired him academically. She dedicated 54 years to the nursing profession, including 26 years at the
UNMC College of Nursing, where
she served as professor and department chair until retiring in 2006.
“She has a bachelor’s degree, two
master’s and a Ph.D.,” he says. “She
is my strongest academic mentor.”
L
UNOALUM
The trail led Foxall back to UNO,
where he earned his master’s degree
in public administration (1998) and a
doctorate in criminal justice (2005).
His brother, Pitmon Foxall III, is a
UNO graduate and serves as a
deputy chief with the OPD.
Today, Foxall is an adjunct faculty
member at UNO in what he considers “one of the top criminal justice
departments in the country.”
“I love to teach. I can take the theoretical components and apply them
based on my experience in the field.”
He’s truly an instructor with convictions — in the courtroom and the
classroom.
Erika D avis Frenzel, P h.D.
Assistant Professor, Director of
C r i m i n ol o g y A d v i s i n g C e n t e r
I n d i a n a U n i v er s i ty o f P e n n s yl va n i a
D e p a r t m e n t o f C r i m in o lo g y
rika Frenzel is the mother of two
children
and the academic shepherd and
guide for
about a
thousand
more.
In her
position as
director of
the
Criminology
Advising
Center at the Frenzel . . . mother to two,
advisor to a thousand.
Indiana
University of Pennsylvania, Frenzel
and her three Ph.D. graduate assistants advise undergraduate students
regarding scheduling and academic
requirements while helping solve any
problems they might be encountering.
Frenzel also serves as consultant to
the Indiana, Pa., County Drug
Treatment Court, where her duties
include conducting a process and
outcome evaluation of the court.
Born in Omaha, Frenzel “spent half
my life growing up in Wahoo and
E
half in Auburn.”
She obtained her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in criminal justice from UNO, and taught
classes at UNO and the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln as a graduate assistant. “The department of criminology
has an outstanding faculty widely
known in the CJ field. I really
enjoyed my experiences there.”
She is proud she stayed committed
to obtaining her doctorate while at
the time being a new mother. “I
know and can relate to the difficulties many students and graduate students have finding that balance
between school and family.”
Frenzel intends to remain part of
academia. “In five years, I’d like to be
tenured and promoted and probably
still here. I love Indiana University
and the community.”
On weekends she enjoys spending
time with her husband, Troy, and her
1-year-old son, Westley, and watching her 9-year-old daughter, Breya,
lead cheers for the Indiana pee-wee
football team.
It’s good experience for her role
cheering on the 1,000 CJ undergrads
in her care at Indiana University.
Peter C. Young, Ph.D.
E.W. Blanch, Sr. Chair in Risk
M an a g em e n t, Un i ve r si t y o f S t . T h o m a s
S ch o o l o f B u s i n e s s
eter Young took a life filled with
risks and uncertainty and turned it
into a
career.
Young
earned a
master’s
degree in
public
administration at
UNO and
went on to
obtain a
Ph.D. in
risk manYoung . . . “This period of time
agement
really made all the difference.”
from the
P
University of Minnesota. The author
of four books and consultant to
numerous organizations and governments, Young is considered to be a
leading expert on risk management,
particularly in public sector organizations.
He has been a visiting professor at
City University in London, Aoyama
Gakuin University in Tokyo and
Glasgow Caledonian University in
Scotland.
Currently, Young is an external
scholar and senior advisor at the
European Institute for Risk
Management in Copenhagen,
Denmark, and managing editor of
Public Risk Forum, a magazine
devoted to international public risk
issues.
He’s witnessed a transformation of
risk management from its traditional
focus on “insurable risk problems”
such as fires and injuries to a field of
study that looks at all kinds of risks in
a broad range of issues. Those range
from environmental change to the
social aspects of mass immigration
such as what is occurring from east
into west Europe.
“Risk management today is the
study of how organizations and societies address the widest possibilities
of risk,” he says.
Young says he benefited tremendously from faculty and administrators at UNO who were instrumental
in setting him on his career path.
“Of all the critical moments in my
life, this was one where I made a
decision almost oblivious to the
risks,” he says. “Looking back, this
period of time really made all the difference in the world.”
Construction Junction
S e e w h a t p r o g r e s s is b e i n g m a d e o n th e
$ 1 8 . 7 m i l l i o n i n re n o v a t i o n s a n d e x p a n sion to the CPACS Building by visiting the
c o l le g e We b s it e a t
www.unomaha.edu/cpacs/building
S e e p a g e 2 fo r a C a m p u s S c e n e p h o t o
o f c o n s tr u c tio n fr o m J u n e .
Summer 2007 • 33
College of
Information Science and Technology
The IS&T Advisory Committee includes, from left, Associate Dean Deepak Khazanchi, Craig Stemple of Qwest, Philip R. Ruhlman of the Gallup
Organization, Dean Hesham Ali, George Royce of Mutual of Omaha, Joe Hutchings of First National Bank, Lynne Baldwin of Baldwin, Hackett & Meeks Inc.;
and Dave Poutre of the MITRE Corp.
the jobs that are available and will support
future growth.”
Lynden Tennison, senior vice president
and CIO at Union Pacific Corporation, says
he would love to fill information technology
(IT) division internships and job openings
with graduates from Omaha and the immediate region. If he could find them.
Headquartered in Omaha, Union Pacific has been hiring between 60 and 80 people annually for its approximately 1,400-person IT division, Tennison says. The openings are due to company growth, natural attrition and
retirements.
The railroad giant also makes about 20 to 30 internship
opportunities available each year. The internships often
lead to “very well-paying jobs,” Tennison says.
That is why he and other members of the College of
IS&T Advisory Committee are finding it hard to comprehend why interest in computer-related majors and enrollments aren’t increasing.
“It has become a challenge for us to find qualified
Tech Help Wanted:
Students Need Apply
S
ome of Omaha’s largest employers say they have
information technology jobs and internships available
but not enough qualified people to fill them.
And they don’t understand why.
Hesham Ali, Dean of the College of Information
Science & Technology at The Peter Kiewit Institute, says
rumors regarding widespread cost-cutting measures like
outsourcing and offshoring may be to blame for cutting
interest – and enrollments – in computer science degree
programs.
“Not just here at UNO but at other universities,” Ali
says. “Potential students are worried that there won’t be
jobs waiting for them, when in actuality, companies are
worried there won’t be enough qualified graduates to fill
34 • Summer 2007
UNOALUM
interns and graduates, particularly in electrical engineermiles away.”
ing and computer science,” Tennison says, “not just in
Outsourcing is not always prudent, says George Royce,
numbers but also when it comes to diversity, especially
vice president of strategic technology development at
women, African-Americans and Hispanics.”
Mutual of Omaha.
Dean Ali says reports regarding outsourcing and off“It’s a fantasy that you can outsource or offshore everyshoring of jobs don’t tell the whole story. Outsourcing is
thing,” says Royce, who also teaches information systems
the delegation of work from within a particular company
classes at the College of IS&T. “You need key people in
to an external entity that specializes in that job or operakey places right here at home.”
tion, often to reduce costs. Offshoring is the delegation of
Rather than count on jobs to be offshored to their counwork from a company within the United States to a comtries, some students have been traveling from India and
pany in another country, usually one where either proAsia to the United States because of the availability of
duction or labor costs are lower.
jobs here.
Microsoft Corp. for example, has invested more than
These non-U.S. residents are filling jobs that offer com$1.5 billion in its facilities in India and hired thousands of petitive salaries and the possibility of promotion not
Indian workers. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said durfound in their home countries.
ing a panel discussion at the Library of Congress that it’s
For American companies, however, hiring non-U.S. resnot an effort to save money. “We’re just not seeing an
idents typically means higher costs, such as legal fees
available labor pool.”
paid to meet Immigration and Naturalization Service
For some companies,
requirements.
however, outsourcing and
“We are paying these fees
offshoring are neither prof- “
because we’re not finding
itable nor practical.
enough qualified candidates
,
David Poutre is senior
locally,” Tennison says.
principal engineer with the
opens a huge opporUNO and PKI are marvelous resources. If you “That
MITRE Corp., a not-fortunity for UNO to bring in
profit company that operstudents who will come out
get into the profession and are willing to
ates Federally Funded
with solid degrees in electriResearch and Development learn new things,
cal engineering, computer
Centers for the governscience and advanced math
.”
ment. Poutre works with
ready to step into some of
the U.S. Strategic
these jobs.”
G e o r g e R o y c e , Vi c e p r e s i d e n t o f s t r a t e g i c
Command (USSTRATCOM)
The demand for IT
t ec h n o l o g y d ev el o p m e n t, M u tu al o f O m ah a
headquartered at Offutt Air
interns and graduates localForce Base south of Omaha
ly “is significant,’ says Lynne
in Bellevue.
Baldwin, president of Baldwin Hackett & Meeks Inc., a
“Outsourcing is a national trend but it is a pendulum
software applications development corporation in
that is going to swing back,” says Poutre, who also serves
Omaha.
on the College of IS&T Advisory Committee. “In the
“There are jobs available and we project a need for
Department of Defense arena, the nature of our work
more people qualified in computer-related fields,” says
requires employees to be screened and cleared by the
Baldwin, another IS&T Advisory Committee member.
government. You can’t offshore work like that.”
“Students would not be making a mistake if they choose
The number of Department of Defense contractors with to major in computer science or computer engineering.”
operations in the Omaha area is rising. The Greater
Mutual of Omaha would “love to take advantage of a
Omaha Chamber of Commerce estimates more than 50
local pool of smart, talented interns and graduates,”
defense contractors do business here, among them
Royce says.
Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, resulting in
“If you’re interested in computer science or computer
more than 2,500 defense-related jobs.
engineering, UNO and PKI are marvelous resources right
Tennison says Union Pacific offshores the equivalent of
here in Omaha,” he says. “If you get into the profession
30 jobs, “and I never see that going above 25 to 30 perand are willing to learn new things, you’ve got a bright
cent of the workforce.
career ahead.”
“A lot of our development processes require gathering
Union Pacific’s Tennison agrees.
information today and developing code tomorrow. Doing
“UNO students and graduates are valued members of
that successfully requires face time with people here in
our workforce and we expect great things from them in
the corporation, and that would be impossible from 5,000 the future,” he says. “I’d just like to see more of them.”
If you’re interested in computer
science or computer engineering
you’ve got a bright
career ahead
Summer 2007 • 35
College of
Information Science and Technology
UNO students and faculty pose outside the pyramid-shaped media center at the Infosys company campus in Bangalore, India.
Trip to India an ‘Unforgettable
experience’ for faculty, students
Going global
tudents and faculty from UNO were among a group that traveled to
India to experience the meaning of globalization.
The trip, from March 6-18, was themed “Unity in Diversity.” The seven
faculty and 32 students, the majority from UNO, were a cross section of
the university system, representing the departments of International
Studies and Programs, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Sociology and
Anthropology and the UNO College of Information Science and Technology
(IS&T), as well as the fields of architectural engineering, English, history,
religion, communications, pre-medicine and biology.
The group visited the cities of Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata. They
toured the company sites of Infosys and Biocon, the Vinod Gupta School
of Management and the campus of the Indian Institute of TechnologyKharagpur. UNO and IIT signed a sister university affiliation agreement in
2004.
Gupta, founder, chairman and CEO of Omaha-headquartered infoUSA,
Inc., is a 1967 graduate of IIT Kharagpur, near Kolkata. He created the IIT
Foundation and the school which bears his name. InfoUSA President
Rakesh Gupta (no relation to Vinod) also is an IIT graduate and assisted in
developing the IIT/UNO program. The students’ visit was sponsored by
infoUSA.
It was the first trip to India for Ilze Zigurs, professor of Management
S
36 • Summer 2007
Information Systems
at IS&T.
“It was an unforgettable experience,”
she says. “I have
many professional
colleagues and
friends who are from
India and I had read
and heard so much
about the country, so
it was especially
meaningful to experience it all firsthand.”
Zigurs says the
group was fortunate
to visit a variety of
businesses and cities,
Computer Science student Jared Brower stands in
“and we were treated
front of the Taj Mahal, one of many historic landwith such gracious
marks the UNO group visited.
hospitality everywhere we went. The access that we had to different businesses and sites
was a very special part of the experience, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our hosts and all the people who worked so hard to make all the
remarkable arrangements.”
She says the UNO group saw why India is becoming a force in business and technology. “Professionally, I learned firsthand and in a richer
way about information technology trends and practices and globalization,
and what all this means to people in their daily lives.”
For more about the trip, see http://unoindia.vox.com/.
UNOALUM
Future is now for
UNO Institute for
Collaboration
Science
n his keynote address to the Interop business technolo-
Igy conference in May, Cisco Systems CEO John
Chambers told the audience, “Group innovation and collaboration . . . is the future.”
The future is now at the UNO Institute for
Collaboration Science.
Collaboration science is the study of concepts affecting
the outcomes of joint efforts toward achieving mutual
goals. Though it can be summarized as teamwork, the
precise examination of collaboration involves complex
issues that intrigue a variety of academic disciplines.
The UNO institute was formed in July 2006 with a
$300,000 gift from UNO alum and founder of Quantum
Alliance (QA3) Steve Wild, a $125,000 grant from the
University of Nebraska Foundation and $50,000 from the
university’s technology fee. Among the founders are 12
faculty members representing all six colleges at UNO.
The Institute’s director is G.J. de Vreede, Ph.D., of the
College of Information
Science and Technology.
Robert Briggs, Ph.D., of
the College of Business
Administration serves as
director of academic
affairs, while psychology
Professor Roni ReiterPalmon is the research
director.
De Vreede says the
institute has made great
strides in its first year. “If
you look at the wide
range of people and colleges involved, so far
G.J. de Vreede: “If you look at the
we’re the only group I
wide range of people and colleges
see in the nation that is
involved, so far we’re the only group I
building such a largesee in the nation that is building such
scale, integrated effort.”
a large-scale, integrated effort.”
In the fall of 2006 the
institute was awarded a $120,000 contract from the U.S.
Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to develop longw w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g
range infrastructure strategies for the military agency.
That grant has been extended to fund phase two of the
project, which is titled “Raising the Collaborative
Capacity of the Warfighter.”
De Vreede reports other first-year successes, including:
• Publication of 16 journal and 30 conference papers
and seven book chapters;
• The redesign of the Collaboration Lab at The Peter
Kiewit Institute, the redesign and funding for a collaboration space at the College of Business Administration and
a proposal to create a “collaborative commons” in the
new College of Public Affairs and Community Service
(CPACS) building, formerly the Engineering building;
• The launch of the first study course, Principles of
“News of our efforts has resulted in
quite a bit of interest from
local businesses and
organizations asking us to submit
additional proposals.”
G.J. de Vreede , P h.D, Director,
U N O I n s t i t u t e f o r C o ll a b o r a t i o n S c i e n c e
Collaboration, a class that quickly reached the maximum
of 24 students and that will be held again this fall. A
class in facilitation of collaborative problem solving with
groupware also will be held. Both are destined to
become part of a curriculum for a concentration in
Collaboration Science;
• Inception of a distinguished speaker series;
• Application for more than $8.5 million in grants and
proposals for research projects; and,
• The establishment of 13 internships and assistant
positions for students.
“We are also actively reaching out to the community
and assisting in a number of projects,” de Vreede says.
“News of our efforts has resulted in quite a bit of interest
from local businesses and organizations asking us to submit additional proposals.”
He says it is common for an academic endeavor such
as the Institute to take three years to fully establish itself
– one year where the seeds are planted, one year to nurture the crop and the third year when the first results are
harvested.
“Clearly, though we are completing only our first year,
we are already seeing some fruits of our labors,” he says.
“So things are moving very rapidly.”
More information about the Institute is available at
http://ics.ist.unomaha.edu.
Summer 2007 • 37
College of
Business Administration
Four honored as CBA Distinguished Alumni
NO’s College of Business Administration honored four
Ualumni at its 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award
luncheon in May. Of 18,000 CBA alumni, only 69 have
received this award. Profiles of this year’s honorees follow.
Donald E. Deter
President and Owner, Deter Motor Company
Don Deter received his bachelor of science degree in business administration
from the University of Omaha in 1952.
After working for Buick Motor Division in
Omaha and as sales manager for Salsness
Buick in Sioux City, Iowa, Deter acquired
the Chevrolet and Buick franchises in
Atlantic, Iowa, in 1964. He obtained the
Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac franchises in 1983 and added the Chrysler,
Dodge and Jeep franchises in 1992.
Deter was a director for the Iowa Auto Dealers
Association and was on the board of Midwest Warehouse in
Des Moines. He served on the General Motors Dealer
Council and has been a member of dealer advertising
boards for Chevrolet, Buick and Oldsmobile. He is a member of the Cass County Memorial Hospital Foundation
board and has served on many local community boards.
Deter and his wife, Jane, have three children and three
grandchildren. Born in Omaha, he was raised in Sarpy
County, Neb., and graduated from Papillion High School.
He also served with the United States Marine Corps.
David Emry
Managing Shareholder, Darst & Associates
David Emry earned his BSBA from UNO in 1970. He
began his accounting career in 1968, became partner with
Ken Johnson & Co. in 1976 and merged that firm with Darst
& Associates in 1981. He has served as managing shareholder for a number of years and has overseen the tremendous growth of the firm.
Emry provides accounting, auditing, tax
compliance and planning services for
clients in a variety of areas. A growing
percentage of his work focuses on technology consulting and includes systems
analysis to assure that clients receive the
information they need.
Emry is actively involved in both professional and community activities,
including service as president of the
Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants, which
honored him with its Distinguished Service to the Profession
Award in 1996. Emry also is a past council member, AICPA.
He received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award in 1997
from the Lions Club International. He also has volunteered
with the Shriners and with the youth group at his church.
38 • Summer 2007
Emry is married and has two grown children and two
grandchildren. He grew up in Fremont, Neb., and is a graduate of Fremont High School.
Clifford S. Hayes
Private Investor
Clifford Hayes transferred to the University of Omaha
from Cornell College and earned his degree with a major in
finance in 1965.
Hayes was a principal in Chiles, Heider & Co. Inc. where
he was a vice president of securities trading and a member of the board of directors. He was a registered investment
adviser, registered option principal and a
member of the Chicago Board of Options
before becoming a private investor. A
thorough researcher and highly soughtafter investment analyst, he was a personal broker for Warren Buffett for several
years.
Hayes served on the boards of Travel
and Transport Co. and Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, and
of Esplanade condominium in Naples, Fla., where he and
his wife, Meredith, spend a portion of their time.
Hayes was born and raised in Atlantic, Iowa, and graduated from Atlantic Public Schools.
Ross Ridenoure
Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer, OPPD
Ross Ridenoure earned undergraduate degrees in sociology and nuclear engineering technology
from Excelsior College, and an MBA
(Executive program) from the University of
Nebraska at Omaha in 2002.
Ridenoure was named vice president
and chief nuclear officer for the Omaha
Public Power District’s (OPPD) Fort
Calhoun Nuclear Station in 2003. He
holds an senior reactor operator (SRO)
license or certification on three of the four
types of nuclear power plants operating in
the United States. Ridenoure joined OPPD operations in
1989 after serving as a nuclear training instructor at the
Clinton Nuclear Station and, previously, as nuclear training
engineer at the Zion and Braidwood Nuclear Stations for
Westinghouse.
Ridenoure recently retired from the U.S. Navy after nearly
29 years of service. His eight years of active duty were
spent as a submarine nuclear reactor prototype instructor
and on a nuclear power fleet ballistic missile submarine. He
was active in the Naval Reserves at the U.S. Strategic
Command at Offutt Air Force Base until retirement in 2005.
Active in the community, Mr. Ridenoure serves on CBA’s
national advisory board.
UNOALUM
Family
Affairs
f Omaha’s Monico and Gehringer families
ever get together, there would be enough
sheepskins around to start a small herd.
Omaha World-Herald columnist Mike Kelly
gave ink to both clans in May after UNO’s
spring commencement. Why so? When
Christine Monico earned her BA in accounting, she became the sixth child of Chuck and
Kathy (Circo) Monico to earn a degree from
UNO.
“Can any family beat the record of the
Monicos?” Kelly wrote. “A UNO spokesman
said school officials know of no other family
in recent times that can match the Monicos.”
Two weeks later, Kelly had his answer —
the family of Peg and the late Bob Gehringer
boast eight UNO graduates with a combined
12 degrees. “The winners so far, and maybe
for good,” Kelly wrote.
Ironically, both families began with
Creighton grads. Chuck and Kathy Monico
have a degree from Creighton, as did Bob
Gehringer. All 14 children, though, list UNO
as their alma mater.
I
G e h r in g e r s
Here’s the Gehringer roll call: 1. Mary
Elizabeth, MS, education administration,
1979; 2. Robert Jr., BS, elementary education, 1972; MS, education, 1980; Ph.D., education, 2006; 3. Terese, BS, elementary education, 1974; 4. Thomas, BSED, secondary
education, 1992; 5. Michele, BS, education,
1977; MS, educational administration, 1995;
6. Dennis, BS, education, 1980; 7. Margaret,
BA, mathematics, 1983; 8. Barbara Helen,
BA, studio art, 1989; BA, art history, 1990.
Six of the Gehringers went on to careers
in education. Mary Elizabeth, now a nun, is
superintendent of Catholic schools for the
Archdiocese of Detroit while Robert is superintendent of schools at Boys Town. Terese
(Johnson) is a kindergarten teacher at
Omaha’s Prairie Wind Elementary and
Michele is assistant principal at Millard’s
Russell Middle School (the former Maverick
PHOTO BY TIM FITZGERALD, UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
The Monicos, from left: Charles, Andrea, Christine, Michelle, Gregory and Lisa.
PHOTO COMPLIMENTS OF BRAD JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY
The Gehringers. Front row, from left: Margaret (Nicolini), Peg, Micky, Sister Mary.
Back row, left: Bob Jr., Barbara, Terese (Johnson) and Dennis.
softball player also is in the school’s athletic
hall of fame). Thomas, who died of colon
cancer in 2002, taught at Omaha North and
Burke High Schools. Dennis is executive
director of the Omaha Education Association
representing teachers in the Omaha Public
Schools.
Margaret (Nicolini) is a longtime employee at Union Pacific while Barb owns a picture
framing shop in Fremont, Neb.
Also boasting UNO degrees are the wives
of Thomas (Patricia Brunkow, BA, dietetics,
1976) and Dennis (Robin Wiar, MA, secondary education, 1981). Robert, meanwhile, has
two children with UNO diplomas (Andrew,
BGS, computer science, 2006; Rebecca, BS,
biology, 2007).
Monicos
Here’s the Monico lineup: 1. Charles Jr.,
BSBA, accounting, 1993; 2. Lisa, BSED,
secondary education, 1995; 3. Andrea, BSED,
secondary education, 1999; 4. Gregory,
BSCJ, criminal justice, 2002; 5. Michelle,
BSED, elementary education, 2004; 6.
Christine, BSBA, accounting, 2007.
Chuck is president of CM’S Custom Lawn
& Landscape in Omaha. The company also
employs Andrea as office manager and
Christine as accounts payable manager.
Lisa (Kalamaja) is a stay-at-home mother,
Greg is a deputy sheriff with the Sarpy
County Sheriff’s Department, and Michelle
(Maher) is a second-grade teacher with
Omaha Public Schools.
Summer 2007 • 39
Hall Pass
Three UNO grads
inducted into new
Omaha Sports
Hall of Fame
hree of the first 10 inductees in the new
Omaha Sports Hall of Fame — including
the only woman — are UNO graduates.
The inaugural class was introduced May
23 during a ceremony at the Durham Western
Heritage Museum. Included were UNO graduates Marlin Briscoe, Connie Claussen and
Roger Sayers. Also inducted were Bob
Boozer, Eric Crouch, Bob Gibson, Nile
Kinnick, Dave Rimington, Johnny Rodgers
and Gale Sayers, brother of Roger.
A crowd of about 400 people attended a
banquet introducing the class. The hall’s
exhibit at the Durham will include interactive
displays where visitors can review video
highlights, photographs, artifacts and documentation of the athletes and their careers.
Briscoe, a 1969 graduate, was an AllAmerican quarterback at UNO. He finished his
OU days with 22 school records, becoming
the school’s career leader in total offense
(6,505 yards), passing yards (5,114), pass
completions/attempts (348/639), completion
average (.545) and touchdown passes (53).
The American Football League’s Denver
Broncos then drafted him, and in game 4 of
his rookie season in 1968 Briscoe became
the first black quarterback to start a professional football game. He stayed there for the
rest of the year, setting numerous Bronco
records, some of which still stand.
Briscoe later played as a receiver with
Buffalo from 1969 to 1971, leading the AFC
in receptions in 1970 and earning All-Pro status. He then spent three years with Miami,
winning two Super Bowl rings and playing on
the 1973 Dolphin squad that went 17-0, the
only NFL team ever to go undefeated. He finished his pro career at New England and left
the NFL after playing nine years. In 1975 he
was inducted into the inaugural UNO Athletic
Hall of Fame.
Reflecting on his recent honor, Briscoe
said, “I would not have received the award if
it was not for the University of Omaha and Al
Caniglia,” Briscoe said. “He gave me the
40 • Summer 2007
T
Inaugural inductees of the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame. From left: Roger Sayers, Connie
Claussen and Marlin Briscoe. Above each are archived photos from their time at UNO.
chance to play quarterback when other colleges would not have.”
Claussen, a 1961 graduate, started and
nurtured the growth of UNO women’s athletics. She began teaching physical education at
OU in 1963, serving as chair of the women's
physical education department from 1964-74.
She started UNO’s women’s athletics department in 1969, serving as a softball and volleyball coach along the way. In 1975 her softball team won the national championship.
She also led the United States to a gold
medal at the Pan-American Games.
Later becoming UNO’s associate athletic
director, Claussen in 1985 began the Diet
Pepsi/UNO Women’s Walk fundraiser, raising
$12,000 for the inaugural event. The annual
walk in 2007 raised nearly $335,000, pushing
the cumulative total to more than $3 million.
Claussen also has served as chair of the
Women Softball College World Series and as
a member of the NCAA Executive Committee.
She was named to UNO’s Athletic Hall of
Fame in 1983 and received the UNO Alumni
Association’s prestigious Citation for
Alumnus Achievement in 1997.
Asked to reflect on her career, Claussen
stated, “I would especially want to mention
Paul Kennedy. He was a great supporter of
women’s athletics and was also a consistent
contributor personally and financially.”
Sayers, an all-state athlete at Omaha
Central, was a two-sport star at UNO,
excelling in track and football.
He began his OU track career by winning
28 consecutive races as a freshman in 1961.
The next year “Roger the Rocket” outstretched world-record holder Bob Hayes in
the 100-yard dash to win the 1962 NAIA
Championship. He was NAIA national champion in 1963 and was a member of the 1962
U.S. track team, competing in duals against
Poland and the Soviet Union.
He put his speed to good use on the football field, eventually establishing seven
school records, including a 99-yard touchdown reception that also stands as an NAIA
record. Sayers is a member of the NAIA Track
Hall of Fame and joined Briscoe in UNO’s
inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1975.
UNOALUM
Class Notes
SUMMER 2007
1955
Robert A. Harling, BSBA, lives in
Southern Pines, N.C., and provides this
account of a recent trip: “In March we
took a great trip to Greece and also
decided to take the optional four-day
Greek Island cruise on the cruise ship
Sea Diamond. This was a fine cruise
until the last stop at Santorini Island.
Our ship hit a volcanic reef entering the
harbor and began taking on water,
causing it to list. My wife, MarJeanne,
went off in a lifeboat, but I had to wait
over three hours to get off. They
brought a small ferry up to our ship and
everyone exited one at a time. There
were almost 1,600 passengers. After 14
hours the Sea Diamond sunk. Two people are missing and presumed drowned.
We were able to get on another ship
and back to Athens in time to catch our
scheduled flight home — sans all our
personal belongings.” Send Harling
email at [email protected]
1961
John Crookham, MS, in March was
inducted into the Omaha Technical High
School Hall of Fame. He worked 33
years with Omaha Public Schools,
including 13 years as assistant principal
at Tech. He is retired.
1962
Jon W. Nelson, BS, lives in Estes Park,
Colo., and writes that “UNO was the
guiding light for my life in many ways,
from the career assessment office (be a
salesman or a teacher, they told me) to
many great professors (Charlie Bull in
marketing, especially) who not only
inspired me to teach in that field but
helped me mightily to procure a full
scholarship even though I started a
semester late after a disastrous quarter
in engineering at Iowa State University.”
Nelson later spent 30 years teaching at
the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
“I tried to pattern my relationships with
UNO Flashback File
students after those fine examples and
apparently did a fair job of it, as I was
recognized both officially and unofficially as a top teacher at KSC/UNK. My wife
and I moved here to Estes Park 11
years ago and within a week I bought a
small rundown indoor flea market,
quadrupled its size and made it into a
prosperous business. That still left plenty of time for hiking in ‘my’ Rocky
Mountains, as I had since childhood,
volunteer work at Crossroads
Ministries, and travel. If you get to
Estes Park stop by the flea market at
the west end of main street. I’d also be
happy to hear from any old friends via
email: [email protected].”
1964
George Wachtler Jr. , BS, in Omaha was
School Hall of Fame. He worked nearly
40 years for the Omaha World-Herald
before retiring in 2004.
1966
Ward Schumaker, BFA, lives in San
Francisco and in June held his first art
show in China, “I AM BIG HEAVEN,”
shown at the Stir Gallery in Shanghai.
Schumaker, a widely published and
exhibited artist, has created a series of
large works on paper employing cutpaper texts, paint spills and deft brushwork — the culmination of five years of
Victory Bell
still missing
U
NO’s Victory Bell is missing.
Not the victory bell purchased
in 2003 to commemorate the
football series between UNO and
UNK, but one that dates a half
century earlier in the university’s
history.
In 1955, graduating seniors
presented Omaha University
President Milo Bail with a “Victory
Bell” to be used for games,
victory celebrations, parades and
other school activities. The Class
TKEs stole it in 1957 (above) and the Pi Kaps in 1961, but the Victory Bell returned to campus
of 1955 purchased the bell from
both times. Its location today, however, is unknown.
Union Pacific Railroad for $150.
The bell was used throughout
Leslie were unaware of the bell’s existence. A plea to UNO
the late 1950s and into the 1960s. In 1957 it was “stolen”
faculty and staff turned up no leads.
then returned by Tau Kappa Epsilon. A similar stunt was
Perhaps the bell was stolen again, only never returned.
repeated in 1961 by Pi Kappa Alpha, which welded its
Perhaps it was put into storage and forgotten.
initials onto the bell.
If you know the whereabouts of the bell — or have any
After that, the bell is seen in various yearbook photos.
information related to it — please contact alumni
Its last definite appearance was in the 1966 Tomahawk
association Director of Communications Anthony Flott at
yearbook, though it likely also appears in the background
(402) 554-2989 (toll-free at UNO-MAV-ALUM) or email
of a photo in the 1970 yearbook.
[email protected]
No one knows its whereabouts today, though. UNO
Read archive stories about the Victory Bell and see
Archivist Les Valentine, Sports Information Director Gary
additional photos on the association’s Web site at
Anderson and former alumni association President Jim
www.unoalumni.org/VB
Summer 2007 • 41
Class Notes
almost exclusive bookmaking. The texts
can be read as abstract shapes or read
literally — the texts are derived from
the Hindu Gitas, European musical theater, and the artist’s dreams. “China’s a
hotbed for art and I look forward to seeing and being involved in it firsthand,”
Schumaker said prior to the show. “I’ll
be showing large works with words, on
paper. See some of them on my website
at: www.warddraw.com.” Schumaker’s
work has appeared in more than 150
periodicals, including the Los Angeles
Times, New York Times, New Yorker,
Esquire Japan and Le Monde. He has
illustrated two limited edition letterpress
books for the famed Yolla Bolly Press:
“Two Kitchens in Provence” by MFK
Fisher and “Paris France” by Gertrude
Stein. His work on the Stein book won a
silver medal from the Society of
Illustrators. He also is author/illustrator
of three children’s books. He has
received numerous awards and his
work hangs in the Zimmerli Museum of
Rutgers University and in Omaha’s
Joslyn Art Museum.
1970
Don Jenkins, BS, in May retired from
teaching and coaching at Iowa’s Atlantic
High School, where he’s been since
1979. The Omaha World-Herald’s
Western Iowa Coach of the Year in
1990, Jenkins coached Atlantic in girls
basketball, volleyball, softball and track.
In 25 seasons as basketball coach, the
World-Herald reported, Jenkins led
Atlantic to 451 wins, nine state tourney
appearances and one state title.
Maria Ridgway Moran, BSBA, lives in
Omaha and has become a Fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers, one
of the premier legal associations in
America. Founded in 1950, the college
is composed of the best of the trial bar
from the United States and Canada.
Fellowship is extended by invitation only
after careful investigation of those expe-
rienced trial lawyers who have mastered
the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the
highest standards of ethical conduct,
professionalism, civility and collegiality.
Lawyers must have a minimum of 15
years trial experience before they can be
considered for fellowship. Membership
in the college cannot exceed 1 per cent
of the total lawyer population of any
state. Moran is an assistant U.S.
Attorney for the District of Nebraska
and has been practicing in Omaha for
more than 23 years. Send her email at
[email protected]
Kenneth Webb, BS, recently released
“Essences,” a collection of poetry that
explores a broad range of topics,
including religion, science and society.
“I hope my readers live with some wonderment about this world,” Webb wrote
in a release. “This is what I wish to
share with you.” RoseDog Books of
Pittsburgh published the book.
1971
Howard Hawks, MBA, in February was
awarded the Medallion for
Entrepreneurship from Beta Gamma
Sigma, the national honor society for
higher education business programs. The
medallion
was established to
recognize
individuals
and firms
that contribute significantly to the vitality and strength of
the economy while combing innovative
business achievement with service to
humanity. UNO’s College of Business
Administration made the nomination
and CBA Dean Louis Pol accepted the
award on behalf of Hawks during a cer-
Lost Alums - 1962
Frederick T. Abt
Louis Aclin
Ralph W. Adams
Arlyle D. Adams
Jamie L. Aiken
Melvin S. Ames
Tamara Anderson
Chris B. Andrich
Leslie H. Armen
Arletta Robinson
Aronson
Leland F. Asa
Marshall S. Austin
James J. Baber
Orvil C. Bachmann
42 • Summer 2007
Jimmie D. Bailey
Irwin L. Bailie
Robert W. Baker
Judith K. Baker
Ralph T. Ballard
William E. Banks
Robert V. Banks
Edwin F. Barber
William C. Barnes
William Barnett
Irvin J. Barney
William C. Barnsley
John R. Barr
Alfred W. Barrett
Charles W. Barry
Eugene R. Bauer
Lydia Lopez Beal
Fay Beavers
Joseph L. Begin
Charles Arnold Bell
Charles T. Bell
Miguel A. Benitez
Carl F. Bergstrom
John C. Bernhartsen
Mary E. Berry
Gary Franklin Biggs
Sandra Deckert F.
Blakeway
Charles O. Blaser
Henry F. Bockstage
emony in Las Vegas. Hawks is founder,
chairman and chief executive officer of
Tenaska Inc., an Omaha-based energy
company and the 16th largest privately
held company in the United States.
Hawks and a small group of associates
formed the company in 1987 amidst a
newly de-regulated energy market. With
Hawks at the helm, Tenaska has raised
$7.8 billion in financing and the company’s assets have tripled from $800 million in 2001 to more than $2.6 billion in
2006. In recent years Tenaska also has
expanded its focus to bio-fuels, clean
coal generation and coal-to-liquid production of diesel fuels. “Tenaska’s
expanded focus has the potential to
lower energy costs, enhance energy
efficiency and reduce pollution,” Pol
said. Hawks is a University of Nebraska
Regent and serves as a director for
Creighton University. The Hawks
Foundation, created in 1994, has funded
hundreds of university scholarships.
Martha Bruckner, BS, was appointed
the first female superintendent of
Council Bluffs Community Schools.
Bruckner, the district’s 24th superintendent, was among 45 candidates and
six finalists considered. She previously
was the associate superintendent for
educational services in the 21,600-student Millard Public Schools in Omaha.
She has served as a teacher, assistant
principal, district strategic planning
coordinator, high school principal and
board of education member for the
Ralston Public School District. She also
had been professor and chairperson of
educational administration and supervision at UNO. Bruckner, who also earned
an MS in education from UNO in 1974,
served as a non-officio member of the
UNO Alumni Association Board of
Directors in 2002 as the university’s
faculty senate representative. Her husband, fellow graduate Robert Bruckner,
is a current association board member.
Her Council Bluffs predecessor, Richard
Christie, also is a UNO graduate (Ed.D.,
2003) and in 2004 became the first
Citation for Alumnus Achievement
recipient to have earned a doctorate
from UNO. He had been CBCSD superintendent since 1988.
Robert Franzese, BA, lives in Norman,
Okla., and is a teacher at the University
of Oklahoma. He recently received
major teaching awards there: the
University of Oklahoma Student
Association Outstanding Faculty
Member Award and the University of
Oklahoma 2007 OU Foundation
Excellence in Teaching Award. Send
Franzese email at [email protected]
1974
Gene Haynes, MS, in March was
School Hall of Fame. He taught at Tech
beginning in 1967 and later was its basketball coach for 13 years. He currently
is principal at Omaha North High.
1975
Royce Engstrom, BS, was named
provost and vice president for academic
affairs at the University of Montana. He
held the same post at the University of
South Dakota in Vermillion. At Montana
he will serve as the second highestranking executive officer on the
Missoula campus and will work closely
with President George Dennison to provide direction and leadership for the
university. Engstrom at South Dakota
has been vice president for research
and dean of graduate education and
was a Regents Fellow on the South
Dakota Board of Regents in 2003-04.
He began teaching in the USD’s chemistry department as an assistant professor in 1979 and served as department
chair from 1984 to 1995.
1978
Larr y Saxton, BSBA, lives in Omaha and
is president of Saxton Appraisals Inc.
Help us find these “Lost Alums” from the Class of 1962.
Send news of their whereabouts to [email protected]
Bart Body
Roxilu Bohrer K.
Bohrer
Robert D. Boles
Sonia C. Borges
Peter R. Bowman
Thomas O. Boyd
Albert W. Braun
Harry W. Brooks
Joseph E. Brooks
Lloyd A. Brown
Deloris Browning L.
Browning
Joe B. Bruce
Carol Temme Bryant
Frank Buchholz
Edwin L. Bulson
Daniel P. Buono
Peter G. Burbules
Mervyn J Burns
John D. Busick
Thomas D. Byrne
James Richard Carey
Vernon W. Carlson
Woodus A. Carter
William Herbert
Casper
Bernese M. Chaffin
Fred D. Chapman
M. Lorraine Cheleen
Harvey R. Clark
Edwin M. Clay
Jimmie L Collins
Eugene B. Conrad
Richard R. Cook
James D Coville
Roy L. Cowan
Randall O. Cox
John Andrew Coze
Cleatis M. Crain
James J. Crawley
Virgil Creech
Charles L. Croghan
Leonard A. Crosby
Robert P. Crossley
Roger A. Culbertson
Julie Klingforth J.
Dahlke
Ann Davis Dannibale
Edwin G. Davis
James C. Dean
Roger E. Deitrick
Robert V. Delay
Frederick G. Dempsey
Desmond D. Dewey
Hampton Dews
June J. Dimsdale
Arthur Dimsdle
Ersel M. Doan
Eugene Dolfi
UNOALUM
He has been awarded the Appraisal
Institute’s SRA designation for appraisers involved in the valuation and analysis of residential real estate. SRAs are
recognized experts in appraising residential properties and form a business
network encompassing markets nationwide and in Canada. Send him email at
[email protected]
Terri Nutzman, BS, in April was
appointed by Nebraska Gov. Dave
Heineman as administrator for the
Office of Juvenile Services (OJS) within
the Nebraska Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS). OJS is responsible for managing evaluation or treatment programs for juveniles who are
made wards of the state after committing a criminal offense. OJS also operates the state’s two youth rehabilitation
and treatment centers. “Terri has a
strong commitment to public service
and brings a wealth of knowledge to
this position,” Gov. Heineman said in a
release. Nutzman since 2003 has served
as senior attorney in the medical division of the Nebraska Attorney General’s
office, which she joined in 2000 working with the Child Protection Division
prosecuting felony sexual assault child
abuse cases. She also has served as a
deputy county attorney for Douglas
County, worked in private practice, and
has experience as an adult and juvenile
probation officer.
1980
Paul J. Strawhecker, MPA, will lead the
board of directors of the Association of
Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
Foundation for Philanthropy in 2007.
Strawhecker is president and founder of
Paul
Strawhecker
Inc., a
fundraising
consulting
and resource
development
firm based in
Omaha that
works exclusively with
nonprofit
organizations (www.pjstraw.com).
Strawhecker has more than 30 years
experience working in fundraising consulting/development with a marketing,
planning and public relations orientation. Before starting his own business
in 1995 he was responsible for initiating
the planned giving program at Girls and
Boys Town that raised more than $50
million. Prior to that he oversaw the
fundraising programs for a system of
Future Alums
Anne Margaret Poole,
daughter of Colleen
Fransiscus (’01) and Chris
Poole (’00, ’04) of
Ralston.
Anna Romayne DiGiacinto,
daughter of David and
Martha (Kuykendall, ’99)
DiGiacinto of Omaha.
Jackson Daniel Mandolfo,
son of Dan and Amy
(Steffel, ’97) Mandolfo of
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Send us a picture of your
Future Alum via mail or
email and and we’ll post it
on our website.
William Joseph Johnson,
son of Tara (Coughlin, ’06)
and Joseph (’06) Johnson
of David City, Neb.
S U M M E R
2 0 0 7
Sons & Daughters
of UNO Alumni
Giovanni Antonio
Vincentini, son of Diane
(Mach, ’93) and Chris (’90)
Vincentini of Omaha and
grandson of Jerry
Vincentini (’64) of
Bennington, Neb.
Jameson John Page, son
of David Page and
Natasha Ludwig-Page (’05)
of Bennington, Neb.
Andrew Jacob Barnes, son
of Sara and Ian (’98)
Barnes of Greensboro,
N.C., and grandson of
Joyce Hamilton (’68) of
Omaha and Timothy
Barnes (’72) of Omaha.
Alexander Nicholas
Schuler, son of Amy
(Linton, ’97) and Nicholas
(’00) Schuler of Fort
Calhoun, Neb.
Caleb Jordan Williams,
son of Joshua and
Jennifer (Redlinger, ’02)
Williams of Sauk Rapids,
Minn.
Holiday Ann Kirk, daughter of Doug and Cinda
(Lund, ’02) Kirk of Omaha.
Nolan Curtis Gayer, son of
Eric and Sheree
(Anderson, ’97) Gayer of
Omaha.
Submit a Future Alum on the Web: www.unoalumni.org/magazine/submit_future_alum
Provide a birth announcement (within 1 year of birth) and we’ll send a T-shirt and certificate, plus publish the
good news. Do so online at www.unoalumni.org/magazine/submit_future_alum. Mail announcements to:
Future Alums, UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. FAX info to: (402) 554-3787.
Include address, baby’s name, date of birth, parents’ or grandparents’ names and graduation year(s).
75 hospitals and nursing homes at
Lutheran Health System. Strawhecker
also has published several fundraisingfocused texts and is an adjunct professor at UNO. He works in conjunction
with UNO to orchestrate Certificate in
Fundraising Management courses
offered twice a year.
Doris M. Fyfe, MA, lives in Omaha and
writes that she is “finishing 60 years in
education this spring. I taught 43 years
in public schools of Nebraska and
Wyoming. Retired in 1990 but have
been substituting in Omaha Public
Schools and Trinity Christian School to
the present time. I also have been
supervising student teachers for UNL,
Grace University (where I serve as
adjunct faculty), and for Faith Bible
College of Ankeny, Iowa. I serve as a
volunteer weekly at Uta Halee and am
very involved in my church. I traveled to
Ukraine in 1994 and again in 1995, by
invitation from the Ukraine minister of
education to help train teachers (“How
to teach Christian Ethics and Morality in
the Public Schools”). For 20 summers I
traveled to Northern Canada near
Thompson, Manitoba, to direct a Bible
camp for Cree Indian and other local
children. My life story has been teaching children, which I do now at our
local church on Wednesday nights.”
Send Fyfe email at [email protected]
Scott Robinson, MS, is an adjunct faculty member with UNO’s geography and
geology department.
1981
Timothy Malloy, BS, in March received
the inaugural Medical Director of the
Year award from the American Medical
Directors Association (AMDA). Malloy is
medical director of Hillcrest Health and
Rehab in Bellevue, Neb. He was chosen
for his “exemplary work as a physician
leader, educator, patient advocate and
clinician.” The award was presented in
front of 1,800 attendees at the AMDA’s
2007 Annual Symposium in Hollywood,
Fla. AMDA is the professional association of medical directors and physicians
practicing in the long-term care continuum.
1982
Steven Baumert, MPA, was appointed
president and CEO of Jennie
Edmundson Memorial Hospital in
Council
Bluffs.
Baumert
joined Jennie
Edmundson
in 1981 as
assistant
director of
physical therapy. He was
promoted to
director of
physical therapy in 1983, was elevated
to vice president in 1992, and six years
later was named senior vice president
of operations. In his new position
Baumert also assumes the presidency
of three other organizations: Jennie
Edmundson Memorial Hospital
Foundation, Women’s Christian
Association and Healthcare Partners of
Western Iowa. In his capacity as a senior administrator, Baumert has played
key roles in a number of construction
projects and facility upgrades. He currently sits on several boards of directors and has leadership roles with other
Iowa organizations. He and his wife,
Kathy, a speech pathologist, have two
children: Stephanie, 23, and Marc, 17.
Cynthia R. Har vey, BA, writes that after
12 years as the pastor of Hector and
Lodi Presbyterian Churches in the
Finger Lakes region of New York she
has accepted a call to become pastor of
First Presbyterian Church in Kearney,
Neb. "I left Nebraska 20 years ago to
attend seminary and I’m finally coming
home.” Send her email at
[email protected]
1983
Cher yl Lindly, MA, lives in Omaha and
recently was recognized as the 2007
Nebraska Physician Assistant of the
Year. She has worked for Alegent Health
Family Practice for the past 16 years.
She also works on the development
Summer 2007 • 43
Class Notes
Top
Teachers
NO graduates once again dominated the annual Alice Buffett
Outstanding Teacher Awards. Issued
by the Susan Thompson Buffett
Foundation, the awards are presented annually to 15 teachers in the
Omaha Public Schools system.
Recipients receive $10,000 each.
Eleven of the 2007 recipients have
UNO degrees. Their names, degrees
and current teaching assignments:
U
J e n n a B u c k l ey
BSED 1986 Elementary Education
Rose Hill Elementary, kindergarten
Sharon Daugherty
BS 1989 Elementary Education
Ponca Elementary, first grade
J en n i f er D i R u o cc o
BSED 2000 Elementary Education
Fullerton Elementary, first grade
J o An n F l a xb e ar d
BS 1982 Elementary Education
Washington Elementary, second
grade
team for the Quick Care clinics opening
in area Hy-Vee stores.” Send her email
at [email protected]
Pa me la G al u s
BSED 1992 Secondary Education
MS 2005 Elementary Education
Lothrop Elementary, science
Na nc y Ge ngl e r
BS 1975 Teaching Mentally Retarded
MS 1982 Special Learning
Disabilities.
Central Park Elementary, special
education resource
V i r gi n i a G e r ha r dt
MA 1993 Elementary Education
Walnut Hill Elementary, pre-kindergarten
S a n dr a G uz a l l i s
MS 1978 Education Administration
Beveridge Middle School, social
studies
S u s a n a L ar a
BSED 1997 Secondary Education
South High School, Spanish/English
as a second language
J e n n if e r L o g e s
MS 1999 Elementary Education
Picotte Elementary, first grade
Je n n i f e r S t as t n y
MA 2004 English
Central High School, English
you a photo of me wearing the Mav hat.
Here it is. This is me in front of the former Baath Party House located on
Camp Slayer in Baghdad. I was there
about two weeks ago for a few days. I
am now safely in Kuwait and should be
heading back to the states in four or
five more days. Thank you and the
alumni again for your support and kindness! Go Mavs!” Send him email at
[email protected]
Thomas H. Warren Sr. , MS, in March
was inducted into the Omaha Technical
High School Hall of Fame. He is chief of
the Omaha Police Department and is a
current member of the UNO Alumni
Association Board of Directors.
1989
D. Scott Parsons, BSED, wrote the
alumni association shortly before leaving Kuwait for the United States after
service in Iraq: “I just wanted to keep
my promise to you. When you sent me
the care package I told you that I'd send
44 • Summer 2007
1990
Susan Bazis, BSCJ, was appointed by
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman to serve
as a Douglas County judge in the Fourth
Judicial District. “Her knowledge of the
law is impressive and I know she will
bring genuine enthusiasm to her new
role as a county court judge,” Gov.
Heineman said in a release. Bazis
comes to the county court bench from a
private practice she started in 2001.
Prior to that she was an associate with
Paragas Law Offices and had worked
for Kelly, Lehan & Hall, P.C. She also
spent two years as an assistant public
defender in the Douglas County Public
Defender’s office. Bazis was named special prosecutor in 2004 as part of a
grand jury investigation and again in
2006 for several cases. As a member of
the Nebraska State Bar Association
(NSBA) she serves as a member of the
NSBA House of Delegates. Bazis also
served as a member of NSBA’s Criminal
Practice and Procedure Committee from
1999 to 2002. She has served on the
board of directors of the Ollie Webb
Center, an organization providing support for individuals with developmental
disabilities and their families, and has
donated her time and services as part of
the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono
Project.
Brandie Ta r vin, BA, lives in
Jacksonville, Fla., and has had two
short stories published in mainstream
science fiction/fantasy anthologies. The
first was in 2005 as part of Hasbro’s
“Transformers: Legends” anthology. The
second was this May with Popcorn
Press’ “Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms”
anthology (www.PopcornPress.com).
During the day Tarvin works as a database administrator.
1993
Kevin R. Lunt, BA, lives in Omaha and
writes, “During the day, my world is
courthouses and jails, lawyers and the
accused.
During the
night, my
world is
medical clinics and the
ER, doctors
and patients.
Over the
weekend, it
is loan officers and title
agents, homebuyers and home sellers.
How is that for variety?” Lunt is a medical interpreter with the Nebraska
Medical Center. He also has been an
interpreter for the Chicano Awareness
Center for the Nebraska State Bar
Association’s VLP clinic consultations.
“Just last year I became one of about
20 interpreters in the state to achieve
the highly-regarded Nebraska Supreme
Court Interpreter certification. Now I get
calls to travel to Fremont, Tecumseh,
Lexington, etc., or over to Iowa as
well.” Lunt, son of former UNO biology
professor Steele R. Lunt, since graduation has earned a black belt in Kenpo
Karate and earned medals in both fenc-
ing and tae kwon do at the Cornhusker
State Games. He also is a real estate
agent working out of the South Omaha
NP Dodge office. Visit his Web page at
www.npdodge.com/KevinLunt
James Richard Thibodeau, BS, lives in
Omaha and writes that, “After spending
seven years working in the Douglas
County Attorney’s office I was recently
hired as the director of labor relationsgeneral counsel for Metropolitan
Community College in Omaha.” Send
him email at [email protected]
1994
Mar y (Betsy) Vicknair Conway, BGS,
lives in Omaha and has been appointed
director of major gifts and planned giving at the Visiting Nurse Association in
Omaha. Prior to joining VNA Betsy had
12 years of experience working with
planned giving donors within a threestate area for the Salvation Army. She
also completed advanced studies in
planned giving at the College of William
and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. “Visiting
Nurse Association has a stellar reputation and a history of 110 years of service in the Omaha community and surrounding areas,” Conway says. “VNA is
highly respected for their efforts in the
community health, hospice and maternal health fields. I am looking forward
to working with VNA, providing information to donors eager to help VNA
expand their mission.” She is married
with two grown sons. Send her email at
[email protected]
Pat McDermott, MBE, joined Cassling
Diagnostic Imaging as its director of
strategy and business development.
McDermott will oversee strategic plan
initiatives and help explore business
development opportunities for Cassling,
a full-line sales and service distributor
for Siemens Medical Solutions.
1995
Matthew James Streett, BFA, lives in
Columbia, Md., and writes that, “late
last year I was transferred from my pastorship of a small parish in Virginia to
the Cathedral of the Annunciation in
Baltimore, the largest Greek Orthodox
church in the mid-Atlantic. I've never
been so busy in my entire life, but it's a
very fulfilling job.”
1996
Ken Archer, BS, lives in Summerfield,
Fla. He recently received an Edward R.
Murrow award and a First Place
Associated Press Award for producing
UNOALUM
S U M M E R
parts two and three of the Villages
Media Group’s “Faces of Freedom —
America’s Frontline Heroes” and for
“America’s Seaborne Heroes,” four 30minute specials honoring the men and
women who fought during World War II
and in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and
Iraq. Archer also accepted a position at
The Villages High School to take over
its communication academy and teach
TV news, TV production and journalism
while beginning work toward a master’s
degree. Send him email at
[email protected]
David P. Worden, BS, lives near
Winston-Salem, N.C., and is a project
manager for Lowe's Companies Inc.,
headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
Worden was the “Official Voice of the
Spirit of the Heartland” for the UNO
Marching Mavericks, announcing the
band at home and away football games.
He and his wife, Christine, also a UNO
alum, moved to North Carolina with
their two children in 2006. Send him
email at [email protected]
Brent Boardman, BA, lives in Maricopa,
Ariz., and is a curriculum development
manager for the College of
Undergraduate Business &
Management with the University of
Phoenix. He and his wife, fellow UNO
graduate Tina Padilla Boardman (BS,
1997) have been married for six years.
Both have earned MBAs from the WP
Carey School of Business. The couple
welcomed their first child, Charlotte, in
March 2006.
Class
Notes
1997
Ti na Padi lla B oardma n, BS, lives in
Maricopa, Ariz., and is the quality systems manager for Genzyme Genetics, a
clinical genetic testing laboratory in
Phoenix. She and her husband, fellow
UNO graduate Brent Boardman (BA,
1996) have been married for six years.
Both have earned MBAs from the WP
Carey School of Business. The couple
welcomed their first child, Charlotte, in
March 2006. Send Tina email at
[email protected].
Paul Larson, BS, lives in Omaha and is
an attorney with Berens & Tate. He
writes, “After receiving an excellent and
affordable education at UNO, I went to
law school at Creighton, graduated in
2000 and have been practicing law ever
since. My practice is focused on representing employers in Nebraska and
across the nation with their respective
workers’ compensation and employment needs.” Send him email at
[email protected]
Venesa Torres, BS, lives in the foothills
of the Smokey Mountains in Maryville,
Tenn., “with my DH and yorkie Zoey.
Still a licensed registered dietician, but I
now have a great new hobby that is
quickly becoming my new life . . . I’m a
glass artist. If you would like to see
what I’ve been up to check it out at
www.VenusBeads.com.” Send email to
[email protected]
1998
Tugba Kalafatogl u, BA, lives in
Istanbul, Turkey, and recently was
named Woman of the Year 2007 by the
Governing
Board of
Editors of the
American
Biographical
Institute. The
honor is presented annually to an
individual
from across
the globe
who exhibits extraordinary achievement
and determination based on American
ideals of entrepreneurship and success
along with community involvement.”
Send her email at [email protected]
1999
LeeAnn Vaughan, BSED, is a teacher at
Omaha North High School who in May
received the Biotechnology Institute’s
Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator
Award, the nation’s top award for
biotechnology education. The award,
sponsored by Genzyme Corporation and
Invitrogen Corporation, was presented
at the Biotechnology Institute’s annual
conference on biotechnology education
in Boston. Established by the
Biotechnology Institute, the national
biotechnology education organization,
the award recognizes premier high
school level educators who provide an
array of expertise to help improve the
teaching and learning of biotechnology
2 0 0 7
in their classrooms. “LeeAnn represents
the best of the teachers we work with
every day,” says Paul A. Hanle, president of the Biotechnology Institute.
“These dynamic teachers are sharing
their passion about science and
biotechnology and energizing the next
generation of biotechnology innovators.” Ten finalists were identified from
a nationwide applicant pool from among
more than 1,000 educators in the institute’s National Biotechnology TeacherLeader Program. Vaughan received
$10,000 with the honor.
2001
Dav id Bla ir, MBE, lives in Omaha and
has joined Manarin Investment Counsel
as an investment advisor.
2003
Armando Salgado, BA, recently was
featured in an Omaha World-Herald article focusing on his new business
LingDocs, a resource for English- and
Spanish-speaking players in the real
estate industry. The company offers
various bilingual services. Salgado also
is director of programs and services for
Christ Child Society of Omaha.
2005
Jamie Cooper, BA, was awarded an
annual diversity scholarship by Butler
Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd LLP. A
Northwestern University School of Law
student, Cooper is the second scholarship recipient of the program Butler
Rubin established with Northwestern to
foster diversity in the legal profession.
Cooper will receive a $10,000 scholar-
Submit your class note over the web at www.unoalumni.org
What have you been doing since graduating from UNO? Your fellow alumni would like to know! Give us an update by
filling out the form below. We’ll publish the news in a future issue of the UNO Alum and on our website. Send the news
to Class Notes Editor, UNO Alum, 67th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182-0010, or Fax to (402) 554-3787.
Name__________________________________________
Employer ___________________________________
Class Year_______Degree________
Position_____________________________________
Address________________________________________
Career/Personal News__________________________
City ___________________________
State, Zip______________________
Is this a new
q Yes q No
address?
Phone_____________________________
E-mail_________________________________________
May we post your email address
in the next Alum?
q Yes q No
May we include your name in our
website’s email directory (email
addresses not shown)?
q Yes q No
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Summer 2007 • 45
Class Notes
ship for tuition and other expenses and
will work as a summer associate at
Butler Rubin. The scholarship is renewable for her second and third year of
study. Cooper also will work at Butler
Rubin for at least two weeks after her
second year of law school. A magna
cum laude graduate of UNO with a
degree in Spanish, Cooper at
Northwestern participates in the Black
Women Lawyers Association of Greater
Chicago, the Black Law Student
Association, the Latino Law Student
Association, the Women’s Leadership
Coalition, and the Council on Legal
Opportunity and Education.
2006
Matthew Schultz, BS, was named a
recipient of the 2007 National Park
Service Exceptional IT Service Award.
Created in 2004, the award recognizes
exemplary work, innovative thinking and
dedication in the performance of IT
service in the NPS. Schultz was cited
for his highly developed technical skill
in tackling and quickly learning new
technologies, using that knowledge to
benefit NPS, and “his winning attitude.”
Following many summers of volunteer
service with the NPS, Schultz began his
professional career with the agency in
1999. Upon graduating from UNO he
became a full-time permanent employee
in the Midwest Regional Office’s information technology division. Schultz currently serves on the NPS Systems
Management Server (SMS) Alliance
working to deploy SMS throughout the
13-state Midwest Region. Schultz also
volunteers as the network administrator
and web developer for St. Mark
Lutheran Church in Omaha.
Kenny Onatolu, BGS, signed a contract
in March to play football for the
Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian
Football League. The 6-foot-2, 225-
In Memoriam
1923 Ethelwyn Hodge
1936 Kenneth O. Turner
1937 Sarah Elizabeth
“Betty” Majors Kozak
Amy A. Rohacek Sutton
1939 Wade E. Knapp
1944 Alfred J. Eggers Jr.
1947 George W. Ireland
Thelma V. Melton Roe
1948 Everett J. Bush
Laura Tondreau Piepgras
Robert W. Somers
1950 James C. Edick Sr.
Robert G. Murray
Robert E. Westergard
1952 Lorraine Peters Carter
John R. Potts
Edward L. Schapsmeier
1953 Edmund W. Edmonds
Carmen A. Peterson
W. Dale Womer
1954 Kenneth C. Borcher
Frank P. Rymer
1956 Joseph C. Corey
Joseph L. Slavik
Donald E. Summers
Clarence Everett Giraud
1957 John K. Miller
1958 Thomas J. Barr
1959 Wayne C. Ahrens
Stanley P. Converse
Oakley J. Dollard
Donald H. Jersey
John C. Marschhausen
Rose Lagman Richman
Shirley F. Nelson Rosse
Ronald J. Schneider
1960 Louis E. Arczynski
46 • Summer 2007
1960 William R. Austin
Robert E. Bennett
Charles S. Dearborn
Janice Walters Lambeth
Essie “Grace” Matthews
Daniel G. Traver
Noyes Weltmer Jr.
1961 John H. Barnett
John B. Beckham
Richard A. Kupau
Walter J. Klein
John W. Klingelhoefer
Paul F. Kreft
Joseph F. Lange
John C. Leeds Jr.
Richard Lepore
Steve J. Mack
Walter E. Mann Jr.
Carlos R. Marquez
Charles W. Martino
Wallace A. Mason
Edward E. Mayer
Robert W. McFadden
Nelson McFarley Jr.
Charles R. McNeilly
Charles F. Meyer
Vaughan Miller Jr.
William T. Minor
Rafael Miranda
Robert F. Tugman
1962 Edward F. Astarita
Arsene P. Bonifas
Wallace W. Crompton
James E. Dempsey
Jack D. Dougherty
Edward A. Koster
William C. Glisson
Edna E. Manter
pound Onatolu ended his UNO career
last fall, finishing with 324 tackles to
rank fifth on the university’s career tackles list. Twin brother Taiwo Onatolu,
who played for the Mavs from 20022005, ranks second with 371 tackles.
Kenny Onatolu was an All-North Central
Conference second-team selection as a
sophomore and NCC first-team as a
junior and senior. Edmonton is one of
the most successful teams in CFL history with 13 Grey Cup championships and
a North American pro-sports record of
34 consecutive years in the playoffs.
The Eskimos opened their season June
15 against the Calgary Stampeders. See
more at www.esks.com
Zac Herold, BGS, signed a free agent
contract to play football for the San
Francisco 49ers. A 6-foot-6, 261-pound
tight end (right), Herold finished his
Maverick career last fall with 23 receptions for 358 yards. For his career
1962 Hugh A. MacDonald
Lewis E. Spencer
1963 Robert G. Belles
Carolyn H. Brenton
Kenneth W. Bevan
Robert J. Billington
Dorothy E. Hansen Hirst
Clinton L. Kimsey
Paul E. Nally
Lillian Nelson Peterson
Anne E. Brown Rickels
1964 Wyndham H. Bammer
Zeb Blackmon Jr
David F. Bouchard
Sharon K. Hays Brown
Ann C. DeStefano
Carretto
Richard F. Collins
Charles D. Decker
Robert L. Engleson
Mark H. Hahney
Howard A. Jones
Merle D. Kenney
Norma J. Cleary Ludwig
Beverly H. Randall
1965 Frank B. Amado
Major W. Amos
William R. Bentley
Philip O. Berry
Christos C. Bogiages Jr.
Irving W. Boswell
Russell A. Cecala
Arthur L. Consta
Richard G. Davis
John N. Dick, Jr.
Daniel L. Dienstbier
Thomas W. Donovan
Florence “Joyce” Doty
Stella Graham Bryant
Downing
Donald G. Duff
Herold played in 39 games and had 73
receptions for 1,048 yards and eight
touchdowns. In 2005 he was named a
first-team All-American by
D2Football.com and was an All-North
Central Conference pick. He came to
UNO from Prairie High School in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa.
1965 Lawrence H. Flood
William R. Goode
Howard “Mike” Harvey
William A. Haskins
Larry G. Hill
Norman R. Jackson
Robert C. Kingston
Rosalea A. Weskirchen
Maher
Harry W. Moore
John W. Olsen
Darlene F. Santee
Angela Remund Steele
Archie W. Tucker
Woodrow L. Vandrew
1966 Arthur M. Bliss
Robert A. Bonifacio
Gene T. Broyles
Lionel A. Danis
Leo H. Dodson
Ronald E. Dunlap
Harold E. Justice
John G. McCormick
Ronald B. Montague
John R. Petkosek
Richard L. Powell
1967 William E. Beck
Robert P. Caputo
Jackie N. Caraway
Joy Shum Rishel King
William A. Meikle
1968 Otmer "Ronald" Gorrell
Marshall D. Johnson
Ottis V. Stephenson Sr.
1969 Marvin L. Cook
Kenneth R. Jacobs
Dale R. Meierhenry
Ronald D. Olsen
Francis E. Politte
1970 Duane E. Kosmicki
Robert C. Learch
1970 Richard W. Lee
Inez L. Naumann
1971 Edward S. Broderick
David H. French
Carl Goins
Leo B. Hunt
Dorothy Kemp McClain
Phyllis A. Fedman Tejral
1972 Basil V. Harrington
1974 Richard A. Bouker
Edwin W. Corwin
Steven H. Lee
1974 Michael G. O'Connor
James L. Oliger Jr.
Mary "Kathleen" Ring
Raymond J. Tarlton Jr.
1975 James E. Bruscino
1977 Edward L. Moore
Norma C. Mosley
Merrill T. Powell
Margaret E. Dineen
Prendergast
1978 Herbert "Bud" Curdts Jr.
Ronald R. Geiger
1979 John J. Moriarty
1980 William H. Dieatric Jr.
1981 Virginia A. Pleiss
1982 Doug D. Adams
William R. Fogarty
William C. Pierce
Margaret E. “Maggie”
Kerkhove Randall
1988 Christopher L. Draney
Robert J. “R.J.” Nebe
Virginia Prawl Winegar
1990 Karla E. Jones
1991 Michele M. Cathro
1994 Rhonda L. Rollerson
1997 Erin R. Keeler
2000 Ronald R. Carlson
Anthony M. Welsh
UNOALUM
UNO Century Club
he UNO Century Club was inaugurated in 1973 with 44 charter
members contributing to the UNO Annual Fund. Today, the
Century Club features thousands of members each year.
Membership consists of individuals who support their alma
mater with gifts of $100 or more. Gifts support various alumni
association programs and services that make for a stronger, more
vibrant university. With their UNRESTRICTED gift, Century Club
donors receive one of five personalized mementos (pictured at
right), special recognition in an annual report and invitations to
select events throughout the year.
T
John A. & Cheryl A. Mascarello
Paul L. & Anne M. Hays
Walter C. Nodean
Linda Placzek
William L. & Laura M. Powers
Edwin D. Rasmussen
Marilyn R. Raupe
T. Patrick Ryan
Fred L. Sgroi
Thanks to these upgraded Century Club donors!
(March 16 to May 31, 2007)
To Gold
($500 or more)
Susan K. Bizzarri
Wallace A. Burkett
Mary A. Ferdig
James L. Gammon
Patrick M. Gerbus
David M. Juenenmann
Deena R. Murphy
Tom & Joan Quinlin
Ginny Tworek
Welcome to these
first-time Century Club
donors!
(March 16 to May 31, 2007)
D ia m o n d
( $ 1 , 0 0 0 o r m o re )
Brig. Gen. (Ret) Paul E. Smith
To Silver
($250 or more)
Sharon A. Appleby
Duke Burgess
Craig S. Clawson
Rodney A. & Annette R. Conser
Dorothy "Dee" Hall
Theodore W. Heise
Daniel L. Jaksich
James J. Kozak
Kenneth E. Krawczyk
Gold ($500 or more)
Jon C. Gum
S ilv e r ( $ 2 5 0 o r m o r e )
R.D. Langhammer
James K. Perkins
Raschelle Serghini Burton
2007 UNO Annual Fund Donation Form
I will
1Give- YES!
to the UNO
2- Tax-deductible gift information (select one)
q
Check enclosed for $
$50 or more
q
PLEDGE: Bill me for $
$100 or more
q I authorize the UNO Alumni Association to collect
Annual Fund!
q Change Maker
q Bronze Century
q Silver Century
q Golden Century
$500 or more
Glenna G. Lee
Sherri Macht
Virginia Maciel
Harold (Hal) Mandell
Francine J. Martin
Thomas E. Matza
Darrel L. Morrison
John M. O'Doherty
Ronald L. Orndorff
Ralph L. & Jean D. Pettit
Richard R. Rankin
Diane M. Ruskamp
Curt J. & Linda M. Safranek
Daniel & Kathryn Saniuk
Larry Saxton
Gregory C. Schaecher
Scott Schneider
Daniel J. Showalter Jr.
Barbara H. Staples
Joan C. Stoner
Marlyn & Judy Taylor
Kathy Tibke
Thomas N. Tomaszewski
Gustave Vinas
D.G. Waller
Paul A. Williams
Harry Williams Jr.
Carolyn A. Winkel
The UNO Annual Fund: Serving UNO since 1953
3 - Complete Name and Address
Name__________________________________________________________________
As you wish it to appear in the Annual Report
in
.
month
my gift of $
q
$250 or more
. Payable to UNO Annual Fund.
Bronze ($100 or more)
Daniel E. Adams
Gary M. Anderson
Jeffrey J. Anderson
John F. Arkwright
Brig. Gen. (Ret) Rolland E. Ballow
Eben S. Battaglia
Lonnie & Jean Bernth
Eric L. & Janet L. Bremers
Cody Francis Carse
Col. (Ret) Melvin G. Cash
Rev. Robert R. Clay
Tamara & Scott Coburn
Judith Davies
Hubert R. Davis
Herbert E. Detloff
Genevieve I. Evankovich
Maureen FitzGerald Rothfuss
Floyd D. Foreman
Col. (Ret) James E. Foster
Gary Lee Frantz
Ronald N. Gass
William S. Glickfield
Timothy E. Hamel
Col. (Ret) Richard Harwood
John H. Hoehne
Richard D. Kostopoulos
Cynthia & William Lambert Jr.
Visa
through my:
q
MasterCard
q
City/State/Zip____________________________________________________________
Discover Expiration Date:____/_____
Phone__________________________________________________________________
Card No.:
q Diamond Century
Address________________________________________________________________
-
-
-
E-mail:
$1,000 or more
q Platinum Century
$2,500 or more
q Other
$___________
_______________________________________________________________________
Signature
Thank you for being a Change Maker and supporting UNO!
Remember, yo ur gift is t ax-ded uctible.
May we post your name in our website’s email directory (email addresses not shown)?
q Yes q No
Summer 2007 • 47
The Thompson Center at UNO
10% room rental
discount for UNO
Alumni Card holders!
An elegant, versatile event
facility, ideally located
and open to the public
— Newly remodeled and expanded!
— Rooms for large & small events
— Private and shaded park-like grounds
— Professional staff on-site
— Free parking
Catering by Brandeis with
full and varied menu and
event-planning assistance
•
•
•
•
Weddings & Receptions
Beautiful Outdoor Weddings
Breakfasts & Brunches
Luncheons & Dinners
Ask about Friday night discounts!
Book your next event online —
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Alumni Association
6705 Dodge St.
Omaha, NE 68182-0010
Address Service Requested
•
•
•
•
Meetings & Seminars
Banquets & Conferences
State-of-the-art A/V
Free high-speed Wi-Fi
67th & Dodge
554-3368
www.thethompsoncenter.org
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #301
OMAHA, NE

Summer 2007 - UNO Alumni Association

Transcription

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