UNO Alum - Fall 2008

UNIVERSITY

OF

NEBRASKA AT

OMAHA ALUMNI

ASSOCIATION

Fall Fall 2008 2008

Celebr ating the

Centennial

O c tob e r

8-12, 2008

Centennial Homecoming Celebration Join UNO faculty, staff, students and fellow alumni for five days of fun to kick off UNO’s Centennial Year!

RE GIS TE R

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Contents Fall 2008

College News IS&P

22-23

Connecting the world to the community.

CPACS

24-25

Finally, a place to call home.

PKI

26-27

Holland Academy of Excellence.

CFAM

28-29

Speaking the language of the world

IS&T

30-33

New faces on faculty.

American Swastika

COE

34-35

Pilot program for bilingual teachers.

A UNO Professor studies the White Power Movement

Arts & Sciences

36-39

Nine faculty join college.

CBA

40

Mammel Hall going up green.

Illustration by Joe Pankowski

UNO Alum Magazine, Fall 2008 Editor: Anthony Flott

Features American Swastika

14

UNO Professor Pete Simi takes a look at the White Power Movement in the United States.

School of Rock

18

Neely Jenkins left behind the classroom for a music career with Tilly and the Wall.

Voice of the Mavericks

18

20

Terry Forsberg begins his 50th season as public address announcer for UNO sports.

Departments Alumni Association in Action

6

First Lady Ganem receives Citation award; Celebrate 100! campaign.

University News

8

University ranks first in nation in survey of learning gains.

Athletics

9

Contributors: Bryce Bridges, Tim Fitzgerald, Tim McMahan, Tom McMahon, Joe Pankowski, Hugh Reilly, Nick Schinker, Pete Simi, Rob Walters, Veronica Wortman.

Alumni Association Officers: Chairman of the Board, Rod Oberle; Past Chairman, Deborah McLarney; 1st Vice chair, Mark Grieb; 2nd Vice Chair, Kevin Munro; Secretary, Patricia Lamberty; Treasurer, Dan Koraleski; Legal Counsel, Martha Ridgway Zajicek; President & CEO, Lee Denker.

Alumni Staff: Lee Denker, President & CEO; Sue Gerding, Diane Osborne, Kathy Johnson, Records/Alumni Cards; Julie Kaminski, Staff Assistant; Sheila King, Activities Coordinator; Greg Trimm, Alumni Center Manager; Anthony Flott, Editor; Brian Schram, Business Manager; 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: aflott@unomaha.edu • Send all changes of address to attention of Records. Views expressed through various articles within the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University of Nebraska at Omaha or the UNO Alumni Association.

Longtime SID Anderson steps down.

Centennial Celebration

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Homecoming kicks off Centennial Celebration; keynote speaker tabbed for Gala.

21

Class Notes

41

Moves, promotions, marriages and more. w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Fall 2008• 3

Letter from the Dear Alum:

Chancellor

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s I write this letter, the excitement is building and the anticipation palpable as the campus readies for the upcoming Centennial celebration.

Now, on the eve of those festivities, the enormity of the changes our campus has undergone over the past 100 years becomes even more apparent. And, my pride for its achievements grows with each semester.

I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as we reach this significant milestone.

Few could have imagined when the Articles of Incorporation for Omaha University were signed Oct. 8, 1908, what that fledgling institution would look like 10 decades later. From Redick Hall, a former private residence at 24th and Pratt Streets, today’s campus now encompasses three locations stretching from south of Center to Dodge Streets, and an enrollment that has grown from 26 students to 15,000. In the beginning, a handful of instructors taught classes such as “Beginners Latin.”

Today’s faculty prepare students for careers unknown even five years ago.

Yet one constant remains: a commitment to serve students with equal measures of academic rigor, educational innovation and services that meet the unique needs of the metropolitan learner.

As I think back to the high hopes those early founders had for their little university, I believe they would be in awe of today’s institution — a university with nationally ranked programs and international outreach; an institution that is ahead of its peers in important indicators such as graduation rates and value-added education; an institution whose students consistently select UNO as their institution of choice and recommend it to friends and siblings.

I think UNO’s founders would be pleased to see the physical growth of the campus, and even more proud of the many technological advances that we employ to offer state-of-the-art educational opportunities. I think they would applaud the many donors, benefactors and visionaries who generously contribute to create the campus of tomorrow, and whose concern for students and faculty has resulted in record numbers of scholarships and endowed professorships, allowing us to attract and retain the best and brightest.

I believe those early founders would be pleased that UNO remains an institution of opportunity for first-generation college students and their families. That avenues such as the Goodrich, Thompson, Project Achieve, Summer Scholars, and Tuition Assistance programs make higher education available to students whose dreams of college may otherwise be out of reach.

Finally, I firmly believe that Omaha University’s founders would be most proud of our graduates — men and women who are building organizations and communities, professionals who enter the workforce educated, skilled and imbued with a sense of social and civic responsibility. Men and women who are an extension of, and ambassadors for, this institution, woven into the fabric of society, putting their education to the best and highest use.

You are UNO. On behalf of those early founders and all of us who call this campus our home, Happy 100th Anniversary, UNO, and best wishes for an even more prosperous second century!

Until next time,

John Christensen, UNO Chancellor 4 • Fall 2008

UNOALUM

Campus Scenes

Photos by Tim Fitzgerald

Makeover: Ever take a class in the bare-bones auditorium in the Engineering Building? That’s it above after an extensive makeover given during the building’s conversion into the new home for the College of Public Affairs and Community Service. See more on Page 24.

Getting a jump on the season were UNO volleyball players during the annual Media Day in August. w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Fall 2008• 5

Alumni Association in Action

First Lady receives 147th Citation award

UNO Chancellor John Christensen with First Lady Sally Ganem and Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald/University Relations.

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he UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation for Alumnus Achievement upon First Lady of Nebraska Sally Ganem during the university’s summer commencement.

Inaugurated in 1949, the Citation is presented at each UNO commencement. The association’s highest honor, it encompasses career achievement, community service, involvement in business and professional associations, and fidelity to UNO. Association President Lee Denker presented the award to Ganem, the 147th Citation recipient.

Ganem earned a UNO bachelor’s degree in elementary education (1971) and a master’s degree in education administration (1975).

Married to Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, she is the former principal of Howard Elementary School in Fremont, Neb. She is active in the Fremont community as a member of the Low Income Ministry Board and the Social Sciences Advisory Board of Metropolitan Community College. She is a past president of the Fremont Area United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She has been a volunteer for the American Heart

Association and John C. Fremont Days, for which she initiated the children’s activities portion of that event.

Ganem is involved in several educational organizations, including service as an officer and on committees in the Nebraska Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (NCSA). She also is a member of the Read Aloud Nebraska Board of Directors and regularly travels the state to read to school groups.

The First Lady serves as honorary chair of the Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission (NVSC), which provides volunteers with resources to get involved. The First Lady’s Outstanding Community Service Awards recognize the outstanding work of individuals and groups who through volunteer efforts make Nebraska a better place to live, work and raise families.

Ganem received the Lifetime Membership Award from the Fremont Noon Optimists.

Born and raised in Omaha, Ganem graduated from Omaha South High School. At UNO she was extensively involved in numerous organizations. In 1970 she was crowned the university’s homecoming queen. She also served as president of Sigma Kappa.

Other UNO groups she served included: Greek Housing Association; League of Women Voters; International Students Organization; Kappa Delta Pi; Manpower for Urban Progress; Minority Cultures Committee; Student Education Association; Student Senate Projects Committee (secretary); UNO Achievement Awards Committee; Wayokia; Women’s Recreation Association (vice president); and, Young Republicans.

She is serving as one of nine Centennial Hosts throughout the university’s Centennial Anniversary year beginning Oct. 8.

Ganem and Gov. Heineman have been married for 30 years. They have one son, Sam.

Celebrate 100! campaign

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oin fellow alumni in cele brating UNO’s 100 years w i t h a s p e c i a l a n n i v e r s a r y gift t o the 2008 Cele brate 100!

UNO Annual Fund campaign.

D onor benefit s include: • A l l N E W C e n t u r y C lub d o n o r s ( $ 1 0 0 o r m o r e) i n 2 0 0 8 will receive a commemorative U N O H is t o r y D oc ument ar y DVD. • All cur rent Centur y C lu b d o n o r s who increase t he i r 2 00 7 gi ft by $100 or m o re i n 2 00 8 will receive a commemora tive UNO pictorial histor y book A N D t he D V D. C e n t u r y C l ub d onor s o f $100 or mor e also can re ceive one of five per sonaliz ed m e m e n t o s c o r re s p o n d in g t o giving level.

New and level upgraded m em bers are r ecognized in the UNO A lu m mag azine (see details page 46).

Al l donors of $1 00 o r more also will be included in ran d o m d ra w in g s f o r a G ra n d P r i ze $1 , 0 0 0 g i f t c a rd t o N eb ra ska F urnit ure Ma rt a nd for a F irst P riz e $500 gift card t o B ors h eims .

Additional campaign details and a gi ft for m ar e available on Page 47. Gifts also can be made online at www.unoalumni.org/give

Bookstore offering football Game Day hours he UNO Bookstore will open for business two hours prior to Saturday home football games for the rest of the season. Doors will open two hours before each kickoff and remain open at least 30 minutes after kickoff.

“Saturday game days are excit-

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6 • Fall 2008

ing,” says Mike Schmidt, bookstore manager. “We have a range of Maverick clothes and items that any fan would be proud to have.”

The bookstore also carries shirts for graduates: an alumni crew neck sweatshirt, a t-shirt and a v-neck windshirt (pictured).

UNO Annual Fund donors receive a 10-percent discount on regularly priced memorabilia through use of their UNO Alumni Card.

For more information, call 5542336. Visit www.unobookstore.com for additional information.

UNOALUM

News, Information & Activities Annual Meeting Nov. 25 NO alumni can help select the 2009-2011 members of the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors by voting for candidates at the board’s annual meeting, set for Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 4 p.m. in the Alumni Center.

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RO TC R eunion Oct . 1 0-1 2 he AFROTC and Angel Flight/Silver Wings Alumni Reunion is set for Oct. 10-12 in conjunction with UNO’s Centennial Homecoming.

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Friday, Oct 10 • Golden Circle Lunch Bunch, 11 a.m. followed by tour of campus. OR, • Tour of Strategic Air and Space Museum.

• Centennial Celebration, 6 p.m., UNO Fieldhouse.

Saturday, Oct 11 • AFROTC Open House, 9 am • Centennial Tailgate Party, Pep Bowl, 11 a.m.

• UNO Football Game, 1 p.m.

• AFROTC Social, 6:30 p.m.

• Dinner (individually arranged), 8 p.m.

Sunday, Oct 12 • Brunch, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Milo Bail Student Center. Guest Speaker Gen. Kevin Chilton, USSTRATCOM Commander.

To register, visit www.unoalumni.org/rotc.

Direct questions to Chuck Holderness, (402) 682-4548, or (402) 571-1557, or email chuck.holderness@ngc.com

Bootstrapper reunion also set for Oct. 9 -11 UNO’s former Bootstrappers also will reunite during Centennial Homecoming. Campus activities begin with a banquet Oct. 9. A breakfast and tour of Offutt Air Force Base are set for Oct. 10.

For more information contact Kathy Menke at (402) 554-4832 or email klmenke@unomaha.edu w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Discover Tuscany!

Discover Tuscany in the company of fellow alumni, families and friends through an exciting new UNO Alumni Association travel program!

Cost is $3,349 per person for double occupancy and includes airfare, accommodations and visits to Tuscany, Florence, Assisi

April 23 to May 2, 2009

and other sites. Learn more during a presentation at the Thompson Alumni Center Friday, Oct. 10, at 1 p.m.

For more information call the UNO Alumni Association at (402) 554-4887 or toll-free at UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-628-2586). Send emails to jykaminski@unomaha.edu

More than $500,000 raised since 1995

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Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing tops $50,000 he UNO Alumni Association teed off the Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing Sept. 8 in the rain, wind and cold. By tournament's end the sun had come out and more than $50,000 was raised for student scholarships.

The association hosted the 28th annual Swing at Tiburon Golf Club and pushed the tournament’s total to more than $500,000 raised since the association began hosting it 13 years ago.

More than 170 golfers participated in the tournament. The money raised supports various Association-sponsored student scholarships, including UNO Alumni Association Scholarships, $2,500/year scholarships to incoming freshmen who have demonstrated leadership and involvement during high school. The scholarship may be renewed for up to four years.

UNO graduates Jim Garbina (’87) and

Kevin Munro (’86) chair the committee that oversees the tournament’s organization. Other committee members include UNO graduates David Craft (’90’, 92), Jim Czyz (’71), Jill Goldstein (’91), Larry Gomez (’71), Bob Hearron (’71), Cookie Katskee (’80) and Dan Koraleski (’86). Air Force ROTC students provided assistance during the tournament, which featured 92 community sponsors.

Family holiday party Dec. 12

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ll UNO alumni are invited to attend a Family Holiday party at the Henry Doorly Zoo sponsored by members of UNO Young Alumni. The event is set for Friday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. Fun for the entire family: Mr. & Mrs. Claus, crafts for the kids and holiday lights at the zoo. Zoo membership not required. For information call Sheila at 402-554-4802 or email her at sking@unomaha.edu Fall 2008• 7

University News

Assessment included Duke, Texas and 176 other colleges

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News & Information

UNO ranks first in national examination of learning gains NO contributes more to the learning gains made by students than any other institution that participated in a recent national examination, including schools such as Duke University, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina and Arizona State University.

The Council for Aid to Education in New York, which administers the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), recently reported that UNO does the best job among 176 participating colleges and universities in improving students’ intellectual abilities from their freshman year to their senior year.

“The CLA results reflect our long-time strategic goal to make UNO a learner-centered university,” says Chancellor John Christensen. “These results show that a UNO education is an investment that pays a significant return to students and to the stakeholders who support the university.”

The CLA is an essay test that measures a university’s con-

tribution, or value added, to skills such as critical thinking and communication. The CLA has tested 110,000 students at more than 370 higher-education institutions across the country.

“The CLA requires students to use higher-level critical thinking and analytical skills, the very skills most needed to succeed in today’s world,” says Terry Hynes, UNO’s senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. “These results are a tribute to UNO’s extraordinary faculty who helped students develop these skills and to our students who invested the time and effort needed to benefit fully from their UNO education.”

At UNO, the CLA was administered to 225 randomly selected freshmen during the fall 2007 semester and 98 randomly selected seniors during the spring 2008 semester. The exam, offered on a voluntary basis, took students between 90 minutes and three hours to complete.

UNO students from a number of disciplines participated in the CLA, which had no impact on student grades. Outside evaluators, who were mostly faculty members at other universities across the country, anonymously graded the 323 UNO exams.

UNO faculty will use the CLA results to improve the university’s curriculum and better understand how students learn.

Celebrating the arrival of triplets — again

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se t of t r i p l e t s i s t e rs — t w o identical and one fraternal — from Hastings, Neb., joined UNO’s student body this fall.

Jade, Jaimie and Jenni Horton, al l 18, l ive in Sc ott Village on UNO’s Pacific Street campus. Jade and Jaimie plan to study education; Jenni’s major is undeclared.

B o rn le ss t ha n a min ut e apart, all three were active as Hast in g s H ig h Sch o o l st u d en t s.

Jade was involved in softball, basketball and soccer; Jaimie played volleyball and basket ball; Jenni played volleyball an d bask etbal l an d was o n stu dent council.

T hey a re the da ugh ters of L o ri H o rt on a n d C re i g h t o n H or to n , b ot h of H a st i n gs . Lo ri cr edits fer til ity drugs for the arr ival o f her tr ip let d aug hters on Dec. 12, 1989, at B er gan

8 • Fall 2008

Mer cy H ospita l in Omaha. She le a rn e d d ur in g h e r 20 t h we e k o f p r e g n a n c y t h a t s h e w a s c a r r ying triplet girls. “ It was a co mp let e sur prise,” says Lori, who describes her three daughters a s “ v e r y diffe rent indiv iduals with ve r y d i f f e r e n t p e r s o n a l i ties.”

Jade and Jaimie are identical sisters while Jenni is frater nal.

Dr. Carl Smith, professor and cha ir o f t he d epart ment of o bs t e t r i c s a n d g y n ec o l o g y a t t he Un iv e rs it y o f N eb r as k a Medical Center, says the occur re nc e of s u ch a c o mb i na t i on o f triplets is about one in 10,000 p regn an c ies w he n fer tility d rug s are not u sed. T h e o ccu rren ce increases when fertility d rugs are used.

L ori en cou rage d h er daug h -

From left, Jenni, Jade and Jaimie Horton ... the triplets enrolled at UNO this fall after attending Hastings High School. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald/University Relations.

ters to attend the same college, at least during their freshman year, so they could better acclimate to life away from home.

Du ri ng a r ec en t v is it to t he U N O c am pu s fo r o ri e nt a t i on an d

advising, Lori carr ied with her th r ee f o ld er s c on t a inin g inf o r mation on each daughter. It’s a habit their moth er carried over fr om wh e n t he t ee n s we re in e l e m e n t a r y sc ho ol.

UNOALUM

Maverick Athletics

News & Scores

Native Omahan comes from Iowa State post

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Mavericks name associate athletic director

Longtime SID G a r y A nderson s teps dow n ongtime UNO Sports Information Director Gary Anderson retired from his post Aug. 31. Anderson had served as the school's SID since October 1979. He also served as the interim athletic director in 1988-89 and, briefly, in 1994 and 1995.

During his tenure, UNO”s sports information office won numerous publication awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2005 and, in 2006, was named an Omaha North High School Viking of Distinction. Anderson also wrote and published a book, “Those Were the Knights: The History of Professional Hockey in Omaha”, in 2001. He is cofounder and president of the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame and is a co-founder of the Elkhorn Historical Society.

Anderson and his wife, Wendy, live in Elkhorn. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.

Dave Ahlers replaced Anderson as director of athletic media relations. Michele Roberts also joined UNO Athletics as associate athletic director/senior woman administrator. A native of Omaha, Roberts was director of basketball operations at Iowa State from 2003 to 2008.

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ichele Roberts was named UNO’s associate athletic director/senior woman administrator in August 2008. A native Omahan, Roberts was director of basketball operations at Iowa State from 2003 to 2008.

She had responsibility for practice schedules, team travel, camps, budgets, alumni relations and game scheduling.

At UNO she will represent UNO at conference and NCAA meetings, coordinate the UNO Diet Pepsi Women’s Walk, market various intercollegiate programs and have sport administrative responsibilities.

Roberts was head girls basketball coach at Central High School in Ames, Iowa, from 1998 to 2003. She took the Eagles to consecutive

state tournaments in 2001 and 2002. She created the Junior Eagles Basketball program in 2000, and was a part of the People to People Sports Ambassadors program, traveling to France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Greece and Italy.

Roberts earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1995. She received her master’s degree in education, with a specialization in higher education, from Iowa State in August 2005.

Victory Bell tolls once more for Mavs. The UNO football team blew open a tight game with 35 points in the third quarter to beat in-state rival the University of Nebraska at Kearney 49-21 Sept. 6. With the win UNO maintains possession of the Victory Bell, commissioned in 2003 by the alumni associations at both schools to commemorate their longtime football series. It features brass plates etched with the scores of games played since the schools first met in 1915. The victor of each year’s football game keeps the bell on its campus until the two teams next play. UNO has beaten UNK six consecutive times and leads the in-state series 28-8. The series was played sporadically after its start but has been played continuously since 1982.

Fall 2008• 9

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Centennial Celebration

Five days of fun slated for UNO C e n t e n n i a l H o m e c o m i n g

t is time to celebrate – UNO is 100! A full slate of activities has been created to kick off UNO’s yearlong Centennial Celebration.

Register/pay online at www.unoalumni.org/uno100.

Register by phone at 402554-4887 or toll-free at 866628-2856. Please register by Oct. 1.

Wednesday, Oct. 8 Fall Convocation • 10:00 a.m.

Chancellor John Christensen will give his “State of the University” address and officially opens the UNO Centennial Celebration.

CPACS Grand Opening/ Dedication • 11:00a.m

Centennial Kickoff Celebration • 12:00 p.m.

Reception at Milo Bail Student Center.

Thursday, Oct. 9 Health, Physical Education and Recreation Expansion Groundbreaking • 10:00 a.m.

Early Registration • 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Alumni Center.

Bootstrappers’ Reunion Strategic Air and Space Museum Tour • 1:00 p.m.

Bootstrappers’ Reunion Reception and Banquet — Alumni Center • 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 10 Registration • 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

Bootstrappers’ Reunion Breakfast — Thompson Alumni Center • 8:00 a.m.

10 •• Fall Fall 2008 2008 10

Bootstrappers’ Reunion Offutt Air Force Base Tour • 9:30 a.m.

Golden Circle Lunch Bunch • 11:00 a.m.

College of Education Emeriti Faculty Luncheon — Alumni Center • 11:30 a.m.

Campus bus and walking tours • 1:00-3:30 p.m.

CPACS Open House • 3:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.

Trumpets & Crumpets • 3:30-6:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 10 FEATURE EVENT: Centennial Barbeque & Reception — Sapp Fieldhouse • 6:00 p.m. Y’all come for this all-university western-themed party.

Cocktails start at 6:00 pm with a barbecue buffet and program to follow.

Saturday, Oct. 11 College of Information Science & Technology Breakfast and Open House • 8:00-10:00 a.m.

FEATURE EVENT: Centennial Tailgate Party • 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The Pep Bowl will be rockin’ with pregame excitement. There will be fun for the whole family with games, bounce houses, Mav tattoos, balloon creations, UNO Maverick cheerleaders, the UNO Marching band and more. Each college will be represented in a fair-like atmosphere. Hot dogs, chips, drinks and cookies will be served.

CENTENNIAL GALA

Homecoming Football Game • 1:00 p.m.

Watch the Mavericks take on new conference foe Missouri Western State. Homecoming royalty recognized at halftime.

“Picasso at the Lapin Agile” — Weber Fine Arts Building • 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 12 UNO Art Student Alumni Exhibition — Weber Fine Arts Building • 1:00 p.m.5:00 p.m.

“Picasso at the Lapin Agile” — Weber Fine Arts • 3:00 p.m.

Mark your calendar for UNO’s Centennial Gala Feb. 21, 2009, at Qwest Center Omaha!

Noted economist tabbed as Gala keynote speaker

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NO has named Roland Fr yer to be its keynote speaker for the Centennial Gala Feb. 21, 2009, at Qwest C e n t e r O m a h a . F r y e r i s a p ro f e s s o r of e c o n o m i c s a t Ha r v a rd U ni v e r s i t y a n d t he y ou n g e s t b l a c k p ro f e s s o r to be tenured there.

The Centennial Gala is one of the signature events of the UNO Centennial Celebration. Central to UNO’s anniversar y, and as a commitment to its future, UNO is establishing two Centennial Community Fellowships to enhance a robust program of internships, practica and ser v i c e - l e a r n i n g opportunities. Centennial Community Fellowships will be awarded to UNO’s top graduate students and wil l be dedicated to significant community initiatives, reinforcing UNO’s commitment to community engagement, economic development and the instruct i on of ci v i c r es p on s ib i l it y in s tu de n ts .

Fr yer first was brought to the public eye when the New York Times ran an extensive profile of him entitled “Toward a Unified Theor y of Black America” in March 2005. The article featured the extensive struggles of Fr yer’s childhood, where he was exposed to d r u g s , c r i m e a n d p a r e n t a l a b a n d o n m e n t . D e s p i t e h i s b ir t h i n t o a l if e o f p o v e r t y F r y er received an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington and graduated in less than th ree years. He earn ed h is Ph .D. in eco n om ics fro m Pen n S tate. In r ecen t y e a r s , F r y er has noted t hat hi s ris e to succes s happ ened “through the medi um of e ducati on and through t he idea of the mind.” He was named a “Rising Star” by Fortune magazine and was featured in Esquire’s “Genius Issue.”

Expanded information on Fr yer will be available in the next issue of the UNO Alum. To attend or to sp ons or a t abl e at th e Cent enn ia l Ga la , con tac t Di an e B uke r a t (4 02) 502 -4 913 .

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UNO in history

1908-1933 1908 Members of Presbyterian Church in Omaha call for “a greater University of Omaha,” incorporated Oct. 8 as a private, nonsectarian university “for the promotion of sound learning and education, such as is usually contemplated in colleges and universities, under such influence as will lead to the highest type of Christian character and citizenship, with the Bible as supreme authority.”

1909 Twenty-six students — 19 Omaha High School grads — gather Sept. 14 for first classes, held in former mansion Redick Hall at 24th and Pratt.

Purchase underwritten

by Omaha attorney Oak C. Redick.

Daniel Jenkins, minister, theologian and professor at Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary, named acting president.

Due to OU’s precarious finances, Jenkins refuses a salary. He becomes full president in 1910.

1910 First athletics offered — a basketball squad.

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In celebration of UNO’s Centennial the UNO Alum presents the first of four timelines highlighting pivotal moments in the university’s history. Each timeline focuses on 25 years of UNO’s existence, beginning with its start in 1908 to 1932.

1911 Start of Gala Day, a celebration of spring and fundraiser to support athletics. Students cast 1-cent ballots for their favorite coed to be crowned Queen of May. • Transfer student Claudia Galloway becomes OU’s first graduate. She later teaches Latin at Omaha High. • First football: OU defeats Nebraska Deaf and Dumb Institute 25-0.

1912 Opening of Jacob’s Gymnasium, built with marble removed from Douglas County Courthouse, discarded rails from streetcar company and bricks from a demolished church (faculty helped carry bricks in wheelbarrows). Named in memory of John Jacobs, deceased son of early donor Lillian Maul.

tion by Western Newspaper Union President George Joslyn.

Redick Hall dismantled; materials shipped to island on Minnesota’s Lake Shetek and used to build hotel resort (later destroyed by fire).

1918 OU becomes first Omaha university to provide night classes.

1924 UNO athletic teams adopt Cardinals as nickname.

Previously known as Ponies/Shetlands (191213), Crimson & Black (1913-20) and Maroons (1920-24).

1913 Alumni Association founded June 6 by university’s first class of 11 graduates.

1917 Joslyn Hall opens as primary campus building, thanks to $25,000 dona-

1930 Omaha citizens on May 6 vote 30,209 to 29,189 to establish Municipal University of Omaha.

OU football becomes one of first college teams to travel by airplane, flying to Fremont Oct. 3 to play Midland Lutheran College.

1931 Municipal University of Omaha created Jan. 21.

1928 First Homecoming.

1932 Student enrollment tops 1,000.

1929 Due to financial concerns, OU Trustees vote to give school to city of Omaha, provided citizens so vote. Bill allowing cities to establish municipal universities passes in Legislature.

1933 Bill introduced in Nebraska Legislature to abolish Municipal University of Omaha, motivated by desire to save Omahans from assuming tax burden of a new campus, which was being considered. Bill dies in committee.

Fall 2008• 11

Community Engagement expertise to state legislators and community organizations grappling with the issue of unauthorized migration at the local level.

OLLAS publishes a series of reports about the Latino population, and in September the office released the firstever economic impact assessment of immigration in the state.

Omaha Public Schools Superintendent John Mackiel says OLLAS surveyed his district’s Latino students, prompting changes in policies and programs that included offering dual-language courses. OLLAS also participates in the district’s Latino Achievement Council.

“They have become a vital partner in our educational efforts,” Mackiel says.

“OLLAS’ work has improved the quality of opportunities in OPS.”

OLLAS, directed by Lourdes Gouveia, is teaming with Omaha’s Film Streams to offer a series of 10 Spanish-speaking films designed, along with weekly discussions, to expose non-Latinos to social and aesthetic worlds while allowing area Latinos to connect with their roots. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations.

OLLAS:

Widening the lens

By Tom McMahon

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ne of UNO’s newest programs and brightest stars — the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) of the Great Plains — is positioning itself as an important “neighborhood” in today’s global village.

That makes for a big classroom, says OLLAS director Lourdes Gouveia — the world. Students can major in Latino/Latin American Studies, participate in overseas service-learning trips, and provide research to policy makers on immigration and other issues. But the classroom isn’t limited to UNO students.

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“We are about widening people’s lenses,” says Gouveia, “and exposing the Latino and non-Latino community to academically sound perspectives regarding the complex and often intertwined realities of U.S. Latinos and Latin America.”

Founded 2003 UNO founded OLLAS (pronounced “oy-yas”) in 2003. State and community leaders regularly consult OLLAS staff on economic, social, educational and immigration issues. It currently is lending its

Film Streams partnership Educating through culture also is part of OLLAS’ strategy. In what Gouveia hopes will become an ongoing event, her office is teaming with Omaha’s Film Streams to offer a series of 10 Spanish-speaking films designed, along with weekly discussions, to expose non-Latinos to social and aesthetic worlds while allowing area Latinos to connect with their roots (see schedule at www.unomaha.edu/ollas).

OLLAS’ efforts reach across the state and the hemisphere. The Ford Foundation funded a series of community forums intended to open dialogue in Nebraska communities about Latino issues.

OLLAS has sponsored several conferences attracting participants from throughout the state, nation and Latin America. Future service-learning trips to Peru will be open to the public, Gouveia says, and other Latin American trips are on the ever-expanding program’s agenda.

“It is not just going and seeing this ‘foreign culture,’” she says. “We want students to see how these realities are reflected in U.S. policies and how Latino communities here tie in.”

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Academic Excellence

Departing Deans: For the first time since 1969, UNO’s campus will be without Shelton Hendricks (left) and John Langan. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations.

Stepping down

By Veronica Wortman

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hether heading a classroom or running the College of Education, John Langan always relied on the sage advice of his father: “Treat everyone equally but expect them to do their best.”

For the first time in 39 years, UNO students and COE faculty and staff will have to do their best without Langan, who has retired as dean. It’s a similar story at the College of Arts and Sciences, where Shelton Hendricks also has left the dean’s office.

Both men began teaching at UNO in 1969: Langan was hired as an instructor in the department of elementary education and Hendricks as an assistant professor of psychology.

Langan earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from UNO in 1968 and a master’s degree in the same field one year later. He earned his doctorate from the University of Nebraska-

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Lincoln in 1973.

He points to the success of students — from model ones to those who struggled — among the accomplishments of which he is most proud. As a new faculty member, Langan advised elementary education majors on possible academic and professional careers. Langan later developed and became director of the college’s Office of Student Services, an information center for COE undergraduates. The office staff stays current with regulations and assists with minority recruitment, field placement, student teaching, career services and teacher certifications.

Langan has championed several other notable programs while at UNO. As a young faculty member he began teaching philosophy to 11-year-old children in an effort to develop their critical thinking skills. He also has implemented a minority internship program focused

on attracting high school students to the college. He was president of the Omaha Public Schools board of education from 1997 to 2004.

A handyman, Langan plans to spend the majority of his retirement at his cabin in Minnesota. Though stepping away from teaching, he will continue to work with educational agencies and on special projects. David Conway, who had been serving the college as associate dean, was named the college’s interim dean after a national search failed to produce a replacement. A second search began in September.

Hendricks stepped down as dean June 30. A Louisiana native, he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Tulane University.

He chaired the psychology department from 1975 to 1980 and served on the faculty of the psychiatry department at UNMC. Hendricks was the UNO Faculty Senate president from 1997 to 1999 and dean of graduate studies from 1999 to 2001. He also served as associate vice chancellor for research. He became dean of the college in 2001. In 2005, he received UNO’s highest honor, the Chancellor’s Medal, which recognizes the contribution of faculty and administrative staff who embody the institution’s mission and values.

Hendricks says he enjoyed the role he played as dean in identifying and solving challenges within the college. “There has been an increase of accountability across the university, faculty and systems,” he says. Hendricks says numbers and measurements developed over the years indicate the college is hiring better faculty and that students are provided more engaging course work. Helping faculty find research opportunities and scholarships for students also was rewarding, he says. He found stricter budgets to be the most difficult challenge, such constraints, he says, often resulting in fewer courses offered.

Hendricks will continue teaching two courses and will participate in academic affairs in the college. See Page 39 for a story on new Dean David Boocker.

Fall 2008• 13

American Swastika

Editor’s note: Dr. Pete Simi, an assistant professor in UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was asked to write abo ut his research on th e White Po wer Movement in t he Un it ed States. Th e narrative b elow is f ro m his fo rt hcoming bo ok, “American Swastika: the Hidden Spaces of Racial Extremism.” Simi explains his research and facets about the White Power Movement in sidebars.

A UNO professor’s study of the White Power Movement

By Assistant Professor Pete Simi • Illustrations by UNO student Joe Pankowski

It was a warm summer night in Orange perspective. But we want you to be one County, Calif. — just the kind of idyllic, of us. We’ve never given anyone access top-down, wind-blowing-through-your- like this.”

I tried to deflect this clear invitation. “Didn’t you guys take hair evening mythologized in so many the people from American History X all around?” I asked him. songs and stories about Southern “Yeah, but not like this,” Seth replied. “We never took them to parties and over to people’s houses for get togethers.”

California. I was driving Seth home I felt strangely flattered. I also wondered about the cost for after an Aryan house party we’d been this unprecedented access. I soon had my answer. After a to that night. We had just dropped his pause, Seth’s tone changed, a quirk of his to which I was becoming accustomed. friend Paul off at his apartment and “Just keep in mind if it turns out you’re a cop I’ll personalwere heading across town to Seth’s ly hunt you down and slit your f------ throat,” he said, “after I crashpad when he turned to me and kill your family.”

Death threats also were something I was becoming accusspoke. “We only wish you were one of tomed to. I told Seth, as I always had, that I was a sociologist, us,” Seth said. “I mean, it’s cool what Continued Page 16 you’re doing, trying to get it from our 14 • Fall 2008

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Studying Hate Spaces t’s a question I’ve been asked more than a few times over the years: “So how did you get interested in neo-Nazis?”

When I was 9 years old I remember sitting with my mother watching a PBS documentary about hate groups. I can still see and hear a middle-aged Klansman with a bushy, reddish-brown beard and receding hairline snarling at the camera, “We need to boat all the niggers back to Africa.” Seven years later, in 1988, three neo-Nazi skinheads in my hometown of Portland, Ore., used a baseball bat and their steel-toed boots to beat to death Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw. I was 16 then and struggling to understand the racial conflict in my own high school. It was a time when racial turmoil was on the rise and the promise of Dr. King’s “Dream” was a distant memory.

By the late-1980s hate groups were growing in numbers and visibility across the country, and I began wondering how an individual becomes enmeshed in such groups. A few years later, when I started graduate school at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, I decided that if I really wanted to learn what makes a neo-Nazi “tick” then I should start spending time with them.

Meeting neo-Nazis is easier than a person might think. I met my first one on Jan. 12, 1997.

After writing a letter to a group’s post-office box about comparing “media demonizations of white separatists with actual members,” one of the group’s leaders responded favorably and indicated that he wanted to “show me the movement.”

And so began my journey into hate.

I

“American Swastika” My studies of neo-Nazi groups in America most recently have led me to a book manuscript that I am co-authoring with Robert Futrell, “American Swastika: the Hidden Spaces of Racial Extremism” (to be published in 2009). A firsthand account about the places where racial hatred thrives, “American Swastika” addresses questions

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about hate group settings: What are the settings like where neo-Nazis meet? What do they experience? What behavioral patterns develop? What are the social implications and consequences of these behaviors?

“American Swastika” draws upon interviews with 89 Aryans from 24 states and participantobservation with several different white power groups in a variety of locations. I collected much of the data while spending time with neo-Nazi families and attending informal gatherings such as parties, campouts, hikes and Bible studies in Nevada, Utah, Idaho and California.

Veterans, idealists and others I encountered a wide variety of people: from grizzled movement veterans affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan to teenage (and sometimes even younger) neo-Nazi skinheads full of wide-eyed idealism about the white revolution they planned to lead. Some of my informants mirror common Aryan stereotypes, such as the uneducated, rural racist or the menacing tattooed skinhead. Others appear unassuming and ordinary, such as the middle-aged Aryan homemakers I spoke with or the young, attractive and upwardly mobile Aryans who, despite outward appearances, are committed neoNazis. Some have little education, but most completed high school or college. Some are rich, some poor. All, however, feel victimized at the hands of Jews, Blacks, Hispanics and “non-enlightened” whites who encourage race-mixing, cultural diversity and Aryan genocide. They see their groups as protection against the “onslaught” and envision themselves as “bands of racial brothers and sisters.” Although hate impels them they are also motivated by a sense of camaraderie and view their struggle as an act of “self preservation.” All are committed to white power.

This research was not easy.

Ethnography in general is a very time-consuming, labor-intensive research method, no matter the subject. My goal as an ethnogra-

By Pete Simi pher was to understand Aryans on their own terms in their natural settings. This required listening with the discipline to temper my reactions to the things my informants said. It meant repeatedly reading over their frightening views about the world and taking them seriously. It required trying to set aside my own values and assumptions about what is and what is not morally acceptable in order to see from their point of view.

Overcoming my gut feelings of shock, anger and sadness at what I confronted took time and effort.

Watching them indoctrinate their children was the most difficult part of this research. Children are not born neo-Nazis; they are produced through the types of socialization practices that I observed.

When I returned home after spending time with Aryans I felt emotionally exhausted. The intensity of their rage gets inside your head and I began to hear their voices even when they were not around. By the time my fieldwork was completed, I had learned to think and, maybe most alarmingly, feel like an Aryan. I was beginning to see the world from their perspective.

I knew then that it was time to get out. One of the risks of researching Aryans is that people confuse your interest with sympathy. Sometimes people simply assume that “you must be one of them.” The taint of neo-Nazis does not rub off easily.

W hy s tud y hat e?

So why study such hate at all?

All radicals need places where they can meet and find comfort with others who think as they do.

Extremists operate on the margins of society and face repression from those in power. They avoid repression by hiding themselves.

Individual members may blend into the crowd with an appearance of normality that conceals their true intentions. Radical groups create places of refuge where they meet, plot and advance their cause, whether they be Islamic militant networks like Al Qaeda in the Middle East or Jemaah

Islamiyah in Indonesia, the Irish Republican Army, Peru’s Shining Path, or racial extremists in the United States. They find the strength to overcome the despair and hopelessness that could otherwise sap their devotion and drive them from the movement.

Hate spaces are the contexts where radicals build and sustain political communities.

But these spaces do not exist in a vacuum. Extremists are also influenced by perceived dangers lurking in the outside world. Under some conditions these dangers may catalyze extremist groups to use violence.

Since the tragedy of 9/11, however, our focus on extremist violence has almost exclusively concentrated on Middle Eastern terrorists. But Americans should not forget another important date — April 19, 1995 — the day Timothy McVeigh detonated the homemade bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured more than 500. Until 9/11, that bombing stood as the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.

McVeigh’s journey from learning extremist views to taking radical action was guided by a persistent network of white power activists who imagined they were waging a righteous war against a government and world gone bad.

A per f ect st or m ?

There is reason to believe that the next major act of domestic terrorism will come from homegrown neo-Nazis. A perfect storm may be brewing: economic problems, combined with fears of illegal immigration and the real potential for a shift toward a liberal administration — headed by an AfricanAmerican — could be potent catalysts for an Aryan resurgence. So where would these Aryans come from?

From the culture of paranoia and hate that persists in white power families, informal gatherings and Aryan house parties, the white power music scene and cyberspace. These are the spaces explored in “American Swastika.”

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From Page 14 not a cop. Then I tried to convince myself that he was just posturing as part of his skinhead bravado. Still, I knew that some Aryans weren’t content with words alone.

Party in Costa Mesa

Seth’s threat capped a long and interesting night. The party in Costa Mesa was filled with Aryans. I’d been to plenty of small Aryan parties, gatherings of about a dozen white power friends who hang out, drink beer and commiserate about race problems. But this was the first large white power house party I’d been able to get into, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

My “guides” were White Aryan Resistance (WAR) Skins. I knew Seth the best. He’d always been the most open to me about who he was, inviting me to meet his family, stay in his home and accompany him when he visited other Aryans. His friends and bandmates, Paul and Jay, had been cordial to me the few times we’d met, but I was not as familiar with them.

We got to the party early because the guys were playing and wanted to set up their music equipment before others arrived. They called themselves Hate Train. The party was to give them some practice before they began a run of bar shows in the SoCal white power music scene.

We pulled into the driveway of a modest ranch-style stucco house with a small single-car garage. It was on a corner lot, which was a little bigger than most others in the neighborhood. A small picket fence separated the backyard from the sidewalk.

worked full time as a manager at a telephone company.

Though he concealed his Nazism at work, he did so as part of what he described as “infiltrating the system.”

The house was plain from the outside, but once we stepped inside there was no doubting that this was a headquarters for white power activism. National Alliance and Klan leaflets were piled on the dinning table. Photos of Don posing with skins and other Aryans at music shows were hanging around the house. The refrigerator was covered with Aryan photos and promotional posters for white power music shows. One prominent display was of Don and WAR leader Tom Metzger shaking hands and embracing. There were also lots of photos of pretty female activists dressed in revealing clothes marked with Aryan symbols.

Aryans soon began trickling in. Within an hour, between 40 and 50 people packed the house, the bulk of them appearing to be in their late-20s or early-30s. A few others were teenagers. About a third were females, most dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Most of the men wore jeans, dickies, or cargo shorts and t-shirts. Swastika, SS and German Iron Cross tattoos on their arms clearly marked many of them as devoted Nazis.

Warm welcome

Paul knocked and the front door swung open. Donny, beer in hand, welcomed us in with a big smile. He was in his mid30s and his style seemed more Rock-a-Billy than racist skinhead. His medium-length brown hair was slicked back, accentuating his lamb-chop sideburns. Donny was a punk rocker as an adolescent and eventually turned to Nazism in his rebellion against some of the left-wing elements in the punk scene. In his spare time he promoted white power music and ran a web-based company that trafficked in hate rock, but he also

Hate talk

By Pete Simi

14 Words or 14: Refers to the 14-word mantra, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

88: Heil Hitler. H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.

28: Blood & Honour. B is second letter of the alphabet; H is the eighth letter. Blood & Honour is an international neo-Nazi skinhead group.

SWP: Supreme White Power ZOG: Zionist Occupational Government (refers to the idea that Jews control the US government).

RAHOWA: Racial Holy War WPWW: White Pride World Wide HSN: Hammerskin Nation (an international neo-Nazi skinhead group).

ROA: Race Over All

16 • Fall 2008

Hate Train

Hate Train began to play. Partiers focused their attention on the band. The living room where the band played was packed.

Only a couple of feet separated the front row of people from Seth and the band. People stood shoulder to shoulder and I grew claustrophobic. No one else seemed to mind, though.

They sang along to the choruses while saluting with “Seig Heils” (“Victory Hail”) and periodically chanting “white power.” Some of the women moved in unison to the beat as the men bobbed their heads. At times the “white power” chants were almost deafening. Anyone passing by would have been able to make out the words. I didn’t want to go outside to see; they would think I was one of the Aryans.

No matter, I was stuck in the middle of the room with nowhere to go. As the songs continued and the drinking increased some of the men became more animated, clasping hands and shoulders. Those who could not fit into the room craned their necks from the kitchen and bedroom hall to see the band and the crowd.

Hate Train’s songs covered themes of white unity and the racial struggle against “white genocide.” While the band played, it was almost impossible to make out their lyrics, the hard rock sound of distorted guitar and heavy drums over-

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shadowing their vocals. Some words were clear, though — “Nigger,” “white power” and “Aryan pride” were easy to make out.

Most of the songs were not that explicit, though. Instead, they celebrated Nordic themes and notions of “Aryan heritage” telling about battles of ancient warriors as metaphors for today’s Aryan struggles. I moved to the edge of crowd at the back of the room as the music went on, almost non-stop, for about an hour. Conversation was almost impossible. Most of the faces were unfamiliar, but I did recognize a few from some smaller get-togethers I had attended with Seth. I tried standing near Donny and a couple of his friends whom I had met before the band started, but I was very uncomfortable.

The band members were my closest informants and my “protection” if someone questioned my presence. It seemed I was accepted, since only those “in the know” were invited. I presumed that they thought I was one of them though I had none of the markings other than my white skin and a Hate Train baseball cap Seth had given me. Still, I worried word might spread that an outsider was in their midst.

Veiled threat?

My mind flashed back to the story Paul had told me earlier in the day about a newspaper reporter who was invited to a Hammerskin party in Texas. By the end of the night, though, he was no longer welcome. A group of Hammers took him from the house and beat him nearly to death, leaving him in a drainage ditch. I took Paul’s tale as a warning and felt on edge during the night. At one moment I caught the eye of a skinhead I didn’t know. Dressed in full-on skinhead garb and close to drunk, he just stared at me while leaning over to one of his friends and mouthing the words, “That’s the guy who wants to study us.”

“Not good,” I thought.

When Hate Train finished its set, I had my guides back. I hoped they would buffer any hostilities that might come my way. I listened to the Aryans talk about the worldwide Jewish conspiracy they referred to as “ZOG” (Zionist Occupational Government), the “mud problem” (non-white), and small victories for the movement (like organizing this party). In fact, the party felt like a private mini-rally. The emotion in their talk was clear.

In the backyard, several young skins had gathered around Craig, a skinhead tattoo artist lamenting the injustices Aryans faced.

“Everyone else is able to play a music show, but when we try and create our music and find a place where we can get together, drink a few beers and actually listen to the music, we’re committing a federal offense,” he said. “Hell, these rappers can go around talking about killing cops and that’s OK. We just want the simple rights that everyone else is able to exercise.”

While making my way to the beer keg, Paul introduced me to Ray, a veteran Hammerskin in his late-30s from Florida. He surprised me when he quickly and politely extended his hand and said, “It’s good to meet you.” I watched as Ray and Paul started a conversation with two young skins they did not rec-

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What is WPM? hite power activists are drawn from a network of overlapping branches, most notably the Ku Klux Klan, Christian Identity groups, National Socialists and racist skinheads (not all skinheads are racist).

The Klan is the oldest branch.

Christian Identity provides a theological justification for racial hatred and anti-Semitism by interpreting the Bible as evidence that white Anglo-Saxons are God’s chosen people, Jews are the literal descendants of Satan, and “nonwhite” are a subhuman species they refer to as “mudpeople.”

National Socialists directly model themselves after Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler while racist skinheads are the newest wing of the WPM. Skinheads are linked together by cultural symbols and practices such as shaven heads, white power music, racist politics and a propensity for racial violence.

Although there are differences among Aryan activists, they all agree on fundamental doctrines.

Foremost is a commitment to white power and defending the “white race” from “genocide.”

They envision a racially exclusive world where “non-whites” are vanquished, segregated, or at least subordinated to Aryan authority. Adherents are also strongly anti-Semitic, support Aryan militarist nationalism, oppose homosexuality, and denounce inter-racial sex, marriage and procreation.

W

W here is t he W PM ? oday’s WPM survives in small, secretive cells and activist networks that are not easily seen or monitored. In the mid-1990s, observers estimated that more than 100,000 people were affiliated with the white power movement. This ranges from movement leaders and hard-core veterans to

T

By Pete Simi those who periodically attend Aryan events. But truly accurate figures are impossible to come by Modern-day Aryans have little formal organization. Their prime allegiance is to the basic doctrines of white power ideology. Many of them affiliate with a number of groups, frequently moving in and out of activist networks, rather than maintaining any one specific organizational attachment. Aryan tendencies to conceal their activities make it difficult to know exactly how many people are involved.

Stereotypes suggest that racial extremists are confined to the deep South or the rugged wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, but neo-Nazi groups exist in every region of the country. Aryans make their homes in affluent suburban enclaves, inner-city urban neighborhoods and rural communities.

Although no states are immune from hate groups, some states have more activity than others.

According to the civil rights watchdog group, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), California, Florida and Texas have the largest number of organized hate groups.

There are at least three hate groups active in Nebraska: a Christian Identity group in Scottsbluff, a National Socialist group in Lincoln and a Klan group in Omaha. Although Nebraska seems to have relatively little organized hate group activity, several surrounding states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri) have much higher levels of activity.

Hate groups in these nearby states may see Nebraska as “prime” recruiting grounds. For example, in the past year, the National Socialist Movement, which is based in Detroit, has held two marches in Omaha to protest “illegal immigration.”

ognize.

“We are the warriors,” Ray said. “That’s our God-given racially-determined destiny. We have to remain strong. We have to keep healthy. That’s why I love hanging out with my brothers because that’s what this does. It keeps me proud. It keeps me strong.”

The youngsters listened intently, nodding in approval.

Fall 2008• 17

Neely Jenkins, center, left full-time teaching in 2003 to pursue a career with Tilly and the Wall. Bandmates include, from left, Nick White, Kianna Alarid, Jenkins, Jamie Pressnall and Derek . Photo by Rob Walters.

School of Rock

UNO Grad Neely Jenkins left the classroom for a tour van as a member of rock band Tilly and the Wall — and she hasn’t looked back.

by Tim McMahan

18 • Fall 2008

In the center of a storm of balloons, confetti and blazing, choreographed strobe lights — standing on a stage above a crowd of 700 in Omaha’s Sokol Auditorium — was Neely Jenkins. The 1999 UNO graduate and elementary school teacher was about as far away from a classroom as you can get, singing into a microphone surrounded by the rest of the band known as Tilly and the Wall — the sweethearts of Omaha’s famous indie music scene.

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Indie music isn’t so much a sound as it is a style, encompassing bands and performers whose music isn’t typically heard on popular FM stations. These are the singers, songwriters and musicians who dominate the airwaves at college radio stations across the country and across the globe, performing a style of atypical rock music.

Up a Creek

In the late 1990s, Omaha’s indie music scene emerged at a national level, thanks to the success of the city’s Saddle Creek Records. Its roster of bands includes artists like electronic-dance act The Faint, acidic guitar-rockers Cursive and, most notably, Bright Eyes fronted by singersongwriter Conor Oberst, an Omaha native and former UNO student who has the unfortunate distinction of being labeled this generation’s Bob Dylan by the fawning national music press.

“I grew up going to punk rock shows while in junior high and high school,” Jenkins says from a tour van headed to Washington, D.C. “It was a different independent pop scene that I fell in love with.

“Then when I went to UNL, I met a bunch of people from Omaha who would become the folks involved in Saddle Creek Records and its bands. I noticed they were going on national tours and then international tours. They were building a big fan base.”

By the end of the ’90s, Jenkins was part of the scene, involved in a band with Oberst called Park Ave. Its forte was cute, chummy love songs fueled rhythmically not by a drum set, but by band member Jamie Williams’ tapdancing. Recording only a single album, the band never took off.

Out of music, into a master’s

Oberst went on to national fame, but Jenkins’ music career looked like it was going to be short-lived. She and Williams finished college in Lincoln. Jenkins then pursued a master’s in UNO’s Cadre Program.

“It’s a one-year master’s degree program where students teach in the classroom during the day and take classes at night,” Jenkins says. “It was a super-intense experience, going from typical college life to the stress of teaching kids. I was frightened about jumping into something so serious. It was the biggest change in my life.”

She says she made it through the program with the help of her 40 or 50 classmates. “Their support was the best thing I could have,” says Jenkins, whose focus was elementary education. “My classmates included students who aspired to teach junior high and high school. I heard what their lives were like and had a resource to share stories from the classroom. The program was awesome.”

It was while teaching at Omaha’s Bancroft Elementary School that Jenkins and tap-dancing fellow teacher Williams became friends with two guys from Athens, Ga. — keyboard player Nick White and guitarist/vocalist

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Derek Pressnall. “Jamie had met the boys while selling merch on a Bright Eyes tour,” Jenkins says. Before long, White and Pressnall were living in Omaha and hanging around Jenkins’ home to watch “Dawson’s Creek” with their pal Kianna Alarid. In early 2001 the five friends formed Tilly and the Wall as a fun side project. The band’s name was inspired by a children’s book by Leo Lionni.

The Tillies’ music is bright, brash folk fueled by a guitar, keyboards, Jenkins’ and Alarid’s vocals, and Williams’ center-stage tap-dancing. Their lyrics attracted teenagers struggling with coming of age, with relationships and with themselves. The words related to those on the outside looking in during their high school years.

On the road, out of class

The band released its first EP in 2003. A year later their debut full-length “Wild Like Children” became the first album released on Conor Oberst’s new record label, Team Love Records. Faced with the prospect of being able to make a living making music, Jenkins closed the door on a teaching career in fall 2003 after five years at Bancroft. It was a difficult choice but Jenkins says she has no regrets.

She hasn’t completely left teaching, anyway — when the band’s not on the road, she’s available as a substitute.

“With all the experiences we’ve had traveling to places like Iceland and Japan, I have an opportunity to share those experiences in the classroom,” Jenkins says. “I think it means so much to the students and makes them want to travel as well.”

Tilly and the Wall released its sophomore effort, “Bottoms of Barrels,” in 2006 and supported it with a guest appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman” in October of that year. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done knowing there were that many viewers out there,” Jenkins says.

“After ‘Letterman,’ teachers who didn’t understand what I had been doing changed their perspective. They realized it was a neat opportunity.”

Easy as ABC

As was a gig for “Sesame Street,” whose forthcoming season this fall will feature Tilly and the Wall’s version of the “ABC Song” in a music video. “That was even cooler than ‘Letterman,’” Jenkins says. “We all grew up with ‘Sesame Street.’ It’s part of our lives.”

With their latest album release this summer — “o” — Jenkins and the band find themselves back on the road.

“Sometimes I ask myself if I’m too old to do this,” says the 34-year-old. “Maybe I should go back to teaching because that’s what society says I should do, but then I think about touring and getting to see my friends on the East Coast again.

“In the beginning, all anyone saw was three girls in a band, and no one took it seriously. Now we know how the game is played. We don’t take guff from anyone anymore.”

Fall 2008• 19

Voice of the Mavs UNO sports public address announcer Terry Forsberg marks 50 years at the mike.

— By Hugh Reilly. Photo by Bryce Bridges

t’s not unusual for heads to turn toward the press box at a UNO football game whenever Terry Forsberg pronounces the name of Al F. Caniglia Field. “Ca-NEEL-ia,” Forsberg calls it, leaving out the “g.” That drives some fans to the complaint box, but Forsberg is right — a lesson he learned long ago during a season-opening party in the basement of Al Caniglia himself. Two of Caniglia’s sisters pulled Forsberg aside that night. “We heard you on TV talking about our brother,” they told him, “and wanted to let you know our name is pronounced ‘Ca-NEEL-ia. The “g” is silent.’” Forsberg says he thought it unwise to anger two Sicilian women unnecessarily and so has pronounced it The Sicilian Way ever since.

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Which, to say, is quite often. Forsberg this fall begins his 50th season as a public address announcer for UNO football and basketball games, a streak that dates to his freshman year at Omaha University.

He’s stepped to the mike for more than 1,000 games since, also serving as PA for wrestling, baseball and a handful of women’s basketball games.

And never for a dime of pay.

“That’s probably why I’m still here,” he says with a chuckle, “the price is right.”

The voice is a good fit, too. It’s what caught the notice of Virgil Yelkin, OU’s athletic director, before Forsberg even enrolled at OU. As a senior at Omaha North Forsberg announced Viking football and basketball games, the latter played at Omaha U. because North’s gym was too small. OU’s fieldhouse then had a dirt floor surrounding a portable basketball court, no padding on the walls and lots of echoes. When Forsberg called North games, though, his voice was clear and people could understand him. Yelkin learned the Viking senior would be enrolling at OU in 1958 and told him to look him up once he got to campus.

Forsberg waited until halfway through the fall semester to do so, but his timing was impeccable. Yelkin's’ regular announcer had just quit and Forsberg was hired to call the last home football game — a 41-0 loss to Northern Illinois that capped a winless season in which OU was outscored 311 to 24.

Forsberg also called the basketball games that winter and has been behind the mike ever since.

No surprise, then, that Forsberg majored in speech and built a career in communications. His early broadcast classes at OU used fake TV cameras made of wood. It wasn’t until his junior year that the studio was equipped with real cameras. Professor Paul Borge told him he had the talent for TV, and with Borge’s recommendation Forsberg landed a job at KMTV. He started in production but by 1962 was working in news.

Forsberg co-anchored the noon news with Tom Brokaw, with whom he maintains occasional contact. Their interns included UNO alumni Carol Schrader and Rose Ann Shannon, both of whom later carved their own niche in Omaha TV. Forsberg worked at KMTV for 17 years. He left the station to manage the Civic Auditorium for several years. In 1992 he became director of business affairs for Sound Trak, negotiating contracts, tours and dates for Mannheim Steamroller. He retired from the post this summer.

Through all the changes, UNO sports have been the constant in his life, though even they are different. OU is now UNO w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

and the Indians are the Mavericks. The athletes are bigger, stronger and faster. Women have their own teams.

The old press box even got an upgrade, the new one enclosed and equipped with heat and air conditioning. Back in the 1950s the announcer’s booth sat in the middle of the box and open mikes easily picked up stray comments — benign and not — and broadcast them over the stadium speakers.

During warm September night games, people drinking pop in the football stands would attract sweat bees. Forsberg would stand shoulder to shoulder with others in the narrow booth, announcing the game while swatting away the pesky stingers.

Gary Anderson, who himself retired Aug. 31 after 29 years as UNO’s sports information director (see Page 9), considers Forsberg a true professional and the epitome of a volunteer.

“He has a great feel for the event and the intros,” says Anderson. “He knows when to edit, speed up and stretch. He rarely mispronounces a name and always corrects it when he does.”

Forsberg has missed only a handful of games — two in 1996 while recovering from a heart attack and a few others when a Mannheim tour took him away from Omaha. He also was a PA for the Omaha Royals at Rosenblatt Stadium for 25 years and has worked an occasional Creighton basketball game.

Over time, he has developed some guidelines for a successful public address announcer: • “Recruit a good spotter, “says Forsberg. “You don’t do anything by yourself — it takes a team to get on the air.”

• Have good backup and bring lots of stats.

• Pay attention and keep your eye on the ball.

• Get correct name pronunciations.

• It’s OK to be excited and hype the crowd, but credit where credit is due, even if it hurts (i.e., opponent scores).

• Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy; if you don’t know, check and get it right.

It’s the advice of a pro, Anderson might say. “He comes to work early and is well-prepared,” says Anderson. “He takes pride in his work and has an old-school attitude. These are qualities you take for granted until you miss them in others.

When I know Terry’s going to be there, I can cross a lot of things off my list.”

With 50 years at the mike, Forsberg knows UNO sports like few others, one reason why he chairs the UNO Hall of Fame selection committee and oversees its nominating committee.

He’d like to continue as announcer for at least another four to five years.

“It keeps me going and keeps my voice in shape,” he says.

“It keeps me young. I’ll turn 68 this football season. As long as I enjoy it and can be accurate — thanks to my crew — I’ll keep doing the job.”

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International Studies and Programs s UNO celebrates its 100year anniversary, International Studies and Programs (IS&P) celebrates the more than 100 nationalities represented on campus.

For the past 35 years, students, faculty, scholars, business professionals and government officials from all over the world have participated in IS&P programming. IS&P attributes its comprehensive global outreach to the synergy created through the extraordinary community collaborations it has established and sustained at home and abroad. IS&P partners with other campus departments, local and statewide communities, national organizations and companies, as well as universities, organizations, and institutions worldwide.

Its broad network of partnerships supports research, international exchanges, study abroad, host family programs, and instructional enhancement specializations within the International Studies major.

IS&P’s goal is to continue to create and develop relationships locally and globally to bring educational opportunities to as many students, faculty and staff as possible while enriching the Omaha metro area and university community.

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IS&P students Kaori Tomoyose (Japan) and Ali Al Khamis (Saudi Arabia) enjoy a lunch with students in West Point, Neb., during a Nebraska Neighbors trip.

Bringing the world to Nebraska n 2005, IS&P received the UNO Strategic Planning Award for Community Engagement

Ifor its excellence in developing and maintaining community connections throughout Omaha and the state of Nebraska. Following are descriptions of just a few of these ongoing IS&P community partnerships.

Nebraska Neighbors For more than 30 years, UNO’s linkages with neighboring communities and rural western Nebraska communities have facilitated home stays, tours and opportunities for guests to interact with small-town Nebraska. IS&P’s Nebraska Neighbors program has introduced international students and scholars to rural Nebraska and has given Nebraskans the opportunity to meet international participants from around the world.

Harnessing a powerful force for change — volunteers olunteering is a powerful force for change — for those who volunteer and for the wider community. The spirit of volunteerism that is alive in the United States today, however, does not exist in many nations. IS&P works closely with UNO’s Service Learning Academy, where students address community needs and enrich their education by experiencing the realworld application of academic subjects and by developing the habit of active citizenship.

The Academy collaborates with more than 200 community agencies throughout Omaha and has provided an array of service-learn-

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ing opportunities for UNO’s international students. Volunteers from Habitat for Humanity, for example, have trained and worked together with international students to help build and repair homes for lowincome families.

Students have worked directly with volunteers at Girls and Boys Club, where they have learned the meaning of caring for and educating underprivileged children. Also, many international participants have visited the Lydia House, which serves homeless single mothers and their children, many of whom have fled from abusive domestic situations.

Lulu Ferdous, an aviation major at UNO from Bangladesh, worked on a home for Habitat for Humanity and says, “I enjoyed working when I knew how happy it would make the new family to move into this house. It taught me a greater sense of purpose and dignity.”

Through this vital initiative, IS&P’s international students learn to apply their academic energies in collaboration with charitable partners outside of the university, to enhance the quality of life within their communities, and to experience the personal fulfillment realized from helping those who are less fortunate.

Lulu Ferdous, an IS&P student from Bangladesh, works on a project for Girls Inc. She’s also participated in a ServiceLearning project for Habitat for Humanity.

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Building a global family through sister universities

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Afghan women educators visited rural Nebraska as part of the Nebraska Neighbors Community Connections program.

During these “friendly invasions,” various groups of international participants throughout the year visit small towns in Nebraska such as Lyons, Gering, Uehling, Oakland, Chadron, Scottsbluff, West Point and Columbus.

Students often stay with host families and learn about the farming industry, school systems, hospitals and various aspects of rural America. The West Point Chamber of Commerce, for example, for 18 years has hosted groups of Austrian Exchange Students from UNO's sister university, Vienna School of Business and Economics. In addition, IS&P’s Center for Afghanistan Studies has provided rural visits to Gering and Scottsbluff for Afghan women teachers and administrators participating in ongoing education programs. These exchanges have created close relationships, and international participants and host families often maintain contact with one another long after the programs have ended.

Presidents Reagan and Bush, local community groups and newspapers, and national organizations such as Fulbright and NAFSA have recognized Nebraska Neighbors for contributing to international education and mutual understanding.

Adopt-a-School Partnerships IS&P has adopted Crestridge Elementary and Beveridge Middle School, two international/global studies magnet schools in Omaha, through the Omaha Public Schools Adopt-a-School Program. The school staff has developed a curriculum that reflects many countries representing a variety of cultures, governments, history, geographic locations and levels of economic development. International participants visit IS&P’s adopted schools several times a year, especially during international week at Crestridge. UNO’s international community has the opportunity to see how local school systems work and share their culture with young students. IS&P often receives requests from schools across Omaha and sends small groups of students to speak in classrooms about their cultures.

Omaha World Affairs Council IS&P is home to the Omaha World Affairs Council, which has convened for 36 years to share and discuss contemporary global affairs. The 85-member group gathers 10 times a year to provide a forum for members to listen and learn.

Members come from Omaha’s academic, business, professional and community leaders and from NATO representatives headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base. w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

S&P’s commitment to building a g lo b al c o m mu n it y i n c l u de s s u pp o rt i n g 31 s i s t e r university linkages worldwide t h a t p r o m o te s t u d y a b r o a d ; f o s ter collaborative research; e nhanc e c urri cul ar of ferin gs; expand international partner ships; and support the exchange of students, faculty, and staff.

Because of the close collab o ra tion b et wee n I S&P an d th e Omaha Sister Cities Ass ociati on, UNO has esta b lished sister univer sities in four of Omaha’s five sister cities. UNO and Shizuoka University, for example, have maintained an active siblinguniversity relationship for near l y 30 ye ars . More than 1, 000 Sh izuoka st uden ts hav e s tudi ed a t U N O a n d m or e th a n 1 0 0 U N O faculty and staff have eng aged in research, language, cultural and educational exchanges at Shizuoka.

I S &P h a s c o llab o ra t e d wit h several departments across cam pus to facilitate pr ogr am s with sister universities. The C o lle ge o f Bu s in e ss A d min i strati on offers a joint MB A pr o gram with the Technical U niversity of B r aun schw eig, Germa ny; t he Av ia t io n I n s t it u t e publ ishes a schola rl y journal that is co-sponsored by UNO’s sister university in Riga, Latvia; and the College of C ommun ication , Fine Arts and Media has sent performing g rou ps to s i st er u ni ve rs it i es in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, J a p a n , Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Nor way and Romania.

Al so , UN O s tud ent s f rom al l co lleg es o n camp u s h ave b een selected to receive Nene Field Scholarships, an all-expenses p a i d o pp o r t u n i t y t o s t u d y a t s i s ter universities in Brazil, China, Japan, Lithuania and Nicaragua.

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College of

Public Affairs & Community Service

Finally, a place to call home CPACS marks 35 years, opening of new building he College of Public Affairs and Community Service is beginning its 35th anniversary celebration with a housewarming party. As part of UNO’s Centennial Homecoming Celebration, CPACS is hosting the grand opening and dedication of its new building Oct. 8 at 11 a.m.

The former Engineering Building has been transformed into the home for the college, whose various schools, departments, divisions and centers had been scattered across the UNO campus since its inception in 1973.

“After 35 years,” says CPACS Dean B.J. Reed, “we finally have a place to call home.”

The structure was totally redesigned, stripped to its foundation and modernized inside and out. Reed says the CPACS Building incorporates the mission of the college — to foster a comprehensive, high-quality learning environment, conduct research and pro-

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vide professional services to the community.

Open spaces

While the new look of the building’s exterior makes a strong first impression, the changes inside are breathtaking. The long hallways and rows of anonymous classroom and office doors of the building’s 1957 high school design have been replaced by open areas, seminar and meeting rooms, multi-use classrooms and offices where the emphasis is on space separated by little more than light and glass.

The interior includes a collaboration commons; open areas that allow for increased student access to faculty; spaces to promote interaction between the departments and faculty, students and the community; and the incorporation of community open spaces that lead to labs and classrooms.

The CPACS Building mirrors the

culture of the college, says Sara Woods, assistant dean.

“We are a Ph.D.-granting college with many, many award-winning programs,” Woods says. “We wanted the building to be an open, interactive environment that emphasizes our outreach.”

State support

The $14.2 million renovation was funded with state support allocated during a three-year period.

Two additions totaling 20,000 square feet were funded by private donations and cost approximately $4.43 million.

HDR Inc. provided the architectural design. W. Boyd Jones Construction Co. was the construction manager.

The work of art in the CPACS Building atrium is a three-panel kinetic sculpture that complements the building’s themes of transparency, interaction and move-

ment. The 4-by-8-foot panels, or banners, are suspended from a single point in the ceiling. Each banner is composed of small plates made of three materials: aluminum and two forms of Lexan, smoky and clear. Lexan is a brand name for a polycarbonate that resembles glass but is lightweight and unbreakable.

Designed by artist Tim Prentice and selected from a number of submissions, the sculpture appears to float in space, its banners and smaller plates turning with the changes in air currents, simultaneously reflecting light and creating shadows.

College ‘storefronts’

Elsewhere throughout the building, the “storefronts” for each of the college’s various units will be glass partitions that, while echoing the themes of transparency and openness, contain images that help UNOALUM

CPACS Dean B.J. Reed, left, is thrilled that his college’s long wait is over.

“After 35 years, we finally have a place to call home.” The $18.63 million renovation includes a much-needed update to classroom spaces like the one above. Photos by Tim Fitzgerald/University Relations.

convey to the viewer the particular unit’s mission, purpose and values.

Selection and installation of these storefronts is to take place in 2009.

It’s a marvelous new home for a college some were unsure would make it to its 10th anniversary, much less its 35th.

Emeritus Professor Peter Suzuki says he sensed mixed feelings from other colleges at UNO when CPACS was still in its infancy.

Exciting infancy

“The first years were exciting years in the sense it was a pioneering effort,” says Suzuki, who retired from teaching Urban Studies in 2002. “But when I first came, I sensed a lot of skepticism and envy from other colleges, particularly when it came to funding.

“Nebraska Sen. (Glenn) Goodrich had secured funding for the Goodrich Program, and Criminal Justice, Social Work, Gerontology and Public Administration proved to be very successful in obtaining grants to fund their work. That freed money for CPACS faculty to travel to undertake research and to attend conferences to share their findings.”

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Emeritus Dean David Hinton is one of many people who credit founding Dean Hubert Locke as a driving force behind CPACS’ early successes.

“Hubert Locke is the spirit of the college,” says Hinton, who served as CPACS dean from 1985 until 2000. “He developed it, and the college retains it today.”

Locke had served as an urban education consultant to the Regents’ Commission on the Urban University of the 70s. Among its findings, the commission had recommended the establishment of just such a college at UNO.

Locke’s vision

Locke says one of the “many stellar early moments” of the college was the establishment of the Goodrich Scholarship Program.

The continued impact of the Goodrich Program, along with the college’s various research efforts, expanded service-learning and other outreach to the community, exemplifies what the commission members had in mind.

“I think the college has far surpassed the initial vision,” he says.

Today, CPACS comprises the School of Criminology and Criminal

Justice, the School of Social Work, and the School of Public Administration, which includes Urban Studies and the Aviation Institute; the Department of Gerontology; the Division of Continuing Studies; the Goodrich Program; the Center for Public Affairs Research and the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies. It provides undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs.

Mission expansion

Through the years, CPACS’ mission has become more timely and relevant. Its programs are multidisciplinary and ranked among the best in the nation. Its faculty collaborates as scholars and researchers and partners with community organizations and agencies. Its students perform valuable outreach through servicelearning projects. Its graduates exemplify the college’s commitment and dedication to community service.

Some, like Theresa BarronMcKeagney, have even found their way back to the college.

The youngest of 11 children born to parents who emigrated from Mexico, the Council Bluffs native earned her Master’s of

Social Work degree from UNO in 1987. Today she serves as director of the School of Social Work.

Taking a leap

“It reminds me of that television show ‘Quantum Leap,’” she says.

“Being here as a graduate student, working in South Omaha, then coming back as part of the faculty and now serving as the director.

It’s not like a quilt at all. It feels more like a piece of fabric that’s seamless.”

The same is true for Bill Wakefield. Back when Wakefield was a graduate assistant in the late 1960’s, his office was on the second floor of what was then known as the Engineering Building. This summer, Wakefield, who now serves the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice as director of Community Outreach, moved his office back into the building where he started — now the CPACS Building.

“I never dreamed that would ever happen,’ says Wakefield, who was hired as an assistant professor of criminal justice in the fall of 1974. “Life really is a circle.”

That, too, is something worth celebrating.

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Peter Kiewit Institute

Academy of Excellence students observe their bridge designs as they are tested for strength. The groups’ bridges are judged based on three “real-world” criteria: timeliness, cost and load capacity.

Academy of Excellence marks decade of summer fun, learning I

n 1999, a summer workshop began to promote the unparalleled opportunities offered at a relatively unknown University of Nebraska facility — The Peter Kiewit Institute.

Ten summers later and PKI, comprised of UNL’s College of Engineering and UNO’s College of Information, Science & Technology, in collaboration with business and industry, is known around the world. And the astounding summer workshop, the Academy of Excellence (AOE), is still going strong.

A weeklong program now formally known as the Holland Academy of Excellence, AOE familiarizes students and teachers with the opportunities provided through the two colleges that constitute PKI. Recognizing that many students with high math and/or science aptitude may not consider careers in engineering or technology, PKI Executive 26 • Spring 2008

Director Winnie Callahan implemented AOE to expose these bright students to applications which encourage consideration of these fields of study.

Each year, 40 of the brightest and most promising high school sophomores are selected from nominations received from high schools across Nebraska and western

Iowa. A math or science teacher for each student also attends. Together they explore many of the areas of study offered at PKI, applying their skills to workshops covering robotics, engineering and technology.

Classroom activities can include creating a computer-animated world, solving biological problems with computers through bioinformatics, or using GPS on a scavenger hunt. A bridge-building competition using K’NEX pieces is a class favorite.

The goal is to beat the clock, stick to a budget and create a model that will withstand more pressure than competitor bridges. The winning team’s entry in 2008 held 91.6 pounds, an AOE record.

Since its inception in 1999, AOE has directly been responsible for nearly 170 top students selecting to attend the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute rather than an out of state program.

Callahan says a large part of AOE success is due to participation by outstanding and dedicated professors and staff. Roger Sash, a professor of computer and electronics engineering, has been creating and facilitating AOE activities since the beginning of the program. “I find it so rewarding to share the outstanding resources we have available with high school students and their teachers,” Sash says.

Using the city of Omaha as an extended UNOALUM

classroom, participants are taken to area attractions for informative, behind-thescenes tours at locations such as Union Pacific Railroad corporate headquarters, Lozier IMAX Theatre, Henry Doorly Zoo, Durham Museum and the Strategic Air and Space Museum. Prior to tours, students and teachers hear from an expert on the engineering or technology challenges involved in the design or construction of such venues. One night during the week the destination is Fun-Plex, allowing for an evening of fun and relaxation.

“The number of repeat teacher participation is testimony to the strong worth of the program,” Callahan says.

Marc Rexroad, a math teacher at Oakland-Craig High School, is among the repeat participants. “This is my third year, and I’d say about 50 percent of this I’ve never seen before, it’s so new and changing,” Rexroad says, referring to the 2008 agenda. “The fact that it can be a life-changing week for both students and teachers is what I truly value about AOE. PKI does a great job of changing to

Hats on for attendees of The Peter Kiewit’s Holland Academy of Excellence.

meet the new challenges found in engineering.”

Responses received each year from students who attend the summer Academy program are equally complimentary.

“This experience opened me to a new world of possibilities and careers,” writes Sarah Johnson of Lutheran High Northeast near Norfolk. “I was able to interact with new technology that I’d never heard of and would otherwise not have encountered.

Says Wyatt Suddarth of York High School: “It was a great opportunity for me to explore my future career possibilities in the fields of

engineering and IT. Kearney Catholic High School’s Nathaniel Watley says, “This camp you run every year helped me immensely on deciding what I want to do after high school.”

The entire week of AOE is offered free to all participants; their only expense is transportation to and from PKI. During their stay, they are chauffeured around Omaha, provided room and board at Scott Residence Hall, and given an all-access pass to PKI. AOE marked a decade of excellence in 2008. The workshop began with new

participants, and a repeat teacher or two. At the end of the week, students left with a new vision of career choices, teachers with lesson plans to implement in their classrooms, and all with firsthand knowledge of the state-of-the art educational programs at PKI. By sharing their experiences, word spreads about this surprising opportunity in Omaha.

“AOE is a summer camp unlike any other available,” says Callahan. “It is unique in that it offers a learning experience to both the students and their teachers.

It’s educational and careerfocused, yet fun.”

From speaking to sponsorship to supercomputer uring the 2005 Academy of Excellence, a special guest speaker would prove invaluable to attendees — and to The Peter Kiewit Institute. Dick Holland, an accomplished advertising executive and noted Omaha philanthropist, was invited to share his struggles and successes in education and business.

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Holland, accompanied by his wife, Mary, stressed the importance of performing well academically to reach one’s dreams. It was a fitting speech to kick off the summer program.

The Hollands, passionate supporters of educational opportunities, fell in love with and became lead donors for the program,

which was renamed the Holland Academy of Excellence.

Mary passed away in 2006, but Dick has continued his generosity with PKI, leading donors with the Institute’s Holland Computing Center. The center houses Firefly, among the top academic supercomputing centers in the United States.

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College of

Communication, Fine Arts and Media

Department of music continues international visits, performances t has been said that music is “an

Iinternational language.” If so, the

UNO Music Department is becoming fluent.

Working with the Omaha Sister Cities Association, the music department has developed a successful international touring program that has allowed students in nearly every ensemble the opportunity to travel outside the United States. In addition to the ensemble touring programs, faculty in the music department have participated in numerous educational exchanges. This year has been exceptionally busy, leading students and faculty to Mexico and Europe.

sity partnership. One of the members of the combo was Darren Pettit, current saxophone instructor and a 1995 UNO graduate.

“The value of these tours for the students is immense,” says Pettit. “It exposes them to a point of view that they would not find in Omaha. To go to a place that was a part of the former Soviet Union is especially meaningful. I think it truly creates a sense of gratitude for the students.”

Chamber Choir to Mexico In March, the UNO Chamber Choir completed a tour of Omaha’s newest sister city, Xalapa, Veracruz, in Mexico. Highlights of the tour included a concert at the University of Veracruz, one of Mexico’s top universities, a special performance for the Mayor of Xalapa and a concert in an open-air chapel at the cathedral in Cuernavaca. The choir also visited and performed in Puebla and Cuernavaca. The tour ended in Mexico City, where the choir toured the ancient city of Teotihuacan and explored the Pyramid of the Sun, built before 200 AD and the third largest pyramid in the world.

“I was very proud of our students and how generous they were in giving their time, talents and personal warmth,” says Dr. Matthew Harden, director of choral activities.”

SWE tours Europe In May, UNO’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE) toured Europe for two weeks. The first stop was the Czech Republic, where the group performed in Prague and Pilsen. In Pilsen SWE was part of the annual ceremony commemorating the end of WWII in Europe. The ensemble performed with the Lithuania National Chorus based in the Omaha sister city of Siauliai in a stirring collaboration. The group traveled on to Vienna and Innsbruck for concerts that were part of UNO’s extensive sister university program. After visiting Salzburg and Berne in Switzerland the group journeyed to Bourges, France. Two hours south of Paris in the Loire Valley, Bourges has been discussed as a possible sister city with Omaha.

The performances there were a step in getting its citizens to know some Omahans and allowed further discussions of ongoing relations to take place. After three days in Bourges the group traveled to Paris for three days of sightseeing and performances.

Jazz Combo in Lithuania The UNO Faculty/Student Jazz Combo, meanwhile, visited Lithuania in April, joining the 60th anniversary celebration of Siauliai University and marking the 10th anniversary of the UNO/Siauliai University sister univer-

Up next Travel plans for the 2008-2009 academic year are underway with the UNO Percussion Ensemble traveling to Shizuoka, Japan, in November and the Concert Choir planning a tour in May. The ensemble directors hold

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many fundraisers to help defray expenses, but students are responsible for the majority of the costs associated with these trips. Though funding is a great challenge, the UNO Department of Music is committed to the International Concert Touring Program because of the positive impact it has on student participants.

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CFAM Calendar of Events — September to December 2008 Art & Art History Art shows held in UNO Art Gallery, 1st Floor, Weber Fine Arts Building. Opening receptions begin at 6:30 p.m.

Sept 30: Print sale of fine art prints from the 15th to the 20thcenturies. 1-5 PM, UNO Art Gallery.

Oct. 8: Enrique Celaya, NU Presidential Scholar, Noon.

Location TBA

Through Oct. 4: Nancy Morrow Oct. 10 - Nov. 8: UNO and Beyond: UNO Art Student Alumni Exhibition Oct. 10: UNO and Beyond Opening Reception, 2:00-5:00 pm, free and open to the public

Communication Oct. 5: PRSSA La Notte Italiana (Italian Night fundraiser dinner) Swanson Hall Durham Museum 5-8 p.m.

Nov. 14 - Dec. 12: Fall 2008 BFA Thesis Exb.

KVNO Sept. 7 - Nov. 17: KVNO Classical Kid Nominations Accepted

Nov. 14: Thesis Exhibition Opening Reception, 6:30-8:30 pm, free and open to the public

Oct. 1-7: Classical 90.7 KVNO Fall Pledge Drive

Other Art Events: Sept 27: The Art of Collecting Prints “The World of Prints Through the Eyes of a Collector” Lecture by art historian /print collector, Dr. Robert Getscher. 7 PM, UNO Art Gallery.

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Nov. 6: Donor Appreciation Party, Alumni Center 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Masters & Music Series A Series Blending Artistic Imagery and Musical Composition. Sunday evenings at 5 p.m. in the UNO Art Gallery, 1st Floor, Weber Fine Arts Building. Reception with artists follow lecture/performances.

Contact Shari Hofschire, 5542402, for tickets.

Oct. 28: Masters and Music: PERFECT UNIONS. Liz Vercruysse, Ceramicist, and Dr. Tomm Roland:Percussionist.

Music Music performances held in Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall unless otherwise noted. Call 554-2335 for Ecoutez! and Resonate tickets.

Sept. 30: Heartland Philharmonic Concert, 7:30pm Oct. 8: Jazz Concert, MBSC Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 11: Omaha Symphony Chamber Orch., 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 12: SAULE Concert, TBD

Theatre

Oct. 14: Chamber Choir/ Chamber Orch., 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 18: Nebraska Choral Arts Society Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Performances begin 7:30 p.m. in UNO Theatre, Weber Fine Arts Building, unless otherwise noted. Call UNO Theatre Box Office for tickets, 554-2335.

Oct. 25: Julian Carter Gospel singer in concert, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 9-12, 15-19: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, by Steve Martin

Oct. 26: Symphonic Wind Ensemble/Chamber Choir, TBD

Nov. 20-23, Dec. 3-7: The Trojan Women, by Euripides, Translation by Kenneth Cavander

Oct. 28: Heartland Philharmonic “Hauntcert,” 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 9: Nebraska Wind Symphony Concert, 3:00 p.m.

Nov. 11: Low Brass/Flute Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 15: Omaha Symphony Chamber Orch., 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16: Omaha Symphony Chamber Orch., 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 18: Jazz Concert, MBSC Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25: Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.

Writer’s Workshop Readings start at 7:30 p.m. in the UNO Art Gallery, 1st Floor, Weber Fine Arts Building.

M i s so u r i V a l l e y R e a d i n g S e r i e s: Sept. 17: Poet Melissa Kwasny Oct. 1: Poet Lee Ann Roripaugh Oct. 15: Poet and Memoirist Joy Castro Nov. 12: Novelist Debra Magpie Earling Dec. 3: Memoirist John T. Price

Spring 2008 • 29

College of

Information Science and Technology

Martina Greiner

Robin Gandhi

Faculty eager to develop research, courses

New faces, new places trong research interests

S— along with a passion

to impact and engage students — distinguish two new College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T) faculty members, as well as a third taking on a new position this fall.

New to the faculty are Martina E. Greiner, who received her Ph.D. in management information systems (MIS) from the University of Georgia this summer, and Robin A. Gandhi, who received his Ph.D. in information technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in May. While both have served as teaching assistants, UNO will be their first full-time teaching assignments.

Dr. William Mahoney, meanwhile, takes on the title of assistant professor in information assurance at the college. He has served as an adjunct computer 30 • Fall 2008

science (CS) faculty member at UNO for 20 years and as a research fellow since January 2005.

Martina E. Greiner Greiner, a native of Ludwigsburg, Germany, worked in the business community after receiving her master’s degree in business administration and economics in 2000 from the University of Hohenheim in Germany.

While studying for her doctorate at the University of Georgia, she earned the campus-wide Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and the Outstanding Ph.D. Student Teacher Award.

The College of IS&T, she says, “was on my radar as I applied for a research and teaching position. There are a number of talented scholars here.”

When she interviewed for the position of assistant professor of MIS in

February, “I had a look at both the college and the city, and I sensed a very dynamic, open culture.

There are many good research projects going on at the college, and many projects that actively involve the business community.”

Her research interests include applying organizational theories to information systems issues, e-commerce, digital communities and trust-building mechanisms for consumer-to-consumer online transaction platforms. Greiner says she hopes to use her research to expand existing and create more university-business partnerships that she says are unique to Omaha and the Peter Kiewit Institute.

“I look forward to being a part of that,” she says. “I think it’s something really special here.”

Off campus, Greiner

William Mahoney

enjoys dance and is learning to speak Japanese. “I have always been interested in the Asian culture.

Learning the language has become a hobby of mine.”

Robin A. Gandhi Gandhi received his master’s degree in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2001. During his Ph.D. study, he received the 2007 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for the College of Computing and Informatics at UNC Charlotte.

He admits being apprehensive about experiencing his first Nebraska winter, but says Omaha “has a very familiar feel compared to Charlotte.”

When he interviewed earlier this year at IS&T, “I saw the college as a place full of opportunities. There is a lot of research taking place, and it is an active, scholarly community.

“I particularly like the structure of the college and PKI, and the opportunity within this structure for UNOALUM

conducting multidisciplinary research.”

As an assistant professor of Information Assurance, Gandhi says he is looking forward to working with Nebraska University Consortium on Information Assurance (NUCIA) Director Blaine Burnham.

“I had heard of his reputation before I came here, and I think it will be wonderful teaching with him and gaining from his experience.”

His interests include reading and hiking, but not necessarily cooking. “I lived the life of a graduate student for eight years,” he says, chuckling. “I learned the hard way!”

Gandhi says he hopes to develop research that engages students and other faculty, and to design new courses particularly relating to software assurance. “I

think a synergetic relationship between research and teaching is essential. I want to actively practice that philosophy in my career.”

He also hopes to apply research to the benefit of UNO alumni within the business community. “I am very interested in working with them on research projects or to design courses that cater to their needs and industries,” he says.

“I want to make sure people know they can call upon me whenever they want or need to accomplish something along my interests and within my capabilities.”

William Mahoney Information assurance (IA) is an emerging, rapidly expanding science that addresses problems in the fundamental understanding of the design, develop-

ment, implementation and life cycle support of secure information systems.

Mahoney’s research interests focus on intrusion detection, specifically finding new methods to detect when someone is trying to break into, or hack, a computer.

Rather than the common method of checking logs documenting past computer operations to detect an intruder, Mahoney is researching and developing ways to monitor computer applications as they execute to determine immediately if anything out of the ordinary, such as an intrusion attempt, is taking place. Although Mahoney has a CS background, “I think a lot of IA problems really are CS problems, but nobody is really addressing them yet.”

He says he plans to tap

into the “pool of talented students” at IS&T and involve them in his research, which has the potential to provide immediate benefits for business, academic and government computer systems.

“The greatest emphasis in the past decade in software development has been to make the Web page look nice, and make sure the customer can place an order and track their shipment,” he says. “One of the big issues today is that they are still thinking about computer security after the fact. They can’t wait until they are done and say, ‘Oh, by the way, we need to add some security.’

“They should be thinking about the look and the feel and knowing the data is correct and having the security in place from the very beginning.”

Innovative teacher earns University’s Instructional Creativity Award D onna Dufner says she can’t take all the credit. Dufner, an associa t e p ro f e s s o r i n t h e De p a r t me n t o f I n f or m a ti on S y s t e ms a n d Quantitative Analysis at th e Co lleg e o f Infor mation Scien ce & Technology, was one of only two faculty mem bers in t he Uni versit y o f Nebrask a s yste m to receive the University of Nebraska’s Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award for 200 8.

“I believe the students make the teacher, ” she says. “I think teaching them is an honor and a blessing. I walk into the c lassroom and feel grat efu l t o be the re. I’m pro ud of my s tud ent s, a n d i f a n y t h i n g , t h e y d e s e r v e t he a wa rd as muc h as I do.”

Dufner is widely re cognized for integrating co mmu ni ty e n ga ge men t t hro ugh se r v i c e - l e a r n i n g i n t o v a l u a b l e e d u cational experiences.

“This award is a majo r accomplishm ent and a tremendo us recog nition for Dr. Dufner and the college,” says IS&T Dean Hesham Ali. Duf ne r is a ve t er an of th e c or po ra te world , h av ing work e d 1 5 y ea rs in the information technology industr y for AT&T, Chemical Bank Corp ., AR DI S (a jo int v enture of IBM a nd Motorola ), Bel l Atl antic Nynex, the City of Omaha, and Douglas County, N e b .

A native of G reensbur g, Pa., she holds an MS i n computer and

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

information science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a n MBA from the Universit y of Chica go, and a doctorate i n computer and i nformation sci ence management from Rutgers.

B ef ore j o in in g U NO i n 200 0, Du fn er t au ght for t hre e ye a rs at th e University of Illinois, where she was named a University Scholar, the highest hon or g iven by the university for excellence in teaching and research.

S he is a cer tified P roject M anagem ent P rofessional, and in 2007 was elevated to Senio r Member in th e Institu te of Electrical and E lec tro nics Eng ine ers ( IE EE) f or pro fe s sion al m at urit y an d sign ifica nt p ro f es s i on a l a c c omp l i sh me n t — b e c om in g t h e f i rs t wo ma n in Oma h a to be so named.

She also is a recipient of the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award and the UNO Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

D u fne r c r ea te d a cou r se t hat b r oug ht U NO st ude nt s tog et her w it h s m all b us in e ss e n tr e pr en e ur s in s ou t h O ma ha t o im pr ov e in fo rm a tio n management and marketing skills. She also developed a course w here st uden ts teac h b asi c c omput er l ite ra cy ski ll s to i nmat es at the D ou g l a s C ou n t y D e p a rt m e nt o f C o rr ec t i o n s .

Dufne r inspi res he r stude nts t o bec ome bet ter sc holars and more r e s p o n s i b l e c i t i z e n s , A l i s a y s . “ We all kn ow t he com mitm ent Don n a h as f or he r stu de nt s an d the in nov at io n sh e bro ugh t to h er se r v i c e learning classes, and it is fulfilling to see that her accomplishments a re rec ogni ze d i n s uch a g ra nd f ash ion at the uni versi ty lev el. ”

Fall 2008• 31

College of

Information Science and Technology

Discussing the design for the Public Health Data Information Portal are, from left: Greg Hoff, IS&T STATPack software engineer; Dr. Ann Fruhling; Michael Shambaugh-Miller, College of Public Health assistant professor and medical geographer; and Dhundy Kiran Bastola, IS&T assistant professor, bioinformatics.

Collaborating for public health collaborative effort to

Acreate a Center for

Public Health Informatics led by Ann Fruhling, Ph.D., associate professor of information systems at the College of Information Science & Technology, could result in improved response to public health issues, increased research synergy, a link to centralized data and the development of a unique, innovative curriculum.

A grant from the University of Nebraska Foundation for $136,000 will enable those involved in the project to take the first steps toward establish32 • Fall 2008

ing the center.

“We’ll begin with a needs assessment to examine where we are and coordinate our efforts going forward,” says Fruhling.

“We’d also like to schedule a summit meeting later this year to bring together officials from Nebraska Health and Human Services, researchers, health agency representatives and health practitioners.”

Laying the groundwork These interdisciplinary activities will help lay the groundwork for integrating existing and emerging health-related databases

into an easily accessible resource for teaching, research, service, decisionmaking and policy development.

The project involves representatives of UNO’s College of Information Science & Technology (IS&T), the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, the College of Arts & Sciences, the UNO Center for Public Affairs Research, the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory.

Goals for the Center for

Public Health Informatics (CPHI) include creating a Nebraska-focused Public Health Data Information Portal; conducting an information analysis and data availability assessment; providing access to a “think tank” of medical professionals, researchers, faculty and experts; and the pursuit of additional national research grants.

Access needed Fruhling says one of the most pressing needs in public health is the ability to access, aggregate, analyze, translate and disseminate public health informaUNOALUM

tion. Access to this information is especially critical when responding to disasters or other emergency events.

By addressing this need, she says, the CPHI could: • Improve public health by helping identify public health issues more clearly and quickly, resulting in an improved response during emergencies and an increased awareness of important public health issues.

• Increase public health research synergy by tapping into the many National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) programs aimed at developing and maintaining complex data collection, processing and analysis repositories.

• Enhance the linkage between public policy and academic research by providing a centralized means to promote involvement in public health issues and making data and research available for communitybased health organizations, health professionals and others.

• Foster the development of a unique and innovative curriculum by offering study and research opportunities for public health informatics students, giving them access to material managed by the proposed CPHI that had not previously been readily available.

Discipline collaboration Shireen Rajaram, Ph.D., professor of sociology at UNO, is a medical sociolow w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

gist and part of the team working to establish the CPHI. “I believe the center will help create collaborative research opportunities, drawing on expertise from many different academic disciplines,” she says.

“Ultimately, this will improve the public health for everyone in the state.”

The center complements the work Fruhling, her students and other IS&T faculty are doing with UNMC and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) to develop and deploy the Secure Telecommunications Application Terminal Package (STATPack), a computerized emergency response system for public health laboratories.

Three-state presence STATPack systems have been deployed throughout Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Fruhling says the new CPHI, like the STATPack system, exemplifies the mission of the College of IS&T to provide innovative technology solutions, knowledge and community service to all of Nebraska and beyond.

“Public health informatics is a growing field that is rich with research opportunities but without a centralized, coordinating effort,” she says. “We believe the Center for Public Health Informatics will remedy that, as well as be a valuable resource for public health practitioners and policymakers across the state.”

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson was on campus in August to announce the launch of the BattleSpace project and joined UNO researchers in demonstrating how the software works.

With Nelson, center, are G.J. de Vreede, left, and Cheryl Wild.

UNO colleges receive $2.4 million in funding for BattleSpace project A

project proposed and requested by three UNO colle ges receiv ed a $2.4 million earmark last year, secured by Senator Ben Nelson in the Defense Appropriations bill. This year, Nelson is supporting the final $1.6 million earmark request to complete the project’s development.

T he ear mark will lau nch th e fir st p hase of the BattleS pace pr oject f or r es e a rc he rs a t t he I ns t i tu t e f or Co l la b or at i on Sc i e nc e (I CS) at UNO, whi ch is le ad by Rob ert O. Brig gs. The proj ect se eks to cre ate a new class of soft ware that could reduce militar y decision cycles by 50 per cent or mor e at the operational level.

Th e I ns t it ut e f or C ol l ab ora ti o n Sc i en ce wa s f or med in 20 06 w i th a fo und in g d ona ti on fro m S tev e Wil d of Omaha .

A 2006 sur vey of USSTRATCOM’s Future Capabilities Office per formed by UNO – funded by $250,000 from STRATCOM – identified sever al priority tasks BattleSpace will addr ess, including develop ment o f co urses of action, deliberative plan ning and inform atio n in teg ra ti on for n etw ork def ens e.

Pro pos ed b y res ea rche rs fro m the C ol le ge of I nf orma ti on Sc ie nc e & Technology (IS&T), the College of Business Administration and the College of Arts and Sciences, the project will allow militar y lead ers to make qu ick an d effective d ecision s fo r m ission -critical c o llab o ra t iv e ta s k s s uc h a s c ou rs e - of -a c t io n d e v e lop m en t a n d o p e r ational planning.

Collaborati on was key to deve lopi ng the project, says G.J. de Vreede, director of the Institute and the project's co-investigator from IS&T. " We are excited about the possibilities of the B attleS p ace p ro ject an d ar e g r ateful to S ena tor Nel so n for h is effo r ts at making BattleSpace a reality, " h e s a y s .

Nels on sai d h e p ushe d f or t he earmark i n ord er t o f urthe r the potential of high profile projects such as B attleSpace in Nebr aska. " Th e re is n o re a so n fo r p roj e c ts l i ke t hi s to go t o Si l i c on Va l l e y o r oth er la rge u rb an a reas wh en t hey can be done right he re i n Nebraska, wh ich has a growi ng reputa tion as t he ‘ Sili con Prai ri e’ b e c a us e o f t h e n u m be r o f hig h t e c h p r oje c t s b e in g c o n d u ct e d h e re , ” Nelson says.

Fall 2008• 33

College of

Education

Brignoni, seated, far right, says that students who learn in their native language typically achieve more academically.

UNO pilot program leads the way to state endorsement

Bilingual, one goal newly established bilingual instruction program at

AUNO is getting rave reviews — in Spanish and

English.

Initiated by Evangelina (Gigi) Brignoni, assistant professor of teacher education, the pilot program is the first approved by the Nebraska Department of Education for teachers seeking an endorsement in bilingual instruction.

“We need to do the right thing for kids,” says Brignoni.

“We need to meet their needs through language.”

Brignoni first saw the need for such a program while visiting Omaha Public Schools (OPS) dual-language classes, where native languages of students are used for instruction. Half the students speak English and the other half speaks Spanish. Two teachers, one for each language, instruct the class.

Raising the bar The goal of the class is to raise language levels for both groups of students. Yet Brignoni found that most bilingual teachers had limited training in effective classroom prac34 • Fall 2008

tices for dual-language settings. To help, Brignoni in the summer of 2007 offered her first bilingual class, Spanish Language Arts Methodology, and taught it entirely in Spanish. Susan Mayberger, ESL /migrant coordinator for OPS, helped recruit OPS bilingual teachers for the class.

The class was so successful that Brignoni approached Lana Danielson, chair of teacher education, with the idea of creating a curricular path leading toward a bilingual endorsement.

Collaborative effort A committee (Brignoni, Danielson and Mayberger; Becky Schnabel, coordinator of student services; Yvonne Tixier y Vigil, assistant professor of teacher education; and Carolyn Gascoigne, chair of foreign languages) developed a graduate plan of study to help bilingual elementary and secondary school teachers receive a Nebraska endorsement for bilingual instruction.

Candidates must complete an interview with a threeperson panel and write a sample letter to parents in UNOALUM

Participants in UNO’s bilingual instruction program will receive an endorsement from the Nebraska Department of Education.

Spanish. Brignoni says demographics are the reason behind the program’s start with Spanish, noting a U.S. Census Bureau report that “Hispanics are expected to total 18 percent of the U.S. population by 2020.”

The National Association for Bilingual Education indicates that students learn best in their native language: “Studies show students using their native language skills leads to higher levels of academic achievement as well as proficient bilingualism and biliteracy — increasingly valuable skills in today’s global economy.”

UNO’s program includes courses taught in Spanish and a dual-language practicum; 24 credit hours are required for the endorsement. Participants in the program began their second class this summer. The 16-member group is split evenly between native Spanish and English speakers.

Reaching students “While the participants know how to speak Spanish, they have never learned how to teach in Spanish. There is a difference,” says Brignoni. Participants will learn how to effectively teach and reach their students, she adds.

Current members should finish the program in May 2009.

“It has really helped me feel more confident about my knowledge of the Spanish language, literature, art and culture,” says program participant Patricia Bejarano. “It has also helped me obtain resources to further expand w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

both my writing and speaking skills.”

Sasha Chavez credits the program for keeping her in Nebraska. “This is something I have been interested in obtaining, but until now, the closest place I could obtain this endorsement is Illinois. My preference is to stay here and serve my community. Thanks to the endorsement offering, I can share what I have learned with my students in OPS.” Validation Adds Heidi Beckwith: “This endorsement will help me by developing my teaching vocabulary in Spanish, and giving me opportunities to learn new strategies and ways I can help my students in my language arts classes.”

Brignoni is delighted with such responses: “They feel validated by this class and what UNO is offering.”

The program also is valued by OPS. “I think that it is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to prepare to work with our diverse student population,” says Mayberger. “It will certainly help OPS in providing highly qualified bilingual teachers for the Dual-Language program.”

As the pilot program evolves, Brignoni plans to expand its reach to teachers in other districts.

“In the U.S. we open our arms to all people,” she says.

“It’s this country that wants to do the right things for kids.”

Fall 2008• 35

College of

Arts & Sciences Plans to raise yearly Malcolm X Festival to level of international conference.

“A great teacher inspires his students to be a part of the world they live in.”

“While I am the instructor, some days I am also a student.”

College welcomes nine new faculty Omawale Akintunde

Samantha Ammons

he College of Arts and Sciences welcomes nine new faculty members in fall 2008.

T

his plans as chair are to raise the yearly Malcolm X Festival to the level of an international conference and the creation of a documentary film series: “What it Means to be ‘White’: Implications for the Black Experience in America.”

Omawale Akintunde Chair, Black Studies

Samantha Ammons Sociology/Anthropology

The college welcomes Omawale Akintunde as department chair and associate professor of Black Studies.

Akintunde earned his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction and African American studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1996.

Before coming to UNO, Akintunde was an associate professor in the department of teacher education at the University of Southern Indiana.

The focus of much of his teaching and research has been multicultural education. He currently is serving on the editorial board of the Journal of the National Association of Multicultural Education. In addition to his many other publications, he has authored two books: “Multi-culturalism and the Teacher Education Experience” and a children’s book, “The Adventures of Darrell and the Invincible Man.” His research interests are “whiteness” and white privilege; race, class and gender studies; multicultural teacher education; hip-hop; epistemology; critical race theory; and the social construction of race. Among 36 • Fall 2008

Ammons joins the college as an assistant professor of sociology/anthropology. She is in the final stages of earning her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota, where she has taught research methods, introduction to sociology, statistics, sociology of family and social theory.

Ammons enjoys the give and take of teaching. “Students bring a great deal of knowledge and experience with them into the classroom,” she says. “While I am the instructor, some days I am also a student.” Her research interests are work-family, gender and organization. Her most recent publication, with Penny Edgell, is “Religious Influences on Work-Family Tradeoffs” in the Journal of Family Issues in 2007. In 2006 she was appointed a graduate fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Mahboub Baccouch Mathematics

Baccouch arrives at UNO from his native Tunisia via Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State

Mahboub Baccouch

University, where he earned his Ph.D. in mathematics this spring. In his first semester as an assistant professor of mathematics he will be teaching calculus, a course he also taught at Virginia Tech.

“I have the two qualities absolutely necessary to be an effective teacher of mathematics: a love for math and a desire to share my enthusiasm with others,” he says. “A great teacher is one who gets his students to learn. A great teacher inspires students to be a part of the world they live in. To be that great teacher, I let my students know that I am available for help outside the classroom whenever they need it.

Our job as teachers is to give them a deeper understanding of what is behind the rules and formulas, in a hope that the rules and formulas then become obvious.”

Baccouch’s dissertation has resulted in two publications in The Journal of Scientific Computing: “The Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Two-dimensional Hyperbolic Problems Part I: Superconvergence Error Analysis,” co-authored with Slimane Adjerid in 2007; and, “The Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Two-dimensional Hyperbolic Problems Part II: A Posteriori Error Estimation,” published in 2008.

Hassan Barari Political Science

Barari comes to UNO from the University of Jordan, Amman, where UNOALUM

Hassan Barari

“Teaching is to inspire. To instill critical thinking in and to empower students for a better future for humanity.”

he has served as assistant professor and senior researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies. Barari is a current Lafer non-resident Senior Scholar for The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and was senior fellow for the United States Institute for Peace in Washington, D.C., in 2006-2007. He also is an active political analyst and columnist in Jordan. He earned his Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Durham in England (2001). His most recent book is “Israeli Politics and the Middle East Peace Process, 1988-2002” (Routledge, 2004). As an assistant professor in UNO’s political science department, Barari also will play a key role in the newly proposed Center for Islamic Studies. In addition to Introduction to Political Science, Barari is excited to be teaching a senior- and graduate-level course in Middle East politics.

“Teaching is to inspire,” he says. “To instill critical thinking in, and to empower students for a better future for humanity.”

Alan Gift Chemistry

Gift leaves an assistant professorship at Indiana University South Bend for an assistant professorship with UNO’s chemistry department.

He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University in 2002, after which he served as a postdoctoral associate at Purdue and a research scientist for Real-time Analyzers Inc. of Middletown, Conn.

While at South Bend, he taught elew w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Alan Gift

“I work with students to help them see the importance of chemistry and how it relates to the big picture.”

mentary and analytical chemistry and chemical instrumentation. “I work with students to help them see the importance of chemistry and how it relates to the big picture,” says Gift. “For example, the problem-solving skills they learn in chemistry class are not just useful in the laboratory, they are also beneficial in everyday life.” Gift’s most recent publication is “Hyphenation of Raman spectroscopy with gravimetric analysis to interrogate water-solid interactions in pharmaceutical systems” in the Journal of Pharma-ceutical and Biomedical Analysis in 2007 (co-author Lynne S. Taylor).

Ramon Guerra English

Guerra has been traveling between Omaha and Lincoln for the last year, building his dissertation at UNL and building a career at UNO. Guerra explains the complexities of his dissertation: “In my dissertation, ‘Literature as Witness: Testimonial Aspects of Chicano Self Identity Narratives,’ I analyze the construction of history and the role of testimonial narratives within that construction by looking at different examples of contemporary Chicana/o personal narratives. I ask: ‘What are the ways that these smaller voices of history complement, contradict or attempt to expand an ongoing historiography?’ The purpose of providing testimony through literature is to provide an ‘eye-witness’ encounter of an experience. In the case of contemporary Chicana and Chicano testimonial narratives,

“Teaching, to me, is leading students towards an issue or an experience...”

Ramon Guerra

the writing acts as a witness, giving the voice to those who have seen or experienced the actuality of a momentous period rather than those who simply seek to report it. The power of literature is transformed into a ‘witness account’ by adding an often under-represented voice to the historiography of our American society.” As an assistant professor of English at UNO, Guerra will teach Chicano and Latino Literature.

“Teaching, to me, is leading students towards an issue or an experience and continuing engagement with competing discourses that exist in the classroom, as well as the world at large,” says Guerra. “I see my role as a means of generating knowledge vs. dispensing knowledge.”

Larry Menyweather-Woods Black studies

Menyweather-Woods has taught for the UNO Black Studies department for many years as an instructor.

This fall he celebrates the completion of his Ph.D. in human sciences from the University of NebraskaLincoln and his new position of assistant professor at UNO. His research interests are the influence of worldview and racial socialization on death-anxiety beliefs of black American men, black religion and gerontology, and the authenticity of black American religion. Among the many courses he has taught are Introduction to Black Studies, Black American Culture, Afro-American Religion & Theology, and, Theology and Philosophy of Martin & Malcolm.

Fall 2008• 37

College of

Arts & Sciences Celebrates the completion of his Ph.D — and his new post as assistant professor.

Larry Menyweather-Woods

Zebulon Miletsky Black Studies

Miletsky joins the faculty of the Department of Black Studies as an assistant professor and will earn his Ph.D. in African American Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2008.

Among his recent publications is a review in the Journal of African American History: “Black-Brown: Relations and Stereotypes” by Tatcho Mindiola Jr., Yolanda Flores Niemann and Nestor Rodriguez. His teaching experience includes courses in race, ethnicity and multiculturalism at Bowling Green, Boston College, Northeastern University, Monmouth

His teaching experience includes courses in race, ethnicity and multiculturalism.

Zebulon Miletsky

James Wilson

College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

James Wilson Biology

Wilson takes on the role of assistant professor of biology at UNO and defines that role as critical to our immediate future: “My inspiration for teaching science comes from my interest in scientific literacy in the general public and the ability of pseudoscience to live in the void left by a lack of scientific understanding,” he says. “Our world is increasingly dependent on science and we must understand what science is and how it is performed if we are to

“We must understand what science is and how it is performed if we are to make educated choices about our world.”

make educated choices about our world.” Wilson earned his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University in 2002 and has taught zoology for UNO and ecology and mammalogy at California State University. Prior to coming to UNO he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California. Among his more recent publications is “Habitat associations by dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes) in managed mixed-conifer forests of the northern Sierra Nevada” in the Journal of Mammalogy (co-authored with R.J. Innes, D. H. Van Vuren, D. A. Kelt, M.L. Johnson, and P.A. Stine in 2007).

Linstrombergs establish chemistry scholarship W

alt Linstr omberg started small. H is impact was anything but. “H e t o u c h e d liv e s f ro m t h e o n e - ro o m c o u n t r y s c h o o l w h e r e h e b e g a n teaching to the advanced laboratories and clinics of the world,” says Dan S ullivan, a form er stud en t and co lleagu e o f L in stro mb erg .

F r o m 1 9 5 5 t o 1 9 7 8 , L i n s t r o m b e r g t a u g h t c h e m i s t r y to t h o u san d s o f U N O stu dent s. “ Wa lt wa s a ra t he r f or ma l, t ho ro ug h in s tr uc t or wh o t e mp er ed h is l e c t ures with hu mor and sto ries of real-lif e en cou nt ers wit h scien ce,” says S ul l i v an . “No o ne who e ve r t o ok an y co u rs e f ro m h im co ul d ev e r f or ge t him.”

Linstromberg’s reach continues to perhaps millions of more students t h ro ug h th e ma n y e d itio n s o f his p op ula r t e x t, “O rg an ic Ch e mis tr y - A Brief Course.” Originally published in 1966, it has been distributed worldwide in five languages.

In his recent autobiography, Linstromberg wrote, “Writing my textbook w as one of the best things I ever did. Of course, the best thing I e ver did was marr ying Mitt ie. Without her help in typing man uscrip ts, h er patience, and her willingn ess to be alone so much with no oth er c omp an y bu t th e ki ds , I d oub t I c oul d h av e wr it te n my t ex tbo ok . N ot only have I shared two-thirds of my life with her, but all of my royalties, too. She has earned ever y d i m e o f i t . ”

38 • Fall 2008

Walt Linstromberg presents a scholarship check to Cassandra Ward, first recipient of the scholarship in his name.

The Linstrombergs and their children, John W. Linstromberg and Ka t hr y n D . G r e e n o u g h , h a v e w o r k e d w i t h t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f N e b r a s k a Foundation to endow the Walter W. and Mittie W. Linstromberg Scholarship in Chemistr y.

Cassandra Ward, a UNO senior and chemistr y major, is the first r e c ip i e n t o f t h e s c h o l a r s h ip . I n a d d i t io n t o h e r a c a d e m i c s u c c e s s , Ward i s h on or ed fo r h er s e lf l e ss su p po rt o f o t he r s tu de n ts w it h in th e c h em ist r y p r o g r a m .

UNOALUM

35 more hours in a master’s English program that might lead to teaching at the college level. He went for the master’s, earning that degree in 1983. But it wasn’t until he had begun work on his Ph.D. in English literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that he developed a true passion for the path down which he had begun to amble. “For some people, the transforming experience happens during their undergraduate years,” Boocker says.

“For me, it happened at the Ph.D. level.”

Boocker took over as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on July 1, coming from his previous post at Western Illinois University. Photo by Tim Fitzgerald/University Relations.

Boocker assumes deanship

Prepared for life oseph David “Dave” Boocker, the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, considers himself typical of most academics — and of most students of the liberal arts. “I didn’t set out to be an English professor or a Milton scholar or the dean of Arts and Sciences,” Boocker says. He describes his life’s path as one directed, from one year to the next, by education and practical necessity. “Students need to understand that a liberal arts education prepares you for life wherever life takes you.”

J

Louisiana Livin’ Life for Boocker began in Lafayette, La., where his father, a Polish immigrant and U.S. serviceman, met his mother, then a teacher. During his undergraduate years at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Boocker majored in English and worked at a local 7-11 store.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1980, he found himself choosing between two paths: 60 additional credit hours for certification to teach in secondary schools; or, w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

Milton, Olson An important source of inspiration for Boocker was UNL Professor Paul Olson, known for his literary scholarship, advocacy of civil rights and work on building connections among schools and communities.

“I chose to specialize in Milton because that choice gave me an opportunity to work with Paul Olson,” says Boocker. “He is the wisest, smartest man I have ever met.” Since that time, Boocker’s research has focused on John Milton’s reception and influence. One of his most recent publications is an article in Milton in Popular Culture entitled “Milton after 9/11” in which he explores the concept of evil, the recurrent references to Milton in popular news magazines of the time, and the effectiveness of labeling acts or people evil.

After completing his Ph.D. in 1988, Boocker became a professor of English at Tennessee Technological University then at Western Illinois University. He was politically active at Tennessee Tech, but it was at Western Illinois where he fully developed his talent for educational administration as chair of the English and Journalism department. He tackled curriculum development and review, 15 successful faculty searches, revision of departmental governance, strategic planning, fundraising and promotional efforts.

Omaha or bust He was named dean of UNO's College of Arts and Sciences in April, replacing Shelton Hendricks in July.

Boocker’s wife, Kathy, son Sam (14) and daughter Rebecca (11) are adjusting to the larger, busier life of Omaha and to Dad being dean of the largest college in a metropolitan university. Kathy is a yoga instructor and reads popular fiction in English, German and Russian.

Sam and Rebecca are enrolled in District 66. “They are excited about all the opportunities here,” Boocker says.

And so is the new dean. “The college is strong. One of my immediate goals as dean will be to build on the good work of Dean Hendricks in promoting our college, helping people to understand what we do and the critical role we play in the lives of our students and our community.”

He can relate from firsthand experience. “I want to give back to the university system that gave me so much so many years ago.”

Fall 2008• 39

College of

Business Administration

Mammel Hall going up green he College of Business

TAdministration’s new

facility, Mammel Hall, will be a green building.

Designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) green building rating system, certification will mean the new facility achieves specified levels of energy efficiency.

LEED certification mandates best-practice standards in materials and resource usage, indoor environmental quality, water efficiency and sustainability. A rigorous thirdparty commissioning as part of the certification

process guarantees that the highest standards of environmental responsibility have been met. “‘Going green’ is the right thing to do,” says Dean Louis Pol. “LEED certification demonstrates to our constituents, specifically the Mammels, Scotts and taxpayers of Nebraska, that the College of Business Administration is a respectful steward of the resources provided to us.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED-certified buildings: • Lower operating costs and increase asset value; • Reduce waste sent to

landfills; • Conserve energy and water • Provide a healthier and safer environment for occupants; and, • Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

The LEED process will be used as a teaching tool, one that is well-suited to future leaders of the business community. “One reason we are pursuing LEED certification is to demonstrate to our students the importance of managing scarce resources responsibly over the long term,” says Pol. The construction and maintenance of Mammel Hall will serve as a laboratory for students in business administration

and in architecture and engineering.

Mammel Hall will be the first LEED-certified building on the UNO campus and one of only four across the University of Nebraska system. LEED certification is one more element differentiating UNO’s CBA from other business schools.

“Going forward, business must focus on sustainability as a component of responsible business practice,” says Pol. “CBA is leading by example by investing precious resources in this priority. LEED certification will provide evidence of our commitment, and we expect it to help attract top-tier students, faculty and staff to our college.”

UNO Web site a boon to economic teachers NO’s Center for Economic Education plays a key role in helping K-12 teachU ers across the globe identify and adopt high-quality teaching materials about economics.

The Center administers a new Web site, http://EconEdReviews.org, designed to serve teachers seeking first-rate, “proven” materials for economics-related lessons.

UNO’s Center collaborated with the National Council on Economic Education to create the website. Its development and maintenance are funded by a grant from the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation, which owns the site.

EconEdReviews.org was developed as a resource hub for teachers seeking age- and topic-appropriate materials for K-12 economic education. The site includes online materials from numerous sources, including the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE), state economic education councils and centers, the national Jump$tart Coalition’s clearinghouse, the Foundation for Teaching Economics, JA Worldwide, the Federal Reserve Banks, AP Economics, and others.

Research found that teachers value resources organized by economic concept, national and state standard, grade level, and course subject, so the Web site is searchable by each of these criteria.

40 • Fall 2008

P i c tu re d , f ro m le f t : CB A Pr o fe s s o r E m e ri tu s K im S o s in , A m y Bu rk , t e a c he r a n d c o nt ri b u ti n g re v ie w er from R.M. Marrs Magnet Center, and CBA’s Mar y Lynn Reiser.

In its second year of the three-year project, the Center for Economic Education is recruiting teachers to review materials to “seed” the site, helping other teachers make informed decisions about materials provided. Reviews also assist the source organizations revise and develop more effective teaching materials. Anyone may use site reviews but teachers must register

before they can submit reviews.

Director of the grant project is Dr. Kim Sosin, professor emeritus of economics in CBA and webmaster of the Center of Economic Education’s widely utilized website, http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu. Codirector of the grant is Mary Lynn Reiser, co-director of UNO’s Center and recipient of a 2008 YWCA Tribute to Women Award.

UNOALUM

FALL 2008 1944 Wa lla ce Ra nki n, BA, lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., and notes that after 60 years as a chemist/civil engineer/computer programmer he has retired in Scottsdale. He spends his time playing duplicate bridge, attending baseball games and playing Hold 'em poker in Las Vegas and Laughlin. Send him email at wrankin1@cox.net 1959 Jerr y Stefanowicz, BS, is retired and lives in Tacoma, Wash. At UNO he was a TKE member and is looking for lost members. Contact him at jerrydar@aol.com. He also is a board member for a local food bank. He and his wife have three children.

1961 Luama (Lu) Mays, BGE, lives in Milford, Ohio, and recently received the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award in recognition of dedicated technical expertise, aviation professionalism and outstanding contributions to the

Class Notes

advancement of commercial aviation safety for more than 50 years.

Mays joined GE Aviation as an aviation attorney after graduating from law school and the Institute of Air & Space Law. He created and managed the first international commercial aircraft engine leasing operation, which contributed to GE becoming the world leader in commercial A/C engine sales and A/C leasing. Send emails to Lumays@fuse.net

1962 Nina Hill Little, BS, lives in Valley, Neb., and writes, “With the notice that UNO celebrates its 100th birthday this year, it occurred to me that my education from UNO has spanned six decades. I began as a freshman in 1956, receiving a BS in 1962. In 1975 I completed an MS, and in 1978, an Ed.S. In the ’80s, while earning a PhD at UNL, I was able to take several of my classes at UNO. In the ’90s, while working on an MLS from Emporia State University, I was also able to include several classes at UNO. And during the 2007-2008 school

UNO Flashback File

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE ON THE WEB:

www.unoalumni.org/magazine/submit_class_notes hours. Happy Birthday, UNO! Thanks for providing me with the opportunity to be a lifelong learner.” year I completed six additional

Send Hill Little email at nlittle1@msn.com

1966 Leodore Hernandez, BGE, lives in Merced, Calif., and writes: “I attended UNO under the Bootstrap program as a Master Sgt. in the USAF and retired from the USAF in 1968. The Air Force saved my life and the Bootstrap program was, and is, one of the best military programs available. UNO is a great university — especially for having the Bootstrap program on its campus. Use my information as you

see fit because all I am interested in is motivating others to attend college. If I did it, so can many others. I entered the Air Force with a sixth-grade education at age 16 and graduated from Merced (California) Evening High School at age 30 in 1960. I had passed the GED exam before, but I wanted a diploma. One year later, after high school, I earned my AA from Modesto Jr. College and my BGE five years later, in 1966, from Omaha University. Before I retired from the Air Force I earned my MA from Chapman College, Orange, Calif. After retirement from the USAF I earned my Ed.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in 1976. I then became a university professor. I taught at Grand Valley State Colleges in Michigan, at Indiana University and at California State University, where I retired as professor emeritus.” Send emails to leodoro@sbcglobal.net

Football milestones

NO’s football team last year went undefeated in the regular season, notching another milestone in its 97-year history. A look at other milestones, courtesy the football media guide.

1911: The school’s first game and first win.

1912: Team is nicknamed the Ponies.

1913: Team name is changed to Crimson & Black 1920: Nicknamed Maroons.

1924: Nicknamed Cardinals.

1930: OU is one of the first college teams to fly to a road game.

1935: OU enters North Central Conference (NCC).

1939: Nickname changed to Indians.

1942: Athletics dropped because of World War II. 1947: Athletics restored; school competes as independent.

1954: OU goes 10-0 and wins Tangerine Bowl.

1959: OU joins Central Intercollegiate Conference (CIC).

1962: OU goes 8-1-1 and wins All-Sports Bowl.

1963: School withdraws from NCAA, affiliates with NAIA. 1968: OU becomes UNO; CIC merges with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

1971: Nickname changed to Mavericks.

1972: UNO joins Great Plains Athletic Conference.

1973: UNO re-joins NCAA and becomes an independent.

1977: UNO re-enters the NCC. 1978: Mavericks appear in first NCAA II playoff.

1980: Mavs are ranked No. 1 in NCAA II for three weeks.

1983: UNO shares its first NCC title, with North Dakota State.

1984: UNO finishes No. 2 in NCAA II after second NCC title.

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

Photo courtesy Criss Library Archives

U

Members of the 1913-14 football team.

1996: 1998: 2000: 2001: 2004: 2005: 2006: 2007:

Mavs win NCC, make playoffs.

Mavs share NCC title, make playoffs.

UNO wins NCC; advances to NCAA quarterfinals.

NCAA playoff berth.

Mavericks win NCC. UNO wins NCC; playoff berth.

UNO wins NCC; playoff berth.

UNO undefeated in regular season; wins seventh NCC title in final season of league; ninth playoff berth.

2008: UNO begins play in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Fall 2008• 41

Class Notes 1967 Carl Lynn, BGS, notes that “My UNO degree allowed me to become a U.S. Air Force officer in 1968. My life and my career were changed forever! Thank

you, UNO … a great school doing great things.”

1972 Albert Hodapp, MA, in October 2007 presented a paper entitled “Television and Children” at the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children conference. He lives in Mason City, Iowa.

1975 John Wilke, BS, lives n Omaha and is self-employed as an attorney at Wilke Law Office. He received his law degree from Creighton University School of Law in 1978, spent two years as a deputy county attorney then 15 years with an insurance defense litigation law firm. He has operated Wilke Law Firm for 13 years, specializing in personal injury, criminal defense and domestic relations.” Send him email at Jwilkelaw@aol.com 1976 Terr y Stickels, BA, has released a 2009 puzzle calendar. See more at www.terrystickels.com 1981 Theresa Forey Wyckoff, BGS, is a tenured professor of education at the College of Southern Nevada.

Sherr y A. Wright, MS, lives in Omaha and is a U.S. Postal Services mail processing clerk … and a writer. In October 2007 she published “Inspired,” a book of poetry about relationships (ordering information at www.iUniverse.com). She also has served on various boards and commissions and is active in community projects.

W i l li a m Tom Wharff, MS, is a Trappist monk at New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, Iowa. His religious name is Brother Jonah. He was ordained a deacon in May and will be ordained a priest in December.

42 • Fall 2008

1982 Maureen Peters Smith, BSBA, was named 2008 Woman of the Year by the Omaha Phanhellenic Association. Awarded at the Gathering of the Greeks annual brunch, it recognizes extensive leadership and participation in Greek activities at the local, regional and national level. Peters Smith has served in many positions to strengthen the Zeta Tau Alpha women's fraternity on UNO’s campus. Her contributions include chairing events, attending conventions and workshops, advising the collegian ZTA chapter and serving as Omaha ZTA Alumnae Treasurer.

She has also served the Omaha Alumnae Panhellenic Association in a number of positions, including President.

Eileen Lechner Phillips, BSBA, lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and in April received the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award from Archbishop Joseph Naumann at Corpus Christi Church in Lawrence. The award recognizes the contributions of adults who serve Catholic youth through Girl Scouts. This medal affirms the work of those who help youth develop their spiritual lives within the context of these organizations. Lechner Phillips has been a troop leader, advisor and event organizer for Teen Girl Scouts in Douglas County, Kansas, for the past six years. She received the Appreciation Pin in 2007 from the Kansas/Missouri Girl Scout Council for her work mentoring Teen Scouts. She also has received outstanding volunteer and leader awards. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 19 years. She was a Brownie, Junior and Cadette Scout in Omaha. She earned the First Class Award, the highest rank possible, while a Cadette Scout. Her daughter Daphne, a University of Nebraska freshman, was the first recipient of the Spirit Alive Medal, given in recognition of efforts to a program that “assists Girl Scouts in discovering how the Holy Spirit moves in their lives, calling them to greater participation in the church’s ministry.”

Fellow chiefs, fellow grads

U

NO graduates have replaced UNO graduates in the offices of Omaha’s fire and police chiefs.

On July 23 Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey appointed Eric Buske as Omaha’s police chief and Mike McDonnell as its fire chief, ending vacancies brought through the retirement of their predecessors.

Buske (pictured, top), who earned an MPA from UNO in 2004, was serving as interim police chief. He replaces fellow UNO graduate Tom Warren (MS, 1989), who was the city’s first black chief of police, serving from 2003 until 2008.

Buske, 46, has held a variety of posts during 24 years with the Omaha Police Department.

He was named deputy police chief for the uniform patrol bureau in 2003 after being a finalist for that year for the police chief job. In 2000 he appeared on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and won $250,000. Buske’s son, Eric J. Buske, received a UNO Alumni Association Legacy scholarship in 2005.

McDonnell, who earned a BS in criminal justice from UNO in 1992 and an associate’s degree in fire technology in 1996, was serving as interim fire chief. He replaces Robert Dahlquist, a UNO graduate (assoc., 1988; BGS, 2002) who was fire chief from 2003 until 2007.

Horton Dahlquist, Robert’s father, also was a UNO graduate (1966) and Omaha fire chief.

The 42-year-old McDonnell has been with the Omaha Fire Department for 18 years and formerly was the Fire Union president.

1983 David Franklin, BGS, lives in Indianapolis and in March was promoted to become the US-Canadian Border Coordinator for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) HQ Border Planning Team.

“Although my position is in FHWA HQ in Washington, D.C., I will be working out of the FHWA Olympia Fields office south of Chicago. In this position, I coordinate the Transportation Border Working Group activities for the Department of Transportation and Transport Canada.” Send emails to david.franklin@dot.gov 1984 Lyle Bender, BGS, lives in Lincoln, Neb., and is retired after becoming a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. He was inducted

into the 2008 U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in Fort

Benning, Ga. He served 37 years in the Army, Nebraska and Iowa

National Guards and was an army aviator for 36 of those years. Send him email at lylbndr@aol.com 1985 Therese Ann Laux, BM, lives in Omaha and is an educator at Omaha North High Magnet School.

She was selected by Apple Inc. for its Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Today (ACOT2) curriculum development team. Apple chose 20 of its Distinguished Educators from across the nation to develop project-based units leveraging Web 2.0 technology and creative applications. While at Apple Inc. in Cupertino, Calif., Laux worked on an interdisciplinary team to develop innovative high school materials for a high school curriculum designed to prepare students for life and work in the 21st century.

She writes, “BTW, the question I get asked most is ‘What is Apple like?’ It truly is as magical as one would think it would be! There is no other place like it, except UNO, of course. Go Mavs!” Send Laux email at therese.laux@ops.org

UNOALUM

FA L L 1988 Denise Rice McCauley, BSBA, was named vice president of core operations at Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society. She will oversee underwriting, membership services and claims. She previously was senior vice president/general manager of network services at Alliance Data Systems in Dallas. Prior to that she was senior vice president of product management at First Data Corporation and President of DNR Inc., an Omaha consulting firm offering expertise in operational improvement. She is married to fellow UNO graduate Robert McCauley (1988, BSBA).

1989 DeAnn Bright, BA, lives n Charleston, S.C., and is a carriage tour guide for Palmetto Carriage Works. She writes that she “Worked at WOW AM/FM and KFAB for years in Omaha. I decided to take my UNO training into a dif-

ferent field. I drive a mule team through the streets of downtown Charleston, expounding on its history. Such fun.”

1991 Lisa Harrison Jackson, BS, presented her fourth stage production, “Hell is not a Gameshow,” at a church in the Greater Atlanta area. “But we are in the process of taking it around the state and beyond through my production company, Taking it to the Streets Productions.”

The production “unfolds with two contestants battling against each other as they study seven realistic situations before determining if the individuals involved are headed for heaven or hell. Each frame shows real people in real situations, making real decisions — good or bad. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of w w w. u n o a l u m n i . o r g

all you will ask yourself, ‘Is life really a game?’ I am always open to connecting with like minds and looking for opportunities to bring the "message" to other cities,” Harrison Jackson writes. Send emails to jacksonluv2write@aol.com Kyle Rachwitz-Fr ye, BS, has published her first book, “Every Pet Has a Tale: The Story of Merlin’s Refuge.” The book details the animal rescue group Rachwitz-Frye founded 11 years ago. She writes, “The refuge and the book were inspired by my cat Merlin, who passed away this past May, just a few months short of his 20th birthday. It tells how I grew up an animal lover and why I started the rescue group that has helped hundreds of animals find new, loving, forever homes.” See more about the refuge at www.merlinsrefuge.com 1992 Teresa Masterson Scruton, MA, lives in Blue Ridge, Va., and notes

Future Alums

John Paul Nielsen, son of Laurie (Onken, ’95) and Dan (’92) Nielsen of Ralston, Neb. John Paul Davis and Daniel James Davis, adopted sons of Rick and Jane (’88) Davis of Omaha.

Jaise Mallory Peterson, daughter of Tyler and Jennifer (Schmidt, ’08) of Omaha.

Joshua Richard Fox, son of Chad and Tricia (’01) Fox of Wahoo, Neb. Elizabeth Kathleen Baker, daughter of Dave and Jodi (Booke, ’98) Baker of Omaha

Hayden Bruce Boardman and Audrey Emma Boardman, twin son and daughter of Tina (Padilla, ’97) and Brent (’96) Boardman of Maricopa, Ariz.

that after several years working as a program director for behavioral health agencies in Kansas and North Carolina, she retired “and spent three years organizing her closets, redecorating and reading.”

After moving to Virginia, where she is a licensed substance abuse treatment professional and a certified clinical coordinator, she now works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center as the research project coordinator for a project funded by the National Institutes of Health: “Contracting, Prompting, and Reinforcing Substance Use Disorder Continuing Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” She and her husband reside in the Blue Ridge Mountains with their two dogs and two cats. They fly back to Omaha to be with their two children and four grandchildren as often as possible. Send emails to scruton2@verizon.net 1993 Jeffrey Kosse, BA, lives in Omaha and is an associate professor in the English department at Iowa Western Community College. His wife, Amy Henderson, in June gave birth to the couple’s first child, Ava Louise Henderson Kosse. Send him email at

2 0 0 8

kosse_jeff@yahoo.com 1995 Patrick Edward Jankowski, BS, lives in Eudora, Kansas. He earned his fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry by completing 500 hours of continuing education and passing a written examination.

The award was presented July 19, 2008, at the annual session of the AGD in Orlando, Fla. Jankowski practices general dentistry at Jayhawk Dental LLC in Lawrence, Kansas. Send him email at jankowski@myway.com 1997 Tina Padilla Boardman, BS, lives in Maricopa, Ariz., and is the quality supervisor for Genzyme Genetics, a clinical laboratory in Phoenix. She earned her MBA in 2005 from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Her current activities include keeping up with her twins, Hayden and Audrey, born in December 2007, and 2 year-old daughter, Charlotte. Send her email at tinaphx@yahoo.com

Sons & Daughters of UNO Alumni Will Nathan Stuthman, son of Amanda (Sliva, ’00; ’02) and Eric (’04) Stuthman of Ashland, Neb. Hayden Patrick Welsh, son of Cheri and Mark (’96) Welsh of Pembroke Pines, Fla. Mitchell Edward Piatt, son of Sean and Erin (Drinnin, ’03) of Omaha and grandson of Chris and George (’78) Drinnin of Omaha.

Amanda Jordan Gibilisco, daughter of Debbie and Rick ('94) Gibilisco of Papillion, Neb. Alejandra Lolita Wells, daughter of Bobby and Josefina (’04) Wells of Omaha.

Sophie Zangger, daughter of Kate (’02) and Joshua (’02) Zangger of Ord, Neb.

Submit a Future Alum on the Web: Provide a birth

announcement (within 1 year of birth) and we’ll send a Tshirt and certificate, plus publish the good news in an ensuing issue of the UNO Alum. Do so online at www.unoalumni.org/magazine.

Mail announcements to: Future Alums, UNO Alumni Association, 60th & Dodge, Omaha, NE 68182. FAX info to: (402) 5543787. Include address, baby’s name, date of birth, parents’ or grandparents’ names and graduation year(s).

Corbett Elizabeth Lanum, daughter of Nicole (Rossi, ’04) and Wade (’01, ’04) Lanum of Omaha.

Fall 2008• 43

Class Notes

Gar y Chism, MS, is a photojournalist based in Houston. “Samples of my work can be seen at www.GaryChismPhotography.com” Send emails to glchism@yahoo.com Kirsten Schrader, MS, was named head athletic trainer at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. A Greensboro native, she spent the past four years as a parttime assistant at Guilford, working with a variety of Quaker teams and serving as an instructor in the sports studies department. She also worked with Murphy-Wainer Orthopedic Specialists, taught courses at Greensboro College and served as the athletic trainer for Guilford Technical Community College's men's basketball team. Schrader also has served as head athletic trainer at Lee College in Baytown, Texas, at Queens University of Charlotte, and at Pfeiffer University.

She lives in Greensboro with her husband, Jason, and their two children, Sophie and Millie.

1998 Tugba Kalafatoglu, BA, lives in Istanbul, Turkey, and has been

Class Notes

included in “Who’s Who in the World 2009,” her fourth “Who’s Who” selection. The

honor distinguishes her as one of the leading achievers from around the world for her outstanding achievement in the field of politics, law and business.

Send her email at tugba@tugbakalafatoglu.com

1999 LeeAnn Hurd Vaughan, BS, lives in Omaha and in April received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, presented in Washington, D.C. In May 2007 she received the 2007 Genzyme/Invitrogen Biotech Educator of the Year, presented in Boston 2004 Josefina Loza, BA, lives in Omaha and in May was presented the UNO School of Communications 2008 Rising Star Alumni Award. A week later she gave birth to a daughter, Alejandra Lolita Wells. Send emails to josz99@yahoo.com Richard Swayze, Ph.D., in June joined the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation as a professional staff member, handling matters

before the Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee.

Swayze previously was a senior analyst working on aviation issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

2007 Kelley Gutchewsky Larsen, BSBA,

lives in Omaha and married fellow UNO graduate Dane Larsen (BSBA, 2007) in Omaha on May 31, 2008.

Kelley is a human resources specialist at Securities America Financial Corporation. Dane is a financial analyst for First National Bank.” Send Kelley email at Kelley0385@yahoo.com

Book on Holocaust rescuer features ties to family of UNO grads

A

n unknown and dramatic story of one man’s challenge to Adolf Hitler’s Holocaust was published in mid-April and features ties to a family of UNO graduates: Guinter Kahn (BA, 1954) and Marcel Kahn (BS, 1954) and their cousins Hugo Kahn (BS, 1953) and Therese Kahn Stiss (x).

The book, “Doorway to Freedom: The Story of David Kaufmann-MerchantBenefactor-Rescuer,” has been nearly four years in the making. It details the life and achievements of David Kaufmann, a business and community leader in Grand Island, Neb., from 1904 until his death in 1969. Kaufmann saved 15 to 20 families fleeing from Germany by signing Affidavits of Support guaranteeing that they would not be a burden on the country, state or county — he assumed financial responsible for their employment, housing and education. The book was co-written by Omahans William E. Ramsey and Betty Dineen Shrier. It was co-published by Mosaic Press, the Ted and Sarah Seldin Family Fund and the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. For more information email ramseyshrier@yahoo.com

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

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?

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44 • Fall 2008

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

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UNOALUM

Lost Alums - 1963 Gene A. Mooney John P. Mooney Jackie E. Moothart Francis Moots Galen C. Morey James E. Morgan Arlillian Morrow Lonnie L. Moseley Myron M. Motsko Maurice K. Mott John E. Mount Francis L. Muller Lorraine S. Mummert Robert S. Munroe Edmond J. Murphy

Kenneth W. Murray Richard T. Murrian John K. Murtaugh George B. Myers Norman C. Nadon Agnes Nagle Albert S. Nakano Bernice E. Benson Neal Daniel B. Nehf Donald F. Nendell Myrtle M. Noble Howard R. Nordeck Josephine Novosel Marie Kathryn Ohlinger Oliver E. Okier

In Memoriam 1927 Dorothy Braasch Anderson 1932 Richard A. Helsing 1933 Adelyn M. Specht Barnes 1935 Eugene Carrigan 1936 Marie C. Hook Bonorden Arthur W. King Charles E. Sevick 1938 Eaerle E. Cairns Floyd S. Stancliffe 1940 Don M. Harriman 1941 Mary E. Voss Hallgren Dean L. Hilborn 1945 Leo Alperson Edith M. Hengsteler Lauder 1946 Maxine Paulsen Wilson 1947 Burton R. Hall 1948 Helen "Sue" Ward Hunter 1949 Elinor E. Townsend Baley Fred Barson Richard A. Benson Richard D. Brunn Wayne E. Paulson Reuben G. Pierce 1950 Leatrice J. Brookins Richard E. Jensen Marie C. Seybold Schneider Robert H. Wetherbee Howard P. Vogt 1951 Herman C. Haeger John W. Smiddy Howard P. Vogt 1952 Lloyd L. Darrow Delmar J. Hansen 1953 Shirley J. Swahn McGlaun 1954 John F. Nilsson Jr. William L. Pierson Myrtle I. Schwab Stovall 1956 Lauren M. Hetland Patrick C. Lammers 1957 Grace Duff Greene Dwight N. Hillis Leroy Klima 1958 Ellis J. "Alec" Alexander

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Help us find these “Lost Alums” from the Class of 1963.

Send news of their whereabouts to sgerding@unomaha.edu Leo E. Olesen Earl M. Olson Alvin Ornstein Werner K. Ostmann George H. Oswald Richard M. Overland Earl C. Owens Frank R. Pabian William W. Packard James M. Page Robert L. Palla Richard R. Parks Roy L. Parnell William E. Parrish Melvin J. Pasta

1958 Mary L. Bigelow Benton Fielder Jr. Delos G. Hartwig Lyndell T. Highley Thomas E. Matza Norbert L. Novinski Edwin M. Novotny William H. Richelieu Donald L. Shelton Casimir J. Slodki 1959 Edward J. Albers Bryan A. Flatt Ralph A. Hanson Murray L. Shaw Albert P. Watson 1960 Donald E. Burggrabe William E. Clark Bobbie G. Guthrie Darrell R. Rumpf Robert E. Wilcox 1961 Richard S. Aiken Thomas G. Elder Jack B. Hilburn Robert J. Holbury Joseph T. Kovach William K. Townsend 1962 Hilda M. Sloup Clinch Edwin G. Davis John H. Dure Robert t. Hayden William F. Hayes Walter L. Hays Jack D. Hegele Eldon B. Kreh Eddie A. Martin Peter B. Venable 1963 Stanley J. Alkonis Wallace I. Attaway William M. Bohon Dennis J. Harrison Crofton V. Jefferies John G. Kenney 1964 Max L. Barker Walter D. Dibble Raymond E. Dickens Elbert E. "Bert" Drane

Edward H. Patterson Charles H. Payne Kenneth D. Pearce Keith E. Perrault Robert M. Petersen Richard H. Peterson Sharon M. Peterson Gregory W. Phillips Herbert L. Pickett Robert D. Pine Robert C. Pitzer Phyllis Plendl Robert J. Pogge Thomas N. Pollard Leo Polnaszek

Sandra L. Bloom Pommerening Albert Poteat Neil R. Potter Carl J. Pritzl Stanley J. Pytel William B. Rabb Raider E. Ramstad George A. Rasula Thomas S. Reap Ronald A. Redman Benjamin M. Reed Lester W. Reed Linda Johnson Reed William Joseph Reid

1964 James S. Faircloth David V. Fox James G. Franklin Leon W. Harmon Lowell D. Harris Leander R. Hathaway Gene R. Hitchcock James F. Janks Donald R. Mart John E. Merriman Charles P. Padgett Jr. Robert L. Ryan Frank M. Smith, Jr Donald L. Stensrud Glenn M. Williams 1965 Bob O. Beaudro William G. Braden Gordon L. Brownlee Richard W. Burton Hubert R. Davis William Francis Hiram A. Hardin David R. Hartin Samuel F. Hatfield Donald W. Leazer James D. Murray Terrence R. Ratliff Claude A. Ward, Jr Stanley W. Woempner 1966 James B. "Ben" Fisher Elizabeth Hruby Wendell F. Jinright James E. Myers James J. Pickens Jack J. Sands George E. Skipper Joel B. Taylor Thomas J. Yowell 1967 Jack Cranford Karl F. Curtis John S. Gridley Jr. Frank T. Huray Marilyn G. Butler Jensen Thomas A. Mellars Clifford A. Olson Harold G. Quackenbush

Earl W. Rhea Delbert E. Rice David A. Richards Janice Riley Harry P. Riley John B. Riordan Russell A. Roberts Ralph O. Robillard Al Roper Francis J. Ruf Robert S. Rushton Walter S. Russell Roy A. Ryon Duane E. Salak Cecil O. Sanderson

1967 Hamilton M. Strong 1968 John T. Bacon Nicholas J. Baker Elayne Spearman Ballard Raymond L. Fleigh Jr. Jack Ford Albert Guenzburger Roger H. Lester Paul E. Orf 1969 Clay E. Blanton George P. Brown William A. Foster Frankie W. Hicks Henri G. Mallet L. Audry Hansen Nielsen Ronald E. Pett Charles W. Phillips Wilbur A. Sidney Martin F. Thonen Betty M. Welsch 1970 James C. Biermann Willard Stuart Campbell Joseph M. Dennison William R. Graham Alvin W. Isbell George C.G. McDonald Jr. McKinley Miles Barry C. Myers Royce M. Powell Jr. Robert M. Rahe Jack L. Reade Ronald W. Riddle Starr L. T. Weikert 1971 Gerald A. Babcock Norman D. Barclay Arch L. Dowdell Wayne B. Fau Jeanette J. Fichter Roger L. Fredrichsen Peter A. Hart John Q. Hyde IV Donald B. MacKay John N. Tragesser II William A. Vile Dylas M. Nansel Weikert 1972 Edward J. DeVries

Linwood L. Sasser James Vincent Savage William F. Schmidt Jimmy L. Schneider Cherna L. Schrager Ralph F. Schroeder Wallace A. Schrontz Edward P. Schuster John C. Sciortino John Scoggins Cecil R. Scott Eugene V. Seymour James L. Shahan Frank V. Shetka William P. Shewan

1972 Judith A. Knopp John R. "Bob" Runyon Lawrence H. Taylor Edward D. Vieregger David F. Woodyard 1973 Harry W. Carter Robert C. Elias Eunice A. Roy Jane E. Stillwell-Smith 1974 Rainy Davis Charus "Charles" Kay Kathleen M. Gramm Paul S. Reed 1975 Robert L. Anderson Angel Carter Beck Dwight T. DeVoss 1976 Barry C. Watkins James C. Yandell 1977 Arthur R. Baker Phyllis M. Craft Cooke William E. Ivins Greylan Tuggle Gregory F. Wooldridge 1978 Terry T. Davis Wilbur "Gene" Lantz 1980 Charles V. Turner 1981 Carolyn A. Beethe 1982 Edward M. Rokicki Jr. 1984 Terrance C. Phelan 1986 Mary R. Banwell Powers Dennis C. Langone Sheila L. Larsen John C. Wheeler 1988 Kathleen F. Connolly 1989 Kathy R. Isom Clough 1990 Penny S. Adams Edward W. Dike Angela Trask 1991 Joseph R. Drozda Jeffrey M. Kies 1993 Arthur K. Blinston II 1999 Kenneth W. Boardman 2008 April M. Bishop

Fall 2008• 45

UNO Century Club NO Century Club membership consists of individuals who support UNO with gifts of $100 or more. Century Club gifts help the alumni association impact numerous areas of campus, furthering its academic excellence, supporting students, and fostering dynamic teaching.

With their unrestricted gift, Century Club donors receive one of five personalized mementos* (pictured at right) correspondng to giving level and recognition in an annual report. New and upgraded Century Club members are recognized in each issue of the UNO Alum magazine. To celebrate UNO’s 100 years the UNO Alumni Association has instituted new donor benefits for 2008. See the page at right for details.

Help us CELEBRATE 100! with a Century Club donation today! To do so, complete and return the form on Page 47 or on the inside of the attached envelope. Or give online at www.unoalumni.org/give. * The tax-deductible portion of Century Club donations are reduced by

U

the value of the memento received.

Thanks to these upgraded Century Club donors!

June 1 to Sept. 1

Silver ($250 or more) Christopher J. Cold Russell L. Manners George J. & Phyllis Meyer Charles A. Monico

To Diamond

Br onz e

($1,000 or more) William E. Conley David H. & Lori A. Craft Paul A. Fox III Ann M. Mactier

($100 or more) Sharon E. Ahmad William J. Alich John J. Anderson John W. Anderson Marcia K. Anderson George W. Arnold Betty A. Aufenkamp Susan M. Bachmann Brian D. Baxter Eugene C. Beckman Tracy L. Benning Wilbert E. Beran Richard J. Beran Jr. Jerry & Karen Bexten Keith E. Bigsby John S. Binderup Phyllis A. Blease Larry A. Boersma Richard L. Boone Thomas P. Borsh Debra K. & John W. Bowenkamp Linda G. Boyer Charles E. Boyle Ellen A. Bradshaw Daniel R. & Deborah D. Brown Dorothy D. Brown Tyson A. Brown Richard C. Browning Ronald G. Bryant Frank J. Bundy Terry A. Calek Col. (Ret) David A. Camacho April M. Davis Campbell Scott A. Carl Gerald L. Carlson Robert A. Carr Hubert J. Casner Timothy W. Cavanaugh Thomas H. Chambers Gary & Kathleen Christiansen John J. Chrostek Michael I. Cigelman Cynthia & Alan Circo Ronald S. Clabaugh Geraldine L. Clanton Paul M. Clark John M. Cleveland Judy R. Cohn Sharon Conlon James C. Coulter Herbert Cousins Jr. Paul M. Curry Jr. Rita C. Daeges Daniel J. Daly Gail L. Didonato

To Gold ($500 or more) Charles M. East Jr. Syntha Essex Ronald W. Hoham Connor A. Isgett Jr. To Silver ($250 or more) Dana B. Anderson Linda J. Bors Sally Ganem Ronald N. Gass Carl Gordon Thomas W. & RuthMarie Jamieson Kirk & Barbara Lewis Susan C. Mehaffey Hugh H. Menton Joel & Carol Padmore Michael D. Parr Terrance & Pauline Pesek Edward L. Powers Cliff & Sharon Roberts Roger D. Sash Paul W. Sather Gregory Schaecher Donald K. Tickler

Welcome to these new Century Club donors!

June 1 to Sept. 1

Platinum ($2,500 or more) Ron & Shirley Burns George & Sally Haddix Diamond ($1,000 or more) Jack R. Petersen Rob & Mary Randels Gold ($500 or more) Mark C. Jaksich Margo L. Metzger Marlene R. Meyer 46 • Fall 2008

Roger W. Dilley Jane L. Dineen Douglas A. Dougherty Judith C. Downey Dawn Nelson Drey Lee Ehlers Richard Dean Fead Glen A. Flint Anna Marie Fobes William A. Forsee Bradley Frazier James M. Gahan Paul A. Geihs Laura S. Gelecki Robert & Mary Gerken Jo Ann Grace Col. Edward S. Graham Richard L. Graham Michelle R. Greco Yvonne E. Greene-Mathews Kathleen P. Greer Marylinn R. Gregory-Smith Col. (Ret) Stanley E. Grett Judith A. Haecker Christine S. Haferbier Richard A. Hague John C. Hall Lyle O. Halstead Larry & Deanne Hammer Timothy J. Hanson Randy R. & Judith L. Haug Roy C. Hays Jack Heidel LTC (Ret) Eleanor M. Helmann Joseph L. Henderson Sr. Lori Hendrick Nancy R. Hetager H.R. Hiddleston Mary L. Hilfiker Maj. (Ret) Julia R. Holcomb Jodi S. Holen John L. Holland Margaret M. Holland Terry Hornbuckle Charles D. Huddleston Capt. (Ret) Louis E. Hudspeth Sandra A. Huff David P. Hufford Connie Hunt Desiree Jacobsen Leon A. Janssen Thomas J. Jensen Mary M. Jetton Dawn M. Johnson LTC (Ret) Junius L. Jones Dennis D. Jorgensen Larry R. Kaiser Nydra F. Karlen Timothy J. Kasun Edward M. Kauss Mark E. Kelley Roderick F. Kelly Asenath M. Kepler Gerald F. King

Ltc. (Ret) Edward L. King Richard H. Kolbe Lori A. Bruck Konz Debra A. Kosche Alexandra Kraus Cary G. Krenk James D. Kresnik Scott R. Kubie William J. Langer Richard A. Lanoha Cindy S. LaPole Michael L. & Marcia C Lawson Larry Leheck Vincent P. & Paula A. Lenz Thomas G. & Sheila J. Lewis Robert J. Lindberg Jack M. Linn Alexandra Sheperd Lipschultz Helen Long Christine Richardson Longmire Carl L. Lynn Dr. William L. Maloy Sr. Harold N. Margolin John W. Martin Paula K. Martin Steven W. Matheson Norita Matt Elizabeth (Betsy) S. McNulty Lloyd Menard Michele M. Monaghan-Bigsby Leonard Morgenstern Mary Loretta Morrissey Michael L. Murray Diana S. Myers Calvin B. Nance Timothy J. Nealon William J. Neville Kathryn I. & Jeremy A. Novak James E. O'Conner Cindy Y. O'Donnell Eric T. Olson John M. Paben Marcia K. Paley Diana H. Palmquist Tommie Parker-Hill Thomas W. Peckinpaugh Betty J. Peterson James L. Peterson Wendell S. Peterson Edward J. Pfeiffer Russell A. Phelps Joanne E. Pierce LTC (Ret) Robert R. Piragowski Ed.D. Judith Pittack R.E. Polenske Tommie Polk Daniel N. Quinn Lonzale Ramsey Sr. David L. Ray Mark E. Rea Hugh J. Reilly William J. Reisdorff Jr. William C. Reitan John Ritner

CWO (Ret) Walter A. Robinson Col. Harold L. Rose Col. Willis S. Rosing John A. Roth George K. Royce Valerie D. Russell Jacqueline Rymph Paul W. Saltzman, M.D. John & Caron Sandefur Thomas R. Sanders Roger D. Sash Stephen E. Schneckloth Shirley A. Schultz Craig L. Schwarting Bonnie J. Seem Patricia Jo. Severson Stella M. Severson Florence H. Shelso James D. Sherrets Hong Shi David G. Smith Christine M. Snyder Scott E. Snyder Gregory S. & Patricia A. Solko Louis & Connie Soukup Wesley E. Speers Mary Lou Stehr Patrick C. Stephenson Paul R. & Mary T. Stultz Joseph T. Sullivan James A. Tassie Sr. John P. Thorslev Annalee Tvrdik Theresa J. Tworek-Jensen Richard A. Utzke Cory Vasek Bobby G. Vinson Mark R. Vipond Nancy L. Voboril Erika E. Volker Billy R. Ward Vincent J. Webb Kennan J. Weis Sherry Weis Frank M. White Michael L. White Mark E. Wilger Don Wilkie Thomas D & Suzanne G. Wintle Brooke S. Wiseman Dowse Col. (Ret) John R. Wojahn Jerzy & Kate Wolska Kenneth S. Womack Diane R. Wood James & Kathleen Wood Sara D. Woodby Brown Carole A. Woodworth Danny J. Woolman Jean Wulf Robert J. & Mary O. Zagozda Ted I. Zidenberg Mark D. Ziegenbein Eugene J. & Eileen M. Zuerlein

UNOALUM

Century Club Membership Donors of $100 or more also join the UNO Century Club, the Alumni Association’s premiere giving society (see left).

CELEBRATE

10 0!

PRIZE DRAWINGS !

Donors of $100 or more will be included in random drawings for: Grand Prize: $1,000 gift card to Nebraska Furniture Mart!

First Prize: $500 gift card to Borsheims!

Join your fellow alumni in celebrating UNO’s 100 years with a special anniversary gift to the 2008 UNO Annual Fund!

Contribute Today!

To give, complete and return the form below or on the enclosed envelope. Or, give online at www.unoalumni.org.

Here’s how: • All NEW Century Club Donors ($100 or more) in 2008 will receive a commemorative UNO History Documentary DVD!

* The tax-deductible portion of Century Club donations are reduced by the value of the memento received. See Page 46 for a photo of mementos.

• All current Century Club Donors who increase their 2007 gift by $100 in 2008 will receive a commemorative UNO pictorial history book and the DVD!

2008 UNO Annual Fund Donation Form

I will 1Give- YES! to the UNO

2- Tax-deductible gift information (select one)

q

Check enclosed for $

$100 or more

q

PLEDGE: Bill me for $

$250 or more

q I authorize the UNO Alumni Association to collect

Annual Fund!

q Bronze Century q Silver Century

q Golden Century q Diamond Century $1,000 or more

Name__________________________________________________________________ As you wish it to appear in the Annual Report

through my:

my gift of $ Visa

q

MasterCard

q

Discover

Card No.:

q Platinum Century q Other

q

Address________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip____________________________________________________________

AmEx

Expiration Date:____/_____

-

$2,500 or more $___________

3 - Complete Name and Address

.

in month

q

$500 or more

. Payable to UNO Annual Fund.

The UNO Annual Fund: Serving UNO since 1953

-

-

Phone__________________________________________________________________ E-mail: _______________________________________________________________________

Signature

THANK YOU! Remember, your gift is tax-deductible.

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

q Yes q No

Fall 2008• 47

DE AD LIN RE E A GIS PP TE RO R N AC OW HIN G, !

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

University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Association 6705 Dodge St. Omaha, NE 68182-0010