Nebraska`s - UNK Alumni Association

THE CHANCELLOR
AT UNK:
Great things are happening
On May 7 I had the privilege of presiding over my 21st commencement
as Chancellor of the University of
Nebraska at Kearney.
Those 21 graduation ceremonies
translate to approximately 10,000
degrees awarded and nearly eight
years of working with remarkably talented students and an exceptional
group of faculty and staff.
How quickly time passes. And what
at honor it is to serve an institution so
deeply committed to educating
tomorrow’s leaders.
Among UNK’s exceptional faculty
is Dr. Rick Miller, Professor of
Psychology and Psychology Department Chair. On November 19,
at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Dr. Miller was honored as U.S.
Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and
Support of Education.
He is the first Nebraska educator to receive Professor of the
Year recognition in the nearly 30-year history of this prestigious
national teaching award. It is, of course, a tremendous achievement
for him personally – and the honor is reflected throughout the
entire University. I say it often and I believe it wholeheartedly:
UNK’s faculty is second to none.
And among our remarkable students are the members of UNK’s
Wind Ensemble. In late March I had the pleasure of traveling with
them through Western Nebraska and to Fort Collins, Colorado.
Directed by Dr. Neal Schnoor, associate professor and director of
bands, the Wind Ensemble performed and held workshops in
Ogallala and North Platte, and they also performed at our alumni
gathering in Fort Collins.
These students are enrolled at UNK from across Nebraska with
hometowns that include Ashland and Aurora, Bassett and Beatrice,
Kearney, Omaha, Scottsbluff and St. Libory, to name just a few.
Several come from beyond our state and national borders. Without
exception, they represented our campus in exemplary fashion.
Every day, everywhere great things are happening at your alma
mater. We welcome and encourage you to be a part of all that is
UNK.
ON
THE COVER
Dr. Rick Miller pictures provided by UNK Publications.
FROM
sychology professor Dr. Rick Miller was one of only
four educators to be named a 2009 U. S. Professor
of the Year Award winner. He is the first Nebraska
professor to be recognized in the nearly 30 years of this prestigious national teaching award. Faculty members in his
department said he is the kind of person who makes a difference. For the story on Dr. Miller see page 4. P
BY
THE
NUMBERS
5
Five students a year will be accepted into a cooperative program between UNK and UNMC that will lead to their
acceptance into medical school. See page 3.
6
The six faculty members who will retire this year were
honored for their years of service. See page 2.
9
Nine alumni from around the state and the country started three-year terms on the Alumni Association’s board of
directors last fall. See page 18.
11
Sincerely,
UNK’s football team won a school record 11 games and won
an NCAA playoff contest last fall. See page 13.
Douglas A. Kristensen, J.D.
Chancellor
Herb Schimek ’62 spent 38 years lobbying for improvements
for Nebraska teachers. See page 6.
38
50
Tony Blair, already a member of the 50 States Marathon Club,
has his sights set on joining the Century Club by running in
100 races. See page 7.
UNK Today l Spring 2010
Planetarium
key part of new
$14.5 million
Bruner Hall
of Science
Jim Rundstrom
Alumni Director Emeritus
Editor
ebraska’s newest star theater is not only located at
UNK, it is also the most
modern between Chicago and
Phoenix. And, it’s free.
It is the focal point of the campus’ new $14.5 million Bruner
Hall of Science addition that
opened last fall. It is used to teach
physics, astronomy, earth science
and teacher education courses. It
is open to visiting public and
school groups.
It is the UNK Planetarium, a
60-seat public science theater set
under a 30-foot dome that can
show the sky as it would be seen
from any place on earth at any
time, past, present or future,
including the sun, the moon, the
planets and more than 7,000 stars.
The new planetarium is the
result of a $551,000 NASA education grant that was put in place
six years ago.
Dr. Jose Mena-Werth, professor of physics and physical science, said a suggestion from John
Falconer, director of sponsored
programs, got the ball rolling.
“He suggested that we write a
federal grant for a star projector to
replace our 40-year old instrument. I wrote the short, two-page
document making our case for a
N
Pictures provided by UNK Publications.
CAMPUS NEWS
STAR THEATER: Under a 30-foot dome, more than 7,000 stars,
the moon, the sun and the planets can be seen in the planetarium.
new planetarium,” he said. “As
with all grant applications, we
knew it would be a drawn out
approval process.”
It was a year later before we
heard anything, Dr. Mena-Werth
said. “Sen. Ben Nelson’s office
said they were coming to visit
UNK. They wanted to see the old
planetarium, and they wanted us
to make our case for how a new
planetarium would support
UNK’s educational mission. This
was our first indication that our
grant was still in the running.”
When Senator Nelson’s staff
arrived, Falconer escorted them
into the basement that housed the
old planetarium. They had to
negotiate steep, narrow stairs to
the front door of the old planetarium that was located 30 feet
below the main entrance to Mary
Morse Lecture Hall.
Once inside, they walked
down another 10 steps before
finally entering the old planetarium
“With this adventure in
spelunking, I think Senator
Nelson’s staff was already half
convinced that we needed a new
planetarium. After the initial
greetings, they made themselves
comfortable on our green
Naugahyde circular benches. I
presented a mini planetarium
show,” Dr. Mena-Werth said.
“Ella Fitzgerald provided the sundown music with her rendition of
‘Spring Can Really Hang You Up
The Most.’”
During the show, Dr. MenaWerth said he explained how the
planetarium was used
in astronomy, earth sciences,
meteorology, physics and teacher
education courses. “I mentioned
the visits we received from school
groups and private organizations.
I also emphasized the value of the
planetarium as a tool for reaching
out to future students and their
parents. Finally, I pointed out the
service we provide with public
planetarium shows to the citizens
of South Central Nebraska.”
After what Falconer and Dr.
Mena-Werth thought was a successful presentation, the next job
was to wait.
And wait.
“For a year and half, we
played a very simple game – No
News is Good News,” he said.
“No news meant we were still
under consideration. Then, one
glorious day, we received word
that we had been awarded the
grant. We got the award letter six
months later.
“Serendipitously, we received
the grant at the same time that
UNK was allocated funds to renovate Bruner Hall of Science.
During the next three years, we
built the new UNK Planetarium.
For me, it is a dream come true.”
Dr. Mena-Werth encourages
visitors to campus to stop by and
admire the new Theater of the
Stars. It is located in the addition
just north of Bruner Hall of
Science. It is also next to
Nebraska’s only Foucault pendulum. The Foucault pendulum was
used in the first experiment that
proved the Earth rotated on its
axis. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
1
CAMPUS NEWS
Razed building
east of campus
provided services
since 1922
A long-sought piece of property on the east side of campus that
was acquired by the university
last fall has a long and varied history of businesses that served students and faculty. The parcel is
comprised of the west end of the
800 block between 25th and 26th
Streets. The building on the property, which was vacant, was
demolished in November due to
its structural problems.
Built in 1922 by J. D.
Saunders, the building was called
the Club House. An advertisement
in the 1923 Blue and Gold yearbook, detailed the original businesses. They were Club House
Cafeteria – “largest and best;”
Club House Grocery and market –
“staple and fancy groceries and
meats;” Club House School and
Notion Store – “everything in
school supplies;” Club House
Beauty Shop – “first class equipment and service;” and Club
House Barber Shop – “the sanitary shop of personal service.”
Many of those businesses continued through the 1930s.
Beginning in the 1940s, the
DEMOLISHED: The long-standing building just east of the campus that served a variety of businesses since it was built in 1922 was demolished last fall. Plans for the use of the area are being developed.
Cozy Corner was a popular attraction. Owned and operated by
Mom and Paul Porter, it was “the
only place in town where
K.S.T.C. students are surrounded
by a friendly atmosphere while
enjoying home styled foods.”
The Campus Café was another
popular site for home-cooked
foods. It was called the Favorite
‘Coffee Pot’ - “where students and
instructors associate.” The café
served students through the
1960s.
In the late 1940s the building
served as the home of College
Cleaners - “craftsmen in keeping
things new.”
In the 1960s, businesses
included The Book Mark, providing books, school supplies and
varieties and the College Supply
Shop that had college supplies
and pastries. Another business
was Sports-Craft Supply Store
“where they sell the best in everything for sports.”
During the 1970s, 1980s and
1990s, there were myriad businesses located in the building.
They included Hogan’s Sporting
Goods and Blade’s Sports, an art
supply store, a dress shop,
Reiter’s Variety Store, a jewelry
shop that included a watch repair
service, a College Barber Shop, a
pet grooming center and an armed
services recruiting office.
Most recently, the building
housed a book store.
Dr. Barbara Johnson, vice
chancellor for business and
finance, said plans for development in that area are in the preliminary stages.
Retiring faculty, staff honored for years of service
ix faculty members have
announced plans to retire
during the 2010 year.
Dr. Elaine Maret Batenhorst
’64, MSE’83 joined the staff in
1980 as an instructor in the
Learning Skills Center. Prior to
her current position in Teacher
Education, she also served as
interim director of the Learning
Skills Center for one year and she
taught in the Elementary
Education Department and
Professional Teacher Education
Department. Prior to joining
UNK, she taught at Gothenburg.
S
2 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
Dr. Gary Davis joined the
staff in 1990 as director of bands
and assistant professor of music.
He was appointed director of the
Honors Program in 2003. Dr.
Davis has received many honors
and awards from both the
Nebraska Music Educators
Association and the Nebraska
Bandmasters Association.
He was voted professor of the
year by the student body in the
college of Fine Arts and
Humanities and he has been
inducted into the Nebraska
Music Educators Hall of Fame.
Dr. Richard ‘Dick’ Lebsack
has been on the staff since 1976.
Among his positions on campus,
he served as chair for the
Business
Administration
/Education Department and a
professional flight instructor.
Lebsack has professional
licenses and certifications in
aviation – private, commercial,
instrument and sea plane ratings.
John Lillis MAE’94 began
his career at UNK in 1986 as
reference librarian. In 1987, he
became
Reference/Archives
Librarian. As an adjunct faculty
member, Lillis also taught UNK
courses in history.
Dr. Phyllis Markussen ’68,
MSE’88 joined the staff as a
graduate assistant in 1986 and in
1988 accepted the position of
assistant professor.
She has been chair of the
Department of Family Studies
and Interior Design since 2001.
Among her awards are the
Leland Holdt Security Mutual
Life Distinguished Faculty
Award, College of Business and
Technology
and
Kearney
Chamber
of
Commerce
Outstanding Teaching Award.
Dr. Don Morgan has been a
professor of accounting and
finance since 1988.
During that time he was
director of the MBA program
and long-time sponsor of the
student
organization,
the
Accounting Society. CAMPUS NEWS
Two faculty recognized for their accomplishments
wo faculty members, Dr.
Maha Younes ’82,
MSE’85 and Dr. Phyllis
Markussen ’68, MSE’88
received
major honors.
D r .
Yo u n e s ,
chair of the
Department
of Social
Work, was
named 2009
S o c i a l
Worker of Dr. Maha Younes
the Year by
t
h
e
Nebraska Chapter of the
National Association of Social
Workers. Dr. Markussen, chair
of the Department of Family
Studies and Interior Design, won
the Innovation Development and
Engagement Award.
Of Dr. Younes, the presenter
of the award said, “No matter the
challenges or barriers that face
her, any project Dr. Younes
undertakes is met with dedication, persistence and commitment until the goal is reached.”
In addition to teaching and
research, Dr. Younes’ professional work includes more than 20
years of clinical experience
working with survivors of sexual
T
abuse, domestic violence, eating
disorders and relationship dysfunctions. Her clinical experience began at Hastings Regional
Center where she worked as a
psychiatric social worker. She
served as a clinical social worker
at South Central Behavioral
Services from 1985 to 1991. She
also maintained a private practice agency from 1986 to 2001.
For several years, Dr. Younes
has led the Nebraska Consortium
of Social Work School and
worked closely with policy makers and leaders from the
Nebraska Department of Health
& Human Services to promote
the professionalization of the
child welfare workforce in
Nebraska. Through her advocacy and leadership, she has
stressed that improvements in
child welfare services in
Nebraska will only emerge
through the professional preparation and hiring of graduates
with social work degrees.
“In their time of need,
Nebraska’s most vulnerable children and families deserve the
help of those who are most qualified and dedicated to their service,” she said.
In 1999, Dr. Younes developed the International Social
Work Experience Program at
UNK with the goal of promoting
cultural competence and global
engagement. In addition to
extensive sightseeing, the study
experiences that Dr. Younes creates focus on social policy and
programs related to children,
families, the elderly and minority groups.
She has led students and professionals to destinations in
Israel, the West Bank, Norway,
Denmark, Finland, Sweden,
China, Australia and Ireland.
The study experiences have
focused on health care, education, social welfare and criminal
justice. She has described the
international study experiences
as “life-changing” and has published research on the impact of
international study on college
students.
In 2005, Dr. Younes was one
of only 14 scholars from universities across the nation selected
as a Fulbright Scholar to
Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).
“My ultimate goal is to promote the cultural competence
and global awareness of students
and increase their efficacy as citizens of the global community,”
Dr. Younes said.
Dr. Markussen received her
university-wide award that recognizes faculty members who
have extended their academic
expertise beyond the boundaries
of the university in ways that
enriched the broader community.
Under Dr. Markussen’s leadership, UNK’s Interior Design
program has become one of only
seven nationwide to be accredited by both the Council for
Interior Design Accreditation
and the National Kitchen and
Bath Association.
In 2008, the program received
the Outstanding Program trophy
from that association. Such
national recognition has made
the program
a regional
attraction,
and students
who enroll
consistently
win national
competitions and
gain internship experiDr. Phyllis
ence around
Markussen
the country.
In addition, Dr. Markussen has served
on numerous committees, as a
consultant and as a member of
the board of directors for the
National Kitchen and Bath
Association, and was inducted
into its hall of Fame in 2004. UNK and UNMC partner to increase rural doctors
he interest in increasing
the number of physicians
in rural Nebraska has
resulted in an agreement
between
UNK
and
the
University of Nebraska Medical
Center to establish the Kearney
Health Opportunities Program.
“One of the great benefits of
being part of the university system is the opportunity to cooperate with resources from each of
the campuses and work together,” Chancellor Doug Kristensen
said. “Two campuses have come
together in an effort to educate
more physicians for service in
rural Nebraska.”
The program will target high
school seniors interested in family medicine. Five students a
year will be accepted into the
program, receive a full scholar-
T
ship to study pre-medicine at
UNK and be guaranteed admission into medical school if they
fulfill the requirements of the
undergraduate degree. While at
UNK, students will also be
expected to participate in the
Health Science Club, take campus visits to UNMC and shadow
professionals.
“This program is a great
opportunity for UNK students
who are interested in the field of
health care. It is also a tremendous service to the citizens of
the state of Nebraska, particularly rural Nebraska,” Chancellor
Kristensen said.
Jeff Hill, associate dean of
admissions at the UNMC
College of Medicine, said UNK
is a perfect fit for UNMC to
expand the program with its
strong academics and location
that allows it to pull students
from a wide area of rural
Nebraska.
“The faculty have been
extremely
dedicated
and
demand excellence from their
students, which pays off at our
school,” Hill said.
The new program at UNK is
an expansion of the Rural
Health Opportunities Program
that was started by UNMC in
1990 as a way to encourage
more rural students to return to
become doctors in small-town
Nebraska. That program currently is in place at Wayne State
College and Chadron State
College.
Hill said it’s important that
the UNK program begin immediately because it takes an average of 11 years to produce a
competent and comprehensive
primary care physician. “Onethird of the rural physicians in
the state are older than 55,” he
said.
The program will field its
first class this fall. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
33
FEATURE
NATIONAL PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR:
Psychology
professor Dr.
Rick Miller has
a passion for
teaching and
for his students
sychology professor
Dr. Richard Miller was
one of four educators
to be named a 2009 U.
S. Professor of the Year Award
recipient by the Council for
Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE) sponsored by
the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching.
He is the first Nebraska professor to be recognized in the
nearly 30 years of this prestigious national teaching award.
As a winner, Dr. Miller received
a $5,000 cash award.
Dr. Miller earned the award
in the Outstanding Master’s
Universities and Colleges category. The 2009 winners were
selected from more than 300
nominees.
Judges select winners based
on four criteria – impact on and
involvement with undergraduate
students, scholarly approach to
P
ONLY PROGRAM OF ITS KIND
teaching and learning, contributions to undergraduate education
in the institution, and current
and former undergraduate students.
The U. S. Professors of the
Year awards program, created in
1981, is the only national initiative specifically designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
John Lippincott, president of
CASE, said the 2009 winners
represent the best in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
“These professors have a passion for teaching that sparks a
passion for learning in their stu4 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
dents. As great teachers, they
combine a profound knowledge
of their disciplines with creative
teaching methods to engage students within and outside the
classroom. We celebrate their
achievements and contributions
to teaching and student learning.”
Anthony Bryk, president of
the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching, said
that the four national winners
have shaped both the lives of
their students and the well-being
of their communities.
“These dedicated teachers
are not only leading their students to develop a deep understanding of their respective
fields – geology, sociology, psychology and chemistry – but
they are also mirroring examples of scholarship, citizenship
and community involvement
that ultimately will lead to contributions toward a better society and indeed a better world,” he
said.
Dr. Miller has been described
as an “. . . engaging teacher who
challenges his students to think
critically about the material they
encounter.”
Dr. Miller is known for helping undergraduate students critically examine and contribute to
the knowledge base in psychology. For all of his
classes, he designs
optional lab experiences in which
small groups
define and
investigate a real question that
could – and often does - lead to
a new discovery.
Students plan and conduct all
aspects of their studies, from
obtaining the participants to
STUDENTS PUBLISH WORK
coding and analyzing the data
and structuring their papers.
Many have presented and published their research results. Dr.
Miller’s leadership in teaching
and research helped strengthen
their commitment to teaching
throughout the Psychology
Department which received the
NU system-wide teaching
excellence award.
Dr. Miller said
that when students investigate something
they are interested in, their
investment and
engagement
c h a n g e s
because the
topic is something
they
want
to
know
about.
“I want students to be willing
to sort of venture the work for
the sake of the zest,” he said. “I
want them to be intrinsically
interested in discovery.”
One project last semester
examined whether children’s
birth order affects their ability to
share as adults. Another
explored whether people who
are more resistant to change are
more likely to be unsatisfied
with their marriages.
See MILLER Page 5
FEATURE
‘ENGAGING TEACHER
WHO CHALLENGES HIS STUDENTS’
MILLER
Cotinued from page 4
“I think the most important
thing for a teacher to do is to
focus on and to promote wonder
in the students about the why
behind the what,” Dr. Miller
said.
TAKING RISKS
A student in one of Dr.
Miller’s classes proposed
exploring how students’ risk
taking during spring break
might be affected if they were
prompted about the consequences, specifically death.
Ryan Mulligan, the student,
surveyed 77 other students the
day before spring break started,
measuring whether they were
risk takers or risk averse. He
also asked some to spend a few
minutes answering the question,
“What happens when you die?”
After the break, Mulligan
found that risk-taking participants were likely to engage in
even riskier behavior after contemplating their own ends, while
the risk-averse participants were
less likely to engage in risky
behavior. Some of Mulligan’s
research was eventually published in the journal Personality
and Individual Differences.
Dr. Miller helps about a
dozen students craft serious
research projects each semester.
The projects usually begin as
curiosity about a particular
issue. He said, “My job is to turn
that into a researchable question.”
Students
who
initiate
research, rather than simply
assist faculty members on their
projects, gain a better understanding of its value, Dr. Miller
said. “We’re trying to promote
them understanding the process
from the get-go.”
Staying on top of students’
interest can sometimes prove
challenging, Dr. Miller said.
One student wanted to research
the effectiveness of different
types of pick-up lines, so Dr.
Miller read the literature to see if
the student’s question could be
CLASS DISCUSSION: Dr. Miller said his job is to turn a students’ curiosity about a subject into a
researchable question. “Students who initiate research, rather than simply assist faculty members on their
projects, gain a better understanding of its value.”
turned into useful scholarship.
The effort is worth it, he said.
Of the roughly 200 students he
has advised in his 20 years at
UNK, he estimates that at least
60 percent have presented their
work at conferences or have had
it published in journals.
OTHER AWARDS
Dr. Miller has also received
the top UNK teaching and mentoring awards – the Pratt-Heins
Foundation
Award
for
Excellence in Scholarship and
Research. He has also received
the university-wide Outstanding
Teaching and Instructional
Creativity Award.
Further, under his leadership,
the department has not only
received the university-wide
Outstanding
Teaching
Department but the UNK
Departmental Teaching Award
four times.
Dr. Miller has authored, or
co-authored more than 70 book
chapters and journal articles,
and he has co-edited two books.
Members of the UNK
Department of Psychology
summed up Dr. Miller’s influence. “Richard Miller is both an
exemplary academic citizen and
outstanding scholar-teacher. He
is the kind of person who makes
a difference. He certainly made
a difference for us.” ABOUT THE SPONSORS
The Carnegie Foundation
was founded by Andrew
Carnegie in 1905 and chartered
in 1906 by an Act of Congress.
The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching is an
independent policy and research
center with a primary mission
“to do and perform all things
necessary to encourage, uphold
and dignify the profession of the
teacher.” The improvement of
teaching and learning is central
to all of the work of the foundation.
The
Council
for
Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE) is one of the
largest international associations
of education institutions, serving more than 3,400 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 63 countries.
CASE is the leading resource
for professional development,
information and standards in the
fields of education fundraising,
communications, marketing and
alumni relations. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l 5
FEATURE
Herb Schimek ’62
Nebraska teachers most ardent advocate
A 38-year
career spent
lobbying for
improvements
in education
Al Koontz ’76
Nebraska State
Education Association
erb Schimek ‘62 is, first
and foremost, a teacher.
He owns two college
degrees in education. He taught
for two years in Colorado, seven
more in Nebraska.
Schimek’s biggest teaching
success, however, has come in
H
Herb Schimek
6 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
the past 38 years, as he taught
state policymakers about the
need to fund, protect and
improve public education. His
work touched every teacher and
student in Nebraska in that time,
and will shape the state’s education policy for years to come.
On Dec. 31, he retired as
NSEA’s first – and only – director of Government Relations. He
has accomplished much.
In the late 1960s, he was part
of a tidal surge that turned the
administrator-led NSEA into a
teacher-led Association.
As a leader in the Hastings
Education Association (HEA) at
about the same time, Schimek –
along with Hastings colleague
and future NSEA Executive
Director Jim Griess ’63, MSE’68
– led the HEA to the then-new
Commission
of
Industrial
Relations to resolve a bargaining
impasse. The HEA, one of the
first local associations to seek
such relief from the CIR, won
that case.
He was a key actor in the passage of the state’s first fair dismissal law in the 1970s, and has
influenced virtually every education-related bill before the
Legislature since 1975.
He has been relentless in pursuit of a slow, deliberate
improvement of the state’s
teacher retirement system.
Schimek helped to elect scores of
education-friendly candidates to
offices from school board to governor – even president.
“Herb’s
advocacy
for
Nebraska teachers and students
cannot be overlooked when considering those who have made
major contributions to the state’s
public schools,” said NSEA
President Jess Wolf.
With a smiling demeanor, a
mischievous twinkle and guided
by a favored idiom – Schimek
says battles on behalf of teachers
and public schools are fought “on
the side of the angels” – he was
destined for a political life.
The oldest of four sons,
Schimek’s father was a jobless
German teacher who went to
work for the railroad in North
Platte in the 1930s. Before dinner, the brothers read Drew
Pearson’s Washington MerryGo-Round column in The North
Platte Telegraph. Dinner conversation focused on politics. After
dinner, the brothers washed dishes. Father then supervised homework.
His maternal grandfather was
a Howard County officeholder
and Republican Party stalwart.
“I grew up in politics,”
Schimek said.
By the late 1960s, teaching at
Hastings, Schimek had tried, and
failed, to get on the ballot for the
NSEA Board of Directors. All
but three or four of 22 board
members were administrators.
“They had nomination boards
from each NSEA District, but
you could never find out when or
where those boards were to
meet,” he said.
A year later, Schimek wrote
each history teacher in the district, seeking campaign help. He
got on the ballot, and was elected. By the end of his first term,
most administrators on the board
had been replaced by teachers.
In mid-1971, Schimek joined
NSEA’s small staff as one of the
first UniServ directors, and was
soon involved in campaigns and
elections. One of NSEA’s first
efforts was to change the tenor of
the State Board of Education,
which had fired the commissioner of education in the midst of a
meeting.
NSEA candidates were victorious, bringing more balance to
the board.
In 1974, the Nebraska
Supreme Court ruled that a
school district could fire a
teacher for any reason – or for no
reason at all.
That sparked NSEA to lobby
the Legislature to pass a fair dismissal law. Schimek was in the
middle of the lobby push that
received unexpected help.
“It was a tight vote in the
Legislature, but it passed because
some school boards that wanted
to get rid of one or two teachers
gave dismissal notices to their
entire faculty,” he said.
Schimek drove one senator to
Grand Island to watch a hearing
on the dismissal of the senator’s
nephew.
“He gave us his vote, and the
bill passed with 32 (of 49)
votes,” he said.
That statute, still in effect,
gives Nebraska teachers facing
reduction-in-force or dismissal
the right to a hearing to determine whether the dismissal is
justified. Hundreds of teaching
jobs have been saved over the
years, thanks to that legislation.
His personal crusade has been
to improve retirement benefits.
See SCHIMEK Page 7
FEATURE
After running
in all 50 states,
Tony Blair ’77
has set his next
goal at joining the
Century Club
Jim Rundstrom
Alumni Director Emeritus
Editor
ony Blair ’77 started running when he was a freshman in high school and he
has never stopped.
Inspired by his high school
coach who recruited him as a
freshman, he ran cross country
and track for York High School for
four years, and did the same the
next four years at UNK.
But it was marathon running
that eventually caught his attention and has driven him since.
Shortly after running his first
26-plus mile marathon in Lincoln
in 1994, Blair decided running one
in every state would be pretty
cool. He became one of about 80
original members of the 50 States
Marathon Club whose goal is to
run a marathon in every state. That
club now has nearly 2,000 members.
When he told his wife, Jane,
his plan, she said “That’s nice
dear.” But as he got closer to
achieving that goal, she said,
“He’s actually going to do this. He
did it and we are all happy.”
T
SCHIMEK
continued from page 6
“I used to get calls from little
old ladies who had taught for 45
years. They’d retire, and get a
retirement benefit of $20 a
month,” he said. “They’d be eating dog food, crying on the telephone to me. I’d be crying with
them.”
Taking baby steps, and a nonpartisan approach, NSEA has
made a 35-year push to improve
retirement benefits for teachers.
With Schimek leading the battle,
the state’s teacher retirement sys-
Tony Blair
When he rounded the bend
onto the track at Drake University
during the Des Moines Marathon
in October 2008 at age 53, he had
the satisfaction of accomplishing
that goal. That venue also reminded him of running there in the
Drake Relays as a Loper track
athlete. “It was like the good old
days 30 years ago,” he laughed.
Blair said there is a story to
every marathon.
He ran in the mountains in
Montana. He ran along Black
Hills streams, over abandoned
railroad lines. He ran atop the
autumn leaves in New England.
He ran through Chinatown across
the Golden Gate Bridge. He ran to
the finish line in the stadium of
Notre Dame. He ran along the
New Jersey boardwalk.
He ran a ‘double’ marathon,
the first in Bristol, New
Hampshire on Saturday and second in Portland, Maine, on
Sunday. He ran in a marathon
known as the “Great Potato” in
Boise, Idaho.
He ran alongside the biggest
tem now provides muchimproved retirement benefits to
school employees.
Schimek has worked with
hundreds of elected leaders over
the years. Lobbying success, he
said, is about relationships.
“We pass bills because of relationships we build with senators,” he said. “You provide them
with information, and if you
don’t know the answer to a question, you tell them so, and you
find the answer. If you lie to
them, you might as well pack up
and leave town.”
Not all senators understand
the importance of public education when they walk through into
the legislative chamber.
“We’ve had to work with new
senators to educate them about
education,” he said.
That is, after all, what Herb
Schimek does best: teach.
“Herb has also been a powerful voice for teachers with the
Nebraska Legislature. One of his
legacies will surely be his successful advocacy for teacher
retirement benefits.”
Former Lt. Gov. Maxine
Moul: “The ability to move
important education legislation
names in the nation like Bill
Rogers. He ran just days after a
bout with pneumonia. He has finished every race he started. And,
he has had fun along the way.
“I’ve seen a lot of the country
and my family has been a big part
of it. My wife Jane has accompanied on several long distance trips.
We spent 10 days in Maui when I
ran in Hawaii. She also went along
to Alaska.”
But, Blair said, “It is the people you meet and the people you
train with that have made it
rewarding. Plus, you have to
enjoy marathon running which I
do. It’s not about personal records
anymore. It’s about friendship and
the love of running.”
Year round, Blair runs 40 to 50
miles a week. He runs four days a
week in York, often with the high
school track and cross country
teams. He saves his longer 13 to
20 mile workouts for the weekends when he runs with a running
group in Lincoln on Saturdays.
For that, Blair leaves York at 4:00
a.m. to meet in Lincoln at 5:30.
Blair said the routine is important
because for many, after a long
break, it is difficult to get back
running on a regular basis. “That
is one thing that keeps me doing it
every day, every week.”
Blair has at least one more goal
– the Century Club, symbolic of
100 marathons. After a Glendale,
Arizona, marathon in February
and another this spring in
Oklahoma, he will reach 66.
The rest will come eventually,
he said, 26 miles at a time. was very dependent on Herb.
Because he was so trusted, he
could deliver criticism of certain
parts of a bill and we could work
together to improve the outcomes. Having Herb help was
like enlisting an entire army!”
Former Governor and U.S.
Sen. Mike Johanns: “Over the
years, Herb snagged better lives
for thousands of present and
future Nebraskans. We were glad
to help him do that and will miss
his drive to do more.”
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
7
FEATURE
Cassandre´
FaimonHaygood ’99
stars in her own
music show in
Branson,
Missouri
Jim Rundstrom
Alumni Director Emeritus
Editor
or as long as she can
remember, music has been
part of the life of
Cassandre´ Faimon-Haygood ‘99.
“Growing up, we had music in
our home all the time. My mom
would hold us as little babies in
church and sing to us. My mom
and dad would sing us to sleep at
night with the guitar and fun songs
we liked,” she said. My parents
have always supported me in
wanting to sing and perform. It
was never a question for me what
I wanted to do. It's just part of who
I am as a person.”
So, it was no surprise that she
started leading the singing at her
church when she was eight years
old. "I've
F
8 l UNK Today l Spring
2010
always been able to sing. My
vocal gift has always been there. I
am so thankful to God for blessing
me with the abilities that he has,
and I enjoy sharing them so
much!" At Grand Island Senior
High School she sang with groups
and in musicals. At UNK, she sang
with the Nebraskats, the
Choraleers and Vocal Collegium.
She played the role of Gretel in the
opera Hansel and Gretel, Sandy in
Grease, and Liesel in The Sound
of Music.
Now, she is starring in her own
show.
After graduating with a degree
in vocal music performance,
Cassandre´ headed to Branson,
Missouri, where she spent nine
years of headlining shows at the
Silver Dollar City Opera House
theatre. She became known for her
beautiful voice and quick wit. That
experience was rewarding, she
said, but she was always interested
in new career opportunities and
challenges.
In 2008, that opportunity
became a reality. “One day I got a
text message from my husband,
Tim, saying, “How would you like
your own show next year?” That’s
exactly what she got when they
acquired the 800-seat Americana
Theatre in Branson.
Several months later, in March
2009, the highly-acclaimed show,
Cassandre´ The Voice of an Angel,
opened and immediately received
rave reviews. The show is now in
its second season.
The show features the stunning vocals and warm personality of Cassandre´, a nine-piece
orchestra that plays 18 instruments along with the comedy
of ‘Aunt Erma.’ The result is
a personable, beautiful, funny
and entertaining show that
truly exemplifies the very heart
beat of live music through its
rich orchestrations and powerful vocals. Reviews have
praised her work. One said,
“Cassandre´ has a talent
for connecting to her
audiences from the
stage, stirring emotions
and nostalgic feelings.”
Gary J. Groman
wrote that “after listening
Cassandre´ Faimon-Haygood
to this amazing vocalist sing I
would simply have to say that the
show’s
website
(www.thevoiceofanangel.com)
was spot on in describing her
voice,
range
and
talent.
Cassandre´ is a top-notch vocalist
. . . with a voice so flawless and a
performance so effortless and
compelling it is no wonder that
watching her sing makes for a surreal theatrical experience. She is
truly an enchanting soprano whose
angelic voice can scale to operatic
heights, belt out Broadway hits,
touch you with gospel inspiration
and rework pop classics in just the
right balance.”
From the first notes of the
opening Aria, written by her husband and producer of the show,
through the numbers like Danny
Boy, Zippa dee doo dah, Hakuna
Matata,
Amazing
Grace,
Downtown, Yesterday, Singin In
the
Rain,
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,
and many others, she is superbly
entertaining. With a voice so flawless and a performance so effortless and compelling, it is no wonder that watching her sing makes
for a surreal theatrical experience.
She has a very special talent that is
a joy to hear.
An integral part of her show is
Cassandre’s alter ego, ‘Aunt
Erma,’ who keeps popping up
looking for ‘her peoples.’ It is a
light side to the show, she said. “It
lets me express my comedic side.
It is a whole other part of my personality.”
Cassandre´ Faimon-Haygood as “Aunt Erma.”
Cassandre´ credits her experiences in college as a major reason
for the success she is having professionally.
“Dr. Anne Foradori was my
voice teacher. We had a great time.
It was quite a job getting ready for
my junior and senior year recitals,
but so worth it. Your voice gets
stronger and stronger as time goes
on and it’s neat to see what you
can accomplish with all of the new
songs and languages that you
learn.”
She has praise for Dr. Annabell
Zikmund who was a great instructor and brought out the energy in
the Nebraskats. With Dr. David
Bauer and the Choraleers,
Cassandre´ was able to perform at
Carnegie Hall in New York and
the Morman Tabernacle in Salt
Lake City. “Those were amazing
experiences. Dr. Bauer did such a
great job with all of us. The songs
he would select were always so
different and beautiful.”
Cassandre´ said that she was so
impressed, and still is, with all of
her music instruction at UNK.
“Every single one of my instructors had a doctorate in music. That
is really amazing to me. I feel very
blessed and fortunate to have had
such a rewarding experience in
college.
“College rounded me out as a
person, providing opportunities
that I would have never gotten to
do had I not been in college,” she
said. “The really neat things that
happen with a choir or a small
group can’t be duplicated.” FEATURE
Nate Summerfield, student speaker:
‘Your support makes college possible for many’
Gary Reber ’86
University of Nebraska
Foundation
ate Summerfield is hard
to rattle. As the UNK
finance major waited to
speak at a University of
Nebraska Foundation event in
Scottsdale, Arizona, earlier this
year, he smiled and shook his
head.
The Wayne native’s flight from
Denver was delayed, causing him
to miss his connecting flight to
Phoenix. He caught the redeye to
Phoenix and was told his luggage
would arrive the next day. It didn’t.
Speaking to the group of 300,
Summerfield was unflappable.
“It’s a pleasure to be here and I
hope to someday help students
like many of you here today have
done,” he said. “Someday I hope
to be sitting where you are – but I
would make sure the student
speaking had a tee time shortly
after he spoke.”
Summerfield was addressing
an audience of alumni and donors
who were learning about the
Campaign for Nebraska, a
fundraising campaign to raise
$1.2 billion to fund university priorities such as student scholarship, faculty recruitment, research
and program support. The campaign recently surpassed the $700
million mark.
Summerfield was elected student body president earlier this
Spring, was president of his fraternity, completed a research project
on student retention rates and has
worked for the UNK Admissions
Department since his freshman
year. But the accomplished junior
almost didn’t become a Loper.
N
CAMPAIGN NEBRASKA: Speaking at an Arizona event for alumni and friends of the university
Nate Summerfield emphasized the importance of donating to Campaign for Nebraska, a scholarshipraising effort that recently surpassed the $700 million mark.
“Since I was young I’ve
known that I wanted to study
business. My decision came down
to finding the right undergrad program where I could feel comfortable,” Summerfield said. In
January of his senior year in high
school he received a call from Dr.
Gary Davis who is the director of
the honors program at UNK, and
Dusty Newton in the Admissions
Department. He had interviewed
for a scholarship and they called
to congratulate him on being
named an Omaha World-Herald
Scholar.
“What a great relief for my
family and what an honor for me,”
he said. “It meant that I no longer
had to find financing for my college career. It meant that I could
relax while I was at college. And
it meant that I was going to be a
Loper for at least four years, so I
was excited about that. Life was
good.
“As soon as I got done with
that phone call I picked up the
phone and called my Dad. You
might think that you’ve heard
happiness before, but a child’s
laughter has nothing on a father
who knows he doesn’t have to pay
for his son’s college. He was very
excited.”
Two
weeks
later
Summerfield’s plans were turned
upside down when his father
passed away after a sudden heart
attack.
“It made things very tough,”
he said. “My mom and I had a
decision to make. I grew up in
Wayne, so it was either go to
UNK and take that scholarship, or
stay home with my family, if that
was the right decision, and go to
Wayne State College.
By the time of the funeral
Summerfield had decided he
would attend Wayne State.
“As I came into the church, to
my right I think I caught a glimmer of blue and gold, because Dr.
Gary Davis, Dusty Newton and
Shane Stover were sitting at my
father’s funeral,” he said. “It kind
of hit me how genuine and how
humble of a place UNK is. So I
felt like there was a stamp of
approval and I felt like they really
cared about me.”
That personal touch, coupled
with the financial assistance from
the World-Herald scholarship,
helped Summerfield make his
decision, he told the Scottsdale
audience.
“You may think that you’re
just helping students,” he told
donors, “but for many students it’s
your support that even makes college a possibility.”
Hear Summerfield tell the
story himself, or learn more about
the foundation and the Campaign
for Nebraska at campaignfornebraska.org/summerfield. Embracing the entrepreneurial spirit to open doors
NK has embraced the
entrepreneurial spirit
through their support
and sponsorship with
MarketPlace: Opening Door to
Success Conference.
MarketPlace: Opening Doors
to Success Conference is a project of the Center for Rural
Affairs. It focuses on small business development in rural com-
U
munities through a combination
of providing resources, tools and
educational components that
existing entrepreneurs and future
entrepreneurs need to build and
enhance their businesses.
2010 marked the fourth year
of MarketPlace with attendees
representing 77 Nebraska counties and the states of Kansas,
South
Dakota,
Maryland,
Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado,
Oregon and Iowa. There were 10
different learning tracks including marketing, agriculture,
financing, community development, technology, business
development, youth, women
business owners, policy and
Hispanic.
Dean Tim Burkink of the
College of Business and
Technology, Shawn Kaskie of the
Center for Rural Research &
Development and the UNK
Students in Free Enterprise
(SIFE) team led by Dr. Susan
Jensen provided campus support
for the year’s MarketPlace conference. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
9
Award will help students to study education
Scholarship to encourage future educators
FOUNDATION
Gary Reber, ’68
University of Nebraska
Foundation
lanche Berns often
spoke to her children
about the importance
of an education. The
lessons struck a chord, because
her son Henry D. Berns and his
wife Marilyn recently established a scholarship in Blanche’s
memory to help future teachers
attend UNK.
Blanche taught at rural country schools in Webster County,
after graduating from what was
then Kearney State Teachers
College. After seven years, she
stopped teaching when she married Henry P. F. Berns. They
were rural farmers in Webster
County where they raised five
children, but she never stopped
taking an interest in education.
“She always talked about the
importance of going to college
and how pleased she was that all
five of her children all had a
Regent Scholarship at the
University of Nebraska,” said
Marilyn. “That just made her
immensely happy.”
EDUCATION:
Henry and
Marilyn Berns wanted to foster
interest in education like their
mother, Blanche Berns (lower left).
B
“She was very
interested in all
her grandchildren and their education,” Henry said.
That interest will be fostered
in recipients of the Blanche
Kaufman Berns Scholarship
Fund, which will provide $1,000
scholarships to UNK students
enrolled in elementary teacher
education, with preference to
high school graduates who are
residents of Webster County.
Consideration is also given to
candidates who are graduates of
from any Nebraska high school.
“Mother went to Kearney to
become an elementary country
school teacher, so we thought it
would be neat to start a scholarship there,” Henry said. “We
both feel that a college degree
was very helpful for us and we
want to be of some help for
someone else.”
Dr. Ed Scantling, dean of the
UNK College of Education,
said, “I would like to express my
sincere gratitude to the Berns
family for establishing this
scholarship for future teachers at
UNK,” Scantling said. “The
Blanche
Kaufman
Berns
Scholarship will make a world
of difference to its recipients and
the ongoing UNK tradition of
preparing outstanding educators
for Nebraska.”
Henry and Marilyn, who now
live in Andover, ILL., received
scholarships when they attended
college.
“We feel that scholarships are
a blessing for someone who
wants to go to school,” Henry
said. “If we can give people a
little boost, that’s what we want
to do.”
The Berns family grew up on
a farm near Bladen in Webster
County. Henry hopes to encourage students from that area to
attend college and, ideally, spark
the same passion for education
as his mother.
Henry earned a bachelor’s
degree in mechanical engineering from the UNL in 1961 and a
master’s degree in 1963. He also
earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Kansas
State University in 1968. He
worked for Deere & Co., in
Moline, Ill., before retiring.
Marilyn earned a bachelor’s
degree in elementary education
in 1977 at St. Ambrose
University in Davenport, Iowa.
Tenneco gift enhances Justin Duffy ’00 scholarship
$5,000 gift from Joe
Duffy’s
employer,
Tenneco of Cozad, has
pushed a scholarship in
memory of his son to the half-way
point of being fully endowed.
Justin Duffy ’00 gave up his
day off to go out with his Army
unit to provide a security escort
for military leadership in
Baghdad. They had done it a hundred times. This time a roadside
bomb exploded near his Humvee,
killing Duffy on June 2, 2009.
The Tenneco gift supports the
Sgt. Justin Duffy Memorial
Scholarship – a fund that benefits
students attending UNK, Duffy’s
alma mater. When it is fully
endowed, the scholarship will
exist in perpetuity at the
University
of
Nebraska
Foundation by awarding scholarships from the interest the fund
earns on its principal.
A
10 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
J o e
D u f f y
remembers the
day two
men
in
uniform
walked up
to
the
Cozad
plant to
give him
Sgt. Justin Duffy
the news
of his son’s death. “It wasn’t
easy,” he said.
Five months later, Joe and his
wife Janet finally sat down to
watch a video of the military
memorial service. The service in
Baghdad took place five days
after Justin was killed.
“It was heartfelt,” he said.
“The chaplain broke down in his
talk about Justin. He waited and
waited until he could compose
himself. You can appreciate what
kind of a group these people are.
They are in a strange land and
they are there to fight and there to
protect. It was tough to watch, but
we got through it.
“We didn’t realize when Justin
was over there – when those guys
are over there, they are a family.”
Corporate officials at Tenneco
spent little time debating whether
or not to support the fund.
“It’s important for Tenneco
because we really support our
employees and this was an
instance that was a tragic situation
and we wanted to be there to support our employees as well as the
Duffys,” said Chief Davidson,
plant manager. Joe Duffy, logistics manager, has worked at the
plant that manufactures shock
absorbers for nearly 40 years.
Justin worked summers at the
plant. “Justin was a really good
kid,” said Jay Edwards, human
resources manager at the plant.
“He’d work here all day then go
work the second shift at Pizza
Hut. It was funny – you’d work
with him all day then he’d deliver
pizza to your house that night.
That’s just the way he was. He
was a driven kid.”
Devotion to a fallen comrade
led Sgt. John Palmer to establish
the fund in honor of his Army
buddy and fellow member of the
3rd Brigade Combat Team of the
82nd Airborne Division. Nearly
100 gifts have been made to the
fund, mostly from family and
people who were in Duffy’s company.
“This whole thing has been
Sgt. Palmer’s brainchild,” Duffy
said. “He was halfway across the
world and setting this thing up.
Anything we can do to support his
baby.”
Duffy wrote directly to
Tenneco’s CEO to ask for corporate support.
“They came through,” he said.
“Tenneco has been really, really
good to us over the years.” CAMPUS NEWS
Bringing an international focus to campus
World Affairs Conference
he 2010 edition of the
James E. Smith Midwest
Conference on World
Affairs featured a variety of programs and events for students and
the Kearney community. The conference has been a featured event
designed to bring internationallyrecognized dignitaries to campus
since it was started in 1963.
UNK students from 45 countries served their native foods,
performed traditional and non-traditional dances and hosted other
activities to more than 2,000 to
kick off the event at the Scott and
Cheryl Morris International Food
Festival.
Award-winning author and
activist Chris Abani gave the
keynote address. Abani, a
Nigerian native, published his
first novel, “Masters of the
Board,” a political thriller about a
foiled Nigerian coup, when he
was 16-years-old. The story was
convincing enough that the
Nigerian government imprisoned
him when he was 18 on grounds
that he had incited a real-life
coup.
After serving six months in
jail, Abani was released but he
was later arrested and sentenced
to death after writing his play,
“Song of a Broken Flute.” In
T
INTERNATIONAL FOOD: Students from 45 countries served their native food at the international food festival, an event that kicked off the 2010 World Affairs Conference.
1991, Albani was released from
prison and he lived in exile in
London. When a friend was murdered there in 1999, he fled to the
United States.
Abani is now a professor at the
University of California in
Riverside and a publisher at Black
Goat Press. His books have won a
number of prizes.
“Abani is one of the most
admired novelists in the world
today,” said Ann Marie Park,
WAC coordinator.
Park said the panel discussions, lectures, classroom presentations and group activities at the
WAC give attendees exposure to a
variety of issues and the opportunity to interact with guests from
all over the world.
The conference is coordinated
through the Office of International
Education. This year’s theme was
“Creating
Hope:
Positive
Responses to Global Challenges.”
Writers, poets, activists, diplomats, scholars and entrepreneurs
from Nigeria, Cuba, Oman,
Russia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan,
China and India participated in
the event. Sciences name new dean
Dr. John La Duke has been
named dean of the College of
Natural and Social Sciences. Dr.
La Duke comes to UNK from
the University of North Dakota
where he was the associate dean
of arts and sciences and professor of biology. He has been on
the staff at North Dakota since
1980. Dr. La Duke has an undergraduate degree in zoology and
a master of science degree in
botany from Texas Tech
University as well as a Ph.D. in
botany from Ohio State
University. Memorial: Scholarship to honor criminal justice professor
ormer
professor
Jim
Gilbert’s influence on his
students has resulted in their
efforts to create a scholarship in his
memory.
Dr. Gilbert was a professor of
criminal justice and department
chairman who died in 2008 at age
60.
Nohad Maloley Curren ’06 of
Alexandria, Virginia, and Tom
McCarty ’06 of Lincoln are heading a group of former students that
has established the James Gilbert
Criminal Justice Memorial
Scholarship Fund with the NU
Foundation. They awarded the first
scholarships this spring.
McCarty said that even though
he was a political science major, he
took several criminal justice courses, including two criminal investigation classes. “Dr. Gilbert always
encouraged all of his students,
F
including me, to be the best they
could be in whatever they did. He
generously gave his time and energy both inside and outside the
classroom. Simply put, I think if
Dr. Gilbert knew his former students wished to honor him in some
way, he would have chosen a
scholarship because he was always
concerned with aiding others.”
Maloley said, “My hope is that
former students of Dr. Gilbert will
donate to this scholarship in the
years to come and that it will continue to grow in value to benefit
students.”
She said that Dr. Gilbert was
selfless with his time listening
attentively to all of his students
concerns and aspirations. “He
knew when we needed encouragement and would always lift us up
with a reassuring word. Our hope
is that this scholarship will allow
students to achieve their dreams
and to know the importance of giving back which Dr. Gilbert instilled
in us. We were all blessed to have
known him and with this scholarship, the hope Dr. Gilbert inspired
will carry on.”
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l 11
SPORTS
all and winter sports
teams, individuals made
an impact in the RMAC
and nationally
F
FOOTBALL
The Loper football team had a
banner year that included a record
11 wins, an NCAA playoff victory and an 8th place national ranking.
UNK defeated Saginaw
Valley State of Michigan 35-20 in
the Division II first round before
losing to defending national
champion Minnesota-Duluth 427 in a second round game ending
the season at 11-2. The win was
the Loper’s first post season victory since a 9-6 victory over Mars
Hill in the NAIA 1980 playoffs.
Center Jack Hiett, Arvada,
Colorado, was named an AFAC
All-American. The 6-1, 255 lb.
Heitt was tabbed the 2008
Division II Dave Rimington
Award as the nation’s top center.
FALL & Winter:
Seasons of Success
He started all 44 games in his
Loper career and was named to
five Division II All-American
teams. Heitt joins defensive back
Mitch Johnson (1976), defensive
lineman Doug Peterson (1978)
and kicker Henrik Juul-Nielsen
(2002) as first-team AFAC AllAmericans.
Sophomore running back
Rustin Dring, Kearney, set a
school rushing record (1,648)
breaking the mark of 1,600 by
Mike Miller (2005). Dring was
RMAC Offensive Player of the
Year joining Justin Coleman
(1999), Mike Miller (2005) and
Richie Ross (2003) in winning
that award. Dring was named to
the NCAA all-region team as was
Lexington senior safety Jake
Mandelko.
VOLLEYBALL
Senior middle Nikki Scott led
the volleyball team to a 33-3
record, a sixth straight RMAC
DIGS: Senior defensive specialist Kelli Wemhoff played a key role in the
success of the volleyball team. She finished her career second in digs with
2,042, just 16 behind Angie Usher’s record of 2,058 set in 1995.
ALL-AMERICAN CENTER: Senior Jack Hiett was named to
five All-American teams and was a key component of the Loper
football team that recorded a school-record 11 wins, including a
first round victory over Saginaw Valley State in the NCAA playoffs.
title, an 11th straight appearance
in the RMAC national tournament and a 12th place D-II ranking.
Scott earned All-American
honors by Daktronics and the
American Volleyball Coaches
Association. She also was the
RMAC Player of the Year. In
addition, she was the RMAC
Academic Player of the Year.
Scott joins Jerri Walkowiak
(2008), Erin Gudmundson (2004
and 2005), Kelli Brummer (1999)
and Danielle Shum (1996) as
Lopers to have earned AVCA
first-team honors.
SOCCER
12 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
UNK kicked off its newest
sport, soccer, with a national
record-breaking crowd of 3,227
in August. That mark broke the
previous largest attendance of
2,004. Coach Mike Munch’s
squad won that first contest, 2-1
over Wayne State. It turned out to
be the team’s only win of the season for the young and inexperienced Lopers.
CROSS
COUNTRY
In cross country, the Loper
men were fifth in the RMAC and
the women 10th. The meet was
dominated by the top two teams
in the country, Adams State and
Western State. At the regionals,
the men were eighth among 18
teams, their highest finish since
2000. The women were 18th
among 22 teams. Tanner Fruit,
Ogallala junior, qualified for the
national meet. He was the first
Loper to qualify since Luke
Garringer in 2004. Both squads
were selected to the U.S. Track
and Field Cross Country
Coaches Association National
All-Academic
Team.
The
women’s 3.64 PGA tied for sixth
nationally.
SPORTS
BASKETBALL
Women’s basketball coach
Carol Russell resigned following
an eight year career at UNK
where her teams compiled a 16379 record. During her tenure the
Lopers won two RMAC titles and
had five NCAA Tournament
appearances. This year, her young
squad posted a 9-18 record with
only one senior, Kim Thissen,
Davenport, Iowa. Thissen averaged 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds
and was one of three Lopers to
earn All-RMAC honors.
Although the men’s basketball
team finished 13-14, the season
was not without highlights. The
only senior, 6-10 Josiah Parker,
Lincoln, was chosen the RMAC
Men’s Academic Player of the
Year. He also became the 37th
player in history to reach 1,000
career points. The Lopers defeated RMAC Tournament champion
New Mexico Highlands, and the
top two teams in the RMAC East,
Metro State and Colorado Mines.
All three teams also qualified for
the NCAA Tournament.
WRESTLING
The men’s wrestling team tied
for third at the NCAA
Championships and 174 lb.
Marty Usman, Arlington, Texas,
senior, captured a national title.
NATIONAL CHAMPION: Senior Marty Usman captured a
national title at 174 lbs. leading the Lopers to a third place finish at
the NCAA meet. Usman finished the season with a 44-1 record.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Senior Dane Tobey was national runner-up in
the NCAA Indoor Championships with a shot put throw of 61-0.
Tobey now has five All-American medals.
Usman finished the season with a
44-1 record. He was a three-time
All-American and UNK’s 12th
all-time national champion. At
184 lbs, Derek Ross, St. Francis,
Kansas, senior, finished third
earning his second All-American
honors.
Three others earned AllAmerican honors. T. J. Hepburn,
East Hampton, Connecticut,
sophomore, was third at 149,
Taylor May, Imperial senior, was
sixth at 165, and sophomore
Justin McKain, Sutherland, was
third at 197.
TRACK
Shotputter Dane Tobey, Waco
senior, finished as national indoor
runner-up with a throw of 61-0 to
earn his fifth All-American honors. During his career, Tobey had
five top four finishes, two indoor
and three outdoors.
He is now tied with runner
Ivan Ivanov and thrower Lance
Pfeiffer for the most Division II
All-American honors by a man.
At the RMAC indoor meet,
the Loper women finished second
and the men finished third.
Traditional power Adams State
won both titles.
Conference champions for the
men were Rich Mourer, Colorado
Springs senior, in the weight
throw, Alex Paul, Gothenburg
sophomore, in the 400, and
Bryson Mahlberg, Elwood sophomore, in the heptathlon. Women
champions were Tracie Chanady,
Sargent senior, in the weight
throw, and Sam Murphy, Franklin
senior, in the shot put.
SWIMMING
The Lopers other winter sport,
women’s swimming and diving,
finished eighth in the RMAC
with a young squad. Incarnate
Word of Texas, an affiliate member of the conference, claimed the
title. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
13
SPORTS
Women’s basketball coach named
evin Chaney, an assistant coach at Southern
Illinois Edwardsville,
has been named the women’s
basketball coach.
He replaces Carol Russell
who resigned following the season.
Chaney recently completed
his 16th season as an assistant
coach.
He has worked at two NCAA
Division I schools (Nevada and
SIUE), two Division II schools
(Minnesota-Duluth and Lincoln
K
Missouri)
and one junior college
(Solano
Community
College
California).
Cheney
is the sixth
head coach
Kevin Chaney
since 1969.
During
that time the Lopers have won
670 games and made 14 national
tournament appearances. Blue /
Gold
Golf Nikki Scott
Blake Cover
Scott, Cover named
athletes of the year
enior volleyball player
Nikki Scott and senior
baseball player Blake
Cover were named Outstanding
Female and Outstanding Male
Athletes of the Year.
Scott was the 2009 RMAC
Volleyball Player of the Year and
the 2009 RMAC Academic
Volleyball Player of the Year.
She was a two-time AllAmerican and this year was a
first team selection, just the sixth
time UNK has had a first team
All-American.
Maintaining a 3.88 GPA as a
communications disorders major,
the Broken Bow native was
instrumental in helping the
Lopers post 126 wins the past
four years and make four NCAA
Tournament appearances.
Scott’s father, Jerry, was
Loper football player who is now
S
14 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
in the UNK Athletic Hall of
Fame.
Cover is a four-year letterman
from Kearney who has shown his
versatility and athletic ability by
being a starter at three different
positions – left field, shortstop
and third base.
Earlier this spring, he became
UNK’s all-time leader in runs
scored and should become the
Lopers all-time leader in hits
before the spring season concludes.
A two-time All-RMAC selection going into this year, he was
chosen first team all-region as a
junior after tying the school
record for hits with 92.
Cover has been a part of two
RMAC Tournament championship teams and played in four
NCAA tournament games.
The Kearney Catholic graduate was named the 2010 RMAC
Academic Baseball Player of the
Year. He is a business administration major with a 3.83 GPA. The annual Blue-Gold Golf Scramble
will be held Monday, June 14, at the
Kearney Country Club and Meadowlark
Hills Golf Course. The popular six-person
scramble, that begins at both courses at 10
am, draws nearly 270 golfers and has traditionally been the biggest fund raiser for athletic scholarships.
Advance cost is $195 per golfer or $1,170
per team. Signature corporate sponsorships are also available. Contact Shawn
Fairbanks at 308-8658184 for registration information.
Athletic director Jon McBride said
the event will continue as a oneday activity with a 19th hole reception at the Kearney Holiday Inn following golf. McBride said the scramble combined with a separate raffle
fundraiser held in the spring
again generated more than
$40,000 for scholarships this
year. He said the athletic
department plans to continue
these two major events.
ALUMNI NEWS
Home, Home on the Web…
UNKAlumni.org
ww.unkalumni.org is
the new online home
for the UNK Alumni
Association.
Alumni, or anyone interested
in UNK and the Alumni
Association, now have a
redesigned online venue to
engage with campus and each
other.
“The importance of having a
strong online presence, as well as
the growth of electronic communication and social media, led us
to the conclusion that we needed
to improve our website,” said
Lucas Dart, Executive Director of
the UNK Alumni Association.
Through the new site, alumni
will have a one-stop shop for
alumni event schedules and registration forms, campus and alumni
association news, links to UNK
and Kearney-related activities,
organizations and alumni chapters.
Alumni will also be able to
register a username on the site and
update their profile, which
includes address, email and professional affiliation.
In addition, the alumni association has plans to begin sending
newsletters via email, which will
offer news items that can’t always
be included in the semi-annual
W
UNK Today, Alumni Magazine.
“UNK Today is widely popular
and welcomed by our alumni
when it is published in the spring
and fall, but in between issues
there are so many things that
alumni will be interested in. The
e-news will be a nice medium to
keep alumni more informed all
year round,” Dart said.
Connecting alumni via the
social media mechanisms of
Facebook and LinkedIn will continue to be developed. The
growth of both has been dramatic
in the past two years, and many
alumni have reconnected with old
friends and acquaintances this
way. According to Dart, the new
website plan aims to take growth
of the “Loper Network” to an
even higher level.
“The key is to communicate
with all alumni in some way that
is convenient and meaningful to
them. For some that is print only,
for some it is print and electronic,
and for others it’s strictly on a
computer screen.
The new website, e-news and
social media venues we’ve developed certainly diversify our ability to communicate, and we hope
that more and more alumni will
engage with their alma mater,”
Dart said. UNK seeks specialty
‘Loper’ license plates
he Alumni Association is
still collecting names and
email
addresses
of
Nebraskans interested in adorning their vehicles with a UNK
license plate. The Unicameral
passed legislation in 2009 which
allows non-profit organizations
with 500 pre-paid applicants the
opportunity to create a plate that
recognizes their organization.
The cost of the specialty plate
is $70 per year. A design has yet
to be finalized, but the plate will
set itself apart from the standard
Nebraska plate. It is a unique
way for alumni to show their
pride in being affiliated with
UNK.
T
NOT ACTUAL DESIGN
Interested alumni and friends
are asked to send an email to
LDART@nufoundation.org
which includes your name and
email address.
There is no obligation to be on
the list. Individuals on the list
will receive periodic updates on
the progress of the numbers and
design of the plate. Homepage of www.unkalumni.org.
Young alumni award to debut
at Homecoming in October
he
UNK
Alumni
Association will be
awarding the first ever
“Distinguished Young Alumni
Award”
during
UNK
Homecoming Awards Banquet
on October 1.
The annual award will be
presented to an individual who
has graduated from UNK within 15 years of the award year.
Nominees shall have demonstrated outstanding service to
the University, their community
and/or his or her profession.
The young alumni award joins
the Distinguished Alumni
Award, the Jim Rundstrom
Distinguished Alumni Service
Award and Loper Athletic Hall
of Fame inductions at the annu-
T
al awards banquet.
Nominations will be accepted through June 1, 2010 for
review
by
the Alumni
Association’s
Awards
Committee. The nomination
form can be found on the web at
w w w. u n k a l u m n i . o rg .
The completed form should be
sent to:
UNK Alumni
Association, Attn: Lucas Dart,
P.O. Box 21, Kearney, NE
68849
or
emailed
to
LDART@nufoundation.org.
Please email or call 308-8658474 with any questions regarding the award. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
15
HOMECOMING 2009
HALL OF FAME: Class of 2009 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees
were Martin Segovia ’95, Jill McCaslin Timmons ’98, Danielle Shum
Stowell ’97, Al Sheffield ’75 and Keith Staehr ’68.
LOPER BLUE: Ty and Hall of Fame inductee Jill McCaslin Timmons,
son Ethan and nephew, Caden Holm, whose parents are also alumni,
prepare to ride in the Homecoming parade as honored guests of the
weekend.
STUDENT
ALUMNI
FOUNDATION: Members
Julie Wawers, Whitney Effenback
and Meagan Smejdir assisted
with the Homecoming banquet.
SAF is an organization that has
been providing student opportunities to network with alumni
since 1981.
DISTINGUISHED ALUM:
Distinguished Alumni Award
recipient Ron Larsen ’66 and
his wife Nancy, were recognized at the 29th annual
Homecoming Awards Banquet.
CONGRATULATIONS:
Alumni director Lucas
Dart congratulates
Distinguished Alumni
Award recipient
Teresa Kowalski Porter
’80 at the Homecoming
banquet.
16 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
HOMECOMING 2009
PRIDE OF THE PLAINS: Leading the Homecoming parade is the
talented UNK marching band. The 120-member band is the largest in
history.
ROYALTY: Junior Sarah Nordhues of Kearney and junior Nate
Summerfield of Wayne reigned as Homecoming King and Queen.
SMILES: 2008 Homecoming Queen Claire Bryan ’09, her mother
Annie Bryan, Alumni Association past president Brenda Christensen
’83 and Claire’s father Paul await the beginning the Homecoming
parade.
BLUE AND GOLD: Felica
Goett ’97, MAE’00 of Loveland,
Colorado, and her godson, Tyler
Sanders of Loveland are set for
the day’s activities. Tyler, son of
Chi Omega alumnus Jackie
Sanders ’01 is wearing Goett’s letter jacket from when she was on
the track team from 1993 to
1997.
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
17
ALUMNI
NEWS
Rutar elected president
Nine begin
three-year terms
Pat Hoehner
had Rutar ’97 is the
newly-elected president
of the UNK Alumni
Association.
Rutar of Omaha, a financial
advisor with Renaissance
Financial, was elected at the fall
meeting of
the board of
directors.
He replaces
B r e n d a
Snodgrass
Christensen
’83
of
Minden.
Other
officers for
Chad Rutar
2009-2010
are Bryan
Kuntz ’95
of Kearney,
president-elect, and Andrea
C
Walton
Miller
’02
of
Scottsbluff, secretary.
Nine board members were
elected to three-year terms that
began with the annual fall
meeting during Homecoming
weekend.
Dr. Pat Hoehner ’57,
MSE’67, EDS’82 of Kearney is
an assistant professor of educational administration at UNK.
Nancy McCarthy Polk ’74
of Kearney is a Media Associate
Para at Emerson Public School
with Kearney Public Schools.
Mark Felker ’86 is president
at JAM4 Creative in Alliance.
Dr. Brett Kuhn ’86 of
Omaha is associate professor of
pediatrics at UNMC.
Kip Magner ’92 of Lincoln
is a reimbursement analyst at
Lincoln Surgical Center.
Nancy Polk
Mark Felker
Brett Kuhn
Kip Magner
Katrina Jacobsen
Rother
Carol Green
Ballain
Bethany Spilde
Bret Walker
Katrina Jacobsen Rother
MSE’00 of Grand Island is integration specialist with the Grand
Island Public Schools.
Carol Green Ballain ’65 of
Fort Collins, Colorado, is a
retired teacher.
Bethany Spilde ’06 of
Council Bluffs, Iowa, is president of a company she owns,
Social Buzz Media.
Bret Walker ’00 of
Brighton, CO, is business development manager for Westwood
College.
Seven board members completed three-year terms on the
board of directors. They will
now serve as trustees of the
association.
They are Fred Arnold ’83 of
Fairbury, Sue Batie ’73 of
Cypress, California, Candy
Fernau ’96 of Dallas, Andrew
Romatzke ’01 of Omaha, Bob
Warren ’64 of McMinnville,
Oregon, Deb Schwenka ’76 of
Minden, and Dr. Stephanie
Hueftle Vogel ’89, MAE’96 of
Stillwater, Oklahoma. Meeting alumni from the other side of the world
orty Japanese graduates
of UNK traveled from
all over Japan last fall to
gather at the historic Okura
F
18 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
Hotel in Tokyo to celebrate
their first alumni gathering.
It was a time for emotional
reunions, joyous greetings and
the sharing of fond memories.
Guests were ELI instructor
and Japanese Student adviser
Jayne Heimer, International
Education Director Dr. Dallas
Kenny and the Nebraska
Department of Economic
Development representative in
Tokyo Koji Nagasaka.
After the gathering that
included testimonials, shared
stories and tearful farewells,
the former classmates vowed to
meet again next year. ALUMNI NEWS
TRACK: Loper tracksters
from the 2000s joined in on the
track and cross country
reunion fun at the Alumni
House, and then stayed for the
“after party.” More than 100
alumni from 1949 to 2009
attended.
BROKEN BOW: The Alumni
Association hosted a Friday
evening reception in Broken
Bow in March. About 25 alumni
attended, including guest Nikki
Scott, ’10 grad-to-be, her dad,
Jerry Scott ’83 and friends Katie
’97 and Brent Custer ’97.
THETA XI: A group of previous friends from Theta Xi fraternity made Chadron State
football weekend their own
reunion, and attended the pregame tailgate near campus in
September.
NORTHWEST: John Wolf ’73
says “Lopers Are Here” with his
sign at Safeco Field during the
Northwest alumni gathering.
LINCOLN:
Brewsky’s in
Lincoln provided the venue for
alumni to gather prior to the
Lopers vs. Huskers women’s
basketball game in November.
Pictured from the left are
Elizabeth Cain ’06, Jesse Cain
’05, Chip Shield ’03 and Ryan
Caldwell ’02.
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
19
A LUMNI N EWS
NORTHWEST: Northwest
Alumni gathered at a Seattle
Mariners game in April, including Howard Watkins ’38, Phil
Kozera, NU Foundation director of development, Wade
Heyer ’87, Bob Miller ’60, Jesse
’03 and Holly Gilbert, David
Oliphant ’03, Pat ’97 and Karen
Gilbert, Shelli Nemec ’91,
Theren Hayes ’98 and Brenda
’89 and Brodie Hodges.
TRACK: For the fifth consecutive year, alumni and friends of
the Loper track and cross country programs returned for the
Charlie Foster Invitational in
January. Among those attending
the social at the Alumni house
were Merle Horst ’70, head
track coach Andy Meyer, Brad
’97 and Nicole Mailahn ’97,
Jaime and Tyson Bertrand ’00
and Kyle Larsen ’97.
ARIZONA: The Alumni
Association’s Arizona swing in
February included a Friday
evening happy hour in Chandler.
Nearly 45 alumni and friends of
all ages attended, including Jane
Meyer ’89, alumni director
emeritus Jim Rundstrom ‘64 and
Sheri Jones ’89.
20 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
ALUMNI NEWS
BASKETBALL: The Alumni
Association hosted a pre-game
reception on a snowy February
night prior to the UNK-Metro
State game. Pictured are Jerry
and Jane Sheldon ’75, (left and
right), and John ’68 and Deanna
Lakey ’70 (center).
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA: (Below) Sue Batie’73,
Jenna Johannsen Carlson ’09
and Cathy Jeulfs Knutsen ’76
share greetings at the 35th
annual Southern California
luncheon in February.
TEXAS: (Above) South Texas
Alumni gathered in Katy in
October. Special guests to the
‘Loper Blue Jean Luncheon’ were
student teachers from the area.
Pictured are 2009 grads Kelsey
Koch, Eric Holmes, UNK director
of field experiences Ann Knipping,
Bethany Chandler and Luke
Luxford.
COLORADO: The Front Range
of Colorado is home to nearly
1,200 Loper alumni.Among those
who gathered for a happy hour in
Denver in February were Amy
Dix ’03, Megan Kirby Moran ’01,
NU Foundation director of development Kristin Wittman Howard
’00, Erika Redfern ’04, Teresa
Kowalski Porter ’80 and Sue
Haeberle ’81.
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
21
CAMPUS
NEWS
orn on January 6, 1910 in
Central City, Wright
Morris’ mother, Grace, died
within days of his birth. During his
childhood, he and his father lived in
several Nebraska towns before settling in Omaha.
While in Omaha, Morris spent
two summers on his Uncle Harry
and Aunt Clara‘s farm near
Norfolk. Two decades later, he
would return to this farm to take
some of his most memorable photographic images.
In 1924 father and son moved to
Chicago. While living there, they
went on a road trip to California,
which would later become the basis
for his first novel, My Uncle
Dudley. Morris moved to
California, attending Pacific Union
College.
After college, Morris spent a
year abroad. In 1934, Morris
returned to the United States, married Mary Finfrock and began to
develop his interest in photography.
Several years later, Mary accepted
a teaching position in Connecticut.
Shortly after their move, Morris
decided to go on a "photo-safari,"
traveling through the South,
Midwest and West spending the
winter writing in California.
During a 1938 cross-country car
trip, he became enthralled with the
visual beauty of the rural life and
B
Monday, May 24 ~ Omaha
“Scrambling for Scholarships”
Golf Event
Champion’s Run ~ Noon Shotgun
Start - $100 per player,
sponsorships $150
Entry deadline is May 17
Contact: Lucas Dart at
LDART@nufoundation.org or
308.865.8474
Thursday, June 3 ~ Dawson
County Alumni Reception
5-7:30 p.m. at Mac’s Creek
Vineyard, Lexington
Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and
Nebraska wine with alumni and
friends
Monday, June 14 ~ Kearney
Blue Gold Golf Classic, Annual
Loper Athletics Fundraiser
10:00 Shotgun Start at Kearney
22 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
BASKET OF COBS, THE HOME PLACE
NEAR NORFOLK, NEBRASKA, 1947
Wright Morris
silver print, 1975
Museum of Nebraska Art Collection
Gift of Cliff Art Endowment,
Carl & Jane Rohman, Mr. & Mrs. Bruce R. Lauritzen
landscape that he remembered
from his youth, “I ran a high fever
of enthusiasm and believed myself
chosen to record this history before
it was gone.”
In 1942 and 1947, Morris was
awarded
two
Guggenheim
Fellowships for photography. The
Country Club and Meadowlark
Hills Golf Course
$195 per player
Contact: Loper athletics office at
308.865.8514
Tuesday, June 15 ~ Omaha
“Business After Hours”
Alumni Reception
5:00-7:30 p.m. at Security
National Bank,
1120 South 101st St.
All alumni are invited to join
fellow Loper Family members,
including Chancellor Doug
Kristensen, for food, drinks,
networking and a rundown on
what’s happening at UNK
Saturday, July 17 ~
Kansas City
“Loper Alumni Day at Kauffman
Stadium”
Pre-game alumni gathering,
money from the awards helped to
fund his trips back to Nebraska
which were the inspiration for his
first two photo-texts, The
Inhabitants and The Home Place.
The Home Place is filled with photographs he took at his Uncle
Harry‘s farm near Norfolk; the
followed by KC Royals vs.
Oakland A’s – 6:10 p.m.
Contact: Bethany Spilde ’06 at
b@socialbuzzmedia.com
Friday, July 23 ~
Lincoln Loper Golf Scramble
Crooked Creek Golf Course
1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start,
Cost is $60, includes golf, prizes
and post-tournament meal
Sponsorships available for $100,
benefiting the Lincoln Loper
Scholarship Fund
Contact: Lucas Dart at
308.865.8474 or
LDART@nufoundation.org
Saturday, August 14 ~
Denver/Front Range
“Loper Alumni Day at Coors Field”
Pre-game alumni gathering, followed by Colorado Rockies vs.
Milwaukee Brewers – 6:10 p.m.
photo-text combination evokes life
on a plains “dirt farm.”
A description of the feelings
evoked through Morris‘ photographs is best conveyed in his own
words: “A pattern for living, the
blueprint of it, can be seen in the
white stitches of the denim, the
timepiece stamped like a medallion
in the bib of the overalls. Between
wearing something in and wearing
it out the line is as vague as the
receding horizon, and as hard to
account for as the missing hairs of a
brush.”
From 1944 to 1954, Morris
lived in Pennsylvania. He traveled
to escape his failing marriage. In
1959 he went to Venice with
Josephine Kantor, whom he married the following year. Two years
later in 1963, Morris began to teach
creative writing at San Francisco
State College where he remained
until 1975. He died in 1998. The
Museum of Nebraska Art holds
130 photographs by Wright Morris
– believed to be the largest number
in a public institution.
MONA is the official art collection of the State of Nebraska. The
museum is located at 2401 Central
Avenue and open to the public
Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
and closed major holidays.
Admission is free.
Saturday, September 4 ~ Omaha
Football Pre-game – Lopers vs.
UN-Omaha – the series finale!!
Alumni tailgate party, 3:00
followed by the 6:00 kickoff
at Caniglia Field
Saturday, October 16 ~
Dallas/Fort Worth
“Loper Blue Jean Luncheon”
11:30 a.m. Followed by the
luncheon, watch the Loper
football squad take on Colorado
State-Pueblo via the web!
Details will be sent for events in
your area. RSVP is appreciated
for all events, please
contact Toni Meyers at the
Alumni House by calling
308.865.8474 or emailing her at
TMeyers@nufoundation.org
CLASS NOTES
YOUR LINK
ALUMNI!
TO
www.unkalumni.org
Facebook Group:
UNK/KSC Alumni Association
1982
1989
Barbara Hurt-Simmons has been
elected to the Dowington, Pennsylvania,
school board.
Doris Ritzdorf Robertson has been
promoted to controller and vice president – financial reporting with Union
Bank & Trust Company in Lincoln.
Dr. Stephanie Hueftle Vogel ’89,
MAE’96 is senior director of development with the Oklahoma State University
Foundation. Her husband, Dr. Jason Vogel,
is an assistant professor in the OSU
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Department. They have five-year-old twin
daughters, Paetyn and Piper.
Mark Reid has been promoted to operations manager NRG Media Kearney
which has radio stations KGFW-AM,
KRNY-FM and KQKY-FM. He has been
with the station since 1985.
1983
Col. Bradley K. Nelson has retired
from the U.S.Army after 26 years of active
service. Participating in five military campaigns, he is a veteran of the Persian Gulf
War, Kosovo Campaign, Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan. Brad and his wife
will retire in Lansing, Kansas. They have
two children, Stephanie who is a senior at
the University of Kansas and Phillip who is
a high school senior.
Russ Rerucha has been appointed to
the Grand Island Education Foundation
Board of Directors. He is owner and
manager of Green Line Equipment Inc.
1984
Odee Ingersoll, director of the
Nebraska Business Development Center
at UNK, was honored at the Association
of Small Business Development (ASBDC)
annual meeting last fall. He was recognized as Nebraska’s STAR Performer for
2009 for his work in business exit and
succession planning, and business evaluation services. This is the second time he
received the award.
Lori Teaford is securities and brokerage
services coordinator for the Lincoln
branch of Central Financial Services. Prior
to joining CFS, Teaford spent 15 years
with Ameritas Life Insurance Corp and
nine years at Ameritas Investment Corp.
1985
David C. Nelson has joined the Omaha
law firm of Gross & Welch as a director.
Jana Holmes Peterson MSE’90
became the director of the Youth
Rehabilitation and Treatment Center
(YRTC) in Kearney in December. She had
been YRTC director of programming and
assistant director at the facility.
1988
Kelly S. Christensen MSE ’98, associate dean for the trades and industry
department for Central Community
College in Hastings, received the 26th
annual Central Community College –
Hastings outstanding service award for
exemplary service and role in obtaining
two Department of Labor Community
Based Job Training grants. He is also a
member of the Leadership Nebraska
Class of 2010.
Paul Stevens earned his Ph.D. from
Kansas State University in May. He is a
professor at Southeast Community
College in Lincoln. He and his wife,
Rebecca Czaja-Stevens ’02, have a son,
Jonah Michael 1. Rebecca also works at
Southeast as director of TRIO programs.
24 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
1991
Loran Paprocki has received a patent
for his work on the sealing of vascular
punctures. The Angio-Seal is used at the
end of a cardiology procedure.The patent
was part of his work with St. Jude Medical
as a senior product development engineer. He is now director of manufacturing and regulatory affairs at Annex
Medical in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He is
also a city councilman for the City of St.
Louis Park, Minnesota. Loran said his wife,
April Goerlich ’91, manages their home
and home-schools three of their five children.
Dan Schiefelbein MA, EDS’00 is the
7-12 principal at Doniphan-Trumbull
Public School.
Renae Riddle Zimmer is an account
representative with Charter Business of
Kearney. Her husband, Dave ’92, teaches
at Sunrise Middle School and is junior varsity boy’s basketball coach at Kearney
High School. They have two children,
Nolan 15, and Kamryn 11.
1992
Brent Johnson is hospitality division
manager with Bosselman Family of
Companies in Grand Island.
Kip Magner is a reimbursement analyst
at Lincoln Surgical Hospital in Lincoln.
Therapy. Her husband, Keith ’98, is
process improvement engineer at West
Pharmaceuticals. The couple lives in
Kearney with sons Jaden 6 and Blake 3.
Tim Sizer is owner of Sizer Well Drilling
in Arthur. He and his wife, Kimberly, have
five children, Andrew Judson 6, Asa Patryk
7, adopted from Poland in 2006, Aiden
Przemek 7, adopted from Poland in 2003,
Amos Benton 2, and Alycia Josephine,
born September 4, 2009.
Robert ‘Bud’ Synhorst is executive
director of Mary Lanning Hospital
Foundation in Hastings.
1996
Matt Dykstra, an elementary physical
education teacher with the Millard Schools,
received the Nebraska State Education
Association’s 2010 Teaching Excellence
Award in April. Dykstra was praised for
integrating technology, music, math and
other disciplines into his classes. In 2009, he
received the Millard Education Association’s
Teacher of the Year Award.
Valerie Vierk has published a new book
titled, Winter of Death – Victims of the
1918-1919 Influenza Epicemic in the
Ravenna, Nebraska Area. It contains the
biographies of all of the victims, plus photos.
Ravenna suffered a much higher death rate
than any other community in Buffalo
County. It was published by Lulu.Vierk is the
office assistant for the departments of
geography and sociology at UNK.
1997
Carol Money is pursuing on a doctor of
arts degree in vocal performance with a secondary emphasis in opera directing at the
University of Northern Colorado. She
recently played the role of Romilda in
Handel’s Serse and Lauretta in Gianni
Schicchi.
1997
Dr. Candace Thompson Walton was
the winner of the 2010 Belbas-Larson
Award for Excellence in Teaching at the
University of South Dakota in the tenure
track category. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Contemporary
Media and Journalism in the College of
Arts and Sciences.
1998
Mark Michaelis is a teacher with
Omaha Public Schools. He and his wife,
Maria, have two daughters, Lexi 5 and
Laini 2.
Kari Lidgett is a public relations counselor for Swanson Russell in Omaha.
2000
Jaylene Dutton Eilenstine is director
of marketing at All Makes Office
Equipment in Omaha. She and her husband, Matt ’00 have a daughter, Reece 1.
Kurt Kisker is an agricultural loan officer
with State Bank of Riverdale.
Jessica Mueller Eidem is a science
teacher at Sunrise Middle School.
Nathan ’03, recently earned a Ph.D. in
Geography from Oregon State University.
They live in Kearney and have a daughter,
Julia Anne, 3 months.
Kerry Fleming is director of residence
life at Ohio Dominican University in
Columbus, Ohio.
2001
Tara Heil is a copy editor at the Kearney
Hub newspaper. She has been an editor at
the Hub for eight years.
Lanny Lautenschlager is a manager
with ECG Management Consultants, a
consultancy for healthcare providers in
their St. Louis office. ECG has four other
offices in Seattle, San Diego, Washington
D.C. and Boston.
Alumni are am
ong UNK’s b
est recruiters
the university
and
could use yo
ur assistance
.
There are man
y ways you ca
n assist in attr
ing prospectiv
acte Lopers.
Make a p
oint to visit w
ith students an
friends about
d
your experie
nce at UNK
and encourage
them to give
us a look
Encourage
them to check
us out on the
web at www
.unk.edu
Send the
ir name
school inform s, addresses and high
ation to the
admissions
office
1993
Bryan Lindgreen is an account representative with Charter Business of
Kearney.
Dr. Jason Miller MA’00 is an assistant
professor of English at North Carolina
State University where he directs the
English Teacher Education Program and
teaches American poetry.
1994
Jennifer Mandin Ford is director of
corporate benefits for InfoGroup in
Omaha.
1995
Jan Skourup Rodehorst is executive
director of the Kearney Area Chamber of
Commerce.
Jana Satterly Seier MSE’97 is a
speech pathologist at Family Physical
1-800-KEAR
NEY
admissionsu
g@unk.edu
Help Them –
EXPERIENC
E KEAR
NEY
JOIN THE LOPER
E-network!
Please send your emails to
TMeyers@nufoundation.org.
Be sure to provide your name,
address and year of graduation!
1927
Zetha Hendrickson Warren celebrated her 100th birthday on July 31, 2009.
She lives in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
1956
Don Straney of Lakewood, Colorado,
who excelled as a track athlete when in
college, is back competing. After 54 years
of not competing in track, he is training
for the Rocky Mountain Senior Games
that will be held in Greeley, Colorado, in
June.
1964
Bill McGahan MSE’68, EDS’91,
superintendent of North Platte Catholic
Schools, has announced that he will retire
following the 2010-2011 school year.
McGahan has been on staff since 1966. He
has taught music and English, served as
principal at McDaid Elementary and principal at St. Pats High School. In 1974, he
was named superintendent.
is also sports director of the two North
Platte stations – KRNP-FM and KZTLFM. He is chairman of the Nebraska
Broadcasters Association and in 2007 he
was honored by the Nebraska High
School Activities Directors Association
with their Outstanding Service Award, the
sixth radio broadcaster to be honored in
the 40-year history of the association.
1973
LaNelle Wegner Oney retired in May
2009 after 32 years of educating special
needs adults and secondary students in
Ohio, California and Nebraska including
the last 27 years at Wabaunsee High
School in Alma, Kansas. She and her husband, Keith, have two children, Brian and
his wife Stacey and Kayla. They have one
granddaughter, Sophia Aislinn.
1974
Denny Hill owns Strategic Resources
West, Inc. (SRW) in Castle Rock,
Colorado. SRW is a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, educational
specifications, facility master planning and
demographics, working primarily with K12 school districts. Prior to establishing
SRW 13 years ago, he was the planning
director for Douglas County School
District in Colorado when it was the
fastest growing district in the nation. He
has been a consultant to both private
industry and public sector entities as well
as an education instructor at Kansas State
University. Denny is also active in Kiwanis
where he has served in a number of
offices and in his church. His email is dennyh@strategicwest.com. SRW’s website
is www.strategicwest.com.
Dr. Paul Paulman, professor of family
medicine and dean of clinical skills at
UNMC, received the Outstanding
Teaching and Creativity Award from the
University of Nebraska. Dr. Paulman
received the Alumni Association’s
Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996.
1975
Paul Younes was named the Friend of
Kearney at the 91st annual Kearney
Chamber of Commerce annual meeting
in March. The award goes to a person
who goes out of his or her way to
improve Kearney. Younes is president of
Heartland Hospitality of Kearney. He
owns four hotels in Kearney and has been
a leader in the community for the past 35
years.
1976
Diane Eastman Krajicek received the
American Advertising Federation Lincoln
2010 Silver Medal at the annual Nebraska
ADDY Awards Show and Banquet. She is
director of strategic planning at Bailey
Lauerman. Krajicek has more than 30
CLASS NOTES
years of experience in the advertising
industry in research, branding, media and
strategic planning. She joined Bailey
Lauerman in 2000.
1979
Karen Kilgarin has been named director of government relations and public
affairs with the Nebraska State Education
Association of which she has been director of communications for 15 years. In
addition, she will also continue her communications duties. Formerly she served
as state senator, deputy chief of staff for
Gov. Ben Nelson and director of the
state’s Department of Administrative
Services.
Kevin O’Connor MAE’90 recorded his
500th basketball win at North Platte
Community College during the 20092010 year. He has a 25-year career record
of 505-283. This year’s team captured the
Region IX junior college tournament and
qualified for the national tournament
while compiling a 29-6 record.
1980
Steve Wickham MAE, EDS’86 has
announced his retirement from Kearney
Public Schools where he has been high
school principal since 2005. Prior to that
he was assistant principal. Wickham has
worked in education for 34 years, 31 with
Kearney Public Schools.
1981
Kyle Hoehner MAE’95 will be the
principal at Lexington High School beginning in the fall. He has been activities
director since 2007. Prior to that, he was
a teacher and basketball coach at Kearney
High School.
1968
Lee Jacobsen is executive vice president
of Pathway Bank at its Cairo location.
Joe McFarland was inducted into the
Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Hall
of Fame in January. He was head baseball
coach for 20 years at Norwalk. His career
coaching record was 313-196 with 11
conference championships , four district
championships and a state title in 1982
when his team posted a 23-3 record. He
spent 40 years as a coach retiring in 1998.
At UNK, McFarland lettered four years in
track and football where he was a first
team all NCC back in 1956 and a twotime conference pole vault champion.
Alpha Tau Omega
1971
Wilma Quelle of Mesa, Arizona, has
authored a book of Navajo biographies.
During the course of these biographies,
the reader travels 250 years through
Navajo Tribal history. This easy-to-read
book becomes a good tour guide of the
Reservation with colored photos and
informative reading for both students and
adults. The book is published by
Publishamerica.com. “Steps to Navajo
History” has been chosen as a submission
of Publishamerica Publishing Companies
manuscripts for the ‘Oprah’s Book Club’
selection.
1972
Tim O’Dea retired as administrator
from the Youth Rehabilitation and
Treatment Center (YRTC) in Kearney in
December. O’Dea began his career there
in 1970 as a recreation aide, teacher,
counselor, caseworker and recreation
director. He was a counselor and principal
at Pleasanton Public School from 1978 to
1988. He returned to YRTC in 1998 and
later was named facility director.
Chuck Schwartz is an account representative with Hometown Family Radio –
North Platte. He has been designated by
the Radio Advertising Bureau as a certified radio marketing consultant. Schwartz
REUNION TIME: The ATO “Bucket List” Reunion was a huge success. Nearly 100 brothers
attended the reunion, which was held September 18 - 20 in Kearney. Friday night a mixer was held
at Bico’s, bringing back many fond memories. Saturday morning they had a golf scramble at Buffalo
Ridge Golf Course. Saturday afternoon and evening a BBQ, catered by Skeeter Barnes, was held at
the home of Tom and Jan Paxson in rural Gibbon. Several slide/powerpoint presentations were
made, including one honoring those brothers who have died. Those invited were members of the
1966 Charter Class when the local Phi Tau Gamma fraternity was initiated into Alpha Tau Omega.
Also invited were brothers initiated into ATO up to 1972.
The fraternity also raised around $4,000 which will be distributed into the three scholarships the
fraternity supports – the Don Briggs ATO Scholarship, the
Landmesser/Murphy Scholarship, and the Phi Tau Gamma Scholarship. Spring 2010 l UNK Today l 23
CLASS NOTES
2003
What’s happening?
SOUTH AMERICANS: Faculty members Stephen and
Barbara Amundson hosted the first South American alumni
gathering at the Pavilion Hotel in Bogota, Colombia, in October.
The alumni who attended shared their stories of UNK and
served as ambassadors for two new UNK students. In the
photo with the Amundsons are Ana Maria Ordonez, Jamie
Cabra, Monica Arana, Claudia Marcela, Ospino, Carlos Vivas,
Angela Forero, Maritza Ronoconco, Liarco Navarro, Andres
Traslavina, Catherine Felizzola, Lina Traslavina and Miguel Royas.
All alumni are reminded to share their contact information with
the Alumni Association and the alumni coordinator in the Office
of International Education. The email is intladmin@unk.edu.
Alumni
Update
First Name
Send your update for UNK Today to:
UNK Alumni Association, Campus Box 21,
Kearney NE 68849-6120 or email us your
updates to MWidger@nufoundation.org
Middle Initial
Street
City
Last Name
Maiden Name
State
Zip+4
Phone
Date of Birth
E-Mail Address
Grad Month & Year
Employer Name
Spouse Name
News
Dr. Molly Brost is assistant professor of
English at the University of Southern
Indiana. She joined the staff in August 2009
following a one-year teaching appointment
in the English department at Northwest
Missouri State University. She teaches
composition and Introduction to Literature
at USI. Dr. Brost received her Ph.D. in
American Culture Studies from Bowling
Green State University in August 2008.
Her dissertation examines issues of gender
and authenticity in the country music
biopic. She also holds a master of arts
degree in English from Colorado State
University.
Lindsey Hackel of Omaha, NE recently
graduated from the Nebraska LEAD
Program as a member of Group XXVIII.
The Nebraska LEAD Program is a two year
leadership development program designed
to develop the future decision makers,
problem solvers, and spokespersons for
Nebraska agriculture.
Brandi Cruise Riley is kindergarten
teacher at Pleasanton Elementary. Her husband, Kenny, is manager of the Runza north
store. The couple lives in Kearney with
daughter, Brittany, and son, Grady Michael,
born March 13.
Grant Mollring has joined the staff of
Doane College as offensive coordinator. He
had been wide receiver’s coach at UNK.
Marc Zavala is a sports reporter with
the Grand Island Independent.
2004
Allison Kruger has been named head
women’s basketball coach at Southwest
Minnesota State University in Marshall. She
had been an assistant at the University of
South Dakota the past two years.
2005
Jenny Lea Connery is a teacher at
Plattsmouth Community School District.
Ashley Scantling graduated in May 2009
from Oklahoma College of Optometry. She
is in practice in Emporia, Kansas, at Flint
Hills Eye Care.
Dr. Cole Spresser graduated from the
University of Kansas Medical Center in May
2009. He is in residency at the University of
Kansas medical Center in the Internal
Medicine program.
Matthew Stark works for Great Plains
Communications in Sutherland. He worked
for Intellicom in Kearney from 2005 until
2007. He and Cassi Allen were married in
May 2009.They live in North Platte.
2006
Major/Minor
Occupation
Is he/she a grad of UNK UNL UNO UNMC
Year
Heather Bolin is a retail account representative with the Kearney Hub advertising
department.
Josh Borowski is a senior accountant with
the certified public accounting firm of
Maltzahn, Galloway & Luth in Grand Island.
Samantha Harvey has been named volleyball coach at College of Saint Mary in
Omaha. She had been coaching and teaching at Lexington High School.
Noah Howard is warehouse manager at
Johnstone Supply in Kearney. Noah’s wife,
Skye, is pursuing a nursing degree and stays
home with their daughters Avery 4 and
Ellie 1.
Heather Pennell lives in Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, where she works with autistic
children as a line therapist with the
Wisconsin Early Autism Project.
Tom Schlund is a residence hall coordinator with the Department of Residential
Life at the University of Missouri.
2007
Heidi Neighbors Fessler earned her
master’s degree in school counseling from
Chadron State College in May 2009. She is
a guidance counselor at Adams Middle
School in North Platte. She had been a language arts teacher at North Platte High
School.
Josie McCune is a physical therapist at
Grand Island Physical Therapy’s Balance and
Mobility Center. She received her doctorate in physical therapy from UNMC in
2009.
Josh Rowan is sports editor of the
Lexington Clipper.
2008
Jen Bochart is advocate and MDT coordinator at the Child Advocacy Center in
Grand Island. She lives in Loup City.
Lisa Elson is executive administrative
assistant to the managing director of the
U.S. Olympic Committee’s International
Games Department at the Olympic
Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Colleen McMickell is a respiratory therapist at Good Samaritan Hospital in
Kearney.
Matt Rieckman is a retail account representative with the Kearney Hub advertising
department.
2009
Michelle Foley is a speech pathology
graduate student at the University of
Kansas. She will receive her master’s degree
in May 2011.
Cammeron Premer works at Behaven
Day Center, a day care for children with
behavioral problems in Lincoln.
Jeremy Starzec is a graduate student in
the community counseling program at
UNK.
Marriages
Sara Bechenhauer ’05, MSE’07 and
David Hageman ’03 October 17 in
Amelia Island, Florida.
Rachel Dankert ’05 and Patrick
Schiley ’98 June 13, 2009 in Grand Island.
Christy Hagler ’02 and Kevin Rose
October 3 in Cherry Hills, New Jersey.
Christy is director of marketing communications, for Yoh, a division of Day &
Zimmermann. Kevin is a business analyst
for Equity Settlement Services, Inc.They live
in Philadelphia.
Allison Hoffman ’09 and Adam
Beckstrom June 6 in Grand Island.
Nadine Keizer ’04, MSE’06 and Jackson
Hagen September 6 in Custer State Park,
South Dakota. They live in Turtle Lake,
North Dakota.
James Kelley ’06 and Elizabeth Kocol
February 27 in Antigua.
Elizabeth Magill ’08 and Mark Davis
’08 December 12 in Kearney.
Gwen Maliszewski ’05 and Adam
Rathman ’08 August 29 in Kearney.
Lindsey Meier ’09 and Trenton Lilienthal
August 1 in Grand Island. Lindsey is a service manager for Wells Fargo Bank.
Samantha Oerter ’03 and George
Smith June 5 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Emily Pfeifer MSE’04 and James Anson
September 26 in Grand Island.
Matthew Rau ’02 and Amy McCullough
August 22 in Lincoln. Matt is an account rep
for Modern Banking Systems and Amy is a
medical assistant for Dermatology Surgery
Center.They live in Omaha.
MacKenzie Rauert ’06 and Nicholas
Pacifico ’06 January 16. They live in
Denver.
Meggan Roeder ’98 and Curt Coghill
May 9, 2009 in Kearney.
Michelle Roggasch ’81, MAE’03 and
Bruce Carlson October 10 in Kearney.
Ashley Rubesh ’09 and Daniel Hake
January 23 in St. Paul.
Max Simonson ’04 and Maggi
McDermott August 29 in Grand Island.
Kristin Steinbeck ’03, MSE’06 and
Brian Chamness September 19 in
Kearney.
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
25
CLASS NOTES
UNK Today ~ Spring 2010 ~ Vol. 37, No. 1
UNK Today, official alumni publication of the EXPIRING 2011
University of Nebraska at Kearney is pubBarb Lehmkuhl Estes ’74 - Kearney
lished two times a year by the Alumni
Dean Jindra ’85 - Papillion
Association, Kearney, Nebraska 68849. Third DeeDee Schutte Kitzelman ’90 - Kearney
class postage paid, Kearney, NE 68847.
Andrea Walton Miller ’02 - Scottsbluff
Ben Rowe ’03 - Kearney
Phone: (308) 865-8474
Ryan Samuelson ’02 - Phoenix, AZ
FAX: (308) 865-8999
Troy Schleiger ’95 - Lincoln
E-mail: LDART@nufoundation.org
Candy Thompson Walton, Ph.D. ’97 - Vermillion, SD
Internet: www.unkalumni.org
Ryan Tworek ’98 - Newport Beach, CA
BOARD OF
EXPIRING 2012
DIRECTORS
Carol Green Ballain ’65 - Fort Collins, CO
OFFICERS
Mark Felker ’86 - Alliance
Chad Rutar ’97, President - Omaha
Pat Kelly Hoehner ’57 BAE, ’67 MSE, ’82 - Kearney
Bryan Kuntz ’95, President-elect - Kearney
Brett R. Kuhn, PhD ’86 - Gretna
Andrea Walton Miller ’02, Secretary - Scottsbluff
Brenda Christensen ’83, Past-President - Minden Kip Magner ’92 - Lincoln
Nancy McCarthy Polk ’73 - Kearney
Larry Feather ’66, Trustee - Grand Junction, CO
Trina Rother MAE ’00 - Grand Island
Bethany A. Spilde ’06 - Kansas City, MO
DIRECTORS
Bret Walker ’00 - Brighton, CO
EXPIRING 2010
Cynthia Schug Bahler ’94 - Lamar
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF
Doug Burritt ’95 - Osceola
Lucas Dart ’97 Denise Strother Christensen ’80 - Kearney
Executive Director
Steve James ’77 - Danville, CA
Michelle Widger ’90 Lanny Jorgensen ’63 - Tucson, AZ
Assistant Director and Layout Editor
Bryan Kuntz ’95 - Kearney
Toni Meyers ’93 - Office Associate
Holly Nikels ’93 - Bettendorf, IA
Jim Rundstrom ’64 - Editor & Director Emeritus
Nancy Yurges Osterbuhr ’95 - Minden
Lacey Strasburg ’06 and Jonathan Bouc
October 24 in Kearney.
Erin Tracy ’05 and Joseph Hassler ’05
January 16 in Omaha.
Ashley Zinnel ’08 and Jesse Hilton
October 3 in Kearney.
Births
Nick ‘06, MBA’10 and Sarah Abegglen
’06, MSE’09 of Kearney are parents of a
son, Jayden Nicholas, born September 27.
Brian and Annette Turek Axmann ’02
of Kearney are parents of a daughter,
Olivia Anne, born January 4. They also
have a son, Owen 3.
Dr. Chris ’97 and Dayna Banning of
Leawood, KS are the parents of a boy,
Grady Porter, born March 3.
James and Jenna Sterner Berlie ’01 of
Kearney are parents of a son,Will Michael,
born January 12.
Steven and Lindsey Stevens Berry ’03
of Evansville, Indiana, are parents of a son,
Tyler Dale, born January 9.
Marshall ’93 and Angie Biddlecome of
Kearney are the parents of a son, Beckett
Keith, born on March 12. They also have
daughters, Brynn, Barlen and Megan.
Kerri and Jason M. Boruch ’06 of Killeen,
Texas, are parents of a daughter, Kinsey Rae,
born October 28. Jason is an army specialist.
26 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
Jonathan ’03 and Mimi Klingelhoefer
Brandt ’02 of Kearney are parents of a
son, Jonathan Jonas Burton, born January
19. Jonathan is an attorney with Anderson,
Klein, Swan and Brewster. Mimi is marketing director with Nebraska Life magazine.
Leslie and Matt Burkey ’99 of Houston
are parents of a daughter, Emily Louise,
born January 15.
Dean ’97 and Jennifer Vogel Buse ’99 of
Kearney are parents of a daughter, Madelyn
Marie, born December 30. They also have
Alison, Jarad and Katelyn.
Natalie and Jason Christoffersen ’06 of
Kearney are parents of a son, Julian Daniel,
born October 29.
Ryan ’03 and Rachel Conner of Friend are
parents of a son, Ryder Jeremiah, born
March 19. They also have a son, Riley.
Greg ’05 and Denise Kring Davis ’05 of
Shelton are parents of a daughter, Aubrey
DeAnn, born December 29. Denise is a
social worker for St. John’s Nursing Home
in Kearney.
Tony ’97 and Lindsey Gregg Deitering
’97 of Sidney are parents of twin daughters,
Lillian Jane and Lucille Anne, born June 4,
2009.Tony is an attorney for Cabela’s.
Dr. Brian ’04 and Erin Riedel Dunagan
’07 of Grand Island are parents of a daughter, Avery Grace, born February 5.
Travis and Nikki Beachler Edeal ’98,
MAE’04 of Lexington are parents of a
son, Drexton Cole, born September 20.
Nikki teaches at the Lexington Public
Schools.
Tanner ’03 and Cassandra Engel ’03 of
Lincoln are parents of a son, Landry Jaxon,
born November 16. Tanner is a trooper
with the Nebraska State Patrol. Cassandra
is a pharmacist with Walgreens.
Kyle and Wanda Pfeiffer Fedorchik
’01 of Kearney are parents of a son,
Carter Lloyd, born March 31.
Dan ’05 and Lauren Cole Ferguson
’03 of Lincoln are parents of a daughter,
Kamryn Lyn, born July 2, 2009. They also
have a son, Owen.
Scott ’06 and Bridget Martin Fitzke
’09 of Kearney are parents of a son, Logan
Dean, born January 17.
Leonard and Karen Bostic Frederick
’02 of Minden are parents of a son, Kellis
Lawrence, born January 24.
Jeremy and Jessica Lacey Frink ’99 of
Lincoln are parents of a daughter Elliet
Lynette, born June 18, 2009.
Robert and Glenda Mertens Gant ’00
of Hastings are parents of a daughter,
Reagan Kay, born November 6.
Kyle ’05 and Jessica Vasa George ’05
of Fort Collins, Colorado, are parents of a
son, Landon David, born September 30.
Mike ’01 and Wendy Sheffield Hadley
’00 of Holdrege are parents of a daughter,
Emerson Elle, born February 1.
Deedra and Justin Holl ’00 of
Hampstead, North Carolina, are parents of
a daughter, Kenadie Milan, born January 4.
Ryan ’03 and Patricia Marshall
Hellriegel ’05 of Elm Creek are parents
of a daughter,Ashlyn Rose, born March 20.
Jim ’94 and Tina McCaslin Holm ’00
of Mason City are parents of a daughter,
Alison Emma, born October 12.
Jay ’09 and Krista Peterson Howland
’00 of Kearney are parents of a daughter,
Reese Emma, born December 26.
Mike and Kelli Hasselbalch Jaixen ’93
of Omaha are parents of a son, Zachery
Michael, born April 29, 2009. They also
have a daughter, Rachael Claire.
Ross D. ’09, MSA ’09 and Brooke A.
Malcom ’06 Huxoll of Kearney are parents of a daughter, Brenleigh Brooke, born
November 27. Ross is an adjunct professor of history at UNK and Brooke is a
physicians assistant for Dr. Sean Denney
at Platte Valley Medical Group.
Jason and Rubia Duarte Hyatt ’03 of
Sugar Land, Texas, are parents of a boy,
Jonathan, born May 10, 2009. Rubia has
been nominated for the Texas Association
of Secondary School Principal of the Year.
They also have a daughter Adrianna 3.
Adam and Valerie Aspen Jameson ’06
of Kearney are parents of a son, Noah
Adien, born February 15. Valerie is a
Medical Technologist and Clinical
Laboratory Scientist with Family Practice
Associates.
Jonathan ’03 and Janelle Larson
Jaworski ’05 of Elkhorn are parents of a
daughter, Lillian Elizabeth, born June 12,
2009. They also have a son, Emmett 3.
Blake and Renee Rohren Johnson ’96
of Holdrege are parents of twins, Lucas
and Gracie, born November 1. They have
two other children, Garret and Lauren.
Joseph ’01 and Tara Coughlin
Johnson ’02 of South Sioux City are parents of a son, Alexander Michael, born
March 30, 2009.They also have a son,Will.
Seth and Lynn Nordby Killion ’06 of
Kearney are parents of a son, Karter
Allen, born January 26.
Mark ’01 and Melissa Evans
Klabunde ’08 of Minden are parents of
a son, Zachary Joseph, born Janaury 21.
Jake ’97 and Janae Slingsby Knoell ’95
of Omaha are parents of a daughter,
Peyton Jae, born February 8.
Jeffrey ’05 and Sandra Znamenacek
Koll ’06 of Wilber are parents of a daughter, Matilda Jane, born December 2.
Scott ’92 and Sue Reineke Kutschkau
’01 of Omaha are parents of a daughter,
Alayna Grace, born February 11. Sue is a
director of development in the NU
Foundation’s Omaha office.
S. John III and Gerri Johnson Lawson
’98 of Shawnee, Kansas, are parents of
twins, Max Robert and Madeline Ray, born
September 4. They also have a daughter,
Natalie.
Darby ’91 and Annette Line of Miller
are parents of a son, Braxton Douglas
born March 13. They also have boys
Travis, Dillon, Jason and Creyton.
Chris ’96 and Julie Leahy Lingbloom
’00 of Gretna are parents of a son, Colin
Edward, born February 3.
Amy and Scott Lowery ’03 of Kearney
are parents of a son, Colton Robert, born
February 23.
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Campus Box 21
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68849-6120.
Name
Year Graduated
New Address
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State
Phone
E-mail Address
Zip+4
Two win
book awards
ristine
Tynan
Gerber ’88 and
UNK journalism
professor Keith
Terry won Nebraska Book
Awards awarded to the best
works by Nebraska authors,
publishers and/or books
about Nebraska for 2009.
The Nebraska Book Festival
is sponsored by the
Nebraska Center for the
Book, Nebraska Humanities
Council, Nebraska Library
Commission
and
the
Nebraska State Historical
Society. Gerber’s award was
a design award for BVH
Architects: Forty Years;
Terry’s award was a nonfiction award for Nebraska’s
Cowboy Trail. K
Anthony ’03 and Kelly Kenyon
Maeser ’03 of Omaha are parents of a
daughter, Grace Ann, born December 28.
They also have a son, Jackson 3.
Jimmy ’93 and Sarah Mahlin Feckner
’94 of Citrus Heights, California, are parents of a daughter, Kailey Lorraine, born
September 11. They also have a son,
Christopher 2.
Ben ’03 and Mindy Warner Matheny
’03 of Elkhorn are parents of a daughter,
Aubrey Valli, born January 11.
Thomas and Kelley Sparks Maxwell
’96 of Castle Rock, Colorado, are parents
of a son, Luke Thomas, born April 2, 2009.
They also have a daughter, Sidney.
John and Jodi Boughtin Meyer ’95 of
Omaha are parents of a daughter, Kaylin
Grace, born June 14, 2009. They also have
a daughter, Alaina 3.
Hannah and Rick Mollard ’08 of
Kearney are parents of a daughter, Kinley
Emma, born March 26.
Richard and Kari Sorensen Mulroney
’97, MBA’00 of Kearney are parents of a
son, Maxwell Evan, born August 18.
Bradley ’03 and Paula Sieczkowski
Musil ’03 of Shawnee, Kansas, are parents
of a son, Jack Bradley, born December 19.
Tony ’04 and Suzanne Young Neels ’04
of Sidney are parents of a son, Bryson
Donald, born July 2, 2009. They also have a
son, Caden 3.
Thomas and Traci Knudsen Neuberger
’01 of Snoqualmie,Washington, are parents
of a daughter, Morgan Claire, born February
12, 2009.They also have a son, Jackson.
Diana and Clay Nolte ’94 of Omaha are
parents of a son, Cole Jennings, born
August 8.
David ’03 and Adrienne Oliphant of
Sammamish, Washington are parents of a
daughter, Makena Lorene, born March 25,
2010. They also have a son, Estes.
Scott and Jennipher Olson ’02 of
Kearney are parents of a son, Ryley
Stephen, born October 20.
Amy and Brad Parker ’96 of Kenesaw
are parents of a son, Kylan Joseph, born
February 6.
Tim and Angela Wiens Petersen ’02
of Omaha are parents of a son, Drake
Wesley, born January 19.
Andrea and Jared Pierce ’03 of Miller
are parents of a son, Everett Dana, born
December 9.
Trevor ’02 and Heather Fries Pierce
’03 of Berthoud, Colorado, are parents of
a son, Hazen Layne, born October 19.
Trevor is a designer for Wall Street on
Demand in Boulder.
Nathan ’99 and Jana Farnsworth
Piper MSE’00 of Kearney are parents of
a son, Brendan Michael, born January 18.
They also have a son, Ian, 3.
Brad and Sonya Wagoner Rasmussen
’05 of Hazard are parents of a son, Bryce
Wendell, born September 12. Sonya is a
special education/early childhood teacher
with Ravenna Public Schools.
Chris and Sara Koperski Rector ’02 of
Gibbon are parents of a son, Sterling Paul,
born March 27.
Laura and Bryce Rose ’96 of Ravenna
are parents of a son, Bryce Thomas, born
January 30.
David ’07 and Dawn Petty Salyer ’07
of St. Louis, Missouri, are parents of a son,
Haven Ezekiel, born July 15, 2009.
Grady ’07 and Marian Carr Schake
’05 of Omaha are parents of a son, Chase
Roger, born December 25.
Sonja and Jonathan Schilling ’06 of
Holdrege are parents of a daughter, Mina
Ciriaca, born October 14.
Erin and Austin Schindler ’04 of
Central City are parents of a daughter,
Journi Ashley, born November 12.
Tim and Shanna Bardsley Schulte ’00
of Pleasanton are parents of a son, Roman
Joseph, born February 10. Shanna is an
Admissions Representative for Joseph’s
College of Beauty.
Stacy and Ben Seim ’97 of Kearney are
parents of a daughter, Danielle Judith, born
December 30, 2008. Ben is an adjuster for
Shelter Insurance.
Rob and Beth Proskocil Sheets ’00 of
North Platte are parents of a daughter,
Becca Marie, born October 23. They also
have a son, Brody 4.
Megan and Jacob Smith ’05 of Omaha
are parents of a son, Caleb David, born
October 8.
Timothy and Casey Lewis Smith ’01 of
Kearney are parents of a son, Sawyer
Rock. They also have a son, Haydan.
Michael and Jennie Smith Schuster
’06 of Kearney are parents of a daughter,
Faith Bella Skye, born September 1. They
also have a daughter, Grace, and a son,
Henry.
Adam and Kelly Ondrak Sortino ’98 of
Omaha are parents of a daughter, Stella
Rae, born April 2.
Jerod ’02 and Michelle Troyer Spahr
’02 of DeWitt are parents of a son, Cade
Michael, born April 14. They also have a
son, Cole, 3.
Cassie and Nate ’97 Stephens of
Kearney are the parents of a son, Hunter
John Wayne born February 27. They also
have a son, Maximus.
Bill ’99 and Jena Lautenschlager
Stroud ’06 of Kearney are parents of a
son, Landon Kyle, born November 7.
Stacy MSE’02 and Brian Sybrandts
’99 of Grand Island are parents of a
daughter, Katelyn Elizabeth, born March 2.
Tobian ’08 and Heather Petersen
Tool ’00, MAE’08 of Elm Creek are parents of a daughter, Emerson Bea, born
January 15.
Joshua and Johanna Vance ’07 of Port
Royal, South Carolina, are parents of a
son,Atticus Jonathon, born June 4. Johanna
is a first grade teacher in Beaufort County
School District. Joshua is a petty officer in
the U.S. Navy.
Doug ’04 and Donnette Ohlman Van
Pelt MSE’09 of Central City are parents
of a daughter, Karsyn Renee, born May 30,
2009. Doug is a social studies teacher and
head girls basketball coach. Donnette is a
reading specialist and response intervention coordinator. They have six other
sons, Josh Van Pelt 30, Jake Van Pelt 24,
World-wide wedding
The wedding of Sylvia Mihalik ’06 and Brett Chloupek ‘05 in
Roznava, Slovakia, in January provided college friends Fred Spiess,
Janka Hudakova Speiss, Jeff Kenney, Katie Kugler, Aaron Veleba,
Rhonda Mogee Veleba, Brette Covington and Jeff Ensz a wonderful opportunity to share in the special ceremony.The group traveled half way around the world to attend the traditional Slovak
wedding. It started at 3:00 pm on Saturday, January 2 and did not
end until Sunday, January 3. As part of the ceremony, Brett and
the unmarried men had to chop down a tree. Sylvia and the
unmarried women had to decorate. Sylvia and Brett had three
different outfits during the wedding. Brett is a past student body
president, student regent and Chancellor’s Ambassador. Sylvia
was a resident assistant, Chancellor’s Ambassador and worked
at the Welcome Desk.
CLASS NOTES
Logan Carlson 15, Micah Carlson 13,
Noah Carlson 10 and Kaden Van Pelt 2.
Simon and Mandi Puttergill Wagoner
’99 of Shelton are parents of a daughter,
Kenna Jo, born October 24. They also
have Gracie 5 and Taylon 3.
Dana and Shelley Schroeder Waldron
’93 of Lincoln are parents of a son, Blake
David, born January 29.
Bryan and Kila Haller Strasburger ’99
of Lombard, Illinois, are parents of a daughter, Alexis Grace, born November 5.
Matthew ’01 and Heather Juel
Walters ’02 of Whitmore Lake,
Michigan, are parents of a daughter,
Audrey Grace, born January 28. Heather
is Project Manager for the University of
Michigan Medical Center.
Mandy and Russ Wemhoff ’00 of
Kearney are parents of a daughter, Kinley
Jo, born October 28.
Jeff and Erica Hough Westbrook ’96
of Benton Harbor, Michigan, are parents
of a son, Luke Asher, born August 26. Erica
is assistant director of education at the
Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Eric ’06 and Danell Pickett Will ’08 of
Kearney are parents of a daughter, Ruby
Lee, born February 28. Danell works at
the Good Samaritan Society in Gibbon as
the activity and social services director.
Eric works at Good Samaritan Hospital in
Kearney as the supervisor of environmental services.
Jake ’06 and Nicolle Williams, ’04,
MAE’09 of Kearney are parents of a
daughter, Makena Rae, born September 9.
Laron K. ’03 and Amanda Kamler
Williams ’03 of Lubbock, Texas are parents of a son, Andrew Ryan, born July 2.
Laron is an assistant professor of Texas
Tech University.
Justin ’08 and Heather Korte Wolf
’08 of Kearney are parents of a son, Alex
J, born January 23.
Ken and Tamara Paben Wolinski ’95
of Aurora are parents of a son, Brayden
Gregory, born October 20.They also have
a daughter,Alexandra 6 and a son Tyson 5.
Tamara is the kindergarten teacher and
the Continuous Improvement Director at
Hampton Public School.
Travys ’06 and Briana Hernandez
Woodside ’04 of Kearney are parents of
a son, Brigham Anthony, born March 1.
Eric and Rebecca Davis Zimbelman
’02 of Kearney are parents of a son,
Kaden John, born January 18. Rebecca is
a Certified Kitchen Designer with
Showcase 1 Dutton Lainson Company.
Steve ’03 and Anne Boerner
Zimmerman ’06 of Kearney are parents of a daughter, Isabella Rose, born
April 1.
Mark and Angie Link Zmarzly ’99 of
Lincoln are parents of a son, Jude Willem,
born October 5. They also have a daughter, Margot 2.
Deaths
M. Joan Bailey of Kearney died January
15. She was a faculty member and coach
at UNK from 1963 until her retirement in
1997. She was the first women’s swimming coach when that was the only sport
for women. For her work in swimming
and diving she was NAIA Swim Coach of
the Year in 1989. She was also the first
softball coach. Bailey was inducted into
the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
She was 81.
Lynda Otto Biehl MSE’02 of
Lexington died February 4. She was 60.
Spring 2010 l UNK Today l
27
CLASS NOTES
wo alumni received the
Nebraska
Optometric
Association’s (NOA) top
awards.
Dr. Jerry Vaughan ’73 OD of
Kearney was named the
Optometrist of the Year. Dr.
Corey Langford ’97 OD of
Omaha was honored with Young
Optometrist of the Year Award for
2009.
T
Dr. Vaughan’s award is given
annually to a NOA member who,
during the past year, has contributed time and talent in the
most outstanding manner for the
betterment of the visual health and
welfare of the public, and to the
profession.
He was honored for his
extraordinary service on the
State’s
Technical
Review
Ora Brawner ’53 of Riverside,
California, died April 16. He was 78.
Ron Brooks ’77 of Lincoln died
November 8. He was 71.
Jerry Byrnes ’67 of York died April 11.
He was 65.
Patty Cacak ’76 of Bainbridge Island,
Washington, died January 5. She was 55.
Dr. Kathy Carpenter ’75, MSE’77 of
Kearney died November 7. In 1975, she
joined the UNK faculty as director of the
Learning Center and tutor program coordinator. She retired in 2001. She was 67.
Dr. Donn Carlson of Kearney died
February 25. He was a science professor
at UNK from 1967 until his retirement in
2006. He was the recipient of UNK PrattHeins Award for outstanding teacher of
the year during his career. He was 68.
Dr. Donald Dahlin of Lincoln died April
11. He was a UNK professor of education
administration and supervisor to student
teachers from 1997 until retiring in 1992. He
continued to supervise student teachers for
several years after retiring. He was 88.
Paula Deisley MAE’05 of Arapahoe died
December 31. She was 37.
Roger ‘Butch’ Dillon of Omaha died
October 20. He was 65.
Wayne Evers ’63 of Hildreth died January
6. He taught high school and at the UNK
Safety Center before retiring in 2006. He
was 68.
Heather Harman Gideon ’97 of Wood
River after battling cancer died February
27. She was 35.
Aaron Grow ’92, MSE’00 of Hill City,
South Dakota, died January 23. He was 42.
Gerald Hensley ’58, MSE’62 of Wood
River died October 9. He spend 33 years as
an educator at Wood River Public Schools.
He was 79.
Josephine Hill MSE’74 of Blue Hill died
Janaury 24. She was 96.
Doris B. Hoyle of Martinez, California,
died November 29. She was 83.
James R. Hunt ’58 of Merna died
December 26. He was 77.
Keith Jorgensen ’50, MAE’58 of Mission
Viejo, California, died April 22. He was a
retired mathematics professor at Orange
Coast College in Costa Mesa. He also was
on the staff at UNK as a chemistry profes-
28 l UNK Today l Spring 2010
Optometrists receive state awards
Committee
for NOA’s
scope
of
practice
enhancement.
He has
given extensively to the
association
Dr. Jerry Vaughan during the
last 30 years,
and previously won the award in 1991. He
was also awarded the NOA
Distinguished Service Award in
1999.
Dr. Vaughan received his
Optometric training from Illinois
College of Optometry in 1977. He
was president of the NOA in
1989.
The Young Optometrist of the
Year award is presented to a
Nebraska optometrist who has
been licensed for ten years or less
and has contributed his time and
talent in the most outstanding
manner for the betterment of the
visual health and welfare of the
public and to the profession of
optometry.
During
the
three
years
Dr.
Langford
has served
on the NOA
board
of
directors, he
has
been
instrumental
in membership recruiting, reten-
tion and development. He serves
as the NOA ‘Master Mentor’ in
the new member mentor program,
not only acting as a mentor to several newer licenses, but also filling in as needed to host a new
member or student at an event,
and helping to coordinate the
entire mentoring program. He
started the NOA Facebook group
as one of his many board duties.
Dr. Langford graduated from
the Pennsylvania College of
Optometry in 2001. He has served
as secretary/treasurer for the NOA
board for the past two years. He is
a participant in InfantSEE, See To
Learn and a Hope Medical
Outreach provider. He also regularly donates to Optometry Giving
Sight and volunteers for the
Special Olympics Opening Eyes
screenings. sor, director of allied health programs and
director of records and statistics. He was a
former Alumni Association board member
and president of the Southern California
Alumni Association. He was 82.
Jay Kenney ’88 of Manhattan, Kansas, died
November 23 as a result of injuries in an
automobile accident. He was 46.
Karen Gronewold Kinnaman ’73 of
Bloomington, Illinois, died April 13. She was
66.
Karen Seevers Kirkpatrick ’89 of
Broken Bow died November 18. She was 44.
Ronald F. Kokes ’68 of Bend, Oregon
died May 31, 2008. He was 73.
Francis Kolar ’47 of Wolbach died
January 9. He was 85.
Betty Krubeck ’41 of Kearney, widow
of professor emeritus Dr. Floyd Krubeck,
died March 14. She is a former Alumni
Association board member. She was 87.
Lawrence ‘Lou’ Lacher ’65 of St.
George, Utah, died October 22. He was 66.
Patrick LaGreca ’84 of New York City
died January 24. He was 47.
Audrey Lockenour ’51 of Lincoln died
February 20. She was 83.
John G. ‘Shot’ Lowe III of Kearney died
March 17, 2009. He attended UNK from
1949 to 1951 and was a long-time Kearney
businessman. He was instrumental in starting Loper Supporters and in helping his fraternity, Caledonia, become Sigma Phi
Epsilon. He also served on the State
College Board of Trustees. He was 77.
Edwin Marsh ’48 of Ravenna died
December 18. He was 97.
William Kent Mattson ‘66 and Jane
Landmesser Mattson ’68 of Kearney
and Kenai, Alaska, died as a result of
injuries in an automobile accident
November 8.They were professional educators who had retired from teaching
after 20 years in Kenai. Kent was 66. Jane
was 63. Memorials are suggested to the
Landmesser-Murphy Memorial Endowed
Scholarship Fund or the Mattson Family
Scholarship Fund at the NU Foundation.
John Markussen ’65 of Wood River died
January 13. He retired from Markussen
Bookkeeping in 2005. He was 66.
Harry Mills ’50 of Wakefield died
November 19. He was 86.
Neva Nielsen ’70 of Manhattan, Kansas,
died February 28. She began her teaching
career in 1936 after attending Nebraska
State Teachers College in Kearney and finished her career from 1970 to 1982 as an
elementary teacher in Superior.
Memorials are suggested to the Neva
Nielsen Elementary Education Fund at the
NU Foundation. She was 93.
Lester Piper MAE’74 of Burwell died
March 20. He was 74.
Rodney Plum ’69 of Omaha died
October 23. He was a long-time accountant and served as coordinator of a number of UNK alumni events in eastern
Nebraska. He was 68.
Joy Weinman Potter ’63 of Kearney
died October 9. She was 88.
Elvera ‘Jim’ Rohrs of Kearney, wife of
professor emeritus John Rohrs, died
February 27. She was 82.
Vera Collison Smith ’55 of Athens,
Ohio, died May 29, 2009. She had retired
from Athens City Schools after more than
30 years as choral director. She was 74.
Milton Steinkruger of Colorado
Springs died December 10. He worked in
the funeral business from 1963 until retiring in 2003. He was 70.
Dr. Gary Thomas ’55 of Sun City West,
Arizona, died March 13, 2009. He was
UNK faculty member for 37 years and
chairman of the Music Department for 34
years before retiring in 1993. In 1997, the
Music Department established the Dr.
Gary Thomas Distinguished Alumni
Award in Music which is awarded at
Homecoming. Dr. Thomas was the first
recipient. He was 77.
Robert VanAmburg EDS’02 of
Litchfield died Febuary 15. He was 59.
Margaret Woodruff ’75 of Grand
Island died October 28. She was 87.
Dr. Corey Langford
Touring Talent
ON TOUR: The UNK Choraleers, under the direction of Dr.
David Bauer, toured and performed in the South American countries of Argentina and Uruguay in 2009.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 14
KEARNEY, NE 68847
NON-PROFIT
U.S. POSTAGE
Monday, September 27
4:00 p.m. Window Display Judging, Across Campus
7:30 p.m. Concert on the Platte, Fine Arts Recital Hall
Tuesday, September 28
4:00 p.m. Battle of the Brains and Spirit Competition,
Health & Sports Center
Wednesday, September 29
7:00 p.m. NCAA Volleyball – Lopers vs. Hastings College,
Health & Sports Center
Thursday, September 30
7:00 p.m. Lip Sync Competition and Royalty Crowning,
Health & Sports Center
Friday, October 1
All Day
National Association of Teachers Singing – State
Competition, Fine Arts Building & Nebraskan
Student Union
All Day
NCAA Tennis ~ Intercollegiate Tennis
Association (ITA) Tournament, Harmon Park
Courts
12:00 p.m. Gary Thomas Distinguished Music Teacher
Award Luncheon, Nebraskan Student Union
Limited space available by calling 308.865.8618
3:00 p.m. College of Education Reception for 2010 Award
Honorees, Atrium, College of Education Building
4:00 p.m. Trike Race, Bell Tower Plaza
6:00 p.m. Alumni Awards Social Hour & Banquet
Recognition of Distinguished Alumni and
Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees, Ponderosa
Room, Nebraskan Student Union
$25 ~ Tickets can be purchased from the UNK
Alumni Association by calling 308.865.8474. Ticket
includes wine & cheese social and served dinner
7:00 p.m. Planetarium Show, Bruner Hall of Science
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Alumni Association
Kearney, NE 68849-6120
UNK TODAY
Saturday, October 2
All Day
NCAA Tennis ITA Tournament, Harmon Park
Courts
10:00 a.m. Homecoming Parade, Central Avenue, 28th
Street west to campus
11:30 a.m. Loper Luncheon – Beer & Brats ($5 per person), Alumni House, 2222 9th Avenue
1:00 p.m. Loper Football vs. Adams State, Cope Stadium
at Foster Field
Tickets available for pre-purchase at
www.pickmytickets.com or 308.865.1563
4 - 8:00 p.m. Alumni Party in the Parking Lot, Downtown
Kearney, Parking lot north at 25th Street &
Central Avenue north of MONA
Sunday, October 3
All Day
NCAA Tennis ITA Tournament, Harmon Park
Courts
1:00 p.m. NCAA Women’s Soccer ~ Lopers vs. Metro
State College, Cope Stadium at Foster Field
3:00 p.m. UNK Choirs Concert (Choraleers, Collegium
and Men's & Women's Choruses), Fine Arts
Recital Hall
Other activities and programs through the week include….
Special academic presentations across the campus,
which are open to the public
Museum of Nebraska Art Displays
“The Saturday Evening Post: Holiday Images” and
“McKenney and Hall’s History
of the Indian Tribes of North America”
…and other events in the works!!
Make it a LOPER WEEKEND!
Visit your alma mater for many
activities for your mind, your
entertainment, for the memories
and for the chance to see old friends!
More details can be found at
www.unkalumni.org/homecoming