Recent accomplishments by the campus community were earned by Azlin Armstrong, Becky Faber, Alexa Farewell, Eric Fischer, Zachary Fischer, Robert Hutkins, Russell Johnson, Nate Lemburg, John Raible, Tonny Ruhinda, Otis Seiler, Megan Simonsen, Craig Teply, Eric Thompson, Curt Tomasevicz, Joviale Uwase, Brian Wilson and Christina Yao.
Faculty/Staff
- Becky Faber, senior career adviser for Career Services, received the Research and Publications Award at the 2017 American Association for Employment in Education conference in Pittsburgh on Oct. 25. The recognition was for her work as an editor for the AAEE Job Search Handbook.
- Eric Fischer, Zachary Fischer, Russ Johnson and Craig Teply, all members of the University Police Department, recently earned awards. Zachary Fischer and Johnson were honored during the Capital City Footprinters’ 41st Annual Law Enforcement Dinner on Oct. 28. Zachary Fischer, a dispatcher, was named 2017 Dispatcher of the Year. Johnson, a K-9 officer, was named the 2017 Officer of the Year. Johnson’s partner is Layla. Eric Fischer, an investigator, has been named the Community Partner of the Year by the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. Teply, a patrol officer, was named Officer of the Year by Lincoln Crime Stoppers.
- Robert Hutkins, Khem Shahani Professor of Food Science, is featured in a collaborative report by 11 universities and Supporters Robert Hutkins of Agricultural Research Foundation. The publication, “Retaking the Field — Empowering Agricultural Sciences for Health,” explores the success of research projects funded by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, a competitive grant program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The grant program calls for an increased federal support of food and agricultural science. Hutkins’ research into gut health is included in the publication.
- John Raible, professor of teaching, learning and teacher education, is a recipient of the G. Pritchy Smith Multicultural Educator Award given by the National Association for Multicultural Education. Raible will be recognized at a banquet at the 27th Annual International NAME Conference Nov. 4. The award recognizes educators in both PK-12 and higher education who strive to educate others about multicultural education. Recipients must demonstrate evidence of long-term scholarly commitment to teaching with a multicultural perspective; of multiple facets of diversity in their work; of modeling multicultural ideals and practices; and of an ability to blend theory and practice in a manner that develops awareness, acceptance and affirmation of diversity.
- Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and associate professor of economics, has been elected to the board of the Association for University Business and Economic Research. The association is a professional organization of leading university-based economic research centers across the United States. The board elections were announced at the association’s 2017 conference, which was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Learn more about Thompson’s work at Nebraska.
- Curt Tomasevicz, lecturer in engineering and a doctoral student, is featured in Team USA. In the article, he speaks about his experiences teaching engineering classes, playing Nebraska football and competing in the Olympics on the U.S. bobsled team. Tomasevicz plans to continue on in the academic world, while still being involved with the Olympics as a part of the selection committee.
- Brian Wilson, instructional design technology specialist, and Christina Yao, assistant professor of educational administration, are recipients of a 2017 Online Learning Consortium Effective Practice Award. The award recognizes effective techniques, strategies and practices that are shared by members of the OLC community to advance quality and access to online programs. Yao and Christina Yao Wilson organized a working group that included Erica DeFrain and Andrew Cano from Nebraska Libraries and former graduate student Crystal Garcia, now an assistant professor at Auburn University. Collaborating with Educational Administration faculty, the group developed the Student Success Center, an early orientation for online students in the Department of Educational Administration. Learn more about this award.
Students
Five students from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications were chosen to compete in the Public Relations Student Society of America Bateman Case Study Competition. This year Azlin Armstrong, Des Moines, Iowa; Alexa Farewell, Chambers, Nebraska; Nate Lemburg, Cairo, Nebraska; Otis Seiler, Columbus, Nebraska; and Megan Simonsen, Sutton, Nebraska, will tackle an issue close to home – childhood cancer. PRSSA has challenged students to develop, launch and evaluate a public relations campaign for the Minneapolis-based nonprofit With Purpose, a youth-led movement dedicated to making sure kids with cancer have better treatment options. This topic is important in Nebraska since the state’s per capita rate of children with cancer ranks among the top-10 highest in the nation. Each year, the Bateman Case Study Competition chooses a nonprofit client that allows college students to create a full public relations campaign that can have a positive impact on their community. Learn more about the PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition.
Tonny Ruhinda and Joviale Uwase, two Rwandan students who spent the summer working and learning at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, earned a trip to participate in the World Food Prize at Iowa, after their poster was a winner in a competition. The poster by Ruhinda and Uwase won second prize in a University of Nebraska–Lincoln poster contest sponsored by Global Engagement, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource and Water for Food. The poster summarized Ruhinda and Uwase’s experiential learning at Scottsbluff. They helped with two research projects, one related to using high-carbon char as a soil amendment, and the other related to measure the amount of nitrogen loss from greenhouse gas samples collected. The poster was judged on how successfully it communicated their experience and linked it to their learning and goals for Rwanda. The poster competition was the first College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource Undergraduate Scholarship Program Annual Experiential Learning Poster Competition. The winners received a trip to the 2017 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium Oct. 18-20 at Des Moines, Iowa. The symposium included the annual presentation of the World Food Prize, and a set of events drawing over 1,000 participants from over 50 countries.
This column is a regular Friday feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit their achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515
