Recent accomplishments earned by members of the campus community include faculty/staff Stan Campbell, Andrew Cano, Kathy Castle, Jennine Capó Crucet, Leslie Delserone, Daniel Linzel, Chungwook Sim, Mark Svoboda and Richard Wilson.
Faculty/Staff
Stan Campbell, associate vice chancellor and director of campus recreation, received the inaugural Student Affairs Student Advocate Award. Presented by the Division of Student Affairs, the award will be presented annually to recognize a student affairs employee who goes above and beyond, serving students and the campus community in a manner that demonstrates commitment to the vision of making all students feel they matter. For more information, click here.
Andrew J. Cano, assistant professor in the University Libraries, has been elected vice-president/president-elect for the Nebraska Library Association and vice-chair/chair-elect of the Catholic Library Association’s academic section. Cano has worked as the university’s virtual learning librarian since January 2016. Prior to coming to Nebraska, Cano’s work focused on meeting the educational needs of diverse students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. That experience continues to guide Cano’s research as he is developing projects to advance knowledge on better serving online learners, especially neurodivergent learners.
Kathy Castle, professor of practice in communication studies, has earned the Pearson Award for Innovation in Teaching with Technology from the Association for Business Communication. This award recognizes innovative uses of technology to enhance learning and engagement in business communication classrooms. Castle will receive the award at the annual international conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October. Castle is also invited to make a presentation of her work at the association’s 82nd conference in 2017 in Dublin, Ireland.
Jennine Capó Crucet, assistant professor of ethnics studies and English, earned a Best Latino-Themed Fiction Book honor as part of the International Latino Authors Awards. The award was for “Make Your Home Among Strangers,” a 2015 novel about a young Cuban-American woman torn between her humble immigrant family and life in an elite American college. For more information on the book, click here.
Leslie Delserone, associate professor in the University Libraries, is president-elect of the U.S. Agricultural Information Network for 2016-17. The network is an organization that provides a forum for discussion of agricultural issues, makes recommendations to the National Agricultural Library on agricultural information matters and promotes cooperation and communication among its members. Delserone will serve as president for 2017-18, and as past-president for 2018-19. For more information on the network, click here.
Daniel Linzel, chair of civil engineering, and Chungwook Sim, assistant professor of civil engineering, are co-principal investigators on a National Science Foundation project that aims to use big data solutions to improve the way bridge infrastructure is monitored for potential failures. The project, which is a collaborative effort with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Information Science and Technology, is funded by a National Science Foundation grant of nearly $100,000. It is part of the NSF’s Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs initiative. For more information, click here.
Mark Svoboda, climatologist and internationally known expert on drought monitoring and early warning, is the new director of the National Drought Mitigation Center. Svoboda was one of the center’s original employees at its founding in 1995. The center is based at the School of Natural Resources. For more information, click here.
Richard Wilson, associate professor of plant pathology, has earned a $570,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The fungust causes rice blast disease, a global food security threat that causes a 10 to 30 percent reduction in annual rice yields. For more information, click here.
Students
- Karen Richards, a sophomore theatre and film major, sang a duet with Idina Menzel during the Broadway star’s Sept. 30 performance at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. She was among three audience members selected to sing “Take Me or Leave Me” with Menzel. The song is from the musical “Rent.” For more information, click here.
Departments/Colleges/Units
- The Lied Center for Performing Arts has received a $5,000 grant from the Cooper Foundation to enhance educational and outreach programming for young people. The award will be used for the March 9 performance of Heather Henson’s Crane: On Earth, In Sky. The production explores the mystery and spiritual essence of a crane’s lifecycle through puppetry, kiting, and the cultural perspectives of Native Americans. Click here to learn more about the production.
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.
