Five teams — led by Arts and Sciences — made impressive gains as Nebraska’s race for the Chancellor’s Cup entered its second week.
The friendly competition is part of the [university’s participation in the Lincoln-area Combined Campaign for Health and Human Services](https://www.unl.edu/chancellor/combined-campaign). The university is a longtime participant in the community fundraiser and campus leaders have challenged faculty and staff to expand annual giving to the four-week campaign.
To encourage participation by faculty and staff, weekly individual prizes are being awarded and the Chancellor’s Cup will be presented to the campus division that earns the greatest percentage of employee participation. Percentages include faculty and staff who submit pledge forms — even those who opt not to donate.
“We’ve had a tremendous start to the campaign and we need to continue building our positive momentum,” Chancellor Ronnie Green said. “We want to amp up the Combined Campaign efforts of our university this year. To be successful, we need participation by each one of our faculty and staff employees.”
The campaign runs through Nov. 30.
Five teams that made impressive gains in overall employee participation in week two are listed below. Figures are the number of percentage points each unit gained.
- Arts and Sciences, 22.6 (from 10.4 percent to 33 percent)
- Student Affairs, 13.8 (3 percent to 16.8 percent)
- Journalism and Mass Communications, 12.9 (9.3 percent to 22.2 percent)
- Business and Finance, 10.8 (6.3 percent to 17.1 percent)
- Business, 10.2 (7.2 percent to 17.4 percent)
The top five campus teams in week two and their employee participation rates are:
- Alumni Association/Chancellor, 48.2 percent;
- Arts and Sciences, 33 percent;
- Research, 26.4 percent;
- Academic Affairs, 26.3 percent; and
- Journalism and Mass Communications, 22.2 percent.
Other campus teams clearing the 20 percent threshold include Nebraska Law at 21.2 percent and Information Technology Services with 20.2 percent.
A complete list of the team standings and details on how to participate are available on the university’s Combined Campaign website.
The winning unit will keep the Chancellor’s Cup until next year’s fundraiser. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by the unit that reached the percentage the fastest.
All faculty and staff who participate by completing United Way campaign forms — including those who opt not to donate — will also be entered into weekly drawings. Four winners will be selected each week of the campaign.
Individual prize winners, selected randomly from all faculty and staff who submitted pledge forms, and their awards for week two of the campaign are:
- Bob Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development, “Atlas of Nebraska” coffee table book;
- Julia Torquati, professor and interim chair of child, youth and family studies, chancellor’s tickets for two to a Husker men’s basketball game;
- Amy Goodburn, senior associate vice chancellor and dean of undergraduate education, two tickets to the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center; and
- Edie Schleiger, business manager for the Department of English, two tickets to a Lied Center for Performing Arts show.
Chancellor Ronnie Green, a co-chair for the campus drive, is helping lead the charge to increase donations from the university. During a campaign pre-launch at Nebraska Innovation Campus on Oct. 24, Green committed to giving more than he has previously and pledged to shave his head if the university’s donation total exceeds $350,000.
UNL Chemistry doing our part to encourage participation in the UNL Combined Campaign! @RonnieDGreen @unlcas pic.twitter.com/Z0RgMgksJl
— Nebraska Chemistry (@unlchemistry) November 6, 2018
Nebraska’s Department of Chemistry is using the chancellor’s pledge to fuel participation in the campaign. In a Nov. 6 tweet, volunteers within the department unveiled a “Chemistry Hairmometer.” The team is using the gauge to showcase employee participation with an ultimate goal of helping the chancellor “shine” — via a shaved head.
“We have a responsibility to give back to the community that has long supported this great university,” Green said. “I encourage each of you to contribute at whatever level you feel comfortable.
“Let’s finish strong in these final two weeks of the campaign and make this one of the biggest, if not the biggest years in terms of the university’s contributions to the United Way campaign.”
