252 faculty, staff receive Parents’ Recognition Awards

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252 faculty, staff receive Parents’ Recognition Awards

A group of Nebraska faculty and staff pose for a photo during the Parents' Association awards.
Greg Nathan | University Communication
A group of Nebraska faculty and staff pose for a photo during the Parents' Association awards.

More than 250 University of Nebraska-Lincoln employees were honored for their support to students during the annual Parents’ Recognition Awards March 1.

The awards, presented in a ceremony at Willa Cather Dining Complex, were earned through nominations made by parents of Nebraska students. The honors provide positive feedback to faculty and staff about their work and relationships with students, giving recognition in an area often overlooked in the formal rewards system.

The Parents Association solicits nominations through an annual mailing, asking parents to nominate a faculty or staff member who has made a significant difference in their student’s life. Nominations include a short explanation of why the employee was selected.

All who were nominated by at least one parent or student and who are still with the university received a certificate. The annual recognition ceremony was organized by the Office of Student Affairs and co-sponsored by the Teaching Council and the Parents Association. Certificates of recognition for contributions to students were given during the ceremony. This is the 31st year Nebraska faculty and staff have received the awards from the Parents Association.

Parents' Association Awards
Greg Nathan | University Communication
Nebraska's (from left) T.J. McDowell, Kelli King, Erynn Butzke and Phil Foster were among the 252 faculty and staff who earned 2019 Parents' Association awards.

The 2018-2019 recipients are listed below. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of years a recipient has received the award. If no number is listed, the award is a first-time honor. For more information, contact Student Affairs at 402-472-3755.

Academic Affairs

Career Services — Tracy Lungrin

Criminology and Criminal Justice — Diane Dannelly (3); Chris Eskridge (17)

Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center — Elisa Wilson

First-Year Experience and Transition Programs — Lori Romano (2); Kristy Saunders

Gerontology (Public Affairs and Community Service) — Julie Masters (7)

Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management — Anna Pressler (3); Stephanie Valentine

Military and Veteran Success Center — Deb Quinn (7)

Scholarships and Financial Aid — Tabitha Haynes; Anna Plank (12)

University Honors Program — Tamy Burnett; Patrice McMahon (8); Jacob Schlange

University Registrar — Kevin Sueper

William H. Thompson Learning Community — Kelli King (6)

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Agricultural Economics — Kathleen Brooks; Timothy Meyer; Jeff Stokes

Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication — Kurtis Harms; Dann Husmann (4); Kate McCain; Tori Pierce

Agronomy and Horticulture — Stacy Adams (4); Christian Elowsky; Donald Lee (26); Martha Mamo (2); Kim Todd (12)

Animal Science — Mary Drewnoski; Galen Erickson; Steven Jones (6); Lisa Karr (7); Allison Raymond (2); Jennifer Wood (2)

Biochemistry — Karin van Dijk; Erin Sayer (9); Madhavan Soundararajan (2)

Biological Systems Engineering — Roger Hoy (7); Deepak Keshwani (7); Tiffany Messer; Santosh Pitla; Mark Wilkins

Dean’s Office and Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program — Thomas Field (6)

East Campus Visitors Center — Karen Francis

Entomology — Lisa Silberman, Tom Weissling

Environmental Studies — Christine Haney Douglass (3)

Food Science and Technology — Randy Wehling (6)

Forensic Science — Emily Streetman

Grassland Studies Center — Dann Husmann (4)

Plant Pathology — Brandi Sigmon (2)

Pre-Veterinary Medicine — Stephanie Osterthun

School of Natural Resources —Dennis Ferraro (6); Trenton Franz; Mark Pegg (2); Larkin Powell (6); Sara Winn (6)

College of Architecture

Architecture — Cruz Garcia; Marc Maxey (2); Peter Olshavsky, IV (4)

Dean’s Office — Stephanie Kuenning (2)

Interior Design — Lindsey Bahe (3)

Landscape Architecture — Kim Wilson (2)

College of Arts and Sciences

Dean’s Office — Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Academic and Career Advising Center — Meagan Savage

Anthropology — Heather Richards-Rissetto (2)

Chemistry — Richard Hartung (3); Jason Kautz (11); Eric Malina (10); Christopher McCune (6); Jacob Moore

Classics and Religious Studies — Matthew Loar (4)

Communication Studies — Kathy Castle (2); Aaron Duncan (3); Mallory Marsh; Angela Palmer-Wackerly (2); Jennifer Rome

Computer Science and Engineering — Berthe Choueiry (2); Brady Garvin; Ann Koopmann (15)

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Mark Anderson (4); Sabrina Brown; Cara Burberry; David Watkins (6)

English — Adrienne Christian (2); Wheeler Dixon (16); Eder Jaramillo; Gina Keplinger; Yulia Levchenko (2); Regan Levitte; Robert Lipscomb; Ilana Masad; Michael (Zach) Mueller; Beverley Rilett (6); Christian Rush; Cameron Steele

Geography — Rebecca Buller (7)

Global Studies — Emira Ibrahimpasic (3)

History — Carole Levin (6); Victoria Smith (4); Scott Stempson (5); Sean Trundle; Ann Tschetter (6)

Mathematics — Andrew Becklin (3); Janet Emery (2); Kevin Gonzales (3); Mitch Hamidi (3); Michelle Haver; Thomas Kindred; Tom Marley (6); Emily McMillon; George Nasr; Mohammad Rammaha (12); William Rogge (7); Bob Ruyle (4)

Modern Languages and Literatures — Ikuho Amano; Radha Balasubramanian (7); Leonardo Brandolini Kujman; Yoanna Greenwood (3); Christiane Jensen (2); Catherine Johnson (5); Rebeca Portales de Jacobson; Jordan Pullen; Erica Schauer; Sijia Yao (3)

Physics and Astronomy — Keith Foreman; Michael Sibbernsen

Political Science — Donald Beahm (2); Michael Combs (9); Ursula Kreitmair; Suk Jae Lee; Patrice McMahon (8); Julia Reilly; Stephen Schneider

Psychology — Michael Dodd (4); Calvin Garbin (19); Anne Schutte; Scott Stoltenberg (2); Manda Williamson (7)

School of Biological Sciences — Peter Angeletti (4); Jameson DeFreece; William Glider (8); Anna Hiatt (2); Wendy O’Connor (9)

Sociology— Lisa Kort-Butler; Jolene Smyth; Tara Warner; Regina Werum

Women’s and Gender Studies — Rose Holz (3)

College of Business

Advising — Natasha Crawford (2); Megan Friesen (2)

Dean’s Office — D’vee Buss (9); Timothy Hodges; Michael McDonald

Economics — Sam Allgood (7); Jennifer Davidson (2); Uchechukwu Jarrett

Finance — John Geppert (2); Yijia Lin (2); Shawn Strother (3); Sue Vagts (5)

Management — Elina Ibrayeva; Kevin Wesley (2)

Marketing — Jamie Hyodo

School of Accountancy — Amanda Gonzales (2); Steven Hegemann; Jina Morris (3); Greg Richins

Teaching and Learning Center — Kasey Linde

College of Education and Human Sciences

Dean’s Office — Debra Mullen (12)

Educational Psychology — Kenji Madison (2)

Nutrition and Health Sciences — Ajai Ammachathram (2); Diane Brown; Virginia Chaidez; Dipra Jha (3); Amber Pankonin; Shannon Rowen (5)

Special Education and Communication Disorders — Beth Dinneen (3); Marc Goodrich

Student Services Center — Ben Bannon (2); Amanda Bergeron-Bauer (4); Eric Einspahr (5); Trish Fenster; AnnMarie Gottner (2); Val Wiemeyer (4)

Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education — Tricia Gray (4); Ramona Schoenrock

College of Engineering

Computer Science and Engineering — Suzette Person

Dean’s Office — Lance Pérez; Kayla Person (2)

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction — Matthew Barrows (2); Bruce Fischer (6)

Electrical and Computer Engineering — Michael Hoffman (4)

Engineering and Science Research Support — John Hudgens

Mechanical and Materials Engineering — Yuris Dzenis (2); George Gogos; Karen Stelling

Student Services — Jayde McWilliams  

Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts

Music — Carolyn Barber (4); Paul Barnes (7); Alisa Belflower (14); Mary Bircher; Anthony Falcone (12); Gretchen Foley (3); Garrett Hope; Jamie Reimer (3); Sergio Ruiz; William Shomos (7)

Theatre and Film — Brad Buffum (6); Christopher Irvin (2); Steve Kolbe (6); Ann Marie Pollard; Sharon Teo-Gooding (3)

Art, Art History and Design — Christy Aggens (2); Andrea Bolland (6); Mina Kim; Aaron Sutherlen

College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Advertising and Public Relations — Kelli Britten (3); Patti Harney (2); Valerie Jones; Phyllis Larsen (11); Sheri Sallee; Adam Wagler (3)

Advising — Andrea Gaghagen (3)

Broadcasting — Rick Alloway (26); John Shrader (2)

Journalism — Matthew Waite (3)

News-Editorial — John Bender (2)

Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture

Technical Agriculture — Ricky Sue Barnes Wach (2); Judy Bowmaster-Cole (3); Daniel Stehlik (2)  

Additional Units

Athletic Department — Erynn Butzke; Joni Duff; David Harris (2); Brett Haskell (2); Jillian Hoistad; Denise Howell (7); Robert (Bob) Hulse; Katie Jewell (16); Dennis Leblanc (16); Pablo Morales (2); Mike Nieman (7); Pablo Rangel; Ashley Stone; Keith Zimmer (12)

Counseling and Psychological Services — Tyler Pietz

Fraternity and Sorority Life — Phil Foster

Nebraska Forest Service — John Erixson (2)

Student Affairs — TJ McDowell Jr.

University Communication — Craig Chandler

University Housing — Tucker Beck; Emily Noesen; Maria Osorio; Cassie Roth; David Webb

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