Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Tracy Anderson, Mark Askren, Kelsy Burke, John Carroll, Cody Creech, Megan Elliott, Karen Freimund Wills, Emily Kazyak, Julia McQuillan, Helen Raikes, Harkamal Walia, and some 250 students from the Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management and PGA Golf Management programs.

Honors

• Tracy Anderson, 4-H coordinator for Lancaster County; Megan Elliott, director of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts; and Karen Freimund Wills, program coordinator for the University Program Council, are finalists for the Lincoln Journal-Star’s annual Inspire awards. The honors celebrate women who have excelled in their professional lives, as leaders and role models. Award winners will be announced Sept. 18.

• Mark Askren, senior adviser fo the university president, earned the Community Leadership Award from Educause, a nonprofit dedicated to advance higher education through the use of information technology. The award is for exemplary and extensive community leadership in the field of higher education information technology; demonstrating vision, knowledge and inclusiveness; building cross-institutional, profession-wide communities that promote professional growth, personal commitment and teamwork.

• Kelsy Burke, assistant professor of sociology, and Emily Kazyak, associate professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies, published an article in the American Sociological Association journal Socius that was among the top 50 most downloaded papers on the site in 2018. Mathew Stange, survey researcher at the Mathematica Policy Research, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also contributed to the publication. The article, “Logics of Freedom: Debating Religious Freedom Laws and Gay and Lesbian Rights,” uses data from a general population survey of Nebraskans as a mixed-methods case study to examine public opinion of religious freedom laws.

• Cody Creech, a dryland cropping systems specialist with Nebraska Extension’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center, was awarded the 2019 Early Career Award from the Crop Science Society of America. The honor — reserved for individuals who record outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, national and international service, and research — will formally be presented at the society’s annual conference, Nov. 13 in San Antonio Texas.

• Helen Raikes, Willa Cather Professor of child, youth and family studies, was presented with the Louise Pound-George Howard Distinguished Career Award by Nebraska’s Faculty Senate Group Sept. 3. The Pound-Howard is given annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the university.

Appointments

• John Carroll, professor of natural resources, has been reappointed to serve another five-year term as director of the School of Natural Resources. The action, announced by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, follows a planned five-year review of the leadership position.

• Harkamal Walia, associate professor of agronomy and horticulture and Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute faculty fellow, was recently appointed Heuermann Chair of both organizations. The honorary title was awarded by the Office of the Chancellor and the Institute for Agricultural and Natural Resources. Walia has been an active DWFI faculty fellow for the past eight years, with a primary research interest in improving the genetics of wheat and rice to make them more resilient to climate changes.

Publications

• Julia McQuillan, Willa Cather Professor and department chair of sociology, was recently published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. Her article, “Change in Motherhood Status and Fertility Problem Identification: Implications for Changes in Life Satisfaction” uses longitudinal data to determine whether the association between changes in life satisfaction and becoming a mother depends on fertility problem identification status. McQuillan’s research was supported by Nebraska alumni Stacy Tiemeyer and Kathleen Slauson Blevins.

Conferences

• Nearly 250 students from Nebraska’s Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management and PGA Golf Management programs attended the university’s first Hospitality Student Summit at Champion’s Run in Omaha on Sept. 9. The event allowed students to learn from industry professionals and experience hospitality in a private club environment.

Students in Nebraska's Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management and PGA Golf Management programs gather near the Champion's Run splash pad during the inaugural Hospitality Student Summit on Sept. 9. Nearly 250 attended the event.

This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.