Plus U.S. FOREIGN POLICY WONK / CONFRONTING THE PLAGUE
EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN NEBRASKA Magazine
Zachary, Schmackary Cookie Mogul of Times Square
Zachary Schmahl, ’06 Volume 110 / No. 3 / Fall 2014 huskeralum.org START PLANNING YOUR CELEBRATION DANCE.
Nebraska Alumni and alumni association members may receive a special discount on auto insurance!
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Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Discount amount varies in some states. One group discount applicable per policy. Coverage is individual. In New York a premium reduction may be available. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2014 GEICO Basketball Coach Tim Miles snaps a selfie with the Scarlet Guard Meet and Greet INSIDEFALL crowd from the Wick Alumni Center balcony Sept. 4. 4 Alumni Voices Writing Contest Winners In “A Soldier Remembers,” 1941 grad Darrel D. Rippeteau recalls 6 his youth military camp and ROTC training and how they provided University Update skills he used throughout his life. Madeline Shomos, class of ’14, 16 finds “More than Familial Fame” when she writes about her 40 Alumni Authors sister, Elena, Fulbright and Boren scholar who monitors human trafficking, translates documents and works with English language 42 Alumni News learners in Albania. 47 Chapters & Kim Krhounek, Affiliates U.S. Foreign Policy Wonk Kim Krhounek, ’88, has had a front-row seat to history as a 51 20 foreign service officer in Haiti, the Czech Republic, Egypt and Class Notes & Iraq. Now head of the political section at the U.S. Embassy in Alumni Profiles Paris, she finds satisfaction in being part of “a whole that is much Angie Henderson, ’03 bigger than what I can be myself.” Jim Huge, ’63, ’64 Ross Pesek, ’10 Confronting the Plague Mark Williams has spent 30 years studying one of the most Doug Wagner, ’99 destructive disease outbreaks of modern times: Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease, or AIDS. With scientific research funds 26 dwindling, he’s worried about other emergent diseases that may trigger the next pandemic. Zachary, Shmackary When 2006 UNL theater grad Zachary Schmahl landed in the Big Apple in 2008, he had his sight set on an acting career. Today he’s a Broadway success story – as the owner and operator of the city’s 32 favorite $2-million-a-year gourmet cookie business. (Cover photo by Michaela Dowd.)
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 3 alumnivoices Fall 2014 n Vol. 110, No. 3 NEBRASKA Dear alumni and friends, Magazine By now you may know that Diane Mendenhall has returned For alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to the Husker Athletic Department after six successful years as the Nebraska Alumni Association’s executive director. Today, I would like to share with you, our loyal Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00 Interim Executive Director, members, a bit about what this means for the association. Nebraska Alumni Association
Andrea Wood Cranford, ’71 Like many of you, we will miss Diane. She was deeply Editor committed to serving the university and the alumni Move Creative community, as well as our staff. Diane brought a positive Design attitude and high-energy approach to the office every Kevin Wright, ’78 day. She was an engaging leader, and the NAA team Layout and Photography; Class Notes Editor accomplished much during her tenure. A.T. Greer Advertising Sales Under Diane’s leadership, the association adopted a university-focused mission and increased Nebraska Magazine (USPS 10970) is collaboration across campus and in the community. Since 2008, the NAA has grown lifetime published quarterly by the Nebraska Alumni membership to an all-time high; expanded the chapters and groups program from 59 to nearly Association, the known office of publication is 1520 R St., Lincoln NE 68508-1651. Alumni 90; and increased Scarlet Guard (student alumni) membership association dues are $50.00 annually of from approximately 100 to more than 1,400 in 2013-14. which $10.00 is for a subscription to Nebraska Magazine. Periodicals postage is paid at Lincoln Nebraska 68501 and at During the past six years, the association has introduced new additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address corrections to: Nebraska Magazine programs to connect and serve alumni, including alumni career in care of the Nebraska Alumni Associa- services, Football Fridays and the Young Alumni Academy; and tion, 1520 R St., Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. Requests for permission to reprint materials helped launch the Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program to and reader comments are welcome. recruit more than 600 students to attend UNL in the first three Send mail to: years of the program. Nebraska Magazine Wick Alumni Center 1520 R Street Indeed, the association is riding a wave of positive momentum. Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 We know progress will continue, in part because of the staff and Phone: 402-472-2841 Toll-free: 888-353-1874 structure we have in place. Plus, fall is always an exciting time! E-mail: [email protected] Football and volleyball games, reunions and other events bring thousands of alumni back to Website: huskeralum.org campus. Connecting with so many of you energizes our staff. Views expressed in Nebraska Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nebraska Alumni Association. The alumni I am honored to serve as interim executive director during this time. The university has been association does not discriminate on the a part of my life for more than two decades. I am a third generation alumna with two degrees basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, na- from UNL. I began my career at the NAA, serving as the Student Alumni Association (now tional or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. Scarlet Guard) adviser. During my 18 years with the NAA, I’ve managed various alumni programs and events, and have worked closely with our Executive Board of Directors and Alumni Association Staff Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00, Interim Exec. Dir. Alumni Advisory Council. Claire Abelbeck, ’09, Director, Digital Comm. Alex Cerveny, ’13, Alumni/Student Relations Coord. My husband, Keith, also works at UNL. We met on campus at Selleck, and many years ago, Andrea Cranford, ’71, Sr. Director, Publications were engaged near Architecture Hall. Our kids have grown up attending campus events and Charles Dorse, Custodian Derek Engelbart, Director, Alumni Relations athletic contests. Our family truly loves Nebraska! A.T. Greer, Director, Alumni Development Sarah Haskell, ’09, Assoc. Dir., Alumni Relations Ryan Janousek, Venues/Operations Specialist Soon, the NAA Board of Directors (led by Board President Bill Mueller) will conduct the search Wendy Kempcke, Administrative Assistant for a new executive director. We look forward to working with the board throughout this process Carrie Myers, ’03, ’11, Director, Venues Larry Routh, Alumni Career Specialist and ultimately continuing our mission of promoting the aspirations and achievements of the Viann Schroeder, Special Projects Assistant university by engaging our alumni and friends. Deb Schwab, Associate Director, Venues Sarah Smith, ’11, Assoc. Dir., Brand Comm. Ashley Stone, ’14, Asst. Dir., Student Engagement We appreciate your continued support during this time of transition, and thank you for Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07, Sr. Dir., Operations Judy Weaver, Assistant to the Executive Director membership in the Nebraska Alumni Association. We look forward to serving you in 2014-15. Katie Williams, ’03, Director, Alumni Relations Hilary Winter, ’11, Digital Comm. Specialist Kevin Wright, ’78, Director, Design Sincerely,
2014-2015 NAA EXECUTIVE BOARD Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, President, Lincoln Erleen Hatfield, ’91, ’96, New York City, N.Y. Bill Nunez, UNL L.G. Searcy, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Shelley Zaborowski Joe Selig, ’80, ’87, NU Foundation Interim Executive Director Judy Terwilliger, ’95, ’98, Lincoln Steve Toomey, ’85, ’89, Lenexa, Kan. 4 FALL 2014 ALUMNI AWARDS Nebraska Alumni Association Awards Nominations
Nebraska Alumni Association Awards Program The alumni awards program is designed to recognize outstanding alumni, students and former faculty from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in several categories.
Alumni Achievement Award Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award/Scholarship Established in 1974, the Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have Established in 1998, the Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award a record of outstanding achievements in a career and/or civic involvement. recognizes undergraduate students who have shown exceptional leadership The association seeks to recognize alumni at all stages of their lives and careers, capabilities through energetic participation in student activities, commendable including young alumni. classroom performance, and the personal integrity, perseverance and sense of honor demonstrated by those who successfully lead their peers. The winner of Outstanding International Alumnus Award this award will also receive a scholarship stipend. Established in 2006, this award honors alumni who were non-U.S. citizens during their attendance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and who have Doc Elliott Award attained national/international prominence through their efforts in education, Established in 1986 to honor a retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty sciences, technology, agriculture, the arts, business, humanities, government or or staff member who has exhibited a record of exemplary service, whose caring other world endeavors. has made a difference in the lives of students and alumni and who has gone beyon d traditional expectations. Recipients must be former faculty or staff Alumni Family Tree Award members of UNL who have been retired at least five years. Established in 1995, the Alumni Family Tree Award honors one family per year that has at least three generations of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rules: graduates and at least two family members with a record of outstanding service 1. Recipients MUST attend the awards ceremony to receive an award. If a recipient is un to the university, the alumni association, their community and/or their profes- able to attend during the year in which they were selected, they may defer to the sion. following year. 2. The fact that an individual has previously received an alumni association award in another category does not preclude him/her from receiving another award. Distinguished Service Award 3. The awards committee will accept nominations from any alumnus, friend or alumni Established in 1940, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes alumni who affiliate organization of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. have a record of distinguished service to the Nebraska Alumni Association and 4. The awards committee retains and considers nominations for three years or until the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. selected. 5. If a recipient is deceased, a representative of the family may accept the award. Shane Osborn Student Leadership Award/Scholarship 6. The deadline for submitting nominations is November 1 of each year. Established in 2002, this award honors Lieutenant Shane J. Osborn, a UNL Instructions: Naval ROTC graduate who on April 1, 2001 courageously piloted a U.S. re- 1. Complete the award nomination form. Be sure to indicate for which award you are connaissance plane to a safe crash landing after it was hit by two Chinese fight- placing this nomination. ers. Subsequently, Lt. Osborn endured an aggressive interrogation and, along 2. Submit a letter of nomination describing the nominee’s accomplishments and why with the rest of his crew, eleven days of captivity by the Chinese government. you believe he/she is deserving of the award. The award is not limited to students with ROTC involvement. The winner of 3. Send the completed form and the letter of nomination to: the award will also receive a scholarship stipend. Alumni Awards, Nebraska Alumni Association, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. Nominations may also be placed online at huskeralum.org.
Nominators will be notified of their candidate’s status whether or not they are selected for the award. This notification generally happens in December. Only nominees who are chosen to receive an award will be notified of their selection/nomination.
huskeralum.org 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 5 UNIVERSITY UPDATE
BRACE LABORATORY 107-year-old Building Goes High Tech
You can’t judge a book by its cover. tration. Much of the project has been instruction. The four lab spaces are Take, for instance, the University of focused on providing collaborative designed with “islands” that allow Nebraska-Lincoln’s 107-year-old Brace learning spaces to undergraduates. students to face one another for group Laboratory. “Brace is not just an advanced work. The College of Business Adminis- Originally used for physics instruc- teaching facility in terms of technol- tration is a primary user of the rede- tion, Brace has undergone an $8 ogy,” said Lance C. Pérez, associate signed 186-seat auditorium. million renovation that has made it, vice chancellor for academic affairs. Office space in Brace allows Informa- in many ways, UNL’s most advanced “Learning spaces have been built pur- tion Technology Services to bring its instructional facility. It now houses four posefully and intentionally to support 16-employee Learning and Emerging life sciences laboratories, a 186-seat active learning.” Technologies team together under one auditorium, four classrooms dedicated Those spaces include the four life roof. The group provides technology to active and collaborative instruction, sciences labs that will be used by bio- support for classrooms campuswide. a Technology Transforming Teach- logical and life sciences and the four The renovation also included creating ing (T3) classroom and office space collaborative instruction classrooms to general use classroom space; adding for Information Technology Services be used for mathematics instruction. restrooms (when built in 1906, Brace employees. The life sciences labs in Brace only had two restrooms, one each on Initial users of the renovated space include three modern “wet” labs on the first two floors); installing modern include biological and life sciences, the first floor and a specialized space heating and cooling systems to replace mathematics and business adminis- on the second floor designed for virtual radiators and window-unit air condi- tioners; asbestos abatement; repairing and painting of walls; and repair and replacement of floors and ceilings. Brace is linked to Behlen Laboratory to the west. The project secured the link between the buildings, allowing plans to move forward to expand high- security research in Behlen. – Troy Fedderson, University Communications Life sciences lab space in remodeled Brace features island work stations that encourage 6 FALL 2014collaboration and interactive learning. (Troy Fedderson | University Communications) NEBRASKA CENTER FOR PREVENTION OF OBESITY DISEASES UNIVERSITY UPDATE UNIVERSITY $11.3 Million NIH Grant UPDATE Funds UNL Obesity Research The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has earned an $11.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a research center focused on understanding nutrition and obesity at the molecular level. The five-year grant from NIH’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program will support the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules, or NPOD. The COBRE program is funded through the Institutional Development Award Program, which supports health-related research, faculty development and research infrastructure. Answering molecular-level questions regarding obesity and related diseases is a crucial first step toward curbing Janos Zempleni (Craig Chandler | University Communications) this national epidemic. The center builds on UNL’s strength in nutrition and health research. The University of Nebraska Medical Answering molecular-level questions regarding obesity and Center collaborates on the center, which aims to establish a community related diseases is a crucial first step toward curbing this national of nationally recognized researchers in epidemic. The center builds on UNL’s strength in nutrition and nutrition, genetics, biochemistry, food science, immunology and computer health research. science. The long-term goal is to become a develop science-based strategies using Zempleni said. “Our research will help leader in nutrient signaling and the dietary compounds to improve human address these issues.” prevention of obesity and obesity- health.” This is UNL’s third NIH Center for related diseases, including non- To build research expertise, Biomedical Research Excellence. alcoholic fatty liver disease, experienced faculty will mentor The Nebraska Center for Virology was cardiovascular disease and Type 2 early career scientists. The center established in 2000 and the Redox diabetes, said center director Janos also is developing a centralized Biology Center was launched in 2002. Zempleni, Willa Cather Professor of research facility in molecular biology, COBRE programs are managed by the molecular nutrition in the Department bioinformatics and biostatistics. National Institute for General Medical of Nutrition and Health Sciences. “Obesity is a national health crisis Sciences. “This combined focus makes NPOD that costs the U.S. hundreds of billions – Gillian Klucas, Research and unique in the U.S. and globally,” he of dollars annually in health care Economic Development said. “Through this center, we will expenses and lost productivity,”
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 7 UNL EDUCATION ABROAD OFFICE UNIVERSITY UNL Joins Initiative to Increase UPDATE Study-abroad Participation
When Jackson Thomas came to UNL, students. “Study abroad is no longer a luxury studying abroad was not among his col- To achieve the goal, UNL will focus geared for wealthy students, and it lege plans. That changed when UNL’s on increasing study-abroad partici- certainly isn’t tourism,” Wilson said. Education Abroad office provided infor- pation by underrepresented groups, “Increasingly, our students, as they mation on the Deutsch in Deutschland including science, technology, engi- look for work, need the kind of program. neering and mathematics majors; first- global competencies that set them “After being exposed to the program generation students; and veterans. apart in a competitive marketplace, and seeing how incredibly doable it Education Abroad has also started competencies that are best developed was and how it could fit into my life, working with the College of Engineer- through studying, researching, intern- major and pocketbook, I took the ing, holding a study-abroad fair and ing or doing service learning plunge and opted for a semester in publicizing an engineering-specific abroad. Money is an obstacle for Berlin, Germany,” said Thomas, a program in Italy. Several other colleges increasing our levels of engagement senior music major from Carrollton, – including Journalism and Mass Com- in these educational opportunities Mo. “It was truly an experience of a munications, Agricultural Sciences and abroad.” lifetime. ” Natural Resources, and Education and For Thomas, the benefits of educa- To show more students that educa- Human Sciences – are collaborating tion abroad have outweighed the costs. tion abroad is possible, UNL has joined with Education Abroad specifically on “To this day, I still find new ways in forces with more than 300 partners in the Generation Study Abroad initiative. which I’ve grown through my experi- the Institute of International Educa- Additionally, UNL has made a com- ences abroad and, even though it was tion’s Generation Study Abroad initia- mitment to help more students seek probably the hardest thing I have tive. The program is designed to double out and submit competitive applica- every done, I can honestly say it was the number of American students tions for national level scholarships for the best thing I have ever done.” who study abroad by the end of the study abroad. That effort included 12 – Troy Fedderson, University decade. The initiative is also focused students using Benjamin A. Gilman Communications on increasing the diversity of students scholarships for international study who study abroad, ensuring quality and this summer. removing barriers to participation. “Regardless of whether they imagine building a life in Beijing or Beatrice, our students need the kinds of global competencies that allow them to move easily across languages, cultures, and national borders,” said Dave Wilson, UNL’s senior international officer and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. Nearly 750 undergraduates partici- pate in education abroad opportunities each year. Working through the Gen- eration Study Abroad initiative, UNL hopes to increase that total to 1,000
CONNECTION BOX go.unl.edu/ke4o iie.org/generationstudyabroad
8 FALL 2014 Jackson Thomas studied at the Deutsch in Deutschland Institute in Berlin in spring 2013. He described the study-abroad opportunity as an experience of a lifetime. (courtesy photo) role is to build UNIVERSITY new modules UPDATE for the pixel detector that will be capable of taking 40 million images a second at a total resolution of more than 120 million pixels. Consumer digital cameras top out at about 12 million pixels. The images are used to create a kind of movie of the particles’ paths in increments of less than 10 millionths of a meter. UNL physicist Aaron Dominguez leads collaboration involving eight universities to upgrade the Compact Muon Solenoid particle detector, a key component of the world’s largest “This will be the largest, most physics experiment. The illustration shows an event, captured by CMS in 2012, that precise pixel tracking detector ever provides evidence of the Higgs boson. (Craig Chandler | University Communications) built,” Dominguez said. “It should allow us greater sensitivity to see the LARGE HADRON COLLIDER Higgs boson and to see and discover new forms of matter.” UNL also is one of seven U.S. UNL Leads $11.5 Million CMS Tier-2 sites in the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Particle Detector Project Grid that processes and stores the unprecedented volume from this The world’s largest atom smasher original Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) massive research project. This grid has proved invaluable at answering experiment, one of two large particle combines the computing power of fundamental questions about the detector experiments at the Large more than 140 independent computer nature of the universe, including Hadron Collider. With this new NSF centers in 34 countries to analyze finding the Higgs boson, but much grant, they now lead a large results from the supercollider’s remains unknown. research partnership to upgrade the experiments. UNL physicist Ken Bloom A team of University of Nebraska- detector in stages through 2019. Their is project manager for the U.S. CMS Lincoln physicists and collaborators at collaborators are at the University Tier-2 sites and co-coordinator for eight U.S. universities have received of Kansas, University of Illinois at Tier-2 sites worldwide. The university’s a five-year, nearly $11.5 million grant Chicago, Rutgers University, Cornell Holland Computing Center provides from the National Science Foundation University, SUNY Buffalo, Purdue Nebraska’s supercomputing horsepower to increase the effectiveness of a vital University Calumet, University of Notre for this project. component of the supercollider that Dame and Northeastern University. In addition to Dominguez and Bloom, made the Higgs discovery possible. “As the accelerator has ramped UNL’s high-energy physics team Built by a global collaboration of up in intensity and in energy, our includes physicists Dan Claes, Ilya physicists, the Large Hadron Collider detectors will no longer be able to Kravchenko and Gregory Snow as well at CERN laboratory in Switzerland keep up with the rate of data coming as computer scientist David Swanson, propels two high-energy particle beams out of the collisions, and they get Holland Computing Center director. in opposite directions around a 16.6- damaged by radiation present near the “Globally, this is a big deal because mile ring of superconducting magnets. collision point,” said UNL physicist it allows us an unprecedented look into Seeing what happens when the two Aaron Dominguez, who leads this the universe that wouldn’t be possible superfast-moving beams collide gives collaboration. “They have to be otherwise,” Dominguez said. “It’s scientists important insights into the replaced and upgraded to improve our also a big deal for Nebraska and UNL basic building blocks that make up the sensitivity.” to be such an important part of this universe. Capturing images of the explosion experiment.” The UNL team was part of the multi- requires an enormously powerful – Gillian Klucas, Research and institutional collaboration that built the digital camera, or pixel detector. UNL’s Economic Development
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 9 E.N. THOMPSON FORUM ON WORLD ISSUES UNIVERSITY UPDATE ‘The Creative World’ is
• Oct. 14, 7 p.m. – Neil Gershenfeld, 2014-15 Lecture Topic MIT Media Lab, “How to Make (Almost) Anything,” sponsored by Nebraska Innovation Campus; • Nov. 17, 7 p.m. – British Debate Team, “Are Social Media a Threat to Human Creativity?” sponsored by the UNL Department of Commun- ication Studies and the Center for Civic Engagement; • Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. – Yo-Yo Ma, “Cultural Citizens”; • Feb. 24, 7 p.m. – Milton Chen, George Lucas Educational Foun- dation, “Creativity, Curiosity and Learning,” sponsored by the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences; • March 3, 7 p.m. – The Chuck and Linda Wilson Dialogue; Marlo Lewis, Competitive Enterprise Institute; and Gilbert Metcalf, Tufts University; “Cutting Carbon Emissions: Better Environment, Worse Economy?”
Tickets for the Yo-Yo Ma lecture are $34 (plus fees, no discounts). A limited quantity of free tickets will be available for UNL students. All other E.N. Thompson lectures are free to the public, but tickets must be reserved as seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets to fall semester lectures Yo-Yo Ma may be reserved at the Lied Center Box Office, 301 N. 12th St., 402- 472-6265. Spring semester lecture tickets will be available on Jan. 12. The E.N. Thompson Forum on The series kicked off Sept. 10 with All lectures will World Issues at UNL is focusing the Nebraska Governor’s Lecture in the take place on CONNECTION BOX on “The Creative World” for 2014- Humanities by award-winning writer, the Lied Center enthompson.unl.edu 2015, featuring distinguished experts playwright and TED speaker Chris for Performing spanning a host of industries including Abani. Arts main stage. a poet, physicist, educator, economist, The remaining 2014-15 E.N. – Carrie Christensen, Lied Center for multiple scholars and world-renowned Thompson Forum lectures: Performing Arts cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
10 FALL 2014 CENTER FOR GREAT PLAINS STUDIES UNIVERSITY UPDATE Digitization Project Opens Nebraska Homestead Records
Want to know where your pioneering Virtually all Homestead Final forebears settled? Certificate Case Files from the 30 The Nebraska Homestead Final homesteading states have survived and Certificate Case Files are now digitized are held by the National Archives and and available after a decade of Records Administration in Washington, planning, preparing and executing an D.C. In the Nebraska series, there are initiative to bring these records to the 76,871 files containing more than 1.6 public. million digital images. The records, amassed by the General Image of a final homestead certificate This database can be searched and from the Lincoln Land Office, signed by Land Office, were used to ensure that President Benjamin Harrison in 1892. viewed for free at Homestead National those who claimed a portion of the Monument of America near Beatrice, public domain through the Homestead planted, trees cleared and fences UNL libraries, National Archives and Act of 1862 met the requirements built. The case files include records Records Administration research of this law. Forty-five percent of all of military service, evidence of centers nationwide, and Family History land in Nebraska was distributed to naturalization and much more. Family Centers at several locations across the homesteaders, the highest percentage historians and scholars alike have country. of all 30 homesteading states. found them exceptionally useful. – Katie Nieland, Center for Great Twenty-one land offices from Omaha This project was made possible Plains Studies to Chadron served Nebraska land through a partnership of the University claimants. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Family Search, CONNECTION BOX The records are documents filed Fold3.com, Ancestry.com, the National familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator by homesteaders and describe their Archives and Records Administration, property improvements, including and Homestead National Monument of nps.gov/home/historyculture/ homesteadrecords.htm houses constructed, wells dug, crops America.
LIED CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS Korff Gift to Bring Top Broadway Shows to Nebraska
The Lied Center for Performing Arts at UNL has received a “Glenn’s experiences with theater at the university were among $4 million gift from the estate of Glenn Korff to help bring top his most cherished memories,” Stephan said. “The Lied Center Broadway shows to Nebraska. was selected to receive support with the hope that a stellar lineup The gift establishes the Glenn Korff Broadway Endowment at of Broadway performances might bring students and Nebraskans the University of Nebraska Foundation to forever enhance the the same joy and enrichment that his involvement with musical Lied Center’s Broadway programming, visiting artists program, theater brought to his life.” commissioned theater projects and more. In honor of Korff’s legacy Korff, who lived in Boulder, Colo., graduated from the University and support, major Broadway productions at the Lied Center will be of Nebraska in 1965 with a chemistry major and was a member part of the newly created Glenn Korff Broadway Series. and past president of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He received CONNECTION BOX The endowment will position the Lied Center to secure the an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 enthompson.unl.edu most popular touring shows directly off Broadway, including the and enjoyed a long career in the area of finance and investments, most recent Tony Award-winning productions, said Bill Stephan, retiring from Goldman Sachs. executive director of the Lied Center. In August 2013, shortly before his death, Korff announced an Korff’s passion for performing arts began on campus as a $8 million gift to the university for the Glenn Korff School of Music member of Kosmet Klub, a male musical and comedy ensemble, at the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. which he served as a set designer. – Robb Crouch, University of Nebraska Foundation
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 11 UNIVERSITY UPDATE
PRAIRIE SCHOONER/UNL LIBRARIES Initiative Helps Open African Poetry Libraries
Poetry reading libraries opened in of poor distribution by international the enthusiasm for this project was five African countries this fall, thanks publishers within Africa and partly tremendous,” Dawes said. “We’ve to the efforts of the African Poetry because of the cost of books,” Dawes boxed and mailed almost 500 books Book Fund (APBF); Prairie Schooner, said. “We felt it would be a great idea to each of these countries in this first the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s to establish small poetry libraries in as mailing, and will continue to do so literary journal; and UNL Libraries, many places as possible.” each year beyond this.” in conjunction with individuals All five libraries have been While APBF provides book donations, and organizations in The Gambia, established through partnerships promotion and other support, each Botswana, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. with writing organizations, arts library is expected to partner with Each library will house contemporary organizations, existing libraries and other worldwide organizations as it poetry books and journals available to influential individuals in the arts from poets and lovers of poetry in these five each of the five launch countries, and CONNECTION BOX countries and beyond. all have received start-up donations of africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/?page_id=1607 A continuation of APBF’s mission books collected and sent to them by to spread the poetic arts, the African APBF. works toward achieving self-sufficiency. Poetry Library Initiative began as the Each library contains room for more Though the five launch libraries are all brainchild of Kwame Dawes, APBF than 1,500 titles, offers resources for located in English-speaking regions, series editor and Glenna Luschei Editor those interested in publishing poems, APBF hopes to expand into other of Prairie Schooner. and will serve as a hub for poets to languages after the project’s first three “Too many poets working in meet and collaborate, while remaining years. Africa today have limited access to open to all. – Ian Rogers, UNL grad student in contemporary poetry, partly because “During my trips to Africa last year, English
12 FALL 2014 SHELDON MUSEUM OF ART UNIVERSITY Wally Mason to Head Sheldon UPDATE
Wally Mason, director and chief admired for a long time and engage faculty curator of the Haggerty Museum of Art the collection represents such and students at Marquette University in Milwaukee, a prescient, unique vision. It is Wally Mason to include the will become director of the Sheldon a museum that shows us how museum as an Museum of Art at the University of to live in the present and how extension of their Nebraska-Lincoln on Oct. 15. the future can be built on tradition,” classrooms by creating exhibitions Mason was selected to lead the Mason said. “It has benefited from that presented a core multidisciplinary Sheldon, which houses one of the outstanding leaders who crafted an approach to the curriculum. country’s premier collections of extraordinary permanent collection and Mason earned a master of fine arts American art and is a national leader exhibition history. degree at Indiana University. Before in developing multidisciplinary Mason comes to Lincoln from joining Marquette in 2007, he directed approaches to the visual arts, following a unique academic art museum. galleries at the Ringling School of a national search. He replaces Jorge Marquette’s Haggerty Museum is the Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla., the Daniel Veneciano, who resigned in only art museum on a U.S. college University of Idaho and the University December to become director of El campus where art and art history of Maine. Museo del Barrio in New York. are not part of the curriculum. The – Steve Smith, University “Sheldon is an institution that I have Haggerty staff worked successfully to Communications
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM UNL Scientists Help Identify Tuco-Tucos in Bolivia
A research team led by Scott tuco-tuco; Ctenomys andersoni, or Ctenomys lewisi, a previously known species of Gardner of the University of Nebraska- Anderson’s cujuchi; and Ctenomys tuco-tuco that is similar in appearance to the four new Lincoln has identified four new species lessai, or Lessa’s tuco-tuco – were species. (Scott Gardner | University of Nebraska-Lincoln) of Ctenomys, a genus of gopher-like found in an area of high ridges that mammal found throughout much of create deep river valleys in central South America. Bolivia. The fourth new species, Commonly called tuco-tucos, the Ctenomys yatesi, or Yates’ tuco-tuco, burrowing rodents range from 7 to was found in the lowlands of eastern 12 inches long and weigh less than a Bolivia. pound. They demonstrate the broad As many as 65 tuco-tuco species range of biological diversity in the are known to exist throughout South lowlands and central valleys of Bolivia, America. With the four new species, more about the parasites that infested where all four new species were found. there have been a dozen found in tuco-tucos, but first needed to It is very rare to identify a new Bolivia alone. distinguish the rodent species. species of mammal, said Gardner, Gardner collaborated on the project “As we went along, it turned out director of the H.W. Manter Laboratory with curators at the Museum of these species were more unique than of Parasitology and a curator for the Southwestern Biology at the University we realized and we collected more and University of Nebraska State Museum. of New Mexico in Albuquerque and more as we moved through different “In the current environment of human- with the American Museum of Natural places,” Gardner recalled. We could caused environmental disturbance History in New York. actually tell they were different by and degradation, the discovery of four Identification of the new species looking at their chromosomes and their previously unknown species that are was the result of National Science DNA sequences.” relatively large in size is phenomenal.” Foundation-funded work Gardner – Leslie Reed, University Three of the newly identified animals began as a graduate student in the Communications – Ctenomys erikacuellarae or Erika’s 1980s. He was interested in learning
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 13 CAMPUS BRIEFS
Appointments n Susan Fritz has been named executive vice president and provost and dean of the Graduate College of the University of Nebraska. n Daniel Schachtman, professor of agronomy and horticulture, is the new director Aliza Brugger of UNL’s Center for Biotechnology. He succeeds Deb Hamernik, associate conducting research and giving dean of IANR’s Agricultural Research GRANTS workshops and lectures. n Ronnie Division, who served as interim director n A UNL research team led by Green, vice chancellor for the Institute since July 1, 2013. evolutionary geneticist Jay Storz has of Agriculture and Natural Resources, received a $1.4 million grant from was recognized for his administrative the National Institutes of Health for leadership at the American Society KUDOS continued research into mechanisms of for Animal Science’s national awards n Carole Levin, Willa Cather professor protein evolution. Other members program. He received the ASAS Fellow of history and chair of the medieval Award in administration. n Three UNL and Renaissance studies program students earned Presidential Graduate at UNL, has earned a Fulbright to Fellowships from the University the University of York to further of Nebraska for the 2014-2015 academic year. They are: Danielle Haak, natural resources; Jonathon Sikorski, educational psychology; and Trisha Spanbauer, earth and atmospheric sciences. Fellows receive a stipend from the University of Nebraska Foundation to pursue studies full-time. n As leading movie directors from around the world captured top honors at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, two films directed by UNL film studies students were screened. UNL student and aspiring filmmakerAliza Brugger’s Carole Levin first work as a director, a seven-minute film called “The Pursuit of Happiness,” was among those screened, along with research how first century Celtic Collin Baker’s eight-minute film, “Over queen Boudicca’s leadership affected Forgotten Roads.” Brugger and Baker England’s future queens and her are the first two UNL students to have connections to contemporary female a film screened at Cannes. political leadership. Levin will spend the spring 2015 semester in York
14 FALL 2014 of the UNL team include associate professor Hideaki Moriyama, a co- investigator on the grant; and senior research associate Chandrasekhar Natarajan. n Last year, about 550 of Willa Cather’s letters were published in “The Selected Letters of Willa Cather,” co-edited by UNL’s Andrew Jewell. The volume contained only a fraction of the more than 3,000 pieces of correspondence that Jewell and co- editor Janis Stout had uncovered from various archives and collections around the world. Now, thanks to a three-year, $271,980 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, many more will be digitized and put online BOOKS as part of the Willa Cather Archive, n The University of Nebraska Press a venture of UNL’s Center for Digital has published a book by Margaret Research in the Humanities. The digital D. Jacobs, Chancellor’s Professor of edition of Cather letters is expected History at UNL. “A Generation Removed: family stories. Jacobs examines how to launch in January 2018, when The Fostering and Adoption of Indigenous government authorities in the post- the letters are scheduled to enter the Children in the Postwar World” is World War II era removed thousands public domain. a powerful blend of history and of American Indian children from their families and placed them in non- Indian foster or adoptive families. By the late 1960s, an estimated 25 to 35 percent of Indian children had been separated from their families. n The words of Abraham Lincoln are the subject of another book recently published by UNP. The final project of the late James A. Rawley, a preeminent historian of the Civil War era and UNL professor emeritus, “A Lincoln Dialogue” cross-examines Lincoln’s major statements, papers and initiatives in light of the comments and criticism of his supporters and detractors. Drawn from letters and newspapers, pamphlets and reports, these statements and responses constitute a unique documentary examination of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Rawley’s careful selection and his judicious interweaving of historical analysis and background Left to right: Hideaki Moriyama, Jay Storz and Chandrasekhar Natarajan. invite us into the dialogue and allow us to hear the voices of American history in the making.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 15 Nostalgia WINNER, Third Place 2014 Writing contest Darrel D. Rippeteau’s World Wall II experience included a period on the staff of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Then-Capt. Rippeteau was detailed to the Army Experimental Station at Pine Camp (now Fort Drum) outside of Watertown in upstate New York. The activi- ties of this unit, which were not declassified until 50 years after the war, were the subject of the 2002 book by Philip Gerard, “Secret Soldiers.” Now living in Del Ray Beach, Fla., Rippeteau practiced architecture with Sargent, Webster Crenshaw & Folley in Syracuse, N.Y., retiring as managing partner in 1980, and then became active in efforts to preserve the nearly extinct American chestnut.
A SOLDIER REMEMBERS
By Darrel D. Rippeteau, ’41
An unusual thing about my military service was that it began with a youth-oriented military training program run by the U.S Amy that was little known at the time and is almost lost to history now: the Citizens Military Training Camps, or CMTC. My family’s friends in our local American Legion Post of World War I veterans in my hometown, Clay Center, Neb., encouraged me to sign up for the CMTC. This training took place for one month each summer over four years. As a precursor to the University of Nebraska’s reserve officer training corps (ROTC) and my resulting commission as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. My CMTC program began in 1934 at Fort Crook, Omaha, Neb., (later better known as the Offutt Field U.S. Darrel Rippeteau on his horse, “Battle,” during CMTC at Ft. Air Force Base). This basic course was all about infantry Snelling, Minn. The World War I French 75-mm guns in the training and tent living. The following three years, known background were horse-drawn. consecutively as the red, white and blue courses, took place at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minn. For our field artillery training in the red course, we used own horse to ride; he was called Battle. French-designed guns capable of firing 75-mm (3-inch) diameter It is amazing to me now to look back to that time, when shells. At the time, these machines were considered superior Hitler was already raging around Europe, yet we were training because they were more stable and safer to operate. However, with horse-drawn equipment dating from World War I. I they were pulled by horse-drawn equipment dating from World completed the full program during the final blue summer, on War I. There were six horses per gun and six horses per caisson, Aug. 30, 1937. which carried the ammunition. During the second summer In the meantime, in the autumn of 1936, I had enrolled white course, although we used the same equipment, I had my at the University of Nebraska and signed up for the ROTC.
16 FALL 2014 The University of Nebraska ROTC annual “Compet,” spring 1937, with the Field Artillery Battery passing in review.
Coincidentally, just as I was arriving, the university had the enemy, or the commander’s best guess from what intelligence established its first ROTC Field Artillery Battalion. And so, to was at hand; locations of troops both enemy and friendly; and my delight, I was able to continue in field artillery training. details about administration and logistical support – the who, The equipment I found consisted of the same old French 75- what, where, when of the plan for the battle itself. And whether mm guns. But by now they had been modernized with systems written on dirty notepaper in a foxhole, or while sitting at a desk known as Sperry adapters. These removed the original wood at battalion HQ, no one had ever seemed to improve on this spoke and iron rim wheels and replaced them with large truck methodology. wheels with thick rubber tires. Also, they were all drawn by 1.5- As I went through life, I realized that this discipline could ton Dodge civilian trucks, painted in the ubiquitous army olive be applied in any field, and in my case architecture. The same green. tenets would race through my mind as I planned the initiation Within the new field artillery battalion, I also volunteered for of our next design project for the governor of New York or our extra duty. Although unpaid, you could earn further military next marketing effort to a local upstate New York jurisdiction credits by joining this honorary unit, known as the Cornhusker wanting to build a new high school. It was always a competition; Battery. We had Saturday drills, extra studies and extra sessions and I always came prepared with my battle plan. The Five of running the trucks around the countryside out north of the Paragraph Field Order, adapted for civilian use, was never far Lincoln East Agricultural College Campus. Extra studies, extra from my mind. maneuvers, extra credits. It seemed a good deal to me. Little In 1941, I graduated from the University of Nebraska with a did I know just how valuable this training would prove to be degree in architecture and I received my commission as a 2nd throughout my life. Lt., Field Artillery, U.S. Army. With World War II underway, I A sense of optimism pervaded everything we did. We was almost immediately ordered onto active duty. It would be were patriotic, of course. But there was more. The entire another four and a half years before I could commence my career underpinning of our training stood on the development of a as an architect. v practical outlook toward problem solving. Perhaps most valuable was learning the skill of how to get organized: how to organize and direct others to carry out your instructions and implement your ideas, how to plan ahead, how to lead others. One example of this was the ROTC’s training in the use of the army’s command control system known as the Five Paragraph Field Order. Formalized for the first time to the U.S. military in the 1890s, this was a set of five specific areas of information that a commander should impart Rippeteau’s gun crew took first place in the NU ROTC “Compet” when communicating instructions to subordinates in the on May 27, 1937. These 1897 French 75-mm guns were modified field. This included such specifics as information about with Sperry adapters for rubber tires.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 17 Profile WINNER, Third place 2014 Writing contest Madeline Shomos completed her undergraduate career at UNL in May with degrees in English and French. During her time at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she enjoyed serving on the Honors Program Student Advisory Board, being a member of Mortar Board National Honors Society and playing the tenor saxophone in the Cornhusker Marching Band. Although she is uncertain what her future career path holds, she will always treasure her UNL experience and education.
More than familial fame By Madeline Shomos, ’14
With a last name as uncommon as Shomos, I’ve grown semester in France, and a year in Albania) and still managed to accustomed to the question, “Are you Elena’s sister?” be well known on campus. Professors often ask me about her Maybe if it was a little more generic, I could fly under the and tell me to pass on their heartfelt salutations. Peers approach radar – take classes from the same professors, interact with me with excitement when they make the connection between Honors Program faculty, and even use my NCard to buy a snack the pictures of Elena hanging in the Honors Office and myself. from the Union Bookstore without facing the interrogation. Even on a campus as large as UNL, I can never go too long Although, with a sister as distinguished as Elena, why on earth without finding somebody who has a positive connection with would I want to disassociate myself? my sister. Of course, as the victim of my fair share of sibling Undeniably, there is a certain bias that accompanies abuse, I am sometimes surprised to hear, “Oh, I love Elena!” sisterhood, but there is no question that, at the age of 25, Elena come from the mouth of somebody not biologically obligated to Shomos is already a University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumna say it. success story. Before Elena started studying in Albania, I knew very little Elena graduated in August 2012 with a bachelor of arts degree about the country from which our father’s grandparents in international studies and French. Her graduation robe was emigrated. Inspired by our heritage and her passion for decorated with honors cords and a medal with white ribbon, international affairs, Elena took interest in Albania fairly early indicating high distinction. During her undergraduate career, in her college career. When studying abroad in both Bologna, she made two separate appearances on the university website’s Italy, and Besançon, France, she sought out connections front page: once for her Boren scholarship in 2011 and again in with Albanian students. She began to learn the language and 2013 for her Fulbright Fellowship award. delve into the culture. She used her Boren scholarship for a These accomplishments alone are outstanding. Perhaps equally study abroad program at the University of Korça in Albania, impressive, however, is the fact that Elena spent the majority of and started investigating the importance of democratic civic her undergraduate career studying abroad (two years in Italy, a education in the community.
18 FALL 2014 I was fortunate enough to visit my sister for a week during my own study abroad semester in the spring of 2012. Her prowess in interacting Elena Shomos (at the podium) talks to the U.S. Ambassador and communicating with everybody to Albania and others about the importance of democratic from taxi drivers to diplomats was citizenship education. astounding. Through her, I learned more about the history of my While Elena is certainly not the one in our family who is the ancestors, the country from which they came and the Albanian best at sharing dessert, she displays her selflessness overseas. for “thank you” (Falemnderit). I saw the way that passion for a Elena volunteers at EducationUSA where she serves as a subject can fuel success while simultaneously learning about my Fulbright liaison for Albanian students interested in coming own heritage. to the United States. She has also helped out at the YWCA in With the surging popularity of Google Translate and Tirana, distributing pamphlets at the annual walk for breast other technological programs, language skills are increasingly cancer awareness. Additionally, she frequently volunteers her demeaned. Elena puts that notion to rest and uses her skills time to work with English language learners at the American and abilities in a unique, meaningful and important way. She is Corner in Tirana. She is busy with work and research, but still continuing her work in Albania, fulfilling her Fulbright contract. uses her time and abilities for the greater good. She is also working as an intern at the U.S. State Department, Next year, Elena will continue her education at either London monitoring and combating trafficking in persons. She conducts School of Economics or Kings College London. She has been weekly research and analysis of human trafficking trends accepted into both programs and is in the process of making throughout the Balkans. She also translates documents, articles her decision. I’m the English major of the family, so Elena often and other reports on the matter from Albanian, French, and sends me writings that need to be edited. I saw application essays Italian. When I learned the specifics of my sister’s job (a difficult for both schools and I am certain that whichever choice she task because of her humility), I was stunned by the importance makes, she will use her education to fuel her long-term goals, of her work. including aiding Albania in its effort to embrace the idea of Our generation is often accused of apathy and selfishness. western democracy in their post-communist society. Regarding Elena, the question shouldn’t be “Where is she now?” Even though her current location carries great significance for her academic goals, her professional career and her own self-discovery, a more important question is “Where is she going?” Elena is young, accomplished and full of potential. She will undoubtedly continue to make meaningful contributions to the world. The question, “Are you Elena’s sister?” can get irritating at times, but not even a well-practiced younger sibling eye roll can disguise the pride that I have in my sister. She has exceeded the fame of family Christmas cards and my mother’s Facebook posts to an extent that I couldn’t have imagined when she began her career at UNL. I am incredibly fortunate to share both her genetics and her undergraduate university. She is most certainly During a skill building workshop, Elena Shomos sits with a group a UNL alumna to watch. You won’t want to miss where she’s of students from the University of Korca. going. v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 19 Kim Krhounek, U.S. Foreign Policy Wonk By Anthony Flott
Kim Krhounek (center back), head of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, sat in on the Ukraine negotiations in March 2014 with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (white-haired man on right) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (directly across from Kerry). Official photo of the U.S. State Department.
he Annie Leibovitz original – a single edition gift from toward peace – Secretary of State John Kerry to her left, one of the world’s best known photographers – hangs Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov to her right. in Kim Krhounek’s Paris office. There’s a picture of that, of course. There are other pictures on display. Krhounek with “I call it my gallery of photos of important people who don’t T President Barack Obama. Krhounek with Michelle know who I am,” Krhounek said with a laugh. Obama. Krhounek with Hillary Clinton (shortly after The one with Leibovitz was taken at a 2008 reception in Krhounek lost the then-first lady in Uzbekistan). Snapshots Paris. The 1988 UNL graduate asked if she and colleague from two decades as a foreign service officer working around Carrie Shirtz could pose with her. the globe: Haiti, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Iraq. “Let me take it,” replied Leibovitz. And now France, for a second tour at the American Embassy “I have an Annie Leibovitz original,” Krhounek said. in Paris. She’s acting political minister-counselor there, “Someone at the reception was joking with me afterward and handling senior-level engagement on policy issues between said our photo was probably worth a lot of money since it was Paris and Washington, and other duties as they arise. When actually taken by Annie Leibovitz, even if it was on my camera. tensions flared between the United States and Russia over It was such a nice gesture on her part. My job definitely brings Crimea, Krhounek was in Paris helping the countries work me into contact with some interesting people.”
20 FALL 2014 A CHANGING WORLD This summer, Krhounek’s travels took her back home, to Omaha, for her 30th high school reunion: Omaha Westside, 1984. Back then, the United States and Soviet Union were titans in the middle of the Cold War. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Krhounek majored in French. She also was among a handful of students who minored in Czech. That’s the root of her family name, but the study seemed somewhat pointless. “In the 1980s, no one thought we would use it,” Krhounek said. We had just sent 2,000 U.S. troops “It’s not like you could work in the former Soviet Union countries. That was when they were pretty hard core. It was pretty repressive. into Haiti to restore President Aristide But, she added, “The world changed.” to power. It was a very exciting first Krhounek started seeing those changes firsthand even before she graduated, spending a year studying at the University of Bordeaux assignment,” she said. “My parents in France starting in 1987. In high school, she’d spent a month in were like, ‘You’re going where?’ France visiting a foreign exchange student who had stayed with her “ family. “That sparked my interest in the whole international thing,” she said. A cultural anthropology class at UNL fanned the flames. “I found it fascinating, learning about cultures and immersion and integration,” Krhounek said. “Without being aware of it, those same things cropped up in my entire career. I think that’s really what it takes … a couple of the right classes with the right teachers and something starts going … ‘This is really fascinating … maybe I can do some more with it.’” She returned from France and graduated from Nebraska as a Superior Scholar (top 3 percent in her class), majoring in French with minors in Czech and international relations (her father, mother and two siblings also are UNL grads). She then earned an M.A. in international studies and a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C., on the way spending a year as a law clerk in the congressional office of Nebraska Rep. Peter Hoagland. Krhounek joined the Foreign Service – she said more than once she’s been asked if she works for the French Foreign Legion – only after a friend urged her to apply. Actually, the friend completed the application on Krhounek’s behalf. Krhounek relented and passed the written and oral exam. The friend didn’t. “She got married and has three kids and never left the United States,” Krhounek said of the friend, with whom she remains close. “It ended up being a good fit. It met the requirements of what I wanted to do with my life, which was travel around and live in different countries, learn different languages and have a different life.” That she did. She joined the Foreign Service in January 1994. Her French came in handy at her first post, where she had to learn French Creole as a consular officer at the American Embassy in Haiti (It still comes in handy whenever she’s in New York and gets a ride from a Haitian cabbie). Among Krhounek’s duties in Haiti was serving as a monitor in elections restoring democratic rule in Haiti. “We had just sent 2,000 U.S. troops into Haiti to restore Famed photographer Annie Leibowitz (center) President Aristide to power. It was a very exciting first assignment,” snapped a selfie in Paris in 2008 with Krhounek she said. “My parents were like, ‘You’re going where?’” (right) and her colleague, Carrie Shirtz. From the start – and at each successive post – Krhounek saw history unfold. Some highlights:
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 21 Krhounek analyzed new legislation from the Czech Czech Republic Parliament modernizing communist-era laws related to freedom of information, privacy and human rights protections. Later, she worked with INS and airport 1997-1999 officials to successfully investigate several international alien smuggling/illegal employment rings. It was during this time that she also “lost” Hillary Clinton in Uzbekistan. The first lady’s planned stop at a communist-era hotel came ahead of schedule. Krhounek, just a junior level officer, was the only embassy rep on hand to help. She was told to take Clinton to the top of the hotel on the ninth floor. Krhounek pressed “9” but the elevator instead stopped on the seventh floor. Clinton got off. Krhounek stayed on the elevator and continued – surprisingly – up. There stood the secret service wondering where the first lady was. Krhounek headed back to the seventh floor. There stood Clinton. “She’s not looking happy,” said Krhounek, who told the first lady she could get her to nine, but first they’d have to go back to the lobby, then up. “I think we’ll take the stairs,” said Clinton. Kurdish students pose with Krhounek (first row center) at the “American Corner” library A picture was taken later that day. “I’m totally hiding in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. in the background,” Krhounek said. “They sent me to Uzbekistan and all I did was lose the first lady.”
Krhounek was part of a 15-member multinational team Egypt that observed and reported on Egyptian and Israeli military compliance with the 1979 Treaty of Peace in designated zones of Sinai and the Israeli border. She led teams 1999-2000 composed of American, Egyptian and Israeli members on sensitive aerial reconnaissance by helicopter and ground verification by four-wheel drive vehicles. She also liaised with high-ranking military commanders. “We thought peace was right around the corner between Israel and Palestine,” Krhounek said. “It was very calm compared to now. The Sinai desert was primarily populated by Bedouin tribes. I traveled all over Egypt and Israel and the borders with Syria and Lebanon and the Golan Heights. I wouldn’t do that now.”
Krhounek came back stateside, for the first of two stints Washington, D.C. in Washington, D.C. The state department pulls its officers home regularly after a few tours. “Washington doesn’t like us to stay overseas too long,” 2000-2002 Krhounek said. “They think we go native.” But it helps to see how the sausage gets made. “Overseas you see how we implement what the foreign policy decisions are,” she said. “In Washington, you see how those decisions are made. It’s an important part of the puzzle.”
22 FALL 2014 Krhounek held a series of posts in her second tour in the Czech Republic, ending at the American Embassy in Czech Republic Prague as director of the American Information Center. By then, democracy had taken full root. Krhounek saw a notable difference from past visits. 2001-2006 “Like night and day,” she said. “I had visited Prague when it was communist for a couple of days with my parents in ’83 and then went back in ’93 just as a tourist again. I was a student traveling around, and that was after communism had fallen. Prague was flooded with foreign investments. It had kind of a boomtown feel to it. You saw this whole generation … a bunch of younger people who couldn’t really remember communism anymore and never had that legacy. But there was also a bit of backlash. Some of the older generation spent 40 years buying into communism and felt a bit disenfranchised. They figured they would always be taken care of … and then the whole system changed on them. You actually saw how moving to democracy wasn’t perfect for everybody.”
Krhounek finished as deputy principal officer and had senior-level policy engagement with the Kurdistan Iraq Regional Government. “Completely different from anything else I had done,” she said. “The Kurdish region is an autonomous region with its 2012-2013 own army, own police. It’s a secure and stable region. We went up to the Syrian border and visited refugee camps the Kurds set up to host 25,000 refugees, and they were already at 50,000 because the war in Syria keeps growing and growing.”
For 20 years, then, she’s had a front-row seat to history. “I’ve been in long enough that I can participate in some of these things at the very senior level,” Krhounek said. “You get a chance to see the personal dynamics that sometimes drive some of these decisions. None of it is easy. A lot of it is complicated and a lot of it is trying to find a step-by-step way to move it forward.”
Continued on page 24 Krhounek visited Syrian refugee children at the Domiz refugee camp in Iraq.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 23 BACK IN PARIS in a half-hour phone call. You agree to at least a couple Now she’s on her second tour in Paris. She lives in an benchmarks, meet a couple weeks later and see if that has apartment right next to the Eiffel Tower. At the embassy she created enough space … or if you have to kick it up a notch.” is responsible for the 20-person political section that includes Krhounek, the only embassy representative at the meeting, two other Nebraskans – Tim Fitzgibbons, a 1993 graduate of wrote the U.S. embassy’s official account of the meeting. Over Elkhorn Mount Michael, and Bisola Ojikutu, a 1994 Lincoln the years, she’s received numerous awards for her work, from High grad. her humanitarian efforts in Haiti to her efforts in Iraq. She “In a work environment that can sometimes involve very said she’s most proud of getting to be a part of “a whole that is serious, very intense issues, she always maintains a good sense much bigger than what I can be myself … I find it worthwhile of humor,” Fitzgibbons said, “even when she has to be at the and satisfying because I think it makes a difference.” table in a surprise high-stakes four-hour meeting between two Where does she go from here? Single, Krhounek could retire world leaders.” with a partial pension two years from now when she turns That’s exactly where Krhounek was March 30 – sitting at 50. If the foreign service were the military, Krhounek’s next a crowded table with U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and his bump in rank would be to general. If that promotion to senior Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov. Russian troops foreign service doesn’t happen in the next six years she faces were in the Ukraine. mandatory retirement. Politics would not be an option if that “We had quite different objectives, I think, going into the happened. Teaching, perhaps. meeting,” Krhounek said. “And Secretary of State Kerry kind Fitzgibbons can see her being promoted. “Absolutely. Her of kept bringing it back: ‘But what are we going to do with the high-quality leadership, as well as the fact that she’s been so current situation? What are you willing to commit to? This is successful in so many different environments – Iraq, France, what we’re willing to commit to.’ Haiti – show that potential.” “These are a marathon. It’s not something that gets decided So do the photos on her wall. v
The fun and discovery of foreign travel claimed the attention of Kim Krhounek as she mugged for the camera on a vacation to Machu Picchu in Peru.
24 FALL 2014 Enter the 2015 Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest and compete for a byline!
The Categories • Alumni Profiles: Write about a Nebraska grad with an interesting hobby or career. • Nostalgia Pieces: Tell us about a memorable student activity you participated in at UNL, or write about a favorite professor.
The Prizes Three prizes will be awarded in each category, and the winning articles will be published in Nebraska Magazine. • 1st Prize: $500 • 2nd Prize: $250 • 3rd Prize: $100
The Details Articles must be 750 to 1,000 words in length, typewritten. Entry deadline is April 15, 2015. Submit entries, along with the author’s name, address and phone number. • By mail: Magazine Writing Contest, Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. • By e-mail: [email protected] • By FAX: (402) 472-9289 • Online: huskeralum.org/writing-submission
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 25 26 FALL 2014 Confronting the Plague By Tom Nugent
Mark Williams (M.A. ’79) has spent the past 30 years studying and writing about one of the most destructive disease outbreaks of modern times: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. During his long career as a researcher on social, behavioral and cultural aspects of the illness, he has interviewed thousands of AIDS patients in the United States and Africa. While conducting his studies on the mean streets of low-income neighborhoods in Houston, Miami, Dar es Salaam and half a dozen other cities around the world, this fearless public health investigator has done his best to help combat a disease which has so far killed 40 million people and left 12 million orphans in its wake. Today his bottom-line message is simple. “Our system for [funding] scientific research is broken,” he said, “and that is very dangerous to public health. Why? Because there are other emergent diseases waiting out there, and we have no idea what they are or when they might trigger the next pandemic.”
ost of the time, Mark Williams was able to control his International University. “Anybody would have wanted him for a emotions. son. But now he was living on the streets, living hand to mouth. As he talked with the dying AIDS patients who He was selling sex to survive and to buy drugs. And because he M lived in the homeless shelters or on the streets of was already HIV-positive, he probably had only a few years to Houston’s wounded inner city, the highly disciplined live. I knew he would be dead soon, or in jail somewhere. And health researcher was usually able to keep a tight lid on his so I asked him: ‘What would have changed your life? What feelings. would have made a difference?’” But nothing could have prepared him for the agonizing The kid didn’t answer at first. interview he conducted with a troubled teenager who was drug- “He sat there for a minute,” Williams remembered, “and addicted, HIV-positive and living on the street. you could tell he was really pondering a response. And then he That interview took place back in the late 1980s, during looked me straight in the eye and he said: ‘A father.’ which Williams asked the homeless boy what might have made “And I had to stop the interview. I had to leave the room. his life different. Because, you know, I was about to lose it. And so I said: We’ll “He was a cute kid,” Williams told Nebraska Magazine wait. We’ll continue this interview tomorrow.” in Miami, where he now teaches public health at Florida
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 27 Fighting an Invisible Enemy After originating among monkeys and chimpanzees in West-Central Africa during the early years of the 20th Century, the virus that causes AIDS soon “jumped the species barrier” and began infecting humans. The earliest documented case of the disease appeared in the Congo in 1959, and by the mid-1960s the virus had reportedly reached the United States. The pandemic spread quickly among several high-risk groups, including especially homosexual men and drug- users who injected narcotics into the Williams and his staff in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. bloodstream. An extraordinarily complex pathogen, the AIDS virus can move easily throughout the human immune SUFFERING THAT WAS ‘BEYOND WORDS’ system due in part to its diminutive size. The son of a gas station mechanic, Williams, now 60, grew Only four-millionths of an inch in length up in small-town Iowa before spending two years (1977-79) as a (or about one-twentieth the size of an graduate student in political science at the University of Nebraska. ordinary E. coli bacterium), HIV can’t His childhood was deeply affected, he said, by his mother’s cancer, be seen except with a high-powered which left him and his three brothers in the care of their maternal electron microscope. grandmother for several years. He believes that experience taught him some important lessons The AIDS Epidemic: about compassion and empathy. But he said he was also shaped by his early life as a member of the Roman Catholic Church in Tipton How Big Is It? (population: 3,221), which taught him “faith, hope and charity” – Take the entire Vietnam War. Multi- and the importance of caring for those in need. ply the size and scope of it by a factor “My mother [Kathleen “Smokey” Williams] was a wonderful of 20. Instead of two million Asians and teacher,” he recalled. “We’d go to Mass, and there was this one Westerners dead from warfare, think old woman who would come into the church and she smelled of 40 million dead. Instead of perhaps [bad]. Everyone knew it, and kids are gonna say something. But a quarter of a million Vietnamese and my mother told us: ‘It doesn’t matter what she smells like. When Cambodian orphans created by war, she comes here, she’s the same as you are.’ And she told us that we think of 12 million orphans created by a couldn’t make fun of her.” merciless and implacable virus for which After earning an English degree at the University of Iowa (1976), no immunization has yet been found. Williams worked briefly for an insurance company in Omaha. That’s HIV/AIDS. Then he decided that he wanted to learn more about government Think of the gargantuan horror and politics, and especially about the dynamics of public polling. that was World War I, with nine million Because he now lived in Omaha, he was eligible for in-state tuition soldiers dead on the ground and mil- at UNL. lions more struggling with injuries and In the fall of 1977, he arrived in Lincoln and settled into “a ailments caused by that world-changing tiny efficiency apartment [located] right across the street from conflict. the state Capitol.” He also landed a full-time job hauling boxes Now multiply World War I by four ... and managing warehouse shipments at the Russell Stover candy and you will be describing the disease works. “I worked 40 hours a week and went to class in between,” havoc caused by a 35-year-old pan- he remembered. “It wasn’t easy ... and I didn’t have a car. It took demic that long ago became one of the me 25 minutes to get from work back to the apartment, and I biggest human tragedies of the modern world.
28 FALL 2014 Dallas Buyers Club: A Look At the Tragic 1980s Response to HIV/AIDS If you’re like most hardcore movie patients on a daily basis. But when he and they weren’t,” he said. In Houston, fans, you probably caught last talks about what he witnessed on the just like in Dallas, the buyers club grew year’s blockbuster Hollywood hit – streets and in the public health clinics of because the healthcare industry was not “Dallas Buyers Club” – at your local Houston during the second half of the responding to the pandemic. And this was neighborhood Cinemaplex. 1980s, his anger and grief are evident. also happening in places like New York And like most, you probably reached “I can tell you that there was also a City. for the Kleenex a few times while buyers club started in Houston,” he said “People were left to die on gurneys in watching Matthew McConaughey and quietly, while referring to several key hospital aisles. They were left because no Jared Leto win Academy Awards for their scenes in the film showing how 1980s medical personnel would treat them.” performances as AIDS patients who AIDS patients were forced to smuggle learned to love and trust each other before virus-fighting drugs from Mexico into eventually dying of the disease. Texas. “In many cases,” he added, “these “Dallas Buyers Club” was a huge patients had to try and find medications critical success, even as it earned about on their own, since the medical $50 million or so for Focus Features and establishment in the U.S. often the two Tinseltown studios that released refused to treat them. the film in late 2013. “The way the [U.S.] Interestingly, however, longtime AIDS healthcare system responded researcher and public health activist to HIV then [in the 1980s] was Mark Williams said he did not catch the reprehensible. There were physicians show – and that he doesn’t intend to, “on and nurses who would refuse to treat purpose.” patients; who would refuse to even see Ask him why not, and he’ll politely patients – and they felt no shame at all deflect the question with a few general in doing it.” comments about how he “learned to turn Williams paused to take a deep breath. off” his emotions in order to survive the “These were people who were supposed stress of interviewing and advising AIDS to be on the front lines [of healthcare],
remember some very cold walks in the wintertime!” Having been trained as a public-opinion researcher, Williams But he also remembered the excitement he felt as a grad became deeply interested in attitudes about a new disease student who was studying both constitutional law and the latest epidemic that by the mid-1980s was making front-page trends in political opinion polling. “For me, the really great headlines in Houston and elsewhere: HIV/AIDS. He wound thing about UNL was that my years there taught me how to up spending the next 12 years (starting in 1987) as a private- think,” he recalled. “We studied cases at the Supreme Court, sector researcher who worked closely with disease experts at the and that experience taught me how to build a coherent, logical National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Centers for argument. Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to better understand the “At the same time, I was working as a grad assistant with the behavioral and cultural dynamics that were contributing to the head of the Political Science Department, Dr. Susan Welch, and spread of AIDS. her specialty was opinion polling. So I learned a great deal about “That was a very difficult time for all of us who were working statistics and how to analyze survey data. I didn’t know it at the on HIV,” Williams remembered. “We had set up a data center in time, of course, but this knowledge would play a key part in my a low-income area of Houston, and we would often draw blood later career as a public health researcher.” from people who were members of the gay community there. Armed with a brand-new Ph.D. in political science from the And many of the others were prostitutes, or they were drug- University of Iowa (1983), Williams soon found a job teaching injecting addicts, homeless people, street people ... and so we the subject at the University of St. Thomas – a small liberal arts were finding hundreds of new AIDS cases. college in Houston. “And quite often, it was our job to draw blood and then send
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 29 it out for analysis ... and when it came back HIV-positive, it was administration – has a very high opinion of Mark Williams as our job to tell these people that they had the disease, which at a public-health researcher and teacher. Said the Guide last year, that time was basically a death sentence. So it was very difficult. after naming the former UNL grad student to its List of 100 And I remember, very distinctly, just feeling overwhelmed each Great Health Administration Leaders: day, and making a very conscious decision to turn it all off. Just “Dr. Williams has earned an international reputation for his turn off the realization of what we were dealing with. research and scholarship in the area of HIV/AIDS ... and he “Telling these patients they had HIV – it was like saying, has led studies funded by NIH, CDC and other national and ‘You’re going to die.’ And then came the tears, the anger. But international [healthcare] foundations. He’s also a very popular quite often, the reaction you got was beyond words ... just a teacher at FIU.” deep turning inward.” Having worked on several research studies which explored the Remembering those social and economic conditions tumultuous early days of the that underlie the huge AIDS AIDS epidemic, Williams epidemic in Sub-Saharan did not mince his words. When it comes to treating chronic Africa (he led the first-ever “I do believe that society’s health conditions, or prevention, or study to show that drug abuse response to the epidemic education ... you’re basically out of is a key factor in the spread of was reprehensible,” he said luck if you happen to be poor.” HIV in Tanzania, for example: quietly during a two-hour “ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ interview in his office on pmc/articles/PMC2862568/), the Miami campus of FIU. “We stigmatized the disease; we Williams is convinced that there’s “a clear connection” between stigmatized the people. We did as little as possible to deal with “social injustice” and disease pandemics. the epidemic. “For millions of people in this country and in the countries “Things improved later, of course, but the world’s initial of Africa,” he warned near the end of the interview, “quality response to AIDS was terrible. And that was simply because it healthcare is still out of reach. Sure, if you’re dying, you can [the disease] was happening to poor people in obscure places – probably get into an emergency room somewhere. But when places like Sub-Saharan Africa and America’s inner cities and gay it comes to treating chronic health conditions, or prevention, neighborhoods and so on. For the most part, it was happening or education ... you’re basically out of luck if you happen to be to people we didn’t like who were living in parts of the cities we poor. didn’t care about.” “But what we often don’t realize, as a nation, is that social injustice comes with a price tag. If you start diminishing the MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN public good [in areas such as healthcare] in favor of private ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE’ AND PUBLIC HEALTH good, you’re going to pay a price. And that’s especially true in For Williams, who subsequently spent a dozen years as a healthcare ... because it is in these under-served populations that behavioral science professor at the University of Texas School of the next disease epidemic will probably emerge.” Public Health and then in 2012 joined the public health faculty Williams said his studies have also documented the fact that at FIU (where he also serves as associate dean of Academic the “continuing decline of funding for research on public health Affairs), America’s dismal response to AIDS has been a deeply in the United States” now poses “a dangerous threat” to all of us. motivating factor in his research on social factors related to the “I’m a hopeful person, an optimist by nature,” he said with disease. a quiet smile. “But I must say I’m troubled by what’s been While authoring more than 150 scientific papers on the happening in recent years to public health research in this subject over the past 20 years, he’s also helped to train dozens of country. Basically, our system for funding that research is graduate students in the basics of public health. “Mark is one of broken, and I think that’s very dangerous to public health. the best teachers of research methods and philosophy I’ve ever “Right now, with the continuing cuts we are seeing in worked with,” said his longtime colleague, University of Texas scientific research and education, you have a situation where so Public Health Professor Michael Ross. many good scientists are spending too much time chasing NIH “He understands that teaching research methods without dollars and the few dollars that are still available out there at the understanding the philosophical arguments behind them is as [research] foundations. Meanwhile, state money for research has different as freeze-dried food is to French cuisine. When students virtually dried up. realize the history and philosophy of science that is behind “This is not good for science and it’s not good for public developing, testing and communicating scientific questions, it health. And we have to begin dealing with this problem, starting becomes gourmet science.” right now – because there are emergent diseases waiting out Like Ross, the authoritative U.S. MHA Guide – which there, and we have no idea what they are or when they might evaluates master’s level academic programs in healthcare trigger the next pandemic. v
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 31 Zachary, Schmackar y
By Tom Nugent
When New York City cookie entrepreneur Zachary Schmahl (BA, ’06) landed in the Big Apple in the summer of 2008, he thought he wanted to be a star on Broadway. But life was preparing something else for the former UNL theatre major ... today the hugely successful operator of a $2-million-a-year gourmet cookie business known as “Schmackary’s.” “Life is a rollercoaster,” said Schmahl when asked to explain his astonishing journey from Broadway wannabe to the Cookie Mogul of Times Square. “You just gotta put your hands up and ride the wave!”
32 FALL 2014 Zachary Schmahl outside his cookie store in New York City. Photo by Michaela Dowd.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 33 shimmering, endlessly beguiling image of himself as a headliner at one of the legendary live theaters in Wonderful Town. “ ext!” Like most of the others, Schmahl had immediately moved N Zachary Schmahl, 24 years old and grappling with a into a tiny apartment – a 400-foot-square mini-pad near Times sudden attack of the jitters, rose to his feet. Square and so small that even the simplest action (opening the Lurching forward, he mounted a flight of steps onto the main refrigerator, flushing the toilet) was like trying to tie a knot stage. Was this really happening? Was he really about to audition inside a matchbox. for a national touring company production of “A Chorus Line” Showbiz! – one of the most spectacularly successful musicals in the entire Like the others, Schmahl had spent endless hours asking history of Broadway? himself: do I really have what it takes? Again and again, he had Yes, this was real. This audition, with several hundred tried to calculate the odds against success ... in a world where Broadway hopefuls lined up in a hallway at the Actors Equity “unless you have a three-or-four-octave [singing] range and can Building on West 46th Street, was fully underway. And now it dance your face off, you’re in for a very tough gig!” was Schmahl’s turn to dance. Like most of the others in the audition hall on this summer It happened in August of 2008, only two weeks after Schmahl morning, Schmahl was feeling some intense pressure when arrived in Gotham City and began the incredibly challenging he took the stage. As a theatre major at UNL, he’d often been struggle to find work as a stage actor. Like thousands of other encouraged by acting instructors who’d told him that his singing would-be actors in the Big Apple, the youthful Lincoln native and dancing skills might just be good enough to cut the mustard had come to New York in pursuit of a lifelong dream ... the in professional musicals – provided he continued to work non-
Jeff, Zach and Maria Schmahl sample their cookies. Photo by Michaela Dowd. 34 FALL 2014 stop at perfecting them. Schmahl had worked very hard, indeed With a stab of inexpressible horror, Zach Schmahl realized the – and now he was praying that the UNL teachers had been right worst: his sinuses were dribbling huge quantities of wet mucous about his level of talent. down his chin! Frantic, the Chorus Line dancer fought the Make no mistake, then: today’s audition was the acid test. temptation to wipe his nose. Onward, he told himself. Ignore it. And the challenge was complicated by the fact that Schmahl was Concentrate on the routine. struggling with a major sinus infection. For several days, he’d But it was hopeless. The sinuses were not to be denied. been hacking and sneezing and spitting phlegm like a runaway “That was my first audition in New York,” he remembered Yellowstone geyser. But now there was no more time in which to years later, “and I flung snot across the stage! And I couldn’t stop blow his leaking nose. thinking, ‘my God, I’ve destroyed my entire career!’” With a jolt of thrilling adrenalin, he heard the Actors Equity It was brutal, to say the least. And the results were entirely sound system slam into one of the famous musical’s most predictable. heart-stopping, high-stepping dance tunes – a rollicking hoofer’s Moments after flinging the renegade phlegm into the stage extravaganza full of dizzying leaps and kicks and whirling lights, Schmahl heard one of the producers bellow the single pirouettes... Go! word that every aspiring actor in New York dreads most to hear: With his heart in his throat, the dancer soared into his “Next!” routine. Arms extended and legs kicking harder than those of a Later, of course, after surviving more than 20 such auditions Radio City Music Hall Rockette on steroids, he sprang through and also winning his fair share of acting jobs, he came to the limelight toward the stardom that he hoped lay ahead. understand that his anxiety over the “snot episode” had been And then it happened.
Schmackary’s Cookies – A “Dazzling Hit” Throughout Broadway Theater District At the trendy Davenport Theatre on Schmackary. Miserables,” the Broadway mega-hit. New York City’s W. 45th Street, where Example: just up the street from the “Everybody here loves those cookies, the smash-hit musical comedy “Pageant” Davenport at the famed Al Hirschfeld and I’m especially fond of his gluten-free does a jam-packed business each evening, Theatre – where the marquee announced varieties. The only problem is that as soon a veteran company manager named Mark that the critics were raving about “Kinky as they’re delivered, we have to hide them, McDaniels was singing the praises of a Boots” – daytime house manager Julie Lui or they’ll be gone in a heartbeat. “fabulous” chocolate-chip cookie known as announced: “We go there all the time. “I don’t know what he puts in them ... “the Schmackary.” “I love his ‘Maple Bacon’ cookie,” but many people along Broadway will tell “Oh, everybody [in the theater district] exclaimed Lui, “and I really like the way you these are the best cookies they ever goes to Schmackary’s!” sang the ebullient they warm them up for you. Those cookies tasted.” impresario, whose fabled playhouse is are popular all around Broadway, and for a Some of The Great White Way’s biggest located only a few doors down from the good reason: they’re delicious.” stars will readily agree. Among the leading Times Square neighborhood cookie palace. A few blocks from the Hirschfeld lights who have sampled Zach’s exquisite “He [Zachary Schmahl] makes an awesome (and not far from the sign that had been confections and then raved about them cookie. They’re fresh-made, and they’re very scrawled on a chalkboard in front of the during the past few years are Kristin satisfying. Beer Culture Bar: “Thanks for last night – Chenoweth, the Tony Award-winning “You ask anybody in the theater world, you know who you are!”) ... a ticket-seller singer-actress and star of “Wicked;” Judith and they’ll all tell you the same thing. He’s at the world-renowned Imperial Theatre Light, a headliner in “Other Desert Cities” the next Mrs. Fields!” gushed happily about the “lip-schmackin’- and another Tony winner; famed Broadway Mark McDaniels was right. good” confections that are baked daily actress-singer Audra McDonald (“A Raisin During a recent walking survey of the by Zach Schmahl and his crew of 26 in the Sun”); Henry Winkler, the ageless Broadway theater district, one showbiz relentlessly dedicated cookie crafters. “Fonz” from “Happy Days;” and Neil regular after another waxed eloquent “We order cookies from Schmackary’s Patrick Harris, another Tony winner and about the “high-quality ingredients” and all the time,” said the ticket maven, who the star of the TV sitcom blockbuster, “subtle, nuanced flavors” of the inimitable was pushing $275 premium seats to “Les “How I Met Your Mother.”
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 35 needless. “He was always challenging us to go outside ourselves and to “Once you’ve finished your audition and been sent on your take on roles that we couldn’t see ourselves playing. And he told way, they forget you,” he said with a sigh. “I’m sure nobody us we had to look within in order to be the character, not just remembered my sinus attack for more than ten seconds.” play the character. And he would ask us, whenever he challenged us with a difficult role: ‘Can you do it? Are you a shape-shifter?’” PROFESSOR BROWN: ‘ARE YOU A SHAPE-SHIFTER?’ On one particularly harrowing occasion, Schmahl Schmahl grew up in Lincoln as the son of a famed local remembered, Professor Brown insisted that he play both an sportscaster, Jeff Schmahl (BA, ’78) – later the creator of the “elderly Hasidic woman” and a “fiery black street-rapper with pioneering “HuskerVision” jumbo-screen TV system – and a gold teeth” ... and both during the same class period. Amazed hard-working, Cuba-born homemaker, Maria Schmahl, with a by the assignment, Schmahl was struggling to find his inner proven knack for baking “some of the best-tasting cookies in the “demure Hasidic lady” when the merciless instructor roared at entire state of Nebraska.” him: “You must learn [as an actor] to become adaptable!” From his celebrity father (who left UNL to become the Little did Zach Schmahl know, right then, that “learning senior associate athletics how to adapt to changing director at Texas A&M a circumstances” would soon decade ago and recently become “the biggest and retired), Schmahl said he most important skill” he learned a great deal about would use as a New York showmanship – “the art Zach’s dream was City business entrepreneur of communicating ideas determined to launch his to others with finesse and “to make it big on own business from scratch. power.” From his dedicated Broadway, and he has mother, a hugely energetic ‘PING – A LIGHT WENT ON woman who encouraged accomplished that IN MY HEAD’ him to “take the risks that For about two years are essential to succeeding dream.” following his 2006 in any endeavor in life,” he graduation from UNL, learned the “work ethic” that Jeff Schmahl the kid from Lincoln tried has sustained him through his best to break into TV hundreds of 12- and even and film in Los Angeles. 18-hour workdays in the He landed a few small jobs fast-paced, hurly-burly world here and there ... but soon of contemporary New York. discovered that he was taking on more and more acting roles in Nicknamed “Zachary, Schmackary” in high school, he had live theatre – some of which didn’t even pay him for his work. already “fallen in love with the theater at the age of nine,” after “Finally, I began to see the light,” he recalled, “and I realized catching a touring-company production of the musical “Cats” that I needed to be in New York, not Los Angeles, and that I in Lincoln. Determined to attend college in New York City, he needed to be working in the medium I loved most, which is the relented at the last minute and agreed to “give UNL a try for one live stage.” year,” just to see how he liked it. After settling into his micro-digs in the fabled “Hell’s Kitchen” After arriving on campus in the fall of 2002, he quickly section of Manhattan (not far from Times Square), the hopeful began signing up for acting and directing courses. Within actor plunged into the grind of auditions. “I was right off the a few months, he said, all thoughts of departing UNL boat,” he said with a groan, “and the auditioning process is just were abandoned, as the university’s award-winning theatre amazingly tough. I can’t tell you how often you would sit all department (now the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film) morning long in a hot, stuffy hallway with dozens of other actors gradually became the center of his life. – and then the casting director would breeze by and tell you: “Studying acting at UNL was a wonderfully challenging ‘Sorry, but we’ve already got all the people we need – thank you experience,” he recalled the other day in New York, “and I for coming to the audition today!’ remember many classes in which I was pushed to the limit as an “Sitting in a hallway all morning ... and you never even got actor.” to audition! Or you’d show up prepared to do [sing] 16 bars for In one of those classes, taught by a hands-on acting instructor a musical, and as soon as you hit the stage they would tell you: – Professor Stan Brown – Schmahl found himself confronting ‘We have too many people [auditioning] today – you only get what at first appeared to be an impossible assignment. eight bars!’”
36 FALL 2014 Then, with a sigh of remembered exhaustion: “This city is no Meanwhile, he was also discovering a curious fact: his love of joke. This city is hard. And it gets so bad after a while ... really, it baking cookies (first brought to life in his momma’s fragrant- gets to where the hardest thing is calling home, where they say, smelling Lincoln kitchen, 20 years before) was becoming an ‘Oh, how was your audition?’ and you say: ‘I don’t even want to increasingly important refuge from the “whips and scorns” of life talk about it.’” in New York City. “I’d always liked cookies,” he remembered. After a couple of years of banging his head against Broadway’s “Who doesn’t? But more and more, I found that I was looking stone wall, Schmahl decided he needed a break. Starting in early forward to getting home and baking up a bunch of chocolate 2010, he took a series of jobs in marketing and PR and did quite chip or maple bacon cookies as a way of relaxing and easing the well as a wordsmith who used his skills to help sell products, stress in my life.” rather than moving audiences to raucous laughter or heartfelt As Schmahl experimented with dozens of different flavors and tears. flours and cooking methods in his tiny apartment oven, he also Cookie Czar Got Help From Two Great Pals – Mom and Pop
When Zach Schmahl decided to take the plunge as a go-for-broke cookie entrepreneur, he knew his “incredibly supportive” parents would back him every step of the way. An only child who said he feels “very blessed” to have been raised by “two people whose creativity and joy in living are a daily inspiration for me,” Schmahl learned the basics of cookie-crafting in his mom’s busy kitchen. “She taught me a lot about hard work and integrity,” said the thriving businessman, who launched his fast- growing cookie-works in his own tiny New York City apartment three years ago. “But she also taught me how to find joy in the small blessings of life – in things like savoring a warm, fragrant cookie on a winter afternoon.” From his father, former Lincoln sportscaster and UNL “HuskerVision” pioneer Jeff Schmahl, Zach learned “a great deal about the art of planning and then managing a complicated business that depends on effective communication for success. “My father is such a cool spirit,” added Zach, while explaining how the older man’s knack for creative communications has helped his son come up with several clever marketing ideas for the cookie biz. “One of the best things about running Schmackary’s these days is that both of my parents are now living in New York and helping with the business,” he said. My dad often has good advice about planning, and my mom loves to spend the afternoon running around in the kitchen. “And that’s great – because these days, with more than 40 different flavors of cookies going out the door each week, we need all the help we can get!”
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 37 noticed that more and more of his friends were asking for them. “People kept telling me, these cookies are absolutely delicious – you should be selling them,” he explained recently. “At first I was skeptical, and I didn’t take them seriously. But then one day I started thinking about it. And I started asking myself: why aren’t you doing the thing you love? “And all at once: Ping! A light went on in my head and I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll give it a try. Maybe it will bring in a few extra dollars now and then.’” It did that, and more. And the drumbeat of demand grew ever louder, ever more insistent. Soon Schmahl was thinking about a name for his delightful creations, while also remembering his high school nickname. Why not call them ... Schmackary’s? And then he began to play around with a marketing slogan: How about “Lip-Schmackin’ Good!”? The business was growing by leaps and bounds now, as the “friends of friends of friends” called to Schmahl. “And I really want to stress that word ‘individual’ – as order cookies by the dozen. And soon a growing number of area he has always carried himself with a confidence that is indeed businesses – along with some of the nearby Broadway theaters, rare. even – were beginning to order up bucket-loads of Schmackary’s. “Zach is a caring, passionate and creative person who thrives On Valentine’s Day 2012, Schmahl took the leap: he was on challenge and is rarely afraid to take risks, and he believes going to launch his own cookie company, full time. And no deeply in his ability to find a way to succeed. Acting was a sooner had he made that bold-hearted decision than the phone perfect outlet as it showed off his creativity and talent, while also rang ... and he was suddenly talking with a manager at New demonstrating his courage to perform in front of an audience. York-based Viacom, the international entertainment giant. “Can “Zach’s dream was to make it big on Broadway, and he has you deliver 50 dozen of your terrific cookies and get them to accomplished that dream – albeit in a different way than he had us the day after tomorrow?” asked the caller. “We want to treat envisioned.” everybody at Viacom!” Ask Zach Schmahl to explain his remarkable marketing The rest, as they say, is cookie history. Zach Schmahl sold $1 success as the entrepreneurial magician who built a fast-growing million worth of cookies in his first full year of business. Last cookie empire almost out of thin air and he’ll tell you that the year he doubled that sales total, while also opening his first store, secret ingredients were “a willingness to do lots of hard work” at 362 W. 45th Street, only a few blocks from Times Square. ... along with “a willingness to take a few risks, while respecting Today he has 26 employees and plans to open two more stores both our customers and our employees to an extraordinary in New York City within the next few months – and the days degree.” of baking the dessert treats in his little apartment oven are long He also credits the “core values of Nebraska,” which are very gone. much at work in his thriving enterprise these days. “When “The key thing about Zach is that he really loves what people come into Schmackary’s, they can’t believe how well he’s doing,” said the cookie they’re treated,” he said with one of his signature pop-eyed grins. CONNECTION BOX entrepreneur’s top lieutenant and “They can’t believe that we show them so much respect, and that “right-hand gal,” Brittany Bartlett. we’re deeply interested in them as human beings and not just as “We work some long, hard days, schmackarys.com customers.” believe me, but we don’t mind Then, with a smile of warm nostalgia as he recalled his because our hearts are behind nourishing roots in the heart of Huskerland: “Nebraska taught Schmackary’s 100 percent.” me how to respect myself and other people. And UNL helped Like Brittany, Zach’s proud father is quick to point out that me learn how to be creative and adaptable. his son is a remarkably self-reliant and courageous young man “The willingness to take a risk, and to put yourself on the line who actually did quite well as an actor, before deciding that he’d for a concept you believe in, and to work hard to make it all rather make and sell Broadway’s best-tasting cookies. happen – what is that? “It was obvious at a very young age that Zach was an “It’s Nebraska, that’s what it is!” v intelligent, inquisitive and creative individual,” said Jeff
38 FALL 2014 Tradition and Quality SINCE 1917 Ninety-seven years. That kind of tradition does not and confections – always made with premium ingredients. happen by chance. The Dairy Store at the University The next time you’re on East Campus, stop by to discover of Nebraska–Lincoln is extremely proud to serve alumni, or perhaps rediscover the best way to get a taste of family and friends our very best ice creams, cheeses Husker pride.
Department of Food Science and Technology I The Food Processing Center Located at 38th & Holdrege on East Campus I 402.472.2828 I marketplace.unl.edu/dairystore
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is an equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for diversity. ©2014, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 39 The Wheeling Pioneering In Reach Year: History University of Nebraska Press, 2014, (paper) $18.95 A Poet’s Field Book on Two www.nebraskapress.unl.edu University of Nebraska Press, Continents 2014, (cloth) $14.95 In writing both rich www.nebraskapress.unl.edu An Autobiography and evocative, Pamela Potomac Books, 2014, (cloth) Carter Joern conjures Ted Ted Kooser sees a Bruce F. Pamela $37.95 the small plains town of Kooser writer’s workbooks as Pauley potomacbooksinc.com Carter Reach, Nebraska, where ’68 the stepping-stones on ’61 Joern Bruce F. Pauley ’70 residents are stuck tight which a poet makes his draws on his family in the tension between way across the stream of and personal history to tell a story that loneliness and the risks experience toward a poem. Because those examines the lives of Volga Germans of relationships. With insight, wry humor wobbly stones are only inches above the during the 18th century, the pioneering and deep compassion, Joern renders quotidian rush, what’s jotted there has an experiences of his family in late 19th a cast of recurring characters engaged immediacy that is intimate and close to century Nebraska, and the dramatic in battles public and private, epic and life. Kooser, winner of the Pulitzer Prize transformations influencing the history mundane: a husband and wife find and a former U.S. poet laureate, has filled profession during the second half of the themselves the center of a local scandal; scores of workbooks. “The Wheeling Year” 20th century. “Pioneering History on a widow yearns for companionship, but on offers a sequence of contemplative prose Two Continents” provides an intimate her own terms; a father and son struggle observations about nature, place and time look at the shifting approaches to the with their broken relationship; a man arranged according to the calendar year. historian’s craft during a volatile period of longs for escape from a community’s Written by one of America’s most beloved world history, with an emphasis on 20th limited view of love; a boy’s misguided poets, this book is published in the year century Central European political, social attempt to protect his brother results in which Kooser turns 75, with 60 years and diplomatic developments. It also in a senseless tragedy. In the town of of workbooks stretching behind him. examines the greater sweep of history Reach, where there is hope and hardship, through the author’s firsthand experiences connections may happen in surprising as well as those of his ancestors, who ways or lie achingly beyond grasp. participated in these global currents through their migration from Germany to the steppes of Russia to the Great Plains of the United States.
ALUMNI AUTHORS
40 FALL 2014 Not to be Forgiven Then What Happened Papa A Novel CreateSpace, 2014, (paper) $19.95 www.amazon.com Hugo House, 2013, (paper) $17.95 www.HugoHousePublishers.com “Then What Happened Papa” is a story about World War II deeply impacts the Greggory family the generation that came to age in World War in Hiram’s Spring, Nebraska. Seventeen-year-old II, as well as the personal story of a man whose Nancy Danny is sent to fight Germans in North Africa. Dillard H. childhood on a Nebraska farm during the Great Mayborn Ten-year-old Sis Greggory is left to deal with Gates Depression shaped his future as a researcher, Peterson fear, blackouts, rationing, scrap-metal drives ’52, ’53 educator and international rangeland and ’56 and friends who are suddenly “aliens.” Tending agriculture consultant. With humor and maybe the family Victory garden, she encounters Horst, a few controversial thoughts, this book reflects a German inmate of the local Prisoner of War both universal themes and cultural uniqueness Camp. Sis is sure all Germans are monsters, yet among people worldwide. It takes you to Iraq, Horst is warm and funny. But is he friend or foe? Africa, China, Russia, Australia and other Before the war is over, the lives of Sis, Danny locations spanning the globe. and Horst are forever changed. A Spoonful of Dirt Where We’ve Managed Gennesaret Press, 2014, (paper), $11.95 Somehow To Be www.GennesaretPress.com WSC Press, 2014, (paper) Johnny Stevens is a ten-year-old boy living on www.wsc.edu/wscpress a farm near Polk City, Iowa, in the 1870s. He works hard with his siblings on the farm, but Charles Peek’s first chapbook of poetry he’s frustrated that he has not had any real celebrates the momentary pleasures and Joel adventures. When he’s not doing chores, he triumphs that keep us alive on our perilous Schnoor Charles would rather go fishing down at the creek with Peek journey through all stages of life. A retired ’84 his best friend, Sam, than do anything else. ’64, ’66, ’71 University of Nebraska at Kearney English Little does he realize that his adventures are professor, Peek selected poems from those he just around the corner. Based on writings and has written over the better part of six decades, letters from the author’s great-grandfather, this drawing from experiences with his family, his book is the first of a series. childhood and the Sandhills.
Show US YOUR TALENT Featured books are not sold or distributed through the Nebraska Alumni Association. Publishing information is provided to help consumers locate the title through local booksellers or online retailers unless otherwise noted. To be considered for inclusion in Alumni Authors, send a complimentary copy of a book published in the last year and a description of its contents to: Alumni Authors Editor, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651
Please include the author’s full name, class year, current mailing and e-mail addresses and telephone number. The author must have attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 41 New Alumni Advisory Council NEWS Members Named
The Nebraska Alumni Associa- tion is pleased to welcome four new members to the Alumni Advisory Council. New members are: Damon Barry, ’00, Westmin- ster, Colo.; Megan Dreyer, ’03, Lincoln; Kendra Eberhart, ’79, Peoria, Ariz.; Greg Johnson, ’89, Football Friday and Husker ’93, Denver; and Emily Murtaugh, Scarlet Guard representative. Huddles Go on the Road Alumni retiring from the council include: Cathy Alley, ’88, ’91, Join the Nebraska Alumni Association, Husker Sports Network and Husker Lincoln; Mark Carney, ’14 , Athletics at Football Friday and Husker Huddles before the Northwestern and Scarlet Guard representative; Wisconsin football games on the road this fall. Jisella Dolan ’98, ’01, Omaha; Phil Gosch, ’91, Denver; Ted Football Friday in Chicago, Football Friday in Madison, Harris, ’97, Denver; and Bill sponsored by the NAA sponsored by the NAA Munn, ’90, ’94, Denver. We thank • WHEN: Friday, Oct. 17, 5 p.m. • WHEN: Friday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m. them for their combined 20 years • WHERE: John Barleycorn, 149 W. • WHERE: Essen Haus, 514 East Kinzie Street, downtown Chicago Wilson Street of dedicated service to the • COST: FREE • COST: FREE university and the alumni • Live broadcast of Sports Nightly, great • Live broadcast of Sports Nightly, great association. giveaways, special guests, games and giveaways, special guests, games and The Alumni Advisory Council Husker spirit Husker spirit serves the UNL chancellor and • Food and drink specials available • Food and drink specials available the Nebraska Alumni Association Husker Huddle in Chicago, Husker Huddle in Madison, in an advisory capacity, and presented by Huskers Athletic Fund presented by Huskers Athletic Fund members are ambassadors for • WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 18, • WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 15, time TBD UNL in their respective 3-5:30 p.m. (kickoff 6:30 p.m.) • WHERE: Union South, 1308 W. communities. AAC members • WHERE: Double Tree by Hilton Dayton St., Madison (UW campus) represent all UNL colleges and Conference Center, 9599 Skokie • FEATURING: Live music, Cornhusker a wide range of class years, Blvd., Skokie, Ill. Marching Band and Spirit Squad, • FEATURING: Dueling pianos, face giveaways, kids’ activities and more geographic communities and painting, Husker Spirit Squad, • COST: TBD business professions. Nebraska dignitaries, special guest Council members meet twice appearances by former Husker annually on campus to be briefed football players Mitch Krenk, Eric on issues facing the university, to Warfield and Kris Brown experience firsthand the programs • COST: $35 per person • REGISTRATION: Call of the campus and the alumni 800-8-BIG-RED or visit association, and to lend their huskersathleticfund. advice from an alumni com/events perspective. v
42 FALL 2014 NEWS
A New Name, A Renewed Focus
This fall, in collaboration with to connect with one another, enhance celebrating 15 years of women’s their professional networks and pay programming through Cather Circle, lessons learned forward to current the Nebraska Alumni Association has students while giving back to their announced that the program will now university.” be known as the Nebraska Women’s The fall 2014 conference attracted NAA Communications Leadership Network. more than 100 women across the The new name reflects the country, from Hawaii to New York City. Team Adds Social achievements and aspirations of the Highlights of the conference were the Media Manager current membership and addresses the 15th Anniversary Celebration Dinner group’s goal of building a worldwide where founding members and past Hilary Winter, a 2011 UNL network of women helping one another. chairs of the program were honored, journalism grad from Papillion, In conjunction with the name and keynote speaker, Brigid Schulte, has joined the Nebraska Alumni change, the program is now offering Washington Post reporter and New Association staff as a digital additional monthly programs that York Times best-selling author of communications specialist. She include, but are not limited to, “OVERWHELMED: Work, Love and is responsible for managing and professional development workshops, Play When No one has the Time.” She growing the NAA’s social media educational speakers and networking was the second speaker in the Baylor networks and assisting with other receptions. With the help of sponsors Evnen Cather Circle Speaker Series. digital communications efforts. such as Baylor The conference also featured a She also provides online Evnen, who hosts career continuum panel with members marketing support for alumni chapters the Cather Circle Kris Malkoski, Kristen Otterson, Becky and affiliate groups. Speaker Series, Perrett and Shawntell Kroese; breakout Winter most recently served the program sessions on mentorship and effective as the primary media relations can bring in communication; and a Q&A with Cindy contact for the nationally prom- high-level McCaffrey, retired Google marketing inent Nebraska volleyball and speakers and executive and UNL graduate. track and field teams. She joined the presentations. For more information about the Athletic Department as an “We envision the Nebraska Women’s program or to inquire about becoming assistant media relations Leadership Network as the premiere a member, please contact Haskell at director in August of 2011, program for students who are looking [email protected]. v after previously serving as a for a connection to alumnae to help graduate intern. v them at the beginning of their career journey,” said Sarah Haskell, associate director of alumni relations. “For alumnae, it provides an opportunity
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 43 NEWS
Student Alumni Board 1978 Oozeball 1980s
Happy 40th Student Alumni! students today. alumni tomorrow. HUSKERS FOREVER.
For the past 40 years, the Nebraska • Red Carpet Days: SAB members approximately 60 members. Before Alumni Association has been helping welcomed NU Regents calling the Wick Alumni Center home achieve the goals and aspirations of Scholarship recipients and in 1984, SAA hosted a mud volleyball the university by way of its student parents to campus for tours and tournament, known as the “oozeball” alumni group. informal meetings with UNL tournament, in a muddy lot where the The journey began in 1973 when, student service representatives. Holling Garden now stands. Other SAA after polling the student body to assess • Dinner for 12 Strangers: Alumni activities through the 1990s and early their knowledge of what the alumni hosted informal dinners for 2000s included shoveling snow for the association was and what it did, Jack students and faculty with similar elderly, a semi-formal wine-and-cheese Miller, NAA’s Executive Vice President, interests. party for UNL seniors, “Adopt-A-Block” and staff determined a student board • Freshman Packets: SAB provided in the Haymarket and the Student was needed to not only provide and informational packets to incoming Enhancement Fund, which allowed encourage student programming, freshmen, which included a SAA members to distribute funds to but to also increase awareness and calendar, campus map and other student organizations seeking to cooperation among students, faculty college handbook. make a difference on campus. and alumni. Organizations were asked • Senior Yearbook: Replacing the While those activities no longer to recommend students to serve on the discontinued Cornhusker year- exist, Alumni Masters Week and board, and in September 1974 under book, SAB produced and sold Homecoming are two longstanding Miller’s direction, the eight-member this $4 book that contained events with student alumni association “Student Alumni Board” was founded. senior pictures and informal support. Since 1964, Alumni Masters Less than a week after she took campus photos obtained through Week has brought outstanding alumni over as SAB’s adviser, NAA staff a SAB-sponsored photo contest. to campus to help students realize how member Carole Reno took three of the their education can be applied to their eight board members to a national Since 1974, the student alumni future career(s) through a mixture of student alumni conference at Iowa group has greatly evolved. In 1980, classroom presentations and student State University – a conference SAB changed its name to the “Student lunches as well as a Masters panel and students still attend today called Alumni Association” and grew to dessert reception. CASE ASAP (Council for The Student Alumni the Advancement and Association began Support of Education, its involvement in Affiliated Student Homecoming by Advancement Programs). coordinating a Wallyball Upon discovering more tournament and hosting than 100 institutions a pep rally. In 1997, had student alumni SAA replaced the associations, Reno and Wallyball tournament students returned with a with a Fun Run, and the number of programming group continues to host ideas, including: Scarlet Guard Board of Directors 2014-15 the Pep Rally and Jester
44 FALL 2014 NEWS
SAA Scavenger Hunt 2003
Happy 40th Student Alumni! students today. alumni tomorrow. HUSKERS FOREVER.
competition where students compete • 1999: SAA played host to the The student group officially to win the title of Jester – Nebraska’s ASAP District 6 Conference with celebrated its 40th anniversary in biggest fan. the theme “Painting the 21st September and continues to create In 2006, SAA changed formats from Century Red.” the ultimate Husker experience a “closed” membership organization • 2000: SAA won “Most Outstanding for students through a number of requiring a rigorous application and Program” for the Student networking, mentoring and social selection process to an “open” group, Enhancement Fund at the ASAP events throughout the year. This accepting any student who wanted to District 6 Conference. year’s schedule includes the Ultimate be involved. While the leadership of • 2014: SG won “Best Twitter Cornhusker Compass Competition, an the organization remained selective, Account” at the CASE ASAP Amazing Race-style, cross-campus the idea was to make SAA activities District 6 Conference. competition; Dodgeball in Memorial inclusive of all students who wanted to • 2014: SG won the “Outstanding Stadium; and Backpacks and have the “student alumni” experience. Commitment to Recruitment” Briefcases, providing students with The organization’s named changed through UNL’s Student Impact tips, tricks and resources to maximize once again in 2008 when SAA was Awards. their college experience and launch rebranded “Scarlet Guard” and • 2014: 51 SG members have their careers. charged with protecting UNL’s legacy. been recognized as Official While many memories have been In 2009, Diane Mendenhall, then Tradition Keepers, an achievement captured since 1974, the impact of NAA’s Executive Director, charged SG earned by completing 50 the organization and its legacy are with one primary task – grow. Focusing traditions in the Cornhusker most obvious in a quote from a former on recruitment and membership, SG Compass customizable “yearbook” SAB president: increased from 99 members in 2009 introduced in 2009. to more than 1,400 at the end of spring 2014. As a mother of six children and a Navy wife who moved often, Other accomplishments of the I have had an interesting career over the years. But when I reflect organization since 1974: on what prepared me for my various jobs, it is the leadership development that I experienced during my years as a member of • More than 300 board members SAB. From interviewing potential students for SAB, planning and nine advisers, including and promoting an event, running meetings, developing budgets, Carole Reno, Barb Wright-Chollet, observing the talented Alumni Association staff who served as Beth Olson Brase, Shelley Moses role models, and working with the wonderful alumni who came Zaborowski, Anna Pressler, Chris back for reunions, the experience prepared me well for jobs with Andersen, Amy Castro, Jenny non-profits, jobs in marketing and public relations, and certainly my current job as Headmistress of Roseleaf Academy. Seven years ago, I founded the only girls’ school Green and current adviser Ashley in eastern North Carolina to ensure not only academic excellence but leadership Stone. development for young middle school girls. It’s a great way to pass on many of the • 1998: SAA won “Most things I learned 38 years ago as a member of SAB at UNL. Outstanding Organization” at the Lori Rosenlof Drake, ’80 ASAP District 6 Conference. To learn more about Scarlet Guard, UNL’s student alumni CONNECTION BOX association, please visit the website. v huskeralum.org/sg
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 45 Time to Sign Up for Postcards of Pride
Encourage prospective students to During the academic year (October to April), volunteers attend UNL by sharing your favorite are given a list of prospective students, along with the campus memories and life lessons appropriate amount of NU postcards. The students are high NEWS through Postcards of Pride. school seniors who have applied, been admitted, and are A joint effort between the NAA making their college choice from a small number of colleges and the UNL Office and universities. Volunteers are asked to write a short of Admissions, the message to these students. Postcards of Pride Research shows that CONNECTION BOX program is a volunteer correspondence like this can play a huskeralum.org/postcards effort to help recruit huge role in a prospective student’s the next generation choice. Last year, approximately 500 students attending of students to the UNL had received a postcard through Postcards of Pride. University of Nebraska- If you would like to be part of that effort this year, visit Lincoln. the NAA website to sign up. v
Young Alumni Academy to Kick Off Third Year
A new class of Young Alumni Academy The 2014-2015 YAA Schedule: members returns to campus this month October 23 Orientation with the Chancellor to explore areas of their alma mater that November 13 Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources are new and different. Led by A.T. Greer December 11 Athletics of the Nebraska Alumni Association, the January 15 University Museum/Planetarium group gathers monthly for networking, February 12 Research and Economic Development with Vice Chancellor socializing, tours and presentations. Prem Paul The goal is for the class to have fun March 5 NAA/University of Nebraska Foundation/Office of Admissions as they learn more about each other as April 16 Student Affairs with Stan Campbell well as the university. There will also May 14 Nebraska Innovation Campus with Dan Duncan and Kate Engel be cameo appearances by Chancellor Harvey Perlman and other leaders Watch for a photo and listing of the new members in the winter issue of around campus as well as members of Nebraska Magazine. v the past two YAA classes.
Families enjoyed “visitors” from the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, Lincoln Children’s Museum and University of Nebraska State Museum at Football Friday Sept. 5.
46 FALL 2014 ALUMNI CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/postcards
Also recognized at the 2014 CORNYs were the alumni chapters that fund Nebraska Legends Scholarships. Chapters Earn Honors at the CORNYs
The Nebraska Alumni Association’s Award of Excellence – Leadership Award of Excellence – Communications Volunteer Leadership Conference Small market – Big Mac Alumni Small market – Upstate New Yorkers for kicked off Sept. 4 with the Large market – ROTC & Military Affiliate Nebraska presentation of the 2014 CORNY Large market – Washington Cornhuskers Award of Excellence – Membership awards. The Nashville Huskers were Small Market – Nashville Huskers Award of Excellence – Scholarship named Chapter of the Year and the Large Market – Bay Area Huskers Small market – (Tie) Tampa Bay Huskers, Gateway Huskers of St. Louis earned Las Vegas Nebraskans Newcomer of the Year honors. Award of Excellence – Programming Large market – Siouxland Huskers Other winners included: Small market – Hoosiers for Huskers Large market – NYC Huskers
Huskers in Huntsville Enjoy Picnics and Watch Parties ROTC Pre-game Pancake The Ditto Landing Pavilion overlook- door prizes. Joel Williamsen brought a Feed Open to the Public ing the Tennessee River was the place copy of his book, “Barrelhouse Boys,” The ROTC and Military Affiliate will for 27 Alabama Nebraskans to be on as one of the prizes. Set in Lincoln host a pancake feed Nov. 1 at the May 31. Thanks to all the alumni and in 1894, it is a “must read” for all Pershing Military and Naval Science friends who donated money to pay for Nebraskans according to chapter leader Building before the Nebraska/Purdue the pavilion rental. John Matras. football game. The event is open to The group chowed down on This fall, area alumni and friends will the public, and will be used to raise Valentino’s pizza and Runzas and won once again gather for watch parties. funds for the affiliate’s scholarship. Check the Alabama A short business meeting for mem- Nebraskans Facebook bers of the affiliate will be held prior page for watch site to the fundraiser for the election of updates. The chapter officers. Watch the huskeralum.org events appreciates the couples calendar for updates. The ROTC who hosted the watch and Military Affiliate has awarded sites last year – John scholarships to nine cadets and and Cathy Matras and midshipmen since the group’s Darin and Melanie inception in 2010. v A fellow Husker visiting from Nebraska delivered Runzas and Geiger. v Valentino’s pizza for the annual Alabama Nebraskans picnic in May.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 47 ALUMNI CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES Hoosiers for Huskers Hold Taste of Nebraska
On Aug. 23, the Indianapolis This group of Nebraska alumni and fans enjoyed a Taste of Nebraska at the home of Hoosiers for Huskers members Sue and Dick Tempero in August. area alumni chapter held another successful Taste of Nebraska, hosted once again by chapter members Sue Nebraska traditions alive in part by is room and opportunity for growth. and Dick Tempero at their home. The supporting future generations is a Business cards are being printed for food was plentiful, including Runzas, primary chapter goal. The chapter chapter members to distribute as they Fairbury hot dogs and hamburgers with awarded two scholarships this encounter fellow Nebraskans who are Misty’s seasoning salt. year: one ($1,000) for incoming not aware or not already a part of the This marked the fourth annual freshman Gabrielle Perez, daughter of group. gathering. “Traditions” and “Growing Heather Perez, Hoosiers webmaster/ The first football watch party of the the Chapter” were the themes, communications officer, and one season was held Aug. 30 at Fox and and chapter officers spoke on the ($500) for returning student Jaci John. Hound in Indianapolis. The room is importance of both. The first chapter The Hoosiers for Huskers have more permanently decorated with Nebraska scholarship recipient, Katie Mellott, than 275 Facebook members as well gear and has plenty of Big Red spirit currently in her senior at UNL, has a large e-mail distribution list. The when filled with Cornhusker fans.v thrived as Cornhusker. Keeping officers, however, believe there
Alumni Affiliate OLLI Marks Milestone
The Osher Lifelong Learning Another course linked with Vietnam is “The Vietnam War Institute is celebrating 10 years as on the Big Screen.” Attendees will view and discuss movies part of the University of Nebraska- born of the Vietnam era including: “The Deer Hunter,” Lincoln this year. “Apocalypse Now,” “Coming Home,” “Born on the Fourth of In 2004, OLLI had about 200 July” and “Platoon.” members. Today OLLI is a strong The next course switches gears from Vietnam to women’s and vibrant group of nearly 1,200 individuals over age 50 liberation. “Writings from the Women’s Movement of the who love to learn and agree that “curiosity never retires.” 1960s and 1970s” will take a look at some of the major OLLI’s course lineup during the 2014-2015 academic books that propelled and defined modern feminism. The year is especially strong with many new offerings, special works of authors such as Betty Friedan, Susan Brownmiller, events and travel opportunities. Fall Term 2, which begins Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem and others will be read and Oct. 27, will continue to feature OLLI’s 2014-2015 discussed. theme “1965-1975: Decade of Transformation.” Courses And who can forget “The Sexual Revolution of the supporting this theme, like the majority of OLLI courses, 1960s”? This course will explore “free love” along with new meet once weekly for six weeks. With no homework and no forms of sex therapy researched by the Kinsey group, and grades, OLLI is about learning for learning’s sake. Masters and Johnson. New Fall Term 2 courses associated with the Decade of To learn more, join OLLI CONNECTION BOX Transformation include “Words of War: Major Fiction and (NAA members joining OLLI olli.unl.edu Nonfiction of the Vietnam War.” This course will look at the for the first time receive a $10 raw, disturbing, unsettling and yet vital stories that were discount), or register for classes, [email protected] written about Vietnam by the individuals who fought it and visit the website. v 402-472-6265 reported it.
48 FALL 2014 ALUMNI CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES
The San Diego Huskers enjoyed a summer social. From Book Awards to Picnics and Sporting Events
San Diego alumni have enjoyed a variety of events over of Nebraska Book Award at Point Loma High School in San the past few months, including a July 27 outing to the Del Diego for the 18th consecutive year. Point Loma junior Mar racetrack and an Aug. 24 summer social. Cooper Bates was the recipient of “The Scholarly Edition of In addition, the chapter presented its annual University My Antonia,” presented by chapter member Tom Hedges. v
Upstate New Yorkers Host Founders’ Day
The Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska alumni chapter held its third annual Founders’ Day event May 31 near Rochester, N.Y., with approximately 35 fans in attendance to hear special guest and Husker alum Richard (Rich) Glover. A Nebraska defensive standout at middle guard from 1970 to 1972 and winner of the 1972 Outland and Lombardi The Upstate New Yorkers Founders’ Day event featured Husker alum Richard Glover as guest speaker. trophies winner, Glover said the reason legendary Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin offered the New Jersey native a During the evening, chapter leadership was elected for scholarship was because he was ‘always in the frame’ when the 2014-2015 year. Jessica Walcott Murray will serve Kiffin reviewed film of his high school team. Glover’s story as president; Candy Ingwersen, secretary; Jessica Wells, was one of hustle, dedication, a vision for his life, and the treasurer; Brian Sharp, watch party coordinator; Paul will to fight through when the odds were steep. Campbell, special events coordinator; and Jesse Edwards, CONNECTION BOX The event also featured a catered meal and a silent social media coordinator. auction with an array of Husker items. This was the second To learn more about Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska and of the chapter’s three Founder’s Day events in which a former its activities, contact the chapter at upstatenyfornebraska@ Nebraska player was a guest speaker. The 2012 event hosted gmail.com or visit the chapter online at huskeralum.org/ David White, outside linebacker (1989-1992). upstatenewyorkers. v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 49 CLASSNOTES News/Weddings/Births/Deaths
1935 their 50th wedding anniversary 1963 n Thomas V. Kaspar of Omaha n Lorraine Swanson Mott of June 29. n Thomas J. Fitchett has joined was elected president of the National Association of State Gainesville, Fla., celebrated Lloyd and Sally Gowin of Lin- the new Lincoln law firm End- Farm Agents. her 102nd birthday this sum- coln noted their 60th wedding acott, Peetz & Timmer, as an mer and remains healthy and anniversary June 5. of-counsel member. n Janet K. Poley, professor active at The Village, a retire- Dave and Maxine Roberts of emeritus in the Department ment center where she lives. Schuyler celebrated their 50th of Agricultural Leadership, 1956 wedding anniversary Aug. 24. Education and Communication n Hugh and n Marilyn Waechter in the Institute of Agriculture 1939 Barnard, ’58, of Grand Rapids, and Natural Resources at the Howard Wiegers, a former pro- Mich., noted 50 years of mar- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, fessor in the School of Natural 1964 has been selected the recipi- riage July 18. n Ken and Maureen Foley Hake Resources at the University ent of the 2014 OLC (Online of Lincoln celebrated 50 years of Nebraska-Lincoln, noted n Kenneth N. and n Kathleen Learning Consortium) Bourne of marriage June 20. his 99th birthday July 20 in Thomazin Johnson, ’56, of Co- Outstanding Achievement Lincoln. lumbus celebrated their 50th Chuck and ■ Janet Swanson Award in Online Education. wedding anniversary July 6. Matzke of Lincoln marked a Bob and Mary Grenz Rogge of ■ Nancy Mayborn Peterson, half-century of marriage June Lincoln observed their 50th 1947 Centennial, Colo., has had her 28. wedding anniversary May 31. first historical novel, “Not to Cecilia Cather of Lincoln n Charles P. and n Cathie Harris Larry and Linda Volland of marked her 90th birthday July be Forgiven,” published. The McConnell, of Fresno, Calif., work depicts the home front in Lincoln celebrated their 50th 10. observed 50 years of marriage wedding anniversary June 22. Hiram’s Spring, Neb., during Aug. 22. ■ Dick and Jacquie Chapin of World War II, and has won the Lincoln celebrated their 65th Top Hand Award for the best n William L. Mersch of Aurora wedding anniversary July 30. adult mainstream novel in retired in July after 50 years of 1968 the 2014 Colorado Authors’ service as an attorney. Mersch Robert and Roberta Frerichs of League’s annual competition. was a partner with the firm of Lincoln celebrated wedding 1948 Whitney, Newman, Mersch and anniversary number 50 on Ernestine Elwonger of Lincoln Otto in Aurora. April 18. celebrated her 90th birthday 1957 Curt and Mary Sederburg of May 25. Barry and Irene Moore of Lincoln noted 60 years of mar- n Ken Nix of Palo Alto, Calif., Lincoln celebrated their 60th 1965 riage Aug. 8. turned 90 on June 6. wedding anniversary June 12. n Marvin E. Criswell, former professor of civil and envi- n Arvel and Carol Pohlman ronmental engineering and Witte, Rolling Hills, Calif., associate department head at 1971 1949 celebrated their 55th wedding Colorado State University, was n Dennis Biehl, Lexington, has n Bob and n Idonna Florell, ’53, anniversary June 28. named the 2014 Outstanding joined Mid-Continent Prop- Lincoln, noted their 60th wed- Advisor by Tau Beta Pi, the erties of Omaha as a sales ding anniversary Aug. 1. national engineering honor associate. 1958 society. The Estes Park, Colo., Linda Hansel has retired as the n Tom and n Mary Witty, ’54, resident was honored for his executive secretary at Lincoln 1951 Lincoln, noted their 60th wed- contributions to students and Public Schools. n Loyd Fischer of Lincoln ding anniversary Aug. 22. collegiate chapters as an engi- neering faculty member. n Gary and Gloria Oxley of celebrated his 94th birthday Lincoln celebrated their 50th Aug. 23. Maurice and Carolyn Stohl- wedding anniversary Aug. 16. 1959 mann Lange of Hallam cel- Joe Hageman, Lincoln, celebrat- Dennis and Ida Siedel of ed his 90th birthday Aug. 27. n Jerry and n Helen Sellentin, ebrated their 50th wedding ’69, of Lincoln celebrated their anniversary Aug. 2. Valparaiso marked their 50th Roscoe and Leona Shields of 50th wedding anniversary June wedding anniversary Aug. 22. n Lincoln marked 65 years of 20. Georgianne Mastera has been Leonard and Jan Selk Stehlik of marriage June 7. elected to the board of direc- Dorchester observed 50 years tors of the Seniors Foundation of marriage Aug. 22. in Lincoln. 1962 n Floyd Tesmer, a former 1952 Bill and Edythe Cascini of n Robert G. Travnicek, Gulfport, professor at the University of Clinton and Beverly Hoover, Lincoln marked 65 years of Miss., had a street named in Nebraska-Lincoln, serves on ’55, of Lincoln celebrated their marriage Aug. 3. his honor in January. the Bailey Family Foundation 60th wedding anniversary scholarship committee, provid- Aug. 1. Edward and n Lola Triska Schall ing financial assistance toward of York celebrated their 50th tuition to aspiring students. wedding anniversary June 13. 1966 Don and Betty Jisa of Lincoln Tesmer lives in Glen Allen, Va. 1953 marked 50 years of marriage n William and Deanna Barnds Aug. 31. of Galesburg, Ill., observed
50 FALL 2014 ■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member ■ Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member By Kelly J. Riibe, ’03
Alumni Profile ’03 Busy Does Not Begin to Describe Angie Henderson
UNL alumna Angie Henderson has All sessions accumulated a variety of job titles take place since graduating in 2003. She is in a studio, a personal trainer, strength coach, which offers a triathlon instructor and event director. more intimate “I need to learn to say no,” environment acknowledged the Emerson, Neb., than a corporate native. gym. Equipment annually. By mornings and evenings, Hender- is minimal, and consists of a few She recently put on a run for son trains clients. During afternoons weights, three treadmills and an approximately 10,000 people in The and weekends, she coaches triathletes elliptical machine. Ropes, balls and Woodlands, Texas. It involved a 2K, and plans races ranging from 2Ks to bands are also in use. 5K, half-marathon and full marathon. marathons. Henderson explained that her “pri- The event was a success but also had She credits her time on campus mary talent focus is group training;” some drama. with leading her down this very active however, no client is the same. She “We were literally about 30 hours path. During her undergraduate years, works with people ranging from youth out from the start of our race and we Henderson studied sports psychology soccer players to 70-year-olds. She had no medals,” said Henderson. with Wesley Sime at UNL. sees clients who have never worked The medals had been pre-ordered “Working with Dr. Sime there was out before, some who are pregnant but were stuck in customs. Henderson one of the best things I could have and others who race professionally. explained that participants need their ever done,” said the former Abel Hall “I may see 25 people between the medals to showcase their achieve- resident. hours of 5 a.m, and 10 a.m.,” said ment. The feedback can be harsh Sime introduced Henderson to Henderson, who minored in nutritional if someone crosses the finish line the “Play It Smart” program, which studies. and does not receive their hardware. resulted in her moving to Houston Henderson also became a certified Thankfully, through a chain of to work with kids in inner-city high triathlon coach eight years ago. networking Henderson got her plea to schools. She was employed as an Initially she instructed beginners, a Texas senator, and he helped get the academic coach. but has progressed to working with medals released in time. “You’re basically the guidance athletes looking to earn their pro card. “Without medals, your event can counselor just for them,” explained Henderson coaches for events ranging tank itself,” Henderson said. “That Henderson, who helped varsity from sprint courses to the Ironman. means next year, good luck filling out football players make it to graduation. She provides expertise for all legs those registrations.” Henderson also had a second job, of a triathlon, which include biking, In another incident, Henderson as a personal trainer, during this swimming and running. remembered working on a triathlon period. Her psychology degree helped “Cycling is my passion,” admits with a strong pro field vying for a large her relate well to others and gain Henderson who placed first, in her age cash prize. During the event a lead clients. She began training full-time group, at the Omaha Triathlon three kayak went the wrong way and took and joined her current employer, years ago. some swimmers 100 meters off- West U Fitness, seven years ago. Her Upon entering the fitness industry, course. Henderson clarified that it is workout sessions are 30 minutes and Henderson got interested in organizing a competitor’s job to know the route. similar to a cross fitness style, but racing events. She owns her own The winner did not follow the kayak, with more monitoring. company, Limitless Race Productions, and won by approximately ten sec- “My job is to warm them up, work and also finds work as a consultant. onds. This caused some controversy, them out and send them on their “Endurance events have really taken as the runner-up felt he would have way,” said the former Campus Rec off in the last decade,” explained won if not for being misled. lifeguard. Henderson who plans 15-20 events Continued on Page 52 ■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member ■ Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 51 CLASSNOTES
1972 1975 busy does not begin n Tom Broad, community rela- n Terri Marti has retired after Continued from Page 51 tions manager at Memorial 39 years of teaching special Hermann Northeast Hospital education in the Lincoln Public While no medals and a rogue kayak can hurt an in Humble, Texas, received the Schools. 2014 Spirit of the Chamber n Ann Thober, Lincoln, has event, the threat of injury is something else Hender- award, given each year to one retired from Norris Public son must always be ready to handle. volunteer of the Lake Houston Schools. “We’ve been so blessed to not have any deaths,” Area Chamber of Commerce. said Henderson, who broke her pelvis in a cycling He lives in Kingwood. n Timothy Wentz, associate professor of construction collision during her first Ironman competition but Linda Sabatka, communications management at the University came back six months later to finish Ironman Texas in supervisor at Tabitha, an elder of Nebraska-Lincoln, was in- 11 hours 58 minutes. care facility in Lincoln, was stalled as treasurer of ASHRAE honored for 30 years service Henderson recalled working at the Kemah Triathlon, at its 2014 Annual Confer- at the annual LIVE Celebration where a lead swimmer exited the water with a sliced ence. ASHRAE (American in May. foot. As the race progressed, more than 30 partici- Society of Heating, Refrigerat- pants came to shore with cuts. Henderson waded ing and Air Conditioning) is out to investigate, a building technology society and discovered a 1973 with more 50,000 members n William H. McCartney has worldwide. shell-encrusted retired from USAA in San Anto- teapot that was nio after almost 16 years as immediately a senior vice president in the law department and has joined 1976 discarded. However, Gary Dubas is the manag- Regulatory Advice & Consulting its first victim had ing principal in the Omaha LLC as managing director. He a season ending office of TSP Inc., a regional and his wife, Christine Miller, architecture, engineering and injury consisting of ’72, have relocated to their planning company. over 40 stitches to ranch near Burnet, Texas. his foot. Gail Swiggart, Lincoln, retired n Michael J. Tavlin was elected earlier this year after 38 years Despite oc- to the board of directors for of teaching, the past 28 with casional pain and the Sheldon Art Association in Waverly District 145. stress, Henderson’s Lincoln. career allows her to give back to causes that are close to her heart. She coordinated “The Child Advocates Superhero Family 1977 1974 Dennis Adams of Lincoln retired Stephen D. Andersen has quali- Fun Run” last year, at Houston’s CityCentre, and from the Nebraska Forest Ser- fied for Million Dollar Round raised around $50,000. vice after 41 years. Henderson can also say she literally fell in love Table, an exclusive forum of the world’s most successful n R. Samuel Bryant, founder with work. She met her fiance, Austin Parker, at life insurance and financial of Bryant Cosmetic Surgery in her Wednesday night cycling class. He is an elite service professionals. Ander- Lincoln, saw his company re- status athlete and enjoys participating in events that sen is employed by Midlands ceive the 2014 Best of Lincoln Henderson plans. Despite this shared bond, Parker Financial of Lincoln, and has Award in Cosmetic Surgeons. been a qualifying member for kept racing out of his proposal. Instead, he popped Larry Heyen, a financial adviser 41 years. the question on a mountaintop. in the Lincoln office of Waddell “The only thing, endurance-wise, that it required Lynne Anderson, Lincoln, has and Reed, was named to that was that we hike 4,000 feet,” Henderson explained. retired after 39 years of teach- company’s Circle of Champions Now, on top of all her duties, Henderson is planning ing in Waverly schools. for the seventh time. a wedding for October. However, she’s not worried. Steve Burham, co-founder of “I’m the most relaxed bride you could probably Lincoln construction company ever imagine,” Henderson laughed. She is already Dickey & Burham Inc., has 1978 committed to planning a 5K one week before getting retired after 27 years with the ■ Penny Hamilton, Granby, firm. Colo., was one of several married. v authors contributing to the in- n Steve Keist completed 37 ternational book, “Absent Avia- years in the practice of law in tors,” published in September. September. Keist has a firm in She also provided the cover Glendale, Ariz., and is a past shot for the work. president of the West Mari- copa County Bar Association, n Doug Hammerseng, vice presi- founder and director of Chris- dent of sales for GLS Compa- tian Legal Aid of Arizona and nies in Minneapolis, has been the Arizona Justice Center. elected to the city council of
52 FALL 2014 By Kristine Jacobson, ’94
Alumni Profile ’63, ’64 Success Spurred by Devaney Years Jim Huge
In the early 1960s, there was no Jerry Bush’s Sea of Red. No consecutive sellouts. squad in 1961 No tunnel walk. Not even a winning and 1963. season for the Huskers. In addition That was the scene when Jim Huge to his ath- started playing football for the Husk- letic endeavors ers in 1958. But, during his senior at UNL, Huge year in college, it all changed. also excelled A new coach by the name of Bob academically. Devaney was hired. He maintained a It was the beginning of a new legacy 3.8 GPA and was “I will wear a purple coat, but it will that is called Nebraska football, and named an Academic All American in always have a red lining,” Huge said Jim Huge said, humbly, that he is 1962. He also earned three Academic he told them jokingly. grateful for “being able to play a All-Big Eight honors, was the first-ever He dream job of being principal at very, very, very, very small part in three-time academic all-conference Lincoln East High School eventually turning the Nebraska football program selection and was a member of the opened up, and he got the job. He around.” Innocent’s Society. was the second principal to lead the His time on the Nebraska football Huge said academics were impor- new high school. team and with Bob Devaney helped tant in his family. His mother only It was a time of tremendous growth him launch a successful career as a had the opportunity to attend school at Lincoln East, and the new school radio broadcaster, teacher, principal through eighth grade, and she wanted started excelling in sports, academics and leadership consultant. to ensure her three sons had opportu- and extra-curricular activities under “It was marvelous,” Huge said of nities that she didn’t. Huge’s leadership. Huge said he had the Devaney years. “When Devaney “If you got home with anything an amazing team to work with at came in, it was like the clouds were other than an A, you got a long con- Lincoln East and will always have fond lifted.” versation,” Huge said of his mother. memories of his time there. He said Devaney met with each of Huge majored in chemistry and “It was a wonderful time and the the players individually to discover math, eventually earning a bachelor’s right combination of people,” he said. their strengths. degree in those areas and a master’s For the past 35 years Huge has “He taught me to find out about degree in educational leadership from traveled the world, serving as a students’ strengths and to build on UNL. consultant to schools, corporations that,” Huge said, which he remem- After graduating from UNL, he and small businesses in all 50 states, bered when he later became a teacher taught science and math in the Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, South and school administrator. Lincoln Public Schools, quickly mov- America and the Middle East with his The Huskers went 9-2 during ing his way up to assistant principal business, Jim Huge & Associates. Huge’s senior season in 1962 and and then principal. At the same time, He has worked as a mentor for earned a trip to the Gotham Bowl at he stayed connected with the Huskers governing boards, chief executives and Yankee Stadium in New York, where by working as a sportscaster for the executive teams, including coaching they beat the Miami Hurricanes. Cornhusker Football Radio Network for the vice president of marketing at It was the first of 40 consecutive 14 years. Disney theme parks in Orlando. He winning seasons at Nebraska. Early in his career, he accepted works with teams and leaders to help Huge, who graduated from Holdrege a principal job at a high school in them identify and build on strengths, High School, also played basketball Manhattan, Kan., where they asked discover leadership style, manage for the Huskers. He was a guard for him if he would be able to cheer for time, coach future leaders and the Huskers and lettered for Coach Kansas State. motivate employees. Continued on Page 54
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 53 CLASSNOTES
recognizes leadership, initia- 1985 success spurred tive and accomplishment in n Carol Marshall of Santa banking regulatory compliance Continued from Page 53 Barbara, Calif., senior security management. consultant, was named manag- er of the Los Angeles regional Huge now lives in Reno, Nev., with his wife, Laura. He office of TorchStone Global, an has two children, son Todd Huge, an attorney in Seattle, and 1982 elite consulting firm special- daughter Joni, a nurse in high-risk pregnancies also in the n Carmen Shively, a designer izing in comprehensive and Seattle area. He has three grandchildren. at Paul Daniels Interiors of strategic security solutions. Huge also enjoys his work as chairman of the Harry and Lincoln, was honored for her Reba Huge Foundation, which was started by his brother award-winning designs at the (Harry), a successful attorney. The foundation offers scholar- 2014 ASID Awards dinner for 1986 the Nebraska/Iowan chapter. ships to top scholars attending Nebraska Wesleyan University Anne M. Breitkreutz, Fort Cal- and the College of Charleston in South Carolina. The founda- houn, has joined the Omaha law firm of Dornan, Lustgarten tion also offers the Dorothy Vorderstrasse Huge Scholarship for 1983 & Troia PC LLO as a partner. young women in Thayer and Nuckolls counties in Nebraska. Karen Gustin of Ameritas in Eric Dixon is a senior project This scholarship is in honor of Huge’s mother, Dorothy, who Lincoln has been promoted to manager in the Lincoln office “believed education was more than a means to further one’s senior vice president of group of JEO Consulting Group, an distribution. own opportunities; it’s a means to grow them for others.” Omaha-based architecture, In addition to the financial awards the scholarships offer n Darla McAlexander Peterson engineering and planning firm. mentoring from the Huge family, and the lessons Jim Huge of Arvada, Colo., has accepted n Stephen J. Henning, Pacific v the position of talent acquisi- learned from Bob Devaney many years ago live on. Palisades, Calif., was recently tion specialist with Ball Corp. honored by the Los Angeles in Broomfield, Colo. Business Journal for corpo- Dave Ridder has been named a rate leadership. A founding senior vice president for Ameri- partner of the national law Hanover, Minn., for a four-year & Company, having been re- can National Bank of Omaha, firm of Wood, Smith, Henning term. cently promoted at the Dallas- a wholly owned subsidiary of & Berman, he also serves in based international energy Andrew Schultz, Lincoln, is the American National Corp. leadership positions for several consulting firm. non-profit organizations. author of “Saints and Heroes,” Phyllis Webb, a financial a novel that explores Scottish n Linus Behne, La Vista, noted adviser in the Lincoln office of Julia Kappenman, a Lincoln art- history and the idea that ordi- his 25th year of employment Waddell and Reed, was named ist, had her work shown at the nary people can have a lasting with Union Pacific Railroad. to that company’s Circle of Agora Gallery in New York City impact if they remain true to n Jeffery T. Peetz, a Lincoln Champions for the eighth time. this summer. The exhibition their beliefs. attorney, has formed a new was titled “The Substance of law firm, Endacott, Peetz & Form.” Timmer, with colleagues Kent 1984 Robert “Rocky” Rentfro is a 1979 E. Endacott and Patrick D. n Regina Edwards has been surgeon at the Lincoln Ortho- n Mark Hesser of Lincoln has Timmer. voted in as the new CEO of paedic Center. been appointed president Doug Weishahn has been the Arizona YWCA Metropoli- of Pinnacle Bancorp, hav- tan Phoenix. Edwards is the ■ Terry Young of Ameritas of ing served as executive vice promoted to vice president at Lincoln has been promoted Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln. YWCA’s current director of president and Pinnacle Bank development and has served as to vice president of corporate Nebraska charter president the the YWCA board chair. development. previous 10 years. Sara Ewerth has retired after 32 n Bryan Slone has been hired 1981 Larry French, Webster, N.H., years of teaching at Pyrtle and to an of-counsel position with 1987 has had his latest book, “Frog Beattie Elementary Schools in the Omaha law office of Koley Robb D. Bunde, a founding Town: Portrait of a French Lincoln. Jessen, where he will lead the shareholder in the Pittsburgh, Canadian Parish in New Eng- firm’s tax practice group and n Charles Hildebrand retired in Pa., law firm Bunde, Gillotti, land,” published by University conduct a government affairs August after 17 years as an Mulroy & Schultz P.C., was Press of America. practice. In addition, Slone has information technology special- named a Pennsylvania Super joined the College of Business n Daniel Otten, founder of Min- ist with Iowa Public Television. Lawyer for a seventh year by Administration at the Univer- nesota Community Bancshares Hildebrand lives in Johnston, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers sity of Nebraska-Lincoln as the Inc., has been elected CEO Iowa. Magazine. first executive in residence in and chairman of Farmers State Chris Knust is vice president n Kent E. Endacott, a Lincoln the School of Accountancy. Bank of Hartland, Minn. and financial adviser at Ameri- lawyer, has formed a new law Daniel Soto, chief compliance prise Financial Services Inc. in firm, Endacott, Peetz & Tim- officer at the Ally Financial Omaha. mer, with attorneys Jeffery T. 1980 Inc. office in Charlotte, N.C., Peetz and Patrick D. Timmer. n John R. Auers is executive received the 2014 American vice president of Turner, Mason Bankers Association Distin- guished Service Award, which
54 FALL 2014 CLASSNOTES
Mike Mitten is the director of John Gessert has been installed sales and a member of the as treasurer for the 2014-2015 executive management team Lincoln Rotary #14. Gessert is for All Makes Office Equipment vice president and senior trust Co. in Omaha. officer at Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln. n Heidi Hoins Mortensen was promoted to senior vice presi- Lyn Wineman, president and dent, strategic change manager chief strategist for KidGlov, at Robert W. Baird & Co., a an advertising and marketing global financial services firm firm located in Lincoln, was headquartered in Milwaukee. honored with the Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award n Rob Mortensen is vice by the Lincoln American Mar- president, global relationship keting Association at the 2014 management for UMB Fund AMA Prism Awards. Services in Milwaukee. n Barbara Pickering has been promoted to the rank of full 1990 professor in the School of Com- Michelle Holliday, a financial munication at the University of adviser in the Lincoln office of Nebraska at Omaha. Pickering Waddell and Reed, was named has also been selected to serve to that company’s Circle of as an administrative fellow in Champions for the eighth time. the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Joni Sundquist has been pro- moted to senior vice president n C. Rocky White of Colorado of the Nebraska Bankers As- Springs, Colo., has been pro- sociation in Lincoln. moted to market medical direc- tor of the southern Colorado Theresa Yaw is the director of region for Kaiser Permanente. marketing for Baldwin Filters He and his wife, n Debbie, ’86, in Kearney. celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary this summer. 1991 ■ Lance D. Nielsen is the super- 1988 visor of music for the Lincoln When Matthew Boring, ’11, marketing and sales manager for the Lied Ryan Downs, Springfield, was Public Schools. Center for Performing Arts was in Europe in July helping to coordinate one of two individuals honored a Midwest honor choir conducted by UNL Choral Studies Director Pete Tom Nussrallah is the president Eklund, he ran into some Huskers in Paris. From left to right in the photo by FarmHouse International of E & A Consulting Group Inc., are: Boring; Mark Borer, ’76; William Neubauer, UNL student; and Fraternity with the FarmHouse a planning and engineering Kevin Palu, ’14. Foundation’s Philanthropy firm headquartered in Omaha. Laureate Award, which honors those who have made signifi- n Sara Skretta has joined the cant financial and service con- University of Nebraska-Lin- tributions to the Foundation. coln’s College of Education and Associates, a national architec- 1993 Downs is chief executive officer Human Sciences as the direc- ture, engineering and planning Jason Bombeck, Lincoln, has of Proxibid Inc., the world’s tor of professional experiences. firm headquartered in Omaha. been elected a partner in the leading provider of live webcast n Dan Svehla has been hired by Kevin Kelch was promoted to BKD LLC Nebraska offices. auctions. Union Bank and Trust of Lin- vice president within the retire- BKD is a national financial service firm. Melanie Whittamore-Montzios coln as senior vice president ment plan services department has been installed as president and head of the retail division. of Union Bank & Trust, in their n Traci List Kalnins has opened of the 2014-2015 Lincoln Omaha branch. a new business, Catalyst Rotary #14. Brad Konen of Bennington has Behavioral Health, in Lincoln. 1992 been promoted to executive She specializes in sports n David M. Hohman is an at- vice president with American concussion evaluation and 1989 torney with the Omaha law firm National Bank, a wholly owned baseline testing. John Arrigo has been elected Fitzgerald Schorr, where he subsidiary of American Na- Craig Meier has been promoted executive vice president of practices corporate and busi- tional Corp., which serves the to chief executive officer at West Gate Bank of Lincoln. ness law. Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Medical Solutions of Omaha, a n Marsha Edquist, Omaha, is a Steve Kathol, Gretna, is the Kevin Svec has been named a national travel nursing com- teacher in the Millard (Neb.) chief executive officer and senior vice president for Ameri- pany. Public School system. president of The Schemmer can National Bank of Omaha, a wholly owned subsidiary of American National Corp.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 55 CLASSNOTES
1994 ■ John L. Sweeney, Lincoln, Jason Nichelson, Ashland, John Fulwider has been elected Terry Connealy has been named is a mathematics teacher at is the sales manager for the sergeant-at-arms for the 2014- senior vice president of na- Papillion-LaVista High School Greenwood office of KZValve, 2015 Lincoln Rotary #14. in Papillion, where he teaches as the result of a recent promo- tional mortgage development James T. Minor is the deputy precalculus and calculus. tion. for Mutual of Omaha Bank. assistant secretary at the U.S. n Cara Catlett Putman of La- Kelly Wieseler of Ameritas of Department of Education in fayette, Ind., recently had her Lincoln has been elected to se- Washington, D.C. Minor has 20th book, “Where Treetops nior vice president, group chief 1997 been selected by the White ■ Andy V. Frahm is a director of Glisten,” released. An attorney, actuary and underwriting. House to provide overall leader- portfolio management at First Putman also homeschools her ship and administration for dis- National Wealth Management four children and teaches busi- cretionary and formula grants of Lincoln. ness law and related classes to 1996 available for postsecondary graduate students at Purdue Sheila Brugger has joined Chris Harnly of Gretna is a institutions as well as other University’s Krannert School of Garner Industries as chief project manager at Lund-Ross federal programs that promote Management. financial officer. The company Constructors in Omaha. equal access to and excellence specializes in plastic injection in postsecondary education. Candice Toombs, Bennet, n Kiersten Hill has been elected molding of small to medium research nurse coordinator at vice president of the 2014- Michael Placke has joined sized parts in addition to preci- the Southeast Nebraska Cancer 2015 Lincoln Rotary #14. Olsson Associates as a senior sion machining of metal and Center in Lincoln, has gained engineer in the company’s plastics. Doug Holle has been promoted Certified Clinical Research water research team in Lincoln. to transportation engineering Professional certification. Adam Kirshenbaum has returned Olsson is a national engineer- group leader in the Lincoln of- to the Omaha-based legal firm ing and design firm. fice of The Schemmer Associ- Baird Holm LLP, where he’ll ates, a national architecture, Bronson Riley, director of clini- focus on corporate, real estate 1995 engineering and planning firm. cal research at the Southeast Steve Mitchell of Elkhorn is and lending transactions. Nebraska Cancer Center in n Jessica Kennedy of Lincoln president of Arbor Bank, a Eileen Korth of Blair has been Lincoln, has obtained Certified has been accepted into the community bank with locations promoted to president of Clinical Research Professional doctorate program for Inter- in Nebraska and Iowa. Jackson-Jackson and Associ- certification. disciplinary Leadership at ates, an Omaha architecture Creighton University. Scott M. Vogt, Omaha, has been company. appointed regional general Christy Puev has been honored counsel and vice president with the 2014 AAF Lin- for CBSHOME Real Estate, coln Medal Award, which is HomeServices of Nebraska bestowed by the American Ad- and Nebraska Land Title and vertising Federation of Lincoln Abstract. for major contributions to the advertising community. Puev is David Wellsandt is now a part- the media director at Minnow ner with Mitchell & Associates Project. Inc., an Omaha area real estate appraisal company. Patrick D. Timmer of Lincoln has joined fellow attorneys Kent E. Endacott and Jeffery T. Peetz in the formation of a new firm, 1999 ■ Vladimir Oulianov of Woods Endacott, Peetz & Timmer. Bros. Realty in Lincoln has Tina Udell of Ameritas of been named one of America’s Lincoln has been promoted to top real estate professionals by vice president and managing REAL Trends and as advertised director of Ameritas Investment by The Wall Street Journal. He Partners and Ameritas Funding was ranked 97th out of 1,000 Inc. agents noted by the article.
1998 2000 Jeremiah Baumfalk represented Brian Andersen has been named Lincoln Vision Center at the a first vice president for Ameri- annual educational conference can National Bank of Omaha, of the American Academy of a wholly owned subsidiary of Orthokeratology and Myopia American National Corp. Dave Nuckolls’ (second from right) work as producer of the Opening Control in Chicago. Baumfalk Ceremonies at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games (Nebraska Jaclyn Baxa has earned hu- is an optometrist with Lincoln Magazine, summer 2014), earned the 1986 UNL grad the right to be on man resource certification Vision Center. the other side of the camera for a change when the production garnered as recognized by the Lincoln a PrimeTime Creative Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Human Resource Management Special Class Program category. In all, the Opening Ceremonies garnered four nominations. Association.
56 FALL 2014 By anthony flott
Alumni Profile ’10 a sheep in wolf’s clothing Ross Pesek
Berenice Rodriguez was working with fake papers under someone else’s identity — and barely spoke the country’s language. And she wasn’t even a she. Rodriguez was a man. But he was making $16 an hour — about “They have been abused by the before he was an attorney. He’s been 160 pesos — as Rodriguez. “A ton legal community,” Pesek said of immi- to their quinceañeras. He serves on of money,” he said in a downtown grants. Some lawyers take their money the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Omaha coffee shop. and don’t get work done. Where can Board of Directors, helps organize Those who hired him knew he the immigrants complain? “They’re networking breakfasts for Latino wasn’t Rodriguez, but couldn’t find prime for being taken advantage of,” professionals, and even was the only anyone else to do his work. The real Pesek said. “Some of that has been non-Latino judge during the Mrs. El Berenice Rodriguez didn’t care, either. cleaned up. Salvador 2013 pageant. And through “She was on board,” fake Rodriguez “But there are wolves, too.” Matters on Tomorrow, a nonprofit, said. Since founding the clinic, Pesek he provides five “True Potential” Heard this story before? has provided approximately 800 scholarships for DACA or “Dream Act” Think again. “Rodriguez” was consultations, usually seeing four to Immigrants to attend Nebraska and white American lawyer Ross Pesek, eight clients during his two hours at Iowa community colleges. who while still a college student the church every Monday. He’s seen “I know how I can speak to them worked — illegally — in Mexico City, as many as 26 clients in one sitting. and talk to them,” Pesek said. teaching English to Mexican attorneys There’s never been an evening when and accountants. He taught at a large no one showed. No habla Espanol international law firm and at a major Many times Pesek dispenses That wasn’t always the case. corporation with contracts around the advice over small claims — perhaps “I was a terrible Spanish student,” world. a dispute over a dog bite or car Pesek said. “Everybody wants to know English,” accident. Or he might help complete At Central Community College in Pesek said. a birth certificate or explain how the Columbus, Neb., where Pesek played Today, Pesek still works with His- legal system works. Other cases are basketball for two years after starring panic clients, but not teaching them more serious — someone is charged at Millard South High School, Pesek English. Rather, the 2010 University with a crime or faces deportation. He’s passed Spanish only with help from of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law helped more than 100 immigrants his Mexico-born-and-raised girlfriend graduate is the first and last line of attain legal immigration status. Karen Corral. She was there learning legal defense for many of Omaha’s The 6-foot-4 former basketball English. Five years later, Pesek and Hispanic immigrants. Sometimes standout with Czech roots and a Corral still were dating — and he still that’s for pay as an associate attorney blonde crewcut stands out among his knew little Spanish. So when Corral at Dornan, Lustgarten and Troia. But mostly brown-skinned clients. But was offered a one-year assignment in it’s just as often for gratis through they trust him. Mexico City with her new employer, a free legal clinic he established And why not? Pesek, baptized Deloitte, Pesek decided to tag along in 2010 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic almost four years ago, sees — after the two were married — and Catholic Church in South Omaha. many of them Sundays as a fellow finally learn her native tongue. As in Mexico, his services are in parishioner at Our Lady of Guadalupe. Only problem was he had just demand. He was attending church there even Continued on Page 58
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 57 CLASSNOTES
Kam Draper has been presented 2003 a sheep in wolf’s clothing the John Ganly Excellence in Mike Kowalke is a part of the Continued from Page 57 Sales Award by the Referen- spine team at the Lincoln Or- ceUSA division of Infogroup, thopaedic Center, where he is a finished his first year at UNL’s College of Law — and a data and marketing services physician’s assistant. company headquartered in had two years to go. Pesek, who had begun his UNL Papillion. Brooke Ortner is an account studies after earning a bachelor’s degree at Wayne manager in the Omaha office State College, asked Associate Dean Glenda Pierce if George Langelett, professor of of marketing communications economics at South Dakota company Swanson Russell. he could take a one-year hiatus. State University in Brookings, Oh, and by the way, could she hold his full-tuition has published his first book, Patty Ryberg, an assistant scholarship for him? “How Do I Keep My Employees professor of biology at Park “My friends thought I was crazy,” Pesek said. “My Motivated?” University in Parkville, Mo., has been awarded a $168,091 family thought I was crazy. The first year of law school n Mandy Monson has been is hyper-competitive and I had been successful. research grant from the Nation- promoted to assistant vice al Science Foundation for work Everybody thought it was a really bad idea.” president-commercial lend- on her “Antarctic Paleobotany: Pierce held his scholarship. ing at Union Bank & Trust of Permian Floral Characteristics “The college supported me big time in that,” Pesek Lincoln. in a Sedimentary Setting” said. “Dean Pierce, I’ve said thank you to her a lot Jeremy Stanbary, St. Paul, project. of times. I don’t know if she knows how much” (she Minn., founder and execu- helped). tive director of Open Window In Mexico City Pesek took Spanish classes six hours Theatre, was presented with 2004 a 2014 Leading with Faith a day for three months. After about five months he was Matt Clay is the managing of- Award by Archbishop John comfortable enough to challenge the taxi drivers who ficer of the credit card depart- Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of ment at Union Bank & Trust tried overcharging him. St. Paul and Minneapolis. of Lincoln as the result of a He and Karen returned to Lincoln and Pesek Andrew E. Waite has joined Ex- recent promotion. finished his studies, graduating with distinction, 12th ecutive Wealth Management of Jeffrey Helphrey, King of in his class. Lincoln as a wealth manager. Prussia, Pa., manager of the What next? During summers while at UNL Pesek had Horsham office of regional been a law clerk at Kutak Rock (2008) and Baylor, accounting company Wouch, Evnen, Curtiss, Grimit, & Witt (2009). The money was 2001 Maloney & Co. LLP, was re- great — much better than what he’d earned delivering Chris Van Long, Gretna, has cently installed as a director of pizzas the three previous years. been elected a partner in the the Montgomery County Estate But big-time corporate law wasn’t appealing. Nebraska offices of BKD LLP. Planning Council (MCEPC). “I wanted to help somebody,” he said. “And I knew I Michael Olson has joined the Shelly Kalin has been named had the tools of being bilingual, to speak Spanish and faculty at Southern Illinois an account manager in the help immigrants. University (Carbondale) School Omaha office of All Makes Of- fice Equipment Co. He joined Dornan, Lustgarten and Troia and since of Medicine as an assistant professor in the Department of has been lead counsel in criminal, immigration and Bryan Knapp has joined the Medical Microbiology, Immu- business development team serious accident/injury matters and in federal and nology and Cell Biology. state jury trials. He’s secured hundreds of thousands at Darland Construction Co. in has been rehired Omaha. of dollars in settlements for injured clients. Randa Zalman by Redstone, the Omaha-based Jon Mooberry has been hired as The 29-year-old’s work is getting noticed. The Ne- advertising agency, as chief braska State Bar Association named him Outstanding senior design engineer in the strategy officer. Lincoln office of JEO Consult- Young Lawyer in 2013. This year, the Nebraska Alumni ing Group, an architecture, Association presented him with an Early Achiever engineering and planning Award and Central Community College named him one 2002 company based in Omaha. of its Outstanding Alumni. Ben Hanelt, Albuquerque, Nate Poppema has returned to N.M., has been written up in Some, though, don’t like to hear about his work. manage the Loveland, Colo., Wired magazine for his work They might laugh when Pesek tells them of his work office of regional accounting with crickets that are driven in Mexico City, but not when they hear of others doing firm Kennedy and Coe LLC. to suicide by horsehair worms. similarly here. Hanelt is a research assistant Steven Wirth has been added to “It’s a double standard,” he said. professor at the University of the team of dentists at Optimal Pesek sees the other side of the story on Mondays New Mexico in Santa Fe. Dental PC in Lincoln. at Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pesek understands not just Jeremy Kester, a financial their words, but their lives. adviser in the Lincoln office of So does Berenice Rodriguez. v Waddell and Reed, was named to that company’s Circle of Champions for the sixth time.
58 FALL 2014 By Jennifer Higgins, ’96
Alumni Profiles ’99 From Combat to Campus to Community, Serving with Compassion Doug Wagner
Soldiers respect him. coming back, it’s the people and the being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Children adore him. friendships you develop.” “As you get promoted within the And he is considered a hero by Wagner was commissioned into military, you find yourself in a mentor many. the Army National Guard in 1991. role,” Wagner said. Maj. Doug Wagner of Lincoln insists The Wagners’ second son was born He joined the fight on foreign soil that he is just an average guy, but in 1994. Along the way, Wagner has the following year. Wagner served those who know him, know better. served two tours in Iraq, joined a his first tour in Iraq from July 2005 Born in Sarasota, Fla., Wagner hurricane aid mission in the Honduras to August 2006 and his second moved to Nebraska in 1977 and and helped with security forces tour from July 2010 to July 2011. graduated from Lincoln Southeast missions on American soil. After returning from his first tour, High School in 1982. He served He began working for business he volunteered to be a member of in the U.S. Army for four years, services at the University of Nebraska- the military honors team for military traveling to Oklahoma, New Mexico Lincoln in 1988 and transitioned to funerals. and Germany. Wagner moved back to parking services in 1992. Wagner “It truly is an honor to give the Lincoln in 1986 and got married a was named parking enforcement family this final appreciation from the year later. His wife Angie gave birth supervisor in 1994, a title he still military,” Wagner said. to their first child, a son, in 1989, holds today. In 1992, he decided He continues to be a member the same year he joined the Army to go back to school part-time and of the military honors team and National Guard. In 1990, he earned earned his bachelor’s degree in has presented flags at about 90 his associate’s degree in architectural industrial education in 1999. Wagner funerals in Nebraska. He also is an drafting from Southeast Community said the university has been very active member of the Combat Vets College. supportive of his military obligations. Motorcycle Association. The 49-year-old said he first joined “They have my back when I’m “There are just some things a the military for financial reasons. gone,” he said. government can’t do for a vet that “Originally, I did it because there Like many Americans, Wagner was we try to do,” Wagner said. “We have was no other way for me to go to deeply affected by the events of Sept. fundraisers that can help vets pay for college,” Wagner said. 11, 2001. things like apartments and furniture.” His father had just suffered a heart “When 9-11 hit, I had an even He helps military families in other attack, so his parents were not able to stronger sense of patriotism,” he said. ways too. For several years, Wagner give him any financial assistance. “I wanted to feel like I was part of the has volunteered to suit up as Santa “When I got off active duty, I was solution.” Claus during the Christmas party married and happy to be starting In 2004, Wagner was on duty at for the National Guard’s Family a family,” he said. “But I started Offutt Air Force Base when he learned Readiness Group. missing the camaraderie and being that his friend had been killed in “It is a civilian group connected to with guys of the same mind set. Fallujah. He said it was difficult the National Guard that helps families It’s not the money that keeps you hearing about so many young soldiers while soldiers are deployed,” he said. Continued on Page 60
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 59 CLASSNOTES
2007 n Andrew Lacy is the news and from combat to campus Trisha Caffrey was promoted to sports director at Huskeradio in North Platte and the voice of Continued from Page 59 audit manager at Seim Johnson LLP, an Omaha-based account- the North Platte High School ing company. Bulldogs. “They come up with ways to keep the military group tight- James Mowitz is a commercial Tony McTaggart is an agent with knit.” HOME Real Estate of Lincoln. Wagner has had a positive impact on many youths in loan officer at Pinnacle Bank’s 14th and N Streets branch in another way. An Eagle Scout himself, he has served as a Brett Sundberg has been Lincoln. elected loan officer, commer- Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts since 1988. Both of his sons Michael J. Smith II is a partner cial lending and residential have followed in his footsteps and have become Eagle Scouts construction lending, at West as well. and shareholder with the Oma- ha accounting firm McFarlin & Gate Bank of Lincoln. Serving in the Army National Guard until last summer, Brokke PC. Wagner has since joined the Army Reserves. He is currently a logistics major with the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Nicholas Tomsen recently completed his residency at the 2012 Chynna Hardy has joined All Command unit. University of Kansas School of Makes Office Equipment Co. “It’s a good occupation and I know I’m good at what I do,” Medicine-Wichita Family Resi- of Omaha as a designer/project Wagner said. dency Program at Via Christi in manager. The military has been a good fit for him and his family. Wichita. Wagner’s career path made it possible him to go to college, ■ Becca Hurst has joined the and now it is helping both of his sons attend college, too. v Lincoln printing company 2009 Cornerstone Print & Marketing Adam Austin, Bennington, has as marketing specialist. been promoted to consult- Amanda Kermoade has been ing manager with the Omaha elected loan officer, commer- Nathan Krug recently completed accounting firm Seim Johnson cial lending and residential 2005 LLP. Mark Kommers, Kansas City, a Sports Medicine Fellowship construction lending, at West Mo., is a surgical consultant at the University of Kansas Jessica Simons has been hired Gate Bank of Lincoln. School of Medicine-Wichita for CONMED in their sports tis- by marketing communications , Rosharon, Family Medicine Residency Micah Kreikemeier sue and biologic division. agency Swanson Russell as a Texas, is a civil engineer with Program at Via Christi in marketing coordinator in their Blake Schulz has joined the LJA Engineering in Houston, Wichita. Omaha office. Faegre Baker Daniels’ India- where he works on land devel- napolis office as an associate Alan Marble was recently ap- opment. in the real estate practice, pointed president of Missouri where he will handle a range Southern State University in 2010 of commercial real estate Joplin. Larry Bradley, Omaha, was hon- 2013 transactions. Prior to joining Kelli J. Watson has joined the ored by being the head dancer ■ Kelly Jefferson has been hired Faegre Baker Daniels, Schulz Omaha law firm Fitzgerald at the August Pow Wow at the by marketing communications was counsel and real estate Schorr, where she specializes Indian Center in Lincoln. firm Swanson Russell as an manager at ITT Educational in estate planning and admin- Jordan Moehlenhoff has been account coordinator in their Services Inc. in Carmel, Ind. istration and business planning promoted to business banking Omaha office. and real estate. Darci Venem has been added officer by the board of directors Kyle King has been hired by to the Lincoln-based ENT Tom Whiteing, a financial advis- for West Gate Bank of Lincoln. Perrigo Animal Health of Nebraska and The Physician er for Renaissance Financial in Omaha, where he is a proj- Network, where she will serve Omaha, has won the top award ect engineer responsible for as an audiologist. of Securian Financial Services 2011 maximizing and improving Sarah Wischhof has been hired Inc. and been promoted within Jay Beyer was selected as one efficiency at the plant. as director of marketing and of the recipients of the 2014 Matthew Penner, Beatrice, is a special events for the United the firm. He was the 2013 Alice Buffett Outstanding sales associate with Mid-Conti- Way of Lincoln and Lancaster Gold Managing Director of the Teacher Awards, given in recog- nent Properties of Omaha. County. Year for the role he played in nition of skilled and dedicated growing the company. teachers in the Omaha Public Josh Willnerd has been wel- comed to the Pratt, Kan., office Ryan Wittmann is loan opera- Schools. Beyer teaches third grade at Wilson Focus School. of Kennedy and Coe LLC as an 2006 tions officer at Union Bank & intern for the regional account- Dan Boler has been named as- Trust of Lincoln, the result of a Wade Hilligoss is a public rela- ing firm. sistant vice president of Ameri- recent promotion. tions writer with Swanson Rus- can National Bank, a wholly sell, a Lincoln-based marketing owned subsidiary of American communications firm. National Corp., which serves the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.
60 FALL 2014 CLASSNOTES
2014 Benjamin Wheeler-Harsh and BIRTHS DEATHS n ■ Caitlin Bales has been hired Jennifer Adams, ’02, July 5. Chris and Leslie Strong Styskal, George H. Murphy, ’37, Sacra- by Bulu Box of Lincoln as chief The couple lives in Cuenca, ’90, their fourth child, first mento, Calif., Feb. 10. technology officer. Ecuador. daughter, Elizabeth, May 22. Barbara Deputron Selim, ’37, The family lives in Genoa. Songho Hong is employed by Justin Morrow, ’02, and Cortney Moody, Maine, Jan. 20. the Korean Insurance Develop- Neemann, Jan. 23. The couple ■ Dan, ’03, and Michelle Velda Benda Anderson, ’38, ment Institute, which offers lives in Omaha. Hennings, their second child, Lincoln, Jan. 3. statistical analysis of the Jeremy Hamann, ’10, and Jane a daughter, Kaitlyn Marie, Korean insurance market. The Farrar, May 25. The couple May 13. The family lives in Pauline Bowen Burns, ’39, company is located in Seoul. lives in Austin, Texas. Chicago. Omaha, June 8. ■ Jordan Seaman started her Aaron Rouse and Kassandra n Brent, ’05, and n Jamie Caroline Thompson Taylor, ’40, first teaching job in August Thurman-Taylor, ’07, their first Lincoln, May 20. with the Bennington Elemen- Braaten, ’11, May 10. The child, a son, Connor James, Gordon L. Jones, ’41, Tucson, tary School where she teaches couple lives in Lincoln. April 10, 2013. The family Ariz., Feb. 24. third grade. Andrew Rasmussen, ’11, and lives in Overland Park, Kan. Jackson F. Lee, ’41, Farming- Melanie Fichthorn, ’13, June 6. Matt and Rochelle McBride ton, N.M., June 10. The couple lives in Lincoln. Maynard, ’06, their first WEDDINGS Micah Kreikemeier, ’12, and daughter, second child, Emilia John R. Gates, ’42, Hopatcong, n Frederic M. Stiner, Jr., ’76, Alexa Staehr, June 29. The Lincoln, June 19. The family N.J., Feb. 9. and Alice F. O’Brien, Jan. 4. lives in Danbury, Iowa. couple lives in Rosharon, Lauren D. Lampert, ’42, Spring- The couple lives in Newark, Texas. Del. Andrew and ■ Mauree Haage, field, Va., July 1. ’12, their second child, second Brian Steinert, ’12, and Alyssa L. Dwight Cherry, ’43, Lincoln, n Linus Behne, ’80, and Shawn son, Ivan Jeremy, May 1. The Gubser, Sept. 7, 2013. The June 5. M. Milligan, July 26. The couple lives in Englewood, family lives in Oskaloosa, Iowa. couple lives in La Vista. Colo. Virginia Clarke Johnson, ’43, Norman, Okla., July 22. Jack Lutzi, ’92, and n Tami Ter- Elijah Aden, ’13, and Noelle ryberry Shkolnick, ’92, May 1. Hernandez, ’11, May 31. The Robert B. McClurkin, ’43, Grand The couple lives in Lincoln. couple lives Lincoln. Island, June 11.
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12AFF252_UNeb_7.375x4.75.indd 1 NEBRASKA8/24/12 MAGAZINE 2:01 PM 61 CLASSNOTES
Marvin L. Wilkinson, ’43, Hot Wilbur C. Summers, ’49, Colum- Frank A. Smith, ’52, Lincoln, Ernie D. Rockenbach, ’58, Lin- Springs, S.D., May 19. bus, July 3. Feb. 19. coln, May 20. Gordon W. Neal, ’44, Clare- Harold M. Anderson, ’50, North- Philip W. Vrana, ’52, Hastings, William H. Ashley, ’59, Omaha, mont, Calif., April 23. glenn, Colo., July 8. March 29. June 30. Ann Ahern Stevens, ’44, Har- Wanda Young Cochran, ’50, Fort Louise Cook Watson, ’52, Kear- Joseph M. Hart, ’59, Columbus, tington, June 26. Wayne, Ind., May 22. ney, May 21. Ohio, June 18. Mary Stuart Gregory, ’45, Wood- Raymond G. Ebmeier, ’50, Ted C. Cannon, ’53, Scottsbluff, Jack B. Kidder, ’59, Riverview, land, Calif., Nov. 25, 2013. Carmi, Ill., July 13. June 27. Fla., July 10. Charlotte Filter Nametz, ’45, Donald C. Erwin, ’50, Riverside, Shirley Posson Craig, ’53, James L. Mohatt, ’59, Yeager- Grand Haven, Mich., May 27. Calif., Feb. 22. Tryon, N.C., Feb. 9. town, Pa., Feb. 20. Edna Huttenmaier Spitz, ’46, Kenneth G. Hiatt, ’50, Chesa- John F. Kahle, ’53, Flagstaff, Vincent R. Abrahamson, ’60, San Francisco, Nov. 28, 2013. peake, Va., May 23. Ariz., July 30. Sierra Vista, Ariz., May 17. Marylee Stauf Hays, ’47, Lloyd L. Johnson, ’50, Lincoln, Robert D. Mueller, ’53, Lincoln, James O. Ballantyne, ’60, Inde- Spring, Texas, July 5. June 6. Aug. 4. pendence, Mo., July 5. Virginia Green Melin, ’47, St. Milton C. Lastovica, ’50, La Joseph R. Edwards, ’54, Lin- Linda Willard Cotts, ’60, Fort Paul, Minn., June 12. Vista, June 25. coln, July 12. Belvoir, Va., May 31. Richard D. Sack, ’47, Louisville, Daniel B. Lutz, ’50, Lincoln, Louis K. Gauger, ’54, McCook, James T. Feather, ’60, Davis, May 24. July 21. July 11. Calif., July 19. John W. Ervin, ’48, Golden, B. R. Newcomer, ’50, York, Mary C. Johnson, ’54, Fremont, Allen L. Riibe, ’60, Benbrook, Colo., Feb. 23. June 10. May 28, 2013. Texas, March 31. Leon I. Folb, ’48, Flossmoor, J. Morton Porter, ’50, Omaha, William A. Johnson, ’54, Fre- Dale E. Schnackel, ’60, Omaha, Ill., Sept. 28, 2013. June 3. mont, July 22. June 3. Marjorie Benson Loring, ’48, Stanley L. Portsche, ’50, Lin- Neala Odell Lubberstedt, ’54, Sarah A. Wengert, ’60, Omaha, Kansas City, Mo., May 2. coln, March 31. Lexington, July 24. Aug. 10. Donnie Wageman Lutes, ’48, Sally Hartz Schroeder, ’50, Dal- I.K. Lukens, ’54, Phoenix, Jan. Dean L. Linscott, ’61, Ithaca, Springfield, Ore., March 12, las, Ore., May 15. 8, 2013. N.Y., July 19. 2013. Frederick H. Simpson, ’50, Shirley Underhill Wallen, ’54, Harold D. Parish, ’61, Lemoyne, Paul W. Schoenleber, ’48, Omaha, June 28. Syracuse, June 22. May 29. Reno, Nev., May 15. Robert G. Steinhoff, ’50, Santa Thane Weeks, ’54, Sutton, Barbara Blum Peterson, ’61, Audrey Wallace Smock, ’48, Fe, N.M., April 4. May 18. Springfield, Ore., May 21. Lincoln, May 29. Harlan L. Watson, ’50, Kearney, Jean Steffen Bilstrom, ’55, Boul- William A. Roehl, ’61, Missoula, Elinor Anderson Van Steenburg, June 24. der, Colo., May 22. Mont., Feb. 24. ’48, Santa Ana, Calif., William B. Wenk, ’50, Indian Charles H. Calcaterra, ’55, Thomas H. Tinkham, ’61, Lin- June 17. Wells, Calif., Feb. 13. Lincoln, Aug. 7. coln, June 15. Henry E. Duling, ’49, Naper- Jean Sampson Wenke, ’50, Jber, J. Arthur Curtiss, ’55, Lincoln, Earl J. Witthoff, ’61, Lincoln, viIle, Ill., July 26. Alaska, June 6. May 29. Feb. 16. Roy D. Farris, ’49, Bennington, Raymond C. Buresh, ’51, Den- Frederic L. Goudge, ’55, Donald L. Reinhold, ’62, Lin- July 10. ver, Feb. 15. Maryville, Mo., June 3. coln, May 20. Leslie W. Jochens, ’49, Denver, Mary C. Dye Baker, ’51, Man- Virginia McPeck Rosenau, ’56, Ralph O. Canaday, ’63, Lake- May 18. hattan Beach, Calif., July 1, York, June 22. wood, Colo., Feb. 20. Robert W. Koehler, ’49, Omaha, 2013. Linda Buthman Bedwell, ’57, Larry R. Hayne, ’63, Lincoln, May 27. Dean E. Erickson, ’51, Carol Hopkins, Minn., July 21. June 2. Marjorie Reynolds Kopf, ’49, Stream, Ill., Aug. 1, 2013. Victor P. Musil, ’57, Rockwall, William C. Barr, ’64, Tilden, Lincoln, July 10. Rudolph R. Hraban, ’51, Bill- Texas, March 31. May 24. Walter E. Long, ’49, Hastings, ings, Mont., June 24. Elaine Barker Stauber, ’57, Se- Gunars J. Dombrovskis, ’64, June 30. Robert C. Rupert, ’51, Palos guin, Texas, June 9, 2013. Sierra Vista, Ariz., July 6. Charles E. Moyer, ’49, Wood Verdes Estates, Calif., Jan. 12. Howard R. Berkenstock, ’58, Ray S. Preston, ’64, Omaha, River, June 1. Robert H. Vollmer, ’51, Tualatin, Gulf Shores, Ala., March 10. April 13. Rosalie Mitchell Paul, ’49, Ore., April 8. Leo I. George, ’58, Cape Coral, Dale D. Rathe, ’64, Lincoln, Dorchester, June 9. Rachel Kirkpatrick, ’52, Du- Fla., Aug. 9. June 5. Thomas M. Sherman, ’49, Cen- rango, Colo., July 22. Dean A. Glock, ’58, Omaha, Theron D. Carlson, ’65, Mon- ter, May 25. Dorothy Nordgren O’Hanlon, ’52, June 6. trose, Colo., May 30. William F. Spikes, ’49, John- Vallejo, Calif., July 11, 2013. Mary Forney Peterson, ’58, Waldon N. McNaught, ’65, ston, Iowa, July 11. Columbus, July 16. Eagle, June 11.
62 FALL 2014 CLASSNOTES
Kenneth C. Osborn, ’65, Shore- Gary F. Hatfield, ’72, Wahoo, Mark N. Ecklund, ’77, Platts- Rhonda Joekel Sharp, ’87, line, Wash., July 28. May 13. mouth, June 28. Omaha, May 15. Clark S. Will, ’65, Lincoln, Dorothy Johnson Kratzer, ’72, Douglas D. Damoude, ’78, Lin- Julie Connot Rice, ’89, Grand July 13. Lincoln, June 3. coln, May 30. Island, March 10. Margaret A. Moffatt, ’72, Calvin C. Dierking, ’66, Everett, Shirley McVicker Marsh ’78, Joanne Allen, ’92, Lincoln, Omaha, July 27, 2013. Wash., July 11. Lincoln, June 8. June 23. Steven T. Swihart, ’72, Denver, Aldine Porter Turner, ’66, Sun Marilyn Peterson Paulson, ’78, Rachel A. Streit, ’95, Omaha, July 9. City West, Ariz., May 28. Lincoln, May 15. June 14. Richard D. Eye, ’73, Colorado Lorraine L. Haack, ’67, Nebras- Naomi Kaye Hull, ’79, Lincoln, Linda M. Dierks, ’97, Omaha, Springs, Colo., Aug. 1. ka City, Aug. 6. July 5. July 2. Harold W. Horner, ’73, Schuy- Marlyn C. Low, ’67, Norfolk, Mary Rice Schueths, ’79, Lin- Paul D. Hill, ’00, Smithshire, ler, Aug. 4. April 24. coln, July 2. Ill., June 25. Nancy Campbell Wright, ’73, Stanley J. Siefkes, ’67, Phoenix, John J. Brennan, ’80, Lamber- Harmon O. Conner, ’02, Lincoln, Winter Haven, Fla., May 9. April 4. ton, Minn., March 25. May 17. Gregory K. Nicklas, ’74, Hick- Darryl J. Gless, ’68, Chapel Hill, Corliss G. Young, ’80, Lincoln, Lance M. Shrader, ’09, Raven- man, May 29. N.C., June 10. April 30. na, June 19. David Feder, ’75, Plattsmouth, Herbert H. Kaiman, ’68, Omaha, Guy J. Hugunin, ’81, Placitas, Edward R. Abplanalp, ’10, East June 2. July 11. N.M., June 9, 2013. Peoria, Ill., June 6. Donald D. Yoder, ’75, Dayton, Paul J. Plummer, ’68, Denton, Maurice C. Egan, ’82, Denton, Kassandra L. Hoefler, ’11, Firth, Ohio, April 14. Texas, Feb. 20. March 31. May 17. Kenneth P. Beeman, ’76, Shelby, Howard D. Rickel, ’68, Houston, Morris W. Sergent, ’82, Arnold, Chad A. Spencer, ’11, Grand July 13. May 1. Md., Dec. 30, 2013. Island, April 20, 2013. Elaine Monaghan Munoz, ’76, James B. Abel, ’69, Colorado Christopher L. Ingrim, ’83, Bel- Ciudad Bugambilias, Jalisco, Springs, Colo., June 28. ton, Texas, June 21. Mexico, June 21. FACULTY DEATHS James A. Beltzer, ’69, Silver- Douglas G. Cook, ’84, Lincoln, Vernon A. Teply, ’76, Winter James G. Kendrick, professor thorne, Colo., July 25. Aug. 1. Park, Fla., May 13, 2013. emeritus of agricultural eco- Roger H. Hanson, ’69, Kearney, James P. Krueger, ’86, Chey- nomics, Lincoln, Aug. 8. Floyd G. Trew, ’76, Wellfleet, April 18. enne, Wyo., Aug. 20, 2013. May 19. Ralph R. Marlette, ’52, profes- James A. Young, ’69, Lincoln, Bryan R. Bedke, ’87, Lincoln, sor emeritus of civil engineer- Mary Gifford Daake, ’77, Kear- July 9. June 17. ing, Lincoln, Aug. 11. ney, May 27. Constance Johnson Bower, ’70, Clifton, Colo., June 14. Lucille Koehler Rosenow, ’70, Lincoln, June 11. CLASS NOTEPAD Joyce Eisenhauer Schwisow, ’70, Topeka, Kan., May 17. Tell us what’s happening! Send news about yourself or fellow Nebraska alumni to: Dwight M. Warak, ’70, Omaha, Mail: Class Notes Editor, Nebraska Magazine, Wick Alumni Center,1520 R Street, June 15. Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 E-mail: [email protected] Clarence F. Frazier, ’71, Jack- sonville, Fla., Feb. 7. Online: huskeralum.org Galen L. Johnson, ’71, Lincoln, All notes received will be considered for publication according to the following schedule: May 31. Spring Issue: January 15 Summer Issue: April 15 Betty Schuette Loos, ’71, Lin- Fall Issue: July 15 Winter Issue: October 15 coln, Jan. 10. Items submitted after these dates will be published in later issues. Carol Stark Rinke, ’71, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 7. Nancy Siel Steinkruger, ’71, Cambridge, July 15. Harold L. Bohner, ’72, Nine Mile Falls, Wash., March 29. Linda Green Brackins-Willett, ’72, Pasadena, Calif., July 29, 2013.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 63 NEBRASKA Alumni Association Wick Alumni Center 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651
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Registration is now open to all alumni and friends for the Nebraska Alumni Association’s bucket-list trip to the Masters, April 8 -11, 2015.
Enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with alumni from UNL and other BCS schools.
For trip details or to register, visit huskeralum.org.
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