February 11, 2016

UNL parents honor 194 faculty, staff

Katie Jewell (center), associate director of academic programs for athletics, accepts her thirteenth UNL Parents Recognition Award from (left) Scott Napolitano, chair of the UNL Teaching Council, and Tanis Herbert, co-president of the UNL Parents Association. More than 190 UNL faculty and staff received the annual awards during a Jan. 29 ceremony.
Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo
Katie Jewell (center), associate director of academic programs for athletics, accepts her thirteenth UNL Parents Recognition Award from (left) Scott Napolitano, chair of the UNL Teaching Council, and Tanis Herbert, co-president of the UNL Parents Association. More than 190 UNL faculty and staff received the annual awards during a Jan. 29 ceremony.

More than 190 University of Nebraska-Lincoln employees were honored for providing support to students.

The awards, presented during a Jan. 29 ceremony, are earned through nominations made from parents of UNL students. Presented annually, the honors provide positive feedback to faculty and staff about their work with students. They also encourage good student and faculty relationships and provide recognition in an area often overlooked in the formal rewards system.

“These awards are special because you earn them just for being a good citizen of the university,” said Rick Alloway, an associate professor of broadcasting and 23-time winner of the honor. “It’s heartening because parents take the extra time to say that they appreciate the extra time you spend working with their children.”

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

All who were nominated by at least one parent or student and who are still with the university received a certificate. The annual recognition ceremony was organized by the Division of Student Affairs and co-sponsored by the UNL Teaching Council and UNL Parents Association. Certificates of recognition for contributions to students were given during the ceremony.

The 2015-2016 recipients are listed below. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of years a recipient has received the award. If no number is listed, the award is a first-time honor.

For more information, contact Student Affairs at 402-472-3755.

Academic Affairs

Criminology and Criminal Justice — Diane Dannelly (2); Joseph Schwartz; Bennie Shobe, Jr.

Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center — Kristin Plath

First-Year Experience and Transition Programs — Megan Schaefer

Honors Program — Ann Koopmann (13)

Military and Veteran Success Center — Deb Quinn (5)

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy — Deena Curtis

Scholarships and Financial Aid — Anna Plank (9); Deana Unger (7)

William H. Thompson Learning Community — Kelli King (3); Lanita Sledge

Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Agricultural Economics — Ronald Hanson (24); Rosalee Swarts (18)

Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication — Lindsay Hastings (3); Gina Matkin (4); L.J. McElravy

Agronomy and Horticulture — William Kreuser; David Lambe (7); Donald Lee (23); Walter Schacht; Kim Todd (10)

Animal Science — Kathleen Anderson (3); Dennis Brink (11); Lori Jaixen; Lisa Karr-Lilienthal (5); Bryan Reiling (9)

Biochemistry — Erin Sayer (6)

Biological Systems Engineering — Greg Bashford (4); Evan Curtis; Roger Hoy (4); Deepak Keshwani (4)

Dean’s Office — Tom Field (3); Tiffany Heng-Moss (10); Sue Ellen Pegg (5); Nicole Smith (3); Steven Waller (7)

Environmental Studies — Christine Haney

Food Science and Technology — Randy Wehling (3)

Natural Resources — Ashley Alred; Rebecca Buller (4); Kenneth Dewey (8); Dennis Ferraro (4); Larkin Powell (5); Sara Winn (3)

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Services — Raul Barletta

Architecture

Architecture — Peter Olshavsky (2)

Interior Design — Stacy Spale (2)

Arts and Sciences

Anthropology — Matthew Douglass (2); Emily Hammerl; Carrie Heitman

Biological Sciences — Gwen Bachman (11); Brian Couch; Scott Gardner (12)

Chemistry — David Berkowitz (2); Brandon Henslee; Jason Kautz (8); Eric Malina (8); Chris McCune (3)

Classics and Religious Studies — Matthew Loar

Communication Studies — Jaclyn Marsh; Angela Palmer-Wackerly; Damien Smith Pfister

Computer Science and Engineering — Donald Costello; Charles Riedesel (8); Stephen Scott; Mehmet Can Vuran

Dean’s Office — Joseph Francisco

Earth and Atmospheric Studies — Mark Anderson (3); David Harwood (3)

English — Wheeler Dixon (15); Robert N. Fuglei Jr. (2); Amanda Gailey (2); Brenda Ingraham (2); Yulia Levchenko; Michael Page (3); Kelly Payne (2); Beverley Rilett (3); Kelly Stage (2); Pascha Stevenson (3)

History — James Le Sueur (6); Carole Levin (5); Ann Tschetter (4); Vanessa Gorman (7); Victoria Smith (3, also in Ethnic Studies)

Mathematics — Steve Cohn (9); Bo Deng (6); Cheryl Kane (4); William Lewis (12); Chris True (3); Mark Walker (3); Jerel Welker

Modern Languages and Literatures — Marie Blair (16); Abla Hasan (2); Alicia Herraiz Gutierrez; Alexis Jimenez (4); Catherine Johnson (4); Bethany Sanio (3)

Philosphy — Jean Cahan (3)

Physics and Astronomy — Matthias Fuchs; Oran Yenen (5)

Political Science — John Gruhl (12); Sergio Wals (2); Tyler White (2)

Psychology — Michael Todd (3); Manda Williamson (4)

Business Administration

Accountancy — Arthur Allen (2); Jina Morris

Advising — Megan Friesen; Ashley Wegener

CBA Honors Academy — Erin Burnette (2)

Dean’s Office — Shelly Harrold

Economics — Sam Allgood (4)

Finance — Shawn Strother; Sue Vagts (3)

Management — Jake Messersmith; Samuel Nelson (6, also with the Center for Entrepreneurship); Varkey Titus Jr. (3)

Marketing — Les Carlson (2); James Gentry (3); Michelle Jacobs (5); Imran Khan; Amit Saini (3)

Education and Human Sciences

Child, Youth and Family Studies — Yolanda Mitchell (2)

Educational Psychology — Michael Butchko

Nutrition and Health Sciences — Dipra Jha (2); Shannon Rowen (3)

Recruiting — Karen Kassebaum (7)

Special Education and Communication Disorders — Alicia Davis; Dixie Sanger (8)

Student Services Center — Eric Einspahr (2); Val Wiemeyer (3)

Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education — Tricia Gray (2); Ted Hamann; Sandra Starkey

Engineering

Architectural Engineering and Construction — Bruce Fischer (5); Wayne Jensen (3)

Civil Engineering — Joshua Steelman

Electrical and Computer Engineering — Michael Hoffman (3); Jerry Hudgins (3)

Mechanical and Materials Engineering — Eveline Baesu; Kevin Cole (4)

Fine and Performing Arts

Art and Art History — Joyce Bingeman; Andrea Bolland (5): Amy Smith

Music — Alisa Belflower (11); Peter Eklund (10); Anthony Falcone (10); Susan Levine Ourada (2); Jeff McCray; Clark Potter (10); David von Kampen

Theatre and Film — Marsha Kahm (2); Steve Kolbe (3)

Journalism and Mass Communications

Advertising — Kelli Britten; Patti Harney; Amy Struthers (8); Adam Wagler (2)

Advising — Andrea Spader

Broadcasting — Rick Alloway (23); Trina Creighton (7)

Dean’s Office — Sue Roush

Journalism — Bruce Thorson (4); Matthew Waite

Technical Agriculture

Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture — Teri Jo Bek (2); Judy Bowmaster-Cole; Tee Bush; Joanna Hergenreder; Brad Ramsdale; Mary Rittenhouse

Other UNL units

ACREW — Adam White

Athletic Department — Jenna Allocco; David Harris; Ruth Hood; Scott Jacobson (3); Katie Jewell (13); Marlon Lozano (7); Mike Nieman (4); John Robinson; Anna Trent

Dean of Students — Matthew Hecker (5)

Information Technology Services — Michael McNeil

Military Science — Brett Erickson

Nebraska Alumni Association — Jordan Gonzales

Nebraska Unions — Gennady Yashirin

OASIS — Joél Orozco-Almeida

Services for Students with Disabilities — Barbara Woodhead (3)

TRIO Programs — Marianna Burks

University Health Center — Unasue Heng

University Housing — Ina Sivits Luhring (3); Erron Reynolds; Erica Schroeder; Will Sheppard (2); Benjamin Wachholtz

Rick Alloway (center) accepts a UNL Parents Association award.
Rick Alloway (center) accepts a UNL Parents Recognition Award during a previous ceremony.