Alex Mallory has been named a National Child Awareness Month Youth Ambassador by the Festival of Children Foundation. As an ambassador, Mallory will receive funding and training to lead an initiative to educate native youth leaders on suicide prevention techniques.
Mallory, a senior history and political science major, will travel to Washington, D.C., in September for leadership training and meetings with members of the state’s congressional delegation. When he returns to Nebraska, he will launch a campaign to educate young leaders on the disproportionately high suicide rates among native youth. Alexander’s campaign aims to help young leaders understand that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
“Young Native Americans (are) taking their own lives more than three times the national average, and up to 10 times on some reservations,” Mallory said in his application for the program.
Mallory was selected through a competitive application process, and chosen based on the quality of his project proposal and its potential to create substantive change that benefits young people in Nebraska. He is one of 51 Youth Ambassadors selected from the nationwide pool.
The Youth Ambassadors will work in their communities, and form a collective network to raise awareness around issues important to young people. The ambassadors receive a national-level platform for their cause; a $1,000 grant to develop a service project his or her home state; ongoing training and project guidance; and networking opportunities with other Youth Ambassadors across the country.
Mallory is a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He has previously served as a legislative intern for U.S. Senator Deb Fischer and as a legislative page at the Nebraska Unicameral. He is currently employed as an executive intern for the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs.
Mallory is UNL’s first student to earn the nationally competitive, merit-based Morris K. Udall Scholarship. He was also a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which granted him the opportunity of interviewing in front of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado.
After graduating, he hopes to pursue a juris doctorate at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and study Native American law.
Now in its seventh year, National Child Awareness Month is a program led by Festival of Children Foundation to raise awareness about issues affecting children and to encourage the nation’s youth to take action.
Other recent awards and honors earned by the UNL community include:
Faculty
• Stephen Behrendt, professor of English, is publishing “Refractions,” a new book of poetry in September. Available through Shechem Press, the book is a five-part collection that features original woodcut prints by artist Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton. “Refractions” is Behrendt’s fourth poetry collection.
• Sue Bullard, associate professor in news-editorial, has received the Distinguished Teaching in Journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists. The award was presented during the society’s Excellence in Journalism 2014 conference, held in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 4-6.
The annual award honors an outstanding journalism educator who has made an exceptional contribution to the profession and/or journalism education.
Bullard has taught editing, reporting and multimedia classes at UNL since August 2008.
Emeriti
• Tom Laging, professor emeritus of architecture, has received the 2014 Harry F. Cunningham Gold Medal for Architectural Excellence in the State of Nebraska. The medal is the highest honor bestowed by the Nebraska Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The honor is in recognition of the most distinguished achievement in architecture or service to the profession in Nebraska.
Colleges
• The College of Business Administration jumped 21 spots to No. 51 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of undergraduate business programs.
There were 429 schools listed in the latest rankings based on an assessment survey conducted in the spring of 2014. U.S. News surveyed deans and senior faculty at each undergraduate business program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and asked them to rate the overall quality of the undergraduate business program at each university.
“We are thrilled at the substantial jump we made in the rankings this year, moving ahead of some truly outstanding universities,” said Donde Plowman, dean of the college. “Our faculty and staff are working hard to move the college to national prominence and this latest ranking indicates we are making great progress.”
Enrollment in CBA is approaching 3,900 students with an additional 1,500 from other UNL colleges seeking a business minor.
This fall 752 new freshmen enrolled in CBA. The total marks a 62 percent increase over the four years. CBA has hired 35 new faculty in the last four years and is undertaking another major faculty hiring initiative this year.
This column is a regular feature of UNL Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit their achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.
