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NEBRASKA Magazine Magazine EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
Alex Gordon
Royal Homegrown
Volume 109 / No. 2 / Summer 2013 huskeralum.org
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INSIDEsummer 4 Alumni Voices 6 University Update 14 Alumni Authors 38 Alumni News 44 Chapters & Affiliates 47 Class Notes & Alumni Profiles
Seth and Lisa Heinert, ’08, and ’04, ’06 Jared Kasl, ’08 Howard and Jo Lamb, ’49 Paul Eurek, ’81
Jazz in June, 2013
16 20 26 32
Writing Contest
Leah Cooksley Peterson, ’01, remembers her grandmother, a renowned horsewoman and cattle breeder, in The Woman of Clear Creek, while Deborah Farrall Haskins, ’82, recalls getting a life lesson about the importance of perceptions in The Value of the Rule of Law.
The Germ Detective
She has spent the past 30 years living among some of the most dreaded names in the world of infectious disease. For 1975 UNL microbiology graduate Connie Hrdlicka Schmaljohn, each day at work brings another challenge, as she directs one of the nation’s most wide-ranging and complex efforts to protect all of us from the deadly scourge of virus-borne diseases.
Blood in the Roadway
At age 28, 2007 UNL grad Jenna Johnson has spent five years covering major news stories for the Washington Post. Along the way, she has lived among Syrian civil war refugees in Turkey based refugee camps and worked for months to uncover the hidden causes behind a tragic medical-evacuation helicopter crash in Maryland, among numerous challenging assignments.
Homegrown Royal
Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon has Big Red blood flowing through his Nebraska veins and Royal Blue dreams dating back to family vacations down I-29 to watch the Royals. Today, a team leader, he is working on a third consecutive Gold Glove award. He’s also giving back to his college team, with the Alex Gordon Training Center at Haymarket Park. NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 3
alumnivoices
Summer 2013 n Vol. 109, No. 2
A Note From Diane NEBRASKA Magazine For alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Diane Mendenhall Executive Director, Nebraska Alumni Association Andrea Wood Cranford, ’71 Editor Jeff Abele, ’98, Move Creative Design Kevin Wright, ’78 Layout and Photography; Class Notes Editor Andrew Washburn, ’00, ’07 Advertising Sales Big Ten Alumni Alliance National Accounts Manager Susan Tauster susant@taustermedia.com, (630) 858-1558 Nebraska Magazine is published quarterly by the Nebraska Alumni Association. Alumni association dues are $50.00 annually of which $10.00 is for a subscription to Nebraska Magazine. Periodicals postage is pending at Lincoln Nebraska 68508 and at additional mailing offices. Requests for permission to reprint materials and readers comments are welcome. Send mail to: Nebraska Magazine Wick Alumni Center 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 Phone: 402-472-2841 Toll-free: 888-353-1874 E-mail: nebmag@huskeralum.org Website: huskeralum.org Views expressed in Nebraska Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nebraska Alumni Association. The alumni association does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.
Alumni Association Staff Diane Mendenhall, Executive Director Claire Abelbeck, ’09, Assoc. Dir., Digital Comm. Andrea Cranford, ’71, Sr. Director, Publications Charles Dorse, Custodian Derek Engelbart, Director, Alumni Relations Jenny Green, ’07, Assoc. Dir., Student Programs Andy Greer, Asst. Director, Alumni Relations Sarah Haskell, ’09, Asst. Dir., Alumni Relations Wendy Kempcke, Administrative Assistant Carrie Myers, ’03, ’11, Director, Venues Pam Penner, ’01, Programs Assistant Larry Routh, Alumni Career Specialist Ryan Schmit, ’10, Assistant Director, Venues Viann Schroeder, Special Projects Assistant Deb Schwab, Assistant Director, Venues Shannon Sherman, ’00, ’04, Sr. Dir., Comm. Sarah Smith, ’11, Asst. Dir., Communications Ashley Stone, Asst. to the Executive Director Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07, Sr. Dir., Operations Judy Weaver, Assistant to the Executive Director Katie Williams, ’03, Director, Alumni Relations Kevin Wright, ’78, Director, Graphics Shelley Zaborowski, ’96, ’00, Assoc. Exec. Dir.
4 SUMMER 2013
Dear alumni and friends,
Your membership in the Nebraska Alumni Association helps move the university forward. There is no greater example than the Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program. Even if you haven’t made a gift directly to Nebraska Legends, your membership dues help support opportunities for these students once they’re on campus. We’ve got some exciting results to report you. But first, a little background: • The Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program was created in 2011 to help support two of Chancellor Harvey Perlman’s key initiatives – recruitment and retention of top students. • UNL matches scholarship donations (so alumni gifts go farther) and 20 percent of gifts are used for student recruitment. For example, a gift of $1,250 creates a $1,000 scholarship, provides $250 for admissions recruitment and generates a $1,000 scholarship match from the chancellor. • Once at UNL, Legends Scholars participate in a program designed to help them become engaged with UNL, find academic success, make friends and become involved in campus life. And now, the numbers: • Two years ago, this program launched with 80 students. This fall, Nebraska Legends will serve nearly 400 students – that’s approximately 10 percent of the 2013-14 freshman class! • This year’s Legends retention rate was 96.2 percent – compared with an all-University freshman class retention rate of 84 percent. • This year’s Legends students represented all nine of UNL’s undergraduate colleges, and collectively were involved in more than 150 registered student organizations. This campus involvement lays the foundation for a lifelong connection to Nebraska! Obviously, this program is working. The growth is impressive. The impact is significant. But what I really love about the Nebraska Legends Scholarship Program is how alumni and friends of the university have embraced it. When I talk to members who’ve donated to this program, they are excited. They know they’re playing a role in UNL’s progress. They know these students are living the Husker experience – just as alumni once did. They know the college years are formative, and Nebraska will help make these students successful! So if you’re interested in making a gift, please give me a call – I would appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about this exciting program. If you can’t make a gift at this time, that’s fine, too. We just wanted to make sure you knew about the latest way alumni association members are, collectively, making an impact on the university we all love! Thank you … and GO BIG RED!
Diane Mendenhall Executive Director
About the writers in this issue Sara duPont is the Communications Coordinator at the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania (IEFT). Originally from Maryland, she has been living in Tanzania for the past seven months. Sara came to IEFT with a passion for connecting people across cultures and a firm belief in the power of accessible education to grow underdeveloped economies. She is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., with a B.A. in art history and international studies. Anthony Flott lives in Omaha, and has been a freelance writer since 1990. He has published articles on a variety of subjects in numerous publications across the United States. He also is editor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s UNO Magazine and teaches a class on magazine editing.
Ruth Raymond Thone, ’53, is the author of three books. She wrote a weekly column for The Lincoln Star for four years, was a twicemonthly commentator on Nebraska Public Radio for five years, and now writes “At My Age,” a bi-monthly column for The Lincoln Journal Star. She and her husband, Charley, former Nebraska Congressman and Governor, live in Lincoln.
2013-2014 NEBRASKA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD Bill Mueller, ’77, President, Lincoln Eric F. Brown, ’67, Lexington Jennifer Carson, ’98, Kansas City, Mo. Erleen Hatfield, ’91, ’96, New York City, N.Y. Joe Selig, ’80, ’87, NU Foundation Bill Nunez, UNL Steve Toomey, ’85, ’89, Lenexa, Kan.
2013-2014 ALUMNI ADVISORY COUNCIL Cathy Alley, ’88, ’91, Lincoln Graten Beavers, ’71, ’74, Kearney, Chairman Stephanie Bolli, ’89, Omaha Mark Carney, UNL student, Lincoln John Clarke, ’74, Mitchell, S.D.
Abbie Davis Wecker is a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business economics in May. Since March 2012, she has served in a marketing role with Xpanxion, a company that specializes in custom enterprise software solutions. Abbie is from Wood River Nebraska, and currently resides in Kearney with her husband of one month, Matthew.
Lynn DiDonato Canavan, ’86, ’90, McKinney, Texas Jisella Dolan, ’98, ’01, Omaha Jessica Erstad, ’96, Lincoln Philip Gosch, ’91, Denver Ted Harris, ’97, Denver Troy Heuermann, ’92, St. Paul, Minn. Jane Hirt, ’89, Chicago Libby Jacobs, ’78, West Des Moines, Iowa Ka’ron Johnson, ’00, Houston Lauren Kintner, ’92, Papillion Jeffrey Kratz, ’03, Washington, D.C. Duane Kristensen, ’76, ’78, Minden Desi Luckey-Rohling, ’81, Edgerton, Wis. Steven Miller, ’81, ’84, Lincoln Bill Mueller, ’77, ’80, Lincoln Gregory Newport, ’76, Lincoln Mike Pate, Omaha
Tom Nugent has written frequently for Nebraska Magazine during the past 11 years. He is the author of several books of non-fiction, including “Death at Buffalo Creek” (W.W. Norton), a book of investigative journalism about coal mining in Appalachia. He lives in Hastings, Mich.
Randy York, ’71, started covering Nebraska Athletics in 1968 when he was sports editor of the Daily Nebraskan. He covered the Huskers for the Lincoln JournalStar for 15 years and spent 22 years with Sprint in Kansas City. In 2007, he returned to Nebraska and is the senior writer and director of creative services for the athletic department.
Jamie Reimer, ’03, ’08, Papillion Russ Ripa, ’99, Lincoln Paul Schreier, ’00, ’01, Boston Robert Scott, ’94, Lincoln Christine Scudder Kemper, ’87, Kansas City, Mo. L. G. Searcey, ’82, ’91, Lincoln Lee Stuart, ’91, Lincoln Dale Tutt, ’88, Wichita, Kan. Mat Weekly, ’84, ’87, 91, Aberdeen, S.D. Renee Wessels, ’82, Omaha
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 5
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
An image of the inside of the WISSARD borehole. (Photo courtesty the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling Project)
For the first time, renowned author Willa Cather’s letters have been released to the public. “The Selected Letters of Willa Cather,” co-edited by Andrew Jewell of UNL, features more than 500 of the author’s personal letters written throughout her life. (Photos by Craig Chandler/University Communications)
WILLA CATHER ARCHIVE
Willa Cather’s Private Letters Published Hidden away in vaults scattered across the United States and Europe, famed Nebraska author Willa Cather’s most intimate thoughts were laid bare in the pages of her personal correspondence. The pages upon pages of letters, most scrawled in Cather’s distinctive handwriting, were only available to a handful of scholars and fans that sought them out – until now. More than 550 of Cather’s letters have been opened to the public in a new book co-edited by UNL associate professor Andrew Jewell. The volume, “The Selected Letters of Willa Cather,” presents the author’s letters along with historical and biographical context to guide readers over Cather’s life through her newly released words. Co-edited by Jewell and Texas A&M professor emerita Janis Stout, the collection is the first of Cather’s personal correspondence ever published and is expected to provide new insights into the author. Unlike her famous novels, in which she used her characters to speak for her, this collection captures Cather’s personality, aspirations, concerns and complexities in her own words, Jewell said. 6 SUMMER 2013
Since her death in 1947, Cather’s letters have been banned from publication, according to wishes expressed in her will. For years, most scholars thought they had been destroyed, but about 3,000 are known to exist and are in the possession of universities, museums and archives. Because of the ban, they have only been read by a select few. With the death of Cather’s nephew in 2011, the ban was lifted and Jewell, who had been working with Stout on compiling and summarizing the Cather letters for five years in his work with UNL’s Willa Cather Archive, was in the position to bring a collection forth for publication. “People who have been able to read the letters are blown away, because she’s so present in her letters,” Jewell said. “The sense of her personality I’ve gotten from these letters is so wonderful. She seems to have been the kind of person who couldn’t tolerate fakery or insincere emotion, and so she is always vibrantly herself.” A private person, Cather lacked any interest in being a celebrity, resisting giving public lectures or making public
appearances. Jewell said theories have abounded as to why she banned the publication of her letters; he said he believes the reasoning was simply a desire to protect her and her loved ones’ privacy and to allow her body of work to speak for itself. “I respect wanting to keep your personal life personal,” he said. “I think she wanted to keep her private life, and the lives of her family and friends, out of the spotlight. But that’s not a worry anymore. Now she belongs to history and to our shared culture.” Jewell and Stout spent years reading and transcribing the more than 3,000 letters before paring the collection for the book. The entries span her life from age 14 to just days before her death. In addition to shedding light on Cather’s character for the first time, Jewell said the new book might serve another lasting purpose. “It’s likely there are more letters out there floating around in private hands,” he said. “We’re hoping that this publication will bring more of those to light.” – Deann Gayman, University Communications
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES/CASNR
UNL Students Named Beckman Scholars Four UNL students have been chosen to complete undergraduate research fellowships through the esteemed Beckman Scholars Program. Ashley Thelen of Mitchell, S.D.; Valerie Eckrich of Lincoln; and Jessica Chekal and Qianli Wang of Omaha are UNL’s Beckman Scholars for the 201314 academic year. The award provides scholarship funds to each student to conduct research under the direction of a UNL faculty mentor. Their mentors are Paul Blum, Bessey Professor of Biological Sciences; Concetta DiRusso, professor of biochemistry; Luwen Zhang, associate professor of biological sciences; and Melanie Simpson, associate professor of biochemistry. Thelen, a junior, majors in biochemistry and microbiology with a minor in chemistry in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Thelen began researching with Simpson and Joe Barycki, associate professor of biochemistry, her freshman year. Her research focuses on the enzyme UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, or UGDH, which is essential in heart valve formation and steroid detoxification pathways. Under Simpson and Barycki’s guidance, Thelen examines the effects of altered UGDH activity, specifically, the role of UGDH in the process of tumor metastasis in prostate cancer. Eckrich is a junior biochemistry major. She has been working on two research projects in Blum’s laboratory focusing on applications of Metallosphaera sedula, an important bio-mining organism. The first piece focuses on getting M. sedula to oxidize uranium so that it can be mined without ruining the environment. The second project
focuses on acidic properties of M. sedula that can be manipulated. Chekal is a sophomore biochemistry major in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources who has been researching with DiRusso how different fatty acid concentrations in the diet influence lipotoxic disease. “Obesity is a major problem in our society today because it can lead to other health issues such as cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes,”
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
cleosis, but it has also been shown to be associated with multiple lymphomas and carcinomas. Wang’s research will explore the relationships among the host’s DNA damage response system and if EBV-infected cells’ responses to DNA damage may potentially induce cancer formation. The students are UNL’s first group of Beckman Scholars. In March, UNL was one of 10 institutions in the United States selected for the Beckman Schol-
UNL’s Beckman Scholars, from left: Ashley Thelen, Valerie Eckrich, Qianli Wang and Jessica Chekal (Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communications)
Chekal said. “This will allow me to play an investigative role in a field about which I am passionate.” Wang, who was born in Tangshan, China, is a junior biological sciences major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Wang works with Zhang in the Nebraska Center for Virology, studying the Epstein-Barr virus. EBV is commonly known as the cause of mononu-
ars program by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The award, worth $115,800, will allow the university to provide scholarships for three years. Each year, a group of three to five UNL students will be selected for the program. The university is matching the funds to help support the scholars. – Deann Gayman, University Communications
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 7
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS
Six Receive Fulbrights Four UNL alumni and two graduate students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships that will take them across the globe. May graduate Lindsay Graef will go to Indonesia, where she will be an English teaching assistant for nine months this fall. A studio art major from Lincoln, Graef took an interest in women’s studies at UNL as well as art and printmaking. Her interest in Indonesia was sparked while studying the Minangkabau, a matrifocal society in Western Sumatra, and their artwork, including the Ikat and Batik textiles.
Lindsay Graef
“My interest in Indonesia is women’s roles as community builders through cultural activities such as art and food, and how women are vital community builders through being cultural leaders,” Graef said. Samantha Marcoux, a global studies major at UNL with minors in East Asian studies and Spanish, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study and teach English in South Korea for the 2013-14 academic year. She also graduated in May. Through the Fulbright English
8 SUMMER 2013
Samantha Marcoux
teaching assistantship, Marcoux plans to teach English and inform students about American culture in South Korean classrooms by using Englishlanguage media. She will also create an after-school English language club to supplement students’ formal courses. Tim Wilkins, May graduate in music composition, is traveling to Bulgaria on a Fulbright Scholarship for an English teaching assistantship. He also has proposed a research project exploring the influences neighboring countries have had on Bulgaria’s music. He said Middle Eastern and European traditions have noticeable impact on the country’s folk music. Wilkins is working on a film score for the student-written screenplay, “Digs,” the second film in the Carson School Film Series. Once he returns from his Fulbright, he said he hopes to find his dream job writing musical scores for TV and games.
UNIVERSITY UPDATE UNL graduate student Amy Millspaugh has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Germany. She is working on master’s degrees in German and education at UNL and will travel to Germany in the fall to begin a nine-month English teaching assistantship. Millspaugh also plans to conduct research concerning non-native German speakers in schools. She hopes to shadow students and see firsthand how they learn the language and are assimilated into the educational system.
Daniel Nyikos, a third-year graduate student at UNL, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Hungary for the 2013-14 academic year. Nyikos is pursuing a Ph.D. in English with a creative writing focus, and his time in Hungary will be spent working on his dissertation, a novel set in that country. “Our generation is at a time when we have to find a way to move forward – past what happened behind the Iron Curtain,” Nyikos said. “Much of the literature that comes from that part of the world focuses on the ‘victim Tim Wilkins narrative,’ and I don’t like
Shomos spent this past year in Albania working for the Albanian Institute for International Studies, a nonprofit organization in the capital, Tirana, and interning for the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor
Amy Millspaugh
that. So I’d like to tell people’s stories in a way that focuses on the individual and everyday life.” UNL alumna and Lincoln native Elena Shomos has received a Fulbright to conduct research in Albania for nine months, starting in October. She graduated from UNL with high distinction in August 2012 with a double major in French and global studies.
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
to foster understanding between the United States and other countries. The U.S. Student Fulbright program gives recent graduates, graduate students and young professionals the opportunity to conduct research, study or teach in one of 155 countries. About 8,000 grants are awarded each year and about 1,600 of those grants are given to U.S. students. – Anna McTygue
Daniel Nyikos
and Combat Trafficking in Persons. She will build upon this research for her Fulbright by conducting a qualitative case study of the Center for Democratic Citizenship Education, a multi-year project designed to promote democracy in Albania through the country’s educational system. The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 and funded by the U.S. Department of State, is designed
Elena Shomos
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
Prairie Schooner Releases Mobile App Prairie Schooner, UNL’s literary journal, has released a mobile app. “Global Schooner: A World of Prairie Schooner Writers,” features an interactive global map that pinpoints the location of authors from past Prairie Schooner issues, offering users unprecedented access to author biographies, videos, interviews and more. “Global Schooner” features profiles from more than 300 authors who have been published in the prestigious journal run by the UNL English Department for the last 87 years. Forty-five author profiles have expanded content, including audio and video of exclusive interviews and readings. The app also provides links to Prairie Schooner’s blog, podcast and other online content. App users may purchase an issue of Prairie Schooner or subscribe to the quarterly using the app.
The mobile app is available for download on iTunes and is free. Users can pay for the Guide to Customs feature, which allows access to additional content for $2.99. “One of the exciting opportunities that digital literary publishing allows for is the chance to make a reality the global community of letters,” said poet Kwame Dawes, editor in chief of Prairie Schooner. The mobile app was designed by David Levi of Doubleapps, a company based in Knoxville, Tenn., that specializes in map-based smartphone app design. “The app interface uses a pretty cool animated 3-D globe to show where various authors live,” Levi said. – Ryan Oberhelman, Prairie Schooner
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 9
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
High-resolution scanning electron microscopy shows ultra-strong and tough continuous nanofibers developed by UNL researchers. (Photos by Joel Brehm, Dimitry Papkov, Yan Zou, Yuris Dzenis)
Yuris Dzenis, McBroom Professor of Mechanical and Materials Sciences at UNL. (Photo: Craig Chandler, University Communications)
NEBRASKA CENTER FOR MATERIALS AND NANOSCIENCE
Discovery Yields Supertough, Strong Nanofibers UNL materials engineers have developed a structural nanofiber that is both strong and tough, a discovery that could transform everything from airplanes and bridges to body armor and bicycles. “Whatever is made of composites can benefit from our nanofibers,” said the team’s leader, Yuris Dzenis, McBroom Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and a member of UNL’s Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience. “Our discovery adds a new material class to the very select current family of materials with demonstrated simultaneously high strength and toughness.” In structural materials, conventional wisdom holds that strength comes at the expense of toughness. Strength refers to a material’s ability to carry a load. A material’s toughness is the amount of energy needed to break it; so the more a material dents, or deforms in some way, the less likely it is to break. A ceramic plate, for example, 10 SUMMER 2013
can carry dinner to the table, but shatters if dropped, because it lacks toughness. A rubber ball, on the other hand, is easily squished out of shape, but doesn’t break because it’s tough, not strong. Typically, strength and toughness are mutually exclusive. Dzenis and colleagues developed an exceptionally thin polyacrilonitrile nanofiber, a type of synthetic polymer related to acrylic, using a technique called electrospinning. The process involves applying high voltage to a polymer solution until a small jet of liquid ejects, resulting in a continuous length of nanofiber. The team discovered that by making the nanofiber thinner than had been done before, it became not only stronger, as was expected, but also tougher. Dzenis suggested that toughness comes from the nanofibers’ low crystallinity. In other words, it has many areas that are structurally unorganized. These amorphous regions allow the molecular chains to slip around more,
giving them the ability to absorb more energy. Most advanced fibers have fewer amorphous regions, so they break relatively easily. In an airplane, which uses many composite materials, an abrupt break could cause a catastrophic crash. To compensate, engineers use more material, which makes airplanes, and other products, heavier. “If structural materials were tougher, one could make products more lightweight and still be very safe,” Dzenis said. Body armor, such as bulletproof vests, also requires a material that’s both strong and tough. “To stop the bullet, you need the material to be able to absorb energy before failure, and that’s what our nanofibers will do,” he said. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and a U.S. Army Research Office Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant.
bike unl
UNL Named Bicycle Friendly University A campus effort started two years ago has led the University of NebraskaLincoln to be named a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists. Only 58 universities in 30 states have earned a Bike Friendly University award. The Big Ten leads the nation with eight bike-friendly members – three, including UNL, at the silver level and five with bronze awards. There are five levels of awards – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Stanford University is the highest rated institution, earning the platinum award. Two universities are gold designees. UNL earned the silver award largely through campus education efforts and reorganizing bicycle-related policies at a central website, bike.unl.edu, according to Jordan Messerer, an assistant director in Campus Recreation who has helped lead the Bike Friendly UNL program. “We are ecstatic that we have received this award, but at the same time we don’t want it to be an end to the work that we’ve started,” he said. UNL also worked with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to earn a grant that allowed Messerer and three others to become certified bike instructors. Those four organize and teach Campus Recreation’s bicycle traffic safety courses to students, faculty and staff. Messerer said support from campus administrators was also a key component in earning the silver designation. “The Bicycle Transportation Committee CONNECTION BOX has worked diligently to evaluate, assess and execute a number of initiatives to bike.unl.edu support the university’s goal of becoming a Bicycle Friendly University,” UNL spokesman Steve Smith said. “Bicycling is on the rise at UNL, and is increasingly seen as a healthy, sustainable method of getting to, from and around campus.” Looking ahead, the Bike UNL committee plans to expand campus education efforts as it begins to pursue a gold award. “In terms of cycling and pedestrian movement on campus, we have a great road map being developed in the new master plan,” Messerer said. “It’s a great time to start looking at the routes we have on campus and how we can improve them for everyone.” – Troy Fedderson, University Communications
great plains center
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Ecotourism Map Goes Digital The University of Nebraska’s Center for Great Plains Studies has turned its free printed map of the top ecotourism sites in the Great Plains into an interactive Web version. The map features the top 50 ecotourism sites in eight states, chosen by a survey of naturalists from the region. Ecotourism generates critical revenue for funding conservation initiatives, increases public awareness and support of conservation, and helps nearby human communities to thrive economically. The new digital version features descriptions, photos, contact information and travel instructions for each site. It works on desktops and mobile devices to allow people to see what sites are close to their location. It was developed for the center by a team from EdMedia led by Nicholas Colgrave and Vishal Singh. The map is available at ecogreatplains.org. The center is asking the public for help in filling out the photos for some of the locations. If you have a photo of one of the sites, send it to greatplains. reachingout@unl.edu. Printed maps also are still available at the Center for Great Plains Studies, 1155 Q St. in Lincoln. – Katie Nieland, Great Plains Center
CONNECTION BOX ecogreatplains.org greatplains.reachingout@unl.edu
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 11
CAMPUS BRIEFS Appointments
for nine National Science Foundation grants. n UNL Associate Professor of Art History Wendy Katz has received a 2013 Smithsonian Senior Fellowship. She will conduct research in Washington, D.C., from January to April 2014. Katz is researching a book, “The Politics of Art Criticism in the Penny Press, 1833-1861.” She will conduct research at the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, as well as at the Library of Congress. n Two UNL students from Omaha – Daniel Jay Geschwender, a junior computer science major, and Steve Parkison, a junior electrical engineering major – have been selected as Goldwater Scholars for outstanding research in science. Goldwater scholarships are
Steve Goddard
n Steve Goddard, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been appointed interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He takes over for Dean David Manderscheid who has accepted the position of vice provost and executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University.
Kudos n John Hibbing, Foundation Regents Professor of Political Science at UNL, has received a coveted Guggenheim Fellowship, and will use the award to study the physiological differences of Americans who participate in the political process compared with those who do not. An accomplished political scientist and a leader in the cutting-edge study of the role of biology in shaping people’s political temperaments, Hibbing has been a NATO Fellow in Science, a Senior Fulbright Fellow, recipient of the Fenno Prize and principal investigator
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Daniel Jay Geschwender
for aspiring scientists, mathematicians and engineers. About 300 college sophomores and juniors receive them nationwide, with awards up to $7,500 a year for educational expenses. n UNL Honors Program students Garrett Allen and Tanner Sorensen have been awarded fellowships from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Diesnst (DAAD) to study in Germany
Steve Parkison
next year. Allen received a fellowship to conduct independent research and Sorensen received a fellowship to attend a master’s program at a German university. Both are May 2013 graduates who participated in UNL’s German studies department exchange program Deutsch in Deutschland at Humboldt University in Berlin last year. n The International Quilt Study Center and Museum at UNL has achieved accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition for a museum. Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, 1,005 are accredited. The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is the third museum at UNL to achieve this distinction, joining the Sheldon Museum of Art and the University of Nebraska State Museum. n The American Mathematical Society has chosen the Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics the annual winner of its Programs that Make a Difference Award for “its significant efforts to encourage women to continue in the study of mathematics.” The conference became an annual event in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics 15 years ago.
Grants n The Robert and Ardis James Foundation has made a $7 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation’s current Campaign for Nebraska for expansion of Quilt House, home of UNL’s International Quilt Study Center and Museum on East Campus. The expansion will add about 12,400 square feet on the west side of the building and will feature new gallery space for more exhibitions as well as additional room for quilt collection storage and care, education and museum operations. The James Foundation also donated $1 million to establish a permanent endowment at the NU Foundation in support of the Ardis James Executive Director of Quilt
House. n The University of Nebraska Foundation has received gifts and commitments of gifts for UNL’s new state-of-the-art College of Business Administration building. Major gifts have been received or committed by Howard, ’57, and Rhonda Hawks of Omaha; Peter and Nancy Salter, ’68, of Phoenix, in honor of Nancy’s father, Arthur M. Henrickson, ’40; Glenn Korff of Boulder, Colo., and Kenneth Korff of Tucson, Ariz., in honor of their father, Paul W. Korff, ’33; Union Bank & Trust Company of Lincoln; and Nelnet Inc. of Lincoln. n The 23-year-old Johnny Carson Theater at UNL’s Lied Center for Performing Arts will undergo a $571,500 renovation project, including a completely redesigned
entrance and lobby and new theater floor. Renovation is being made possible with a gift from the John W. Carson Foundation. n The Lied Center has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for an interdisciplinary exploration with the groundbreaking dance company, Streb. The project will involve UNL students from dance, theatre, gymnastics, architecture, and computer science and engineering, along with local K-12 students, teachers and community members. Streb company members will lead three days of residency activities in Lincoln, culminating in a public performance of “Forces” at the Lied Center.
The International Quilt Study Center and Museum
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 13
From Society Page to Front Page
Death Zones & Darling Spies Seven Years of Vietnam War Reporting
Nebraska Women in Journalism Eileen Wirth
’68, ’71, ’79, ’94
University of Nebraska Press, 2013, (paper) $17.95 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu
Eileen M. Wirth never set out to be a groundbreaker for women in journalism, but if she wanted to report on social issues instead of society news, she had no alternative. Her years as one of the first women reporters at the Omaha World-Herald, covering gender barriers even as she broke a few herself, give Wirth an especially apt perspective on the women profiled in this book: those Nebraskans who, over 100 years, challenged traditional feminine roles in journalism and subtly but surely changed the world. The book features women journalists who worked in every venue, from rural weeklies to TV. They fought for the vote, better working conditions for immigrants and food safety at the turn of the century. They covered wars from the Russian Revolution to Vietnam. They were White House reporters and minority journalists who crusaded for civil rights. All are memorable, their stories affording a firsthand look into the history of journalism and social change.
ALUMNI AUTHORS 14 SUMMER 2013
Beverly Deepe Keever
University of Nebraska Press, 2013, (paper) $26.95 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu
In 1961, 26-year-old Beverly Deepe set off on a trip around the world. Allotting just two weeks to South Vietnam, she was still there seven years later, having by then earned the distinction of being the longest-serving American correspondent covering the Vietnam War and garnering a Pulitzer Prize nomination. In “Death Zones and Darling Spies,” she describes what it was like for a farm girl from Nebraska to find herself halfway around the world, trying to make sense of one of the nation’s bloodiest and bitterest wars. Keever’s trove of tissue-thin memos to editors, along with published and unpublished dispatches for New York and London media, provide the reader with you-are-there descriptions of Buddhist demonstrations and turningpoint coups as well as phony ones. Two Vietnamese interpreters, self-described as “darling spies,” helped her decode Vietnam’s shadow world and subterranean war. These memoirs, at once personal and panoramic, chronicle the horrors of war and a rise and decline of American power and prestige. ’57, ’58
Evolving Iran Georgetown University Press, 2013, (paper) $18.95 www.press.georgetown.edu
Barbara Ann RiefferFlanagan examines how the politics and policy Barbara decisions in the Islamic Ann RiefferFlanagan Republic of Iran have ’00, ’03 developed since the 1979 revolution and how they are likely to evolve in the near future. Despite the fact that the revolution ushered in a theocracy, its political system has largely tended to prioritize self-interest and pragmatism over theology and religious values, while continuing to reinvent itself in the face of internal and international threats. Since the early years of the 20th century, Iranians have attempted to make their political system more democratic, yet various attempts to produce a system where citizens have a meaningful voice in political decisions have failed. This overview of Iran’s political system covers a broad array of subjects, including foreign policy, human rights, women’s struggle for equality, the development and evolution of elections, and the institutions of the political system including the Revolutionary Guards and Assembly of Experts.
The Boys of Bloomfield
Leaving Iran
Argus Publishing, 2013, (paper) $15
A Glimpse Into The Persian Mind
amazon.com
Windjammer Adventure Publishing, 2012, (paper) $18
After inheriting his grandfather’s diaries, Ramon Hansen, retired reporter, editor and publisher, began chronicling the story of Bloomfield, Neb., from his family’s perspective. This book recounts Ramon D. Hansen how a town of barely more than 1,200 people ’49 sent more than 400 boys to battle in World War II. It also tells the story of the many War Bond drives, scrap metal campaigns and sacrifices at home as well as the personal stories of the boys with whom Hansen grew up.
Ticked: A Medical Miracle, A Friendship, and the Weird World of Tourette Syndrome Chicago Review Press, 2013, (paper) $26.95 ipgbook.com
James Fussell, a feature writer for the Kansas
James A. City Star, has struggled with Tourette’s from Fussell, ’80, childhood. Jeff Matovic is the first person to and Jeffrey P. Matovic have his Tourette Syndrome controlled through
deep brain stimulation. Together, they provide a rare glimpse into lives afflicted by daily bouts with violent tics and outbursts at inopportune moments. Fussell explains the wide variety of symptoms and discusses the latest in medical research and treatments for Tourette Syndrome. A remarkable story about a blossoming friendship and overcoming a debilitating condition, “Ticked” takes you beyond the stigmas and peculiarity of movement disorders and shows the real human struggle that lies behind those afflicted with Tourette Syndrome.
windjammerpub@mac.com
“Leaving Iran” takes the reader on a journey with Isaac Yomtovian, a Jewish boy born Isaac in Tehran, who spent his childhood in a Yomtovian multicultural neighborhood among Shia ’73 Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians and Baha’is. The rich history, culture and customs of Jewish and non-Jewish Persians are revealed through a collection of humorous and heartfelt true stories. There are portrayals of religious and secular observances and holidays, accompanied by rich descriptions of food, music, living conditions and events of daily life. The author describes at length the enduring and confusing relationships that Iranian Jews experienced with their Muslim fellow countrymen: Relationships that were often friendly, but were sometimes laden with intolerance, discrimination – and danger. Above all, “Leaving Iran” is the personal story of a man’s private struggle to find tolerance and peace of mind. Throughout his journey, Yomtovian never loses hope for a democratic Iran. And he never loses his love for the country of his birth.
The Senescent Philosopher Speaks 2013, (paper) $15.33 amazon.com
John Paul Shaw, Sr.,
’75, ’80
John Paul Shaw, Sr., delivers a potpourri of philosophical essays, tall tales and poems covering a myriad of subjects gleaned from his life experiences from the Great Depression through the waning years of the 2008 depression. Written in a conversational tone, the book provides an entertaining experience.
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 recently published book 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 15
PROFILE WINNER, honorable mention 2012 Writing contest Leah (Cooksley) Peterson is from the community of Weissert in central Nebraska. She attended a one-room school and graduated from Broken Bow High School before enrolling at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After graduating in May 2001 with a B.A. in communication studies, she spent the next 10 years working in higher education as a college adviser for Bellevue University, and an instructor for Central Community College. She completed a master’s degree in leadership from Bellevue University in 2005 and has returned to the family ranch in Custer County where she assists with daily operations. She and her husband, Matt Peterson, ’99, are the parents of a daughter, Maggie.
The Woman ofBy Leah Clear Creek Cooksley Peterson, ’01
Near the Headwaters of Clear Creek in Custer County, Nebraska, and in her grandparents’ homestead on French Table, Mary Bell Haumont was born Sept. 12, 1920. The eldest daughter of Frank and Hetty Haumont came into this world at a time when the great state of Nebraska was alive with hopes and dreams. It was a place where hard work and determination were necessary, and it had already been home to her family since 1878. 16 SUMMER 2013
A young Mary Bell displayed horsemanship skills at Ft. Robinson.
The Haumont/Cooksley family was honored with the Nebraska Alumni Association’s Family Tree Award in 2005. Mary Bell is seated in the center of the front row; Leah Cooksley Peterson, the author of this article, is in the blue jacket, second from left.
A bright young woman, Mary Bell rode to school on horseback. As she grew and her academic talents became apparent, she accelerated her learning pace and graduated as valedictorian of her high school class at Broken Bow High school at the age of 16. The world was hers, and she chose the University of NebraskaLincoln to earn her college degree and begin a life of noteworthy experiences and accomplishments. When World War II came, it changed the course of so many lives. Mary Bell graduated from the university in the spring of 1942 and married her high school sweetheart, fellow UNL graduate Lt. Leo C. Cooksley, Dec. 25, 1942. Prior to his deployment to the European theater the following spring, Mary Bell taught school. Upon his departure, she settled with her parents at home near Weissert to raise their newborn daughter, wait for the war to end and anticipate Leo’s return. Return he did, aboard a hospital ship after sustaining serious injuries. Husband and wife were re-united and spent the following years in military service, including at Ft. Lee, Va., and then at Ft. Robinson, Neb., until Leo decided to resign his commission, having attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1945, they had purchased land adjoining the family homestead, and that was where they settled to raise their family and begin raising cattle and registered thoroughbred horses. The Cooksleys raised six children on their ranch, participating in community and civic activities as well as managing their livestock operations. Mary Bell’s life swiftly changed in 1973 when she lost
her father, Frank. Overnight, she found herself thrust into the job of sole manager of her father’s prized purebred shorthorn herd. Her next years were spent learning and improving the shorthorn breeding program her father had begun in 1919. It wasn’t long before she single-handedly created a nationally known herd of dualregistered, prized stock. Throughout the nearly 40 years that she managed the herd, she formed relationships with cattle breeders and enthusiasts from nearly every state and many foreign countries. Her loyalty and commitment to family and doing her part to carry on that legacy have been noticed by many. After the death of my grandfather, Leo, in 1994, my grandmother began to expand her commitment to public service in the community and state. She was very involved with the American and Nebraska Shorthorn Association, Nebraska Association of Fair Managers, the Custer County Fair, Grange, the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Broken Bow Elks, the DAR, Weissert Church of God and many more. Beyond her involvement in these activities, most noted was her love of God, family and country. Many people have joked over the years that if you wanted to find Mary Bell, all you had to do was follow the “work.” She was known as one of the first to volunteer, the one with the most enthusiasm and the last to leave. My grandmother was the woman who could recite the poem or song most appropriate for any situation; she was able to figure numbers in her head, articulate beautiful speech and wisdom, and convey knowledge about her community and state. She never
knew a stranger and was always loyal and dedicated to her cause. Mary Bell made such an impression in the minds of all those she met. There was a time when I was working in the community of Grand Island and Grandma was in town for a meeting, and she asked if we could have lunch together at a local establishment. She was 80 miles from home, and a woman approached our table and struck up a conversation. They had met once, some 10 years before, while my grandfather was in the local VA hospital. My grandma’s signature hairstyle and articulate tone were the only things required for this woman to realize that Mary Bell Cooksley was nearby. It is impossible to adequately express how I marveled at this woman for the nearly 33 years she was in my life. She could don heels and gown to dance the night away, and the next day be dressed in her wranglers and favorite pair of worn boots. She sat sidesaddle as a lady, or rode astride taking jumps at the Ft. Robinson jumping competitions. She graced audiences with tales of survival during the Depression, added humor to the stories of surviving the farm crisis of the 1980s and dazzled the Nebraska Legislature with her heartfelt testimony. She could work bulls and cows, and tame dangerous stallions, yet cuddle her newborn great grandchildren and the fuzziest of kittens, and oh how she could sing hymns that brought tears to the eyes of grown men. Mary Bell was a living example of how to navigate the most difficult challenges and opportunities with faith, grace, dignity and humor. We lost Grandma unexpectedly on Oct. 20, 2011 at the young age of 91, just one day after she worked at the Weissert church fall bazaar. When placing the many phone calls to friends and family, the reaction was the same: “Not Mary Bell! She is too young to be gone!” As we stood around the family plot atop a hill in Lone Tree Cemetery, overlooking Cooksley’s Clear Creek Farms that blustery day in October, I viewed her lasting legacy and listened as the wind carried the words and thoughts that summarized her life. Her greatest feat? She lived until she died. Indeed, she did. v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 17
NOSTALGIA WINNER, honorable mention 2012 Writing contest Deborah Farrall Haskins grew up in Grand Island. She graduated from Doane College, with a major in English, and graduated in 1982 from the University of Nebraska College of Law. Farrall lives in Centennial, Colo., with her husband, Steve. They are the parents of two grown daughters. A member of the Colorado Bar Association, Farrall is an assistant director with the Office of Legislative Legal Services, a nonpartisan legislative service agency for the Colorado General Assembly, where she drafts bills, performs legal research, and trains new employees.
The Value of the Rule of Law By Deborah Farrall Haskins, ’82 After I explained the holding of a court decision in one of my law school classes, my professor asked me to come see him after class. “You need to go to the dean’s office,” the professor said. “Today.” My heart began beating rapidly. What had I done? Was I in trouble? Was it good news or bad news? I was about to get a life lesson about the importance of perceptions.
McCollum Hall, headquarters of the College of Law.
18 SUMMER 2013
Deborah Farrall as a UNL law student.
I graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in Lincoln in 1982. It was an interesting time to be a young, female, law student. The college was about 25 percent female, and the women had already fought for and won more bathroom parity with the men by the time I arrived at the new law school building on east campus. Other competent women had paved the way in the 1960s and 1970s. We were not really that novel as classmates but we thought we were. Nevertheless, I still remember one of my classmates telling me that since I was a member of the class, I had taken away the spot of a more deserving male. Many of the male students, including this cad, were married with working spouses who typed their law school papers for them and made them nutritious sack lunches with all of the food groups represented. My female friends and I had to pay professional typists $1.25 a page to get our term papers typed. (This was in the days before there were personal computers, and we had no time to type on typewriters using corrective tape.) We made our own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to bring to school. We joked often amongst ourselves that we each needed a wife. The outside world kept creeping into the bubble we were in during law school: Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Supreme Court Justice; the Pope was shot; the American hostages were released after 14 months of captivity in Iran (I remember I was in a class with Professor James Lake when I first heard that news); reporters were starting to
write stories about homosexual men dying of a strange breakdown in their immune system; Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were married; Luke and Laura wed on General Hospital; and John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. I didn’t study all the time. I did find time to participate in a couple of organizations. It was because of one of these activities that I was called into the dean’s office. Alan Frank was the associate dean at that time. I dutifully went to his office and learned what my transgression was. The Nebraska Supreme Court had just convened a traveling court session at the Law School. One of the organizations to which I belonged had decided that we should organize a silent protest of the Nebraska death penalty when the Court was at the law school. We were, after all, children who had been raised during the 1960s! I have to admit that I tore up black strips of cloth for armbands, tied one on my arm, and tried to hand them out to fellow students as they walked in to hear the Nebraska Supreme Court. Not very many people took our armbands. Our small group walked in together and sat down with our armbands visible to the judges. Dean Frank explained something that I had not thought of when I helped organize this little, nonviolent, civil protest. He explained very patiently to me that judges have to be independent and impartial. If the judges were to rule the death penalty unconstitutional after we had worn black armbands into a court
Deborah Farrall Haskins today.
session, the public perception would be that the judges had been influenced by our protest. He gently reminded me that the role of a judge is to rule based on judicial precedent and the legal arguments and not because of public opinion. I was stunned. How had I, a law student, forgotten about the rule of law? I was no longer proud of my actions. I could hardly breathe. Dean Frank could have gone on and on about how we had embarrassed the Law College. But he didn’t. He could have carried out a “zero-tolerance policy” against me. But he didn’t. Instead, he gave me an unforgettable lesson about the beauty of the American legal system. Shortly after I graduated from UNL, I moved to Denver. I have worked for 29 years at the Office of Legislative Legal Services, a nonpartisan legislative service agency for the Colorado General Assembly. As a nonpartisan attorney who drafts for both Republican and Democratic members, it is very important that I be perceived as impartial and objective. The positive perception of the legislators for whom I work is critical to me in my job. As I think back upon my education at the University of Nebraska College of Law, I realize that one of the most important lessons I learned there did not come from the Socratic method or from a textbook. Instead, it came from learning from one of my own mistakes and from a wise teacher and administrator who took the time to remind me about the importance of perceptions and the value of the rule of law. v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 19
By Tom Nugent
20 SUMMER 2013
She has spent the past 30 years living among some of the most dreaded names in the world of infectious disease: Ebola, Marburg, Hanta. For 1975 UNL microbiology graduate Connie Hrdlicka (now Connie Schmaljohn, Ph.D.) – the civilian U.S. Government employee equivalent of a U.S. Army Brigadier General – each day at work brings another challenge, as she directs one of the nation’s most wide-ranging and complex efforts to protect all of us from the deadly scourge of virus-borne diseases. In Schmaljohn’s perilous kingdom, creatures so tiny that they can’t be seen with the naked eye brood silently in “hot rooms” protected by airlocks and chemical showers and “negative air pressure” pumps that never rest. It is here, inside a series of super-secure “Biosafety Level 3 and level 4” (BSL-3,-4) laboratories, that the battle against some of the world’s most lethal disease agents is daily joined. Connie Schmaljohn’s extraordinary assignment, as the Senior Scientist for Medical Defense against Infectious Disease Threats for the United States Army: Hunt down the killer viruses one by one ... and then build the vaccines that will help to neutralize them.
It was the kind of moment that a dedicated scientist lives for. The moment of discovery! For Connie Schmaljohn – one of the world’s top experts on disease-causing viruses – it happened late in a long day while she was working at the Army’s infectious disease lab at Ft. Detrick, Md., when she suddenly found herself gazing at an X-ray film as it developed within a tank in a small darkroom attached to the isolated BSL-3 laboratory. On that unforgettable evening three decades ago, the youthful scientist was in the middle of running an “electrophoresis gel” assay on a sample cultured from a fragment of lung tissue taken from a longdead South Korean rat. Her goal: to identify the type of germ in the rodent’s lung tissue – the same germ, it would eventually be made clear, that had sickened thousands of U.S. and United Nations soldiers during the Korean War in the early 1950s. According to the medical record, the target germ caused a disabling and sometimes lethal form of disease in
many parts of Asia, including North and South Korea ... a virulent human disease that eventually came to be known as “hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome,” or HFRS. But what, exactly, was this germ? Was it a type of bacteria (like deadly anthrax) that could perhaps be killed with antibiotics, once its genetic structure and biochemical functioning were better understood? Or was it a virus (like the deadly Variola virus that causes smallpox) for which a vaccine might eventually be developed – once medical researchers were able to pinpoint its genetic vulnerability? Hoping to answer these and other questions, Schmaljohn (in those days a 20-something postdoctoral researcher at the Ft. Detrick disease research lab) had spent the past few weeks running a series of complex genetic studies on the rat germs. And now, as she sat at a lab bench in her medical scrubs – worn by every researcher within the highly sophisticated BSL-3 laboratory – the Crete, Neb.,
native was amazed by the appearance of three solid lines that were slowly taking their shape on the film before her. Were her eyes deceiving her? Those three clear bars were hard to believe at first ... because they could mean only one thing. According to the electrophoresis gel assay, which separates and analyzes genes, the rat tissue culture under observation contained three distinct pieces of RNA in its biochemical makeup. Translation: RNA (ribonucleic acid) is an essential component of the genetic structure of many of the most deadly viruses known to mankind. And if the triple RNA in Schmaljohn’s sample was being accurately depicted by the gel analysis before her, then the rodent germs had to belong to the Bunyaviridae family of disease viruses. And that had never been known before! For several minutes, the virus hunter sat staring at the results on the film. “Three pieces of RNA,” she told herself again and again. “Three pieces of RNA. There’s only one group [of disease agents] that has three pieces of RNA – it’s a Bunya!” Which meant: as a Bunya, the rat germ had to be a virus, and not a bacterium.
Quiet on the Set! When the Hollywood filmmakers who produced “Contagion” asked Connie Schmaljohn to be a technical consultant on the project a few years ago, she got an up-close look at how the dream merchants put together a blockbuster hit. “I got to hang out on the set for a while and tell everybody what to do and it was fun,” recalled the U.S. Army disease expert. “Unfortunately [“Contagion” star] Matt Damon wasn’t on hand at the time ... but I did get to work with [actors] Laurence Fishburne and Jennifer Ehle and Bryan Cranston. And they were filming on a set that was supposed to be a [military] command center. “It was very interesting, to say the least. I remember at one point, for
example, when Cranston was wearing a military uniform [while playing a Navy admiral at the U.S. Public Health Service], he kept asking me: ‘Where does my hat go? Where does my badge go?’ And he asked how I wear my badge, and I told him it hangs on a stretchy thing, and he said: ‘You’ve got your badge hanging from a stretchy thing [a retractable cord] ... why can’t I have I have my badge hanging from a stretchy thing?’” Adds the “Contagion” consultant while praising the 2011 feature film about a massive disease outbreak in the U.S.: “I thought it was very realistic and convincing – except for how quickly they were able to stop the epidemic at the end.” v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 21
There could be no doubt. Schmaljohn was at that moment looking at the microbiological signature of the culprit that had caused all those thousands of cases of hemorrhagic fever accompanied by kidney breakdown among both U.S. and U.N. soldiers who’d fought in the Korean War. And as it turned out, this observation was just the first piece of the puzzle leading to the discovery of an entirely new group of viruses within the Bunyaviridae family. Although the virus that Schmaljohn detected was originally named “Korean hemorrhagic fever virus,” it was later renamed “Hantaan virus” after a river in South Korea where many cases of disease occur and where the rodent carrying the virus was captured. During the years following her discovery, as more viruses like Hantaan virus were identified in rodents all around the world, this new group of “Hantaviruses” was officially recognized. Today, there are more than 20 hantaviruses known to cause not only hemorrhagic fever and kidney failure in Asia and Europe, but also severe lung disease in the Americas. But that night, when none of this was known, she jumped to her feet. As she headed for the airlock and the shower that would conclude this session in the BSL-3 lab, her head was spinning with the discovery she’d just made. Why? It was simple. If the hemorrhagic fever culprit was indeed a Bunya, then she and her colleagues at the Army disease facility could perhaps put together a vaccine aimed at stopping it dead in its tracks. And they did just that. During the next three decades at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) – where she has spent her entire postgraduate career as a research scientist and administrator – Schmaljohn and her colleagues built a series of vaccines that are now advancing through human clinical trials and which are currently regarded as the best future line of defense against this form of Hantavirus-linked disease. Said the affable and unpretentious scientist today, while remembering that magical night in the Ft. Detrick lab: “[Researching] Hantaviruses will always be my first love, because being the first 22 SUMMER 2013
person to describe something – you just don’t get over that. And at first, my postdoc adviser, who was this really wonderful scientist and researcher – [the late] Joel Dalrymple – he didn’t believe me. I showed him my results, and he said: ‘That can’t be right; there aren’t any Bunya viruses carried by rodents. You better go back and do the test again.’ “So I did. And the results were the same – three pieces of RNA! And all at once I had this wonderful feeling, that I had made this discovery on my own, and that I had been right. And for a scientist who cares passionately about coming up with accurate results ... well, that’s the kind of experience that stays with you for the rest of your professional career.”
Disease Research: Like ‘Riding a Roller Coaster’
During the 30-plus years that followed her breakthrough discovery of the Hanta bug (and while publishing more than
120 peer-reviewed articles in the world’s leading microbiology and pathology journals), Schmaljohn served as both a highly regarded research virologist and an administrator who rapidly climbed the ranks at USAMRIID. Here, more than 800 scientists, technicians and staffers conduct cutting-edge lab research on such lethal disease organisms as anthrax, botulism and plague, along with the Ebola, Marburg and Hanta viruses, often in the maximum containment BSL-4 labs, where a “space suit” – the positive pressure, specially engineered plastic coveralls with transparent faceplate – is worn. Her hugely successful career has also been remarkable because of the way she’s thrived in a professional world that was once almost entirely composed of male scientists. Example: After she was selected to become an “ST Corps” member in 2006 (this exclusive group of senior scientists and technicians is made up of only the most accomplished U.S.
military civilian researchers), numerous commentators were quick to point out that only three of the 40 STs were women. Said the laid-back and low-key Schmaljohn with a smile of pure delight: “You know, I’m the only woman who’s working in the medical research area of the ST Corps – and when I attend science conferences involving researchers who do work on military-related projects, I’m often the only woman in the room. “Really, I think I’m fortunate to have been able to work in an area of research I love. Disease research is actually a thrilling occupation. It’s an emotional roller coaster, one day after the next, as you soon discover. One day you’re telling yourself: It worked. And the next day,
you’re feeling down and you’re telling yourself: It didn’t work. “Our job at Ft. Detrick is first and foremost to protect our troops – our soldiers and sailors and Air Force people and Marines – from infectious diseases wherever they happen to be stationed in the world. But at the same time, we’re a national resource in the battle against disease – and many people don’t realize that a surprisingly large number of the vaccines that protect all of us today were first developed in the U.S. Army. “That’s a mission I deeply believe in, and it’s a goal that we’re committed to achieving, every time we drive onto the post and walk into our building.”
Bioweapons: Five Deadly Agents Although the development and deployment of biological agents as weapons is prohibited by the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and Geneva Protocol (both signed by the U.S.), the danger that they might someday be used against Americans is still very real – which is why we have to be prepared. Says Connie Schmaljohn, the former UNL microbiology student who now directs a research program on highly dangerous viruses within the U.S. Army’s maximum containment laboratory at Ft. Detrick, Md.: “I don’t think a bio-weapons attack is inevitable, not at all. But anything is possible, and if it does happen, we have to be ready to respond. As a biological research center for the Army, we’re constantly being challenged to help find out where the holes in our defenses are, and we spend a lot of time asking ourselves what we can do to fill them.” The list of deadly biological agents that can be “weaponized” is long and frightening. Here’s a quick look at five of the most lethal disease agents that could be converted into bio-weapons – and then dispersed by attackers intent on creating social mayhem. 1. Anthrax. When 22 Americans were infected with letter-borne spores from this lethal bacterium in the fall of 2001, the threat from bio-weapons suddenly
Deadly Serious ... But With a Sense of Humor The daughter of a hard-working truck driver and a homemaker who were both descended from Czechoslovakian immigrant grandparents (“I’m 100 percent Czech!”), Connie Hrdlicka grew up in the Lincoln-area community of Crete, and soon proved to be an astonishingly swift science student. Question: Was her gift for figuring out chemistry problems a genetic inheritance? “Well, I can tell you that my dad was pretty smart,” she said with a lighthearted laugh. “There was no money, and he had to go to work right out of high school. I don’t think he ever thought about college – even though he was the Nebraska State
became very real. Five of the victims later died. Inhalation anthrax (caused by breathing in anthrax spores) has a 75 percent mortality rate, even with medical treatment … and a 100 percent death rate for those who can’t get help
at a hospital. 2. Smallpox. One of the most feared diseases in human history, smallpox is caused by the Variola virus and kills 35 percent of its victims, while disfiguring and disabling many more. This hideous scourge was eliminated in the late 1970s but can still be found in a few labs around the world. 3. Ebola. One of more than a dozen viruses that trigger “hemorrhagic fever,” Ebola killed hundreds in Africa in the 1970s. More than half of its victims die within two weeks, after body tissues break down and cause massive internal bleeding. 4. Plague. Spread by rodents and their fleas, the “Black Death” of the Middle Ages is still a dreaded disease that is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. The death rate is 70 percent, unless the victim receives medical treatment within 24 hours of infection. 5. Tularemia. The mortality rate is low (only about 5 percent), but Francisella tularensis is one of the world’s most infectious bacteria. The disease is totally disabling for most victims. Bedridden for weeks, they would then be vulnerable to an invading army or terrorist group – which makes this disease agent a potentially effective biological weapon. v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 23
Spelling Champion for three years in a row.” Whatever the source of her smarts, there’s no doubt that Connie Hrdlicka was a dynamite science student at Crete High School, and nobody in town was surprised when she landed a National Merit Scholarship that would allow her to attend any college or university she wanted. But what Connie wanted most was to attend UNL. “Going to the University of Nebraska had been my dream all my life,” she recalled during a recent interview at Ft. Detrick, “and for many years I’d been telling myself: ‘I’m going to the University of Nebraska. I’m going to the football games and live in the dorms.’” She did. By the fall of 1971, in fact, having settled down in Sandoz Hall and launched her undergrad career, Hrdlicka had already decided to major in pre-med and eventually become a doctor. But then she met a microbiology professor named Ardyce Welch who introduced her to a mysterious new realm full of strangelooking microscopic creatures with hardto-pronounce Latin names.
24 SUMMER 2013
“Right away, she started me working on a lab project where the goal was to coax some viruses out of a batch of E. coli bacteria,” she remembered. “Back then, of course, I didn’t know the difference between a bacterium and virus. But the process of trying to find them was fascinating, and I was soon hooked on microbiology.” Another key moment in her education occurred, said Schmaljohn, when she happened to be staying late at the lab one afternoon ... and a wildly excited Professor Welch came running down the hall shouting: “We got it! We got it!” As it turned out, the UNL Microbiology Department had just landed a hefty NIH grant for some new virology research, and Schmaljohn found her enthusiasm totally infectious. But the whiz kid from Crete wasn’t content to study only science at UNL. Determined to obtain a broader liberal arts education, she minored in English – and soon managed to develop writing skills that she said have served her well as a scientist to this very day. “You can be the most brilliant scientist in the country,” Schmaljohn said, while describing her UNL days as an English minor, “but if you can’t explain to people why a particular discovery or a particular problem is important, then you haven’t really done your job.” She means it, too. As a frequent lecturer at disease research symposia and conferences all around the globe – and as the author of more than 100 articles on various topics related to virology – she spends almost as much time these days writing papers and planning presentations as she does designing experiments in her lab. “Connie is a very accomplished scientist, and she’s been outstanding at both pure research and translational research on pathogens,” said Colleen B. Jonsson, a microbiology professor at the University of Louisville and the director of the highly regarded Center for Predictive Medicine. “Because of her
skills in both areas, she’s been able to make important discoveries in virology, while also helping in the effort to develop [translate] those findings into effective vaccines.” Adds Jean L. Patterson, the chair of Virology and Immunology at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute: “I first met Connie back in the early 1980s at a scientific conference in Geneva, and we’ve been good friends ever since. She’s not only a terrific scientist – she’s also one of the funniest people you will ever meet. “Whenever we get together at a conference somewhere in the world, we have lots of fun kidding each other about the airplane ‘upgrades’ we were able to get on the flight. I’ve probably laughed more with Connie than with anybody else I’ve ever known. But she’s got a very serious side, too – because she knows that the mission of USAMRIID is to protect our soldiers and she’s enormously determined to accomplish that goal.” After more than 33 years on the job at Ft. Detrick, Connie Schmaljohn – a nationally renowned scientific researcher who’s now at the top of her game – said she has “absolutely no plans” to retire anytime soon. “I really do love this place,” she said during a recent tour of the germ-fighting complex, where ominouslooking placards – “BIOHAZARD: RESTRICTED AREA” – “CAUTION: SPLASH GOGGLES AND GLOVES REQUIRED WHEN USING DUNK TANK” – flank vast, labyrinthine hallways that lead to super-secure labs where deadly viruses wait to be analyzed by the latest tools of microbiology. “Working on these pathogens might look dangerous, but when you’re wearing a Chemturion ‘space suit’ and working in a BSL-4 negative-pressure lab, you actually feel quite safe. During all these years I’ve worked here, we’ve never had anybody fatally – or even seriously – injured during a BSL-4 laboratory procedure. “What we have been able to do, however, is to help make our soldiers and the general public a little bit safer, when it comes to defending them against diseases. That’s our assignment, and I truly believe that working on it is a privilege.” v
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 Awards
Alumni Achievement Award Established in 1974, the Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni who have a record of outstanding achievements in a career and/or civic involvement. The association seeks to recognize alumni at all stages of their lives and careers, including young alumni. Outstanding International Alumnus Award 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 attained national/international prominence through their efforts in education, sciences, technology, agriculture, the arts, business, humanities, government or other world endeavors. Alumni Family Tree Award Established in 1995, the Alumni Family Tree Award honors one family per year that has at least three generations of University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates and at least two family members with a record of outstanding service to the university, the alumni association, their community and/or their profession.
Distinguished Service Award Established in 1940, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes alumni who have a record of distinguished service to the Nebraska Alumni Association and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Student Awards
Shane Osborn Award Established in 2002, this award recognizes students who share the characteristics of Lieutenant Shane J. Osborn, a 1996 UNL graduate who courageously piloted a U.S. reconnaissance plane to a safe crash landing after it was hit by two Chinese fighters and subsequently endured an aggressive interrogation by the Chinese Government. The Nebraska Alumni Association is pleased to honor Lt. Osborn annually by recognizing a student who demonstrates similar characteristics in his or her daily life including courage, integrity, honesty, humility and faith. The award is not limited to students with ROTC involvement. The winner of the award will also receive a $500 scholarship stipend.
Rules: 1. Recipients MUST attend the awards ceremony to receive an award. If a recipient is unable to attend during the year in which they were selected, they may defer to the 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. 3. The awards committee will accept nominations from any alumnus, friend or alumni affiliate organization of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 4. The awards committee retains and considers nominations for three years or until selected. 5. If a recipient is deceased, a representative of the family may accept the award. 6. The deadline for submitting nominations is November 1 of each year.
Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award Established in 1998, The Howard and Judy Vann Student Leadership Award recognizes undergraduate students who have shown exceptional leadership capabilities through energetic participation in student activities, commendable classroom performance, and the personal integrity, perseverance and sense of honor demonstrated by those who successfully lead their peers. The winner of this award will also receive a $250 scholarship stipend.
Retired Faculty Award
Doc Elliott Award Established in 1986 to honor a retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty or staff member who has exhibited a record of exemplary service, whose caring 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 members of UNL who have been retired at least five years.
Instructions: 1. Complete the award nomination form. Be sure to indicate for which award you are placing this nomination. 2. Submit a letter of nomination describing the nominee’s accomplishments and why you believe he/she is deserving of the award. 3. Send the completed form and the letter of nomination to: Alumni Awards, Nebraska Alumni Association, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651. Nominations may also be placed online at huskeralum.org/ events/awards.
Nominators will be notified of their candidate’s status whether or not they are selected for the award. This notification generally happens in January. Only nominees who are chosen to receive an award will be notified of their selection/nomination. NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 25
By Tom Nugent
26 SUMMER 2013
At the youthful age of 28, former UNL journalism major Jenna Johnson (B.A. ’07) has already spent five years covering major breaking news stories for the industry leading Washington Post. Along the way, she has lived among Syrian civil war refugees in Turkey based refugee camps and worked for months at a time to uncover the hidden causes behind a tragic medical-evacuation helicopter crash in Maryland, among numerous other highly challenging assignments. Now meeting daily deadlines as the Post’s higher-education beat reporter in Washington, the hardcharging Johnson has also been rattling some cages in the world of academia of late while authoring a steady stream of high-profile stories on such controversial topics as the ongoing sex-abuse scandal at Penn State and the recent firing (and prompt rehiring) of the president of the University of Virginia. So what’s it like to work day in and day out as a “beat reporter” at one of the world’s most highly regarded newspapers? “When something’s really happening [and she’s reporting on a major story], it’s all you do,” she said. “You just live and breathe that story for days on end. It’s not for everyone, but if you love it, journalism can be a very rewarding career. You get to go to places that no one else [can] go to, and you get to ask questions that no one else gets to ask!”
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Covering the Story: Maryland Helicopter Crash Kills 4
“
On Covering Her First Horrific News Story
The telephone rings in her studio apartment in I was working [as a college intern] at the Norfolk [Neb.] Daily Washington, D.C. News [as a UNL journalism summer intern] – this was right after my It’s a Sunday morning in late freshman year – and I covered an infant baby [found] in a waterway. September of 2008, around 7 Then I covered the funeral of a baby with no name. When you’re in o’clock, and Jenna Johnson is the moment, you’re just doing your job. You’re taking notes, asking about to begin covering what questions, getting people’s names. You’re trying to figure out what will soon become a major news happened. But then you go home at night and suddenly you’re story for the Washington Post. thinking about what you saw. I’ve worked on some very tough stories The voice on the other over the years, and I feel each of them very personally.” end of the line belongs to an assignment editor at the newspaper. Talking fast, the she knows the Maryland Shock Trauma who’d earlier been injured in an editor explains that a medical-evacuation chopper went down somewhere around automobile accident and then evacuated helicopter operated by the Maryland State by the now-crashed helicopter – is being District Heights, located about 10 miles Police has crashed in the Washington, treated for life-threatening injuries. Locate east of the city. D.C., suburbs, and that four of the five Because the earlier auto crash occurred and interview Jordan’s family and friends, passengers who were aboard have been in Southern Maryland, part of which along with the appropriate hospital killed. includes Johnson’s reporting “beat,” she personnel. Johnson’s assignment: Get to the has been tapped to help cover the story. She’s on her feet now and already hospital where the sole surviving No time for coffee; she has to start planning her next move. After the passenger – 18-year-old Jordan Wells, reporting now. Less than ten minutes conversation with the assignment editor,
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 27
later, she’s climbing into her car and heading for the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where the surviving crash victim is being treated in Intensive Care and will eventually lose a leg to amputation. At the hospital, Johnson quickly gets
busy doing interviews and developing sources that will eventually lead to a series of Post investigative stories about why the Maryland State Police helicopter (the doomed “Trooper 2”) went down in the thickly forested Walker Mill Regional Park. Her series of stories, frequently co-
authored with two other Post investigative reporters, will also try to explain why it took the police medevac unit more than two hours to locate the crushed vehicle on a hiking trail in the park. “I worked for months on that assignment,” Johnson told Nebraska
Excerpt From Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, of TheWashington Post:
New Ordeals, Fresh Wounds For Medevac Crash Survivor By Jenna Johnson Washington Post Staff Writer ... Suddenly, over the chop of blades, [helicopter crash survivor Jordan] Wells heard branches scraping the helicopter. Everything went black. When Wells opened her eyes, she was sprawled on the ground in what seemed like a forest. She was shivering, and a drizzle was falling on her bare arms. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. To her right was the twisted wreckage of the helicopter, jet fuel pooling around it. No one else was moving or even crying. There was only silence. “I was alone and hurting and cold, and I didn’t know if anyone was going to find me,” Wells said. She rolled up the hem of her jeans, revealing a bloody tangle of muscle, bone and skin. She tucked her hands under her thighs and tried to inch farther from the helicopter. Pain shot up from her toes. Again, everything went black. Wells is the only survivor of the worst disaster in the state medevac program’s history of nearly five decades, a crash that led to new procedures for the approval of such flights. Four others aboard the helicopter were killed: her 17-year-old friend Ashley Younger, the pilot, the EMT and the paramedic. The crash left Wells with a broken cheekbone, nose and eye socket; broken shoulder blade; compound fracture in the left elbow; bruised lung; one dislodged disk in the neck and four in the back. Everything below the knees was shattered in both legs, including every bone in every toe. Hospitalized for weeks, she is only now able to talk publicly about the details of that night. When Wells opened her eyes for a second time, she began sobbing and crying for help. It had been two hours since the helicopter went down. “I just prayed to God that someone would save me,” she said. Then a man’s voice: “She’s over here! She’s over here!” Wells and the helicopter were deep in Walker Mill Regional Park in Prince George’s County, hundreds of yards from the nearest road and about six miles from the hospital. The air was thick with jet fuel vapor. Fearing an explosion, her rescuers – three members of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command – strapped her onto a stretcher and ran
28 SUMMER 2013
from the wreckage. She was drenched in fuel, so emergency workers, apologizing, stripped off her clothes and sprayed her with a fire hose. They wrapped her in blankets and reassured her that she would soon be at the hospital. Wells grabbed the arm of someone nearby. “I don’t want to go in a helicopter,” she pleaded. In the ambulance, everything faded into a warm blur. For two months after the crash, at the hospital and then at a rehabilitation facility, Wells felt surrounded by a protective bubble. Nurses doted. Visitors brought gifts. Medication numbed pain and dulled emotions. It was perfectly normal to be an amputee. Reality began to sink in when Wells returned home the day before Thanksgiving. She has lost weight. Sometimes, in a phenomenon common among new amputees, she feels like she is wiggling toes on a foot she no longer has. “I realize that I’m on my own now,” she said. “I think it finally hit me that I’m an amputee. Just to see my friends walking around, to hear them talking about shopping and things they are doing, it makes me so sad.” She does physical therapy three times a week. Friends visit, as does her boyfriend of nine months. But her emotions remain ... raw. She collapses in tears when asked about the lives lost, her role in the tragedy. Wells has not talked directly to relatives of any of the people who were killed. Her parents have been in touch with them, relaying to her that no one blames her for what happened. Last Sunday, for the first time since the crash, Wells attended church with her family. “We praise God that his beloved little girl has returned home,” the Rev. Christopher Ogne told parishioners at Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Bryans Road. The small congregation burst into applause. Family friends hugged her. The pastor’s wife held her hand. Children wandered over to look at the thick plastic brace that supports her back and to rub the smooth stump where her lower leg used to be. Wells wiped away tears. “Thank you,” she told them, one after the other. “Thank you so much.”
“
On Her 2 Years as a Daily Nebraskan Editor
Our philosophy was really, just get a good paper out everyday. The big thing about working at the Daily Nebraskan was, we really ran the show. We could really kind of do our own thing, follow our own instincts. We really tried to cover UNL in a way no one else did.” Magazine during an interview in Washington, “and it became an important story” about why four people were killed in a crash that could have been “avoided or minimized if only the Maryland State Police had updated their equipment, better assessed weather risks and properly used their communications system.” “I wound up spending several months getting to know each of the families [who were involved], “and I became almost obsessive about the crash,” she said. “I couldn’t understand why it crashed and why it took so long to find them [the victims]. The NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] did a massive investigation, and released hundreds of documents, and I would stay late at the Bureau and read these documents and highlight them and try to make connections between them and put everything together. “I worked for three months with two other Post investigative reporters, and that taught me so much.” Describing her struggle to report such stories, Johnson said they often involve tragic situations that are difficult to confront. “When you get there the next morning, there’s still blood on the roadway,” she said, “and [frequently at such disaster scenes], you’re running from house to house to see if anyone will talk to you. “I mean, journalists see the world in such a different way. I’m 28, and I’ve already been to so many funerals. You’re forced to think about your life.”
Inspired at UNL by Starita and Quinlan The daughter of a hard-working
newspaperman, Jim Johnson, who spent five years as an editor of the Lincoln Journal Star and 15 years working on the Omaha World-Herald (he and Jenna’s mother Bridget, a newspaper graphic designer and librarian, now publish a weekly paper in small-town Iowa), Jenna Johnson grew up mostly in Lincoln and Omaha. Because of her extensive family background in newspapering, Jenna didn’t hesitate to become a journalism major after arriving on the UNL campus as a freshman in 2003. And during her four years as an undergrad in Lincoln, she served as both the managing editor and the editor in chief (2006-07) of the Daily Nebraskan ... an experience she said taught her much of what she needed to know in order to launch a professional career as a reporter soon after graduation. Describing her heady and exciting years on the campus paper, Johnson said the most exhilarating part of her job as a reporter and editor was the freedom it gave her to chase stories wherever they led – and then to report them as candidly and honestly as she could. “We really tried hard to cover UNL in a way no one else did,” she said. “We didn’t put AP [Associated Press] copy [wire stories] on the front page – only our own stories. We had the idea, you know: ‘This is the UNL paper!’ Students could pick up the Journal Star and the [Omaha] World-Herald and USA Today and read all the national stories there. “We were committed to running our own work on our own community.” While holding down the job of managing editor (in her junior year)
Covering an Unimaginable Disaster as a Student Reporter About one year after the horrendous Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004, Jenna Johnson found herself wandering across the shattered landscape of a world that appeared to have been bombed into oblivion. Along with half a dozen other UNL journalism students, the 20-year-old Johnson – then an editor on the Daily Nebraskan – spent two weeks on the ultimate “field trip” – as a reporter working on stories about the impact of the tsunami on Sri Lanka. Led by former Miami (Fla.) Herald reporter and current UNL journalism professor Joe Starita, Johnson and her fellow students traveled extensively around the ravaged country, where more than 30,000 people died in the disaster. “That’s really a horrible thing to see,” she remembered. “We went to little communities where people were living in shacks along the beaches. We were taken into these little huts and shacks and offered tea, and people were very gracious and wanting to share their stories.” Johnson went on to say that covering an international disaster as a student journalist made her “think about journalism completely differently. It [journalism] can be glamorous and exciting, but that [experience] made me think about it as a public service.” NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 29
“
and then of editor On Handling the in chief, Johnson Stress of Reporting worked hard to come up with story ideas that would capture I go running a lot [often three or four key aspects of life miles] through the streets and some local on campus. She parks. I also have some very good friends, remembered being and talking to them helps. And I’ll also call especially proud of my dad [Jim Johnson]. He’s a journalist, too, a series the student so he gets it. When I call him, really excited paper did on the about a story, he gets really excited, too. So growing Latino [it’s helpful] ... just having someone that you community on can just be completely honest with and just campus, along with say: ‘This really touched me.’” a series on underage drinking and another on “the role of technology in our leaving Lincoln for the changing world.” nation’s capital, she found During her years in Lincoln, Johnson herself covering “the cops was especially inspired during classes she and courts beat” for a few took with such professors as Joe Starita months and writing stories (a former investigative reporter at the out of tough-as-nails Miami Herald) and Mary Kay Quinlan Anacostia and Southeast (a former D.C. correspondent for the D.C. – where inner city drug-crime and Omaha World-Herald and Gannett News violence long ago became endemic. Service). It was challenging, but Johnson hung Soon after graduating from UNL six tough on her city beat and was soon years ago, the then-22-year-old Johnson winning accolades for her accurate, pulled off a remarkable journalistic coup gritty reporting. After her internship was by successfully applying for an internship extended to 2009, she accomplished what at the mighty Washington Post – the most journalists would agree is a difficult publication that broke the Watergate feat: getting hired as a Post reporter scandal, forced President Richard Nixon without having held a full-time job at any into early retirement, and long ago other newspaper. became one of the most highly regarded These days, while covering the highernewspapers in the world. ed beat and frequently working on To her amazement, Johnson was one of challenging investigative stories (such the two-dozen college journalists chosen as the recent “leadership crisis” at the for the Post internship. Within a matter University of Virginia and the University of days of
“
of Maryland’s controversial move to the Big Ten athletic conference), Jenna Johnson is enjoying an extraordinary career as a full-fledged reporter at the paper of Woodward and Bernstein – and as a reporter who’s still more than a year away from her 30th birthday. Ask her how she feels about having reached what many journalists regard as the “pinnacle” at the age of 28, and she’ll tell you with a cheerful laugh: “I applied for [reporting] internships all over the country, and I only got two: one in Arkansas and the other at the Post. “Sometimes the planets just align and things work out!”v
On the Current Crisis in Newspaper Journalism
At the Post, we’re doing more and more with less and less [because of cutbacks]. And in some ways we’re not covering some things as much as we used to. But at the same time, [new] technology is allowing journalists to do things they’ve never done before. I mean, [these days] you can write an article for your small-town newspaper, and it can go viral online, and people all around the world can read it.”
30 SUMMER 2013
RUN FOR THE
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B
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♦
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 31
Homegrown
Has
it All
... Big Red Blood, Royal Blue Dreams, and Dirt on His White Uniform
By Randy York, ’71 Photos by Chris Vleisides/Kansas City Royals
32 SUMMER 2013
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 33
My wife is not a Major League Baseball fan. She can go months without watching a single game. She is, however, an Alex Gordon fan, and if she isn’t interested in following how he performs throughout the season, she’s fooling me. Whenever we’re in the family room or on the deck checking out the latest on our respective iPads, I deliberately will not tell her how the Kansas City Royals in general and how Gordon in particular are doing. Finally, she will ask, even though she’s a dispassionate fan with a singular point of interest … Alex Gordon, the hometown Royal who has it all. Gordon has Big Red blood flowing through his Nebraska veins and Royal Blue dreams dating back to family vacations on I-29 to watch George Brett and Frank White field with grace, hit with reliability and inspire kids wearing blue caps and jerseys that matched their snow cones and cotton candy. Since we’re only days from commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, where baseball ranks right up there with picnics and parades and fireworks and family reunions, let’s add a third color to the river of red blood
running through Gordon’s physically fit body and his daydreams of wearing a Royal Blue jersey. If he is the man to lead Kansas City to its first postseason game since the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series nearly 28 years ago, he needs something else on his sparkling white and blue uniform. For Gordon, the Fourth of July isn’t red, white and blue. It’s red, dirt and blue. Gordon was just a year old and wearing diapers when KC played its last postseason game in 1985. If that’s the 12th of Never, no wonder Gordon has not and will not raise a white flag as a sign of regret or surrender for deciding to stay loyal to his favorite team since boyhood. And make no mistake. He has always known
about the Royals’ reputation for having a tight wallet, not to mention a less than favorable record on first-round draft choices. Let’s be honest here. For several years, an injury-plagued Gordon was one of those first-round busts. The Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger offered up this lead about Gordon in a front-page Sunday column in early May: “The Royals’ best player and example of what they’re trying to do was once their worst player and example of why they never won. This is easy to forget sometimes, now that Gordon is a star. The story of where the Royals had been and where they might go is also Gordon’s story.” Mellinger described how Gordon was once one day away from being sent to Omaha, but then writes: “Look at Gordon now. He might be the best corner outfielder in the American League. He signed long term for maybe 60 percent of what he could have had on the open market. He is a homegrown star in an organization that can’t win without them. He is the biggest story for a franchise desperate for more.” Dayton Moore, the Royals’ general manager who remained loyal to Gordon because the player
With mo re than assists 40 out field in just over tw years, G o ordon shines field. in left
It's
Gordon makes one of his Golden Glove caliber catches.
34 SUMMER 2013
se len ba er sto h t o n a
G. for A
stayed true to him, calls the Alex Gordon Story “the best thing I’ve ever experienced in sports. Watching Alex transition to the major leagues and what he went through … he maintained his steadiness, his work ethic, his positive approach and belief.” Indeed. Kansas City Royal fans remember the comparisons that haunted Gordon in his early days. Three years ago, the player they called “The Next George Brett” looked more like “The Next Clint Hurdle,” according to Mellinger, and this is where the ex-Husker’s climb to the top becomes so interesting. The Royals were so desperate they told Gordon to switch from third base to left field. “He took it without ego, told the world he planned to dominate, and the world responded with mostly laughter,” Mellinger wrote, going on to observe how Gordon worked his way into a four-year, $37.5 million contract “and has since outperformed it.” In other words, for Kansas City, for the Royals and for all their fans across the country, Alex Gordon was worth the wait. He became the team leader in almost all hitting categories and is working diligently on a third consecutive Gold Glove award. If you think you’re going to get Gordon to talk about his unexpected
4
ascent, however, think again. He’s too busy zeroing in on Gordon has a strong his daily regimens that have taken him this far, and too relationship with the Reasons humble to marvel at how fast Huskers Athletic Fund: Why... he picked himself up, dusted 1) Mike Dobbs, a Huskers off his dirty uniform and kept Athletic Fund officer, came fighting the good fight and, up with the idea to have Alex’s name at the same time, exhorted his grace the training complex. teammates to dig down into their own competitive psyches 2) Dobbs is a former Nebraska baseball pitcher so he and Alex can talk baseball and have some fun playing the every bit as easily as they can analyze game. contributions and financial strategy. No one mentions how hip surgery allowed Gordon to 3) Dobbs was Alex’s first coach in play in only 49 games in 2009 Lincoln Legion baseball. and how a broken thumb 4) Dobbs also was the first coach to limited him to only 74 games place Alex in left field, so his older the following season. “Health brother, Eric, could play third base. is the big key to every baseball That was the only year Alex ever played season,” he said. “Injuries can left field until the Kansas City Royals really mess up your strength followed that stroke of genius and reaped and your timing. That’s the big the rewards at baseball’s highest level. key to playing 162 games.” In early May, we connected available opportunity on game day. He with Gordon on an off day. He talked restricts his pregame meals to peanut about his parents and kids, his grandparbutter and jelly sandwiches and postpones ents and his wife’s family. He admits he his unlimited catering choices until after became a die-hard Kansas City fan “by the game. He’s a big fan of Kansas City’s default” because the Royals played only Country Club Plaza and enjoys experithree hours from home. They encing the revitalized downtown scene, were, are and always will anchored by the Sprint Center. be most Nebraskans’ As much as he loves Kansas City, favorite hometown team. Gordon and his wife, Jamie, decided to Gordon grew up in Linbuild a house in Lincoln, and he marcoln identifying with the vels at some of the facilities Lincoln will Royals, and he’s always unveil – the new Pinnacle Bank Arena wanted to be part of their for basketball, the expanded Memorial homegrown talent. He Stadium that will hold 92,000 fans, the understands why fans like East Stadium expansion that will bridge to carry bits and pieces academic research with athletic research from a stadium because and innovation. The thought of Nebraska sitting in those seats and being a pioneer keeps racing through watching Major League Gordon’s mind, and it’s all happening Baseball were some of the in the Big Ten Conference, the nation’s best moments of their biggest, oldest and wealthiest league in lives. intercollegiate athletics. Gordon was disappointWith kids and family surrounding him ed he missed the opporin Lincoln and in Kansas City, Gordon tunity to play in the 2012 finds himself experiencing some of the All-Star Game at Kauffman same places Husker fans choose, such as Stadium. He talks about Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. He Wielding a hot bat in 201 3, Gordon is among the American Lea the classy makeover of a relishes eating at a Brazilian Steakhouse gue's best. stadium he’s always loved on the Plaza and at The Jazz Kitchen on and how lucky he feels to the Kansas side. He also recommends come to work early every Oklahoma Joe’s as one of the best of day. Gordon takes every many great Kansas City barbecue houses.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 35
Gordon works out more than he eats. He sets strict daily standards for his food consumption, his cardio, his lifting and his strength. “I do everything humanly possible to prepare myself for every game,” he said. “I get to the clubhouse early to do what I need to do and to get myself mentally prepared to play.” He likes every chef that prepares special food in the clubhouse, but he always shows restraint in his choices. Sometimes, he thinks about his rookie year in professional baseball and how three buses took his team almost everywhere. He remembers how his first minor league game went 18 innings and took six hours to play in Tulsa. He played third base and went for 2-for-6 in his first game as a pro. When you play professional baseball, you remember down time every bit as much as the highlight reel that keeps playing in your mind. Gordon will never forget, for instance, being in a Boston
4
Reasons Why...
hotel on the same day the city stood still in the aftermath of two radical terrorists detonating bombs at the Boston Marathon. The scene became surreal when he looked out the window of his hotel room and saw the FBI live in person while CNN broadcast the same thing live on TV. That experience made him think, but also made him proud to be a Husker and an American simultaneously. “I will never forget how all those people helped the city do what it needed to do,” Gordon said, “and I will always remember standing on the field the k
next day at Fenway and watching Neil Diamond entertain everyone in the eighth inning.” Gordon plays golf, but does not play many card games because he wants
Gordon invested $1 million in the Nebraska indoor baseball and softball facility that carries his name:
1) To help recruiting. Just like Nebraska Baseball Coach and North Dakota native Darin Erstad, Alex knows the disadvantage – and the misperception – of a Northern school playing a warmweather outdoor sport. 2) To match Erstad’s million-dollar commitment to their alma mater and reinforce their joint focus on Nebraska’s total student-athlete development. 3) To accelerate a shared vision of Nebraska becoming a perennial Big Ten Conference championship contender that will compete to qualify for the College World Series down the road in Omaha. 4) Let’s face it. Now that Gordon has built a family home in his hometown, he can benefit from using the training complex himself. All he needs during the winter months is someone from the Huskers Athletic Fund Department to open the door and let him in.
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ears orm b
if n's un Gordo e. f o ac udg The b irt sm mark d trade
No. 4 s uccess fully ex second ecutes base. a slide into
his
to focus on the game that pays him for playing, not one that just entertains him. “The game of baseball has changed a lot,” he said, explaining how close he is to most of his teammates and how almost everyone in the league reminds him of one big, happy family. He knows Darin Erstad, and respects Nebraska’s head baseball coach. “He brings a lot of experience back to Nebraska,” Gordon said. “He plays the game right and respects the game. I’ve gotten to know him more, and he definitely knows what he’s doing. I think it’s great that he schedules all of those tough teams in the early season, so it can pay dividends when the conference season rolls around and the NCAA is trying to decide who belongs in the tournament.” In March, Gordon and his wife donated $1 million to the NU Athletic Department, following in the footsteps of Erstad and his wife, Jessica, who donated the same amount in 2004 for a Memorial Stadium improvement project. The Gordons’ donation paves the way for NU’s indoor baseball/softball facility to be named the Alex Gordon Training Center. Gordon looks at the world, examines it, processes it and competes as singlemindedly and relentlessly as anyone. He delivered a bases-loaded, two-out walkoff single in the 10th inning to beat the Chicago White Sox in early May. Ten days earlier, he crushed a 10th-inning pitch into Detroit’s center-field shrubs for his first major league grand slam to help the Royals beat the Tigers, 8-3. I remember someone online saying: “I’m not sure how far Alex just hit the first grand slam of his career, but I feel sorry for the baseball.” It was an elegant moment for all of us who watched Gordon play in the College World Series and wondered if the Lincoln Southeast graduate could someday find himself in MLB’s World Series. If not that, maybe Gordon can make the All-Star Game, the Midsummer Classic that can draw in even the most detached fans. On the night the left fielder hit his grand slam, I asked my wife why she’s enamored with Gordon, especially when she doesn’t care much about anything else that surrounds his 162-game regular season. “I like Alex because he’s from Lincoln, he’s a Husker, and he’s so humble,” she said. “He’s an icon, isn’t he?”
4
Reasons Why...
Gordon loves Lincoln and agreed with his wife to make their hometown the family’s permanent home:
1) His wife, Jamie, grew up in Lincoln, too, getting her bachelor’s degree from UNL and her master’s degree at the University of Kansas. 2) Both Jamie’s family and Alex’s family live in Lincoln, so it is the only hometown either one has ever experienced. 3) In the Gordon household, big decisions are team choices, just like they were in Alex’s family and Jamie’s family growing up. 4) In baseball’s off-season, Alex attends his Nebraska baseball team’s home-game football tailgate parties, where he hangs out with friends and family and times his entrances into the game itself whenever he can be as anonymous as possible.
Gordon loves Kansas City and playing for the Royals: 1) Wherever he goes and whatever city he plays in, Alex always sees Husker fans, both in KC and across the nation – so much so that his teammates give him a hard time about all his fans wearing red, yelling and waving at him, and saying Go Big Red! 2) He likes playing in a city that’s a three-hour drive from his hometown. 3) He relishes the history of Kauffman Stadium both as a player now and as a fan growing up in Lincoln and making that hop-skip-and-jump drive on I-29. 4) He loves the investment general manager Dayton Moore made to get top-tier pitchers on the field with the Royals’ youth movement that revolves around and respects one of the club’s biggest investments of all – a Nebraska graduate, a Husker at heart and a man who heads a family that wants to experience a baseball resurgence as much as anyone alive, whether they live in Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln or anywhere else.
In Nebraska and in Kansas City, it’s hard to dispute that statement. Just the thought of Gordon emerging into an icon makes me pause and measure why he already fits that description to me. I like him because his grandfather was the baseball coach at Lincoln Southeast and he grew up with an older brother who let him tag along and play at a higher level, even when he was in junior high. I like him because he’s a lifelong Kansas City Royal fan, and he accepted a lot less money so he could stay home and live his boyhood dream, and we can all watch him, keep track of him and root for him. We don’t have to fly to Boston or New York to see him play. We can buy and print our tickets online, jump on I-29 and be sitting in our seats inside Kaufman Stadium 3½ hours later. For us, Gordon is iconic ... a homegrown hero who truly does have it all and is still doing everything physically, mentally and psychologically possible to be an All-Star and to get the Kansas City Royals back in postseason play. That would definitely curtail his Nebraska football tailgate ritual, not to mention dramatically increase the demand for all his buddies wanting to see the Royals live at the K. Of course, there are no guarantees that Gordon would be the catalyst that transforms that dream into reality. But that’s what icons do, especially one with red blood, a blue-colored fantasy and a white uniform that no doubt will be covered in dirt. If you want to know a little secret, Gordon applies some dirt to the back of his jersey before he even takes the field. It’s fun. It’s beautiful, and it’s more iconic than it is ironic. Alex Gordon has one of baseball’s smallest egos, and he would slide head first into every base to help his team win. That’s the heart inside that No. 4 on his uniform. Gordon wants to break baseball’s longest postseason drought not only for Kansas City and for the Royals, but for all the Husker fans who find him in Spring Training and yell “Go Big Red!” in his honor at every stadium he plays in. Who knows? Come October, when Husker fans see Gordon and salute him with Nebraska’s signature line, maybe he’ll nod his approval and come right back with the perfect response ... “Go Big Blue!”v
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 37
the Gallup Leadership Institute. At the NAA, Williams will assist with strategy for alumni engagement initiatives and events and manage the Legacy Program (Future Huskers). Williams is from Kearney, Neb. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications in 2003. She and her husband, Brett, have a daughter, Lynden, 9 months. Also new to the alumni staff are: educational administration graduate student Ashley Stone, assistant to the executive director; December 2012 UNK advertising and marketing graduate Ryan Janousek, communications intern; and UNL junior Brooke Busboom, a hospitality, restaurant and tourism major who serves as venues intern.v
NEWS
Katie Williams (left) and Derek Engelbart
NAA STAFF
Alumni Association Announces New Hires Derek Engelbart and Katie Williams have joined the Nebraska Alumni Association staff. Both will serve as directors of alumni relations. Engelbart brings 12 years of management and sales experience to the NAA. He most recently served as surgery center director at Lincoln Orthopaedic Center, where he managed the staff, operations and multi-million dollar budget. In his new position, Engelbart will direct the alumni chapters and groups team, manage the alumni travel program, and co-direct the NAA’s popular Football Friday events. He also assists with football game-day operations at the Nebraska Champions Club.
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Engelbart grew up in Lincoln and graduated from Northeast High School before attending Concordia University in Seward, Neb., where he was a member of the men’s basketball team and a two-year NAIA Academic AllAmerican. He and his wife, Jenni, are life members of the NAA. They have two children, Dayton, 7, and Jayda, 4. Williams brings nine years of marketing, advertising and event planning experience to the NAA. She spent seven years in account service at Bailey Lauerman, where she was responsible for managing and growing client relationships; developing branding and marketing strategies; and leading multi-disciplinary account teams. She also worked previously for
(Clockwise, from left) Ashley Stone, Brooke Busboom, Ryan Janousek.
YOUNG ALUMNI ACADEMY
YAA Accepting New Applicants Year one is successfully in the books, and the Nebraska Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Academy is looking for applicants for its second class of outstanding recent grads. YAA offers recent graduates a behind-the-scenes look at the university’s incredible progress over the last 10 years and the exciting growth that lies ahead. Members meet monthly, October through May, to hear from university leaders about the opportunities and prestige that comes with UNL’s status as a Big Ten Conference university, to tour premier campus facilities and to learn more about Nebraska Alumni Association outreach and programs. Members network and make friends with other successful young alumni and discover meaningful ways to become involved with the university and the association. “The amount of research, building and evolution of things on campus is incredible,” said one first-year YAA participant. “While there are multiple ways this information is communicated through the alumni association, foundation, etc., there’s nothing like
being back on campus or hearing it directly from those involved. I had no idea IANR owned so much land in Nebraska for ag research. Innovation Campus is truly going to make an impact – can’t wait to see that. The brain research going on in connection with the Athletic Department is incredible. The list goes on.
NEWS
Another YAA member commented: “I learned a plethora of excellent and useful knowledge about our university: how it functions, the inner workings as a whole, who the decision makers are, how decisions are made, current strategic plans, as well as future visions for the university. Thank you for providing the path to gain a better understanding of my alma mater!” Now it’s your turn, young alumni! Applications are available online at huskeralum.org/yaa-app and are due by Aug. 16. The application process is highly competitive and selection is an honor. Members of the new YAA class will be announced in September.v
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/yaa-app agreer@huskeralum.org
The NAA welcomes the 522 May graduates who joined the alumni association during cap-and-gown pickup at the Wick Alumni Center April 16-17.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 39
NEBRASKA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION VENUES
Win Wedding Reception Rental NEWS at the Nebraska Champions Club Book your wedding reception for the summer or fall of 2014 and have the chance to win a room rental prize package, valued at more than $4,000, at the Nebraska Champions Club! The winning couple receives: • Free Nebraska Champions Club rental
• Free Serendipities Cupcakes for 250 people
• Free Courtyard Marriott Bridal Suite • Free FOTObrations FOTObooth three-hour package • Custom-designed invitations plus $50 off printing from dSy Designs • Joint annual membership in the Nebraska Alumni Association The Nebraska Champions Club is open to the public for rental and hosted wedding receptions on Fridays and Saturdays. Couples must book by Sept. 1, 2013, and be willing to provide an engagement photo and complete a questionnaire. In October 2013, couples’ stories will be shared on the Nebraska Champions Club Facebook page with a link to a voting site. The couple with the most votes will be announced in November 2013. For more information contact Carrie Myers by phone at 402-472-6435 or by e-mail at cmyers@huskeralum. org. Specifics/restrictions on vendor giveaways can be found online.v
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/wedding-2014 cmyers@huskeralum.org
40 SUMMER 2013
Nebraska Alumni showed their true colors on an Italian Inspiration Cruise in April to cities in Italy, Croatia and Greece.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE WRITING CONTEST
2013 Winning Writers Announced The winners of the 2013 Nebraska Magazine Writing Contest have been announced. With a record number of entries, the contest was more competitive than ever, and judging was difficult. Three award winners were picked in each of two categories: profiles and nostalgia. In addition, two honorable mentions were awarded in the latter category. This year’s winners in the profile category are: first place – Jonathan Gregory, ’07, Lincoln; second place (tie) – Sondra Jonson-McHale, Cambridge, and Jim Schaffer, ’71, Lincoln. In the nostalgia category, first place went to Jennifer Sinor, ’91, Logan, Utah; second place to Leta Powell Drake, ’67, Lincoln; and third place to Allen Ostdiek, ’67, Lawrence. Two honorable mentions were awarded in the nostalgia category as well, and those went to Marlen Luff, ’59, Caldwell, Idaho, and Jane Schuchardt, ’74, Fairfax Station, Va. Their winning stories will appear in Nebraska Magazine over the next year, starting with the fall 2013 issue.v
NEWS Lyle Denniston received his Alumni Achievement Award from Diane Mendenhall at the alumni awards banquet in May.
ALUMNI AWARDS
Denniston Wins Alumni Achievement Award The Nebraska Alumni Association recognized 21 accomplished University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni, seven promising students, and an outstanding family at the annual Alumni Awards Banquet, An All-University Celebration, May 2, at the Nebraska Champions Club. The winners were announced and profiled in the spring issue of Nebraska Magazine. The last addition to the awards list did not make it into that issue before it went to press, however, so we are pleased to recognize Alumni Achievement Award winner Lyle Denniston, class of 1955, here. Now in his 65th year as a journalist and his 55th year of covering the U.S. Supreme Court, Lyle Denniston has covered one of every four justices ever to sit on that Court. He currently does so for an online news organization, scotusblog. com. He has been an online “blogger” for the past nine years. Previously, Denniston was a daily newspaper reporter primarily covering the courts for the Washington Star, the Baltimore Sun, the Boston Globe, and, earlier, for newspapers in his home state of Nebraska – the Nebraska City News-Press, after graduating from high school there and before he went to college at age 21, and the Lincoln Journal, while he was an undergraduate at NU. Denniston is the author of a book, “The Reporter and The Law: Techniques of Covering the Courts,” still in wide use in academic journalism and in newsrooms across the country. He has published widely in various forums, including book chapters, magazines and law reviews, and has appeared frequently on television and radio. He has lectured widely in colleges and universities, and has several times delivered Constitution Day lectures in various venues. Currently, Denniston serves as the adviser on constitutional literacy for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and writes twice weekly for the Center’s blog, Constitution Daily. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Nebraska, he also holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University in American history. His wife, Pamela Haughton-Denniston, is a retired Washington attorney. Denniston is the father of three sons and the grandfather of six children, four of whom are now grown and live in the Washington area, or in Boston.v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 41
SCARLET GUARD
Board Named; Students Garner Honors
NEWS
Fifteen students received Scarlet Guard’s highest honor this spring – Official Tradition Keeper (OTK) status. To earn the designation and a medallion to wear at graduation, SG members must have completed at least 50 of the campus traditions in their Cornhusker Compass keepsake book. Among the 2013 OTK recipients were the first freshman to receive the honor, Kayla Morgan, and graduate student and Scarlet Guard adviser Jenny Green. Other new OTKs include Kayla Abel, Alex Cerveny, Myriah Christian, Elli Fugate, Jon Geier, Morgan Gruebele, Whitney Hansen, Ryan Mueksch, Emily Pribyl, Heidi Rogowski, Grace Sedlacek, Danielle Simpson and Paula Sloan. Merkel, a senior nursing CONNECTION BOX major and Scarlet huskeralum.org/board Guard board member, also was named SG Member of the Year. As SG Historian, Lydia created a Scarlet Guard scrapbook that spanned 2009 to 2013, and featured hundreds of photos and memories. The book is on
Outstanding Scarlet Guard member Lydia Merkel poses with her family and her OTK medallion at graduation. Her father, Steve Merkel, received his master’s degree in agronomy; both he and Lydia’s sister, Alyssa, a junior in psychology and biology, are also members of SG.
display in the Wick Alumni Center’s Seacrest Library. The UNL Office of Student Involvement recently honored Scarlet Guard’s president during their 20122013 Student Impact Awards dinner. SG’s Mark Carney was named Student Organization Outstanding President of the Year. Scarlet Guard has also selected new board of directors members for 2013-2014. New directors are: Michael Shively, Lincoln; Andre Gould, Bellevue; China Chafin, Algood, Tenn.;
Betsy Hardin, McCook; Hayley Smith, Omaha; Lance Hiebner, Henderson; Erica Nett, Stoughton, Wis.; Felecia Cihacek, Bennington; and Rachel Saenz, Omaha. Officers for the coming year, announced in the last issue of Nebraska Magazine, are Mark Carney, president; Emily Hubl, vice president; Benjamin Wilson, Treasurer; Alex Wach, secretary; and Emily Murtaugh, public relations. To see the complete list of board members, visit huskeralum.org/board.v
More than 40 golfing enthusiasts crossed the Master’s Golf Tournament off their bucket lists as they made Nebraska the biggest collegiate group on the trip to Augusta National.
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NEBRASKA CHAMPIONS CLUB/WICK ALUMNI CENTER
New Video Walls Installed at NAA Venues It’s a sight for sore eyes. Recent upgrades at the Nebraska Champions Club and the Wick Alumni Center include large, multi-screen video walls that will greatly enhance events at the two facilities. At Wick, a 138-inch multi-screen will provide amazing daytime clarity. The nine-panel screen is perfect for videos, academic presentations and football game viewing parties. “We’re really excited about the upgrade. It means visitors can enjoy a larger view of the action, and a crisper picture,” said Carrie Myers, director of venues at the NAA. The Wick updates also include new high-quality speakers, new sound
panels, a new blu-ray video player and a new cable box hookup. A 110-inch multi-screen video wall at the Nebraska Champions Club promises a larger, brighter and clearer view of Husker sports in action. The video wall can be split into different
NEWS
screens, allowing visitors to view up to four different games at once. In addition to Husker football fans, individuals and organizations renting space at NCC throughout the year will be able to enjoy use of the video wall for presentation and video needs. “The video wall replaced our projector system, which means better sound and picture quality throughout the great hall for any kind of event,” added Myers.v
THIRD THURSDAY SOCIAL
Scarlet Guard Dodgeball Draws Husker Celebs Every year, Scarlet Guard members have an opportunity to do something usually reserved for Husker football players: play ball on the field at Memorial Stadium. Instead of playing football, however, they gather for a good, old-fashioned game of dodgeball – one of the most popular events the student group hosts. This year, more than 300 students showed up for the match at Memorial Stadium, where they were greeted by former Husker stars Tommie Frazier, Cory Ross and Prince Amukamara. Rex Burkhead, Ben Cotton and Will Compton also made surprise appearances in the game with Burkhead later tweeting, “Thanks for the invite to the best game of dodgeball ever. Never thought that would be my last game to play in Memorial Stadium .”
The event was a big hit (pun intended) with SG members as well. “Being able to play dodgeball under the lights in Memorial Stadium is always a highlight on the Scarlet Guard calendar for me,” said Ryan Mueksch, a UNL senior and member of the 2012-2013 SG executive team. “Despite the unseasonably cold temperature, it was my favorite dodgeball event of the past three years. Not many people can say they got Rex Burkhead out in a dodgeball game or rubbed shoulders with a Super Bowl champ [Prince Amukumara] on the same field he became a Husker great. … It’s a night I’ll be telling my grandkids about someday.” The event closed with prize drawings, the top giveaway being a mini helmet signed by all the athletes who played that evening.v NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 43
ALUMNI
CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES ROTC & MILITARY AFFILIATE
Alumni Attend Annual Review Thirty cadets and midshipmen from the commissioning class of 2013 were honored at the ROTC & Military Affiliate’s spring banquet at the Van Brunt Visitors Center on April 11. Keynote speaker for the cadets, midshipmen, alumni, friends and guests in attendance was Chief Master Sergeant Glenn M. Freeman, a 30-year non-commissioned officer (retired) from the U.S. Air Force. Three current ROTC students also received scholarships from the affiliate.v
Oregonians for Nebraska completed a community service project in May by joining the Annual Letter Carrier’s Food Drive benefiting the Oregon Food Bank.
COLORADANS FOR NEBRASKA
Husker Legends and Scholars Meet
SIOUXLAND HUSKERS
Golf Funds Scholarships The Siouxland Huskers hosted their second Annual Spring Gathering March 15. Ben Cotton, former Husker tight end, was the featured guest among more than 100 Siouxland Huskers. Darin Schellenberg was named Volunteer of the Year. He has actively organized and promoted the Siouxland Huskers golf outing that has raised $8,000 toward the Nebraska Legend Scholarship Program in two years. This year’s golf outing was held June 29 at Covington Links Golf Course in South Sioux City.v
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The Coloradans For Nebraska gathered for An Afternoon with Husker Legends / Scholarship Recipients March 23 at Noonan’s Banquet Hall in Aurora. The event provided members an opportunity to meet the chapter’s scholarship recipients and their families from Denver, Wray, Ft. Collins and Pueblo, Colo. The chapter provided 15 $1,500 scholarships for UNL upperclassmen selected by the Co4NU Scholarship Committee for the 20132014 school year. Attendees at the luncheon also learned about the 2013 football recruits from Aaron Babcock of Hail Varsity magazine and met three Husker football players who completed their eligibility last fall. Courtney Osborne, Tim Marlowe and Cameron Meredith shared their experiences as student athletes at UNL with the audience. Next up for the group: An Aug. 8 Celebrate Nebraska event in Denver. Alumni and fans in attendance will get an inside look at the university’s progress. Special guests include Harvey Perlman, chancellor; Shawn Eichorst, director of athletics; Amber
Hunter, director of the UNL Office of Admissions; Diane Mendenhall, NAA executive director; Tim Miles, men’s basketball coach; Greg Sharpe, Voice of the Huskers; College Hall of Fame inductee Tommie Frazier; and more.
Co4NU scholarship recipients addressed the crowd at a spring luncheon.
The event runs 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Sports Authority Field in Mile High Stadium. Admission of $35 ($15 for kids 12 and under) includes tailgate buffet and beverages. Register online by July 31.v
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/denver-2013
HONORS PROGRAM
Affiliate Names Officers, Board
Husker fans in the San Diego area gathered at various times March 14- 17 to watch the new Husker sand volleyball team in its inaugural competition at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center.
The Nebraska Honors Program, an affiliate group of the Nebraska Alumni Association since 2010, has selected officers and an alumni executive board. Officers are: Jenna Vitosh, ’08, president; Joyce Yen, ’95, vice president and corresponding secretary; Steve Wirth, ’04, recording secretary; and Todd Apley, ’93, treasurer and fundraising/scholarship chair. Other board members include: Lynette Apley, ’93, membership chair and newsletter; Angela Clements, ’02, social media chair and webmaster; Brett Stohs, ’01, chair of current honors student support; Greg Walklin, ’06, event planning chair; and Elaine Kub, ’05,
and Megan Schmid, ’04, Ad hoc members. With more than 3,400 graduates since its inception in 1986, Nebraska Honors enhances the college experience by providing a challenging
CONNECTION BOX huskeralum.org/web/honors-program-alumni
and creative academic program to high-achieving students. From among this cohort, honors alumni network with one another, support current honors students, assist with student recruitment and connect through regional and national reunions.v
OLLI AT UNL CATHER-POUND
Dorm Denizens Reminisce Nearly 120 alumni attended events surrounding the 2013 CatherPound spring reunion. In addition to reconnecting and swapping stories, participants enjoyed tours of the Athletic Department’s Osborne Complex, Hawks Championship Center and Memorial Stadium; a student-led campus tour; and a tour of Cather-Pound Hall. The group also heard from Diane Mendenhall, NAA executive director, about the exciting changes on campus as Nebraska becomes a Big Ten institution, academically as well as athletically, and how they can be involved with the progress. The weekend concluded with a tailgate brunch and group seating at the spring football game.v
Get on the Lifelong Learning Bandwagon
Purchase your annual Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) membership now and get six terms for the price of five. And, if you’re a member of the Nebraska Alumni Association who’s joining OLLI for the first time, you’ll get another $10 off ! A membership purchase also comes with a $30 credit you can use toward an OLLI course or event anytime during the membership year. To learn more visit the OLLI website, e-mail olli@unl. edu or call 402-472-6265.v
CONNECTION BOX olli.unl.edu olli@unl.edu
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 45
ALUMNI
CHAPTERS & AFFILIATES UPSTATE NEW YORKERS FOR NEBRASKA
A Taste of Nebraska for Founders’ Day Upstate New Yorkers for Nebraska held the chapter’s second annual Founders’ Day celebration March 9 at the Ely Fagan American Legion Post #1151 in the suburb of Rochester. Nearly 30 Nebraska alumni, friends and fans from as far east as Syracuse and as far west as Buffalo met for an afternoon of Husker camaraderie.
CONNECTION BOX facebook.com/UNYforNebraska upstatenyfornebraska@gmail.com
Participants enjoyed watching the Nebraska men’s basketball team take on Iowa in their regular-season finale while dining on a “Taste of Nebraska.”
PANHANDLE ALUMNI CHAPTER
Trumbulls Named Alumni of the Year
The menu featured the Cornhusker state’s own Valentino’s Pizza, Runza sandwiches, Fairbury Hot Dogs, Dorothy Lynch salad dressing and Colby Ridge Popcorn. Attendees also unanimously voted in the chapter’s leadership for the 2013-
2014 year, including Jessica Walcott Murray, president; Candy Ingwersen, secretary; Brian Sharp, watch site coordinator; Paul Campbell, special events coordinator; Jess Edwards, social media coordinator; and Andy Merzke, member-at-large.v
communities and successful in their careers. As a couple and individually, the Trumbulls have supported UNL by serving on the Panhandle Alumni Board and promoting Panhellenic activity. They actively participate in the Scottsbluff-Gering United Chamber of Commerce and other community
activities, and run a successful business in the Scottsbluff-Gering area. Also at the annual dinner, recipients of Panhandle Alumni Scholarships were announced, including Ashtyn Shrewsbury of Alliance High School, Luke Johnson of Potter-Dix High School, Naomi Isaka of Sidney High School, and Victoria Holub and Colton Flower of Scottsbluff High School. New officers were elected for 2013: Mark Schlothauer, president; John Marshall, vice president; Karen Schultz, secretary; John Flint, treasurer; John Selzer, past president; and Bryan Barrett, Laura Lyons and John Schmall, committee members.v
Cheryl and Bill Trumbull of Scottsbluff are the recipients of the 2013 Alumni of the Year Award from the University of Nebraska Panhandle Alumni Chapter. The honor was presented at the chapter’s annual Founders’ dinner at Gering by Bryan Henderson, the 2012 winner. The annual award recognizes individuals in the panhandle who have supported the university with their attendance at various activities, promoted UNL in Cheryl and Bill Trumbull received the 2013 Panhandle Alumni of their communities and been the Year Award from Bryan Henderson (left), the 2012 winner. actively involved in their 46 SUMMER 2013
CLASSNOTES
News/Weddings/Births/Deaths
1948
n Ned B. Eastlack of Lincoln
celebrated his 90th birthday April 27. Richard G. Miller of Lincoln marked his 93rd birthday Feb. 4.
1949
Royce Harper of Lincoln turned 90 on April 20, which also is the 65th wedding anniversary for him and his wife, Charlotte (’72).
1950
Class of 1929 ■ Louise B. Evans of Portland, Ore., turned 104 on March 22. Evans has been an amateur radio operator for many years and is still active in the Clackamas County Amateur Radio Operator Emergency Net. In December 2011 she was nominated and accepted into the American Radio Relay League “A-1 Operator Club.” A technophile, she owns a computer, two iPods, a Kindle Fire, a new iPad and iPhone 5 and stays busy playing bridge, going shopping by bus, attending a local church and walking the halls of her retirement center.
1935
Lillian Brandhorst of Lincoln marked a century of living March 3.
1944
Betty Thiel of Lincoln turned 90 on March 25.
1945
■ Max Neiden of Lincoln celebrated his 90th birthday March 24.
n Marjorie Jean Prince, Lincoln,
turned 90 on March 16.
Ervin L. Spinar of Lincoln observed his 90th birthday Feb. 7.
Evelyn Kruger of Cocoa Beach, Fla., is about to have her third book published. “Stalking Sadie” is a thriller set in eastern Nebraska with a teacher as the heroine and a deputy sheriff as the hero. J. Paul McIntosh of Norfolk was named 2013 Nebraskan of the Year by the Lincoln Rotary Club. ■
1951
Norman Landgren and Eloise Perry of Lincoln marked 60 years of marriage Feb. 18. ■ Robert Shively, Ft. Collins, Colo., celebrated his 85th birthday March 20 with his three children (all UNL graduates) and a grandson who is attending UNL as well.
1955
■ J. Dolores “Dee” Rodgers, Grand Island, was nominated for the area 2013 Outstanding Woman of the Year for her efforts in promoting the arts and art education through the Prairie Winds Art Center and her personal artwork.
1957
Beverly Keever, Honolulu, Hawaii, a one-time foreign correspondent and journalism professor, recounts bizarre and gripping experiences in her newly released memoirs titled “Death Zones and Darling Spies: Seven Years of Vietnam War Reporting,” published by the University of Nebraska Press.
■ Indicates Alumni Association Life Member
■
■ Duane Keilstrup, Arlington, Texas, has been named professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Arlington as well as editor emeritus of the journal Schatzkammer der deutschen Sprache, Dichtung und Geschiche. In 2010 Keilstrup had his book “The Christian Professor in Secular University: Singing & Soaring on Paths of Joy” published. He is a producer with online networks YesterdayUSA and The Olde Tyme Radio Network and has been interviewed for the Oral History Project at The Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas concerning student essay reactions to the Kennedy assassination in 1963. Keilstrup and wife, Glenda, marked 50 years of marriage recently.
1958
n Thomas Cambridge of Amarillo, Texas, was named a living legend in the oil and gas industry by the Panhandle Producers & Royalty Owners Association of Texas. Cambridge is the board chairman of Cambridge Production, an oil and gas exploration, drilling and production operation.
1959
George and Beverly Clymer of David City celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary April 7. ■ John “Jack” Konegni of Lakewood, Colo., retired in early 2013 from his dental practice and now focuses on golf, tennis, racquetball and travel.
1960
George and Judy Hunt of Lincoln celebrated a half century of marriage April 20. ■ Robb Steinheider and his wife, Sue, moved to Crossville, Tenn., in 2012 after 35 years in California.
1961
William and n Wilma Nichols Sandifer, Bunker Hill, W. Va., marked 50 years of marriage April 21, 2012. Lyle and Mary Wendt of Murdock celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary April 13.
1962
n James Uphoff represented the University of Nebraska at the inauguration of Santa J. Ono as the 28th president of the University of Cincinnati. Uphoff lives in Dayton, Ohio.
1965
Richard Fitch, O’Neill, writes: “Am now completely retired from medicine and living in a cave in north central Nebraska on 200 acres of trees and streams.”
1967
■ Dennis and Margi Galligan of Beaumont, Calif., marked their 35th wedding anniversary June 17.
Velma Paxson, Lincoln, celebrated birthday number 95 on May 12.
1968
Charles Humble, an attorney with the Lincoln law firm Erickson|Sederstrom, has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2013 in the fields of municipal law, energy law and municipal litigation. n David Stenberg, Lexington, UNL extension educator emeritus, has been inducted into the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Hall of Fame.
1969
■ Stan Walker, Pleasant View, Utah, retired after 39 years with Nucor Corp. as a vice president and general manager of its Vulcraft Division in Brigham City.
1970
n John S. Katelman has been hired by the Omaha law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP as a partner. Katelman focuses his practice on commercial real estate and general business matters.
1971
David Landis of the City of Lincoln Urban Development has been named a member of the
Indicates Alumni Association Annual Member NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 47
CLASSNOTES board of directors for the Lincoln Community Foundation. Kathryn McKinley received her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Minnesota in February 2013. McKinley serves as the director of the social work program at Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa. n Marilyn Moore, president of the BryanLGH College of Health Sciences in Lincoln, has joined the Food Bank of Lincoln board of directors. ■ James F. Pedersen, Minnetonka, Minn., has joined Opportunity International as senior vice president and general counsel. Opportunity International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the poor break the cycle of poverty by providing small business loans and other financial services.
Rick Rohrs has joined the professional staff of Mosier/ Timperley Chiropractic Clinic in Lincoln.
1972
Mark Oppegard, Lincoln, received the prestigious Humanitarian Award from the National Association of College Stores. He is the former CEO of Nebraska Book Company.
1973
n Joha Won is retired and living in Governors Club, Chapel Hill, N.C. His career included 20 years at IBM and a return to Korea where he was managing director for Daewoo Telecom and president of Korean Information and Communications, Ltd.
1974
John Crumrine has been hired by HOME Real Estate of Lincoln as a realtor in their north office. Mary Pat Heck, Waterloo, has been presented the Associate of the Year Award for 2012 by the Mountain Plains Business Center of Principal Financial Group. This is the fourth year she has received the honor. n Dave McBride, Lincoln, has received the Heart of America Contact Lens Society 2013 48 SUMMER 2013
Vision Service Award. McBride is the founder of McBride & Associates Inc., which manages associations and nonprofit organizations. ■ Ginny Dies Ware, an elementary school teacher for Sandy Creek Elementary, has retired after 39 years of service. She lives in Hastings.
1975
n Sid Dinsdale, president and chairman of Pinnacle Bancorp Inc., has been selected to the board of directors for Ameritas Mutual Holding Co. of Lincoln.
Hugh McDermott was the guest of honor at a celebration marking the conclusion of his nine-year tenure as principal at Irving Middle School in Lincoln. n David Sanders, advertising re-
search manager for the Omaha World-Herald, has received the American Advertising Federation Omaha’s top honor, the Silver Medal.
1976
Jenny Cardwell of Lincoln has been promoted to vice president of fund development for Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska. Mary A. Johnson has been elected president of the board of directors for the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University. Johnson also serves as the director of admissions for the school and is a faculty member. In addition, she is a lobbyist with the Lincoln lobbying/government relations firm of Mueller Robak LLC. ■
■ Dave Madsen, Sioux City, Iowa, received his master of arts degree from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at UNL in May.
John Tully is a financial services representative with MetLife Midwest Associates, an office of MetLife in Omaha. David Vorovka of Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln was awarded the highest level of service achievement in the real estate industry, Quality Service Certified Platinum.
1977
Nancy Lambert is the newly appointed Great Plains Area director of clergy excellence and assistant to the bishop for the United Methodists. Rev. Lambert is the pastor at Minden United Methodist Church in Minden. n Kim M. Robak, senior partner in the lobbying and government relations firm Mueller Robak LLC, has been presented the University of Nebraska College of Law Council’s Distinguished Alumni Award. n Virginia Eman Wheeless has retired from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and now lives in Denton, Texas.
1978
Angelika Byorth has become a realtor with HOME Real Estate of Lincoln, north office. ■ Douglas Dolezal is the math interventionist at Lincoln Southeast High School.
Amy Richardson has been selected as the president and chief executive officer of the board of directors for the Women’s Center for Advancement (formerly the YMCA Omaha). Mark Schorr, an attorney in the Lincoln office of Erickson|Sederstrom, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2013 in the field of labor law management.
1979
Don Crouch of Lincoln has retired from the Nebraska State Department of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation Services after 37 years. ■ James Fagler is a partner at the 25-person firm of Gelfand Partners Architects in San Francisco, who recently were awarded the San Francisco Business Times and San Francisco AIA design awards for the renovation of the National Historic Landmark Golden Gate YMCA, located in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, into a 171-unit affordable housing project.
■ Barry Masek of Park Ridge, Ill., was elected to the board of directors of Lurie’s Children’s Hospital of Chicago and appointed to the audit committee as well.
Dennis Mann has joined the Lincoln law firm Woods & Aitken as administrator and will be responsible for managing staff, financial management, firm culture and planning. Deb Payne, a lecturer in the management department of the UNL College of Business Administration, has been honored by Pearson’s “One Professor” movement. Through student-submitted stories, One Professor pays tribute to faculty who have made a lasting impression, inside and outside the classroom, on the students they serve. Tom Von Riesen has been named president of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriters. Von Riesen is a principal in the benefits department of the Silverstone Group, an insurance broker and resource management firm headquartered in Omaha.
1980
■ Dara Glotzbach of The Woodlands, Texas, is the program coordinator for the Leadership Command College (LCC) at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas on the Sam Houston State University (Huntsville) campus.
Michael Guzmer, principal of New Century Environmental LLC of Columbus, recently received national certification through the Wildlife Society as a wildlife biologist.
1981
n Ginna Claussen was promoted to officer in the human resources department of Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln. n Linda John has retired from the Lincoln communications/ marketing firm Bailey Lauerman after 28 years.
Brian Hunter of Garden Valley, Calif., was a recipient of a Securities Leader Award from
By Sara duPont
Alumni Profiles ’08 and ’04, ’06
In Tanzania’s Sea of Red
Seth and Lisa Heinert Though Lisa and Seth Heinert spent their days in a sea of red school uniforms, they were a long way from Lincoln, Nebraska. Orkeeswa Secondary School is nestled in the foothills of the Monduli Mountains in Lashaine Village, northwestern Tanzania. The lone secondary school in the village, it offers the only opportunity for local students to continue their education past the primary level. For the past two and half years, the Heinerts called Orkeeswa and Lashaine Village home. They left for Tanzania with the intent to volunteer for one year and stayed longer. “We stayed because we could,” Lisa said. “We know that there are many people who cannot give in this way, and we knew we could and we wanted to. We looked ahead of us and saw how much more we could accomplish in two years rather than just one.” At Orkeeswa, Seth was the school coordinator, in charge of all academic scheduling and instrumental in implementing teacher training and curriculum development. He also taught agriculture and spearheaded the launching of several landmark projects related to that subject, among them a livestock program, beekeeping and gardening projects. Lisa held many different roles in her time at Orkeeswa. In addition to teaching English, she was a leader in the ongoing development of the life skills classes and was the force behind the expansion of the activities and sports curriculum. Among her favorite responsibilities was coaching basketball and American football. Although she has returned to Nebraska, Lisa continues to serve Orkeeswa as the sponsorship coordinator, working
to maintain the one-to-one relationships that are Orkeeswa’s means for providing a tuition-free education to their students. With the Heinerts’ expertise, dedication and compassion, Orkeeswa Secondary School has grown in its ability to overcome Tanzania’s highly ineffective education system. There are only 18 universities in the whole country; the state of Nebraska alone boasts more. Of 400,000 students who are in secondary school, approximately 50,000 will matriculate to college. This year, 60 percent of the students that sat for the Form Four – equivalent to 10th grade in the U.S. – National Exam failed it. The system is based on a student’s successful completion of national exams; students must drop out of school if they fail. The exams, it seems, are designed to create failures rather than successes because there are simply not enough schools to accommodate all who wish to learn. These statistics paint the picture of a country facing a difficult future. Without an educated, skilled workforce the economy will remain stagnant; poverty will persist. At Orkeeswa, however, the method of learning is rigorous and holistic. Students are taught the core subjects: mathematics, languages and sciences, as well as entrepreneurship and life skills. Lisa has made sure that students are also exposed to extracurricular activities like woodworking, debate, journalism and sports. This all-encompassing curriculum, focused on building community leaders, goes well beyond the expectations of most schools, private and public in Tanzania. Orkeeswa consistently places in the top 10 percent of the region on
Seth and Lisa are pictured with several students proudly wearing their coveted Husker T-shirts.
national exams and performs well in athletic and academic competitions. Through global exchange programs, students at Orkeeswa have traveled to local cities, neighboring countries and as far abroad as the United States. Opportunities to travel, to compete, or simply to broaden students’ horizons beyond the village are a rare and special thing in this corner of the world. The University of NebraskaLincoln’s influence has been deeply felt at Orkeeswa, and has played an important part in changing the landscape of educational opportunities for this under-served population. At least 50 students head to after school activities in red Husker T-shirts and the American football team sends cheers of “Go Big Red” reverberating through the hills after every practice. The Heinerts point to their studies at Lincoln as vital to their daily lives in Tanzania. Working at a relatively new organization in key positions to develop and improve systems, they turned to the skills that they acquired in the Leadership Program at UNL. “Human psychology, structural development, agriculture, leadership, community development … all of these things that we studied and examined at UNL have come into play here,” Seth said. “It’s rewarding to see how these ideas, this knowledge that we gained from our time in the classroom can be put into action – particularly when that action leads to such tremendous improvements.” The future is bright if a bit unknown for this dynamic duo. They returned to Nebraska at the beginning of April to reconnect with family and to find gainful employment. A return to Africa
Continued on Page 50 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 49
CLASSNOTES in tanzania’s sea of red Continued from Page 49 and to Orkeeswa Secondary School is possible but the next chapter will be determined in time. There are a few things that are certain, however. Working at Orkeeswa School has set a high standard for the Heinerts. It has grown their passion for serving others and their belief in the power of a good education. When the Heinerts departed, they left the school with a bright future as well. “Orkeeswa will succeed in the face of many obstacles: restrained resources, a crumbling education system, etc., because of the heart of the people there,” Seth said. “There are many development projects around the world that are more established than Orkeeswa but less effective because they lack ownership from the community. Orkeeswa has the faith of the village, the faith of the students, the faith of the staff. It is the heart of these people that makes this project possible and sustainable.” And the people of Orkeeswa won’t forget the Heinerts. CONNECTION BOX “Seth and Lisa are flat out the www.ieftz.org best volunteers that you could ask for,” said Peter Luis, founder and director of the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania (IEFT) that funds and operates Orkeeswa Secondary School. “Their commitment to the students and their community was remarkable. Their dedication and support of their fellow staff members also defined their excellence. Their determination and their sacrifices produced incredible results that will last a lifetime.” Perhaps it is a coincidence that these Big Red alumni spent their years in a sea of Orkeeswa red uniforms but there is nothing coincidental about the connection that Seth and Lisa made to Orkeeswa School and the future leaders of Tanzania. It is the product of their strength, leadership, passion and, in part, the expertise they gleaned from their time at UNL.v
Central Financial Services of Lincoln at their annual awards banquet in February.
1982
n Linda Barton is the office manager for the Nebraska Beef Council in Kearney. n David Bracht has been hired by the Omaha law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP as a partner. He advises new and existing companies on contract, corporate, finance, environmental and regulatory issues. n Rich Claussen has assumed
the new role of general manager at the Lincoln office of the communications/marketing firm Bailey Lauerman. n Douglas Glunz has been named regional sales manager for Pella Windows and Doors in Grant.
Jeff Sharp is the 2012 Quality of Life Award recipient of the Omaha chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions in community service.
1983
Todd Kelley was a Securities Leader Award recipient from Central Financial Services of Lincoln at their annual awards banquet in February.
1985
James Heires, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, achieved the SLIM Estimate Professional designation from QSM Inc. in 2013. Teresa Priefert Demma has been hired by RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts as a sales agent. Robyn Huskey of Lincoln has retired after 32 years of service with the Nebraska Army National Guard. Michelle Pierce is now director of agency services after being promoted by Central Financial Services of Lincoln.
n Deb Schorr of the Lancaster County Commission has been selected as a member of the board of directors for the Lincoln Community Foundation.
Roger Quiring, a family practice physician, has joined Linc Care, an urgent care clinic in Lincoln.
John H. Wells has been named president of Pinnacle Trust Services in Lincoln.
Jeff Buettner of Holdrege and the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has graduated from the State Chamber Leadership Nebraska Class VI, a collection of current and emerging leaders throughout the state.
50 SUMMER 2013
■ Gwen Hurst-Anderson of Lincoln is the new program manager for technical assistance with the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. She provides training and technical assistance for service providers, state staff and community organizations that serve persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Jone Beer was recently promoted to vice president, administration, at Central Financial Services of Lincoln.
1984
An Orkeeswa student stands outside of her thatched boma dressed in her favorite T-shirt with her family.
ment, operations, strategic planning and growth
■ James Draheim of Burke, Va., has been hired as the president of Dewberry, an architecture/ engineering/design firm headquartered in Fairfax. Draheim will be responsible for all facets of the firm’s business develop-
Joel Sartore, Lincoln, was honored by the Omaha Press Club by having his caricature included as the 136th of the “Face on the Barroom Floor” group. Sartore is a renowned photographer for National Geographic. Rick Wintermute is now coowner of Kingery Construction of Lincoln.
1986
Eric S. Dixon, Lincoln, is the Nebraska Transportation Department manager for Kirkham Michael, an Omaha-based engineering company. ■ Jill Manchester was promoted to vice president of global strategy development for Mondelez
By Anthony Flott
Alumni Profile ’08
He’s Got Game Jared Kasl
If Jared Kasl has a gamer profile online anywhere, it very well might read like this: • Hates oppression and staunchly defends freedom. • Mostly easy-going, but has a short temper and often is impatient with slower things. • Is a habitual daredevil. • Honest. • Loyal to friends. • Dislikes tears. The profile isn’t Kasl’s, though, but that of a lifelong friend – the one who kept him company for countless hours as a child, then accompanied him to college. …The one who moved in with Kasl and his wife, Lana, right after their honeymoon. …The one who helped him get his most recent job. Sonic the Hedgehog. Yeah, the video game character. Kasl played “Sonic” constantly growing up — first on a Sega Genesis system then on a Play Station and its ensuing generations. He played it all through Lincoln East High School. He played it through his studies at Nebraska. And he still plays it today. “I play it,” he said, “a lot. That’s where a lot of my inspiration comes from.” For video gaming, that is. At 27, Kasl has established himself as an up-and-coming gamer as games design director and co-founder of PagodaWest Games, a Portland-based company launched in March 2011. This February, the company released its first game, “Major Magnet,” in the Apple app store for iPhone and iPad. Within one day it had premier placement as an App Store Editor’s Choice and in ensuing weeks got as high as No. 3 on the paid app charts list for most sells. The game also was chosen to be featured at this year’s PAX East Indie Showcase, a Boston conference
that showcases excellence in mobile games. This is what the 2008 NU graduate has been chasing for 20 years. “It was always my dream to be a game designer,” Kasl said, “pretty much from when I was 7 or 8 and I started playing my first game.” But, he said, “I always thought it was just going to be a dream. I didn’t actually think I was going to go for it.” It took a leap of faith, a move halfway across the country, a partner halfway around the world, and gobs of Skype time to pull it off. As a child, Kasl used an old Gateway computer with Windows 95 and RPG Maker to create his first game with a typical guy-saves-girl story. But he got away from game design in high school. By the time he started at Nebraska in 2004, he figured he would get into teaching. Three semesters in he chose computer science as a major but still never got back to game design. Instead, Kasl seemed destined for a career in IT. As a student he worked four years as a computer technician at the Strategic Air and Space Museum, first as an intern, then as a hire. He also landed work as an IT assistant for the university, eventually handling the computers at Varner Hall. He graduated in 2008 and stayed with UNL. He also married his high school sweetheart, Lana Bougger. Kasl kept playing games, of course. But he had no designs on a career in game design. Then the hedgehog entered his life again. Almost “by fluke,” Kasl said, he began working on Sonic 2 HD,
an unofficial fan remake of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 done collaboratively online. The project leader lived in Italy, the lead programmer in Sweden and the lead artist in England. Kasl worked on it from Lincoln for two years. He had rediscovered his passion. “I put way more effort into that than my job or anything,” he said with a laugh. “I just found out what I really wanted to do with life. That was a time when it really [became], in my mind, something I could do as a career.” Kasl said the project was dying when he came on board. Eventually, he took its reins, “revamped the whole project” and started it from scratch. During it all he became friends with London-based animator Tom Fry. “I remember when Jared approached the project CONNECTION BOX after I’d been on board for www.pagodawestgames.com/ little over www.majormagnetgame.com/ a year,” Fry said. “He submitted some artwork for consideration to be used and I was immediately struck by his clean-cut and firm technical ability.” The two became friends via instant messaging. “Much to my pleasant surprise,” Fry said, “we actually had a great deal in common beyond an interest in the project.” They met in person for the first time
Continued on Page 52 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 51
CLASSNOTES he’s got game Continued from Page 51 in January 2011, in Nebraska. That’s when they broached the idea of forming their own company. By May, they formed PagodaWest. Before that, though, Kasl took an even bigger step, moving to Portland to be closer to the gaming scene. “We just decided to start our lives fresh – start my business and see how it goes,” he said. “We knew we wanted to go somewhere on the West Coast because it would be easier for starting the company in the industry. Everything is on the West Coast for the gaming industry, especially in San Francisco or Seattle.” Portland was a laid back compromise between the two. Lana, a nurse, soon landed employment on the night shift at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center. Kasl got to work on PagodaWest games. “It was a move far bolder than I could’ve mustered,” Fry said. “His wife, Lana, who gave her blessing, supported and encouraged him throughout. He is also an optimist, within reason. That is no doubt a great fuel to reach for the stars.” Kasl spent three months sifting resumes until he found the right programmer, Khoa Ngo. Kasl now works from home, Skyping with Fry and Ngo five days a week while swapping files via DropBox. Kasl had hoped the company could launch the idea for its first game, “Major Magnet,” in six months. Instead it took 18 months, sometimes composed of 16- to 20-hour days. The game was built for touch-based devices. Major Magnet is the game’s hero trying to get back his stolen cape from the villainous Col. Austin. Magnets are everywhere, helping Major get through six game levels. Kasl said the game was “kind of an ongoing process – trial and error.” It features hand-drawn character art and an original arcade soundtrack. There is a definite “Sonic” look and feel. Reviews were generally positive. Having Apple recognize it as an App Store Editor’s Choice was “a pretty big deal,” Kasl said. “This mashup of modern gameplay and old-school visual design has us truly impressed,” App Store notes say. “What initially looks like a nostalgic ride through a classic franchise actually delivers a modern take on platform games, complete with slick touch controls and tricky levels that feel both fresh and familiar.” Sales have been “pretty good,” Kasl said, but he declined to say how many games have sold. Fry said the company is busy building the “Major Magnet” and PagodaWest brands, developing content updates and a sequel. After that, they’ll turn their efforts to ensuing games “on a grander scale utilizing a larger team working on home consoles, not just phones and handheld devices.” When asked what he’s learned about the industry so far, Kasl said, “I think people would be surprised about how easy it is to get into. You don’t have to go through a big publisher or anything anymore. It can just be one person sitting at a computer and making a game.” He points to the indie, Lego-inspired game “Minecraft” that since its release in 2011 has sold more than 20 million copies across all platforms and won numerous awards. It was created, Kasl said, “by just a few people making a fun little project on their own and it took off and became huge. Something like that couldn’t have happened 20 years ago.” Maybe it will happen to PagodaWest. Perhaps even old friend Sonic could help.v
52 SUMMER 2013
International, Chicago. n Matthew Meister of Kearney has been elected president of the Nebraska Realtors Association for 2014.
Mike Peters works as an account manager in the Lincoln office of marketing communications agency Swanson Russell. Randy Russell of Waukee, Iowa, is a regional product specialist for Aspen Medical Products. Kathryn Witte, director of communications, marketing and interim camping director for the Nebraska United Methodist Conference, will assume the duties of communications director for the Great Plains United Methodist Conference in January 2014.
1987
Siti Abdul-Rahman has been appointed as a principal with WDG Architecture, a Washington, D.C.-based national architectural company.
1988
Rod Berens is now co-owner of Kingery Construction of Lincoln. Debbie Griffin has been promoted to officer in the human resources department of Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln. James Marshall of Elm Creek has been hired by Orthman Manufacturing of Lexington as a manufacturing engineer. Mike Masek has been hired by Lutz, an Omaha accounting and business solutions firm, to serve as its controller. John Nanos, a realtor with Woods Bros. Realty of Lincoln, was noted at their annual awards banquet for having the highest volume of closed sales. n Linda Whitmire, Lincoln, has been elected senior vice president, chief actuarycorporate for Ameritas Mutual Holding Co.
1989
n Mark Fahleson, a partner with the Lincoln law firm Rembolt Ludtke LLP, recently presented at the 2013 mid-year meeting
CLASSNOTES of the International Association of Defense Counsel in Boca Raton, Fla. n Richard J. Onken has joined the Omaha office of Leo A Daly, an international architecture, planning and engineering firm, as senior healthcare planner and project manager.
Michael Roeber of Norfolk received the US Bank Award for Teaching Excellence-Full Time Faculty this spring. Roeber is an ag teacher/livestock coach at Northeast Community College. ■
■ Jim Saalfeld, Grand Rapids, Mich., has been hired by BISSELL Homecare Inc., to serve as its director.
1990
Troy Brockmeier is the new vice president for Patriot Technologies Inc. in Kearney.
■
n Linn Erickson, co-owner of Turning Pointe Chiropractic in Lincoln along with wife, Bren-
da, again held a Valentine’s Day fundraiser for Oklahaven, a children’s chiropractic clinic in Oklahoma City. Viv L. Ewing, Omaha, was named the Alzheimer’s Association Midlands Chapter president and CEO on April 1. Steve Merritt has been promoted to vice president of product engineering at Baldwin Filters of Kearney. Larry Pickrel was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Family Violence Council of Nebraska in Lincoln. He and his wife, Deb, celebrated their first wedding anniversary March 16.
■
1991
Robert M. Dana has been hired as manager of the mechanical engineering department of Schemmer Associates Inc., an architectural, engineering and planning firm headquartered in Omaha.
Jason Kelber was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in April. Kelber, the branch manager at Sandhills Insurance Agency in Valentine, was a three-time All-American and one-time NCAA champion at 126 lbs. for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Tracy Mumford, director of corporate marketing for The Schemmer Associates Inc., an Omaha-headquartered architecture, planning and engineering firm, has been elected to that company’s 2013 board of directors. Ryan Placek of Papillion has taken the position of director of bands for Millard North High School in Omaha. ■
■ Sara Skretta has joined Bryan Health of Lincoln as the human resources partner for employee relations.
1992
Ronald W. Anderson, Jr., a senior
vice president investment officer with Wells Fargo Advisors in Lincoln, has earned “Premier Advisor” designation for the sixth consecutive year. Jason Dworak of the private wealth management office of UBS Financial Services Inc. Lincoln branch has been named to Barron’s Top 1000 Financial Advisors list. Jonathan Fliege, a senior architect with the Omaha architecture, planning and engineering firm Leo A Daly, has been selected as a senior associate. Jeffrey Monzu has been appointed vice president of the Omaha office of Leo A Daly, an international architecture, planning and engineering firm. Cheryl Orosco, manager of research services at Bryan Heart of Lincoln, is now a certified clinical research coordinator after passing the exam process for the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals.
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2:01 PM NEBRASKA8/24/12 MAGAZINE 53
CLASSNOTES Jackie Varicak, coordinator for the worksite wellness organization WorkWell in Lincoln, has joined the staff of the Nebraska Safety Council, which recently merged with WorkWell.
1993
n Jennifer Brinkman of Richters Brinkman LLC is the president of the 2013 United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County board of directors.
Ken Broman was a Securities Leader Award recipient for Central Financial Services of Lincoln at their annual awards banquet in February. Tonya Vyhlidal is the new program director for WorkWell of Lincoln, a worksite wellness organization that recently merged with the Nebraska Safety Council. Mark Wynegar, Omaha, has been promoted by Tributary Capital Management LLC to head of value equities.
1994
■ Nichole Bentley, Coppell, Texas, co-chaired the Vote4CISD2013 P.A.C. that successfully campaigned for the passage of their district’s largest and most controversial bond election – $79.5 million.
Shane Keplinger, an architect with Leo A Daly, an Omahabased architecture, planning and engineering firm, has been selected as an associate with that company. Jill Poole, an orthotist specializing in pediatric care with the Hanger Clinic, Dodge Street Office, Pediatric Division, was accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics Inc. ■
1995
Jenn Bunnell was promoted to director of media for SKAR, a marketing communications agency in Omaha. Brian Jones of Lincoln has assumed a new position with Time Warner Cable Business Class in technical support.
54 SUMMER 2013
Steven Mitchell has joined Arbor Bank as the Omaha market president.
Nebraska Class VI, a collection of current and emerging leaders throughout the state.
Jason Tagge of Miller Electric Co. has been selected vice president of the board of directors for the Omaha Builders Exchange.
Tolly Thompson, Cedar Falls, Iowa, was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in April. Thompson was a threetime NCAA All-American while capturing one NCAA championship for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a volunteer wrestling coach for the University of Northern Iowa.
1996
Bob Caldwell of Hampton Enterprises has been selected for the Lincoln Community Foundation board of directors. David S. Hempel has joined the Lincoln office of the architecture/engineering/design firm Davis Design as an architect. Brandon Mann was named recipient of the Spirit Award during the 2012 Employee of the Year Awards presentation by Smith Hayes Financial Services Corp. in Omaha.
1997
n Barry A. Benson has been named to the board of directors for the Fremont National Bank & Trust Co., where he is the senior vice president/chief credit officer of lending for the bank.
Joseph Davis, a designer with Leo A Daly, an architecture, planning and engineering company in Omaha, has been appointed an associate with that firm. Kristy Gould has been promoted to full professor status at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she teaches psychology. Justin Harris, an orthopaedic surgeon at Nebraska Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine in Lincoln, has received his orthopaedic sports medicine board certification. He is one of 10 orthopaedic surgeons in Nebraska that have met the qualifications for board certification. Doug Holle has been named to the 2013 board of directors for Leo A Daly, the Omahabased architecture, planning and engineering firm. Holle is a construction engineer/project manager for that company. Jason R. Smith of F&M Bank of West Point has graduated from the State Chamber Leadership
1998
John Decker of Lincoln has rejoined Smith Hayes Financial Services as executive vice president.
1999
Laura J. Ball, West Roxbury, Mass., is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Boston health sciences graduate school, MGH Institute of Health Professions. Jenny Ekeler has been appointed to a new executive leadership program of the National Council for Behavioral Health. She is director of finance and human resources at St. Monica’s Behavioral Health Services for Women in Lincoln. Jodi Kreiling, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was presented an Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award from the UNO Alumni Association in April. John McNally of Winston Salem, N.C., has had another book published, “Vivid and Continuous: Essays and Exercises for Writing Fiction,” which is intended to be a supplement to beginning fiction-writing classes or as the sole text for upper-level or graduate courses. Jason Merritt has been hired as assistant vice president-private banking and commercial lending for Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln. n Tony Miller has been welcomed to Union Bank & Trust of Lincoln as assistant vice president private banking.
Bryan Simon, Omaha, is a member of the sales team for the Lincoln office of SolutionOne, where he will serve as a document management specialist. Matthew Sobotka has earned the designation of certified transportation broker by the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Sobotka is employed by Reliant Transportation in Lincoln. ■ Heather Swanson of Wilcox has graduated with a doctorate of nursing practice from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Ky.
Sam Vetter has joined the Omaha branding and design firm DAAKE as senior creative lead. Mitch Waring has been promoted to associate in the Lincoln office of M.E. Group, a sustainably focused consulting engineering firm.
2000
Pamela J. Bourne, Omaha, has been named a partner in the law firm Woods & Aitken. Anthony Dirks has been hired by the national engineering firm Alfred Benesch & Co. to serve as the vice president and manager for the Lincoln division. Mike Rogers has been promoted to director and vice president of the Omaha office of the national public finance law firm Gilmore & Bell. Michelle Van Horn has joined the sales staff of Nebraska Home Sales of Lincoln.
2001
Katherine Brockman has joined YMCA of Lincoln as executive marketing director. ■ Candace J. Cain of Burwell, a member of the Loup Trail Chapter and the Nebraska Society of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, was recognized as the Nebraska 2013 Outstanding Junior and became one of eight finalists in the national contest.
Michael Egermier completed Certified Financial Planner
By Ruth Thone, ’53
Alumni Profiles ’49
Sunrise, Sunset, in the Sand Hills Howard and Jo Lamb On a gravel road in Custer County halfway between Anselmo and Merna, sheltered deep in Dale Valley in the heart of Nebraska’s treasured Sand Hills, lives a five-generation ranch family – creators of rich lives on wide acres and in essential tiny towns. Howard and Jo Lamb are happily settled in the house where Jo was born and in which they were married in 1949. This original Kellenbarger homestead began in 1894 as a sod house. Jo quietly shares, “I would die in this house if I could have my druthers.” They met on a blind date at the University of Nebraska in 1948. During her undergraduate years, Jo lived in what was then Wilson Hall, a women’s cooperative of 17 girls, one house mother and one cook in a threestory old house with one telephone, one bathroom and one third-story open floor “where we all slept. To this day, some 68 years later, some of my best friends remain girls from Wilson Hall,” she said. Jo earned a bachelor of science in home economics and was a member of Mortar Board – “a thrill for me and a wonderful experience.” Howard was commissioned an ensign while enrolled at Notre Dame. He later earned an agricultural engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and was a member of the engineering honorary fraternity Sigma Tau. He then worked for International Harvester in Omaha, Chicago and Phoenix. Years later, as a board member of the Custer (County) Public Power District, Howard’s engineering background led him to be an early
promoter of off-peak irrigation, which saved rural electric districts considerable money. In 1954 Jo’s parents, Ray and Esther Kellenbarger, offered their daughter and her husband a chance to come back to the family farm. The Lamb’s Illinois neighbors “thought we were crazy to give up a regular paycheck and regular hours,” Jo remembered. More recently they lived in a oneroom apartment in Lincoln during Howard’s four terms (1976-1992) as a senator in the Nebraska Unicameral, where Jo found it “a privilege to walk the halls of our great State Capitol. And now we are back on the farm,” she said. “Not a bad cycle.” Being a farm wife came easily for Jo. During the war years of the 1940s, her parents – who had three daughters – were short of farm help as the men were in military service. Jo spent summers driving the tractor all day. In recent years the branding dinners were the largest dinners she cooked for hired help. “We always served roast beef with our own crew of help plus quite a number of high school kids,” she said. Howard grew up on a ranch “along the beautiful Niobrara River” north of Bassett in Rock County, Jo said. Their family enjoyed many camping trips on that land which is now owned and operated by “hard-working grandsons, Jason and Rodney.” Son Dave and his wife, Donalee, returned from the
university just as Howard began his legislative career. Dave and Donalee now manage the ranch. Jo mused that this “worked well, even better because Howard wasn’t here all the time to look over their shoulder, and they had to learn to make decisions on their own.” Their other son, Philip is an attorney in Yakima, Wash. The Lambs find it “not hard to turn our place over to son and grandsons. They are doing a great job and a lot more innovative things than we did.” Howard agreed that much has changed in ranching since his younger days “but cows still need attention and the fences still need to be fixed. Ranching is physically less demanding now but it is still a battle of economics.” When asked how many acres and how many cows they run on these lands, Howard recalled a wise old Hyannis rancher who would tell people who inquired that he had “enough land to handle the cows we have, and enough cows to handle the land.” Jo and Howard love their land, their family and their life. Occasional notes from Jo always include expressive descriptions of their life in the Sand Hills, such as:
Continued on Page 56
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 55
CLASSNOTES sunrise, sunset, in the sandhills Continued from Page 55 “We go out and watch the harvest crew and then go home and take a nap.” “We can go up to Anselmo for supper or cruise around the fields and see where the various members of the crew are working.” “Locally we take in most of the various church suppers in surrounding communities and fireman’s soup suppers. We feel a huge debt of gratitude to our local hardworking firemen.” “We can look out windows on three sides of our kitchen of this 119-year-old house and see the farm and ranch crew fueling up tractors, making repairs, trucking out cattle and doing the work. They do a good job.” “Most mornings Howard runs into Merna to Trotter’s Whoa and Go for coffee. I go on Tuesday mornings when the women gather. Sundays we go to United Methodist Church in Merna, and many of the congregation gather later at Trotter’s for a Second Service.” “I love to read. A circle of friends, the Lunch Bunch, meet Monday noon in Broken Bow for lunch, and exchange and discuss books.” “This is a good community with some of the original settlers’ offspring still here, although the farms are larger and many of the original homes have disappeared. The women still have Dale Neighbors Club, the remnant of an early Extension Club, which we no longer have in our county.” Jo went to the rural Dale School, almost two miles from the homestead house, as did their sons until Anselmo-Merna consolidated. “Families don’t stop by to visit each other like they used to years ago,” she said. “Of course, people didn’t drive eight miles for a cup of coffee either, years ago.” Howard remembers the good friends he made in the Legislature – especially Senators Richard Marvel from Hastings, Jerry Warner of Lincoln and Elroy Hefner from Coleridge. He is pleased the Legislature passed a bill he introduced in 1989, LB 84, to provide $100 million for property tax relief and that “these funds are still in the state budget.” Howard’s long and distinguished career includes awards from many statewide and national organizations, including the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. In the Unicameral he was elected chair of the Executive Board and the Transportation Committee. At ages 88 and 85, the Lambs “are getting to be the old folks not only in our family but in our community,” Jo said, concluding that they are “totally lucky to still be in our own home on the farm. Last summer I was still using the riding mower to mow our lawn and I hope to do it again this year.” Jo feels “special joy in seeing the cycles of life on the farm and ranch and the feeling that this is genuine living: Seeing our son and daughter-in-law and grandsons working hard to care for the land but keeping it productive; seeing these same family members grow into productive units in the community; seeing friends and sunrises, knowing we are still here. “And a special joy is knowing that Howard and I are able to share it together at home on the farm.”v 56 SUMMER 2013
requirements recently as part of his role as wealth planner for the Egermier Wealth Management Group in Omaha. Steve Irons has been hired as a key project manager and lead roadway engineer in the Lincoln office of the national engineering firm Alfred Benesch & Co. Mark Niven has been added to the staff of Five Nines Technology Group as a support desk engineer. Five Nines is a Lincoln-based provider of managed services, IT services and consulting. n Patrice Ross, Henderson, Nev., has joined the United Way of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas as chief human resources officer.
Lucas Schulte of Pomona, Calif., received his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible at Claremont Graduate University in May 2013.
2002
Cortney Anderson has been hired by NP Dodge Real Estate of Omaha and will be a transfer licensee in the West Pacific office sales team. Sarah M. Anderson is a project engineer with Ehrhart Griffin & Associates, an Omaha-based engineering firm. Aaron B. Johnson has joined the Omaha law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP as a partner. He concentrates on commercial lending, corporate finance, regulatory compliance and corporate matters. John T. Connor III has been hired by First National Bank of Lincoln as vice president, commercial lending group. Chad Hutchison has been named an associate with the Omaha architecture, planning and engineering firm Leo A Daly. Brenda Merritt was honored with the Service Award during the 2012 Employee of the Year Awards presentation by Smith Hayes Financial Services Corp. in Omaha. Nick L. Sassaman has been added to the staff of Cornhusker Bank of Lincoln, where he will serve as vice president/ relationship manager.
CLASSNOTES 2003
Leilani M. Harbeck has been named a shareholder with the Omaha law firm Koley Jessen. Harbeck handles employment, labor and litigation practice for the company. Kelly Halverson was elected second vice president-individual product development for Ameritas Mutual Holding Co. in Lincoln. Rony Ortega graduated with a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in May and has been appointed principal of Alice Buffett Middle School in the Omaha Public School system. n Alexander J. Wolf has become a shareholder in the Omaha law firm Koley Jessen, where he practices estate and business succession planning.
2004
■ Jesse Boeckermann is the program director at PACEM (People and Congregations
Engaged in Ministry), a nonprofit organization that operates homeless shelters in Charlottesville and the surrounding area in Virginia. ■ Lindsay Hastings, executive director of the Nebraska Human Resources Institute, has been selected to receive the Recognition of Merit award in the 2012-13 Phi Delta Kappa International Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award program. Her dissertation, “Generativity in Young Adults: Comparing and Explaining the Impact of Mentoring,” was selected as one of the five finalists for the award.
Van Jensen is the writer for Green Lantern Corps, a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics. His first issue was No. 21, which was published in June. Jensen lives in Decatur, Ga. ■
Libby A. Johnson is a pediatric dentist with Lincoln Pediatric Dentistry, which she joined in July 2011.
■ Molly Merrell has joined the crew of the award-winning television series “Homeland,” where she will be the production secretary/travel coordinator. Merrell lives in Cornelius, N.C.
Nathan Philippi of Xpanxion of Kearney has graduated from the State Chamber Leadership Nebraska Class VI, a collection of current and emerging leaders throughout the state.
2005
Angela Davenport has been recognized by the Lincoln Human Resource Management Association as having earned human resource certification, the industry symbol for professional achievement. Jill Denker of the Regional Health Center of Lexington has graduated from the State Chamber Leadership Nebraska Class VI, a collection of current and emerging leaders throughout the state. Justin Klemsz has joined the Lincoln office of marketing
communications firm Swanson Russell as an interactive producer. Nick Mazgaj has achieved platinum status within Renaissance Financial, an Omaha securities and investment advisory firm. Katherine S. Vogel has joined the Lincoln law firm Brooks, Pansing Brooks PC LLO as an associate attorney practicing in the areas of telecommunications and technology, administrative law, corporate and business transactions, estate planning and probate, contracts and real estate.
2006
Dirk Bargen of Columbus received a Securities Leader Award from Central Financial Services at their annual awards banquet held in February. Lisa Becker has earned the designation of certified transportation broker by the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Becker is employed by Reliant Transportation in Lincoln.
NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 57
CLASSNOTES Kyle Crouch has been appointed an associate with Leo A Daly, an Omaha architecture, planning and engineering company, where he serves as a civil engineer. Emily J. Egley is a pediatric dentist with Lincoln Pediatric Dentistry. She joined the practice in July 2012. Steve Gildersleeve has joined the optometry practice of Dr. Richard Powell, Lincoln. Andrew Johnson has been appointed an associate with the Omaha architecture, planning and engineering firm Leo A Daly, where he serves as a structural engineer. Jacob W. Schaffer has been promoted to vice president of trust services for the Fremont National Bank & Trust Co. Angel Velitchkov has been hired by Principal Financial Group as a financial representative in its Lincoln office.
2007
Brady Bauer is now loan officer, commercial lending group, for First National Bank of Lincoln after a recent promotion. Carrie Frey, a veterinarian with Nebraska Animal Medical Center in Lincoln, attended the second annual International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care conference in Denver. Sarah Friedman has been promoted to director of finance for Tabitha of Lincoln, a comprehensive elder care facility. Tyler Moore has joined the Des Moines office of the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels LLP as an associate in the product liability litigation group, focusing on agricultural litigation. Gwen Olney has joined the Omaha World-Herald as associate counsel and will be responsible for general legal affairs of the company and its affiliates. ■ Matthew T. Schaefer has been recognized by the Lincoln Young Professionals Group with the Four Under Forty Award, which is presented to four people for their leadership, professional involvement and 58 SUMMER 2013
selfless service to the community. Schaefer is a lawyer with the lobbying and governmental relations firm Mueller Robak LLC of Lincoln.
2008
Megan Krause, an orthotist in the Hanger Clinic, Dodge Street Office, Pediatric Division has been accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics Inc. Kate Mueller of Santa Ana, Calif., has been living and working in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates since October 2012 and will continue there through 2013. Invited to lead a team of educators, first as director and now as adviser to the director, she provides an English language program for Emirati high school graduates who are looking to improve their English and pursue a degree in higher education. Katie Nieland has been hired as the new publications specialist for The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Abhinav Pandey of Overland Park, Kan., has been an electrical engineer with ME Group since February 2012. Adam Parrish has been recognized by the Lincoln Human Resource Management Association as having earned human resource certification, the industry symbol for professional achievement. Andrew Pettit is a field engineer for Archer Western Contractors of San Antonio, Texas. Megan Riegsecker has joined HOME Real Estate of Lincoln as a realtor in their north office.
2009
Anthony Bates has been hired by NP Dodge Real Estate of Omaha as a new licensee and will join the West Pacific office sales team. ■ Audrey A. Johnson is an associate attorney with the Lincoln law firm of Kinsey Rowe Becker & Kistler.
Kait M. Matthes has been welcomed to Sutton Ryan Aesthetic Center of Lincoln as the newest physician assistant. AJ Ostdiek is a recently hired account manager in the Lincoln office of Five Nines Technology Group, a provider of managed services, IT services and consulting. Nate Vaughan has joined the Omaha office of The Weitz Co., a full-service general contractor and construction management firm, as an engineer. Jill Vegas has been hired by The Austin Co. of Milford as a crop insurance agent.
2010
Sheena Kennedy of Elkhorn was promoted to volunteer development manager at Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska, where she has been an outreach specialist for two years. Kevin Kohnke of Lincoln, director of Concordia University’s human services program, will begin offering grief recovery outreach for individuals and families affected by loss or sorrow. Concordia is located in Seward.
2011
Lindsay Graef, Lincoln, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to go to Indonesia, where she will be an English teaching assistant.
office of the marketing communications agency Swanson Russell. Karen Keeler has been hired by the Omaha law firm Erickson|Sederstrom as associate practicing in the litigation division. ■ Amanda Schutz is now the public relations and online marketing coordinator for SCORR Marketing of Kearney.
Braden Charles Sheppard is the newest associate at the Lincoln law firm of Wolfe, Snowden, Hurd, Luers & Ahl LLP. Vanessa Silke has been welcomed by the Lincoln law firm of Blankenau Wilmoth LLP as an associate attorney. Christina Trapp, Green Bay, Wis., started in January as a business analyst for Shopko Stores.
WEDDINGS
Tom Vickers and ■ Jerda GareyVickers, ’61, Nov. 22, 2012. The couple lives in McCook. Scott Langan, ’92, and Angela Carlow, ’95, March 22. The couple lives in Lincoln. Daniel Albuquerque, ’07, and Melinda Biggs, Sept. 29, 2012. The couple lives in Lincoln. Eric Hoffman and Michele Kaiserman, ’08, April 13. The couple lives in Omaha.
Erin Sorensen has joined Cornerstone Print & Marketing of Lincoln as an account manager.
Joe Stivrins and Alyssa Kucera, ’08, Sept. 8, 2012. The couple lives in Oakland, Calif.
Jacob Williams has been hired by Cornerstone Print & Marketing as an account manager.
Tony Kulhanek, ’09, and Jessa Burcham, Sept. 8, 2012. The couple lives in Austin, Texas.
Brad Wittler has been added to the audit department of the Omaha-based accounting and business solutions firm, Lutz, where he will serve as a staff accountant.
Kyle McCartney and Samantha Raffety, ’09, October 2012. The couple lives in Kearney.
2012
Nathan D. Anderson is the newest associate with the Lincoln law firm Wolfe, Snowden, Hurd, Luers & Ahl, LLP and will practice general litigation. Zach Bock is an interactive production artist in the Lincoln
Aaron Andersen, ’10, and Annie Stahr, ’12, Dec. 29, 2012. The couple lives in York. ■ Steve Wooden, ’10, and Kristen Mitchell, ’12, June 30, 2012. The couple lives in Spring, Texas.
Jim Rosenau, ’11, and Brooke Kuhn, Sept. 14, 2012. The couple lives in Enid, Okla.
By Abbie DAVIS Wecker
Alumni Profile
’81
Global Company ‘Xpands’ to Nebraska Paul Eurek
When Paul Eurek decided to extend his global software company’s presence into rural Nebraska, he faced significant skepticism from his colleagues in Atlanta – even Eurek himself doubted the idea. “I wasn’t looking for an ‘I told you so’ moment; I was just hoping for a ‘Whew!’ after it worked,” he said. Eurek is the founder and CEO of Xpanxion, LLC, a company that builds and tests enterprise-level software for all types of companies, from multi-national corporations to small start-ups. The rural software model was far from a flop – since 2006, when Xpanxion’s first rural center was opened in Kearney, the company’s Nebraska-based workforce has grown to more than 40 times its original size. Raised on a farm near Loup City, Neb., Eurek could never have imagined he would one day be the CEO of a global technology company – and that he would be able to run this type of company from Loup City, a town of just over 1,000 residents. In fact, Eurek had planned a career in education. He was halfway through his teacher’s education degree at UNL when one of his high school teachers advised Eurek that his talents would be better suited along a business track. Eurek added a minor in business, and after graduation and a semester of teaching, took his mentor’s advice and joined the business world with a position at NCR Corp. There he acquired a thorough knowledge of technology in business and retail, building the foundation upon which he started his first company, Compris Technologies. Compris created touchscreen point-
of-sale products, and became an almost overnight success story. The company also designed custom software for each customer’s pointof-sale system, and Eurek’s team became highly capable in delivering software that met each customer’s requirements. After selling Compris to NCR, Eurek’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to continue the software delivery model through a company entirely devoted to professional services – and so Xpanxion was born. Xpanxion was created to provide software solutions to clients within the Atlanta area using a two-part model: company headquarters in Atlanta provides close proximity and support to clients, and an offshore development center in Pune, India, provides a highly skilled and easily scalable workforce. Although Eurek was immersed in the Atlanta technology industry, he couldn’t lose the thought of returning to his Nebraska roots. His wife, also a Nebraska native, felt the same strong pull to someday return to the state. The technical nature of the business, however, required him to remain a point of contact between clients and technical resources, and he all but dismissed his hopes of utilizing his business to facilitate a return to Nebraska. Years into his journey with Xpanxion, Eurek received a letter from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development proposing the creation of a Nebraska business by the serial entrepreneur. This letter, followed by
a visit from DED official Pat Langan, planted a crucial seed in Eurek’s mind. When the CEO brought to his company the idea of opening a branch in Nebraska, he was laughed out of the room. He was met with skepticism by his board of directors, his executive team – and even his family. Eurek, fully aware of the risk he would be placing the company under, reflected, “I can say it took a lot of tenacity on my part.” To minimize the risk, Eurek chose to pilot the rural sourcing model in the field of software quality assurance, a small niche market where it faced the best chance of success. The first rural center opened in 2006 in Kearney, and Xpanxion found that the rural setting had unique advantages that fit perfectly with the quality assurance function. The centers are able to provide insight into the U.S. business culture while effectively communicating client requirements to project teams. Clients benefit from the shared language and time zone that comes at a cost advantage over metropolitan U.S. environments. Two more rural centers – one in Loup City, one in Ames, Iowa – have been opened to keep pace with increased customer demand for rural sourcing, as the trend is called. Due to the level of understanding
Continued on Page 60 NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 59
CLASSNOTES global company xpands Continued from Page 59 and knowledge possessed by rural resources, rural software offerings have been developed to include automated testing, project and product management, and development. Xpanxion has maintained its offshore development center while integrating the rural centers, creating a hybrid model it calls cross sourcing.
Class Notes
Bryant Alt and Aubrey Houdersheldt, ’12, Nov. 24, 2012. The couple lives in rural Rising City. Steven Speicher, ’12, and Allison Potter, ’10, Oct. 14, 2012. The couple lives in Lincoln.
BIRTHS
■ Chad, ’97, and Cambre Pekron, their fourth child, a son, William Carson, March 15. The family lives in Little Rock, Ark.
n Aaron, ’00, and Sheila
Schneider, their second child, second son, Lincoln James, Jan. 23. The family lives in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Ladd and n Kristin Bird Lake, ’01, their fourth child, second daughter, Hannah Elizabeth, October 2012. The family lives in Omaha.
Rural sourcing isn’t exclusive to Xpanxion – it is a concept defined as providing outsourced services from rural locations within the United States. In many cases, clients will inevitably outsource functions to focus on their core business – the difference occurs when companies such as Xpanxion channel this demand for outsourcing and direct it back into the U.S., retaining economic benefits that would have otherwise flowed out of the country. Eurek’s passion for Nebraska helped him discover the missing component that helped his business thrive. Now, his passion for rural sourcing has led him to be a driving force behind the Rural Sourcing Project, a new initiative designed to bring back out-of-state Nebraskans who may be unaware of the growing professional opportunities within their home state. The Rural Sourcing Project is conducted through a partnership between the Center for Rural Research and Development at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the Nebraska Alumni Association and Xpanxion; the project is funded through a grant from the Rural Futures Institute at the University of Nebraska. At the core of the project is Eurek’s vision: successful Nebraskans returning to establish a rural sourcing business model, performing professional services from Nebraska and creating skilled jobs that would not have existed otherwise. The project is in its pilot year, and is currently in the research and development stage. Nebraska’s skilled and stable workforce looks to benefit from the Rural Sourcing Project, just as Paul Eurek and Xpanxion benefitted from their uncertain rural software venture in 2006. As Eurek reflects on the pioneering of the rural sourcing software industry, his rapidly growing company and satisfied customers serve as a testament that global software can be done in Nebraska – and done right.v 60 SUMMER 2013
Mark Allen, ’01, and Amanda Johnson, ’01, their first child, a daughter, Matilda Kay, Aug. 4, 2012. The family lives in Denver. ■ ■
Mary Trowbridge Mathis, ’40, Ames, Iowa, Dec. 25, 2012. H. Grant Thomas, ’40, Bloomfield, Conn., Jan. 13. Machion Wilke Berger, ’41, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 31, 2012. Harvey G. Copsey, ’41, Spokane, Wash., March 18. Robert M. Howard, ’41, Alliance, Feb. 11. Ann Hustead McGregor, ’41, Oakland, Calif., March 18. Helen Claybaugh Mutz, ’41, Denver, Jan. 29. Leon W. Davis, ’42, Hastings, March 23. Richard C. Emrich, ’42, Lake Junaluska, N.C., Jan. 5. Dale A. Theobald, ’42, Lincoln, Sept. 9, 2012. Dorothy H. White, ’42, Malibu, Calif., Dec. 6, 2012. John L. Hitchcock, ’43, Winter Park, Fla., July 20, 2012.
Benjamin and Amy Miriovsky, ’01, their third and fourth children, twins Penelope and Teddy, Dec. 4, 2012. The family lives in Durham, N.C.
Shirley M. Phelps, ’43, Lincoln, Feb. 16.
Michael and Nicole Imig Schultze, ’02, their first child, a son, Erickson William, March 25. The family lives in Denver.
David R. Simonsen, ’44, Greenwood, S.C., March 16.
■ Elliott T. Bottorf, ’06, and Melissa J. Smidt, their first child, a daughter, Brynley Jean Bottorf, April 4. The family lives in Sutton.
DEATHS
Barney B. Rees, ’44, Estes Park, Colo., March 8.
Jessie Tyler Allen, ’45, Loomis, Calif., March 23, 2012. Olga Lacina Hock, ’45, Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 14. John R. Burt, ’46, Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 22, 2012. Mary B. Johnson, ’46, Lincoln, March 22.
Carleen Steckelberg Williams, ’36, Cheyenne, Wyo., Feb. 20.
Ethel C. Flannigan, ’48, Omaha, April 10.
Gordon S. Senift, ’37, Westlake Village, Calif., Feb. 1.
Donald L. Hendrickson, ’48, Topsham, Maine, Dec. 20, 2012.
Doris Weaver Glenn, ’38, Lincoln, March 6.
Patricia Seidel Johnson, ’48, Omaha, Jan. 21.
Dora Johnson Smith, ’38, Riverside, Calif., March 5.
Lester C. Krogh, ’48, North Oaks, Minn., Jan. 25.
Arthur H. Foster, ’39, York, March 8.
Ruth Stryson Lipps, ’48, Lincoln, March 29.
Helen Rosker Hartley, ’39, Vancouver, Wash., Jan. 29.
Maynard V. Meyer, ’48, Plymouth, Feb. 3.
Elizabeth Waugh Brownlee, ’40, Winter Park, Fla., Feb. 17.
Charlotte Eby Wireman, ’48, West Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 30, 2012.
Eunice Berggren Fenster, ’40, Gering, March 6.
Edwin G. Banning, ’49, New
CLASSNOTES London, Conn., March 1. Mary Brunzell Bluhm, ’49, Keizer, Ore., Jan. 5. Perry W. Branch, ’49, Scottsdale, Ariz., Feb. 2. John H. Davis, ’49, Omaha, Jan. 25. Thelma J. Grush, ’49, Omaha, March 3. Edward P. Hansen, ’49, Sandy, Utah, June 27, 2012. Norman J. Hansen, ’49, Bonita Springs, Fla., July 15, 2012. Helen Schrock Hendricks, ’49, David City, March 28. Jacquelyn Ochsner Luers, ’49, Milford, Iowa, Jan. 24. Myron D. Marquardt, ’49, Silver Spring, Md., March 12. Richard R. Steffen, ’49, Humboldt, Jan. 18. Carla Renner Cossairt, ’50, Clarinda, Iowa, Sept. 3, 2012. Lynn E. Eller, ’50, Atlanta, Dec. 28, 2012.
Jurgen F. Herbst, ’50, Durango, Colo., Jan. 12.
Warren J. Severin, ’51, Franklin, Tenn., March 3.
Thomas B. Jefferson, ’50, Murphysboro, Ill., Aug. 25, 2012.
Charles L. Tremain, ’51, Reno, Nev., Feb. 20.
Robert L. Kellner, ’50, Omaha, Jan. 6.
William D. Blue, ’52, Lincoln, Jan. 14.
William F. Klamm, ’50, Hickman, Jan. 20.
William L. Drayer, ’52, Washington, Mich., Jan. 8.
Jackie J. Legler, ’50, Fremont, March 14.
George M. Nutt, ’52, Lincoln, March 21.
Paul D. McClure, ’50, York, March 31.
Winfred C. Zacharias, ’52, Midland, Mich., Jan. 24.
James D. Waring, ’50, WheatRidge, Colo., Dec. 30, 2012.
Maynard S. Campbell, ’53, Federal, Wash., March 15.
John J. Wrabetz, ’50, Omaha, Jan. 21.
Herbert C. Dyck, ’53, Washington, Kan., Aug. 1, 2012.
Donald L. Bever, ’51, Overland Park, Kan., Jan. 8.
Betty Williams Johnson, ’53, Pueblo, Colo., Jan. 22.
Harold E. Heidtke, ’51, Berrien Springs, Mich., Jan. 1.
Mary Neely Williams, ’53, Omaha, March 1.
Susan Allen Herbst, ’51, Durango, Colo., July 2, 2012.
John H. Faltys, ’54, Clinton, Wash., Oct. 21, 2012.
Barbara Pejsar Linder, ’51, Plattsmouth, Jan. 17.
Sylvia L. Antholz, ’55, Lincoln, Dec. 27, 2012.
W I C K
Robert S. Bacon, ’55, Denver,
March 7. Royce H. Tonjes, ’55, Erie, Pa., March 12. Doris Hanson Currens, ’56, Minneapolis, Aug. 14, 2012. John V. Addison, ’58, Wayne, March 2, 2012. Elliott G. Boisen, ’58, Ferndale, Wash., Aug. 6, 2012. William R. Dahl, ’58, Shawnee Mission, Kan., Feb. 19. Richard G. Prusia, ’58, Gordon, Jan. 1. Willis L. Strong, ’58, Omaha, Nov. 13, 2012. John M. Ivanoff, ’59, Carrollton, Texas, Dec. 17, 2012. David L. Kovar, ’59, Conifer, Colo., Jan. 7. Donald L. Walton, ’59, Lincoln, Feb. 1. Charles L. Homolka, ’60, Western, March 22. Gary L. Rogers, ’60, Beaver City, March 9.
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NEBRASKA MAGAZINE 61
CLASSNOTES Donald J. Epp, ’61, State College, Pa., March 4.
Merrill VonSteen Meyer, ’68, Beatrice, March 3.
Richard A. Brommer, ’79, Beatrice, Feb. 10.
Russell B. Jorgensen, ’61, Battlefield, Mo., May 11, 2012.
Judith Lambelet Morton, ’68, Osceola, Mo., Aug. 8, 2012.
Dorothy Schanot Wander, ’82, Nebraska City, Jan. 9.
Roger A. Koehn, ’62, Santa Rosa, Calif., June 2.
Cecelia Griffitts Baumeister, ’69, Lincoln, Jan. 13.
William A. Gannon, ’84, Columbus, Jan. 14.
Sheila L. Link, ’62, Eugene, Ore., March 28.
Robert J. Rosicky, ’69, Martinsburg, W. Va., March 11.
Suzanne C. Bergmann, ’85, Lincoln, April 9.
Dale L. Hall, ’63, Milford, Feb. 19.
Mary Owens Schroeder, ’69, Enid, Okla., Jan. 23.
Paul A. Orduna, ’85, Las Vegas, Oct. 5, 2012.
Myrle E. Hemenway, ’63, Lawrence, Kan., Jan. 27.
Andris J. Upitis, ’69, Lincoln, Nov. 24, 2012.
Adele Coryell Hall, ’87, Mission Hills, Kan., Jan. 26.
Terry D. Peters, ’63, Elkhorn, Feb. 20.
James Karabatsos, ’70, Omaha, Jan. 28.
Larry L. Schwartz, ’63, Sun Lakes, Ariz., Dec. 6, 2012.
Robert L. Ayres, ’71, Frederick, Md., March 14, 2012.
Michael W. Manske, ’87, Overland Park, Kan., Nov. 26, 2012.
John W. Bjorklun, ’64, Lenexa, Kan., Feb. 25.
Sharon Oertwich Erickson, ’71, Norfolk, April 6.
Donald W. Hand, ’64, Lincoln, Sept. 16.
John R. Konopik, ’71, Bloofield Hills, Mich., Jan. 29.
John F. Jolley, ’64, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., Feb. 20.
Dennis D. Hoops, ’72, Ruthi SG, Switzerland, Jan. 14.
William R. Marsh, ’64, Papillion, April 8.
Rick J. Kilzer, ’72, Greenwood, Mo., Feb. 3.
Ardyce Gidley Bohlke, ’65, Hastings, Feb. 21.
Jeffrey L. Kawata, ’73, Broken Bow, Jan. 25.
Gerald J. Hamata, ’65, Schuyler, Jan. 18.
Ruth Johnson Rankin, ’73, Lincoln, Jan. 15.
Lucile Lichtenberger Junege, ’65, York, March 21.
Mary E. Riepma Ross, ’73, New York, N.Y., Feb. 2.
Jerry C. Nelson, ’65, Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 22.
William S. Ball, ’74, Burlington, Colo., March 8.
Efraim P. Armendariz, ’66, San Benito, Texas, Feb. 13.
Daniel H. Dietrich, ’74, Omaha, March 28.
Orian Bailey Captain, ’66, Omaha, Jan. 22.
Bradley W. Burden, ’75, Orchard, March 27.
Donald F. Lehn, ’66, Lincoln, March 7.
Kent R. Hall, ’75, Lincoln, Feb. 20.
Ruby Jennings West, ’66, Fairmont, April 1.
Donald G. Lamay, ’75, Omaha, March 3.
Louis E. Eiserman, ’67, East Hampstead, N.H., March 17.
Walter T. Pokorny, ’75, Bellevue, Feb. 28.
Loren D. Nordhausen, ’67, Liberty Hill, Texas, Dec. 19, 2012.
Clay E. Tucker, ’76, Staplehurst, March 23.
Phyllis Plager Schroeder, ’67, Clarkston, Wash., Oct. 13, 2012.
Sandra Mohr Lutz, ’77, Arlington, Texas, March 10.
Donald L. Frazier, ’68, Bellevue, Wash., Oct. 14, 2012. Leona Vanicek Martens, ’68, Fort Collins, Colo., Jan. 31, 2012. Howard M. McGinnis, ’68, Cozad, March 17. 62 SUMMER 2013
Arthur A. Ferguson, ’78, Monroe, March 5. Gordon D. Ganz, ’78, Alvo, April 4. Elaine J. Garrison, ’78, Cozad, Jan. 15.
Cheryl Nelson O’Neill, ’87, Omaha, April 2. Betty L. Mendoza, ’89, Waverly, Jan. 15. David W. Blumel, ’90, Omaha, March 26. Steven S. Donley, ’90, Lincoln, Jan. 24. David M. Fisher, ’91, Grand Island, May 6, 2012. Georgiana F. Ruzicka, ’93, Lincoln, Jan. 13. Roberta Switzer Schuller, ’94, Lincoln, Jan. 5. Sandra Shrader Metz, ’95, Wayne, March 4. Michael L. Kula, ’97, Bellevue, Jan. 14. Michael A. Bielarski, ’99, Woodsville, N.H., July 6, 2012. Lynn A. Samsel, ’01, Lincoln, March 30. Holly J. Sobota, ’03, Schuyler, March 25. Joshua T. Amick, ’05, Omaha, March 22. Kathleen Clark Tvrdy, ’07, Mullen, Jan. 26.
FACULTY DEATHS
Bert Alfrey, ’65, professor emeritus of Teachers College and director of the Student Services Center, Lincoln, Jan. 29. Hazel Crain, retired in 1989 as chairman of the Department of Vocational and Adult (Teacher) Education, Princeton, Ill., Jan. 13. Ruth Diamond Levinson, ’31, retired vice chairman of the Department of Physical Education and adviser to Mortar Board and ASUN, Lincoln, Feb. 3. Price Clayton Rivers, professor emeritus of psychology and chief undergraduate adviser, Lincoln, April 16. John Weymouth, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, Lincoln, Dec. 20, 2012. Lee Witters, ’66, professor emeritus of special education, Lincoln, Jan. 7. Lyle Young, professor of civil engineering from 1953 to1986, College of Engineering associate dean for 22 years and interim dean for two years, Lincoln, Dec. 20, 2012. Roy Young, UNL Chancellor 1976-1980, Corvallis, Ore., April 19.
CLASS NOTEPAD Tell us what’s happening! Send news about yourself or fellow Nebraska alumni to: Mail: Class Notes Editor, Nebraska Magazine, Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-1651 E-mail: kwright@huskeralum.org Online: huskeralum.org/classnotes All notes received will be considered for publication according to the following schedule: Spring Issue - January 15 Summer Issue - April 15 Fall Issue - July 15 Winter Issue - October 15 Items submitted after these dates will be published in later issues.
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Haven’s Wake
By Ladette Randolph, ’86, ’91, ’99 When a tractor accident fells the patriarch of a Mennonite family, the threads holding them together are suddenly drawn taut with a lifetime’s worth of love and faith, betrayal and shame. Through the competing voices of those gathered for Haven Grebel’s funeral, acts of loyalty and failures, long-suppressed resentments and a tragic secret are brought to light, expressing a larger, complex truth. List $16.95 (paper), Members $13.56
From Society Page to Front Page: Nebraska Women in Journalism
By Eileen Wirth, ’68, ’71, ’79, ’94 Remarkable women journalists, working in every venue from rural weeklies to TV, fought for the vote, better working conditions for immigrants and food safety at the turn of the century; covered wars from the Russian Revolution to Vietnam; and crusaded for civil rights. Their stories give a firsthand look into the history of journalism and social change. List $17.95 (paper), Members $14.36
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Your Midwest Garden
By Jan Riggenbach Annuals and perennials, shrubs and vines, fruits and vegetables, wildflowers, bulbs and herbs: This book reviews the familiar, reconsiders old favorites and introduces dozens of surprising and seldom-grown plants ideal for Midwest gardens and landscapes. Illustrated with color photos from the author’s garden, it provides plenty of tips on plant placement and care. List $24.95 (paper), Members $19.96
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