Released: April 17, 2009
Lincoln, Neb. - The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts will celebrate its annual Honors Day weekend April 24-25.
Three distinguished alumni will be in classes on Friday, April 24. They are recipients of the Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Board's Alumni Achievement Awards.
Thomas J. Riesing (B.F.A. 1970, M.F.A. 1973), Alumni Achievement Award in Art, is Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee, where he has been since 1973. Since 1995 he has been a visiting artist/lecturer at the National Palace Museum in Taipei and 10 different universities and academies in China including the Central Academy of Art in Beijing, Sichuan University in Chengdu, and the Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts in Chongqing. He was an artist in residence at the Majestic Foundation in Texas and the Tea Farm in Yongchuan, Sichuan, China.
Laurie Scott (M.M. 1979), Alumni Achievement Award in Music, is Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning and Director of the String Project at the University of Texas at Austin. Previous to this appointment, Scott served as professor of violin and viola and director of music education studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Scott is co-director of the Armadillo Suzuki Organization, the Austin Metropolitan Suzuki School, and the Texas Suzuki Tour Group. She holds a master's degree in applied violin from the University of Nebraska?Lincoln, and a bachelor's degree in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She received her Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Texas.
Breanna Benjamin (B.S. 1961), Alumni Achievement Award in Theatre, has extensive experience in the entertainment industry. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, she began a four-year stint as "Miss Ann," the teacher, on the CBS syndicated television series "Romper Room." The Romper Room series lead to her hosting a syndicated radio show-emphasis on in-depth celebrity interviews including such luminaries as Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Peter Jennings, etc. Upon exiting Romper Room, Benjamin went on to appear in major motion pictures, episodic television, soap operas, and as the principal spokesperson in over one hundred commercials. With her knowledge and affinity for working with talent, and a desire to work behind the scenes, she founded Creative Talent Company, a talent management company that guides the careers of a select group of actors. As a Casting Director she has cast for film, television, theatre, commercials, industrials and voices for animation. Her casting credits include motions picture festival award winners, commercial Cleo Award Winners, and theatre award honorees.
The awards will be presented at the College's annual Honors Day Dinner on Saturday, April 25 at 5 p.m. in the Nebraska Union. The dinner is by invitation only. Faculty, student and alumni achievement will be recognized at the dinner.
Other award winners include Larry and Bets Frederick, who are receiving the Award of Merit; Jon Nelson, who is receiving the Faculty Service Award; and Sarah Barnard-Blitz, who is receiving the Student Leadership Award.
Other awards to be presented include the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence, the College Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, the College Distinguished Teaching Award, the Vreeland Awards in Art and Music, the Porter Awards in Theatre Arts and Dance, and the F. Pace Woods II Awards in Art, Music and Theatre. Other awards presented will include new Hixson-Lied Faculty and Staff awards.