Mary Garbacz

Director of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska

Contact:
133 Andersen Hall
402-472-3075
mgarbacz2@unl.edu

Bio
Mary Garbacz has been associated with the College of Journalism and Mass Communications for many years, in many capacities. She graduated from UNL with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975, majoring in broadcast journalism. Her career has included experience in a variety of areas: writing advertising copy for a local radio station; working on a rural weekly newspaper; news and promotional writing at UNL then-Agricultural Communications; teaching broadcast news writing in the college; establishing a freelance writing business in which she wrote and produced instructional videos for agricultural producers, allowing them to become certified applicators of restricted-use chemicals; teaching Technical Communication through the college, then coordinating the Business Communication and Technical Communication programs; assistant to the dean of the college; and most recently, head of Strategic Discussions for Nebraska, a research arm of the college, established July 1, 2007.

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska is designed to promote statewide discussions on national topics, and how Nebraska and its residents are affected by those topics. The Strategic Discussions for Nebraska team performs both primary and secondary research, arranges, promotes and facilitates regional discussions, and will produce a magazine-style collection of research on each topic.

Mary also writes grant proposals and facilitates the projects once the proposals are approved. In addition to her work with Strategic Discussions for Nebraska, she also works with other UNL colleges researching students' writing skills and methods to help them improve.

Mary says "if you can write, you can do just about anything."

Curriculum vitae available upon request.