UNOPA Honors 3 Exemplary Employees

Three UNL employees were honored by the University of Nebraska Office Personnel Association at the group's April meeting.

Marcia Rowley received the Floyd S. Oldt Outstanding Staff Award and was co-recipient of the Oldt Silver Pen Award. The other Silver Pen winner was Carol Nau. Kathy Bennetch received the Rose Frolik Award.

The outstanding staff award recognizes an employee who has performed beyond expectations, contributed to the university and the community and otherwise performed admirably. It carries a $1,000 award. The Silver Pen Award honors an employee who demonstrates superior performance and contributed to the university community. Recipients receive $600 and a silver pen. The Frolik award honors an employee who best exemplifies the characteristics of Frolik, UNOPA's founder. These include leadership, professional growth and personal attributes.

Rowley is administrative assistant in the College of Engineering and Technology dean's office. Her nominators spoke of her capable maintenance of the support tasks required of a college composed of 172 professors. Due to budget cuts, she took on the duties once handled by three individuals. She is the grant liaison for the college and handles all paperwork regarding grant proposals. Her work with college personnel is exemplary, her nominators said. She also was lauded for continuing education activities she pursues and her leadership in UNOPA.

Carol Nau is project assistant for the Employee Assistance Program. Her nominators applauded her professionalism and interpersonal skills in dealing with individuals who use the EAP, individuals who often are under stress or experiencing difficulties. Nearly 100 percent of the individuals with whom she has contact say the experience was positive, helpful and courteous. Nau's interest in professional growth through continuing education also was mentioned as a plus. Her flexibility, resiliance, cheerful focus and endurance were praised by her nominators.

Bennetch is a secretary III in the department of agronomy and horticulture. Her nominators called her a "born leader" and mentioned her service to UNOPA and work on a number of university committees, such as the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women, and the U-wide fringe benefits committee. Bennetch has attained junior status at UNL by taking classes as a non-traditional student and has also earned professional certifications. Her personal characteristics of empathy and common sense were cited as exemplary and her nominators called her a "stabilizing factor" for the department when it underwent a merger and transition phase earlier this year.

Bode Earns CPM Designation

William "Bill" Bode has earned the status of lifetime Certified Purchasing Manager with the National Association of Purchasing Management. Individuals earning the designation demonstrate their professional capabilities by pursuing formal and continuing education and contributing to the profession.

Professional certification assists management in identifying purchasing and materials management professionals having demonstrated a specific level of knowledge and experience.

NAPM, a not-for-profit organization established in 1915, is recognized as the world leader in establishing and maintaining professional standards of competency and conduct for all matters pertaining to purchasing, materials, research and education. It is a federation of more than 180 affiliated associations with over 46,000 members.

Teachers College Honors Omaha Educator

A long-time industrial technology teacher in the Omaha Public Schools has been named winner of the 2001 Fred Drath Battey Distinguished Educator Award by the Teachers College.

Marvin Lodes, who has taught drafting, computer-aided design and design engineering at Burke High School for 21 years, after eight years at Norris Junior High School, received the award April 11. James Simpson, mathematics teacher at Madison High School, was honored as a finalist for the award.

The award is based on excellence in teaching, along with recognition of other educational activities such as counseling of students or initiation of student-oriented programs. Candidates are nominated by former students who are Teachers College undergraduates.

The award carries a $6,000 stipend and a school bell for Lodes and a donation of $3,000 for Burke High School. Simpson will also receive a school bell.

The Freda Drath Battey Distinguished Educator Award was established in 1986 by Joan and Charles W. Battey of Shawnee Mission, Kan., and Marian (Battey) and Harold W. Andersen of Omaha to commemorate the life and career of their mother and mother-in-law. Freda Drath Battey was a 1923 Nebraska graduate who taught public schools in Ashland.

Johnson to Head Animal Science Society

Rodger Johnson, professor of animal science, was named president of the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Science, and Calvin Ferrell of the USDA Ag Research Service station at Clay Center, was named president-elect, at the joint Midwest section annual meeting of the ASAS and the American Dairy Science Association March 19-21 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The joint Midwest section meeting is the largest of the sectional meetings held by the associations. A record number 1,145 livestock specialists and allied industry attended this year's three-day event.

Floyd Coordinates Shared Services

University Services announced Dan Floyd has been appointed as coordinator of Shared Services. Floyd has worked for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Floyd joined UNL in 1996 and has been interim director of Shared Services since January 2000. Floyd can be reached at 472-3399.

John Wunder To Visiting Professorship at N.M.

The University of New Mexico has announced that John Wunder has been appointed to hold the Garrey Carruthers Distinguished Visiting Professorship for the spring of 2002.

The chair, located in the University Honors Program, is named after a recent former governor of the state of New Mexico. The chair recognizes professors who have a national reputation for teaching and research excellence.

Wunder has been at UNL for 13 years, is a professor in the department of history and is former director of the Center for Great Plains Studies. He teaches history of the American West, Native American history, and American legal history, and he has been the recipient of the Annis Chaikin Sorensen Award for Teaching Excellence in the humanities. He holds both a Ph.D. and J.D. and was recently a Fellow at the Australian National University Humanities Centre where he worked on comparative indigenous history.

Math Team Places 12th in Annual Putnam Competition

A team of UNL student mathematicians placed first among teams from public U.S. universities and 12th overall (including private and Canadian schools) at the Putnam Mathematical Competition among 322 schools from the United States and Canada.

Jaclyn Anderson, Gerard Gjonej and Lucas Sabalka took individual six-hour exams designed to test originality and technical competence in solving a series of mathematical problems. The exams were administered simultaneously on each student's home campus then sent to the Mathematical Association of America for judging.

"The extremely strong showing by our team in the Putnam competition proves that students at UNL can compete successfully against students from the most prestigious schools in the nation," said Mark Walker, UNL assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, and team co-sponsor.

The top five teams overall are: Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, California Institute of Technology and University of Toronto.

The annual Putnam Competition, administered by the Mathematical Association of America, began in 1938 in honor of William Lowell Putnam, an 1882 Harvard University graduate who wrote about the merits of intellectual intercollegiate competition.

UNL's team in the 1994 Putnam Competition placed 10th in the nation.

Don Edwards Receives Multiple Honors

Donald Edwards, former dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, recently received honors from several organizations.

Edwards was named to the American Society of Agricultural Engineers' board of trustees. He will begin a two-year term as an at-large member of the society's board Aug. 2. ASAE is a professional society for engineering in agricultural, food and biological systems.

Edwards also recently received the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus honors from South Dakota State University. This month, he will receive the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus award from Purdue University. In June, he will receive the Outstanding Educator Award from the National Association of College Teachers in Agriculture.

Edwards was dean for 11 years until stepping down in 2000. Since then, he has been director of NN-21 and coordinator of special projects for IANR.