Emeritus Professor Kennedy Died Aug. 27

By Jenise DeGraw, College of Business Administration

Funeral services were Aug. 31 for Charles Kennedy, professor emeritus of economics, who died Aug. 27. He was 89.

A member of the economics department for more than 35 years, Kennedy earned his A.B. from Hastings College in 1933, his M.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1936, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1940.

After serving as professor of history and chairman of the department of social science at Iowa Wesleyan College from 1940-1943, Kennedy reported for active duty as a specialist officer in naval aviation and was later sent to Fleet Air Wing Two, M.A.T.U., and stationed in Hawaii. He joined the University of Nebraska faculty in 1946, was a post-doctoral fellow in business history at Harvard in 1949-1950, and was promoted to full professor at NU in 1957. Kennedy was the recipient of the 1976 CBA Distinguished Teacher Award. He retired in 1982, but he could be found almost any day of the week in his library carrel continuing his research.

In 1976, the Economic and Business Historical Society, a national organization for scholars, established "The Charles J. Kennedy Award." An annual award, it is conferred upon the best paper presented by a young scholar at the society's annual meetings. The award was established in recognition of Kennedy's work as professor, scholar and founder of the society. Kennedy was president of the organization in 1975.

Kennedy taught mainly economic history and business history courses and had an intense interest in railroad history that lasted much of his life. From 1952-1955, he worked under contract to write the history of the Boston and Maine Railroad and its 40-plus predecessors, and since then produced more than a dozen papers and publications on the subject. One aspect of his research that attracted much attention was his methodology for appraising entrepreneurial and managerial ability of industry leaders of the past, making use of the American Institute of Management's "management audit" of current business firms. Kennedy was the first person to show a historian could use such an appraisal. Kennedy also developed ways to adjust and interpret the historic accounting data of companies despite the diverse character of 19th century accounting records and practices, making them more usable within a given company and allowing reasonably valid comparisons between companies.

He had a large and incredibly loyal following of former graduate students who commented on his ability to "keep several hundred freshmen enraptured by his lectures on American economic and business history," and called him "a first-rate scholar and first-rate teacher," "one of the finest teachers and one of the finest men I met in all my years as a student," "my guiding light," and "by a substantial margin the best (professor) of all." Others said "Dr. Kennedy's counsel, encouragement and expertise were invaluable to me during my graduate studies," and he was "always there, always available, always ready to contribute and assist."

Kennedy is survived by his sister, Arlys Kennedy, several nieces and one nephew as well as grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society for research.

Law Student Wins Legal Writing Prize

Fremont native Karin Iossi, a student at the University of Nebraska College of Law, is a recipient of the Silver Quill Award.

The award recognizes the importance of legal writing in a lawyer's career. Each year the Nebraska State Bar Foundation presents this award to the first-year law student with the best overall performance in legal writing. The award carries a $500 honorarium, which is presented at the State Bar Foundation's annual banquet.

Iossi is a 1995 graduate of Fremont Bergan High School and a 1999 graduate of UNL.

---

Frayser To Lead Tech Transfer Efforts

Steve Frayser, certified economic developer, has been named interim director of UNL's Office of Technology Transfer.

"Steve Frayser brings a wealth of economic development experience to our office and will provide solid leadership," said Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research, who has administrative oversight of the technology transfer office. "Steve's work with economic developers in the state will enhance our efforts to create new partnerships to benefit Nebraska's citizens."

The university's technology transfer office is responsible for the commercialization of inventions and intellectual property developed by university faculty and staff. In addition, the office plays a significant role in the university's economic development efforts with the state of Nebraska.

"This is a great opportunity to be part of a dynamic team," Frayser said. "I look forward to working closely with faculty and administration to strategically advance technology transfer at UNL."

Frayser succeeds Don Helmuth, associate vice chancellor for research and director of technology transfer, who is leaving the university to pursue other opportunities.

EHS Wins Honor for Online Safety Project

UNL's Environmental Health and Safety division was named one of four winners of the Process Improvement/Resource Enhancement Award in the Commendable Practices in 2001 competition from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

The program, "Using the Internet to efficiently deliver safety and compliance training to the campus community," is part of the association's higher education awards program. The honor was conferred at NACUBO's annual meeting July 30.

The award recognizes institutions that have re-engineered or redesigned a program, service delivery or administrative activity and or reduced costs, increased revenues or improved productivity or customer service in response to a campus need. Evaluative criteria include problem analysis and design methods, outcomes, benchmarking, customer satisfaction and service quality performance measures.

The EHS program was initiated in 1998. The problem posed was how to deliver safety training to the entire campus community. A Web-based program was developed in which many modules allow all employers to complete basic safety training online. Since implementation, more than 2,800 employees have taken the training through six Web-based modules. Several other universities have asked permission to implement the program.

Panhandle 4-H Volunteer Earns NAYI Honor

Ivan Rush, a Panhandle livestock specialist and longtime 4-H volunteer, received the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute's Award of Merit. Rush is best known for his support of the 4-H program through the many youth activities he leads.

Rush was nominated for this award based on his commitment to youth and dedication to the betterment of the agriculture industry. Rush volunteers his time as a livestock nutritionist, serves as

4-H council president for Scotts Bluff county, and has served on every 4-H program, committee and board in the Panhandle.

NAYI is an annual conference to help high school juniors and seniors learn more about agricultural issues, develop leadership skills and cultivate their interest in making agriculture a part of their future.

Rowson Receives NSPRA President's Award

Joseph Rowson, assistant vice president and director of communications for the University of Nebraska, was awarded the National School Public Relations Association's President's Award, the highest award of the association. This yearly award is given to honor an association member for outstanding contributions to the field of educational public relations.