Stephan To Direct Marketing For NU

Sharon Stephan, who has held a number of senior marketing and public relations positions in Lincoln since 1974, has been named director of marketing for the University of Nebraska.

This position is new and supported by private funds.

Stephan has been vice president and senior account manager for Colle+McVoy, Inc., a Minneapolis-based marketing firm, since 1996. She directs the company's Lincoln operations and is senior manager for its Pfizer Animal Health account. She previously owned her own firm, Stephan Public Relations (1990-96), and was manager of public relations for Norden Laboratories/SmithKline Beecham (1988-1990).

"Sharon is a perfect fit for the responsibilities of this position," said Kim Robak, the university's vice president for external affairs.

Stephan earned her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with a major in history. She will begin her new assignment Oct. 15.

AgRelations Council Honors Allen Blezek

Allen Blezek, a longtime faculty member, received the Nebraska AgRelations Council's 21st Exemplary Service to Agriculture Award.

The award, which is the council's highest honor, was presented at a dinner Sept. 12 in Grand Island.

Blezek, an Iowa native, has held many positions in NU's Institute of Agriculture in Natural Resources. He has been a professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication since 1987, served as the department's head from 1992-1995, served as director of the Center for Leadership Development from 1989-1995 and was president of the Faculty Senate in 1986 and 1987.

He also is president of the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, Inc., and the executive director of the Nebraska Leadership Education/Action Development program.

Blezek's honors and awards include: the first Allen Blezek Friend of LEAD Award, the Nebraska Vocational Agriculture Association's Distinguished Service Award to Agricultural Education, Nebraska FFA Association's Eagle Award and the Ak-Sar-Ben Agricultural Achievement Award.

The Nebraska AgRelations Council is a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan volunteer organization dedicated to increasing awareness of and appreciation for agriculture and its contributions to Nebraskans' social and economic well-being.

Doughty Named Walton Fellow

Dixie Doughty has been named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow for the Students in Free Enterprise team at UNL.

Coordinator of the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship and director of business seminars in the College of Business Administration, Doughty was honored for her work directing the Nebraska SIFE team, which was a regional champion at the 2001 SIFE Regional Exposition and Career Opportunity Fair at Rosemont, Ill., in May. Teams were judged on the effectiveness of their projects during a 24-minute presentation and were evaluated on creativity and innovation, results of education programs, success in utilizing resources and documentation of activities.

Recent Graduate Wins Rotary Scholarship

Cecily Rometo of Lincoln has won a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for the 2001-02 academic year.

A May graduate, Rometo will use the one-year scholarship (worth up to $25,000) to study European politics at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium and learn about the hundreds of international organizations centered in Brussels, especially NATO and the European Union.

IANR Grad Students Win Fellowships

Sixteen IANR graduate students have earned 2001-2002 graduate fellowships and scholarships from three major donors. Thirteen students will receive Widaman Trust Distinguished Graduate Assistant awards, two earned Shear-Miles Agricultural Scholarship and Fellowship awards and one received the Hardin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.

All recipients will be honored at an award luncheon Sept. 21.

The Widaman Trust award, provided by Blanche Widaman, supports students conducting basic research in agriculture and medicine. Each student receives $2,000.

Widaman recipients are, by department:

Agricultural Economics: Bingxin Yu, doctoral, ag econ.

Agronomy and Horticulture: Hikmet Budak, doctoral, plant breeding and genetics; Neil Heckman, doctoral, horticulture/forestry.

Animal Science: Steven Kitt, doctoral, nonruminant nutrition; Janice Rumph, doctoral, animal breeding and genetics.; Stephanie Wesolowski, masters, animal science/animal breeding and genetics.

Biochemistry: Emily Ross, doctoral, biochemistry.

Entomology: Federico Ocampo, doctoral, entomology; Peter Clark, master's, entomology.

Food Science and Technology: Yong Jun Goh, master's, food science and technology.

Nutritional Science and Dietetics: Gary "Lee" Frantz, doctoral, human resources and family science.

Plant Pathology: Peter Mullin, doctoral, plant pathology.

Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Muralidhar Deshpande, doctoral, veterinary science.

The Shear-Miles award was established with a gift from the Dorothy S. Miles estate to memorialize her father, Cornelius Lott Shear, and father-in-law, George Miles. Each recipient receives $2,000.

This year's recipients are Kimberly Pavelka (master's, agronomy) and Nouri Maman (doctoral, agronomy). Both are in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture.

Kevin Delany, who is completing a doctorate in entomology, received a Hardin Fellowship, which provides $2,000 for a student conducting research in agriculture. It was made possible through an endowment to the NU Foundation by former Chancellor Clifford M. Hardin.