Nov. 7, 2002

Cowdin, van Rossum receive Kudos

Linda Cowdin and Charles van Rossum received the University Kudos Award at the Oct. 11 meeting of the NU Regents.

Cowdin (shown at left) is with property management, Facilities Management and Planning, and has been at the university since 1988. She was part of a successful effort before the Lancaster County Board of Equalization to exempt UNL properties from taxation by demonstrating to the county assessor and county attorney that the properties qualified for exemption.

"The county assessor's office was very complimentary of the work that Linda did in organizing and providing information to them for review," her nominator said.

Van Rossum (shown at right) is assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. In addition to his regular job responsibilities in Student Affairs, van Rossum teaches a University Foundations class and an Introduction to Agriculture class. During spring break, van Rossum dedicates himself to motivating and developing student leaders through the UNL Leadershape program.

"Chuck understands and can articulate the value of academic affairs and student affairs collaborating for a common goal. His efforts have touched many students and have made them feel welcomed, comfortable and appreciated at the university. Faculty and staff value his involvement related to supporting the academic mission of the campus community. He is definitely a treasure to the Student Affairs administration, and to the university as a whole," his nominator said.

Grant awarded for production of Cather biography

The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced a $500,000 award to Nebraskans for Public Television, Inc., to support the production of a national television biography of Nebraska writer Willa Cather. NPTV is the non-profit citizen support organization that raises funding for production and program acquisition for the Nebraska ETV Network.

Nebraska ETV/UNL Television will produce the documentary, "Willa Cather: Beyond the Frontier," as a co-production with WNET/Thirteen in New York for broadcast as part of WNET's series "American Masters," which is broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service. Senior NETV staff producers Joel Geyer and Christine Lesiak developed the proposal and script and will co-produce the biography. Earlier grants from the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation and the University of Nebraska Foundation supported the development of the project.

The NEH review panel lauded the project's interdisciplinary approach to the complex story of a well-known American writer.

IANR announces fellowship, scholarship recipients

Twenty UNL graduate students in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources have earned 2002-2003 graduate fellowships and scholarships from three major donors.

Fifteen students received Widaman Trust Distinguished Graduate Assistant awards, one earned the Hardin Fellowship, and four received the Shear-Miles Agricultural Scholarship and Fellowship.

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

Widaman recipients are: Fufa Hundera Birru, Muharrem Dilbirligi, Deepak Sidhu, Federico Vartorelli, Hushton Block, Mohammad Jalal, Wanda Kreikemeier, R. Allen McDonald, Monica Vlasie, Yih-Chern Horng, Sandun Fernando, Girish Ganjyal, Marcos Sanchez, Changbin Chen and Andres Vina.

Tulio Macedo is the recipient of the Hardin Fellowship. It provides $2,000 for a student conducting research in agriculture and plant physiology. It was made possible by an endowment by former Chancellor Clifford M. Hardin.

The Shear-Miles award was established with a gift from the Dorothy S. Miles estate and provides scholarships and fellowships to benefit UNL's Agricultural Research Division and the College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources. Each recipient receives $2,000.

This year's Shear-Miles award recipients are Ryan Brady, Jenna Achenbach, Holly Daniels and Kevin Delaney.

Grant to fund Hispanic Career Ladder Project

The minority population in northeast Nebraska has increased by more than 1,000 percent in the last 10 years, but there are few bilingual teachers in local school systems to help the children of the mostly Spanish-speaking immigrants.

But under the Northeast Nebraska Para-Educator Career Ladder Project, four higher-education institutions will work with several area schools to implement a five-year, $1.97 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of bilingual teachers and English as a Second Language-endorsed teachers in the target schools.

Bill Lopez is the grant's primary investigator and an instructor in the Center for Curriculum and Instruction at Teachers College, the lead institution for the grant. Vicky Jones of Norfolk, UNL extended education coordinator for the Northeast District, is the project director.

Teachers College will work with Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Central Community College-Columbus and Wayne State College to help up to 30 bilingual para-educators earn bachelor's degrees education from UNL and supplemental ESL endorsements.

The para-educators are working in seven participating school districts: Columbus, Columbus Lakeview, Madison, Norfolk, Schuyler, South Sioux City and Wakefield. They are also working in Educational Service Unit No. 8.

Funds from the grant will be used for tuition, books, fees, computers and support for participants and mentors, as well as for course development by the colleges.

Lopez said the Northeast Nebraska Para-Educator Career Ladder Project will be patterned on UNL's earlier Career Ladder Project with the Omaha Nation Public School and Nebraska Indian Community College that began in 1999 and graduated its first teachers this year.

"This is the fourth major grant we've received in the last five years for Nebraska ESL. We're starting to make a name for ourselves in terms of developing English competencies in working with English language-learning kids."

Foundation set record for allocations

The University of Nebraska Foundation provided a record $69.6 million to benefit NU's four campuses during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Almost $12.7 million was allocated for scholarships, graduate assistantships and fellowships; $25.8 million was provided for academic programs and faculty assistance.

The foundation provided $3.8 million for research and $25.3 million for campus and building improvements. The university's museums, library system and fine arts received $1.5 million.

Gifts, bequests and life insurance proceeds totaled $85.5 million and is the third-highest annual amount ever raised.

Agronomy groups feature many Nebraska ties

When it comes to the leadership of several national agronomy organizations, it's safe to say the Nebraska is well-represented.

Scientists with UNL ties seem to have the presidency of the American Society of Agronomy sewn up. Current ASA president is Charles Stuber, a Ravenna, Neb., native who received a bachelor's degree in agronomy here and recently retired as a USDA-Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist at North Carolina State. ASA president-elect is Bob Hoeft, a University of Illinois agronomist and David City, Neb., native who also earned his bachelor's degree in agronomy from Nebraska. The ASA incoming president-elect is Lowell Moser, Sunkist Fiesta Bowl professor of agronomy. And ASA past president is Darrell Nelson, dean of the Agricultural Research Division and a professor of agronomy.

The Soil Science Society of America is headed by John Doran, a USDA-Agricultural Research Service soil scientist and adjunct professor of agronomy and horticulture at UNL.

Stephen Baenziger, UNL professor of plant breeding, is the president-elect of the Crop Science Society of America.

The current presidents-elect are expected to assume their presidential duties during the three societies joint meetings Nov. 10-14 in Indianapolis.

McCoy dies at 61

Patrick McCoy, Leonard A. Lovell Professor of Civil Engineering, died Oct. 28 in Lincoln. He was 61 years old.

McCoy came to UNL in 1976 and had held a number of positions. He served as vice chairman for the Department of Civil Engineering in 1993 and had been director of Mid-America Transportation Center since 1995. He was appointed the Leonard A. Lovell Professor of Civil Engineering in 1998.

"He was one of the good guys," said John Ballard, associate dean for the College of Engineering and Technology. "He didn't think about what was best for him. Everything he did was for the students and the people he worked with."

McCoy earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Iowa State University in 1963 and 1964 and his doctorate from Texas A&M University in 1971. Before coming to UNL, McCoy was an assistant professor of civil engineering at Texas A&M.

McCoy published more than 40 journal articles, two books and more than 60 research reports. He was an active member of ºseveral professional organizations including the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Transportation Research Board, American Traffic Safety Services Association, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and Chi Epsilon. He also served on several national professional committees for National Cooperative Highway Research Program, TRB, ITE.

He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; two sons, Michael and Tim; a daughter, Kathy; and six grandchildren.