April 24, 2003

3 earn honors from groups

Three faculty members received honors from two UNL organizations this spring.

Louis Crompton and George Wolf were the 2003 recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community awards given by the Committee on GLBT Concerns on March 11. The awards recognize outstanding efforts to create an inclusive, respectful and safe climate for members of the GLBT community at UNL.

Crompton is professor emeritus of English who in 1970 created one of the first multidisciplinary courses in the country on homosexuality. It became a model for other universities and is still taught in the department of psychology. He also developed the Sex Roles in Literature course in the department of English, one of the first in the nation to explore gay and lesbian literature. He was adviser for a group then known as the Gay/Lesbian Student Association for 20 years and helped found the Homophobia Awareness Committee, started by faculty, staff and students to improve the climate for gay and lesbian people on campus.

Wolf is a professor of English who began teaching the Sex Roles in Literature course when Crompton retired. He also has developed and taught a course in gay and lesbian drama. He has long been an advocate for domestic partner benefits at UNL, and in 2002 was awarded the Academic Senate's James A. Lake Award for Academic Freedom.

Aalece Pugh-Lilly, assistant professor of educational psychology, is the 2003 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to the Status of Women award, given March 4 by the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women. Pugh-Lilly was recognized for her work in Try Another Way, a state program for at-risk teen girls. She is studying the program's effectiveness.

CBA to give awards at luncheon

The UNL College of Business Administration will hold its 20th annual Alumni Awards Luncheon on April 25 at the Champions Club. These individuals and businesses will be honored for their leadership and high level of commitment to their communities.

Corporate Leadership Awards will be presented to:

• B & R Stores, Lincoln. Since 1962, B & R Stores has grown to 18 stores operating in three formats, full service, large warehouse and limited assortment stores. B & R has twice been named IGA International Grocer of the Year.
• Commercial Federal Bank, Omaha. Committed to customer service and future growth, Commercial Federal Bank continues its 116-year tradition of providing diversified financial products and services to individuals and businesses.
• Kelley Bean Co. Inc., Scottsbluff. The services and growth of Kelley Bean is a direct product of a strong grower base, concerned employees and management dedicated to knowing and meeting the needs of all the customers in the food chain.

Business Leadership Awards will be presented to:

• Allen Dayton, Lincoln, chairman of Video Service of America, the largest distributor of magnetic media and equipment in the United States.
• Deryl F. Hamann, Omaha, chairman of Great Western Bank Corp. and senior counsel to Baird, Holm, McEachen, Pederson, Hamann & Strasheim, LLP. Hamann is active in many community activities, including former president of the Bethphage Foundation and of the Nebraska State Bar Foundation.
• Carrie L. Tolstedt, San Francisco, executive vice president for Wells Fargo's Regional Banking Group, which consists of 23 states, $160 billion in assets, 40,000 team members, almost 3,000 banking stores, and 10 million banking customers. In addition, she sits on Wells Fargo's management committee.

The Business Excellence Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who provide examples of vision and leadership, will be presented to James D. Pillen of Progressive Swine Technologies in Columbus. PST is a consortium of hog producers dedicated to providing a healthy environment while developing Nebraska's opportunities as a global food producer.

The Distinguished Faculty Award will be presented to Manferd O. Peterson, W.W. Marshall professor of banking and chair of the department of finance. He also has served as a consultant on financial institution regulation and corporate mergers.

Andrew C. "Skip" Hove will receive the Alumni Leadership Award. Hove is a past vice-chairman and acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Hove has been mayor of Minden, chairman of the Minden Exchange Bank and Trust, and has been active in the Nebraska Bankers Association.

The Lifetime Honorary Membership Award will be presented to Michael B. Yanney, chairman of the board of America First Cos. of Omaha. Yanney is a board member for national and international companies as well as many community boards. His primary interest is a youth mentoring program he founded in 1986 called All Our Kids Inc., which matches mentors with Omaha area students from junior high through high school.

Grady receives research award from rural educators

Marilyn Grady, professor of educational administration, has been named the first winner of the Stanley A. Brzezinski Memorial Rural Education Award by the National Rural Education Association.

The award was presented "in recognition of excellent scholarship and research in the causes of rural education in the United States." The National Rural Education Association is the oldest established national organization of its kind in the United States and traces its origins back to 1907.

NETV writer wins Guild Award

Nebraska ETV Network executive producer Christine Lesiak received national recognition on March 8 at the 55th Annual Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for television. Lesiak won the award for documentary writing for her script of Monkey Trial, which was produced by Nebraska ETV for the PBS series "American Experience."

Monkey Trial tells the story of the 1925 trial in which John Scopes was prosecuted for violating Tennessee's law against teaching evolution. Lesiak says the program corrects many misconceptions about the trial and Nebraska political icon William Jennings Bryan.

"Most of what people know about the Scopes trial is based on the movie Inherit the Wind," Lesiak said, "and most of what people know is wrong."

Lesiak has been writing and producing documentaries for Nebraska ETV and PBS for 20 years. Her programs have won dozens of major awards, including the Cine Golden Eagle, the Gabriel Award and the Gold Cindy. Over the past decade she has written, produced and directed three history programs for "American Experience." She is writing and co-producing a biography of writer Willa Cather for "American Masters."

Faculty, assistants win Holling awards

Six University of Nebraska faculty members and two teaching assistants won the sixth annual Holling Family Awards for Teaching Excellence in Agriculture and Natural Resources. The awards recognize outstanding teaching faculty within NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The awards are made possible by a $3 million gift from the Holling family to the NU Foundation to honor their parents. The 2003 awards and recipients:

Senior Faculty Excellence Awards ($5,000 stipend): Steven J. Jones, professor of animal science; Donald J. Lee, professor of agronomy; Jack L. Schinstock, professor of biological systems engineering and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; and Delmar VanDerWerff, professor of supporting studies and athletic coach at the Nebraska College for Technical Agriculture at Curtis.

Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards ($3,000 stipend): Tiffany M. Heng-Moss, assistant professor of entomology; and Jess L. Miner, associate professor of animal science.

Teaching Assistant Awards ($1,000 stipend): Kevin J. Delaney and Douglas A. Golick, instructors of entomology.

The Holling Family Awards were presented March 12.

9 alumni to be honored for achievement

Nine UNL graduates will be honored with Alumni Achievement Awards May 9 at a banquet in Lincoln.

Sponsored by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the awards banquet will honor recipients for their service to one's community, state and nation. They are:

• Barry Alvarez, Madison, Wis.;
• John Jay Douglass, Houston;
• Dorothy Hayden-Watkins, Washington, D.C.;
• Lee-Ellen Creasman Matzke, Sidney;
• Glenn Presnell, Ironton, Ohio;
• Kim Robak, Lincoln;
• Alan Seagren, Lincoln;
• Ruth Raymond Thone, Lincoln;
• Joan Krueger Wadlow, Oceanside, Ore.

Alvarez has been the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin for 12 seasons. During his tenure with the Badgers, he has become the winningest coach in school history, won a share of three Big 10 titles, and coached the four winningest teams in the modern era at Wisconsin. He received a bachelor's degree in education in 1969 and a master's degree in education in 1970, both from Nebraska. He was a standout linebacker on the Husker football squad and lettered in 1965, '66 and '67.

At age 81, Douglass still teaches law at the University of Houston, where he lectures on criminal law and election law. He graduated from NU in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences. He earned a juris doctor from the University of Michigan in 1952 and joined the Judge Advocate General's Corps. His law career in the military included assignments in the Pentagon, Japan and Germany. After 31 years in the armed forces, he became the dean of the National College of District Attorneys at the University of Houston Law Center until 1994.

Hayden-Watkins has been a consultant to CEOs, corporations and organizations on strategic diversity and equal employment opportunities since 2000. Earlier this year, she became assistant administrator for equal opportunity programs at NASA. She is the principal of Hayden-Watkins & Associates, an executive consulting firm providing technical advice and services in strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of diversity and equal opportunity programs. She received a master's in educational administration in 1974 and a doctorate in educational communications in 1978 at NU.

Matzke is a former teacher and politician in Sidney. After receiving an elementary education degree at NU in 1953, she taught school and led extracurricular activities for youth. She served as a city council member from 1975-78 and was mayor from 1978-80. Matzke was named the Citizen of the Year by the Sidney Elks Lodge in 1978 and received the alumni association's Distinguished Service Award in 1988.

At age 97, Presnell is the National Football League's oldest living player. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1928 from NU, where he was an All-America halfback. He then played for the Ironton Tanks, a semiprofessional football team, and the NFL's Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and the Detroit Lions. Presnell worked his way up the coaching ladder to become head coach of the Cornhuskers in 1942. His stint lasted only one year, as he served in World War II. In 1947, he began a coaching career at Eastern Kentucky University that ended when he became EKU's athletic director. He retired in 1971 after 24 years as director.

Robak has been the vice president of external affairs and corporation secretary for the University of Nebraska system since 1999. In her post, she works with university officials to develop programs, policies and procedures and oversees public relations for the four university campuses. Robak was Nebraska's lieutenant governor from 1993-98. She received a bachelor's degree in speech communications in 1977 and a juris doctor in 1985 at Nebraska.

Seagren is a professor of educational administration at Nebraska, where he has been on the faculty since 1997. Seagren received a bachelor's degree in math and sciences in 1953, a master's degree in educational administration in 1958, and a doctorate in educational administration in 1962. His teaching career includes assignments in Australia, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Kansas and Nebraska. Seagren won a Distinguished Teaching Award from NU.

Thone has had long and successful writing career. In addition to countless newspaper and magazine articles, the 1953 journalism graduate has written Women and Aging, Celebrating Ourselves, FAT: A Fate Worse Than Death and Being Home, a collection of essays. In 1999, the Lincoln chapter of the National Organization for Women recognized her as Feminist of the Year.

Wadlow retired as the chancellor of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. She began her professional career at NU, where she directed the International Studies Center, founded the Women's Studies Center, taught political science and was an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She left NU for the University of Wyoming and rose through the academic ranks as a professor, dean and vice president of the university. She earned a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences in 1953 and a Ph.D. in psychology in 1963 at NU.

Alumni to receive awards for distinguished service

The Nebraska Alumni Association will recognize three Distinguished Service Award winners May 10 during spring commencement exercises as part of a universitywide celebration to salute alumni achievement.

Distinguished Service Awards honor individuals with exemplary records of service to the Nebraska Alumni Association or one of its college alumni associations and the university.

This year's recipients are:

• Dan Bahensky of Kearney;
• Darren Shrader Seidler of Springfield, Va.;
• Sue Carkoski Tempero of Indianapolis.

Bahensky has been a partner in the Kearney law firm of Parker, Bahensky and Beucke since 1980, practicing real estate and taxation laws and estate planning. He received a business degree in 1974 and a law degree in 1977 at Nebraska. Bahensky is on the Kearney Library board of directors, the NU Foundation board of trustees and the Central Nebraska Goodwill Industry Foundation board. He served on the Alumni Association board of directors from 1988 to 2000, and two years as the board's president.

Seidler, a computer specialist for the U.S. Customs Service, has been instrumental in the reorganization of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Nebraska Alumni Association. Since 1997, she has spearheaded the chapter's scholarship, merchandising, fund raising and member recruitment efforts. She frequently represents the university at Washington, D.C., events. Seidler graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from NU in 1984.

Tempero, a 1961 Teachers College graduate, has been active in the Alumni Association for several years. Since 1999, she has been a dedicated volunteer for the Cather Circle. She has worked on the organization's programming, membership and diversity efforts. Tempero is a human resources professional.

Ingraham receives prize for creativity

UNL Assistant Professor of Art Elizabeth Ingraham is the first recipient of the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize for Creativity for her "skins" sculptures. This $40,000 biennial prize is open to all fields of creativity, including the arts, cultural affairs, education and science and is presented by the University of Oklahoma's College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with Jeanne Hoffman Smith.

Ingraham's "skins" are a series of life-size, fully dimensional female sculptures that embody mental and emotional states. They are made of fabrics such as velvet and neoprene rubber and are designed to be handled.

Ingraham has a bachelor of art in art history from the University of Colorado, a JD degree from the University of Denver, and an MFA in sculpture from the University of California, Santa Barbara.