Holland, Benes Receive Kudos Honors

Mildred Holland, secretarial specialist in the IANR Vice Chancellor's Office, and Dorothy Benes, accounting clerk III in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, received university Kudos awards for the month of February. The awards were presented at the Feb. 24 Board of Regents meeting.

Dorothy Benes (shown at right) has been a part of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance for 24 years. She is responsible for all of the financial transactions made by the department, including the payroll for both the academic year staff and the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. She is in constant contact with such theater unions as the Actors' Equity Association, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the United Scenic Artists' Association. Her work includes sending weekly box office reports to the theatrical production rights' holding companies to determine royalty payments. She also contacts a wide variety of vendors throughout the city, state, and country, as both the academic season and professional company require purchasing of materials that are often unusual in nature. In addition, Benes is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the box office for both the academic year and the Nebraska Rep.

"Dorothy is enormously skilled at budgeting and understands the channels through which each transaction must travel," her nominator said. "We quite literally could not function without her. Productions would not be possible, travel authorizations would not be handled, the box office would not function smoothly, the equipment would not be maintained, the supplies would not be stocked, the audio visual materials would not be organized. Dorothy is an indespensible part of our department."

Mildred Holland (shown at right) joined UNL in 1987. In addition to serving as the initial contact for visitors and telephone calls coming into the IANR vice chancellor's Office, she is secretary to the IANR assistant vice chancellor for finance and personnel, and backup secretary for the vice chancellor. Her duties include fielding many inquires about agriculture, agribusiness, and natural resources, working with various IANR committees and organizations, handling IANR budget request documents and forms, and maintaining accounting ledgers for the IANR vice chancellor's operating budget.

One of her supervisors stated: "Mildred tends to thrive on the chaos that surrounds this busy administrative office and gives the impression she really enjoys the challenges of the unpredictable pressure." Her nominator said, "Mildred is a joy to have in the office. In addition to her positive and upbeat attitude, she has a wonderful sense of humor and gives vitality to the whole office. While her technical skills, abilities, and work output are extraordinary, it is her pleasant personality and customer-focused behavior that sets her apart from most employees. Mildred is a model employee who creates a favorable image for the university."

Rossiter, Dearborn receive plaques from Chancellor James Moeser. (photos by Tom Slocum)

Dearborn, Rossiter Honored for Outstanding Service

The University Association for Administrative Development recently honored two UNL employees for outstanding service with the Carl A. Donaldson Award and the Floyd S. Oldt Award. Delwyn Dearborn, state 4-H program director, was the recipient of the

Donaldson award, and Linda Rossiter, administrative assistant in the Department of English, received the Oldt award.

Dearborn has had a 40-year-long career at two land-grant universities. He is the state 4-H program leader for cooperative extension and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and also directs the Nebraska 4-H Development Foundation.

Dearborn has worked at the Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte and the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory near Whitman. He has served as an extension livestock specialist and also worked at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. He also has served as head of the Department of Animal Sciences and dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from South Dakota State and his Ph.D. from UNL.

The Donaldson award has been given annually since 1972 to an employee who exemplifies the qualities held by the late Carl Donaldson, a 43-year employee of the University of Nebraska.

The award recognizes excellent managers in non-faculty positions. These people display outstanding communications skills, promote teamwork, encourage positive work atmosphere, delegation skills, superior planning and organizational skills, commitment to self-development and supportive of subordinates' professional growth. The winner receives a plaque and $1,000.

This year's nominees were Keith Bartels, manager, IANR Communications & Information Technologies; Cheryl Card, food service manager at Cather-Pound-Neihardt; Michael Carlson, analytical chemist, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences; Karen Christiansen, administrative technician, Central Research and Development Center in North Platte; Don Gill, director of development for University Television; Richard McDermott, director of facilities management; Joseph Rowson, director of public affairs, NU President's Office; Kenda Scheele, associate director for structured activities in Campus Recreation; Janet Sievert, administrative assistant, UNL School of Music; Gary Thalken, manager of utilities at Facilities Management.

The Oldt Award winner, Linda Rossiter, has been a UNL employee for 28 years. She began working for UNL in 1968 because she wanted to take advantage of UNL's tuition remission program. By taking classes every semester and summer for 12 years, she earned her degree in 1982.

Her nominators cited her professionalism, the outstanding quality of her work and her dedication to keeping abreast of rapidly changing technologies and software programs, including managing departmental databases for accounting, budgeting, student evaluations, graduate student files, inventory, faculty vitas and faculty recruitment records, among others.

She has served on a number of committees, including the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women and the selection committees for the Chancellor's Award for Exemplary Service to Students, the Silver Pen Award and the Kudos committee for the College of Arts and Sciences. She also has received a University Kudos award. She is the UAAD representative to the UNL Human Rights Committee.

The Oldt award was established in 1992 by a 1922 alumnus of the university. It honors an employee in a managerial-professional position who has displayed exceptional service and dedication to UNL, creativity and innovation, and a high level of involvement in UAAD, university committees and community service. The recipient receives a recognition plaque and $1,000.

Nominees for the Oldt award were Keith Bartels, manager of IANR Communications & Information Technologies; Marlene Beyke, director of development for ASUN; D'Vee Buss, director of undergraduate programs for the College of Business Administration; Vicki Highstreet, assistant director for fitness and instructional programming at Campus Recreation; Mark Loveland, residence director for Schramm Hall; and Karen Stork, administrative assistant for the Division of Conservation and Survey.

Smith to Receive Groundwater Achievement Award

Frank Smith will receive the Maurice Kremer Groundwater Achievement Award during the Annual Nebraska Water Conference March 11 to 13 in Omaha.

Smith will receive the award at a 6:30 p.m. banquet March 12 at Omaha's Red Lion Inn. The award is given annually by the Groundwater Foundation of Lincoln to individuals who have created a beneficial legacy of groundwater-related service in Nebraska.

Smith, a hydrologist, is an associate professor emeritus in the UNL Conservation and Survey Division. He joined the division in 1956 and retired in 1994.

Nebraska ETV's 'Reading Rainbow' Strikes Gold

Reading Rainbow has earned two gold plaques in the Children's Show category of the 31st Chicago International Film Festival. The awards were presented for two episodes, "Ruth Law Thrills a Nation" and "The Lotus Seed."

Reading Rainbow, a nationally syndicated children's reading series produced jointly by GPN/Nebraska ETV Network and WNED-TV in Buffalo, New York, adapts children's books to television. Actor LeVar Burton hosts this award-winning series.

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