Lincoln (Neb.) - Oct. 31, 2001 - Seven distinguished University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni will return to campus Nov. 7-9 for Masters Week, an annual event that honors successful Nebraska graduates and connects them with students.
They are beef marketer Shawn D. Buchanan of Omaha, genomics company CEO Thomas W. Burnell of Austin, Texas, journalist Cheryl G. Butler of Washington, D.C., aeronautics designer Jeannine Falter of Lincoln, English teacher Mellanee Kvasnicka of Omaha, poet Glenna Luschei of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Arbor Day Foundation founder John Rosenow of Nebraska City. The masters will fill their days visiting various student, faculty and community groups. Their schedules are listed on the Nebraska Alumni Association's Web site (http://www.unl.edu/alumni/masters.htm).
Buchanan is president and CEO of All American Meats Inc. in Omaha, a wholesale distributor of beef products. All American Meats was created by Buchanan in 1996 with $500 in start-up capital and has grown from $1.1 million in sales its first year to more than $30 million in annual sales. Buchanan was born in Chicago and raised in Gary, Ind., and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves out of high school, but instead attended Nebraska on a baseball scholarship. After getting his bachelor's degree in 1991 in psychology, he started a six-year career with the Chicago White Sox, and learned the beef trade during the off-seasons with Nebraska Beef Inc. in Omaha.
Burnell is senior executive of GenomicFX Inc. of Austin, a livestock genomics company. He previously had an 11-year career with Contigroup Companies Inc., formerly Continental Grain Co., an international agriculture and financial services company. He held positions leading the animal nutrition division, marketing and research, research and technical services, national accounts and sales management. Burnell received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UNL in 1984 and 1985 in animal nutrition and animal science; and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 1987 in nutrition with emphasis in statistics and biochemistry.
Butler is director of recruiting and hiring for news at the Washington Post, after nearly 20 years as deputy news editor and assistant news editor at the newspaper. Butler was previously with the St. Paul Dispatch from 1972-1981 as assistant news editor, copy editor and layout editor. She started her career as a wire editor at the Lincoln Evening Journal after getting her bachelor's degree in journalism in 1968 from the University of Nebraska. Butler, originally of Omaha, has always been interested in the development of young journalists and taught at the Editing Program for Minority Journalists at the Maynard Institute for Journalism and Education, and was an adviser for Young D.C., a newspaper by Washington-area high school students.
Falter is vice president of aircraft modifications and completions marketing and design at Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, and a leadership educator. Falter was the first female production manager in a business aviation service company, joining Duncan Aviation in 1981. She worked previously at Gates Learjet Corp. as an aircraft designer. At Duncan, Falter has directed or managed aircraft completions and design. Falter, originally from Tilden, is a leadership educator, youth and peer mentor and recipient of the Home Economics Meritorious Alumni Award. She earned her bachelor's in textiles, clothing and design, (1976) master's in human development (1995) and Ph.D. (2000) from UNL's College of Human Resources and Family Sciences.
Kvasnicka is an English teacher and English Department Chair at Omaha South High School. A recipient of a Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997, she prepared her dissertation on the educational tradition in the life and works of Willa Cather. She has published and presented papers and seminars on teaching Willa Cather in the classroom and has taught Women's Studies courses. Kvasnicka is an officer of the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation and a director of the Cather Teachers' Institute as well as a speaker for the Nebraska Humanities Council. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in English in 1969 and 1976 from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Luschei is founding editor and publisher of Solo Press, and poet laureate of the city and county of San Luis Obispo. She is also founding editor and publisher of Cafe Solo magazine. Luschei's works have been published in 19 books, numerous anthologies and literary publications. She has judged and taught writing competitions and workshops and won numerous awards and fellowships for her literary work. Luschei earned bachelor's degrees in English, Spanish and philosophy (1956), and in education (1961), and her master's in English (1962), all at UNL; and a master's in Spanish from University of California at Santa Barbara (1988).
Rosenow is founder and president of the million-member National Arbor Day Foundation. Under his leadership the foundation created the Tree City USA community forestry program, the Tree Line USA recognition program for utilities, the Building with Trees program for builders and developers and the Conservation Trees and Trees for America public education projects. Rosenow is the publisher of the Tree City USA Bulletin, The National Arbor Day Foundation's Library of Trees, and the foundation's bimonthly publication, Arbor Day. The foundation manages Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, and oversaw the construction of Lied Conference Center. Rosenow, originally of Elmwood, received his bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering in 1971 at UNL.
Masters Week was founded in 1964 by then-Chancellor Clifford Hardin. The program brings successful alumni into contact with students through class visits, campus tours, and meetings with clubs and organizations. More than 200 alumni have returned to campus as masters since the program's inception.
Nebraska faculty nominate alumni each winter for the following year's
program. Masters are then selected by a committee appointed by the
chancellor. Masters Week is sponsored by the Chancellor's Office, the
Student Alumni Association, Innocents Society and the Black Masque
Chapter of Mortar Board.
For questions regarding these releases, contact:
tsimons1@unl.edu
(402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825