2009 ANNUAL REVIEW

2009 ANNUAL REVIEW
HOSPITALITY
STRENGTH & CHARACTER
& SPACE
LIGHT
REMEMBER
RESPECT & PROTECT
BEAUTY
& SUSTAIN
SUPPORT
& CELEBRATE
STATE OF THE ART
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2
Realizing a Dream
W
hen you receive this review, we will be less than
100 days from the start of
our historic move to Mammel Hall. The
level of excitement is increasing as we
anticipate the wonderful opportunities
awaiting us.
While students, faculty and staff will
be the primary occupants of this first-rate
state-of-the-art structure, Mammel Hall
really belongs to all of you. Alumni, our
community, and local and regional organizations have supported us for more
than 100 years. You have made this success possible. Please visit! We will dedicate
Mammel Hall on October 15, 2010, and
you are invited to attend. Our students
will provide tours that day before the formal ceremony.
While the construction of Mammel Hall
has dominated much of the news from us,
2009 was a very successful year marked
by student, program, alumni, faculty and
staff success.
This review is filled with stories about
successes that will serve as a springboard
to future achievements. Our students con-
tinue to perform at high levels on national
standardized examinations—the 90th percentile for our undergraduate students,
the 95th percentile for our graduate students. Our faculty excel in the classroom
and contribute to their professions and to
society with excellent research. Our staff
serves our college as well as our state with
respect to economic growth (NBDC programs help bring millions of dollars to the
economy of Nebraska).
Thank you for your unwavering support and the confidence that you have in
our work. It is a pleasure for all of us to
be a part of our community, and to have
the opportunity to help educate our future
leaders.
All the best,
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 3
STRENGTH & CHARACTER
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
4
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
4
Mammel Hall takes shape
F
or many years, administrators,
faculty and staff of the College of Business Administration
have shared a dream. In their mind’s eye,
they saw a state-of-the-art building that
would unite them with students, visitors, new partners and resources in a
place designed to nurture collaboration,
knowledge, research and discovery.
Now, that dream is taking shape in ways
even they never imagined.
As the days and weeks pass, the dream
nears reality on the site of the former thoroughbred race track Ak-Sar-Ben. Just about
everyone connected with the College has
felt the excitement as the building known
as Mammel Hall rounds the final turn for
the finish line.
Whether watching the building rise via
the CBA’s “construction Webcam” on the
Internet (cba.unomaha.edu/mammel_
hall/cc.cfm), or driving past the Pacific
Street campus site near Aksarben Village, the Scott Conference Center and
the Peter Kiewit Institute, the results are
breathtaking.
“The exterior of the building is so impressive,” says Dean Louis Pol. “The curves
in the structure and the blend of brick and
metal meeting glass are magnificent. There
isn’t a time of day that I’m not excited to
see it.”
Dean Pol promises that the interior of
the three-story, 120,000-square-foot building will be equally impressive. “Anyone
who walks inside will have an instant ‘holymoly!’ reaction.”
The interior will have an incredible array
of features, including:
»»A three-story grand atrium with interactive, touch-screen historical and
informational video displays.
»»Bridges and skywalks linking areas of the
building.
»»Glass-walled classrooms and meeting
rooms outfitted with computer hookups,
LCD monitors and other technology to enhance learning and bridge distances.
»»Breakout rooms for student collaboration.
»»A two-story, 196-seat auditorium.
»»Laboratories for investment science, innovation and entrepreneurship, executive
decision making and technology.
»»A new home for the Nebraska Business
Development Center.
»»Artwork including huge ceramic pieces
by Jun Kaneko and paintings by UNO fine
arts students.
»»Lounge areas where students will study
and relax.
»»A café serving food supplied by Omaha’s
own Wohlner’s Grocery, situated a few
steps away in Aksarben Village.
The list goes on and on.
Outdoors, there will be patios and deck
space for studying and meeting, ample
parking, and landscaping fed by an amazing “rain garden” design that will enhance
the environment by reducing the amount
of storm runoff and incorporating native,
drought-tolerant plants and flowers.
Indeed, the building will serve as a
model for environmentally-conscious design, construction and operation. Since the
first spade of dirt was turned over, a new
mindset has been employed. The result is
that an estimated 90 percent of discarded building materials have been separated
and recycled. Interior features will extend the building’s “green” life for years to
come.
Due for completion early this summer
and fully occupied in time for the fall 2010
semester, the CBA vision took a great step
“MAMMEL HALL AND ITS ACTIVITIES CREATE A FLOW OF PEOPLE AND
IDEAS, AN EXCHANGE OF PERSPECTIVES, IT MAKES OUR STUDENTS
BETTER, AND THROUGH INTERACTION IT WILL MAKE STUDENTS IN
OTHER COLLEGES BETTER.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 5
“A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIGHT AT VARIOUS TIMES OF DAY WORKS
WITH THE MATERIALS AND THE DESIGN TO GIVE THE BUILDING A
PERSONALITY. IT GIVES IT LIFE.”
forward thanks to a lead gift from Carl and
Joyce Mammel—the largest single philanthropic gift to UNO in the university’s 100
years. The overall $41.5 million project includes $7.5 million that will be directed
toward an endowment to enhance CBA
programs and benefit students and faculty.
The Mammel’s generosity along with a
major gift from the Ruth and Bill Scott family and gifts large and small from a wide
variety of alumni and College supporters,
have helped turn CBA’s new home into
something twice as impressive as it first appeared on paper.
“We looked at the great number of windows in the architect’s drawings and heard
from the architects how they would have
an impact on the interior, but now, as it
nears completion, we realize that those
drawings told only half the story,” Pol says.
“The glass on the east side of the structure brings in a tremendous amount of
light, a different kind of light at various
times of day. It works with the materials
and the design to give the building a personality. It gives it life.”
Mammel Hall will also draw life from its
surroundings. The proximity to the businesses that are blossoming in Aksarben
Village will promote interaction for entertainment as well as opportunities for
employment and internships.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
6
The CBA building is steps away from
the Peter Kiewit Institute and its two components: UNL College of Engineering and
UNO’s College of Information Science &
Technology. Across the street sits a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, handy for visiting
professors and students’ families. Around
the corner will be the new home of Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska.
Tom Whalen, vice president of human
resources and organizational development
at BCBS, says the insurance company has
long been a supporter of UNO and CBA,
with many employees taking part in university programs.
“It’s our intention to further strengthen
that relationship going forward, with specific interest in the Kiewit Institute and
the College of Business Administration,”
Whalen says. “It is our belief that we can
create and strengthen a relationship that
will prove mutually beneficial to the school,
its students and our enterprise.”
That will include students and faculty,
Whalen says.
“Once we are ‘on campus’ at Aksarben,
Blue Cross will be interested in exploring
internship opportunities for technology
and business students,” he says. “We’ll also
explore utilizing some of the outstanding
faculty to assist in the design, development
and instruction of various education and
leadership development initiatives for our
organization.”
The opportunities for collaboration will
be many, Pol says.
“Mammel Hall and the College’s programs create a flow of people and ideas, an
exchange of perspectives,” he says. “It will
help make our students better, and through
partnerships will make students in other
colleges better.”
And the benefits of Mammel Hall will extend beyond the campus, he says.
“It’s easy for me to imagine employees
leaving Blue Cross Blue Shield at the end of
their work day and walking up the street to
our building for evening seminars or night
classes, as well as our students walking a
few hundreds yards away to a concert in
Stinson Park or biking the Keystone Trail or
dining at the Village. And I see people from
all over the city coming here for the same
reasons.”
“It’s that kind of exchange with business
leaders, community leaders and all Omahans that will benefit not just our college but
the entire university,” he says. “Mammel
Hall will serve as the new southern gateway to the university, and we will act as the
welcoming committee. The results could be
quite spectacular.”
As spectacular as watching a dream
come true.
LIGHT & SPACE
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 7
HOSPITALITY & BEAUTY
Room for guests
Beauty and durability
hether it’s a place for visiting
professors to stay or a comfortable gathering space for a
cocktail reception, the Courtyard by Marriott hotel stands ready to serve the new
College of Business Administration’s Mammel Hall, says Blake Dunn, hotel general
manager.
“Being situated right across the street
from the College, we have the location and
the capability to hold breakout meetings
and receptions,” Dunn says. “And having a
Starbucks on property, we look forward to
the daily presence of students and faculty.”
The 134-room hotel, which opened Feb.
16, 2009, has a 1,300-square-foot meeting room that can be divided into two
650-square-foot rooms.
Dunn says the hotel hopes to explore the
possibility of partnering with the College,
possibly hosting job fairs or establishing internships as well as job opportunities for
students.
“We want to establish a relationship
that’s mutually beneficial for our neighbors,” he says. “We hope to become a
focal point for the College as well as the
Kiewit Institute, Scott Conference Center,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Aksarben
Village.”
he colors, textures and styles that
will enhance the interior of Mammel
Hall were chosen because they are
complementary, beautiful and durable.
Barry Ward, a professional architecture
and interior design consultant and owner
of BMW Consulting, was responsible for
the furnishings and worked with the designers and architects at Holland Basham
and Gensler on the finishes.
“It’s a very dynamic building and we
wanted every aspect to reflect that,” Ward
says. “The carpets are in neutral shades
with accents of red, while the walls are for
the most part a study in white with a travertine wainscot.”
Travertine is a light-colored, porous calcite that Ward described as a “Swiss cheese
marble” that was also used at the Sheldon
Art Gallery in Lincoln. “It’s fairly timeless;
durable yet attractive.”
The building will also feature large seating study areas sprinkled throughout, as
well as flexible, high-tech classrooms that
are “very forward-looking in design,” according to Ward.
Each day brings a new piece of the puzzle, he says. “It’s all coming together very
nicely.”
W
T
Tile work is a cut above
J
erry Rezek, head installer with Schewe Tile of Omaha, is eager for his work at Mammel Hall to be done. Not because it’s a difficult job. Because he wants everyone to
see how beautiful it is.
Rezek and two other installers are applying the travertine stone wainscot that rises
about four feet along the walls throughout the common areas in the building. The travertine is cut into pieces a foot wide and two feet long. “It’s a very pretty stone,” he says.
In addition to the wainscot, Rezek and crew have installed the tile in the public restrooms, and will install stone tiles in the three-story atrium entryways.
“This is one of the biggest jobs our shop has done,” Rezek says. “It’s really going to be
an impressive sight.”
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
8
Artwork drawn from
UNO and community
F
rom the stunning giant sculptures of
Jun Kaneko to the imaginative paintings created by UNO students, the
artwork that will accent various areas in
Mammel Hall is sure to be captivating.
Carol Rose, member of the art committee
who also serves in the Office of the Dean,
says the two works by internationally-acclaimed and Omaha-based artist Kaneko
will enhance the beauty of the grand atrium.
One piece is a colorful supersized glazed ceramic “dango” (Japanese for “dumpling”),
and the other a large bronze-colored head
with tabs.
“The committee members were a rather
diverse group, but the consensus has been
amazing,” Rose says. “When we were at the
Kaneko studio, for example, everyone just
migrated to the bronze head. Both Kaneko
works are real showpieces.”
The committee also purchased 13 works
by UNO student artists. “We went to the art
show separately and I tallied the votes on a
spreadsheet,” Rose says. “There again, by
and large we were all in agreement about
which pieces to buy.”
Barry Ward of BMW Consulting says the
committee is also working with the Nebraska
Fine Arts Council to obtain five pieces from
the metropolitan Omaha art community.
Rose says the work has been challenging
and fun. “It’s wonderful with our new building that we have so much room with which
to work,” she says. “We haven’t had that luxury at Roskens Hall.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 9
RESPECT & PROTECT
G
reen is more than a color,
it’s an environmentally conscious way of life, and few
buildings in Omaha will illustrate care
BUILDING
G R E E N
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
10
and concern for the Earth like Mammel
Hall.
“From the very first meeting with Dean
(Louis) Pol, it became clear that our goal
was to set the standard for the UNO campus regarding LEED certification,” says
Curt Witzenburg, AIA, LEED AP, and partner with Holland Basham Architects of
Omaha.
Designed to meet the standards of the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) green building rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC), certification means Mammel Hall achieves specified levels
of sustainability including energy
efficiency. LEED certification
mandates best-practice standards in materials and resource
use, indoor environmental
quality, water efficiency and
sustainability.
But it means more than
that. “It demonstrates to our
students and to the community that we don’t just talk about
being responsible—we act responsibly,” Pol says. “Our choice
to pursue LEED certification was
not something that was demanded
of us, we decided it is the right thing to
do.”
The decision makes good sense not only
for the environment but also for business,”
he says. “Paying attention to how we utilize
resources, and how one incorporates sustainability from Day One, is wise business
practice. We hope to make our building a
model and a working laboratory not only
for business students but for students from
all UNO colleges.”
According to Witzenburg, the decision
called for complete collaboration between
the University Facilities department, Kiewit
Building Group, subcontractors and designers. Once building was underway, it took
a concerted effort to separate refuse from
recyclables keeping 90 percent of discarded building materials from heading to the
landfill.
“Even the concrete from the existing
parking lot where the building was placed
was ground up and used as subsurface stabilizing material,” he says.
Other environmentally-friendly practices include “rain gardens” that funnel storm
water into the ground to sustain the landscaping, the flow of natural light into the
building wherever possible, the use of heateliminating LED lighting, the incorporation
of occupancy sensors that turn off lights in
vacant rooms—including restrooms—and
the use of low volatile organic compound
(VOC) paints and carpeting to minimize the
impact of indoor contaminants.
It has taken cooperation and determination to make Mammel Hall as
“eco-friendly” as possible. A two-step
process of design and construction submissions to the USGBC will determine if the
building qualifies for Silver certification—
the first building on the UNO campus to
achieve such status.
The extra work has been worth it, Witzenburg affirms.
“The College, Dean Pol and everyone
involved in the design and construction,
right down to the waste haulers, have been
instrumental in making this a reality,” he
says. “We’re breaking new ground here,
and what we do will have an impact on
the campus and the community for many,
many years to come.”
RAIN GARDEN
A NATURAL FLOW
For years, getting rid of storm water as
quickly as possible from a building site was
the priority. No longer.
The land and parking lot adjacent to
Mammel Hall will incorporate “rain gardens”
as part of a bio-retention system that will
collect storm water temporarily and allow it
to percolate into the soil to sustain nearby
plants and flowers.
Steven Rodie, ASLA, associate professor
and landscape horticulture specialist with
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says the
design calls for rainwater to flow into the low
gardens, fill to a certain level and flow out
through a cut in the curbing when overflow
control is needed. This allows only the rain
water to collect that will be absorbed into
the ground in 12 to 24 hours—long before
mosquitoes could use it as a breeding
ground or excess water would drown plants.
The result reduces the need for
irrigation, lessens the direct
discharge of storm runoff
from the parking lot, and
filters contaminants from any
runoff that does occur.
The rain gardens at
Mammel Hall will be
home to prairie grasses,
cone flowers and other
native plants that will
tolerate the periods of
drought common in Nebraska summers.
“The landscaping will provide interesting
seasonal contrasts in foliage textures and
colors, plant forms and flowers,” Rodie says.
“We hope to get people who walk
by in tune with the kind of plants
that would grow here if nature
had its choice. They’ll provide habitat
value as well, attracting butterflies
and birds that will feed on the
nectar and seed pods.”
Far better than allowing a
natural resource to simply go
down the drain.
ENHANCED
TECHNOLOGY
T
he state-of-the-art technology
incorporated into Mammel Hall
will greatly enhance the educa-
tion process and accommodate a wide
range of presentations.
STATE
OF THE
ART
Mammel Hall will have classrooms, conference rooms, student breakout rooms,
an auditorium, offices and several labs for
disciplines including investment science,
international studies, accounting, executive
decision-making, statistics, real estate and
entrepreneurship.
Student breakout rooms will have LCD
monitors and hook-ups for laptops, while
classrooms will have computers, digital visual presenters and projectors. Some
meeting rooms will be equipped with
dual LCD monitors and cameras for video
conferencing.
David Nielsen, director of technology and
budget for the College, says the two-story
auditorium will feature cutting-edge technologies, including “John Madden-style”
on-screen writing capability, which can be
operated from the podium or in a separate
audio-visual control booth. “It’s kind of like
our classroom setup on steroids,” he says.
Not every suggestion or desire became
reality, Nielsen, says, but the CBA Information Technology staff attempted to include
the most common requests—like ease of
operation.
“That’s why all the rooms will have the
same built-in touch pad control unit so that
no matter who wants to use it, all the functions will be right there at the podium,”
he says. “It won’t be one way in one room
and different in the next room.”
It’s a feature that especially appeals to
the building’s Information Technology
support staff. “We won’t have any more
remotes disappearing,” Nielsen says, “or
batteries dying.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 11
VIRGINIA AND MARVIN SCHMID
ROSS RIDENOURE
SAM AND TOFFEE LEFTWICH
BILL AND RUTH SCOTT
CARL AND JOYCE MAMMEL
FRANCES AND MARK GRIEB
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DAVID AND PAM GROSS
SUPPORT & SUSTAIN
KEITH KIERNAN
ROBERT BERNIER
ROBERT KREITNER AND MARGARET SOVA SCHOLARS
12
A LASTING LEGACY
M
any alumni and community leaders, corporate
executives and business-
es have fostered a connection to the
College of Business Administration. As
Mammel Hall nears completion, there
is a way to make this connection permanent through a variety of naming
opportunities and endowed funds.
Mammel Hall is part of the University
of Nebraska at Omaha, but it also belongs
to the community. Naming opportunities
are an important way of showing individual and corporate pride in what the College
and community have accomplished
together.
Beginning with the lead gift from Carl
and Joyce Mammel and a second large gift
from the Bill and Ruth Scott family, a wide
range of individuals have taken advantage
of the naming opportunities.
Virginia Schmid is the widow of prominent Omaha attorney Marvin Schmid and a
loyal supporter of and donor to the University of Nebraska. For her, a gift to name the
auditorium in honor of her late husband
and herself is a way to give back to the city
that has been her home.
“We know Carl Mammel well,” Mrs.
Schmid says. “I can’t do great things like
Carl, but when I looked at the auditorium, I thought about the long term benefit
it offered so many people. For me, it just
seemed to hit the spot.”
Keith Kiernan graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the College in 1967.
Throughout his 33-year-career with War-
ner-Lambert, and since his retirement in
2000, Kiernan has supported the College
in many ways, including the establishment
of the Keith V. Kiernan Student Scholarship
Fund.
It is fitting, as he was employed in UNO’s
first computer center in 1965, where he
supported Professor Jack Hill’s senior strategic management class and its computer
simulation models of competitive business
situations.
“(The gift) really represents how crucial
my education there was to my life and my
career,” says Kiernan, who lives in Delaware, “and it’s an honor to perpetuate good
things for the students coming down the
highway.”
Others who have given or pledged gifts
for specific areas include Sam and Toffee Leftwich (first-floor classroom), David
and Pam Gross (first-floor student area),
Ross Ridenoure (landscaping), Bob Bernier
(Nebraska Business Development Center
reception area), Margaret Sova and Robert
Kreitner (student lounge), Mark and Frances Grieb (second-floor classroom), and the
Baright Foundation (real estate laboratory).
Ridenoure is a 2002 graduate of the
CBA Executive MBA (EMBA) program. After serving as chief nuclear officer for the
Omaha Public Power District, Ridenoure
joined Southern California Edison as senior
vice president & chief nuclear officer for
the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Ridenoure says he is a fan of natural landscaping and found particular interest in the
plans for the areas surrounding Mammel
Hall, including the incorporation of native
plants and “rain garden” features to reduce
the need for irrigation.
“It’s been my personal experience that
new buildings have a way of attracting students who have a desire to be part of a
cutting-edge program in a cutting-edge facility,” he says. “Mammel Hall is sure to be
a world-class facility centered on academic
excellence.”
Margaret Sova and Robert Kreitner are
UNO graduates who live in Arizona. Sova
earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in special education, while Kreitner received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
business. After earning a Ph.D. in business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Kreitner taught at Arizona State University, retiring in 2001. Sova is a retired Intel
Corp. manager. Both have been longtime
supporters of UNO and the College, and
have established the Robert Kreitner and
Margaret A. Sova Scholarship.
“Our gift for a student study area is our
way of embracing the students we have
supported through the scholarship program,” Sova says. “We call the CBA part
of our family. When we come back to
Omaha, we never miss the opportunity to
visit someone at the university, and we’re
always welcomed. It is like an extended
family.”
FOR INFORMATION
about naming and other funding
opportunities, contact—
Sue Kutschkau
Development Director for
College of Business Administration
University of Nebraska Foundation
Call (402) 502-4109
or email
[email protected]
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 13
REMEMBER
ANTICIPATING THE
MOMENTOUS CHANGES
COMING TO CBA IN 2010,
ALUMNI WERE INSPIRED
TO REMINISCE ABOUT
COLLEGE LIFE IN THE
FIFTIES—BEFORE WE
WERE MAVS!
B
ack when Bob Stedman began taking business classes
at Omaha University in 1947,
there was one building that sat along
Dodge Street, the building known today
as Arts and Sciences Hall.
* Maverick replaced Indian as
mascot in 1971.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
14
“It was everything,” remembers Stedman, who received his bachelor’s degree
in 1951. “The administration offices, classrooms, auditorium and cafeteria. It was
home to about 1,500 students in the day
and night programs.”
Betty Beard went to and from classes on
a streetcar. “It was better than walking,”
she says, smiling.
Behind the main building stood a Quonset hut, says Ray Barr. “We played cards
and ate lunch there,” he says. When he
graduated in 1951, “they were just starting
to build the field house.”
Herb Sklenar looks back and compares
the “campus” then to UNO today. “It’s a
world of difference,” he says.
Graduates of the business program and
later the College of Business Administration
seem to share several qualities with the
University they recall so fondly: determina-
tion, the power to endure—and the ability
to succeed.
John Estabrook earned his bachelor’s degree in 1951 and spent the next 41 years
in leadership roles with Methodist Hospital, establishing the Nebraska Methodist
Health System in 1981 and serving as its
president.
Estabrook says his concentration in business while at Omaha University “proved a
real benefit to me. I could read a financial
statement and analyze statistics, things I
needed to know to further my career.”
Sklenar, who attended Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha alongside Warren
Buffett, received a BSBA with honors from
Omaha U. and went on to earn his MBA
from Harvard. His career eventually took
him to Vulcan Materials Co., where he
served as president, CEO and chairman.
The company later named one of its huge
cargo ships in his honor, the H.A. Sklenar.
He says the tremendous growth of the
UNO campus, along with the promise of
opportunities that accompany the CBA’s
new Mammel Hall, are a testament to the
university and the community.
“I think this project is another example of what I call ‘thoughtful philanthropy,’
in this case on the part of Carl and Joyce
Mammel,” Sklenar says. “This will enhance
the College and its prominence in the region, as well as serve as confirmation of its
success.”
Stedman, who retired as an auditor and
insurance fraud investigator, has often
made the nearly 1,700 mile drive from Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., to Omaha to visit UNO
and plans to do it again for the dedication
of Mammel Hall this October. “The College
is going to be tremendously upgraded by
the new building,” he says.
Betty Beard, who attended Omaha University for one year, later became the first
woman executive vice president at Mutual
of Omaha. That’s where she met her husband, Jim, a 1953 business graduate of the
University. Jim has been active in the UNO
Alumni Association.
“Mammel Hall is a beautiful building,”
Betty says. “I think it will be an inspiration
to the students.”
Barr, founder of R.D. Barr Co. real estate management and a member of the
Alumni Board of Directors, says he thinks
UNO “has the best business college in the
region. Mammel Hall is just going to make
it better.”
Indeed, through the years the College of
Business Administration has risen in reputation and national rankings. But rankings
aren’t the only measure of success, says
Associate Dean Lynn Harland.
“In the end, what matters most is the
perception employers in the region have of
the quality of our graduates,” Harland says.
“And we hear really good things about our
alumni.”
Leadership is also important. “Our graduates have taken on key roles in virtually
every organization in this community,” she
says. “No matter where you go, it’s rare
not to encounter at least one or two of our
grads.”
And then listen to them share fond
memories of studying business at Omaha
University and UNO.
& CELEBRATE
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 15
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS
Marshall Widman, (right) shares a story about his early entrepreneurial activities at Dundee Elementary School with current Dundee
Elementary School principal, Kaye Goetzinger (left) and Lynn Harland, CBA associate dean (center) at awards luncheon.
1987–1988
Lawrence Comine Jr.
Daniel L. Dienstbier
John W. Estabrook
John A. Jeter
Sam Leftwich
C. Mickey Skinner
1988–1989
Gary D. Penisten
John A. Schuchart
Fred M. Petersen
1989–1990
Dennis D. Blackman
Herbert A. Sklenar
R. Craig Hoenshell
1990–1991
Paul Alperson
Larry R. Larson
Ronald J. Burns
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
16
1991–1992
Tal K. Anderson
Frank L. Mansell
Eugene L. Step
1995–1996
Cheryl A. Straub
Richard N. Takechi
John Hancock
Louis J. Rotella, Jr.
1992–1993
Herbert L. Freeman
Terry L. Maris
Robert E. Julian
Usha Sherman
1996–1997
Sheri Hronek
Charles Platt
Fran Flairty Marshall
1993–1994
Charles J. Marr
Bernard W. Reznicek
Richard W. Ramm
Pamela Vanlandingham
1994–1995
Gerald E. Karlin
Jack Koraleski
Michele Sperle
1997–1998
Alfred G. Thomsen
H. H. “Red” Nelson
Audrey S. Kauders
1998–1999
Howard L. Hawks
Keith A. Olsen
E.A. “Penny” Westfall
1999–2000
John Bredemeyer
Richard A. Hook
Mark R. Jefferson
•
2000–2001
Robert A. Pedersen
Natan Schwalb\
EvaJon Sperling
2001–2002
Ivan Gilreath
Joseph Kirshenbaum
Rod Heng
2002–2003
Robert Bernier
John Nahas
Robert Kreitner
2003–2004
Rodrigo Lopez
Ilze Zigurs
Daniel O’Neill
2004–2005
Becki Drahota
Adrian J. Minks
Peg Harriott
Mark Theisen
2005–2006
Tim Hart
Lisa Renstrom
Richard Lee
James Young
2006–2007
Donald Deter
Clifford Hayes
David Emry
Ross Ridenoure
2007–2008
Michael Geppert
Matthew Norris
Jane Gilbert
Rolland (R.C.) Thompson
2008–2009
Susan Brennan
Robert A. Edwards
Marshall Widman
Susan Brennan
ROBERT A. EDWARDS
MARSHALL WIDMAN
Vice President, Manufacturing-Smyrna and
Dechard, Nissan North America, Inc.
President, Edwards Investments
McDonald’s Franchise Organization
Founder and Partner, BallStars
Brennan is responsible for the operation
of Nissan’s two plants in Tennessee. As senior executive on site, she is responsible
for safety, quality, operations, productivity,
environmental compliance and new model
introduction of Nissan’s key North American products.
Before joining Nissan, Brennan spent 16
years in a variety of management roles,
first at Douglas & Lomason Co. and then
at Ford Motor Co. Her last position at Ford
was director for the automaker’s global
manufacturing business office.
In 2005, Brennan was named by Automotive News as one of the “Top 100
Leading Women in the North American
Auto Industry.” She is vice president of Automotive Women’s Alliance, a resource
group formed to support women in the
automotive industry and has served on
the board of directors of the Clara B. Ford
Academy in Dearborn, Michigan.
Brennan holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University
of Nebraska at Omaha and a bachelor’s of
science degree in microbiology from the
University of Illinois. She resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, with her husband and
two children.
For 26 years, Edwards owned and operated McDonald’s restaurants in the Omaha
area. From 1975, when he and his wife
Charlene opened their first restaurant in
Bellevue, Nebraska, their franchise business eventually grew to 18 restaurants and
employed over 1,000 people.
Edwards began his career in a family
dry-cleaning business which he transitioned into the consumer packaged goods
industry and finally sold to Armour & Co.
During the development of his McDonald’s
franchises, Edwards also started up and
then sold Keno Casino at Ak-Sar-Ben.
He has served on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society, Boys
Town and Boys Town National Institute,
Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts, Nebraska Special Olympics, and the Ronald
McDonald House of Omaha. He has also
served on committees and advisory boards
for Creighton University, Midlands Community Hospital, and both the Bellevue and
Papillion Chambers of Commerce.
Edwards is a graduate of the University
of Miami and received his Executive MBA
from UNO in 1985. He and Charlene retired in 2002 to Naples, Florida and make
frequent trips back to Omaha to spend
time with their family.
Widman was born in Omaha, Nebraska
and attended Harrison Elementary School,
Dundee School, Central High School and
the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He
joined the Air Force in 1968 and ended
up in Kansas City where he met his wife
Sherry.
Since the seventh grade, Widman has
been inventing products and coming up
with innovative ideas. His most successful
invention is BallStar, a technique for printing full-color images onto objects curved in
more than one direction, such as Christmas ornaments, baseballs, footballs and
other sports balls.
Widman has three U.S. patents along
with numerous international patents, copyrights and trademarks for this process. His
company, Star Innovations, dba BallStars,
sells specialized printing equipment and licenses the printing process in countries all
over the world.
Widman has an impressive collection
of baseball memorabilia that he shares
with his two sons, Andrew and Jay, and his
grandson Reece. He enjoys lecturing on
“The Process of Inventing” and being an
entrepreneur. He now invents and collects
in Leawood, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas
City.
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 17
Trust, vision
help guide
Tenaska
executive
P
aul G. Smith has never been
one to shy away from hard
work. Smith is CEO, senior
managing director and a founding
member of Tenaska Capital Management LLC, a division of Tenaska.
The recipient of an MBA from UNO’s College of Business Administration in 1984,
Smith’s thoughtful determination and
strong work ethic were evident at an early
age.
In his teens, Smith worked as a waiter,
bus boy and at other summer jobs to pay
for a portion of his education at Creighton Prep in Omaha. Later, he worked as
a waiter in Ames, Iowa, while attending
undergraduate school at Iowa State University (ISU), where he honed an interest in
engineering.
Ultimately, he traded in his order pad
for the job of research manager in the tur-
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
18
bomachinery components lab in ISU’s
Mechanical Engineering Department. “My
job was to manage wind tunnel research
projects and to accumulate data to be analyzed by graduate students to support their
theses.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1981 and went to
work for InterNorth, Inc., where he had
previously interned in the Liquid Fuels
Group.
At InterNorth, he rose through the ranks
to become directly responsible for all natural gas production and related business for
Northern Natural Gas. At age 28, Smith
was managing a large staff in Omaha and
Houston.
“I was very young for that kind of job,”
he says.
After taking over Houston Natural Gas
and becoming HNG/InterNorth, in 1985
the company was renamed Enron Corp.
Smith stayed with Enron until 1989 when
his focus turned to another opportunity.
“Howard Hawks (MBA 1971) approached
nal two years, I had direct exposure to the
me and invited me to join the company he
most senior executives in the company.”
had recently founded, Tenaska,” Smith reStill, he sensed indecision on the part
calls. “At the time, Tenaska had about 10
of Enron leaders regarding the capital inpeople, most of whom I knew pretty well.”
tensive pipeline business for which he was
Smith’s first job was to arrange natural
responsible. Enron executives, he says,
gas supplies to fuel Tenaska’s plants. He
were more focused on building their tradwent on to negotiate power deals, form
ing business.
marketing companies, develop business inThat was not the case with Hawks and
ternationally and expand equity for growth.
Tenaska.
Launched in 2003, Tenaska Capital Man“I think the decision to go with Tenaska
agement pools money from institutional
was based in large part on the compelinvestors into private equity funds. These
ling vision of what could be done with a
funds are then invested in energy-related
group of people I trusted,” he says. “I was
opportunities. To date, two funds with toconfident at the time that these were the
tal equity of $3.3 billion have been used to
brightest people I knew.”
acquire 15 power plants and seven other
His wife was supportive—but realistic.
businesses which employ more than 5,000
“She said we were young enough,” Smith
people across the U.S.
says, smiling, “that we could afford to
In addition to his duties as CEO of Tenasmake a mistake.”
ka Capital Management, Smith serves as
It has indeed proved a good decision, as
a member of the Tenaska Board of Stakewas the choice of UNO for his MBA.
holders, Tenaska’s five-person Executive
“My MBA was an individually tailored
Committee, and as a member of various
program focused on economics, in parmanagement committicular the economics
tees associated with
of the energy industry,”
“RECOGNIZING
Tenaska business units.
he says. “It gave me the
THE OPPORTUNITY,
He and his wife, Anbreadth of knowledge to
UNDERSTANDING ITS
nette, have three sons.
recognize the types of
An avid cyclist who also ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS,
opportunities we capitalloves to ski, Smith is
ized on at Tenaska.”
IDENTIFYING AND
fond of music, art and
His advice to today’s
ACTING ON A MEANS
books. He is active in
business students is
the community, serving TO CAPTURE THE
clear. “Major opportunias a board member for
ties are often the result
OPPORTUNITY WITH
several local non-profit
of market structures,”
COMPETENCE—THOSE he says. “Recognizing
organizations.
Looking back, Smith, ARE BUILDING BLOCKS
the opportunity, under52, sees the twists and
standing its essential
OF SUCCESS."
turns of a career that
elements, identifying
made the most of the
and acting on a means
opportunities along the way. It was not
to capture the opportunity with comwithout risk, however.
petence—those are building blocks of
“I left Enron at age 29,” he recalls. “I had
success.”
the job of my dreams. It was challenging,
Shaped and held together with plenty of
exciting, rewarding in every way. For the fihard work.
Tenaska continues
to expand
Founded in 1987, Tenaska’s business
plan was to develop, finance, construct
and operate large scale power generating
plants. But rather than sell these plants
to public power entities, Tenaska would
run them as private, for-profit enterprises
that would then sell the plants’ output
to power companies under long-term
contracts.
The Tenaska concept has proved
to be very successful, ultimately
developing and building power plants
worth approximately $4.5 billion, while
maintaining and owning a majority
interest in each of them.
When Enron went bankrupt in 2001, the
downdraft took with it many of Tenaska’s
competitors. “Our business model,
meanwhile, proved very robust,” says
Paul G. Smith, CEO and senior managing
director of Tenaska Capital Management
LLC. “We not only survived but continued
to grow and prosper.”
Today, Tenaska operates divisions that
include the wholesale marketing of natural
gas, power and, most recently, biofuels.
Operations also include wind and solar
power production, and exploration and
production of natural gas.
“Our fundamental theory was correct,”
says Smith, “and our execution was
extremely well done.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 19
LEADERSHIP EXAMINED
FROM MONUMENTS TO THE PAST TO NEW
PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE
A journal account by John Treinen, UNO marketing major and management minor, 2009 Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship winner
You might say I was a little shocked when I was announced as the
winner of the Beta Gamma Sigma scholarship award. The scholarship
was generous—and to think I’d be flying to Washington, D.C. to represent my school at the BGS Leadership Forum* was a huge honor.
On the night preceding my 6 a.m. departure, I essentially pulled
an all-nighter to get my work done so I wouldn’t have to worry about
it while out of town (ah, the life of a college student!). I was the first
to arrive in D.C. at 9:45 a.m. In fact, there wasn’t even a hotel room
available for me! So, with nothing else to do, I took the opportunity to
explore the nation’s capital.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
20
For the next six hours, it was me, a map,
my camera, and my aching feet on a quest
to take in as much history as I could. There
was something really enjoyable in finding
my way around clusters of historical locations that I’d only experienced in textbooks
and photographs—the Lincoln and Washington Monuments, Arlington Cemetery,
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Vietnam
and Korea War Memorials, and the Capitol
Building.
Weary and totally sleep-deprived, I finally returned to the hotel at 5 p.m. and the
conference began. I sat down at the only
free spot at a table full of guys and girls
from all over the country and on that first
night, we learned all about the Beta Gamma Sigma organization.
The following two days focused heavily
on finding leadership perspectives within
ordinary situations, learning about other
leaders around the country, and reflecting
on what kind of leaders we want to be. We
watched videos with advice from various
CEOs, and BGS brought in Cynthia Glassman, former undersecretary for economic
affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce, to speak.
I think Saturday was the most personal
and transformative day of the conference.
We all took the Meyers-Briggs personality test and were grouped with individuals
who have the same personality type to
analyze our goals, our influences, and our
“non-negotiables” (those values which we
refuse to compromise in our lives).
From these reflections, we had to come
up with a question that we would try to
answer over the remainder of the weekend—and for the rest of our careers, for
that matter. My personal question, if you’re
wondering, was, “how will I continue to
grow and expand my knowledge after I
leave school for the workplace.”
My choice of table at the beginning of
the conference proved to affect the rest of
my weekend because the people there—as-
piring CEOs and entrepreneurs, natives of
Canada and Taiwan—became new friends
over the next few days. (I have continued
to stay in touch with them since the end of
the conference.)
The only downside came at the end, as
I was the last person to fly out. I already
missed my new friends and wasn’t looking forward to returning to a stress-filled
week. But, I felt renewed and focused by
the experience to make a strong finish in
my college program before I launch into
my career.
The weekend was also a constant reminder that I’m fortunate to have support
from people who believe in me. Each person and professor, course and piece of
knowledge I’ve touched has shaped who I
am and who I will be. I will continue working hard in hopes that I will prove to be a
prosperous return on their investment.
* BETA GAMMA SIGMA
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
FORUM
Debuting in 2001, the
Forum brings together student
members from colleges and
universities across the country
for opportunities to improve
their leadership skills. With teambuilding exercises, networking
and other activities, the Forum
challenges participants to
examine questions such as, “What
kind of leader will I be?”
AHEAD OF THE CLASS
T
oday, when Warren Buffett shares
advice on investing and finances,
the world listens. Back in the 1950s,
those who listened also earned college
credit.
Buffett taught several general investing
classes at Omaha University between 1952
and 1962, says CBA Dean Louis Pol. One
of the classes was “investing for
women.”
“There are all kinds of
women’s investing groups nowadays,” Dean Pol says. “At the
time, this was so far ahead of
anything.”
The College has joined with
UNO’s College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media in
a project that includes interviewing Buffett and his former
students. The goal is to produce
a video documentary and couple
it with other video testaments of people
who have had an impact on the College, its
graduates and the community. Eventually,
the videos will be played on touch-screens
in the grand atrium of Mammel Hall.
“It’s important to us that our students,
faculty, staff and visitors know more about
the people who are part of our history,” Pol
says.
School of Communication Director
and Professor Jeremy Lipschultz says
the current documentary project taps his
decades-long interest in Buffett and the
Berkshire Hathaway holding company. His
students have done other Buffett-related
documentaries in the past.
“The theme this time is ‘Buffett as Teacher,’” Lipschultz says.
In the fall of 2009, broadcast journalism
student Chase Moffitt interviewed Buffett
by phone regarding the project, and other communications students
have interviewed his former
students.
“We are recording history
here,” Lipschultz says. “Some
of the interviews we’ve conducted are the only interviews
these people have done.”
He hopes that the work between the two colleges will
blossom into other collaborative ventures. “It opens the
door to interdisciplinary opportunities such as business
journalism and business reporting.”
The interviews indicate Buffett was a
good instructor and related well to his
students.
“He had just finished his degree at Columbia University and wanted to teach
because he was concerned in part about
his public speaking,” Pol reflects. “He wanted a chance to get up in front of audiences.
As we all know, he has since become quite
good at it.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 21
International
Consultants
In 2009, teams from the Executive
MBA program traveled to Brazil, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore and Russia to complete the final stage of their Capstone
Projects, the international consulting
requirement of the degree. This component requires participants to plan,
execute and report actual business
research on behalf of sponsoring organizations. Visits to foreign countries
follow extensive “desk top” research
during the 18-month program and
culminate in formal presentations of
recommendations to the business
sponsors.
In Saudi Arabia: Phani Tej Adidam, faculty advisor; Bandar, driver; Dr. Barry Hoover, Chad Waldow
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
22
In August, a five-member EMBA team
embarked on its adventure to Singapore
to conduct market research for an Omaha firm. Composed of professionals in
financial services, construction, technology and sales, the team (along with a
faculty advisor) spent nearly two weeks
meeting with customers, competitors
and industry representatives to develop recommendations for their business
sponsor’s market expansion strategy.
“The capstone trip provided the team
with an opportunity to learn about a foreign culture and its impact on the local
business environment,” said Jim Mullen,
team leader.
“We learned very quickly that personal relationships are important to
individuals and organizations wishing to
conduct business in Singapore. It takes
more than one meeting to establish
these relationships and without them,
firms, particularly those from the U.S.,
will find it difficult to conduct business
in Singapore.”
In addition to pursuing their business
objectives, the team visited the Singapore
sites including the Raffles area, Orchard
Park, the Singapore Harbor and the Singapore Flyer (one of the world’s largest ferris
wheels).
Mullen and his teammates were favorably impressed with Singapore, particularly
with how safe it seemed. “The laws are so
strict there that it seems no one breaks the
law,” he said. And although the police are
present, they were not visible to people on
the streets.
“Singapore was a wonderful place,”
Mullen continued. “It is a melting pot of
expatriates and because of that, our group
did not stand out nor were we targeted as
tourists during our visit. There were few
language barriers and business people in
Singapore appeared proud of their culture.”
According to the Nebraskans, it was a
heady feeling to sit in a high-rise office
building in Singapore and conduct a conference call to Australia—and the experience
provided a tantalizing glimpse of the magnitude of the global business environment.
•
A five-member team from the Executive
MBA program traveled to Brazil, the world’s
eighth largest economy, to conduct a market entry analysis for a local firm.
The students and faculty advisor David
Volkman visited Brasilia, the country’s capitol, and Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the
two bustling megacities of the southeast.
From meetings with diverse profession-
als, including state ministers of finance,
health and transportation, U.S. Embassy
dignitaries, high profile competitors and
local architects, the team gathered important information about how to successfully
conduct business in Brazil. It quickly became apparent that Brazilians like to know
people personally before starting to do
business.
“When you go out for lunch or dinner,
they do not like to talk business at all; they
simply want to get to know you,” stated
Prakash Kukreja, a member of team Brazil.
“This was an adjustment for many of us
who are used to conducting business over
lunch or dinner in the U.S.”
The team found time to take in the
country’s sites, including the famous
Corcovado Peak, Sugar Loaf Mountain,
and Copacabana Beach. Of course, they
couldn’t leave the country without experiencing Brazil’s national pastime, a
high-intensity soccer game at Maracana
stadium, one of 12 venues for the 2014
Soccer World Cup.
The Nebraskans discovered that Brazilians are very friendly, welcome visitors
and love to talk about their history. “The
people of Brazil love their native language
and like it if visitors talk to them in Portuguese or Spanish,” commented Kukreja.
“Our business sponsor could not believe
the amount of information they got for
the price they paid for the entire project,”
said Kukreja. “They were pleased with the
report and the presentation and we hope
that they will be able to use our research
and recommendations moving forward.”
In Brazil (clockwise from left): Prakash Kukreja, Arturo
Garza, Manish Patel, MIke Tuttle, Athena Ramos
BRAZIL
Project: New Market Entry Analysis
Team: Athena Ramos, Prakash Kukreja, Art
Garza, Manish Patel, Mike Tuttle
Faculty Advisor: David Volkman
RUSSIA
Project: Business Feasibility
Team: Andy Verma, Trevin Hogg, Phil Higgins,
Samir Maniar, Mike Rice
Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Morris
SAUDI ARABIA
Project: Medical School Feasibility
Team: Dr. Barry Hoover, Steve Frayser, Shannon
Eggert, Chad Waldow
Faculty Advisor: Phani Tej Adidam
SINGAPORE
Project: Market Expansion Strategy
Team: Jim Mullen, Erin O’Donnell, Wes
Woodward, Anurag Gupta, Sunil Singh
Faculty Advisor: Darryll Lewis
In Russia: Phil Higgins, Mike Rice, Trevin Hogg
In Singapore (clockwise from left): Jim Mullen, Wes Woodward, Erin O‘Donnnell, Sunil Singh,
Ashish Kumar (sponsor representative), Darryll Lewis (faculty advisor)
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 23
Making Nebraska businesses better
A
lthough Offutt AFB or Eppley
Airfield probably come to
mind when you think about
aviation in Nebraska, a somewhat smaller operation is foremost for consultants
at Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC). With a little help from NBDC,
Flight! Nebraska Group, LLC is carving a
niche for itself in the flight services industry in the area.
Flight! Nebraska Group, LLC (FNG) was
founded in April, 1999 by Roy Kessell, Joe
Carter, and fellow aviation enthusiasts to
fill the need for a fixed base of operationin the Omaha area. An FBO, or fixed base
operator (also known as fixed base of operation), is the primary provider of services
(including flight training, aircraft rental,
maintenance service, etc.) at or adjacent to
an airport.
FNG began operations at the Plattsmouth
Municipal Airport. With NBDC loan packaging assistance, the company relocated to its
present facilities in the TAC Air complex at
Eppley Airfield in 2008 and expanded its
fleet from one single engine aircraft to five
aircraft, including one twin engine.
FNG has supplied flight training for the
U.S. Air Force (under the Introductory
Flight Training program), the University of
Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute and
the general public. FNG instructors, includ-
ing two former U.S. Air Force pilots, are
FAA-certified, have several thousand hours
of flight and instructor time and are the
most experienced flight trainers in the local area.
In addition to student and rental clients,
FNG also manages corporate aircraft for
local companies, providing pilot and maintenance services.
“Relocating to Omaha has provided access to a larger market and more growth
opportunities,” says Kessell.
Kessell has participated in Nebraska Unicameral hearings concerning aviation and
its effect on business in Nebraska and has
been involved with NBDC’s veteran business owners events.
In 2009, Flight! Nebraska Group, nominated by Cliff Mosteller, director of the
Omaha center, was chosen as Omaha region “Champion of Small Business.”
Above: Roy Kessell receives Champion of Small Business Award from Cliff Mosteller, director of NBDC Omaha center.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
24
Edie Pignotti (far right) with CSG Systems team who participated in collaboration training. Inset photo: Janet Tschudin, NBDC facilitator
W
hen Edie Pignotti, vice
president of service desks
and business process
management at CSG Systems, and her
team determined to improve their work
processes and increase client satisfaction, they approached the Nebraska
Business Development Center (NBDC) to
learn the latest in collaboration science.
CSG Systems supplies clients in the
cable, direct broadcast satellite, and communications industries with software and
services support for customer transactions.
Julie Burrell, NBDC coordinator, helped
apply for grant funds to partially
cover the cost of the initiative. Janet Tschudin, manager of NBDC
professional and organizational development, facilitated the
training program based on a plan
engineered by Gert-Jan (G.J.) de
Vreede from the UNO Center for
Collaboration Science.
For CSG, Tschudin demonstrated a process developed by the Center that
utilizes ThinkTank, a collaboration software.
The techniques were subsequently adapted
for use by the CSG group without requiring
the software.
According to Tschudin, “Teams cre-
ate more value for their organization than
individuals can create on their own. Collaboration techniques and tools can help
teams be more creative and reach consensus quicker.”
Pignotti explained that the NBDC facilitation involved a three-phase process in
which team members from across various
CSG functions participated.
The first phase was a demonstration of
the process using CSG’s specific issues. Everyone felt free to brainstorm because their
input was anonymous. Pignotti said, “it
was exciting to see a problem on the board
and the passion of the participants to solve
it.”
In phase two, Tschudin taught the CSG
team to facilitate a meeting using patterns
of collaboration and thinkLets*.
The team also learned how to
develop an agenda, define the
deliverables (expected outcomes), and build consensus.
Tschudin, who was trained by
the Center, says, “The thinkLet
tools developed by Bob Briggs
and G.J. are so effective, the results are pretty amazing.”
In phase three, the CSG team
created work-related scenarios that put into
practice the collaboration techniques and
tools they had learned.
In conclusion, Pignotti said that the CSG
team could see how the collaboration pro-
cess inspired fresh ideas and generated
innovative approaches to reach their goals
quickly.
Pignotti said, “Janet’s expertise and
drive helped make a difference. She was
committed to understanding the CSG
processes.”
* THINKLETS
are building blocks for team processes
that enable rapid development of sophisticated processes to improve team
productivity. They can be organized into
these basic groups:
• Generate–create concepts that have
not yet been considered (brainstorm)
• Reduce and Clarify—narrow down and
refine concepts
• Organize–develop an understanding
of the relationships among concepts
• Evaluate–judge the worth of sets of
concepts with relation to task-relevant
criteria
• Build Consensus–allow stakeholders to arrive at mutually acceptable
commitments.
from ThinkLets: Building Blocks for
Concerted Collaboration, by Robert Briggs
and Gert-Jan de Vreede
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 25
YEAR IN BRIEF
January ~ February
LUCAS SOCIETY
INDUCTION
CEREMONY AND
DINNER
On February 23, 2009, new
members were inducted into the
Lucas Society in a ceremony at
UNO’s Milo Bail Student Center.
Established in 1998, the Lucas
Society honors those who have
made a substantial commitment
to the growth of the College of
Business Administration.
Funds from Society members
have enabled CBA to provide
scholarships, support faculty
development, underwrite innovative educational programs,
and strengthen community outreach.
KEITH V. KIERNAN
Keith V. Kiernan, (BS, 1967)
enjoyed a 33-year career in controllership and development
in Warner-Lambert’s domes-
tic and international
product lines. He
also worked in
the company’s
venture capital
function. Kiernan
led several financial reengineering projects as well
as the Y2K systems transition.
He retired in 2000 when Pfizer
acquired Warner-Lambert for
$116 billion.
Kiernan looks back on his
academic years at UNO as the
foundation of his career at Warner-Lambert. He recalls with
fondness his employment at the
first UNO computer center in
1965 where he provided EDP
support to professor Jack Hill’s
senior strategic management
class.
Kiernan believes that the
knowledge gained from Hill’s
computer simulation models,
particularly in team leadership and diversity, helped him
throughout his career.
In appreciation, he established
the Keith V. Kiernan Student
Scholarship Fund. Most recently,
Kiernan made a gift to the Mammel Hall computer lab, which
will be named in his honor.
Kiernan received his MS in
management from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1974.
ALAN AND MARCIA BAER
FOUNDATION
Born and raised in California,
Alan Baer was a great-grandson
of Jonas L. Brandeis, founder
of the Boston Store that later
became J.L. Brandeis & Sons
Department Store. Baer was
president of Brandeis from 1974
until 1987, when he sold the
business to Younkers, Inc. Baer
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
26
continued to own Brandeis Food
Service, which catered food and
handled concessions at Ak-SarBen and elsewhere. He started
Alan Baer & Associates, an umbrella company for his many
business interests including
Brandeis Catering, Pear’s Coffee,
Herman’s Nuts, and Southroads
Mall.
Baer’s passion was collecting
businesses and he was widely
known for his success in turning
around shaky enterprises. His
purchase of the Omaha Lancers in 1988 ensured the hockey
team would stay in Omaha.
Marcia Baer’s family also had
a tremendous impact on Omaha. Her father, Ted Miller, helped
Father Flanagan raise the money
to build Boys Town.
The Alan and Marcia Baer
Foundation donates generously to hundreds of Nebraska arts
and educational agencies and to
charities.
2009
DAVID SOKOL–
MBA LEADERSHIP
SPEAKER SERIES
David L. Sokol is chairman
of the board of MidAmerican
Energy Holdings Company, a
Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary with $39 billion in assets.
Sokol joined the company as
chairman, president and chief
executive officer in 1991 when
the company owned and operated one geothermal power
project. Today, MidAmerican is a
worldwide energy services provider with 17,000 employees
and annual revenues of approximately $12.4 billion.
Sokol earned his BS in civil
engineering from UNO in 1978.
A native of Omaha, Sokol has
been active in the community
throughout his career.
BGS Tapping
Tapping is the annual member invitational ceremony of
CBA’s chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business
honorary society. During surprise classroom visits, eligible undergraduate, graduate and Executive MBA students are invited
to join by cap-and-gowned faculty who are also BGS members.
To be eligible for membership, a student must rank in the
top 10 percent of the junior or senior class or in the upper 20
percent of the graduating master’s clas
BAP VOLUNTEER
NIGHT
Students from Beta Alpha
Psi, the accounting honor society, painted posters to decorate
Methodist Children’s Hospital
wards.
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 27
YEAR IN BRIEF
March
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
HONORS
& AWARDS
CELEBRATIONS
The 44th Annual Beta Gamma
Sigma (BGS) Honors and Awards
Ceremony was held at UNO’s
Thompson Alumni Center March
28. Thirty-eight undergraduate
and 13 graduate students were
inducted into the national honor
society for business students.
28
2009
The Marketing and Management Honors and Awards
Banquet was held March 12,
at UNO’s Thompson Alumni
Center.
Gustavo E. Oberto, managing
director of sales and marketing–Americas, Conductix, Inc.,
received the Alumni Award for
Excellence in Marketing.
Matt J. Milbrodt, senior director, organizational development/
international human resources,
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., received
the Alumni Award for Excellence
in Management.
The department also honored
Nicole E. Massara, Nicholas J.
German, Christy L. Armendariz
and Troy J. Kush with Outstanding Student Awards.
SOUTH AFRICAN
RESEARCH PRIZE
John Buckley, Rick Manthey,
Mike Lewis, Kyle Kovar and
Anand Kumar, all graduates of
UNO’s Executive MBA program,
presented, “Restructuring of the
Power Industry in South Africa,”
for UNO’s Centennial Celebration of Student Research forum
on March 24.
The presentation, awarded
third place in the graduate research division, summarized
recommendations to the South
African government for restructuring its electrical system.
DAN O’NEILL–
MBA LEADERSHIP
SPEAKER SERIES
Dan O’Neill, president of First
National Bank, has more than
30 years of banking experience.
He currently oversees the bank’s
holding company, First National
of Nebraska (FNNI), plus FNNI’s
12 charter banks, in addition to
leading First National Bank of
Omaha. He is also active in related financial holding companies.
O’Neill began his banking career as a bank examiner with
the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation and served in the
United States Air Force from
1971 to 1974. He joined the First
National organization in 1981 as
an executive vice president and
director.
O’Neill currently serves on the
boards of Omaha’s Durham Museum and College of Saint Mary.
Dr. David Sauer, managing director and program co-chair, RISE Forum;
Jesse Shumaker; Arnaldo Oralles; Dr. Bob Froelich, chairman, Investor
Strategy Committee, Deutsche Asset Management and co-chair, RISE
Forum; Micah Schmidt; Till Bargfrede.
FIRST PLACE IN INVESTMENT COMPETITION
Four CBA graduate students earned first place in the 2009
international Redefining Investment Strategy Education
(R.I.S.E.) Global Student Investment Forum held in Dayton,
Ohio. The event was attended by over 2,600 students, faculty and professionals from 275 colleges and universities from
around the world.
The students, Till Bargfrede, Arnie Oralles, Micah Schmidt
and Jesse Shumaker, were part of the year-long fixed income
asset management class taught by Wendy Guo, associate professor of finance, and Stephen R. Franz, chief investment
officer of First National Bank of Omaha. The class studies the
fixed income section of the CFA curriculum and manages a $2
million fixed income portfolio provided by First National Bank.
SEVEN DAYS OF SERVICE
For the eighth year, students
volunteered part of their spring
break to contribute to the community through UNO’s Seven
Days of Service program.
This year, over 50 College of
Business Administration students
participated as project volunteers
across a variety of sites including
Habitat for Humanity.
Designed to provide interdisciplinary service learning, the
program allows students to gain
experience in a variety of areas
such as public relations, project
management, organization and
supervision of volunteers, event
planning, and in leadership and
fundraising skills.
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 29
YEAR IN BRIEF
April ~ May ~ June
Megan Schuster, Senator Hagel,
Stacie Schreiber, Nicole Massara.
SCHUSTER
AND MASSARA
HONORED
ENTREPRENEURS
CELEBRATED
In April, entrepreneurs, including
graduates of the College of Business Administration, participated
with students in an annual event
of networking, panel presentations and awards for student
MAY GRADUATION
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
30
achievement. During the program, the 2009 Dale Konecky
Foundation Award and the 2009
Horizon Student Entrepreneurship
Award were presented to Cole
Stunkard, Delta Rep. Stunkard is
a CBA undergraduate majoring
in small business management.
Jared Spence won the 2009 Ryan
J. Guinn Award.
Megan Schuster, accounting
major, was awarded 2009 Leader
of the Year by UNO’s Omicron
Delta Kappa (ODK) chapter at
a special celebration in April.
During the luncheon program,
former U.S. Senator Chuck
Hagel, a UNO alumnus, was
inducted into ODK, a cross-discipline national leadership honor
society.
Marketing major Nicole Massara, secretary-treasurer of ODK,
2009
received UNO’s 2009 Senior
Vice Chancellor for Academic and
Student Affairs Outstanding Leadership award. She is a Regents
Scholar and a CBA Mammel
Scholar. Massara received the
2009 Outstanding Marketing
Student Award and was elected UNO’s 2008 Homecoming
Queen. She graduated from CBA
and the UNO Honors Program in
May 2009 with a BS in Business
Administration.
BAP FIRST PLACE
UNO’s chapter of Beta Alpha
Psi, an honorary organization
for accounting students and
professionals, won first place
in the Best Practices competition at the 2009 Missouri Valley
regional meeting. The win qualified the chapter to present at the
national meeting in New York
City and was awarded a prize of
$500 by Deloitte LLP.
In 2009, the Beta Alpha Psi
board of directors announced
that the UNO Gamma Kappa
chapter was recognized internationally as a “Distinguished
Chapter,” a significant accomplishment. Burch Kealey,
associate professor of accounting, is chapter advisor.
DISTINGUISHED
ALUMNI
LUNCHEON
The College of Business Administration recognized alumni
achievement during the 22nd
Annual Distinguished Alumni
Luncheon in May. Honored were
Susan Brennan, VP manufacturing, Nissan North America;
Robert A. Edwards, president Edwards Investments; and Marshall
Widman, founder of BallStars.
For more on the award winners,
go to page 17.
PROFESSOR GIVES
COMMENCEMENT
ADDRESS IN
FINLAND
In April, Phani Tej Adidam,
marketing and management
department chair, gave the commencement address at the
Helsinki School of Economics
in Finland. Adidam has taught
at Helsinki as a guest professor
since 2000.
BEEP Panelists: Ivan Gilreath, Christina Castro-Matukewicz, Kelvin
Lavert, Chandra Henley, Ed Patterson, Nicole MItchell
BEEP ANNUAL LUNCHEON
For the seventh year, the College of Business Administration
and UNO’s Multicultural Affairs office joined with the Urban
League of Nebraska to sponsor the annual Black Executive Education Program (BEEP).
On April 17, the BEEP luncheon, sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad, was held at the Milo Bail Student Center. Panelists
Chandra Henley, Union Pacific Railroad; Cristina Castro-Matukewicz, Wells Fargo Bank; Nicole Mitchell, Urban League of
Nebraska; Ed Patterson, Wells Fargo Bank; Ivan Gilreath, ING;
and Kelvin Lavert, Mutual of Omaha, addressed the student audience on making a successful transition from student life on
campus to the full-time workplace.
FINANCE, BANKING AND LAW SCHOLARSHIP
AND AWARDS ADVISORY BOARD LUNCHEON
On April 24, faculty and advisory board members met at
the Champions Run Country Club in Omaha to honor the department’s scholarship recipients and initiate a member of
the advisory board into the Financial Management Association Honorary Society. Patricia Carnie, assistant vice president,
Union Pacific Railroad, was chosen this year for her guidance
and outstanding service.
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 31
2008 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
31
YEAR IN BRIEF
July ~ August ~ September
TOPPING
CEREMONY
In July, the College held a
“topping” ceremony at the
construction site of Mammel
Hall. Faculty, staff and friends
signed, doodled and expressed
their well wishes on a specially prepared beam before it was
hoisted atop the building’s atrium section. The event included
a tour of the facility guided by
Kiewit Building Group (hard hats
required).
SKYBOX AT COX
CLASSIC
A record number of CBA
alumni and friends enjoyed hospitality and a birdseye view of
the 18th hole at Champions Run
during the Cox Classic Golf Tournament. This is the fourth year
that CBA has sponsored a skybox at this PGA event.
AUGUST
GRADUATION
Omaha World Herald
“Graduates of one university hold three of the top four
positions at Union Pacific Corp., ranked 143rd on Fortune
magazine’s list of the nation’s 500 largest companies and
second, in terms of revenue, of the Big Four railroads.
That university is the blue-collar, hometown University of
Nebraska at Omaha, not an Ivy League institution like Harvard
or Yale.
CEO Jim Young and Executive Vice Presidents Dennis Duffy
and Jack Koraleski all graduated from UNO in the 1970s.
Executive Vice President Rob Knight graduated from Kansas
State University in 1980.”
—Excerpt from 8/30/2009 Omaha World-Herald article
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
32
2009
LAST TIME AT ROSKENS HALL
NBDC OPENS NEW ANNUAL
SCHOLARSHIP
OFFICE
In August, Nebraska Business
RECEPTION
Development Center (NBDC)
opened a new office in Auburn
to provide consulting assistance
to small businesses in southeast
Nebraska seeking government
contracts. Funded under a grant
from the U.S. Department of
Defense, the 816 Center Street
office is operated by Julie Wilhelm, a former business owner
in Humboldt, Nebraska.
NBDC HOSTS
NATIONAL
CONFERENCE
From June 29 to July 1, the
Nebraska Business Development
Center (NBDC) hosted the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
annual Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business
Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR)
conference at Omaha’s Qwest
Center.
Established by Congress in
1982, the SBIR/STTR program
sets aside a portion of federal agency budgets in order to
award grants to small businesses
for innovations with commercial
potential.
The NIH, comprising 27 institutes and centers, is the primary
U.S. government agency responsible for biomedical and
health-related research.
The approximately 500
conference participants were
representatives of bio-tech businesses, researchers and service
providers from around the
nation.
CBA scholarship recipients
and donors met on the Roskens
Hall patio in September for the
last time. A record number attended the 2009 reception,
joining faculty and staff to mark
the end of an era. Next year, the
2010 event will be hosted at the
new Mammel Hall. For a list of
all scholarships see page 44.
NBDC HONORS
Odee Ingersoll, director of
the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) at the
University of Nebraska-Kearney,
was honored at the ASBDC Annual Meeting held in Orlando,
Florida. He was recognized for
the second time as Nebraska
STAR Performer for his work in
business exit and succession
planning and business valuation
services.
Bob Bernier, assistant dean
in the College of Business and
state director for NBDC, received
the 2009 Outstanding Northwest
Rotarian Award for “significant
contributions, outstanding dedication and leadership in the field
of small business development.”
During a ceremony in Washington, DC, Jean Waters, P2Rx
coordinator, was named the
2009 Pollution Prevention Champion by the National Pollution
Prevention Roundtable (NPPR).
The honor is given to one individual each year for his/her
significant contributions.
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 33
YEAR IN BRIEF
October ~ November ~ December
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
MARKETING PRIZE MICHAEL
A team of students in the
GEPPERT–MBA
course, “New Media PromoLEADERHSIP
tion,” taught by Jonna Holland,
associate professor of marketSPEAKER SERIES
ing, was awarded $2,000 in
prize money for a marketing
plan prepared and presented to
Performance Auto Group. Alicia
Jitaru, Graham Johnson, Kelli
Sidak and Tera Henrich competed with classmates, as well
as students from Creighton and
Bellevue Universities, to develop
the winning plan for the company’s new web venture.
Performance Automotive
Group President Mickey Anderson and the company’s CIO,
Keith Kaiser, announced the
winning team during class in
December.
Michael Geppert joined HDR,
Inc. in May, 2009 as chief information officer.
Prior to joining HDR, Geppert was SVP of Information
and Analytics Products at First
Data Corp., a $9B payment
processing company. Geppert’s responsibilities included
creating global strategy and
providing direction and expertise for credit risk, fraud,
receivables management, and
personalized marketing solutions
development.
Before moving to First Data,
Geppert was president of World
Media Company, a division of
The World Herald Company.
Geppert received his BS in
Business Administration (cum
laude) from UNO and was honored as a Distinguished CBA
Alumnus in 2008.
DECEMBER
GRADUATION
34
JANE MILLER–
MBA LEADERHSIP
SPEAKER SERIES
Jane Miller, Gallup chief operating officer, has been with
Gallup for more than 25 years.
She is a director, owner, and associate in the privately held
company. Miller is responsible
for all operational aspects of the
organization, including the orchestration and execution of The
Gallup Path globally.
Miller serves on the boards
of the Omaha Symphony,
Creighton University, Knights
of Aksarben, and Kiewit
Foundation.
2009
MONEY SMARTS
NACRA AWARD
Amy Lussetto, former MBA
student, won the award for
the best student-authored case
presented at the North American Case Research Association
conference held in Santa Cruz,
California in October.
Her presentation, “Abbott Laboratories: Hero or Villain in the
Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” was
chosen as winner in competition
with cases submitted from Pennsylvania State University, UCLA,
and others. Rebecca Morris,
associate professor of management, was faculty advisor.
In November, UNO’s Center
for Economic Education with
CBA hosted a week-long series of seminars in conjunction
with Money Smart Nebraska.
The purpose of the annual program is to increase knowledge
about personal finance among
the campus community and the
general public.
Mary Lynn Reiser, associate
director of the Center for Economic Education, was UNO
coordinator of the event. CBA
professors Kath Henebry, associate professor of finance, and
Roger Sindt, professor of real estate, presented workshops.
BUFFET VISITS
CBA GRADUATE
GIVES ADDRESS
Megan Schuster presented the
student address for UNO’s 2009
December commencement ceremony. She graduated summa
cum laude with a degree in accounting and a minor in finance,
and accepted a position with the
accounting firm, KPMG.
In October, a group of CBA finance students and journalism
students from UNO’s College
of Communication met with
Warren Buffett at the Berkshire
Hathaway offices in Omaha. This
is the third year that CBA students have had the opportunity
to meet the Omaha investor and
highly respected businessman.
UNO students were joined by
business students from other
universities, including Columbia University and The Wharton
School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Nikolas Jasa, floor trader, and CBA student team members Jessical Coufal,
Lew Adams, Paul Lime, Andy May
STOCK MARKET CHALLENGE
In November, CBA faculty and students joined representatives from Omaha companies and over 100 high school
students to participate in the second annual Stock Market Challenge, a fundraiser for Boys and Girls Clubs of the
Midlands.
In the high school competition, student teams competed by
trading $500,000 in mock equities to increase the net worth
of their company. Each member of the winning team received
a $1,000 CBA scholarship from an anonymous donor.
In another simulated stock market activity, 46 teams representing Omaha companies raised $135,000 for the Boys
and Girls Clubs. CBA student team, the Maverick Investment
Group, placed third in this competition. Members of the CBA
Faculty Fun(d) team (David Blair, Wendy Guo, Mary Lynn Reiser and David Volkman) took first place in portfolio growth,
achieving an incredible 251.05 percent!
CBA finance students volunteered as floor traders for the
two sessions. Jonna Holland, associate professor of marketing,
helped organize the event and coordinated CBA’s participation.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE
Ten students from UNO attended the 2009 National Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization (CEO) Conference in
Chicago. During the three-day conference, students listened to
keynote speakers and attended workshops. In their session,
CBA students presented promotion strategies for the studentrun business Customize-A-Ball.
The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), active
on 165 university campuses across North America, provides
young entrepreneurs with activities and networking opportunities to help them start their own businesses. Each year,
more than 1,600 students, faculty, and others interested in entrepreneurship attend the annual CEO conference
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 35
FACULTY PROFILE
Experience is a human resource
W
hen it comes to the corporate ladder, Patricia
Meglich is familiar with
every rung.
She grew up near Cleveland, Ohio,
where her father worked for Euclid, Inc.,
a construction equipment manufacturer. After graduating from high school, she
studied human resources and obtained her
bachelor’s degree at Bowling Green State
University in 1979. Unable to find work in
her chosen field, she took a job as a shift
supervisor in a plant that manufactured
rayon reinforcement for automobile tires.
“We filled in the days and nights that the
other shifts were off,” she recalls. “It was
the most horrid shift in the world.”
When that company closed, she worked
as a shift supervisor at a lamp manufacturing company, then at a distribution
company. In 1983, she earned an MBA at
Cleveland State University, with a focus in
human resource management and labor
relations.
She accepted a human resources (HR)
position with Geauga (a Native American word for “raccoon”) Industries, an
organization with several plants that manufactured appliance and automotive gaskets
and plastic outdoor decorations. She served
as the HR director until 2002, involved in
“top-tier hiring, mergers and acquisitions,
compensation packages and establishing
benefit programs.”
Interested in expanding opportunities
for the workers, she developed an engineer training program and implemented
a career development program as well as
conducted career counseling sessions.
Certified in HR management, she was
approached by John Carroll University to
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
36
teach the school’s HR certification exam
preparatory course.
“It seemed like a nice diversion and a
way to actively maintain my own skills,”
she recalls. “And I thought it would be fun
to try.
“It turns out I liked it a lot.”
She became involved in the early days
of online and distance learning, applying
her knowledge to HR certification training
programs at the University of Akron and
Lakeland Community College. About the
same time, a downturn in the auto industry was picking up speed.
“I started closing plants, telling people
they didn’t have jobs anymore,” she recalls. “My day job was much less joyful
than before.”
The classroom, however, “had become
a place of joy.” So she earned a Ph.D. from
Kent State University in 2006 and one
year later, came to Omaha, where today
Meglich serves as assistant professor of
management in the department of marketing and management at the College of
Business Administration.
She continues to be involved in online
and distance education, and in helping
HR managers prepare for certification exams. She also leads the teams of business
students who compete in the annual HR
Games sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management.
In the HR Games, students divided into
five regions participate in a Jeopardy-style
competition focused on HR issues and
skills. The UNO team competed in Minneapolis in 2009 and finished 5th out of 35
teams. UNO hosted the regional competition in 2008 and hopes to host again in
2011.
“We have a two-hour training session every Monday,” Meglich says. “It isn’t easy,
but it is a fun way to learn.”
An avid hiker and cyclist who has hiked
the Sierra Nevada Mountains and participated in the annual RAGBRAI bike ride
across Iowa, she also loves to grow her
own vegetables and read mystery novels.
That is, when she isn’t getting ready for
school.
“It’s amazing how one hour in the
classroom can take three or four hours of
preparation,” she says.
Her experience in the corporate world
helps her see both sides of the business
equation. And her “street credentials” have
given her added credibility in the classroom, she says.
“It really wasn’t so long ago that I was
sitting behind a desk instead of standing in
front of them,” she says.
Or supervising a manufacturing line.
“Sometimes,” she says, chuckling, “I
think I still smell rubber and oil.”
“It really
wasn’t so
long ago
that I was
sitting
behind a
desk instead
of standing
in front of
them.“
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 37
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
38
FACULTY PROFILE
A place to grow ideas
I
f there is such a thing as an entrepreneurship gene, it probably
could be found within Dale Eesley’s
DNA.
Eesley is assistant professor of management and director of the Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Center at the College of
Business Administration. A graduate of Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. (bachelor’s
degree, 1987), Westminster Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia, Penn. (master of
arts and religion, 1991) and the University
of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D. in management and human resources, 2004), his first
lessons in entrepreneurship and management didn’t come in a classroom.
They came at home.
Eesley grew up in Rockport, Maine, a
community of about 3,000 people listed
by Forbes magazine in 2008 as one of the
prettiest towns in America. Situated on
Penobscot Bay along the Atlantic Ocean,
Eesley’s father crafted custom-built boats
prior to launching a blueprinting business
in one room of their house.
“It was a classic ‘mom-and-pop’ business
right there in our home,” Eesley recalls. “To
produce blueprints, the paper had to be
exposed in a tub of ammonia, and it was
always sitting out. I never really got used to
that smell.”
They began selling blueprints, then drafting supplies and drafting desks. Soon,
the one room wasn’t big enough, so they
expanded their house, then moved the
business to a storefront on Main Street in
nearby Camden.
“Today, Rockport Blueprint serves an entire county,” Eesley says.
After earning his doctorate, he joined the
faculty at the University of Toledo, teaching business courses in the classroom and
online. But he longed to do more regarding
entrepreneurship.
“The trouble was, there were a couple
faculty members above me in entrepreneurship,” Eesley says. “So I started
looking for a fishbowl where I could be a
bigger fish.”
At UNO’s College of Business Administration, he saw an opportunity to be part of
the faculty and direct a center focused on
entrepreneurship. “I applied and I just absolutely love it,” he says.
He has since found Omaha to be a fertile
ground for innovative ideas—and the support to turn those ideas into reality.
“Omaha is a good-sized city but still
small enough that people who have become successful feel an obligation to
participate and give back to the community,” he says. “You have unique access
to successful people here. If you envision
an opportunity that requires a significant
amount of capital to get started, you can
get a seat in front of a billionaire after
about two or three weeks of networking.”
There are many events and programs
geared toward young entrepreneurs that
aren’t always available in other cities, Ees-
ley says. A few years ago, the College was
listed by Entrepreneur magazine as a top
10 program in its “Entrepreneurial Colleges” edition. Entrepreneurship classes are
offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Eesley sees ways to both teach and nurture entrepreneurship.
“With undergraduates, the role of education is to open these young eyes to the
opportunities and possibilities that exist,” he says. “A lot of them don’t believe
they can be a business owner in five or
10 years. I show them examples of others
who have done it . . . then teach them the
basic steps.”
Graduate students need to learn the processes and recognize within themselves
the confidence necessary to succeed, Eesley says. Engagement activities, such
as the College’s annual business “pitch
plan” competition, can help to build
self-confidence.
“I’d like to create additional real-world
opportunities to get their ideas out there
and make better use of the intellectual
property that is being generated here,” he
says.
Married and the father of three boys, Eesley enjoys cycling “Omaha’s great trails”
with his family. Despite his seaside youth,
he says he doesn’t mind being situated so
far inland.
“My dad was quite a sailor,” he explains,
“but I never learned.”
“You have unique access to successful people here. If
you envision an opportunity that requires a significant
amount of capital to get started, you can get a seat in
front of a billionaire after about two or three weeks of
networking . . .“
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 39
NBDC PROFILE
He speaks the language
W
hen it comes to dealing
with the government,
Andy Alexander knows
the language. He has more than 37
years experience working with the
military and with small and large
businesses.
In November, 2006, Alexander moved
from Georgia to Nebraska to assume
leadership of UNO’s procurement technical assistance program for the Nebraska
Business Development Center (NBDC).
As program manager, he supervises Procurement Technical Assistance Center
(PTAC) counselors who work out of offices
in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, Wayne and
Auburn. The program, headquartered at
UNO’s College of Business Administration,
assists over 1,000 clients in 93 Nebraska
counties.
PTAC is a non-profit group that helps
companies generate new business by
identifying opportunities in government
markets. The NBDC PTAC offers free counseling services to Nebraska businesses
that seek contracts with town, city, county,
state and federal government agencies. It
also offers its clients free services for locat-
ing bidding opportunities, workshops for
learning contracting skills, a federal contractor certificate program, and marketing
assistance.
Under Alexander’s guidance, the PTAC
team has assisted businesses in the generation of $296 million in government
contract awards resulting in the creation
or retention of 5,900 jobs. Alexander and
his staff have presented at more than 400
outreach events attracting nearly 67,000
business people throughout Nebraska.
Alexander drives across the state to visit
clients and work with counselors. Many
of them know he’s there before he even
steps out of the car—his license plates
read PTAC.
“When I arrived from Georgia and had
to put Nebraska plates on my car, I figured
I might as well announce who I am,” Alexander says.
“It’s a great job,” he continues. “I like
taking the back roads mostly. I get to experience all these different flavors of
businesses, the people, the history of the
towns, the stories they tell and the challenges they face. And I get to visit places
you don’t see from the Interstate.”
Alexander was instrumental in launching networking events for PTAC including
the Veterans in Business Forum, which has
received four consecutive national awards
from the Veterans Administration’s Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE). As the
initiator of the Women in Business Forum
breakfast series, Alexander was selected
as the 2009 Man of the Year by the Metro
Omaha Women Business Center, for his
“outstanding support, uncommon mentorship and encouragement.”
Since Alexander’s military career included combat tours throughout the world,
it’s a wonder he is with us. When asked
to comment about this, he says, “we are
in a serious economic war of sorts, and
those in our society that can lead should
be doing so now, and those working in
companies should be displaying good
followership.”
Despite being a service disabled veteran,
Alexander participates in the Senior Games
in Kearney each summer, taking part in
nearly two dozen events from swimming
and cycling to track and billiards. In 2008,
he won 15 medals in 21 events.
Alexander earned undergraduate and
graduate degrees while in the Army, as
well as the Department of Defense’s Command and General Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas. He is currently
enrolled in the Federal Contractor’s Certification program and has a personal goal
of earning a Ph.D. in public administration
through UNO’s College of Public Affairs
“We are in a serious economic war of
sorts, and those in our society that can
lead should be doing so now.“
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
40
and Community Service.
Alexander says “I have always wanted to
sit in a real college class instead of a metal
airplane hanger or mess hall, and being on
one of the best campuses in the country, I
have that opportunity.”
Whether he’s counseling people in business, seeking a government contract or
a veteran unsure of the next step to take,
Alexander’s message is one of hope and
conviction. “Sometimes business people
just need you to listen to them, and provide them a solid foundation of support
and counseling. One can either sit back,
stand fast or lean forward. I’d rather lean
forward, especially now, when our country
needs leaders to set the pace for success.”
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 41
NBDC PROFILE
WORTH
TAKING
A RISK
M
elissa Tedesco wants to tell
as many smart, innovative
entrepreneurs and busi-
ness owners as possible that there is at
least one entity willing to take a substantial risk and invest in their ideas.
It’s the federal government.
Tedesco is program manager of the
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
program and Small Business Technology
Transfer (STTR) counseling program for the
Nebraska Business Development Center,
a department of the College of Business
Administration.
Her position represents Nebraska’s economic development initiative to promote
and coordinate increased participation
in the programs by the state’s researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and small
businesses.
The SBIR/STTR programs are threephase, competitive grant programs,
investing more than $2.2 billion of federal
research funds in small businesses. Eleven
federal agencies “with the largest research
and development budgets” participate in
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
42
SBIR; six of these also participate in STTR.
The programs are designed to stimulate
small business technological innovation
and cutting-edge research to address critical scientific and engineering needs, and to
provide incentives to commercialize new
technologies.
“Some of these are very early stage technologies, and because they are unproven
they are also high risk,” Tedesco says.
Too high risk for many investors and
banks.
“These programs allow access to seed
capital that otherwise wouldn’t be available,” she says. “If we strategically match
new innovation happening in Nebraska to this seed funding through the SBIR/
STTR program, not only do we commercialize new technologies to benefit society,
but we create jobs and foster technologybased economic development for the state
through a more highly skilled workforce.”
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Tedesco was
nine years old when her father, a professional golfer who once caddied for Arnold
Palmer, passed away. She moved with
her mother to Sioux City, Iowa, where her
mother worked as an administrator for the
cardiology department at a local hospital.
Tedesco came to Omaha and earned a
bachelor’s degree in business from UNO
in 1998. She worked as a statistical analyst with Werner Enterprises before joining
Omaha architectural and engineering giant HDR Inc., where she served as national
marketing program manager for community planning and urban design, and as
small business program manager for federal
programs.
Her experience at HDR helped her gain
an understanding of both the needs of small
businesses and federal programs. “They are
very unique and yet each seeks to create
partnerships that are beneficial.”
About 18 months ago, Tedesco was hired
by NBDC to take over the SBIR/STTR counseling program.
Prior to coming under University control about three years ago, the state’s SBIR/
STTR initiative was managed by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development,
Tedesco says. When J.B. Milliken became
president of the University of Nebraska in
2004, “he came from North Carolina where
he had seen what technological innovation could do for a university system and a
state,” she says.
“This is an initiative Dr. Milliken is very
passionate about,” she says.
She also credits the College of Business Administration, Dean Louis Pol, Dr.
Bob Bernier and the Nebraska Business
Development Center for their support
of entrepreneurship in the state “and for
bringing many good ideas over to us.”
One example of the program’s success
is 21st Century Systems, Inc., that worked
with the SBIR program to leverage its ability to develop and market new products.
In 10 years, the company grew to 140
employees and annual revenues of $11
million.
A fan of the game her father once
played, Tedesco and her husband are avid
golfers who plan their vacations around the
links. She also enjoys cooking and is especially fond of baking “real European artisan
bread.” She entertains the dream of owning her own small café known for its crusty
breads.
“It’s a painstaking process to get the
bread to turn out perfectly,” she says. “It almost takes a science to do it right.”
A science that may one day benefit from
her experience encouraging small businesses to grow.
“If we strategically match new
innovation happening in Nebraska to
seed funding through the SBIR/STTR
program, not only do we commercialize
new technologies to benefit society, but
we create jobs . . .“
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 43
2009–2010 Scholarships
Tal Anderson
Scholarship
Jeremy Klein
Josh Lynch
James F. Beard and
Betty J. Brown Beard
Scholarship
Gerard Beal
Stephanie Vanicek
Robert E. Bernier NBDC
Scholarship
Melissa Kramer
Robert Kreitner and
Margaret A. Sova
Athletic Scholarship
Mykala Hanson
Frank Hebert
Amanda Iwansky
Laura Kemp
Elizabeth Odorisio
Elizabeth Saniuk
Kayla Uhing
Trever Lee
Memorial Scholarship
Beta Gamma Sigma
Scholarship
Ryan Jenkins
Charles and Gloria
Billingsley Scholarship
Asiha Eona
Marcus Hall-Oliver
Tyler Holland
Tyler Mueller
Trevor Walters
Kierstin White
John Treinen
Jordan Dunn
Jerrod Foster
Kyle Reeves
Ron and Shirley Burns
Leadership Scholarship
Kurtis Evon
Nicole Morrison
Jake Olsen
Ross Olsen
Dr. James J. Conway
Memorial Scholarship
Katie Flair
Cody Forbush
Andrew Nuss
Dean’s Excellence
Scholarship
Noah Correa
Natalie Hatfield
Nino Krilova
Muzaffarjon Mahsudov
Delaine R. and Dorothy
M. Donohue Scholarship
Antonino Nastasi
Laura Gogan
Memorial Scholarship
Abby Whitley
R. Craig Hoenshell
Leadership
Amy Powell
R. Craig Hoenshell
Scholars
David Greenamyre
Erin Kleymann
Diana Lovejoy
Jacob Whitney
Ivan Yakovlev
R. Craig Hoenshell
Talent
Eric Kramer
Ashley McAlexander
Bethany Ragan
Tadd Wood
Dean and Maria
Jacobsen Scholarship
Devyn Musil
Thomas Wrigley, Jr.
John A. and Phyllis
S. Jeter Accounting
Scholarship
Marshal McGovern
Kellogg USA
Scholarship
Rebecca Liu
Robert Kreitner and
Margaret A. Sova Book
Scholarship
Bill Larsen
Wei Liu
Seth Nelson
Andrew M. Taylor
Sam and Dorie Leftwich
Scholarship
Mammel CBA Student
Scholarships
Freshman
Tom Bosco
Colin Sorensen
Sophomore
Danielle Bollich
Lindsey Bryan
Matthew Debolt
Brittany Knudtson
Michael Mills
Kristi Wiebelhaus
Junior
Nicholas Britton
Eric Hansen
Senior
Melissa Frans
Matthew Huss
Nicholas Jasa
Emily Kirkland
Andy May
Katie Nath
John Treinen
Frank L. Mansell
Scholarship
Sean Girvan
Mark Hennings
Wei Liu
Nicholas Osborn
Allison Poock
Nishtha Rajbhandari
Steven Ruzek
Liudmila Savvina
Kevin Schuster
Adam Versendaal
Richard and Jeanne
Morrison Nuts and Bolts
Inc. Scholarship
Edward Remm
Nathaniel Sperl
Carl A. Nelson
Scholarship
Thomas Adams
Jacob Bright
McKenzie Fullford
Frank Hebert
Seth Nelson
Megan Parks
Ashley Ritter
Rebecca Thomas
Charles T. and Denise A.
Olson Scholarship
Marc Behrens
Jamie Cafferty
Asiha Eona
McKenzie Fullford
Mark Hennings
Evan O’Keefe
Jessica Reilly
Kevin Schuster
Abby Whitley
Ryan Wolfe
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
44
Gary Penisten
Talent Scholarship
Tyler Budke
David Raymond
Talent Scholarship
Ryan Wolfe
John and Mary Schleiger
Scholarship Endowment
Undergraduate
Brandon Dangler
Victoria Glatter
Randi Lori
Ross McGregor
Nicholas Osborn
Allison Poock
Steven Ruzek
Kristine Thomas
Graduate
Karissa Bohlen
Daniel Brown
Jared Platt
James A. Sedlacek
Memorial Scholarship
Ria Carpenter
Zachary Percival
Natan and Hannah
Schwalb Scholarship
Benjamin Gensichen
Evan O’Keefe
Upperclassmen
Travis Keiderling
Katherine Knight
Rachael Urkoski
Securities America
MBA Scholarship
Meenakshi Kumari
Hebert A. and Eleanor L.
Sklenar Scholarship
Kyle Acre
Morgan Brazeal
Brett Castinado
Justin Dlugosz
Nathan Kirkland
Andy May
Ashley McAlexander
Steven Warnock
Tadd Wood
Aaron Wrigley
Frankel Zacharia LLC
Scholarship
Jake Olsen
Ross Olsen
MANAGEMENT AND
MARKETING
Tim and Jonna Holland
Scholarship
Marcus Hall-Oliver
Dean John Lucas
Memorial Marketing
Scholarship
Bill Larsen
C. Marsh Bull Honors
Scholarship in Marketing
Shichao (Harry) Hou
William Brown Memorial
Scholarship
Justin Dlugosz
First National Bank of
Omaha–Human Resources
Scholarship
Thomas Adams
ECONOMICS AND
REAL ESTATE
James C. Horejs
Scholarship
Justin Brewer
Andrew M. Taylor
Zachary Zeisler
Union Pacific
Scholarship MBA
Divya Kaladhar Allu
Komal Nazir
UNO/CBA/Urban League
of Nebraska Partnership
Scholarship (BEEP)
Mara Hood
D’Antae Potter
Horace Wu and Kate
King Wu International
Scholarship
Gulruh Niyazova
Nicholas Jasa
Tim and Traci Harrison
Scholarship
Matthew Wilson
NE Bankers Association
Scholarship
Kyle Acre
Thomas Adams
Lindsey Bryan
Kurtis Evon
Tyler Holland
Travis Keiderling
Brittany Knudtson
Micaela McGovern
Jessica Muhle
Cortney Pauley
Robert Benecke
Outstanding Business
Finance Scholarship
Thomas Adams
ACCOUNTING
Horace Wu and Kate
King Wu Scholarship
Beverly Grace (Ward)
Spencer Memorial
Accounting Scholarship
JungJun Moon
C. Glenn Lewis
Scholarship
Jeffrey Young
Barbara O. Miller
Memorial Scholarship
Zachary Zeisler
McKenzie Fullford
Shichao (Harry) Hou
Brian Jeter
Jessica Muhle
Andrew M. Taylor
Financial Executive
Institute Scholarship
Bun Song Lee
Scholarship
Jessica Walz
Robert C. Stedman
Scholarship
Union Pacific
Scholarship
FINANCE, BANKING
AND LAW
Jacob Bright
Wei Liu
Steven Warnock
Major Thomas A.
Spencer Business
Scholarship
Mathieu DeGagne
Alexandria McIlnay
Steven Nielsen
Kyle Philipps
Daniel Kuzma
Landmark Group
Graduate
Eunah Hong
Senior
Nathan Kirkland
Junior
Ryan Anderson
Seth Nelson
M. C. Biggerstaff
Memorial Scholarship
Union Pacific Economic
Scholarship
Ed Belgrade Scholarship
Fund
Lisa Caragiulo
Hollis and Helen Baright
Foundation Scholarship
Kelli Goeser
Sheila Walter
Omaha Area
Board of Realtors
Scholarship(OABR)
Debra Danielsen
Ryan Vaughan
Mid-Continent Chapter
Scholarship (CCIM)
Laci Dropinski
Building Owner’s and
Manager’s Association
(BOMA/IFMA)
Scholarship
Amanda Iwanksy
Chelsea Mustoe
Society of Industrial and
Office Realtors (SIOR)
Scholarship
Chris Bauer
Ryan Maas
Jamie Cafferty
Timothy J. Jensen
Accounting Scholarship
Jonathan Lemon
Ernest H. Kenyon
Scholarship in
Accounting
Terry Lundeen
Nebraska Society of
CPAs Scholarship
David Greenamyre
Sonya Holland
Brian Jeter
Ross McGregor
Megan Parks
Nebraska Society of
CPAs Scholarship
Magnuson Scholarship
Megan Schuster
Nebraska Society
of CPAs Fifth-Year
Scholarship
Valerie Novak
Jake Olsen
Ross Olsen
Richard E. Prince
Memorial Scholarship
Nicholas Jasa
Katie Nath
Ora C. and Fred B.
Vomacka Memorial
Scholarship
Alisher Akilov
Jacob Bright
Brandon Dangler
David Greenamyre
Katharine Grimm
Mary Hillabrand
Nicholas Jasa
Brian Jeter
Nino Krilova
Jonathan Lemon
Qingxiu Lin
Wei Liu
Terry Lundeen
Ross McGregor
Katie Nath
Rebecca Near
Megan Parks
Rhonda Ross
Kevin Schuster
Steven Warnock
Katherine Willis
Ryan Wolfe
2009–2010 Internships
ACCOUNTING
ABS Pharma
Marshall McGovern
Bank of the West
Ross McGregor
BKD
Kim Kesler
Bland & Associates
Kim Kesler
Evan Johnson
CoMc LLC
Bailey McIntosh
Connelly & Associates
Josh Norton
Consolidated Water
Solutions
Chad Brummels
Corps of Engineers
Brandy Eaves
Valerie Novak
Deloitte & Touche
David Greenamyre
Cathy Lovell
Dynastic Partners
Brian Sanders
Exxon Mobil
Nick Jasa
FDR
Darren Betts
Kyle Phillips
Joel Janecek
The Kitchen Place
G. Lynn Designs
Tiburon Financial
The UNO Career Center
Union Pacific
Tim Horton's Restaurant
Gerry Parriott
Aaron Wojtkiewicz
Connor Holt
Hiroko Hamasaki
Heather Fleming
Sarah Cruce
Brittney Nichols
Brian Jeter
Cara Horn
McKenzie Fullford
Lindsay Ketcham
McKenzie Fullford
Brittney Nichols
Gastrointestinal Assoc.
Michelle Moore
Hamilton Safe
Valerie Veneck
Justin Cady
Mathieu DeGagne
Cooperative Mutual
Insurance
Alegent Health
New Community
Development Corporation
Jason Sandene
Jennifer Trease
Nicole J. VanAckeren
Thermal Services, Inc.
Woodhouse Auto Family
HyVee
Rad Kadillac
Productions
Arron Kochanowicz
Paul Kushiner
Kristen Ackerman
Bank of the West
Rachel Buckner
Dundee Bank
Matthew Deetz
Amanda LeGrand
Sara Ludacka
Buckle
Volt Technical Resources
UNO Athletics
Marketing Department
Rodney Dillon
Valmont
Ryan E. Pace
Web Equity Solutions
LaTara Stevenson
Creighton University
Athletic Department
University of Nebraska
Medical Center
Lisa Elworth
Convergys Corporation
Alisson Swanson
Keith Fix
Steve Howard--State
Farm
State Farm - Tom Demory
Sarah Heimes
Gunn Photography
Joshua Hick
Regal Printing Company
Erin Kleymann
Elliott Equipment
Akhrordzhon Kosimov
Milliman
Omaha Henry Doorly
Zoo
Ashley Lawson
Sonya Holland
Joel Janecek
West Corporation
John Gudenrath
William Harvey Co.
Kyle Thompson
ECONOMICS
National Indemnity
Insurance Co.
Victor Khaukha
Mutual of Omaha
Kiley Clemens
Gallup Corporation
Kelly Stone
Kate Bloomingdale
FINANCE, BANKING
AND LAW
Alegent Health
Richard J. Anderson
Kayla M. Baker
Kim Barnes
Andy Binder
Breanna DeGeorge
Mallory Douglas
Danielle Kluthe
The Richdale Group
Werner Enterprises
Alegent Health
Associated Apprasers
Lindsey Shulters
LaTara Stevenson
Qdoba
Nicole Watts
Buckle
Zach Willett
Department of Veterans
Affaris
Cornella Williams
Landmark Group
Ryan Zimmerman
Union Pacific
MARKETING
Omahanightlife.com
Broadmoor Development
Mosaic
Gallup
Marathon Venture, Inc.
Volt Technical Resources
Chelsie Krzyzanowski
Matthew Deetz
UNO Athletics
Marketing Department
Baird Holm LLP
Ashley N. Edwards
Margaret Bartolomei
Audra Blatchford
Travelex
Nebraska Golf
Association
Strawhecker Group
REBEL Interactive
Farmer's Insurance
Rednecks
Adam Freese
Gallup
Citi Smith Barney
Jacob Orand
Heidi Henry
Lincoln Financial Group
Edward Jones
Frank John
Renee Mozer
Melissa Nowaczyk
TD Ameritrade
Shonsey Wealth
Management
Kiewit
Kelly Lange
Christina Lien
National Indeminity
Company
ConAgra Foods
Mail Solutions
Brandon Lerch
Diana Lovejoy
Marianna Industries
Valmont Industries, Inc.
Christina Lien
Amanda Hulsebus
Megan Schuster
Dundee Bank
Antonino Nastasi
Enterprise Car Sales
Mutual of Omaha
Ashley McAlexander
Lehigh & Kading
Smith Barney
Melisha Potter
Justin Sindelar
Footprints Asset
Management Research
TD Ameritrade
Kevin McGowan
John Treinen
Payflex Systems USA,
Inc.
MBA
Aaron Junge
Ashley Carroll
Hayes & Associates
Lauren Obermeier
KPMG
Lori Simonsen
Lutz & Associates
Megan Schuster
Shawn Miller
McDermott & Miller
Brittany Jensen
Raymond LeBlanc
Adam Mroczek
Bobby O'Brian
Landmark Management
Group
Allison Poock
Pinnacle Bank
Tera Henrich
Shane Huseth
Daniel Klosowski
Footprints Asset
Management Research
First Data
Kyle Philipps
Mark Bodzek
Megan Parks
First Data
Eric Quadhamer
OPPD
TD Ameritrade
Nicholas A. Smith
McGladrey
Joe Vacha
Millard Manufacturing
Moses Fernandez
Danielle Ellis
Orizon CPA's
Melissa Poppen
Patry Fisher
Trevor Kroll
Physicians Mutual
Lisa Zweibel
Royal & Associates
Steve Jensen
Seim Johnson
Clark Ruby
Matt Evans
Andrew Landrum
Adam Austin
Silverstone Group
Ann Vacanti
Jordan A. Allen
Joshua Passler
Ben Schlosser
Reuben Brauer
Adam Urkoski
Brian Radermacher
Lauren Owen
National Park Service
First Data
Pay DQ
Kyle Philipps
Nathan Kirkland
Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network
Cline Williams Law Firm
Trisha Kyllo
Josh Burlet
Justin Cady
State Farm-Tom Demory
Kali Otteman
Diamond Mortgage
Kyle Amos
Dane Peterson
Leanna Rasmussen
Kyle Sheldon
The Creative J
Blair Soukup
Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network
Landmark Group
Austin Toney
Orthopaedic Marketing
Group
John Trimble
Quality Brands of
Omaha
Advanced Dentistry
Nichole Wentzel
Wells Fargo
Tyler Dolezal
Jessica Jungers
Behzod Soliev
Hernan Miranda
Spring Hill Suites by
Marriott
Kelsey Perlinger
Chad Atherton
Shane Murphy
Mutual of Omaha
Snapstone
MBA TFL Inc.
Creighton University
Bailey Rall
Omaha Royals
Erin Schumacher
Union Pacific Railroad
Envoy, Inc.
MANAGEMENT
Gulruh Niyazova
Disney World
First National Bank of
Omaha
Vic Gutman and
Associates
Muzaffarjon Mahsudov
TD Ameritrade
Radha Sarma
Southwestern Co.
Danielle Carlson
Brite Ideas Decorating
Radio Lobo KBBX
Jordan Platisha
Toby Deyle
Beth Harris
Elmwood Pharmacy
Prescriptions
Union Pacific
Darren Betts
Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network
Jordan Bieranowski
Chelsea Mustoe
Janelle Volkenant
Andrew Nuss
Paul Finochiaro
Zach Horner
Ryan Maas
Children's Respite Care
Center
Maple Street YMCA
Hancock & Dana
Meredith Klein
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
Fletcher McMeen
Loraine Ellis
NEI Global
JOY Medical Group
Dan Shaffar
Lifetime Financial Group
Northwestern Mutual
Financial Network
REAL ESTATE AND
LAND USE ECONOMICS
Brite Ideas Decorating
Professional Research
Consultants, Inc.
ConAgra Foods
OmahaNightlife.com/
DKA Design Group
Adam Ellenberger
Brian Southworth
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 45
FACULTY AND NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
ACCOUNTING
Susan Eldridge, Associate
Professor and Department
Chairperson, 2002. Union Pacific
Professorship. Ph.D. University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 1997.
Jack Armitage, Associate Professor,
1983. Spencer Professorship. Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1987,
CPA.
Richard File, Professor, 1991. Spencer
Professorship. Ph.D. University of
Texas 1981, CPA.
Wikil Kwak, Professor, 1989.
Distinguished Alumni Professorship.
Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
1990.
Janet West, Assistant Professor, 1967.
MA, Michigan State University, 1964.
John Mark Leonard, Instructor. MA,
University of New Mexico, 1997.
FINANCE, BANKING
AND LAW
David Volkman, Associate
Professor and Department
Chairperson, 1989. Cloud
Professorship. Ph.D. University of
Nebraska at Lincoln, 1992.
Michael O’Hara, Professor, 1981, J.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1978.
Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
1983.
Burch Kealey, Associate Professor,
2001. Hockett Professorship. Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma, 1996.
Weiyu Guo, Associate Professor, 1999.
Nebraska Bankers Professorship.
Ph.D. University of Missouri-Columbia,
1999.
Jennifer Blaskovich, Assistant
Professor, 2007. Ph.D. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, 2005.
Kathleen Henebry, Associate
Professor, 1992. Ph.D. University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1992.
Roopa Chandrasekhar, Assistant
Professor, 2009. Ph.D. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008.
Darryll Lewis, Associate Professor,
1986. J.D. Creighton University, 1978.
Jonna Holland, Associate Professor,
1996. Ph.D. University of NebraskaLincoln, 1996.
James Jones, Associate Professor,
1998. Ph.D. University of NebraskaLincoln, 1998.
Robert Ottemann, Associate
Professor, 1973. Ph.D. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, 1974. J.D. Creighton
University, 1984.
Amy Rodie, Associate Professor,
Marketing, 1994. Ph.D. Arizona State
University, 1995.
Birud Sindhav, Associate Professor,
2000. Ph.D. University of Oklahoma,
2001.
Dale Eesley, Assistant Professr,
2008. Ph.D. University of WisconsinMadison, 2002
Patricia Meglich, Assistant Professor,
2007. Ph.D., Kent State University,
2006.
David Blair, Instructor, 2009. MBA,
University of Nebraska at Omaha,
2001.
ADMINISTRATION
Louis Pol, Dean, Professor, 1984.
Ph.D., Florida State University, 1978.
Larry Larson
(Retired) KPMG LLP
Alexandra M. Kaczmarek, Director,
MBA Program, 1990. MBA, University
of Nebraska at Omaha, 1989.
Michael Maroney
Omaha Economic Development Corp.
David Nielsen, Director, IT and Budget,
1990. MS, UnIversity of Nebraska at
Omaha, 1992
Bill Swanson, Director EMBA/
Professional Management Education;
MBA, UNO, 1991.
Laura Ilcisin, Lecturer. MBA, University
of Nebraska at Omaha, 1980.
Lori Simonsen, Instructor. MPA,
University of Nebraska at Omaha,
2005.
Olivier Maisondieu Laforge, Assistant
Professor, 2004. Ph.D. University of
Cincinnati, 2004.
Janet West, Co-Director, Assistant
Professor, 1967. MA, Michigan State
University, 1964.
Ivan Gilreath
ING Group
ECONOMICS
Laura Beal, Lecturer. MBA, University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1991.
Donald Baum, Associate
Professor and Department
Chairperson, 1987. Ph.D. Claremont
Graduate School, 1979.
Catherine Co, Professor, 2000.
Lindley Professorship. Ph.D. Rutgers
University, 1995.
Arthur Diamond, Professor, 1986.
Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1978.
MARKETING/
MANAGEMENT
Phani Tej Adidam, Professor and
Department Chairperson, 1996.
Executive Management Education
Professorship. Ph.D Texas Tech
University, 1996.
David Ambrose, Professor, 1973. DBA
George Washington University, 1971.
Shuanglin Lin, Professor, 1989.
Noddle Professorship. Ph.D. Purdue
University, 1989.
Ziaul Huq, Professor, 1987. Ph.D.
University of Kentucky, 1990.
Roger Sindt, Professor, 1979. Ph.D.
Texas A&M University, 1972.
Tom Martin, Professor, 1989. Ph.D.
University of Iowa, 1977.
Mark Wohar, Professor, 1988. CBA
Distinguished Professorship. Ph.D.
University of Illinois, 1985.
Rebecca Morris, Professor, 1988. Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1988.
William Corcoran, Associate Professor,
1980. Ph.D. Rutgers University, 1979.
Christopher Decker, Associate
Professor, 2001. John Lucas
Professorship. Ph.D. Indiana
University, 2000.
Steven Shultz, Associate Professor,
2005. Baright Professorship; Ph.D.
University of Arizona
Jinlan Ni, Assistant Professor, 2006.
Ph.D., Purdue University, 2005.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
John Anstey, Associate Professor,
1968. Ph.D. University of Arkansas,
1974.
Robert Briggs, Associate Professor,
2009. Ph.D. University of Arizona,
1994.
John E. Erickson Jr., Associate
Professor, 2003. Ph.D. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, 2004.
John Hafer, Associate Professor, 1989.
Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
1979.
46
Kim Sosin, Center Associate, 1980.
Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
1970.
Lloyd A. Meyer
Leo A Daly
Ross Ridenoure
Southern California Edison
Dennis D. Blackman
Blackman & Associates
Becki Drahota
Mills Financial Marketing
Fran Marshall
Girl Scouts-Spirit of Nebraska
Mary Prefontaine
ICAN, Inc.
Mickey Anderson
Performance Auto Group
UNO CENTER FOR
ECONOMIC EDUCATION
Charles J. Marr
(Retired) Alegent Systems
Gary D. Penisten
(Retired) Sterling Drug
DEAN’S NATIONAL
ADVISORY BOARD
Wei Wang Rowe, Associate Professor,
1999. Ph.D. Southern Illinois University
at Carbondale, 1999.
Mary Lynn Reiser, Associate Director,.
MS, University of Nebraska at Omaha,
1993.
Jack Koraleski
Union Pacific Railroad
Robert Bernier, Assistant Dean, NBDC
State Director, 1979. Ph.D. University
of Nebraska at Omaha, 2000.
Greg Morin, Instructor. MA, University
of Nebraska at Omaha, 1999.
James Dick, Co-Director, Professor,
Ed.D, Indiana University, 1974.
John Hoich
Hoich Enterprises
Lynn Harland, Associate Dean,
Professor, 1989. Ph.D., University of
Iowa, 1991.
Graham Mitenko, Associate Professor,
1987. DBA Memphis State University,
1987.
Xiaoyan Cheng, Assistant Professor,
2009. Ph.D. University of NebraskaLincoln, 2009.
Rod Heng
(Retired) KPMG LLP
Rick Sampson
Valmont Industries
John Bredemeyer
Realcorp, Inc.
Jeffrey R. Schmid
Mutual of Omaha
Mark Theisen
Woodmen of the World
Mike Walter
(Retired) ConAgra
Dan Gomez
UMB Bank - Omaha
Thomas Warren
Urban League of Nebraska
Mark Grieb
AAA Nebraska
Horace Wu
Attorney
Tim Hart
First National Bank
Jason Henderson
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
NEBRASKA BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Marjorie Miskec, Assistant State
Director, 2000. MPA, University of
Nebraska at Omaha, 1997.
Andrew Alexander, Manager,
Procurement Technical Assistance,
2006. MA, Central Michigan University,
1981.
Martin Kostecki, Team Leader,
Manufacturing Extension Partnership,
2001. MS, Purdue University, 1972.
Janet Tschudin, Program Director,
1990. MBA, University of Nebraska at
Omaha, 1990.
Jean Waters, SBIR/STTR Program,
2001. MS, Kansas State University,
1978.
Richard Yoder, Director, Pollution
Prevention Regional Information
Center, 1996. BS, Iowa State University,
1982.
College of
BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
Dear alumni and friends,
While the State provides funding for basic operations, the academic opportunities and enhancements that advance
UNO’s College of Business Administration come from private gifts. These gifts provide scholarships, help to attract and
retain outstanding faculty, enhance programs and allow the College to take advantage of unique opportunities.
To make a gift, complete the following information and place in an envelope addressed to:University of Nebraska
Foundation, 2285 South 67th Street, Suite 200, Omaha, NE 68106. Don’t forget to check with your employer for
matching gift opportunities.
Sue Kutschkau
My total gift is $ _____________. Please designate For UNO fund(s) as follows:
director of development
CBA College Fund (All Depts.) #2496 $ ________


CBA Management Fund #5078 $ ________

CBA Economic Excell. Fund #5048 $ ________

Nebraska Bus Dev Center (NBDC) #2822 $ ________

CBA Finance & Banking Fund #5039 $ ________

CBA Professional Accounting Fund #5008 $ ________

CBA Marketing Fund #5105

CBA Real Estate/Land Use Fund #5040 $ ________
$ ________
Name_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address_______________________________________________________________________________________________
City__________________________ State_________________________ Zip_______________________________________
INTERESTED IN A
NAMING
OPPORTUNITY
IN THE NEW
MAMMEL HALL?
Phone________________________________________________________________________________________________
Email_________________________________________________________________________________________________
I am paying by:  Check. Make payable to UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION
 Visa  MasterCard  Discover American Express
Call 402-502-4109
or email
[email protected]
Card Number_________________________________________________________ Exp. Date________________________
Cardholder’s Signature___________________________________________________________________________________
Or give online at cba.unomaha.edu/give
2009 YEAR IN REVIEW 47
NON-PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
OMAHA NE
PERMIT NO. 301
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Roskens Hall 414
6001 Dodge Street
Omaha NE 68182-0048
402-554-2303
http://cba.unomaha.edu