UNMC, NU’s Medical Center in Omaha, partners with the University of Nebraska at Kearney to educate more rural physicians

In recognition of the demand for more family physicians in rural Nebraska, UNMC and UNK announced today a new partnership called the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, or “KHOP.” The program will target high school seniors interested in family medicine.
The program works like this:
• Five students a year will be accepted into the program starting with the 2010-2011 class this fall. Applications are being accepted now.
• For the 2011-2012 class the deadline to apply is Dec. 1, 2010.
• The students will be accepted into KHOP in their senior year of high school.
• After completing their undergraduate studies at UNK, they will automatically be accepted into medical school at UNMC, provided they maintain an acceptable grade point average.
• The students will receive a tuition waiver for their time at UNK but will have to pay tuition and compete for scholarships when they get to UNMC.
• Acceptance into the program is based on academic standing, ACT scores, community involvement and a desire to return to rural Nebraska.
The program is similar to “RHOP,” the Rural Health Opportunities Program, started in 1990 in partnership with Chadron State College and Wayne State College.

UNK Professor named 2009 Social Worker of the Year

Dr. Maha Younes, professor and chair of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Social Work, has been named 2009 Social Worker of the Year by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-NE).
In addition to teaching and research, her professional work includes more than 20 years of clinical experience working with survivors of sexual abuse, domestic violence, eating disorders and relationship dysfunctions. Her clinical experience began at Hastings Regional Center where she worked as a psychiatric social worker. She served as a clinical social worker at South Central Behavioral Services from 1986-1991. She also maintained a private practice agency from 1986-2001.
For the past few years, Dr. Younes has led the Nebraska Consortium of Social Work School and worked closely with policy makers and leaders from the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services (NDHHS) to promote the professionalization of the child welfare workforce in Nebraska. Through her advocacy and leadership, she has stressed that improvements in child welfare services in Nebraska will only emerge through the professional preparation and hiring of graduates with social work degrees.
In 1999, she developed the International Social Work Experiences Program at UNK with the goal of promoting cultural competence and global engagement.
In 2005, she was one of only 14 scholars from universities across the nation selected as a Fulbright Scholar to Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).

Educator at University of Nebraska at Kearney Named U.S. Professor of the Year

A University of Nebraska at Kearney psychology professor is the first Nebraska educator to be named a U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in the nearly 30 years of this prestigious national teaching award.
Dr. Rick Miller, UNK professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, received the award at a luncheon and awards ceremony last week in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Miller earned the award in the Outstanding Master's Universities and Colleges category. The U.S. Professor of the Year award is recognized as one of the most prestigious national awards honoring undergraduate teaching. The national award is also presented to educators in the categories of Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities, Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges and Outstanding Community Colleges. The four national winners each receive a $5,000 cash award from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Judges select winners based on four criteria: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues, and current and former undergraduate students. The U.S. Professors of the Year awards program, created in 1981, is the only national initiative specifically designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.

Sneak Preview of New Planetarium at University of Nebraska at Kearney

I feel privileged!  I just returned this afternoon from a sneak preview of UNK’s new indoor universe—a 60-seat theatre within a 35-foot diameter great white ball in the heart of campus. Physics professor and planetarium maestro Dr. Jose Mena-Werth gave his first star show to a very small group of, as I said, privileged, guests to help him shake down some of the new and very impressive technology housed in this space age setting.

The UNK Planetarium will serve UNK students, area schools, and the general public. Set under a 30-foot interior doom, the Zeiss star projector can show the sky including the sun, moon, planets, and more than 7,000 stars as they would be seen from any place on the Earth at any time. The Planetarium’s state-of-the-art sound, lighting, and control systems will be used to create educational, multimedia programs on astronomy and other topics. In addition to star shows, Dr. Mena-Werth expects to provide visitors the experience of a Nebraska thunderstorm, sunrise and sunset,  and other natural phenomena.

Regular shows will begin in January, including two scheduled public shows each month. The Physics Department staff will also give shows to school groups and private organizations. To schedule a show or for more information, contact Kristie Mosher at 308-865-8277 or via e-mail at mosherk@unk.edu.

Old Follett Bookstore Building Razed at University of Nebraska at Kearney's Main Entrance

A longstanding landmark building near the entrance to UNK is no longer there, as of yesterday. (See previous post from September 17 for the full story of the building and its acquisition by the university.) The frame building was in poor shape, and, according to UNK's facilities managers, posed a risk even to passersby due to the sagging roof.
Now that the building is gone, planning will begin in earnest to reshape a new entrance "gateway" to the university, improving safety for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area.
Early concepts for the reshaping of the area include a "roundabout," intended to replace the awkward existing intersection, slow traffic near the highly trafficked university entrance area, and improve the landscaping and aesthetics to a standard befitting of a major university campus.

University of Nebraska at Kearney Compares Favorably to its Peer Institutions on the Most Important Measures

The campus just received the latest annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics comparing UNK to its Board of Regent-designated peer universities, 10 similarly situated universities ranging from Kentucky to Colorado and Minnesota to Texas. The report, IPEDS Data Feedback Report 2009, includes 2007-08 data (the most recently compiled) on enrollment, graduation rates, student charges, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances—all critical measuring sticks in assessing progress at UNK. Here are a few highlights from the report:
1. Nine percent of UNK’s total student body is international, compared with three percent of peers.
2. UNK’s student-to-faculty ratio is 16 to 1: peers average 19 to 1
3. UNK’s tuition and fees (08-09) total $5,018 compared to $6,286 for peer universities.
4. Thirty-one percent of UNK’s students receive need-based federal Pell grants vs. 25 percent of students at peer institutions.
5. Retention rate of full-time students from freshmen to sophomore status is 79 percent compared to 72 percent of peer universities.
6. UNK’s overall official graduation rate stands at 59 percent while peers’ graduation rate is 49 percent.
7. Illustrating how UNK has made budget decisions in support of the academic mission, forty-seven percent of UNK’s core expenses go to instruction. At peer universities, the average spent for instruction is 41 percent.
8. Again, clearly demonstrating UNK’s strong commitment to its academic mission, 45 percent of UNK’s workforce is placed in the category serving teaching, research and service; this compares to 39 percent in the peer average.
9. Although UNK is a teaching university, resources devoted to research at this campus are about the same as its typically larger peers, several of which are doctorate-granting institutions.
10. UNK’s transfer out rate is significantly small, compared to peers.
11. UNK’s budget relies far less than peers on tuition and fees. Conversely, UNK relies more than peers on the state appropriation.

These comparisons are consistent with UNK’s priority values of academic strength, a commitment to student success, affordability, faculty teacher-scholars who provide a personalized approach to their students’ education, and a commitment to providing a world perspective as a major component of the UNK educational experience.
Additional information about IPEDS and this data may be found online at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds and the UNK Fact Book site: http://www.unk.edu/factbook.

New “Branch Simulation Lab” opened this morning at University of Nebraska at Kearney's College of Business and Technology

Over 100 Industrial Distribution Program Partners, students, professors and other members of the UNK community were on hand early this morning for the ribbon cutting of the latest jewel in the crown of this national award winning program of the College of Business and Technology at UNK. The new lab provides a cutting edge educational environment for Industrial Distribution students, those 214 students studying for a career in technical sales.

The new lab includes a showroom, an inside/outside sales office, racking area for products, conveyer tracks, a fork lift, and many other components that provide a realistic environment for students and instructors to simulate an actual branch sales distribution center.

Last Spring, the UNK Industrial Distribution program was named one of the top in the nation by the University Sales Education Foundation. The UNK program was also listed recently in a national trade journal as a top program of its kind both nationally and internationally, the only program from Nebraska to make the list. The UNK Industrial Distribution program is accredited by the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT) and is one of only 55 accredited baccalaureate level programs in the nation and the only one in Nebraska.

Besides being a top-notch sales training program, the UNK Industrial Distribution Bachelor of Science degree is a very serious academic venture, requiring 73 semester hours to complete. Included in the requirements are an internship, three sales oriented technical courses and two professional selling/negotiation courses. Multiple career events, attracting employers from across the nation, are held each year at UNK exclusively for ID majors, and a corporate ID “partners” program allows firms to develop personal relationships with students prior to considering them for hire. Hiring rate of successful graduates each year is near 100 percent.

The UNK College of Business and Technology is leading the way in Nebraska to prepare students for excellent careers in many fields of business and technology-related fields. Industrial Distribution’s new Branch Simulation Lab the latest example of UNK’s commitment to provide the best education possible for its students.