New faculty were introduced last Friday at UNK's opening convocation and classes began on Monday, officially marking the opening of another school year. In spite of the current budget cutting cycle that is leaving fewer resources for academic administrators, it is worthwhile to reflect for a moment on the variety and quality of the 35 new faculty to join the University this fall.
Most have earned terminal degrees in their respective fields from universities as far ranging as the University of New Mexico, Washington State University, and the University of Albany. Many have their degrees, as well, from universities around the Midwest including the University of Iowa and our sister institution, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Fields of expertise range from military science (UNK re-started ROTC on campus last year), communications disorders to experimental atomic physics and many more. This new crop of faculty brings a huge range of experience including such accomplishments as founding and leading a community music organization, working as part of the management team of The Buckle and American Foods Group, serving as a Materials Manager at Eaton Corporation in Kearney, as an intelligence analyst for the military in Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, conducting strategic planning for expansion of global education at St. John's University in New York, spending 35 years as an elementary principal, playing in major orchestras, and, of course, many have served as professors at prominent universities around the country. This listing is but a small sampling.
UNK is very proud of the expertise and accomplishments of its new faculty, who join an already sterling faculty who are contributing to the knowledge in their respective fields through scholarship while, at the same time, serving as mentor-teachers to UNK's 6,500-plus students.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
UNK Maintains 15th Rank Among Midwest Public Universities at the Master's Level
The University of Nebraska at Kearney yesterday announced that the campus has again earned a ranking in the top tier of the "U.S. News & World Report's" listing of the Best Universities-Master’s, public and private, in the Midwest. UNK was ranked against a total of 139 universities across 12 states in this category.
Further, for the third consecutive year, UNK ranks 15th among all public universities at the master’s level in the Midwest.
The overall ranking is a composite of scores in several specific categories. UNK measures equal to, or better than, the average of its Board of Regent-defined peer group in 8 of 11 scores. Compared to last year’s scores, UNK improved its graduation rate from 55 to 56 percent, increased the number of classes with fewer than 20 students from 37 to 39 percent, reduced the number of classes with more than 50 students from 6 to 5 percent, and increased the number of freshmen who rank in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating class from 36 to 38 percent. UNK’s average freshman retention rate (81%) and the percent of faculty who are full-time (91%) are also noteworthy, especially in comparison to its peers.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Undergraduate Research—A UNK Distinctive
The Undergraduate Research Fellows (URF) program of the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is one of a very few undergraduate research programs in the nation funded entirely by student fees.
This comprehensive and experiential learning opportunity is a reality at UNK, largely because students last year were willing to add $1.50 per credit hour in student fees to fund URF. Last school year, 75 sophomores, juniors and seniors, collectively, were awarded fellowships. Provided that the student makes appropriate progress, fellowships are renewed annually. In a given year, conceivably, up to 100 Research Fellows may be supported.
By the time they are juniors, Research Fellows will be able to develop and conduct their own original research or creative projects. Each Fellow receives a $1,000 stipend each year. Students can apply for grants to support their projects, participate in a multi-disciplinary summer research program; apply for support to present their work at conferences; and have their findings published in journals.
Though the URF program is new, undergraduate research has been a distinctive mark of student experience at UNK for many years and has brought national recognition to the campus. For instance, UNK’s strong presence at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) has helped gain national attention for UNK as a premier undergraduate research university because UNK student researchers are usually amongst the top five school delegations in attendance, with 50 or more students presenting their research each year.
Over time, several other student research programs have contributed to the establishment of the URF program. Some examples: the Summer Student Research program; the annual publication of UNK’s Undergraduate Research Journal, the Mentoring Award program, and the burgeoning Student Research Day.
Undergraduate research at UNK was noted recently by Governor Dave Heineman in an op-ed piece published in newspapers across the state. Heineman stated, “During the past five years, UNK student-scholars have participated in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in greater numbers than any other Nebraska college or university. The 13th edition of UNK’s Undergraduate Research Journal shows the wide range of student scholarship, with articles ranging from an in-depth market feasibility study for a proposed retail business to a detailed analysis of two Beethoven piano sonatas.”
Through the URF program, and only because of the student-supported fee, faculty mentors receive a $500 stipend each year for materials that are supportive of their mentoring effort. A dynamic potential in the faculty mentoring role in the URF program is that a faculty mentor can formally support up to three fellows per year. At UNK, faculty are particularly inspired about the kind of collaborative groups and learning these relationships will cultivate.
According to the URF program design, to be a faculty mentor, one must have been an active scholar—for instance, published a national article or activity—in the last two years. The program not only demonstrates that UNK faculty are engaged in their own discipline so that they can optimally model scholarship for their student-mentees, it supports and enhances the legendary strength of faculty-student relationships at UNK.
This comprehensive and experiential learning opportunity is a reality at UNK, largely because students last year were willing to add $1.50 per credit hour in student fees to fund URF. Last school year, 75 sophomores, juniors and seniors, collectively, were awarded fellowships. Provided that the student makes appropriate progress, fellowships are renewed annually. In a given year, conceivably, up to 100 Research Fellows may be supported.
By the time they are juniors, Research Fellows will be able to develop and conduct their own original research or creative projects. Each Fellow receives a $1,000 stipend each year. Students can apply for grants to support their projects, participate in a multi-disciplinary summer research program; apply for support to present their work at conferences; and have their findings published in journals.
Though the URF program is new, undergraduate research has been a distinctive mark of student experience at UNK for many years and has brought national recognition to the campus. For instance, UNK’s strong presence at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) has helped gain national attention for UNK as a premier undergraduate research university because UNK student researchers are usually amongst the top five school delegations in attendance, with 50 or more students presenting their research each year.
Over time, several other student research programs have contributed to the establishment of the URF program. Some examples: the Summer Student Research program; the annual publication of UNK’s Undergraduate Research Journal, the Mentoring Award program, and the burgeoning Student Research Day.
Undergraduate research at UNK was noted recently by Governor Dave Heineman in an op-ed piece published in newspapers across the state. Heineman stated, “During the past five years, UNK student-scholars have participated in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in greater numbers than any other Nebraska college or university. The 13th edition of UNK’s Undergraduate Research Journal shows the wide range of student scholarship, with articles ranging from an in-depth market feasibility study for a proposed retail business to a detailed analysis of two Beethoven piano sonatas.”
Through the URF program, and only because of the student-supported fee, faculty mentors receive a $500 stipend each year for materials that are supportive of their mentoring effort. A dynamic potential in the faculty mentoring role in the URF program is that a faculty mentor can formally support up to three fellows per year. At UNK, faculty are particularly inspired about the kind of collaborative groups and learning these relationships will cultivate.
According to the URF program design, to be a faculty mentor, one must have been an active scholar—for instance, published a national article or activity—in the last two years. The program not only demonstrates that UNK faculty are engaged in their own discipline so that they can optimally model scholarship for their student-mentees, it supports and enhances the legendary strength of faculty-student relationships at UNK.
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