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.

The "New" Bruner Hall of Science Complex at the University of Nebraska Kearney Dedicated with Fanfare--The Edge of Science

Today, UNK's renovated, enlarged and greatly improved Bruner Hall of Science will be dedicated in a noontime ceremony marked by speeches by university leaders, the presence of many dignitaries and a ribbon cutting engineered by students, past and present.
Besides providing a new visual signature to the campus, especially the dramatic structure facing the UNK Main Quadrangle and housing a spherical Planetarium "egg" behind its glass facade, Bruner Hall brings a whole new design to the instructional and research spaces for UNK students and faculty.
The original art mural on the facade of the building sets the tone for what is inside, including the basic scientific disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology as the underpinnings of Health Sciences, with over 600 students in 19 programs, one of the largest areas of study at UNK.

   A UNK trademark is close faculty-student collaboration, especially in undergraduate research--research that frequently rivals research institutions in its quality and contribution to knowledge. And the degree of undergraduates' hands-on experiences in laboratories, with actual research projects, as partners with professors, is way ahead of their counterparts' ability to participate in research at most Research I institutions. Modern teaching and research labs have been designed for teaching science in the twenty-first century.

Other features of the building include: Nebraska’s only Foucault pendulum, a replica of the first experiment to dynamically prove that the Earth rotated on its axis; a roof observatory to give both community visitors and students opportunities to explore the sky with state-of-the-art telescopes and electronics; a living animal facility; and an herbarium.

With the dedication today of the new Bruner Hall of Science complex, UNK enters a new chapter in its long history of providing excellent science education to its students from Nebraska and around the country and world.

UNK Acquires Property for a New Campus Gateway and to Address Safety Concerns

A long sought-after piece of property along the east side of the campus officially became property of the University of Nebraska at Kearney in August.

Ownership of the land by the university will now make it possible to address safety concerns in the area, ease traffic flow and create a main entrance to the campus. The parcel, which is comprised of the west end of the 800 block between 25th and 26th Streets, had been part of the O.G. "Bob" Saunders estate since Saunders passed away in 2007.

Because changes in traffic flow in the area to develop a new “gateway” to the campus will involve city streets and a state highway, UNK planning will involve consultants, the City of Kearney and the State Highway Department. All plans so far are preliminary.

Planning for demolition of the unoccupied building (most recently occupied by Follett’s Bookstore and a military service recruiting office) is underway and is expected to begin mid-October. The immediate building perimeter is currently fenced to keep passersby at a safe distance from the structure due to its fragile, extending roof.

Although ownership and possession of the parcel has been transferred to the university, the final cost of the property is still being determined. An appraisal by a panel of three experts appointed by the Buffalo County Court set the value at $480,000. However, the Saunders family has since filed an appeal in Buffalo County District Court. That appeal is still pending.

UNK Enrollment Up for Sixth Consecutive Year

Enrollment at the University of Nebraska at Kearney increased this year for the sixth year in a row. UNK’s headcount enrollment was 6,650, the highest total since 1999 and an increase of 1.6 percent over last year. Aggregate student credit hours – the course-load that students take -- also rose, by 0.6 percent over last fall. Students have come to UNK this year from all 93 counties in Nebraska, 46 countries around the world, and 47 states.

Growth was particularly strong at the graduate level, as UNK offerings continue to attract students who seek career or personal development through advanced education. Total enrollment in graduate programs increased by 12.5 percent, to a total of 1,619, as both online and on-campus numbers rose compared to last year’s result.

Undergraduate results were somewhat mixed. Overall, undergraduate headcount decreased by 1.4 percent, mainly because of declines in part-time, nonresident, and international students that produced a smaller first-time, full-time freshman class of 969 students. That group is 6.6 percent smaller than last year’s comparatively large class. Even so, the Fall 2009 freshman class is larger than the groups which entered UNK in Fall 2006 and 2007. Freshman representation from key areas in Nebraska held stable or rose, and there was a notable rise in freshman from the Omaha region. Undergraduate transfers also increased by 14.4 percent, to 334, or the best result since Fall 2005.

Although the freshman class was smaller than last year’s, its average ACT score is the highest ever achieved by an entering class at the Kearney campus. Additionally, numbers of new enrolled Honors Program freshmen rose to the highest level in six years (145). These high academic achievers bring with them an average ACT score of 28.2.

35 New Faculty Enhance Academic Expertise and Experience at UNK

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.