About the Academy | Nebraska Business Honors Academy | Academics | Business

Mission

The mission of the Academy is to transform high-ability students with leadership potential into the business leaders of tomorrow by innovatively developing critical thinking, problem solving, technical knowledge, leadership and communication skills and connecting Academy students with leading employers.

The Academy strives to enhance the national visibility and reputation of the College of Business by attracting the best students, equipping those students to successfully compete for jobs with top companies, and strengthening ties with employers and successful alumni.

Learning Outcomes

Before developing the Academy curriculum, we talked with successful businessmen and women and examined honors programs offered by other colleges and universities. Based on this information, we identified key learning outcomes essential to success as a business leader, and built the Academy curriculum around these learning outcomes. The Academy experience will help students:

Develop strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Apply critical thinking skills to new and different problem settings
- Solve analytical and quantitative problems
- Develop strong computer modeling skills
Develop superior oral communication skills, with a particular focus on presentation skills
Develop excellent written communication skills
Improve leadership ability by enhancing:
- Strategic thinking and ethical decision-making skills
- Team-building skills
- Understanding of global business issues
Improve networking and business relationship-building skills

Erin Burnette

Erin Burnette is the director of the Honors Academy and joined the Husker family in October 2012. She received her bachelor of arts in psychology from Truman State University and continued on for her master's degree in higher education and student affairs at the University of South Carolina. Erin worked to develop and enhance the experience of college students in the areas of leadership programs, student involvement, undergraduate research, academic support and advising, and admissions and has also held positions with high school leadership programs at Brown University and Yale University.

In her spare time, Erin loves to watch and play sports and spend time with her husband and identical twin toddlers. Additionally, she is a huge foodie and loves to travel and explore new restaurants and cuisines. Fun fact: She has visited over 150 college campuses!

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Becka Neary-DeLaPorte

Dr. Rebekah "Becka" Neary-DeLaPorte is the assistant director for the Honors Academy. She earned her bachelor of arts in journalism from Simpson College, her master of science in college student personnel administration from Illinois State University and earned her doctorate in adult and higher education administration from the University of South Dakota. Her doctoral research explored the motivating factors which contributed to the recruitment and retention of faculty members serving as student organization advisors. Prior to joining the University of Nebraska–Lincoln team, Becka spent her professional career working in the division of student affairs, helping promote student involvement, planning campus wide programming, facilitating leadership development opportunities and providing oversight to student organizations.

Becka enjoys traveling, writing for Omaha Mom's Blog and spending time with her husband, two dogs and twin boys. Fun Fact: Becka worked on a Hawaiian cruise ship one summer while in college.

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