Achievements for August 2026

Highlights of achievements by faculty, staff and students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in August 2026 include rankings, awards, research publications, leadership. experiential learning, service and notable involvement in the college and university. 

Ranking

• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln online Master of Business Administration program ranked No. 7 nationally in The Princeton Review listing of Top 50 Online MBA Programs for 2027 and No. 1 in the state for the second consecutive year. Read the story.

Honors and Awards 

• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business received national recognition for giving first-year students an opportunity many business schools reserve for juniors and seniors. The Business Battle, the signature experience in the college's Introduction to Business course, received the 2026 MidAmerican Business Deans Association Innovation in Business Education Award for Pedagogical or Curricular Innovations. Read the story.
• The Business Career Center named Sandhills Global its Employer of the Year for 2025-26 during Employer Partners Day. The award recognizes them for their dedication to the growth and success of Nebraska Business students through career opportunities, hiring, internships, classroom engagement and more as a valued Partner of the center. 
• The College of Business Communications, Marketing and External Relations team received the 2025-26 Sue Vagts Faculty/Staff Partner of the Year Award from the Business Career Center during Employer Partners Day. The award recognizes the team's collaboration and efforts to share career opportunities and resources with business students. Team members include: Sheri Irwin-Gish, executive director; Kimberly Smith, associate director; Laura Niles, external relations director; Jayme Hahn, assistant director of web services; and Stephanie Smith, social media and design coordinator. 
• Shania Orozco, senior marketing major from Omaha, was named the Business Career Center's 2025-26 Intern of the Year for embodying the center's values of developing confident, professional, and connected business students for lifelong career success. Her internship employer, Union Pacific Railroad, nominated her for developing process innovations that cut time in half, demonstrating leadership and a commitment to helping other interns succeed.
• Andrew Hanna, assistant professor of management and Seacrest Teaching Fellow, received the 2026 Rising Star Early Career Award from the Network of Leadership Scholars at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Read the story.
• Dean Kathy Farrell presented Dean's Coins to Martin Holmes, Danielle Dale and Nicholas Horsewood at Jesus College, University of Oxford, for their work with the Nebraska at Oxford program. The longtime partnership has provided more than 2,000 Huskers opportunities to study at Oxford in England.

Research and Publications

• Rebecca Jack, Ph.D. student in economics, received a one-year Buffett Early Childhood Institute Graduate Scholarship for her early childhood research "Afterschool Care and Maternal Labor Force Participation." Her mentor is Brendan Timpe, associate professor in economics. The Buffett Institute has invested more than $800,000 in Ph.D. research in Nebraska through its Graduate Scholars program. 

Notable Involvement

• The Clifton Strengths Institute held its sixth Strengths Summer Conference. Nearly 250 strengths champions from 20 colleges, universities and organizations across Nebraska and the Midwest gathered at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The conference explored how understanding strengths helps people lead, teach and work more effectively. Read the story. 

  

• The Clifton Strengths Institute certified 29 University of Nebraska-Lincoln employees as Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches, including 13 College of Business faculty and staff members: Shatil Anaholy, assistant professor of practice in economics; Dylan Anderson, program coordinator in the Clifton Strengths Institute; Ethan Carlson, assistant director of the Clifton Builders Program; Bridget Harris, assistant director of media production; Shawntelle Kroese, assistant professor of practice in management; Ryan Meers, assistant director of the Strengths Program; Amber Messersmith, executive director of the Center for Executive & Professional Development and lecturer of management; Osvaldo Palma Vargas, career coach; Phyllis Schwab, department operations manager of economics; Alicia Steggs Buchanan, data analyst; Kevin Sueper, program coordinator and academic advisor; Lisa Tschauner, assistant professor of practice in management; and Jaime Zamarripa, recruitment and events coordinator.  
• Zanib Al Razaq, senior economics and Spanish major from Lincoln who studied Portuguese this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, received a fellowship for language learning through the Critical Language Scholarship Program and the Boren Awards. Al Razaq is an executive fellow at ECHO Collective, supporting program development and community engagement initiatives, and a Forsythe Family Undergraduate Research Fellow studying the economic impact of refugee- and immigrant-owned businesses in Lincoln. She previously received the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study in Spain. An Arabic, Spanish and English speaker, she plans to pursue a Juris Doctor and a career in international law and economic development. Read the Nebraska Today story
• Emily Frech, senior marketing and Clifton Builders management major from Erie, Colorado, interned with the Academy of Country Music last spring. She helped stage one of the organization’s largest fundraising events in Las Vegas, an experience that confirmed the career path she hopes to pursue. Read her story.

In The News

• Brock Anderson and Logan Hoffman, university students and business partners who launched Premier Umpires LLC to more easily staff youth sports games with local referees, competed in the Center for Entrepreneurship's New Venture Competition and were featured in Nebraska Today article. Read the story.
• Jennifer Davidson, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president, Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow and associate professor of practice in economics, spoke to 10/11 News about back-to-school shopping. She said families will spend an average of $611 on back-to-school purchases this year, $130 less than last year. Watch the interview.
• Jennifer Davidson also spoke to 10/11 News about "subscription fatigue" and the importance of evaluating recurring expenses to determine which services and products consumers need and use. Watch the interview.
• Revanth Raghupatruni, Ph.D. student in marketing, was featured in WalletHub article about the "Best American Express Balance Transfer Credit Cards." Read the article.