Learn more about recent honors, appointments and publications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in this month’s achievements column, which highlights the accomplishments of faculty, staff and students.
Honors and Awards
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln climbed seven spots to No. 35 globally in the 2026 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine list of the Top 50 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs. Nebraska remains the top-ranked university in the state and No. 10 in the Midwest. Multiple outlets, including Entrepreneur Magazine, KHGI, Silicon Prairie News and Tri-State Livestock News covered the ranking. Read the Nebraska Business story.
Adam Messman was named Student of the Month. - More than 140 Huskers presented their ideas in three minutes to judges at the largest-ever 3-2-1 Quick Pitch hosted by the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. Twenty-six winners each earned $500. Participants represented eight colleges across campus. Read the story.
- Jacob Ripley, a senior Clifton Builders management major from Rogers, Minnesota, and Adam Messman, a junior actuarial science and computer science major from Rensselaer, Indiana, were named Students of the Month for November by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board.
UNL earned a spot on TIME magazine's "Best Colleges for Future Leaders 2026" list, which analyzed 4,800 influential figures across U.S. government, business, science, education and culture. Read the TIME list.
Jacob Ripley was named Student of the Month. - Nam Le, assistant professor of practice in finance, earned his Certified Financial Planner designation from the CFP Board in December. The credential is the industry standard in financial planning and requires rigorous education, training and ethical commitments.
Research and Publications
- Andrew Hanna, Seacrest Teaching Fellow and assistant professor of management, was elected to the executive team of the Academy of Management’s Research Methods Division. He will serve a three-year term as chair of the Research Methods Consortium for the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analytics.
- Liying Wang, associate professor of finance, published research in Management Science examining how companies respond when credit suddenly becomes abundant. The study, “Firms’ Response to Credit Supply: Evidence from Upsized Corporate Bond Offerings,” used detailed bookbuilding underwriting data to assess real-time decision-making when investor demand unexpectedly surges. Read about the research.
Notable Involvement
Sixteen College of Business students serve as peer career coaches, offering résumé reviews, interview preparation and career support to undergraduate business students. Read the story.
Nine Clifton Builders attended the Ikigai Lab's (Re)Purpose Summit in Seattle. - Nine Clifton Builders represented Nebraska at Ikigai Lab’s (Re)Purpose Summit in Seattle in November. The international event brings together purpose-driven leaders from around the world.
- Jennifer A. Davidson, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president, Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow and associate professor of practice in economics, spoke during a national webinar hosted by the National Endowment for Financial Education in October. See the NEFE video.
- The Nebraska Council on Economic Education partnered with Norfolk Public Schools and Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust to launch in-school savings programs in all seven Norfolk elementary schools, making it the first Nebraska city with districtwide programs. Additional branches opened in Deshler, Pleasanton and York. Read the story.
- The Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board received a well-being grant through the 2024 Abbott/Big Ten We Give Blood Drive to support “De-Stress Fest” wellness events during finals week. Read the KLKN story.
Competitions
- The UNL accounting team won the regional round of the Deloitte FanTAXtic competition and will advance to the national finals Jan. 24–26 in Dallas. The team is coached by Samuel Melessa, FORVIS Chair in Accountancy and associate professor of accountancy. Accounting majors on the team include Tyler Cornelsen, freshman from North Sioux City, South Dakota; Lauren Harms, sophomore from Sterling, Nebraska; Nathan Leibbrandt, junior from Sprague, Nebraska; Adam Looney, senior from Omaha; and Theran Nitsch, senior from North Platte, Nebraska.
In The News
- Jennifer A. Davidson, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president and associate professor of practice in economics, contributed expertise to WalletHub’s recent guide on uninsured motorist coverage. Read Davidson's contribution to the WalletHub article.
- Davidson also explained Affordable Care Act subsidies in a KSNB Channel 4 Hastings story about how a potential federal government shutdown could affect Nebraska health insurance costs. Read the KSNB article or see the video.
- Brett Klein, a U.S. Army veteran and accounting major from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, shared his transition to college life at Nebraska after military service. Read the story.
- Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics, discussed Nebraska's growth opportunities and challenges on the Grow Lincoln radio show, hear the Nov. 15 podcast, and about what businesses are predicting for the next six months. Hear the Nov. 22 podcast.
- The Bureau of Business Research quantified the national economic cost of child care disruptions, finding that working parents lose about $489 million in wages annually. Straight Arrow News featured the study in an article on how child care shortages are pushing parents out of the workforce. Read the article here and the research here.
