Learn more about recent honors, appointments and publications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in this month's achievements column. The achievements of faculty, staff and students are grouped within the college’s three mission-focused goals of research + discovery, learning + transformation and connection + engagement.

Research + Discovery

• The College of Business honored three faculty with research awards: Dr. Brian Baugh, assistant professor of finance, Emerging Scholar Research Award; Dr. Andrew Hanna, ’09, ’16 & '21, doctoral degree recipient in management, Ph.D. Student Research Award; and Dr. Jennifer Ryan, department chair and professor of supply chain management and analytics and Ron and Carol Cope College Professor, Distinguished Research Award. Read about their research accolades.
• Two business students earned $250 prizes for their video presentations and Zoom Q&As during the university’s Student Research Days 2021. Elizabeth Anderson, junior management and marketing major from Leawood, Kansas, presented “The Impact of Education Funding on Voter Turnout,” and Justin Ho, senior economics and computer science major from Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia, presented “Human Capital Growth and Labor Market Flexibility.” Read the article and watch their presentations.
• Dr. Amit Saini, marketing, was promoted to professor.
• Three business faculty were promoted to associate professor and granted tenure: Dr. Jimmy Downes, accountancy; Dr. S. Sajeesh, marketing; and Dr. Erkut Sönmez, supply chain management and analytics.
• Dr. Ozgur Araz, associate professor of supply chain management and analytics, co-authored "An Analytic Framework for Effective Public Health Program Design Using Correctional Facilities" published in the INFORMS Journal on Computing. Public correctional facilities play an important role in operational execution of several public health programs, including screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. However, because of lack of capacity and resources, public health programs using correctional facilities are questioned by policy-makers in terms of their costs and benefits. Araz and his co-authors developed a computational epidemiology model to support public health policy making and used data from Douglas County, Nebraska, to investigate and evaluate the effects of potential universal screening within the jail system. This study contributes to the computational epidemiology literature by presenting an analytical framework to guide effective simulation experimentation for policy decision making. The presented methodology can be applied to other complex policy and public health problems. Read the published article.
• Dr. Eric Thompson, K.H. Nelson Professor of Economics and director of the Bureau of Business Research, was interviewed for a May 22 Lincoln Journal Star article on why so many jobs are going unfilled in Lincoln. He said there was a sharp decline in the number of people actively participating in the labor force in the first quarter. “This is common after a recession,” he said. “Individuals leave the labor force during a recession, perhaps after losing a job, and it takes quite a while to attract them back.” Read the article about how jobs are going unfilled.

Learning + Transformation

• The College of Business honored four faculty with teaching awards: Dr. Jimmy Downes, assistant professor of accountancy, Distinguished Teaching Award; Dr. Shivam Gupta, assistant professor of supply chain management and analytics, Distance Teaching Award; Dr. Andrew Hanna, ’09, ’16 & '21, doctoral degree recipient in management, Graduate Student Teaching Award; and Shawntell Kroese, assistant professor of practice in supply chain management and analytics, Excellence in Teaching Award. Read about their teaching accolades.
• Four business faculty were promoted to associate professor of practice: Heather Clemens, finance; Chad Mardesen, marketing; Jina Morris, accountancy; and Dr. Majid Nabavi, supply chain management and analytics.
• Four Nebraska Business Honors Academy students earned their academy blackshirts. The recipients received their blackshirt by embodying one or more of the five College of Business guiding principles and their commitment to the academy. Honorees include: Emily Kist, junior finance major from Pierre, South Dakota; Kennedy Johnston, junior economics major from Carbon, Indiana; Hailey Hoogers, sophomore actuarial science major from Sioux City, Iowa; and Michael Schneider, '21, economics and mathematics major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
• Molly Olander, senior actuarial science major from Burnsville, Minnesota, received the Casualty Actuarial Society Trust Scholarship. She is one of four students in the country to earn the top scholarship award of $5,000 for the upcoming academic year and is the second-ever recipient from Nebraska.
• The Business Career Center received an Honorable Mention in the Career Services Excellence category of the National Association of Colleges and Employers Excellence Awards. Judges commended assistant directors Paula Caldwell and Janessa Hageman for "Scaling Career Curriculum with Peer Career Coaches.” While other career centers across the nation utilize peer career coaches, Nebraska uniquely uses them to support the college’s Professional Enhancement Program curriculum.
• At the annual Night at the Lied presentation, Nebraska Athletics recognized Tucker Sjomeling, ’21, actuarial science major and wrestler from Delano, Minnesota, with an Outstanding Scholar Award. The honor recognizes student-athletes who carry a 3.9 GPA or better.

Connection + Engagement

• The College of Business honored three faculty and staff with service awards: Jeff Burdic, assistant director of Business Advising and Student Engagement, Distinguished Service Award; Dr. Rebekah Neary-DeLaPorte, assistant director of Nebraska Business Honors Academy, D'vee Buss Students First Award; and Sue Vagts, Ameritas Actuarial Faculty Fellow and David P. Hayes Chair of Actuarial Science and director and associate professor of practice in actuarial science, Faculty Service Award. Read about their service accolades.
• Eight students were named top strengths coaches by the Clifton Strengths Institute. To receive the honor, these students earned the highest feedback from the first-year business students they mentored in Professional Enhancement I: Investing in Strengths (BSAD 111): Jackie Alexander, junior international business major from Papillion, Nebraska; Mason Fridrich, junior hospitality, restaurant and tourism management major from Elkhorn, Nebraska; Edgar Montoya, '21, management and marketing major from Omaha, Nebraska; Andrew Moylan, junior finance major from Waverly, Nebraska; Mary O’Keeffe, '21, Clifton Builders management major from Hastings, Nebraska; Grace Partridge, senior Clifton Builders management major from Rapid City, South Dakota; Tori Pedersen, senior Agricultural Leadership Education major from Omaha; and Jordan Seitz, senior supply chain management from Gregory, Michigan. Grace Partridge earned the highest score among all coaches and received the Clifton Strengths Institute's Royal Star award.
• Eight student strengths coaches were recognized by the Clifton Strengths Institute for completing more than 100 coaching sessions. They included: Devan Buescher, senior Clifton Builders management and international business major from Lincoln; Connor Castleman, '21, Clifton Builders management major from Omaha; Tyler Clark, '21, Clifton Builders management major from Omaha; Audrey Erker, '21, business administration major from Omaha; Keaton Fricker, '21, Clifton Builders management and marketing major from Midland, Texas; Collin Fink, '21, advertising, public relations major from Hebron, Nebraska; Gunnar Millot, '21, Clifton Builders management and marketing major from Rhinelander, Wisconsin; and Mary O’Keeffe, '21, Clifton Builders management major from Hastings, Nebraska.
• Eight students earned medallions in the International Business Medallion Program. To earn bronze, silver, gold or platinum medallion status, business students pursue experiences focused on career building, global citizenship and well-being. Megan Dill, senior international business major from Wildwood, Missouri, received bronze, silver and gold medallions. Students who earned both silver and bronze medallions included: Dalton Brannen, senior international business major from Prior Lake, Minnesota; Taylor Hogan, senior international business major from Omaha; Jacob Krupa, senior international business major from Arlington Heights, Illinois; Jack Straka, senior international business major from Omaha; and Ryan Tooley, senior international business major from Sacramento, California. Brennan Merkle, a senior journalism, sports media and communication major from Naperville, Illinois, and Hannah Rethmeier, a sophomore accounting and Spanish major from Crete, Nebraska, earned bronze medallions.
• Four business students will take part in the Rural Fellowship program while living and working in trios within communities across the state this summer. During their 10-week residence, the fellows will collaborate with local leaders on improving the communities. Business students include: Kennedy Kriewald, a business administration major from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, will serve in Arapahoe, Nebraska; Isaac Archuleta, a business administration major from Brainard, Nebraska, and Sebastian Sturner, a business administration major from Chandler, Arizona, will serve in Imperial, Nebraska; and Lydia Behnk, a business administration major from Elgin, Nebraska, will serve in Schuyler, Nebraska. Nebraska Ag Connection and The North Platte Telegraph have run articles on the fellows.
• Ahmed Ahmed, a senior accounting major from Lincoln, was selected as the Student of the Year by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board. Ahmed received the November Student of the Month honor and was honored from a pool of the year's past students of the month. He served as the secretary and is the incoming vice president for the Nebraska chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. He also was a member of the ASUN Committee for Fee Allocations and a member of the 2021-22 class of the Innocents Society, the Chancellor's honorary society at the university. Additionally, he volunteers extensively on campus and in the Lincoln community including at the People's City Mission, The Salvation Army and Lincoln Children's Museum.
• Michael Anderson, a senior accounting major from Firth, Nebraska, and Rebeccah Stolpa, a senior marketing and management major from Hartland, Wisconsin, were two of the six Nebraska students who received the William N. Wasson Student Leadership and Academic Award presented by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. 
• Lauren Mosser, senior Clifton Builders management and marketing major from Lincoln, was honored as the Student of the Month by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board. Within the College of Business, she is a Clifton Builder and student strengths coach. She also received her undergraduate certificate in sales excellence. Her involvement includes volunteering for the past nine years for the nonprofit For the Love of Mateo, which helps children and families in Guatemala. On campus, she served as the director of open recruitment for Delta Gamma sorority.

This column is a monthly feature of the College of Business. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via the News Proposal Form at the bottom of https://business.unl.edu webpage. On the form, select Recognize Achievement and fill out the related questions.