Achievements for January 2026

Learn more about recent honors, competitions, research publications, notable involvements and media mentions at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in this month’s achievements column, highlighting the accomplishments of faculty, staff and students.

Honors and Awards

• The College of Business awarded more than 270 degrees to December graduates. Read the story and list of names.

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  Audrey Frohloff, senior management and marketing major from Valley, Nebraska, received the NRC Health Rising Star Scholarship, which honors students who demonstrate exceptional leadership in sales, marketing or entrepreneurship.

• Amanda Metcalf, assistant director of the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship, received a Dean’s Coin for advancing entrepreneurship across the university. She led a campuswide data collection and organization effort that contributed to Nebraska being named among the top entrepreneurship schools in the world by The Princeton Review. Read the story about the ranking.

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  The Nebraska Business Honors Academy awarded two students "blackshirts" for demonstrating a commitment to their peers, dedication to the academy and embodiment of College of Business guiding principles: Josh Rossman, senior management and mathematics major from Lincoln, Nebraska, Make It Matter; Faye Shrader, senior actuarial science major from Round Rock, Texas, Be Inclusive.

• Bergen Reilly, junior business and law major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was selected to the Academic All-District Team, selected by College Sports Communicators with a 3.83 cumulative GPA. Reilly was also named an Academic All-America finalist. Read the story.

• Cecilia Smith, junior finance major and management minor from Omaha, Nebraska, was named Student of the Month in December by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board.
• Briana Sulentic, senior economics major from Greenwood, Nebraska, was also named Student of the Month by the Nebraska Business Student Advisory Board. 
• Nebraska student-athletes and business students were among the 117 recipients of Fall Academic All-Big Ten honors, awarded to athletes carrying at least a 3.0 GPA. Read the full story. 

Research and Publications

• Özgür M. Araz, Department Chair and Ron & Carol Cope Professor of Supply Chain Management & Analytics, published research on effective home health services delivery in Healthcare Management Science in an article titled "Multi-Objective Dynamic Prioritized Routing and Scheduling for Home Healthcare Services With Cooperating Service Providers." Read the research abstract.
• Tom Kubick, Delmar A. Lienemann Sr. Presidential Chair and Professor of Accountancy, and Tom Omer, professor emeritus in accountancy, co-authored research accepted for publication in the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting titled "The Influence of Common Institutional Ownership on Corporate Tax Planning." Read the research article.

Notable Involvement

• Business students completed the first pilot of a new undergraduate capstone experience, partnering with Conagra Brands to solve a real-world business challenge as part of the college’s redesigned core curriculum. The top three teams in MNGT 475 presented their work to Conagra leaders in Omaha in December and received Dean's Coins for exceptional achievement. Read the story.
• Management students awarded $10,000 in donor-funded grants to two local nonprofits, Community Action's Gathering Place and the Lincoln Hygiene Network, as part of the Strive to Thrive Lincoln project in the Philanthropy and Leadership (MNGT 411) course. Read the story.
• The Husker Venture Fund marked five years of student-led involvement, growing into a nationally recognized experiential learning model and as well as a growing contributor to the state’s startup ecosystem. Read the story.
• Two finance students gained insight into careers in financial planning and wealth management through an experiential learning opportunity for women supported by alumni. Kaylen Cote, a senior finance and accounting major from Onarga, Illinois, and Zixuan Shi, a junior finance major from Lincoln, attended the IPI Wealth Management W2 Wisdom and Wellness retreat in Chesterfield, Missouri. Read the story.
• Seven business majors were selected to serve as New Student Enrollment orientation leaders for Summer 2026. Read the story and list of names.
• Business students initiated into the university's Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity in December included: Jessica Davis, junior business administration major from Scottsbluff, Nebraska; Harry Goldstrom, junior finance major from Waterloo, Nebraska; CeCe Kwiatek, freshman accounting major from Omaha; Julia Thomas, sophomore marketing major from Madison, Wisconsin; Cindy Tran, senior marketing major from Lincoln; Gianna Urbauer, freshman business administration major from Lincoln; Ethan Vesely, junior finance major from Elkhorn, Nebraska; and Rachel Vrable, freshman management major from Papillion, Nebraska.

Competitions

• In the inaugural Business Battle at the College of Business, 196 teams of first-year students competed in December. Six teams advanced to present at the final event, and three teams were declared winners, one from each class. Read the story and winners' names.

In The News

• Students from Standing Bear High School in Lincoln Public Schools developed their startup pitching skills through a focus program partnership with the College of Business. See the 10/11 news video.
• Jennifer Davidson, Nebraska Council on Economic Education President, Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Practice in Economics, appeared on 10/11 News in a monthly financial segment on holiday shopping and participated in 10/11’s Juice Box Chats with Megan and Taryn on Dec. 18.
• Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics, spoke on the Grow Lincoln radio show on Dec. 13 about Nebraska's financial future. Hear the Dec. 13 podcast.
• Revanth Raghupatruni, Ph.D. student in marketing, was featured in WalletHub's recent article about SR-22 car insurance. Read the Wallet Hub article
• Research by the Bureau of Business Research and director Eric Thompson were cited in the Nebraska Examiner article "UNL report outlines Nebraska financial hit from Tyson plant exit." Read the article.