Achievements for October 2025

Learn more about recent honors, notable involvements, news media features, competitions and research publications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business in this month's achievements column. The column highlights faculty, staff and student accomplishments.

Honors and Awards

• The School of Accountancy celebrates 45 years of leadership, alumni support and record enrollment at the university, evolving from a small department to a nationally ranked program. Read about the school's history and growth.

  

• Seven senior business majors were among 20 Huskers named 2025 homecoming royalty finalists including winner Ava Hollingsworth, accounting, finance and management major from Omaha, Nebraska; and finalists Tom Dey, marketing major from Wheaton, Illinois; Eric Jacob, business and law and economics major from Parker, Colorado; Dylan Kluthe, supply chain management major from Lincoln; Allan Muinov, economics and data science major from Omaha; Nathan Ray, supply chain management major from Elkhorn, Nebraska; and Nikoleta Skoufis, management major from Papillion, Nebraska. Read the Nebraska Today article.
• Osvaldo Palma Vargas, ‘25 education alum and career coach in the Business Career Center, will receive the Inspiration Award from the university's Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education and Human Sciences during its 2025 Impact and Inspiration Awards on Oct. 17. Read the CEHS story.

Research and Publications

• Robert Campbell, associate professor of management, had his research cited in a Forbes article discussing billion-dollar family dynamics. His research, “Born to Take Risk?” examines how birth order influences CEOs' risk-taking behaviors. Read Campbell's original research article and the citation in section 2 of the Forbes article.
• Andrew Hanna, Seacrest Teaching Fellow and assistant professor of management, co-authored "Methods and Theory for Using Parcels in Management Research: An Overview and Guide for Improved Analysis," published in the Journal of Management. The article explores data parceling (using subsets of data) in management research and offers best practices for its use. Read the published research.

Notable Involvement

• The Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed 33 student entrepreneurs into the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator this fall. The cohort includes students from seven colleges across campus and 23 undergraduate and graduate majors, with 25 first-year participants and eight returning for a second year. Read the Nebraska Business story. 
• Eighteen students from nine fields of study joined the second class of the Ameritas Emerging Leaders Academy, coordinated by the Center for Executive and Professional Development. The program builds leadership skills for undergraduates of any major through industry-focused training, strengths coaching and innovation projects. Read more about the Ameritas Emerging Leaders Academy.
• The Clifton Strengths Institute selected 31 students for the 10th cohort of the Clifton Builders Program. Housed in the College of Business, the program develops students with strong leadership and entrepreneurial potential to lead high-performing teams. Read more about the new Builders.
• Forty-seven Nebraska students from nine majors and four colleges were selected for the Undergraduate Certificate in Sales Excellence. Offered through the Center for Sales Excellence, the program builds communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills valued by employers. Read the sales induction story.
• Daniel Sutherland, senior actuarial science major from Tucson, Arizona, and Gamma Iota Sigma chapter officer at Nebraska, moderated a panel at Dive In Festival, a global event promoting insurance industry culture and talent. His session featured student leaders from South Florida, Illinois State and Missouri State universities discussing how to recruit and engage a wider talent pool.
• Lindsay Thomsen, assistant professor of practice in management and director of student business development for the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship, invited eight Nebraska Business students to attend the 2025 SKIP Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, in September. They met Husker alumni and franchising leaders at Franchise Sidekick's flagship event.
• Kyoko Wall, Ph.D. student in economics and '24 Yeutter Fellow alumna from Ballwin, Missouri, was featured in a Nebraska Today story about how the Yeutter Institute’s Student Fellows program inspired her to pursue graduate studies. Read the Nebraska Today story.
• More than 150 College of Business students were among the 739 students who joined the University Honors Program this fall. Read the Nebraska Today story.

Competitions

• Emma Casadei, senior marketing and business analytics major from Bellaria, Italy; Slade Reese, junior advertising and public relations major from Spring, Texas; and Nikolay Sysoev, senior business administration major from Sarasota, Florida, won first place at the eighth annual Innovation Challenge hosted by the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. The competition featured 33 students from five colleges and was covered by KOLN/KGIN 10/11 News. Read about the surprise twist of elementary-aged judges.

Appointments

• Scott M. Fuess, Steinhart Foundation Distinguished Professor of Business and professor of economics and University of Nebraska faculty athletics representative, was appointed to the NCAA Academics and Eligibility Committee. The Big Ten Conference recommended him for the role.
• Callin Hake, senior Clifton Builders management and marketing major and Husker women's basketball player from Victoria, Minnesota, was elected chair of the Big Ten Student Athlete Issues Commission (SAIC) in September. Hake previously served on the SAIC as president of the 2024–25 Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Read the Nebraska Athletics story.

In The News

• The College of Business enrolled a record 4,534 students this fall, a 3.1% increase from last year. Undergraduate enrollment reached an all-time high, led by a 7.3% jump in first-time freshmen to 975 students. Read the enrollment story.
• The university and Senshu University in Japan celebrated the 40th anniversary of their academic partnership in September with events at Hawks Hall. Coverage appeared in Global Business Watch and KLIN News Talk Radio. Read the Nebraska College of Business story.
• Jennifer A. Davidson, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president, Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow and associate professor of practice in economics, contributed to WalletHub's recent article "How to Get Cheap Car Insurance." Read the article.
• Davidson also appeared on Channel 10/11's "First at Four" segment, speaking on the Roadmap to Financial Freedom and Paying Down Debt. See the video.
• Steven Hegemann, associate professor of practice in accountancy, was featured by Lincoln Public Schools for his work with the Nebraska Business Focus Program, where he teaches juniors and seniors in the Accounting Differentiated class at Standing Bear High School. Read the LPS article
• Shawntell Kroese, assistant professor of practice in management, was recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive among female logistics leaders for excellence in leadership, mentorship and innovation. Read the story.
• Husker Venture Fund and its managing director Sam Lockhart, senior accounting and finance major from Papillion, were profiled in Silicon Prairie News articles on venture capital programs and student entrepreneurship. Read "How University Venture Capital Programs Are Training the Next Generation of Funders and Founders in Nebraska" and "Building Businesses in College."
• The Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator program, Lindsay Thomsen, assistant professor of practice in management and director of student business development for the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship, and its student entrepreneurs also were featured in the Silicon Prairie News. Read the Silicon Prairie News article.
• Eric Thompson, director of Bureau of Business Research and K.H. Nelson College Professor of economics, and the bureau’s work were cited in a Lincoln Airport Authority report noting the airport’s $100 million economic impact. Read the Lincoln Journal-Star article.
• Thompson was also quoted in a Nebraska Examiner article on Omaha's "economic scorecard." Read the Nebraska Examiner article.
• Emma White, junior business administration major from Arvada, Colorado, and an Army ROTC cadet, pledged her commitment to military service during the 9/11 memorial stair climb. Read the Nebraska Today article.