A lot of people ask me if we enjoy our downtime at the college during the summer months, and the truth is we are enjoying it, but it is actually one of our busiest and most exciting times of the year. Our new message to students in 2013 is Start Something. We want to empower them with the idea that the future is in their hands and if you are a student at the UNL College of Business Administration you can accomplish anything. To that end, we began New Student Enrollment in June and it is amazing to see the enthusiasm in our incoming class. One of the first things our advising staff does is engage students in high speed networking activities so they can meet their classmates and begin learning the communication skills it takes to be successful in business. The first class of our new CBA Honors Academy was also on campus with their parents to register for classes and meet Dr. Donna Dudney, Honors Academy Director. These students all went through a rigorous acceptance process to join the academy. The team environment that is building among them is already creating a core group of exceptional students second to none at UNL.
 
Our eight new faculty hires are also joining us throughout the summer. I have already welcomed Dr. Thomas Omer, professor and Delmar Lienemann Sr. Chair of Accounting, and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Shelley, associate professor of accounting, to the college. Drs. Omer and Shelley come to us from Texas A & M. Dr. Omer's newly endowed chair is a cornerstone to building upon the excellence at our School of Accountancy. In this edition of Inside CBA, you will also read about the new #3 national ranking our MBA program received for Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans by U.S. News and World Report. This is a testament to the excellence of our faculty and the flexible options offered to all MBA students taking courses at CBA.
 
As always, I look forward to meeting with all of you whenever I can. In the meantime, if you want to connect with the college, tell us your story and update your contact information, we have a new online form that will make it easier for us to stay in touch.
 
Thanks to all of you for your support as we continue to Start Something special here at CBA! Published: June 20, 2013