Happy Holidays from the College of Business! 'Tis the season of giving, and it's certainly true in Howard L. Hawks Hall as our faculty are "giving" their last finals of 2023 and our students are "wrapping up" their fall courses and preparing for a long holiday break.

A few of our recent hands-on teaching and learning experiences also created engagement within our Nebraska Business community. Both connected to courses at the college, one gave back to local nonprofits while the other provided our students with a chance to build their entrepreneurial skills.

• Through the generosity of Rhonda Seacrest, the Learning by Giving Foundation and the partnership of the College of Business, students in the Leading People & Projects (MNGT 411) course, better known as Strive to Thrive Lincoln, allocated $10,000 in grant funding to nonprofits in Lincoln and Lancaster County this fall. Adding a new element to the course taught by Amber Messersmith, executive director of Center for Executive and Professional Development and lecturer of management, students worked on service projects with each of the 10 finalists prior to selecting two award recipients, Food Fort and WICS Home for Girls.
• Students in the Clifton Builders program taking the Foundations of Entrepreneurship (ENTR 321B) course taught by Samantha Fairclough, associate director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and associate professor of practice in management, held their annual Builders Marketplace for the college community in late November. From flower bouquets, sweatshirts, blankets, Taylor Swift-style message bracelets to golf-themed shot glasses, the students used their individual strengths in a team to plan, create, market and sell their own products. This event also helps our college community find unique gifts for our loved ones, friends and colleagues.

I also want to celebrate the success of one of our newly named endowed chairs. Esma Gel, Cynthia Hardin Milligan Chair of Business and professor of supply chain management and analytics, and her collaborators earned a $3.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to help experts respond to the spread of infectious diseases. Read about the project, how she earned the prestigious Wolfram Innovator Award and how graduating seniors in her capstone course work on projects with Nebraska-based companies.

As a special holiday bonus, Jennifer Davidson, associate professor of practice in economics, Nebraska Council on Economic Education president and Nebraska Bankers Association Faculty Fellow, provides a Nebraska Business Tip for shoppers about extended warranties in this issue. The information she shares is beneficial and could save you some money this holiday, whether you are shopping for yourself or others.

We hosted our college's Only in Nebraska fundraising campaign committee, made up of alumni and friends, in Hawks Hall. Chancellor Rodney Bennett and his wife, Temple, joined us and shared about their journey to Nebraska and priorities for the university in the new year.

As we continue building business leaders like only Nebraska can, we are grateful to all of you who support us and are part of our greater Nebraska Business community. Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends!

Dean Kathy Farrell

P.S. Interested in investing in yourself? Register for Women Lead: Shattering Glass Ceilings on Friday, March 1 at the Nebraska Innovation Campus. A collaboration between the College of Business and the College of Law, the event is held every other year and sells out quickly.