Thursday, May 8, 2008

Undergraduate scholarships are critical to attracting the best students to UNL, making the best possible education available to them, and allowing them to graduate in a timely manner.

This is why I am so thrilled by the recent gift of Ted Sorensen, former advisor to President John F. Kennedy, to endow the Theodore C. Sorensen Scholarship for Public Service for students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Sorensen is quoted in the news release for this award as follows "My new book makes clear that much of what I have accomplished in these 80 years is due to my upbringing and education in Nebraska. It is my hope that my fellowship at the law school and these new scholarships at the College of Arts and Sciences will help other young Nebraskans in the future who share my interest in public service." You can find out more information about this wonderful gift at

http://ucommxsrv1.unl.edu/unlnews/public/fmpro?-db=unlnews
.fp5&-format=newsrelease.shtml&-lay=unlnews&-recid=34581&-find=

Mr. Sorensen's new book Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History is available widely. See, for example,

http://www.amazon.com/Counselor-Life-at-Edge-History/dp/
0060798718/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=
1210290016&sr=8-1

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The American Mathematical Society, the premier professional organization for research mathematicians has awarded the University of Iowa Department of Mathematics the AMS Exemplary Program Award. Further information can be found in the press release and two articles in the May issue of the AMS notices. These can be found at

PR: http://www.ams.org/ams/press/Exemp-Prog-2008-Iowa.html
Main article: http://www.ams.org/notices/200805/tx080500599p.pdf
2nd article: http://www.ams.org/notices/200805/tx080500598p.pdf

Why I am writing about Iowa? Well, I was chair of the math department there from 2001 to 2007. Although this is from my Iowa past, it is nonetheless something I am quite proud of. I am quoted extensively in the main article, with my new position noted.

I hope to foster similar initiatives here at UNL to make sure that we give all students every opportunity to maximize their potential.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

The UNL Research Fair was this past week. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about research at UNL and for faculty to learn about funding opportunities from program officers at federal agencies. Brett Bobley from the National Endowment for the Humanities wrote about his experience at the Fair in his blog at

http://www.neh.gov/ODH/Default.aspx?tabid=108&EntryID=52

You will see that he has very kind things to say about our Center for the Digital Research in the Humanities (CDRH) and his experience interacting with UNL faculty at the Fair.

The CDRH is a true gem at UNL and bridges between the College of Arts and Sciences and the UNL Libraries. More information about the Center and the cutting edge research done there by faculty, graduate students and undergraduates can be found at

http://www.cdrh.unl.edu