UNO Commencement Today at the Civic

More than 950 students will graduate today, Dec. 17, during the UNO winter commencement ceremony. The event begins at 2 p.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, 1804 Capitol Ave.

Kayla Childress, from Pierce, Neb., will present the student commencement address. She graduates with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a focus on library media. Childress has been a member of both the Nebraska Educational Media Association and the American Library Association. For a year, she served as vice president for UNO chapter of ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), an educational leadership organization. Her commencement address is titled 'Stepping Out.'

James W. Freeman will receive the Chancellor's Medal. He has served as the director of UNO Multicultural Affair since 2003. He became the department's permanent director in 2005. His passion for working with young people and helping them maximize their opportunities has been key to his work at the university, where he focuses on the recruitment and retention of under represented students. He works collaborative with faculty, staff and the greater Omaha community to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful.

Robert Batt will receive the Alumnus Achievement Award. Batt is executive vice president of Nebraska Furniture Mart. He has been active in civic and community organizations at the local, state and national levels. He currently serves on the three-member Nebraska Liquor Commission (representing the 2nd Congressional District), which regulates liquor licenses and collects alcohol taxes. He also is a member of the Sarpy County Sports Commission and the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

For more information, call (402) 554.3502.

Sen. Nelson to Speak at Mammel Hall on Saturday

U.S. Senator Ben Nelson will give a guest lecture to an Executive MBA class at UNO on Saturday, Dec. 18. The presentation starts at to 9:30 a.m. in 100 Mammel Hall.

The campus community and public are invited to attend the free lecture. Those who plan on attending are asked to arrive by 9:15 a.m.

Commencement Shuttle Bus Available Today

More than 950 students will receive degrees today, Dec. 17, during UNO's commencement ceremony. The event begins at 2 p.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, 1804 Capitol Ave. Faculty members should assemble no later than 1:30 p.m. in the Exhibition Hall.

Shuttle buses for faculty, staff and individuals participating in the platform party will depart from UNO in front of the Milo Bail Student Center (MBSC) at 1 p.m. Following the ceremony, the shuttle will provide transportation back to the MBSC.

Firefly and SAP Downtime Now Underway

The SAP support team is working on the annual maintenance and upgrade process to all SAP applications, including Firefly. Firefly and SAP R/3 downtime began at 12:01 a.m. today, Dec. 17. Due to the volume and complexity of the enhancements this year, the team expects it will take three-days to complete this task. Therefore, Firefly and the SAP R/3 system will not be available on the following days:

• Today, Dec. 17
• Saturday, Dec. 18
• Sunday, Dec. 19

Team members expect Firefly and the SAP R/3 system to be up and running on Monday morning, Dec. 20, and both will be available as usual during the 2010 holiday break, although with limited help desk support.

The team appreciates everyone's understanding as they enhance the system for both the University of Nebraska and Nebraska State College System.

For questions, contact cmtd@nebraska.edu, (402) 472.7373 or (877) 472.7694.

Student-Athletes Sponsor Lydia House Diaper Drive

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is now collecting diapers for the Lydia House.

All donations will be given to the Lydia House, 2706 N. 21st St., which provides emergency services for women and families in need of immediate assistance. Everyone can drop off diapers in the atrium of the Sapp Fieldhouse through Saturday, Dec. 18. Monetary donations will also be taken through Dec. 18.

Participating students will be placed in a drawing, which will be held at the men's basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sapp Fieldhouse.

For more information, contact Josh White at joshwhite@unomaha.edu.

New Criss Library Newsletter Available

Criss Library staff announces the first edition of, Criss Chronicles, the library's newsletter. Please copy the url and paste in any browser to begin reading. http://issuu.com/jneujahr/docs/criss_chronicles_vol_1__issue_1

Campus Security Offers Holiday Safety Tips

The Campus Security staff would like to remind the campus community of some common sense safety tips to practice during the holiday season.

• When a person leaves his or her room or office, lock it up, even if it's only for a few minutes.
• Avoid leaving valuables or packages in plain view in a vehicle. Place them in the trunk or between the seats. When possible, do so before parking.
• During the holiday break, take valuables home from campus offices and residence halls.
• Anyone who is going to be working on campus late in the evening or when few people are around should consider advising Campus Security so that an officer can pay special attention to the area.
• Anyone entering a locked residence hall or campus building should make sure the door closes completely. Strangers should not follow anyone into a secure building.
• Students who live on campus and are leaving town for the holidays should make sure they have someone keeping an eye on their residence and leave emergency contact information.

For more information, call Campus Security at (402) 554.2648.

Kriz to Discuss Tax Cut on 'Consider This'

On the next edition of 'Consider This,' host Cathy Wyatt and a guest will discuss the national tax cut issue and what the political ramifications could be going into the next election.

Wyatt's guest will be Ken Kriz, an associate professor of public administration at UNO. The discussion will focus on the numbers, the highlights of the cut and the reality of what it could mean to Nebraskans in the future.

The program will air on NET 2 today, Dec. 17, at 12:30 PM and Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 12:30 PM CT.

'Consider This,' a production of UNO Television, also airs on the Knowledge Network of Greater Omaha. Check the Knowledge Network Web site at http://www.tknomaha.org for dates and times.

KVNO to Feature Operas from The Met

Classical 90.7 KVNO recently announced that 'Saturday Afternoon at the Opera,' the station's 52-week series on Saturday afternoons, will begin featuring live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera starting this weekend. Seven new productions, including two company premieres and the first two parts of a new Wagner Ring cycle, featuring many of the world's greatest singers and conductors, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2010-11 season.

Verdi's 'Don Carlo' will air Dec. 18; Smetana's 'The Bartered Bride' will be featured Dec. 25

Criss Library Announces Schedule Changes

Criss Library hours for Sunday, Dec. 19, through Sunday, Jan. 9, will be:

• Sunday, Dec. 19, Noon - 9 p.m.;
• Monday - Thursday, Dec. 20-23, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.;
• Friday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 2, closed;
• Monday - Friday, Jan. 3-7, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.;
• Saturday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and
• Sunday, Jan. 9: Noon - 9 p.m.

Regular library hours resume Monday, Jan. 10. For a complete schedule of library hours, visit http://library.unomaha.edu/information/hours.php.

In The News

• KVNO (90.7 FM) interviewed Nate Bock, UNO Counseling Center, on Dec. 14 about alcohol use among college students.
• David Drozd, Center for Public Affairs Research, was quoted in the Dec. 10 issue of The Columbus Telegram about the impact of the recession in Nebraska. Drozd was also quoted in the Dec. 15 issue of the Omaha World-Herald about changes in median household income across Nebraska.
• Tom Gouttierre, International Studies and Programs and Center for Afghanistan Studies, was interviewed Dec. 15 by CBS Radio News on the recent passing of Richard Holbrook, a U.S. adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan. Gouttierre and Raheem Yaseer were interviewed Dec. 13 by the 'Afghan National Television Good Morning Show' about the new partnership between the UNO School of Communication and Kabul University.
• Paul Landow, Department of Political Science, was quoted in the Dec. 2 issue of The Reader about the effort to recall Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle. Landow wrote a 'Midlands Voices' column published in the Dec. 10 issue of the Omaha World-Herald about the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy.
• The Dec. 16 issue of the Omaha World-Herald featured an article about Mammel Hall receiving LEED certification for its green efforts, quoting Louis Pol and David Nielsen, College of Business Administration.
• Student Evan Soll was quoted in the Dec. 12 issue of the Omaha World-Herald about the mayoral recall in Omaha.
• The Dec. 9 issue of the Omaha World-Herald featured an article about officer-involved shootings, quoting Sam Walker, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
• A Dec. 13 Omaha World-Herald article about the Omaha Executive Institute included a photograph of Lauren Weeks, University of Nebraska Peter Kiewit Institute. Weeks recently guided institute participants on a tour of PKI.
• Lamarr Womble, Recruitment Services, was profiled in the Dec. 11 issue of the Omaha World-Herald in the newspaper's regular 'My Five' feature.
• 'Voices in Poverty,' a recent six-part series produced by KVNO (90.7 FM), was published earlier this month in The Reader. One of the sections profiled the UNO Transformation Project.

If you are a member of the UNO community and have been interviewed by the media - local, state, regional, national or international - we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call (402) 554.2762.

In Print

• Andrew Birnie, a graduate student in psychobiology, published a paper 'Social and developmental influences on urinary androgen levels in young male white-faced marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi),' in the American Journal of Primatology. The abstract can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/244s6kb. Co-authors on the paper include Adam Smith, a former UNO graduate student who is now in the doctoral neuroscience program at Florida State University, Camila Nali of the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas in Brasil, and Jeffrey French, Departments of Psychology and Biology.
• Christina Dando, Department of Geography, recently published the article ''The Map Proves It!': Map Use by the American Woman Suffrage Movement' in the December issue of Cartographica, an international journal dedicated to cartographic and geo-visualization research.
• Robert Woody, Department of Psychology, and Adam Sempek, school psychology intern, co-authored the article, 'Family Permanence Versus the Best Interests of the Child,' appearing in the current issue of the American Journal of Family Therapy.
• Jody Neathery-Castro, Department of Political Science, and Mark O. Rousseau, Department of Sociology contributed to the recently-published book Quebec Questions: Quebec Studies for the Twenty-First Century (Oxford University Press).

If you've authored or edited a book, article or other text that's been published recently, we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call (402) 554.2243.

On Stage

If you are a member of the UNO community and are involved in an upcoming performance, we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number.

On Exhibit

• Hagel Artifacts Still on Display at Criss Library through This Weekend - Historic photographs and artifacts from the offices of former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel are on display at the H. Don and Connie J. Osborne Family Gallery inside Criss Library through Sunday, Dec. 19.
  
  The exhibition - 'A Senator's Walls: A Selection of Photographs and Artifacts from the Offices of Senator Chuck Hagel' - features more than 300 items from Hagel's offices in Washington, D.C., Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff. The items on display include photographs, awards, gifts, cartoons, newspapers and magazines, presenting a visual history of the senator's activities during his term. Read more.
• UNO Art Gallery Student Exhibition Ends Today - Works by BFA and BA senior students from the Department of Art and Art History at UNO will be featured in the final exhibition of the Fall 2010 semester at the UNO Art Gallery. The exhibition will run through today, Dec. 17. Read more.

If you are a member of the UNO community and are involved in an exhibit, we want to know about it! Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call (402) 554.2243.