University of Nebraska at Omaha

When University of Nebraska at Omaha students of the College of Business Administration return to campus in a few weeks, they’ll open the doors to one of the nation’s newest and most advanced academic facilities for business education.

John Langan, former dean of the UNO College of Education, died today, July 27, Dr. Langan, 68, had been diagnosed with cancer a few months after his retirement from UNO at the end of 2008. 

A $1 million donation by Minneapolis resident and Omaha native John Morgan to the University of Nebraska Foundation has funded a new re-entry initiative at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) to address community needs, including inmates in the Nebraska prison system.

It has been said that in order to attract the best, you have to be the best. For the University of Nebraska, this means having the highest quality educators - and to have the highest quality educators means there must be faculty support.

University of Nebraska at Omaha psychology professor Joseph Brown, who holds an endowed position, knows the importance of faculty support. Brown says that donors’ support of UNO’s faculty helps make the university “remarkable” and helps produce outstanding teachers and researchers, which ultimately benefits students.

Campaign for Nebraska seeks to raise $1.2 billion by the end of 2014. This funding would enable the university to meet high-priority opportunities and needs at UNO and the University’s other three campuses.

The Foundation has raised more than $667 million toward its goal — the most ambitious in the organization’s 73-year history — since fundraising for the campaign began in 2005.

The campaign’s top priority is to provide students across the state affordable access to the university through scholarships and financial aid provided by private support. At UNO, for example, more than 75 percent of the campus’ 15,300 students currently apply for financial assistance.

A first generation student and Iraqi war veteran, Nickeya Chaney is a UNO senior majoring in social work. When she returned from Iraq a social worker had a profound affect on her life. And she wants to return the favor for others.

The four campuses of the University of Nebraska again ranked well among their peer institutions by the U.S. News and World Report’s 2010 edition of Best Colleges.

In each category, data of up to 15 indicators of academic quality are gathered from each school and analyzed according to the magazine’s own methodology. Among them include peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, class size, student-to-faculty ratio, financial resources and alumni giving.

Supporting the UNO Mavericks and its 15 student teams has never been easier or more important, as they work nonstop to make their mark in college athletics. The University of Nebraska at Omaha athletics department launched The One Fund to make supporting Omaha’s Team more efficient. Created in partnership with the University of Nebraska Foundation, The One Fund provides a centralized fund to support all Maverick teams. Director of Athletics Trev Alberts said everyone has worked diligently to create a new way that makes donating seamless for all who enjoy giving at any level.

More than 60 percent of the teachers in the Omaha metropolitan area and 33 percent in the state are UNO graduates. Students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Education will enter a modern, new facility next fall when renovation of Roskens Hall is complete. The revamped facility will feature state-of-the-art classroom facilities and outreach clinics focused on teaching, educational administration, counseling, learning disabilities and speech/hearing education. With an annual enrollment of 2,500 the college prepares professionals who serve as teachers, school administrators, counselors, librarians, speech pathologists, exercise scientists, athletic trainers and health researchers. For more than 80 years, it’s prepared some of Nebraska’s finest educators.

Plans are underway to build a new facility in the heart of campus that reflects UNO’s commitment to its mission as a metropolitan university.

The proposed $23 million community engagement center will be prominently located between the Strauss Performing Arts Center and the Criss Library, serving as an attractive front door to the campus and as UNO’s signature outreach venue.