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University of Nebraska honors faculty and programs at Aug. 14 Board of Regents meeting
Summary
The Board of Regents recognized faculty and programs across the University of Nebraska system with the 2025 President's Excellence Awards and multiple "kudos" honors. Awards highlighted research, teaching, innovation, commercialization and student-success programs, and named several individual recipients from UNL, UNMC and UNO.
The Board of Regents presented the 2025 President's Excellence Awards during its Aug. 14 meeting, celebrating faculty and university programs across the system.
President Jeff Gold described the awards as the "most prestigious faculty honors given by the president's office," noting they recognize exceptional achievements in teaching, research, engagement and innovation. He said honorees are selected following a "rigorous nomination and evaluation process."
The board and president presented the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity awards to Timothy Shofford, Adele Hall Professor of English and director of creative writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and to Jay Storrs, Willa Cather Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at UNL. Gold said Shofford’s work has been featured in national outlets and that Storrs’ published work on hemoglobin and high-altitude species has been cited widely.
The Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity awards went to Betsy Becker, professor and director of physical therapy education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and to Renee McPhee, coordinator for the professional program in veterinary medicine in a collaborative program between UNL and Iowa State University. Gold emphasized both recipients’ sustained records of curriculum innovation and student mentorship.
Innovation and engagement honors were given to Gina Ligon, director of the National Counterterrorism Innovation Technology and Education Center at UNO, and to Karoly Murnick, dean of the Munroe Meyer Institute at UNMC. The Phi Pica faculty commercialization award went to Dr. Chan Nguyen of UNMC for medical-device inventions. The Goodrich scholarship program and the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at UNL also received systemwide recognition for student success and departmental teaching, respectively.
Following the presidential awards, the board presented a series of "kudos" recognitions to staff across campuses for long service and student support, including Suzanne Ekstrom (UNK), Joe Brownell (UNL Military and Veterans Success Center), Jesse Delaney (UNMC clinical research nurse), and Sierra Roseby (UNO student involvement director).
The presentations included short remarks summarizing each recipient’s accomplishments and photo opportunities with the president and regents. Gold encouraged attendees to take informational brochures available at the meeting describing the awardees. The awards and kudos presentations concluded before the board moved to regular business.
