Alumni to Honor 6 for Achievement

The Nebraska Alumni Association will recognize six graduates with Alumni Achievement Awards May 7 at the Nebraska Champions Club in Lincoln. The awards are part of a universitywide celebration to salute alumni achievement.

The honorees are James W. Brown of Wenatchee, Wash.; John Bruhn of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Ken Buell of Raymore, Mo.; Dr. John Kenagy of Cambridge, Mass.; Michael Neruda of Bethesda, Md.; and Pamela Perrewe of Tallahassee, Fla.

Brown, a 1960 College of Arts and Sciences graduate, is a gastroenterologist. He has worked with the Central Washington Migrant Health project providing free medical care; volunteered in Seattle's Indian Health Clinic; helped build a new residence for homeless men; and helped established the Mustard Seed Neighborhood Center, a childcare facility for low-income families. He also has traveled to Thailand with a World Vision Medical team, to Russia with a church group and to Guatemala with Volunteers in Mission to provide medical care.

Bruhn, a 1956 sociology graduate of Nebraska, is a retired professor and dean of health sciences. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Yale University and went on to win a Fulbright Fellowship. He taught at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, was a dean and vice president of academic affairs and research at the University of Texas at El Paso, and retired as provost and dean of sociology at Pennsylvania State University in Harrisburg. Bruhn has also written several books, including "Trust and the Health of Organizations."

Buell, a 1974 general agriculture graduate, is the manager of college partnerships for John Deere's North American operations. Buell began his career with John Deere 20 years ago in film production. He worked his way through the ranks to assume his current position, which focuses on the growth and education of others. He helps establish recruiting programs, leadership and mentoring opportunities and technician training centers for John Deere at colleges and universities across the country.

Kenagy, a 1967 NU graduate, earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1971. He trained in vascular surgery at the University of Washington and practiced there for nearly 20 years. After breaking his neck and hand in a 1992 fall, Kenagy chose to make health care more efficient and effective for patients and professionals. He earned a master's degree in management in 1998 from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and founded a consulting company, Kenagy and Associates, to advise health care organizations on how to better meet the needs of patients despite limited resources. He has been featured in Forbes Magazine as "The Man Who Would Save Health Care," the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Harvard Business Review.

Neruda is a 1968 general agriculture graduate who has enjoyed a successful career with the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Navy, from which he received a Bronze Star for his service in Operation Desert Storm. Today, he is the senior adviser for Homeland Security and Strategic Initiatives for the USDA in Washington D.C. Before taking the Homeland Security post, Neruda was appointed the USDA's deputy undersecretary for rural development. He also worked for many years with U.S. Congressional members as the staff director for the House Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Resource Conservation and Credit.

Perrewe earned a master of business administration degree (1980) and a doctorate in business administration (1985) at Nebraska. She is the associate dean for graduate programs at Florida State University in Tallahassee. An accomplished organizational scientist and academic administrator, Perrewe is also one of the world's foremost authorities on the study of occupational stress. She was awarded an endowed professorship at FSU and is the associate dean for graduate programs there. A prolific researcher and writer, Perrewe has published 55 journal articles, 10 book chapters and 63 conference research presentations. She also is on the board of seven respected academic journals. She has won many accolades for her work, including two FSU teaching awards and a Developing Scholar Award.

CONTACT: Marti Paquette, Alumni Association, (402) 472-2841