6 outstanding alumni honored at Masters Week Oct. 27-30

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Masters Week program will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year with a visit by six outstanding alumni Oct. 27-30.

Since 1964, more than 200 alumni have participated in Masters Week at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The program was started in the 1963-64 school year at the request of then-chancellor Clifford Hardin, who had been invited back to Purdue University to take part in that school's "Old Master Program."

Masters Week has changed little over the past 40 years. Its primary goal has always been to link the university's outstanding alumni with students who can benefit from their experiences and knowledge. Masters are invited back to campus to meet with students in the classroom, living units and at student organization meetings to share various ways to apply their formal education to working situations and career goals.

Candidates for Masters Week are alumni who have shown great promise, success and leadership in their chosen fields. The selection of the Masters is competitive. Each spring, a screening committee consisting of students, faculty and administration make recommendations to the chancellor, who chooses the participants for the program. The program is sponsored by the Innocents Society, Mortar Board, the Student Alumni Association, the Chancellor's Office and the Alumni Association.

This year's Masters are Ronald Arp, president of corporate communications with the Nautilus Group Inc. in Vancouver, Wash.; Alice Dittman, chairwoman emeritus of Cornhusker Bank in Lincoln; Aris Gennadios, director of business development for the Oral Technologies business unit with Cardinal Health Inc., a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey; Karen Nicodemus, president of Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz.; Anne El-Omami, associate professor and director of the graduate program in museum education at the University of Arts in Philadelphia; and Celia Swanson, executive vice president of membership, marketing and administration for Sam's Club Division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark.

Arp graduated from UNL's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in 1985 with a double major in agricultural journalism and agricultural economics. For nearly two decades, Arp has been a business communication counselor helping clients to navigate communication environments. Before his recent move to the Nautilus Group, he was senior vice president of Fleishman-Hillard, a company that offers strategic communications counsel to local, national and international clients

Dittman graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952 and studied at the Harvard-Radcliffe program in business administration when Harvard did not admit women to its business administration program. She transferred her credits to Nebraska and earned a master's degree in finance and management in 1955. Born in Havelock, Dittman grew up in the family banking industry. She is a successful businesswoman, civic leader and has been recognized with many awards and honors. Dittman earned a Nebraska Builder Award from the University of Nebraska in 1989, one of the university's highest honors.

Gennadios received a Ph.D. in engineering with a specialization in agricultural and biological systems engineering in 1995. Originally from Greece, Gennadios is an author, researcher, teacher and a sought-after authority in his field. He holds four patents and has published numerous journal articles, book chapters and technical publications. Despite a demanding schedule, Gennadios found time to add an M.B.A. to his degree credentials from Wake Forest University in 2002.

Nicodemus is the 10th president of Cochise College, a position she has held since 1998. She is considered to be among the most respected and influential women in the state of Arizona. A native of Mead, Neb., she earned two UNL degrees, a master's in physical education and sports administration (1979) and a Ph.D. degree in educational administration (1990). She has had a varied and interesting career, rising from being a respected high school girls' basketball coach to president of an independent community college. Nicodemus is a tireless advocate for lifelong learning.

El-Omami graduated from UNL in 1970 with a bachelor of arts degree in visual arts education and art history and received her master's of arts in visual arts education and art history from UNL four years later. She is a highly regarded leader in the arts education field. Among her many awards, she was named distinguished fellow of the National Arts Education Association in 1998. She is an author, teacher, creative leader and a member of the UNL's Cather Circle.

Swanson has more than 20 years of human resource experience in both field and corporate capacities at major retail organizations. She graduated from UNL in 1977 with a bachelor of science degree with a major in textiles, clothing and design from the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences, now the College of Education and Human Sciences. Among her many honors, Swanson has been named one of the Top 100 Business Women in Arkansas.

CONTACT: Annette Wetzel, University Communications, (402) 472-8524