Alumni Association announces RED Gala awards

The Nebraska Alumni Association will honor Tom Osborne, director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Roger Breed, superintendent of Elkhorn Public Schools, the EducationQuest Foundation and a UNL senior from Omaha at its fourth annual RED Gala Jan. 18 in Omaha.

The formal dinner and auction event, developed by the Alumni Association with the assistance of university administrators, alumni and friends, generates additional scholarship dollars to help high school scholars realize their educational dreams. The event has raised more than $100,000 for the RED Scholars fund. Honorary chairs of the 2008 RED Gala are Omahans Denny and Diana Walker.

Awards to be presented include the Founder's Medallion, for bringing great recognition to UNL; the Educational Achievement Award, for a Nebraska-trained educator who has encouraged Nebraska youths to work hard and focus on their future; the Educational Service Award, for a Nebraska-based business or businessperson who has provided support, time and dedication to alumni programs and activities at UNL; and the Undergraduate Achievement Award, for a student who has excelled in the classroom as well as in involvement on campus.

The Founder's Medallion goes to Osborne. A graduate of Hastings College and UNL (M.A.'63, Ph.D.'65), the former Nebraska football coach is a former U.S. Congressman and TeamMates co-founder. Osborne and his wife, Nancy, founded the TeamMates Mentoring Program in 1991 to support and encourage school-aged youths to graduate from high school and pursue postsecondary education. Osborne left his coaching post at Nebraska in 1997 after 36 years -- including 25 years as head coach during which he led the Cornhuskers to three national championships, 12 Big Eight titles and one Big 12 title. Osborne earned an immediate ticket into the College Football Hall of Fame in December 1998, after the customary three-year wait for entrance into the hall was waived.

Osborne served Nebraska for three terms (2000-2006) in the U.S. House of Representatives as a congressman from the 3rd District. Since leaving that post following a gubernatorial bid in 2006, Osborne was a senior lecturer in the UNL College of Business Administration, teaching leadership and business ethics. On Oct. 16, he was appointed UNL's interim athletic director and on Dec. 19, he was named permanent AD through June 2010. He recently was voted the "Greatest Football Coach of All Time" in a contest on ESPN.com.

Breed is the recipient of the Educational Achievement Award. He received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from UNL in 1971, 1977 and 1985, and completed a postdoctoral study in assessment leadership training at UNL in 2004. He began his 37-year career at Everett Junior High School in Lincoln as a social studies teacher and basketball coach. He moved into administration as assistant principal at Lincoln's Goodrich Junior High School and became principal at York Middle School before beginning pursuit of his doctorate. He returned to Lincoln and served the university as assistant director of the Career Planning and Placement Center and then moved to Axtell as superintendent in 1985. He joined Elkhorn Public Schools in 1987 as assistant superintendent and became superintendent in 1991.

The Educational Service Award will be presented to the EducationQuest Foundation (www.educationquest.org), a private nonprofit organization formed in 1998 with a mission to improve access to higher education in Nebraska. Headquartered in Lincoln, EducationQuest fulfills its mission by providing free college planning services, need-based scholarship programs, grants that help high schools increase their college-going rate, and outreach services at high schools, community agencies and businesses across the state. Earlier this year, EducationQuest was selected to sponsor the national KnowHow2GO Campaign in Nebraska. The campaign targets eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders and provides them with steps to follow to make college a reality. Liz Fieselman has led these efforts for seven years as president of EducationQuest.

Ryan Koopmans, a senior from Omaha majoring in veterinary science, will receive the Undergraduate Achievement Award. Koopmans holds a 3.83 cumulative grade point average, has been named to the dean's list and is a Pamela K. Breci Scholar and Holling Memorial Scholar. He also is vice president of the UNL Pre-Vet Club and is active in the community, serving as the event manager for the American Cancer Society/Relay for Life and a team member for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society/Team in Training. He volunteers at the Millard Veterinary Clinic and at the Nebraska Humane Society and serves as an assistant boys soccer coach for the Arsenal Soccer Club.

A sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Koopmans is a squad leader and administers physical training tests for the 295th Ordnance Co. in Lincoln. Prior to that assignment he served as a team leader for six soldiers through two mobilizations in Kuwait for Operation Enduring Freedom. Koopmans has received two Army Achievement Medals, was a Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year Nominee and was on the Commandants list, Warrior Leader Course.

More information on the RED Gala is available on the Nebraska Alumni Association Web site at http://red.huskeralum.com.