Alumni Association to present 4 Young Alumni awards

Four University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni will receive a Nebraska Alumni Association's Young Alumni Award May 9 at the All-University Celebration and Salute to Alumni Achievement at the Nebraska Champions Club. The award is given annually to UNL alumni who have provided exceptional service to the university through volunteer efforts or have distinguished themselves in their career or community.

The 2008 recipients are:

Heather Allison Buller, '94, owner of Dinner Date, a Lincoln business she opened in 2003. Buller previously worked as a freelance graphic designer and in the marketing departments of American Tool Cos., Pfizer Animal Health and Ameritas. A cooking enthusiast with little time for pursuing it as a hobby, her marketing expertise helped her identify a niche for a meal preparation business and she launched Dinner Date. The firm does all the menu planning, shopping and chopping for clients who come in ready to assemble meals and freeze them for later use. Clients can also purchase pre-assembled meals for greater time savings. Buller changes the menu monthly and offers regular, low-fat/low-calorie and vegetarian options plus complete nutrition information.

Shu-Ren Chang, '03, '06, psychometrician in the Rockford, Ill., Public Schools. Chang directly reports and provides recommendations to the school board and superintendent's office on school improvement issues. He has made significant contributions to testing fairness in ACT, SAT, GRE and GMAT tests through his research. Chang has been recognized for leadership, service and research through a Dissertation Fellowship for the CCKF International Scholarly Exchange, a Slawski Summer Fellowship in Psychometrics, a Sue Wilson Fellowship, a Regents Tuition Fellowship, a Graduate Non-resident Fellowship, an Outstanding Teaching Award and an Outstanding Special Education Research Award. While at UNL, he founded and led two UNL student organizations: Taiji Martial Arts Association and Chinese Language and Cultural Exchange Association.

Pamela L. Dingman, '91, majority owner and CEO of Engineering Design Consultants in Lincoln. After graduation, Dingman worked with Denver-based Schloss Engineered Equipment and then with Nolte & Associates. In 1996 she became a project engineer for Omaha's Schemmer Associates and a year later, she joined Lamp Rynearson & Associates. Today, Dingman is believed to be one of only three women in the country who manages and is majority owner of a civil engineering firm. That feat was one reason the American Business Women's Association named her as one of its "2006 Top Ten Business Women." Dingman continues to speak to young women and minorities about the importance of math and sciences as well as available engineering careers.

Sue Preusser Wilkinson, '90, vice president for planning at Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. in Lincoln. Wilkinson has held positions of increasing responsibility at Ameritas and works with all businesses and departments of UNIFI Mutual Holding Co. to develop an enterprise-wide annual plan that supports growth and profitability goals. Wilkinson was the internal project manager for the integration phase of the merger of Ameritas Acacia Mutual Holding Co. with Union Central Life Insurance Co. She also works with corporate development analysis for the executive office, including mergers, acquisitions and affiliations. Wilkinson has been a volunteer with United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County since 2000, has participated in Leadership Lincoln, and has taken a leadership role with the Lincoln Young Professionals Group.

Reservations for the All-University Celebration and Salute to Alumni Achievement may be made by calling the Nebraska Alumni Association, (888) 353-1874 or (402) 472-4250. The cost is $25 per person and the deadline for registrations is April 30.