UNL alumni 'Masters' return to meet with students Nov. 10-12

Released on 11/04/2010, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, through Nov. 12, 2010

Lincoln, Neb., November 4th, 2010 —
Damon Barry
Damon Barry
Kate Bingaman-Burt
Kate Bingaman-Burt
Robert Douglass
Robert Douglass
John Kennedy
John Kennedy
Loren Lutes
Loren Lutes
Therese McGuire
Therese McGuire
Allan Noddle
Allan Noddle
Teresa Poggenpohl
Teresa Poggenpohl
Roger Wehrbein
Roger Wehrbein
Jeff Zeleny
Jeff Zeleny

Ten outstanding alumni will return to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nov. 10-12 to share their experiences and knowledge with students as part of the annual Alumni Masters Week.

This year marks the 46th Alumni Masters Week, a program sponsored by the Nebraska Alumni Association, Scarlet Guard (the alumni association's student group), Innocents Society, Mortar Board and the Chancellor's Office. All students are encouraged to take part in lectures, presentations and events with the Alumni Masters, who will speak about ways to apply formal education to working situations and career goals. In addition, students and the public are welcome to a reception for the Alumni Masters 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Wick Alumni Center, 1520 R St. A brief program is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Since 1964, more than 250 alumni have participated in Alumni Masters Week. The selection of the Alumni Masters is competitive. Candidates are alumni who have shown great promise, success and leadership in their fields. Each spring, a committee of faculty and administrators makes recommendations to the chancellor, who chooses the participants for the program.

The 2010 Alumni Masters are:

Damon Barry, '00, College of Law. Barry is vice president of business affairs and assistant general counsel for CSG Systems International Inc., a leading provider of software and services. Ebony magazine recognized him as one of its "30 Leaders of the Future."

Kate Bingaman-Burt, '04, Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Bingaman-Burt is an assistant professor of graphic design at Portland State University in Oregon. She founded Obsessive Consumption in 2002. Her first book, "Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?" was published by Princeton Architectural Press in April 2010.

Robert Douglass, '63, College of Architecture. Douglass has worked for Leo A. Daly in Omaha and Caudill Rowlett Scott in Houston, where he developed innovative approaches to the delivery of hospital and healthcare projects. In 1975, he founded his consulting firm, Robert Douglass Associates, which quickly became a national leader in strategic and facility planning for healthcare facilities, with particular expertise in university teaching hospitals.

John Kennedy, '05, College of Education and Human Sciences. Kennedy is a corporate chef at Blue Bunny. He joined Wells, the makers of Blue Bunny ice cream, in 2005 as the company's first culinologist. Among his responsibilities are researching, evaluating and implementing new technologies and trends in food, and creating new ice cream-related desserts.

Loren Lutes, '60, '61, College of Engineering. Lutes is a professor emeritus of civil engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station. He received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1967. He has also taught at Rice University, the University of Chile and George Washington University, among others. In May 2000, he was presented the Alfred M. Freudenthal Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his research contributions related to structural reliability.

Therese McGuire, '78, College of Arts and Sciences. McGuire is a professor of management and strategy and a ConAgra Foods Research Professor in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Her areas of expertise include state and local public finance, fiscal decentralization, property tax limitations, education finance and regional economic development. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

Allan Noddle, '62, College of Business Administration. Noddle is the president of Daymon Worldwide in Greenwich, Conn. He started his career as a trainee at Hinky Dinky Supermarkets of Omaha, and rose to the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer. He also had executive positions at various stores owned by Royal Ahold, the world's most successful global food provider. He has worked in 28 countries on four continents.

Teresa Poggenpohl, '83, College of Business Administration. Poggenpohl is executive director-global image for Accenture and is responsible for shaping the company's brand and position in the market. In 2001, she devised what the media and industry analyst community reported as the largest and most successful rebranding initiative undertaken by a business-to-business company -- rebranding market leader Andersen Consulting.

Roger Wehrbein, '60, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Wehrbein is a livestock producer and farmer at Breeze Valley Farms, Wehrbein Farms, and D&R Livestock Co. Partnership. He was District 2 representative to the Nebraska Legislature for five terms. He serves as vice president of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement, president of the Alpha Gamma Rho Foundation and president of Ag Builders of Nebraska.

Jeff Zeleny, '96, College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Zeleny is the national political correspondent for the New York Times and is the newspaper's lead writer for the 2010 midterm election campaign. He has covered the White House, traveling with President Barack Obama across the United States and around the world. Before joining the Times, he worked at the Chicago Tribune, where he was a member of the reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism for documenting gridlock in the nation's air traffic system.

For complete Alumni Masters bios, visit http://huskeralum.org/events/masters.

The Nebraska Alumni Association's mission is to promote the achievements and aspirations of UNL by engaging its students, alumni and friends. The association was founded in 1874.

WRITER: Shannon Sherman