More than 1,500 to receive UNL degrees Dec. 20-21

            The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's December commencement exercises will be Dec. 20 and 21 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

            The arena, at 400 Pinnacle Arena Drive, will host a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees at 3 p.m. Dec. 20 and one for those earning bachelor's degrees at 9 a.m. Dec. 21. The College of Law will conduct a separate commencement ceremony at 1 p.m. Dec. 20 in Hamann Auditorium of Ross McCollum Hall, East Campus Loop and Fair Street. More than 1,500 degrees will be awarded. The ceremonies at Pinnacle Bank Arena will be live streamed at http://www.unl.edu.

            Karen Kunc, Willa Cather Professor and professor of art at UNL, will deliver the address at the Dec. 20 ceremony. Former U.S. Sen. and Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson will give the address and receive an honorary doctor of letters degree on Dec. 21. Judge William B. Cassel of the Nebraska Supreme Court will address the law graduates.

            The ceremonies are free and open to the public, and no tickets are required. Because of security concerns, parcels, handbags and camera bags will be subject to search. There will be open seating in all areas except the arena floor, which will be reserved for graduates, faculty and dignitaries. Handicap seating will be on the concourse level. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided through the ribbon screens at the corners of the arena concourse level. For Pinnacle Bank Arena seating charts, go to http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/tickets/seating.html.

            A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the post office building, 700 R St., directly east of Pinnacle Bank Arena.

            Parking, including handicapped parking, is available in garages south of the arena and in the Festival Space parking area off Sun Valley Boulevard. The Festival Space parking area is accessible to the arena via a pedestrian bridge. Limited handicapped parking is available at Gate 4 on the north side of the arena off Pinnacle Arena Drive. Parking maps are available at http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/visit.

            Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.

            In her prints and artist books, Kunc explores inventive color abstractions of the natural and human-fashioned world, creating visual impact, tensions and ideas of strange beauty. A member of the UNL faculty since 1983, she has presented solo exhibitions and has works in permanent collections in the United States, Asia and Europe. Her recognitions include: the 2007 Printmaker Emeritus Award from the Southern Graphics Council International; a Fulbright Scholar Award to Finland, and a Fulbright Specialist Award to Bangladesh; two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships; and the Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Master Award.

            She has taught workshops around the world, lectured as a visiting artist at more than 200 institutions and has been artist-in-residence at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York, the Venice Printmaking Studio in Italy, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and Nagasawa Art Park in Awaji, Japan. Kunc received her master of fine arts from Ohio State University in 1977 and a bachelor of fine arts from UNL in 1975.

            Nelson entered Nebraska politics when he ran for governor in 1990. After winning the Democratic primary by 42 votes, he went on to serve two terms as governor (1991-99) and two terms as a U.S. Senator (2001-13).

            Nelson carved a bipartisan role in the Senate, where he served terms on the Agriculture, Armed Services and Appropriations committees.

            A native of McCook, Nelson used his rural roots as the basis for his policy positions. As governor, he pressed to expand the ethanol industry in Nebraska. He also established the Governors' Ethanol Coalition as part of the National Governors Association. Under Nelson's leadership, Nebraska moved to the forefront of ethanol production, increasing production from 15 million gallons to more than 300 million gallons in 1997. He also helped establish the National Drought Mitigation Center at UNL.

            Nelson earned bachelor's (1963), master's (1965) and law (1970) degrees from the University of Nebraska and enjoyed a successful 20-year career in insurance law before entering politics. After retiring the Senate, he became CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Writer: Tom Simons, University Communications