Debra Mullen received two awards at the recent regional Sigma Phi Epsilon leadership conference in Chicago. She was awarded the Outstanding Partner in Higher Education award as well as the Distinguished Volunteer award. Dr. Mullen is the associate dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences as well as a member of the Educational Administration faculty.
Kevin Knudson is an alumni of Nebraska and current member of the SigEp national Headquarters staff.
From Kevin Knudson:
"Early on in the second semester of my freshman year at Nebraska, I realized that some college transfer credits from high school were pulling my GPA down enough to threaten the scholarship that made my attendance at UNL financially feasible. In a semi-panicked state, I stopped by the office of SigEp’s faculty fellow, Dr. Deb Mullen, to figure out what to do.
As she does for so many of her students, Deb quickly put me at ease and then told me she’d make time in her schedule to meet with me each week for an independent course that would help buoy my GPA enough to keep my scholarship status in tact.
There are countless men like me who called the SigEp house in Lincoln their home whose lives have been made better by Deb. Her life is a definition of selfless, service leadership and she is a true force for good at UNL and beyond.
Last night at one of our regional leadership programs, Deb was recognized as the University Partner of the Year for the incredible work she does with the SigEp men at Nebraska.
Shortly after returning to her seat, she was called back up to the stage to receive the Distinguished Volunteer Award, the highest honor that SigEp bestows on non-members for the profound impact they have on the organization.
There are few people more deserving of these accolades than Deb and it was one of the great privileges of my time with the Fraternity to see her be recognized for her life changing presence at the Nebraska Alpha chapter.
Deb, thank you so much for all that you’ve done for me and so many others like me."