by Lindsey Amen | University Communication
May 22, 2020
As he reaches the end of his career, Ken Dewey has several pieces of advice for young people just starting out: stay positive, stay curious, and always be ready for the next adventure.
“There's this analogy of the glass — is it half full or half empty?” Dewey said. “I don’t see a glass that’s empty. I see a glass that’s ready to be filled with all sorts of stuff.”
Dewey, professor of climatology in the College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Global Integrative Studies, retired this month after 46 years of service to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. With an energy and zeal that’s well-known to many around campus, he’s become something of an unofficial weatherman for the Lincoln community — bringing his climate knowledge beyond the classroom to radio stations, media outlets, educational events and more.
After earning his doctorate from the University of Toronto, Dewey began teaching at Nebraska in the fall of 1974. Coming to the Midwest, where it can snow one day and feel like spring the next, was a purposeful choice.
“When I came here for an interview, Lincoln was a very small town compared to my hometown of Chicago and where I was living in Toronto, and I liked the nature, the friendliness, the people and the campus,” Dewey said.
“Most of all, I came here because of the weather and climate. I've always, my entire life, been fascinated by weather and climate extremes — and I knew this would be the place to come to not only teach and research, but explore and enjoy the variety of weather. I learned right away that, after sports, weather is the number one thing people talk about in Nebraska.”
Read more:
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/dewey-looks-back-on-46-year-career-at-nebraska/