Douglas A. Kristensen, J.D.
Chancellor
The University of Nebraska at Kearney continues to move forward at a rapid pace, driven not only by the momentum of a growing and improving campus—evidenced, in part, by the renovation and construction of a landmark planetarium addition to the Bruner Hall of Science—but also by the continuing vibrancy and accomplishments of our faculty and students.
This publication, the 2009 – 2010 issue of New Frontiers, showcases some of the most innovative research and creative activity currently underway at UNK. From nationally and internationally acclaimed printmaker Victoria Goro-Rapoport, whose works continue to be selected for inclusion in highly competitive exhibitions such as the Miedzynarodowe Triennale Grafiki (International Print Triennial) in Krakow, Poland, to research on fruit flies and human genes that is being conducted in the laboratory of biologist Kim Carlson, there is an abundance of high quality scholarly inquiry on this campus.
In the area of health, physical education, recreation and leisure studies, professor Greg Brown is studying energy expenditure and fitness benefits of the Wii, while across campus in the humanities, English professor Kate Benzel has led groundbreaking research on quintessential American poet Carl Sandburg’s work. She recovered his “Poems of the Prairie” series from near-obscurity, created a theatrical performance that received rave reviews from multiple regional audiences, and then shared the filmed performance with the statewide public television audience.
In a tough global economy, management researcher Susan Jensen’s studies suggest “psychological capital” may be as critical to business success as the balance sheet, and gifted education specialist Joan Lewis serves rural and metropolitan populations by teaching online, and by authoring books on instructional techniques for teaching the gifted.
Other scholars highlighted in this issue include professor of child and adolescent development Jeanne Stolzer, who recently published important research that questions previously-established theories on ADHD. Finally, Kurt Borchard shines new light on homelessness in Las Vegas.
His findings are chronicled not only in prestigious journals but also in his book, The Word on the Street: Homeless Men in Las Vegas. We hope you will enjoy reading about the exciting “work of the mind” that is transforming UNK and the world beyond.
