Kenya S. Taylor, Ed. D.
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
At the University of Nebraska at Kearney, we view our mission as a commitment to be one of the nation’s premier undergraduate institutions, with excellent graduate education, scholarship and public service.
Along with our legacy of strong teaching, a commitment for faculty members to engage in meaningful scholarship has evolved. Our strength lies in combining teaching with research and creative activity to create innovative classroom experiences.
Faculty accomplishments in research and creative activity serve as the foundation for involving students in research opportunities outside of class. This is one of our priorities. Students publish in the Undergraduate Research Journal, present at UNK’s Student Research Day and present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and other professional conferences. More than 25 percent of our students do original scholarly projects under the supervision of faculty mentors. Two years in a row, UNK students have been selected to participate in the prestigious Posters on the Hill event in Washington, D.C.
Seventy-seven percent of our classroom faculty have terminal degrees, and they not only teach students but they are also contributing to their fields of study. Our faculty, such as those featured in this issue of New Frontiers, work in communities of experts to expand the body of knowledge. This quest for knowledge and the passion for their subjects brings energy and expertise to the learning environment.
This issue highlights the accomplishments of several faculty at relatively early stages of their careers. Each came to UNK with a passion to teach, and a demonstrated interest in and training for conducting scholarship. We consider this combination a high priority in recruiting new faculty. The scholars featured in this issue of New Frontiers provide a glimpse at just some of the important work being done at UNK. These faculty illustrate UNK’s growth in research and creative activity, and demonstrate the university’s commitment to scholarship in the arts and humanities, education, business, basic and applied science, and social sciences.
As you read, you will see UNK researchers can be found working in the lab, the classroom, the community and throughout the world. I hope you enjoy reading about some of their research and the global impact it has.
Kenya S. Taylor
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
