KEARNEY – Howard Gaffney has been selected as the 2025 UNK College of Education Distinguished Educator of the Year.
He will be honored 11:30 a.m. Oct. 10 during the 45th annual Distinguished Alumni Awards luncheon in the Gala Room at the Regional Engagement Center, 2204 University Drive. Tickets are $30 per person ($35 starting Sept. 27) and $15 for children ages 12 and younger. They can be purchased until Oct. 1 at unkalumni.org/homecoming or by calling the UNK Alumni Association at 308-698-5271.
“Howard Gaffney exemplifies a lifetime of service, leadership and dedication to education in Nebraska,” said Mark Reid, dean of the UNK College of Education. “We are proud to honor him for his extraordinary contributions to public education and his continued impact as a mentor, advocate and role model.”
An Anselmo native, Gaffney has dedicated more than 50 years to the education of children in central Nebraska.
He spent the first 35 years of his career as a teacher and coach at Sandhills Public Schools in Dunning. After a two-year retirement, during which he worked as a substitute teacher, he returned to education as principal and athletic director at Hyannis Public Schools for four years. He then served as superintendent at Stapleton Public Schools for four years before retiring again. Most recently, Gaffney came out of retirement to serve as interim superintendent for Anselmo-Merna Public Schools during the 2022-23 school year.
Throughout his career, Gaffney worked as a teacher, coach, administrator and volleyball official. He co-founded the Daubert-Pinnacle Girls Basketball Team, coached the Nebraska All-Star Girls Basketball teams in 1993 and 1997 and received the Nebraska School Activities Association Outstanding Volleyball Official Award in 2021 alongside his wife and officiating partner Linda.
Now retired, Gaffney remains an active volunteer at both the local and state levels. He has been an advocate for public school legislation and is a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, having served as the past state deputy. He is involved with the Nebraska Girls State Basketball Association, Nebraska State Education Association, Nebraska Farm Bureau and St. Anselm’s Catholic Church. Gaffney was also named an admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. He owns and manages his family’s farm and ranch.
Gaffney earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Kearney State College in 1970, a middle school endorsement from KSC in 1975, a Master of Education in school administration from UNK in 2002 and a specialist degree in education from UNK in 2012.