New Leaders Join UNL

Several new administrators joined UNL in 2010, bringing diverse expertise to the university.

IANR Vice Chancellor
Ronnie D. Green, an animal scientist with extensive academic, private sector and federal research experience, became the Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and University of Nebraska vice president.

Before joining UNL in July, Green was senior director, animal genetics global technical service, for Pfizer Animal Health. Previously, he was national program leader in Food Animal Production at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and vice president of cattle operations and assistant vice president and director of genetic operations for Future Beef Operations. He was an animal science professor at Colorado State University and assistant professor of animal science at Texas Tech University. Green earned his doctorate from UNL, a master’s from Colorado State and a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, all in animal science.
 
College of Law
Law professor Susan Poser became College of Law dean in May. Poser joined the College of Law faculty in 1999. She was chief of staff and associate to UNL’s chancellor from 2007 until 2010. Poser also is director of UNL’s Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics. She is on the Women’s and Gender Studies faculty. Poser earned her law and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and Nebraska bars and serves on the Nebraska State Bar Association’s ethics committee. She practiced law in Philadelphia and was the Zicklin Fellow in Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

College of Business Administration
Donde Plowman became the dean of the College of Business Administration in July. She previously was the Ralph and Janet Heath Professor of business and head of the Department of Management at the University of Tennessee. Earlier, she was a professor of management at the University of Texas at San Antonio, serving as associate dean for graduate programs and research and director of the College of Business doctoral program. Plowman holds a doctorate in strategic management from the University of Texas, a master’s in higher education administration from the University of North Texas and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University.

College of Journalism and Mass Communications
Gary Kebbel became dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in July. Kebbel previously was journalism program director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he directed the $25 million Knight News Challenge, which funds digital news innovations. Earlier, he was director of AOL News, founding editor of USAToday.com and Newsweek.com, a graphics editor at USA Today and a newspaper editor. He was an adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland in College Park, Northern Illinois University and Adirondack Community College. Kebbel has a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University, master’s degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Illinois and a master’s of social work from the Catholic University of America.

Durham School
Eddy M. Rojas became director of The Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction in March. He joined UNL from the University of Washington where he was a professor of construction management and director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education. Rojas holds doctoral and master’s degrees in civil engineering and a master’s in economics from the University of Colorado. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Costa Rica. The Durham School, part of UNL’s College of Engineering and headquartered at Omaha’s Peter Kiewit Institute, is the nation’s only program that combines architectural engineering, construction engineering and construction management in one school.