Amy Goodburn has been named senior associate vice chancellor and dean of undergraduate education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Donde Plowman, the university’s executive vice chancellor and chief executive officer, announced the appointment June 2. The appointment is pending approval by the Board of Regents.

Goodburn is the senior academic leader who represents the executive vice chancellor’s office in the EVC’s absence, and whose primary responsibilities are in undergraduate education. Goodburn oversees:

• Student Enrollment Management, which is led by the assistant vice chancellor for academic services and enrollment management and includes the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, and the University Registrar;
• First-Year Experience and Transition Programs, New Student Enrollment, William H. Thompson Scholars, Career Services, the university’s Military and Veteran Success Center, the Office of Undergraduate Research, undergraduate education programs, the University Honors Program; and
• universitywide efforts related to advising and student success.

Goodburn came to the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, now the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, in 2011 as an associate vice chancellor to focus on student success. She subsequently took on additional duties related to student retention, graduation and achievement and has overseen the launch and advancement of several programs that have enhanced student progress, including various advising, transfer and orientation initiatives. Between 2015 and 2017, she was Nebraska’s interim dean of enrollment management.

In 2012, the university implemented MyPLAN, or My Personal Learning and Advising Network, a way for students to communicate with faculty and staff. Students can schedule with instructors and advising support staff and search through available resources. Faculty and advising staff can follow students through their university careers, recording notes, scheduling appointments, accessing basic student information and communicating with university staff and faculty.

In 2015, the university earned one of three national Starfish Solutions 360 awards for MyPLAN’s successful universitywide implementation.

Also during Goodburn’s tenure, the university has increased first-year academic learning communities from 10 to 26 and has launched the Office of First Year Experience and Transition Programs, the Military and Veteran Success Center and the Office of Undergraduate Research. Also, in 2013, the university began the Academic Probation Recovery Program, which earned University Business’s Model of Excellence award in 2016. In addition, the First Husker Program, the Emerging Leaders Program for first-year students and the recently revamped Nebraska Now Program have come online.

“We are moving forward in innovative and measurable ways to ensure our students’ academic achievement,” Goodburn said. “I am inspired every day by our students, faculty and staff, and I look forward to advancing our enrollment and retention goals.”

Goodburn, a professor of English who joined the Nebraska faculty in 1994, has been recognized with a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s Scholarly Teaching Award and induction into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at Nebraska. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and political science at Miami University, and her master’s degrees in English and English education and her doctorate in English (composition and rhetoric) from the Ohio State University.

“I am delighted with this new role for Amy, who has gained the respect from our entire campus as the champion for undergraduate education,” Plowman said.

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