OPEN Book – April 2022

April 2022

Registration open for All-Staff Conference

Registration is now open for the UNL All-Staff conference, scheduled for May 24-25 on campus. This multi-day event features a keynote address, updates on the University Staff Senate, facilitated networking and reflection, and a wide variety of breakout sessions around the theme of UNL Connects: Powering Development and Innovation. There is no cost to attend; please communicate with your supervisor regarding your participation.

Team Spotlight to highlight Events and Outreach

 The May Team Spotlight will feature the Events and Outreach team. The presentation is on Friday, May 13, from 10-11 a.m. Registration in Bridge is now available and necessary to receive the meeting link and access to the recorded session.

The ORED Team Spotlight is a response to the OPEN Forum where ORED team members explored big ideas. Staff determined that there is value in learning and understanding the work of each of the teams within the Office of Research and Economic Development. These meetings are scheduled for the second Friday of each month, beginning at 10 a.m. with remarks from Vice Chancellor Bob Wilhelm.

UNL at 2022 NORDP Conference

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was well-represented during the 2022 Research Development Conference hosted online April 24-28 by the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP).

ORED staff led or contributed to the following conference presentations:

Former Proposal Development team member Kathy Partlow received a 2022 Leadership Award in recognition of her contributions to NORDP’s mentoring programs.

NORDP is a professional organization dedicated to advancing the global capacity for and impact of research by strengthening the practice and profession of research development. The organization has 1,100 members from over 450 institutions of higher education and other research-focused organizations.

Luebbe becomes YouTube star

The Office of Sponsored Program’s own Elijah Luebbe was featured in NCURA’s YouTube Tuesday on April 26. In his video, Elijah provides a helpful tip on the use of the Goal Seek tool in Microsoft Excel. You can watch the short video here.

NCURA is the National Council of University Research Administrators, an organization for individuals with professional interests in the administration of sponsored programs.

Welcome new staff members

Brenda Coufal is the new program coordinator with the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research. In this role, she provides business and program support, including overseeing financial management, marketing and outreach, and providing support for grants development and coordination of research groups. Brenda came to the Energy Center from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked in Division of Public Health. Brenda has many years of experience overseeing the financial management of public health programs and grants, marketing and outreach. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, which includes attending sporting events (Go Huskers!) and traveling as time allows. Brenda grew up on a farm west of Ansley, Nebraska, and is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She and her husband live in Lincoln and have two adult children and two grandsons.
Kara Kugler-Wright joined ORED’s Industrial Relations and the School of Computing’s Senior Design as the capstone development manager in March. Kara recently returned to UNL as a non-traditional student completing her bachelor’s degree in supply chain management in December 2020 and worked for Senior Design in the summer of 2021. She has more than 20 years of experience in purchasing, sales and brokerage with the scrap metal industry, and co-owned a bar that existed in Lincoln for over 35 years.
Neil Rutledge recently joined ORED as its newest research compliance services specialist. Neil is originally from Lincoln; he studied political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before receiving his J.D. from New York University School of Law. Prior to joining ORED, Neil worked as a research associate at the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center – managing the center’s supplemental awards and Student Fellows programs, as well as conducting his own research into United States immigration law and the retention of U.S.-educated STEM graduates. In his free time, Neil enjoys woodworking, playing guitar and tending his plants and fruit trees. Neil is accompanied in all his endeavors by Grey and Marlin – a lovable pair of cats who are siblings, yet couldn’t be more different.

ORED Staff Kudos

The following kudos were shared at the OPEN Forum on April 20.

Cheryl Horst & Zane Gernhart
For their flexibility and spirit of teamwork! They are always willing to step in and help me when needed – even when that includes last-minute public speaking engagements that they weren’t planning on. J Thank you both for your spirit of cooperation and collaboration!   -Joy Eakin

Bob Wilhelm
Thanks to Bob for stepping in and serving as Interim EVC for the campus.    –Becky Zavala

Dave Doty, Suzan Lund & Brian Sabata
Thank you all for working through additional compliance requirements with us for the new DOE COI rule!   -Sara Quinn

Matthew Dwyer
Thanks to Matthew Dwyer for helping facilitate the strategic planning workshops for the Grand Challenges. Here’s to finishing the 2022 grant cycle strong and starting 2023 with a fresh perspective!    
-Ashley Washburn

Zac Franzen
Thanks to Zac who recently came back to the office to help package up leftovers from a candidate reception so ORED staff could enjoy them the following day.    -Becky Zavala

All OSP Folks
A huge thanks to all the OSP group for being such great partners in understanding and working together for funding/compliance needs. We really appreciate all your hard work and keeping us in the loop!   
-Sara Quinn

Rick Bevins, Nathan Meier, Lisa Maupin & Heidi Uhing
Fueled by big ideas and holiday candy, this Grand Challenges Core Team is a great group to work with. I appreciate your commitment to making this initiative the best it can be!  -Ashley Washburn

Laurie Sampson
Congratulations to Laurie on earning her Gallup Strengths Coach Certification!   -Becky Zavala

Jessica Minnick & Jennifer Minnick
A huge thank you for all your help with the Engineering Pitch Competition this year. So glad you’re both a part of our team!    -Joy Eakin

RCS
Thank you to the RCS team for all your hard work! It is a pleasure getting to work with you every day! A couple of specific kudos:

Jocelyn Bosley, Joel Brehm, Zac Franzen, Lisa Maupin, Dan Moser & Heidi Uhing
for your contributions to Student Research Days and the Nebraska Lecture. These events are stronger because of your fresh ideas and willingness to roll with the punches. -Ashley Washburn

Shelly Cutsor
Thank you to Shelly for working with the state to secure KN95 masks for the campus for FREE!
-Becky Zavala

Casey Lundberg
For taking over the management of our intern program and diving into the intern recruitment process. (One day it will end!) Thank you for all you do!   -Joy Eakin

Sara Quinn
Thanks to Sara Quinn for taking the initiative to add DEI training to our CITI offerings.  -Becky Zavala

Joel Brehm
designed a beautiful new template for our research stories. Thank you for putting that finishing touch on the writing and editing team’s work!    -Ashley Washburn

Jen Nelson
Thanks to Jen Nelson for her coordination of the first-ever University-Wide Research Center annual meetings. What a huge accomplishment!    -Becky Zavala

Lisa Maupin
For the massive number of events and outreach opportunities she is constantly organizing and facilitating. It’s a pleasure to attend a smoothly run event that she hosts. (I was recently gob-smacked at an event by her ability to share all of the potential collaborations that are open to our faculty who are seeking partnerships. Her role working across lots of different programs hosted by ORED gives her a great perspective and ability to share about these opportunities.) Great work, Lisa!    -Joy Eakin

Ember Welsch
Thanks to Ember for the hundreds and hundreds of HR actions you have managed over the past months. The ‘Great Resignation’ has had a tremendous impact on your workload. We appreciate you keeping things moving behind the scenes!    -Becky Zavala

Brian Sabata & Kelly Heath
Thanks to Brian Sabata for helping us get the equipment lease agreement and to Kelly Heath for getting creative and finding a way to bring in revenue on idle equipment.   -Becky Zavala

Kate Engel
A big thank you to Kate for her personal encouragement and support of our campus and community entrepreneurs. Her experience and wisdom are so appreciated – both on a personal level and in watching her interact with our stakeholders. I am always learning from her and am so grateful to have her as a colleague!    -Joy Eakin

Laurie Sampson
Thank you for everything you do to help ORED’s training events run smoothly. Your prep work and instructions make it easy on the presenters.    -Ashley Washburn

Research Communications
Thanks to Research Communications for the recent web re-design, it looks great! -Becky Zavala

Grand Challenges Team
Kudos to the Grand Challenges team – it’s awesome to see how much you’ve accomplished over the last year. Bring on the $40M!!!   -Becky Zavala

Tiffany Lee
You are fearless when taking on stories about topics that are tough for the layperson to understand. Thank you for your thorough research, attention to detail and ability to craft a great narrative.  
-Ashley Washburn

Rick Bevins
Thanks to Rick for organizing a great panel for the Student Research Days Faculty Connector!
-Becky Zavala

Joy Eakin
Thanks to Joy for helping out at the student booster vaccination clinics this semester! -Becky Zavala