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Nebraska Digest: UNL brings home ASABE honors; NCTA dean retires; Soybean Board elects members.

August 23, 2019

3 Min Read
Katie Nolles interned in Congressman Adrian Smith's office in Washington, D.C. Nolles is the most recent recipient of the Kei
SUMMER INTERNSHIP: This summer, Katie Nolles of Bassett, Neb., interned in Congressman Adrian Smith's office in Washington, D.C. Nebraska Farm Bureau

Katie Nolles of Bassett, Neb., recently wrapped up a summer in Washington, D.C., as the most recent recipient of the Keith R. Olsen Agricultural Policy Internship Award.

Nolles is a member of the Rock County Farm Bureau and is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in agricultural education. The award enabled her to intern in Congressman Adrian Smith’s office in Washington, D.C., this summer. The monetary award helped cover Nolles’ living and housing expenses.

The award provides up to $3,000 to a UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources junior or senior to work as an intern in a Nebraska congressional office, a congressional committee or approved agricultural organization.

UNL brings home ASABE honors

Faculty, students and alumni from the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were honored with several awards at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual international meeting.

Tami Brown-Brandl, professor and William E. and Eleanor L. Splinter chair, was named to the 2019 class of ASABE fellows during the meeting. The grade of fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the society. It honors members for extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the field of agricultural, food or biological systems engineering.

Other faculty honorees included Yufeng Ge, assistant professor, Outstanding Reviewer Award; John Gilley, adjunct professor, Outstanding Reviewer Award; Deepak Keshwani, associate professor, A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award; and Mark Wilkins, professor, Outstanding Associate Editor Award. The award honors Wilkins’ workload, timeliness and review quality for the previous three years.

NCTA dean retires

Ron Rosati, dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis, Neb., recently retired. Rosati was tapped as head administrator for the University of Nebraska’s sole two-year institution in July 2013.

Before completing his University of Nebraska service at the end of the year, Rosati will serve as senior adviser for the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture in Kigali, Rwanda. Opening in September, RICA is an English-language institution dedicated to educating and inspiring a new generation of innovators in agriculture in Rwanda.

Kelly Bruns, director at NU’s West Central Research and Extension Center based in North Platte, has been named NCTA interim dean, while continuing to serve in his WCREC role. Bruns will lead NCTA campus administration with associate dean Jennifer McConville.

A national search will be launched to identify a permanent dean of NCTA.

Board members elected to Nebraska Soybean Board

The Nebraska Soybean Board held an election in July for board members in Districts 2, 4 and 8. Nebraska soybean farmers in those districts voted with the following results:

District 2. Jason Penke of Craig was elected to serve Burt, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Stanton, Thurston and Wayne counties.

District 4. Eugene Goering of Columbus was re-elected to serve Boone, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk and York counties.

District 8. Clay Govier of Broken Bow was elected to serve Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Brown, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Custer, Dawson, Dawes, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Howard, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Morrill, Perkins, Phelps, Red Willow, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley and Wheeler counties.

The board members will serve a three-year term beginning Oct. 1 and ending Sept. 30, 2022.

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