Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Jake Harvey, Yvonne Lai, Michelle McKelvey, BinBin Ni, Julie Peterson and David Steffen.
Honors
Jake Harvey, a graduate student in natural resources sciences, took home a 2025 Meritorious Graduate Student Award from the School of Natural Resources at its annual spring banquet. Harvey came to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in January 2022 to research mountain lions in North Bay, California, with John Benson, associate professor of natural resources, as his adviser. Harvey is finishing his master’s work this month and has published his first two papers this semester, in "Biological Conservation and Canadian Wildlife Biology & Management."
Yvonne Lai, Milton E. Mohr Professor of mathematics, earned the 2025 Mathematical Association of America's Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. The award honors college or university professors who are widely recognized for extraordinary teaching effectiveness and whose influence extends beyond their own institutions. The MAA recognized her "transformative work in mathematics education and teacher preparation...she leads inclusive, active-learning environments that promote deep engagement and belonging."
BinBin Ni, a doctoral vocal performance student in the Glenn Korff School of Music, is a national semi-finalist in the National Association of Teachers of Singing 2025 national student auditions. Ni is one of 10 semi-finalists in the College Advanced Tenor, Baritone and Bass Voices division. He previously won first place in the advanced/graduate classical tenor, baritone or bass category at the West Central NATS auditions last fall. The semi-finalists were selected from nearly 1,200 qualifying student-singers in the preliminary auditions. They will compete in the national auditions in-person from June 26-28 at Temple University.
David Steffen, a specialist in beef genetics with the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, has been named a recipient of the Beef Improvement Federations’s Pioneer Award for 2025. The Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who have made lasting contributions to the genetic improvement of beef cattle. The award honors those who have had a major role in the acceptance of performance reporting and documentation with the main goal to make genetic change in beef cattle.
Appointments
Miechelle McKelvey was named the next chairperson of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders in the College of Education and Human Sciences. She will officially assume the position on July 14. McKelvey will join SECD after 19 years at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, most recently serving the last three years as professor and associate dean of the College of Education. She also served seven years as the chair of UNK’s Department of Communication Disorders and was interim chair of the Department of Teacher Education for one year.
Julie Peterson has been named interim director of the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte. Her appointment follows longtime director Kelly Bruns’ selection as the interim dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. Peterson, an entomologist and Nebraska Extension specialist, currently serves as associate director of center and leads the its Agroecosystems Entomology Lab. Her research has addressed topics including biological pest control, pesticide resistance, insect behavior and food web dynamics.
This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.
