Colleagues - I write to share about upcoming arrivals and a departure in the building.
On the NIC Business Center front, Mindy Lang has been named as the NIC Business Center Manager. She is set to start on May 1. Mindy is coming from the AEM Business Center where she currently serves as a Finance Specialist. Also, the support person covering duties of departed Ben Rogers until his replacement is identified is Lisa Beethe. Lisa is part of the Nat Res Business Center and can be reached at lbeethe3@unl.edu. Welcome to both. On the faculty front, Catelyn Bridges has accepted the offer to assume the position of food manufacturing engineer at the rank of assistant professor in the BSE (45% Tea and 25% Res) and FST (30% Res) departments. Her anticipated start date is January 1, 2025. Catelyn holds a BS degree in BSEN from UNL and an MS degree in Bio and Ag Engineering from Texas A&M. She is ABD in her PhD journey at the University of California - Davis. She's a native of Omaha. Thoughts from Dr. Mark Stone (BSE Department Head) on the Catelyn's acceptance - "This hiring decision comes after an extensive and extended search process, dating back four years. As many of you are aware, our initial open search processes did not result in a hire after two rounds of interviews. This led us to pivot towards a targeted search approach, through which Ms. Bridges emerged as a candidate whose vision and expertise uniquely position her to contribute to our departments. I want to assure everyone that this decision was made with the utmost consideration for the long-term benefit of BSE, FST, IANR, and UNL. Throughout this process, we received outstanding support from our deans, the Vice Chancellor's office, ORED, and even the Chancellor's office, affirming the strategic importance of this appointment despite our difficult budget conditions".
And finally, on the staff front with sadness, I share that Sharisa Heier, Administrative Coordinator in FST for the past five years has accepted an offer outside of UNL in Lincoln. Her last day with us will be May 2. She has been of tremendous assistance to me and others during her time in the FIC. Please join me on Tuesday, April 30 at a noon luncheon (location and other details TBA) to thank her for her patience and support, and to wish her well in her new adventure.
Curt
[cid:image001.png@01DA90B5.E83D1B10] Curtis L. Weller, Ph.D., P.E. Professor and Head Department of Food Science and Technologyhttp://foodsci.unl.edu/ Director The Food Processing Centerhttp://fpc.unl.edu/ University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1901 North 21st Street, FIC 233 Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, 68588-6205 402 472 9337tel:4024729337 cweller1@unl.edumailto:cweller1@unl.edu linkedin.com/in/curtis-weller-3ng1n33r
