Matching known acquaintances through a collection of photos on a wall is a familiar scene in a television crime drama as the detectives try to narrow their list of suspects. Bellevue University’s Jeffrey Hug is taking that approach and raising it to an art form. The Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and Photography has something special planned as a participant in a local art project known as the Empty Room.

The Empty Room is a six month long experiment where individuals are given access to an “empty room” where they are free to share their creative ideas with the Omaha community. The room is located at 13th and Webster streets and offers participants roughly 700 square feet to express their creativity. Each participant has the run of the room for an entire month. Hug’s idea was chosen for the October exhibit.

Inspired by crime dramas and a belief that people need to stay connected, Hug will fashion his empty room into a live adaptation of a Facebook page. Visitors to the exhibit will place their photo on a wall and connect their photo to other photos of people they know. They will use a piece of string/yarn to physically connect their photo to others. As the possible combinations increase with the number of visitors, the resulting connections will create an ever-changing visual. By the end of the month, the room could represent a tangled mess that would frighten even the most seasoned air traffic controller. The bigger the mess, the greater the success according to Hug who believes the more people stay connected the better. The project has been dubbed, “String Thing” by its creator.

Hug’s master plan includes a step beyond the exhibit’s October lifespan. He has made arrangements to convert the yarn used in the exhibit into hats and gloves for the homeless. Bellevue University staff and students are encouraged to donate yarn to the project. Donation boxes will be located throughout the campus. Donations will also be accepted at the exhibit during its October run.

For more information, visit http://emptyroomstringthing.com/.

Bellevue University has been named to the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium (GP NSEC). The consortium is part of the Intelligence Community Center Academic Excellence program which provides academic, research, cultural immersion and other outreach activities focused on national security-related topics. The goal of the program is to develop students with the knowledge of international and cultural issues, foreign languages, analysis, and critical thinking skills required to serve the 16 federal agencies that make up the intelligence community.

Consortium members will develop courses and activities that play to their institution’s unique strengths. Bellevue University brings several strengths to the partnership including online learning expertise and long-standing military associations. The University will offer three new curriculum programs including two Certificates of Completion and one master’s degree program. Under development is an online program known the U.S. Intelligence Structures, Systems, and Roles Certificate. The program will introduce undergraduate students to the intelligence community and its role in national security. In addition, a Strategic Deterrence Certificate is under development and will be offered to graduate students online. The University will also develop a 36-hour online master’s degree program that expands on the themes of the undergraduate World Security and Strategic Studies program.

“These 16 federal agencies are looking to better identify talent by broadening the pool of student candidates who have an awareness of the emerging cultures of the world,” said Dr. Therese Michels, Ph.D. and Dean of College of Arts and Sciences. “Our programs will provide students an excellent foundation to address real world intelligence community issues.”

The GP-NSEC is one of several consortium programs already in place. The program was established in 2005 to meet the nation’s increasing need for a diverse workforce of intelligence community professionals who are educated and trained to address national security objectives.

“These new programs support our guiding principle to positively impact the lives of our students,” said Dr. Mary Hawkins, Ph.D., president, Bellevue University. “The collaboration among the four partner universities will play a key role in the success of this initiative. In addition, the new programs compliment the University’s active-learning approach and provide our students an exciting avenue for new career choices.”

Bellevue University, a leader in adult learning, recognizes that the single most important investment one can make to secure employability – especially today – is education. This is why the University is introducing a Job Loss Deferment Plan. The unique plan allows students who are involuntarily laid off to stay in school, focus on learning, and complete their college degrees. All tuition, fees, and loan obligations will be deferred for up to 6 months, allowing the students time to search for new jobs, degrees in hand, without the additional concern of paying these costs immediately.

Giving students an opportunity to stay in school to complete their degrees makes this plan different from others that provide loan deferment, but may necessitate students to drop out. Other plans limit their programs to selected students. Bellevue University’s Job Loss Deferment Plan applies to all actively enrolled students.

“Recent Labor statistics indicate that unemployment is nearly twice as high among those without bachelor’s degrees than among those with college degrees,” said Scott Klene, the University’s Senior Director of Student Financial Services. “So encouraging our students to stay in school is an important objective of this plan. We want to give adults assurance that they can confidently pursue their life goals through education, even in this recession.”

“Our leadership in adult learning stems from keeping our finger on the pulse of what adult students need,” added University President Mary B. Hawkins, Ph.D. “What we know today is that adults are more convinced than ever that a college degree is the key to success. But concerns about financial security can create a barrier to enrolling. By breaking down this barrier, we enable more adults to arm themselves with education – the most valuable tool in attaining viable and fulfilling employment.”

Bellevue University’s Job Loss Deferment Plan is available to all actively enrolled students. Classes for degree programs start throughout the year, and are offered online and at 10 campus locations throughout America’s Heartland. For more information on Bellevue University and the Job Loss Deferment Plan, contact www.Bellevue.edu.

Bellevue University on Tuesday, Aug. 4 will host “The Best Investment in You” Open House. The event is free and will be held in the University’s Margre H. Durham Student Center at 6:00 p.m. Prospective students interested in completing their bachelor’s degrees can learn more about Bellevue University’s flexible credit transfer policies, accelerated degree completion programs, available career-relevant bachelor’s degrees, and financial aid. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with Admissions Counselors and Financial Aid Specialists.

On Wednesday, Aug. 5, Bellevue University will host “JUMPSTART” from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Margre H. Durham Student Center. High school juniors and seniors are encouraged to register and will have the opportunity to meet with Enrollment Counselors, Financial Aid Specialists, faculty, and current students. Through an organized scavenger hunt, attendees will get to tour campus. Attendees can enter to receive a $1,000 book grant for the 2009/2010 Fall semester. Lunch will be served and registration is required.

The remarkable story of one Bellevue University student and employee showcases the perseverance that allowed him to serve our University, his educational goals, and first and foremost, our country.

After a one year deployment in Iraq, Mike Damato has returned to his position as Safety Administrator at Bellevue University. The deployment was Damato’s second during his nearly five years with the University. Damato’s relationship with the University began as a student in the Security Management bachelor’s degree completion program.

Following the events of 9/11, Damato learned from instructor Greg Allen that the University had created a new position dedicated to protecting the University, its students, and employees.

In 2003, Damato joined the Navy Reserves after a 17-year break in service (he was active duty Navy from 1976-85). “It was a call to do something,” he said. “If I was in the reserves, it would free someone else to go fight the war.” He was shocked when called to action, not just once, but twice. Damato is grateful that he works for an organization where he can also do his part serving his country. “The University has been extremely supportive,” he said. “My wife was able to complete her master’s degree during my first deployment, and I was able to complete mine during this last deployment.”

While already successful in his career and service, Damato began the online master’s program in Security Management before learning he would be deployed a second time. After a short break while preparing for the deployment, he was able to complete the degree while in Iraq utilizing the University’s exceptional online learning platform.

The University is proud of its commitment to those serving in the Armed Forces and their families,  here in Bellevue and worldwide.  Bellevue University was recently named a Top 10 Military-Friendly College/University, and was selected as a participating school in the MyCAA program.

Bela Sachdeva has enjoyed a successful 16-year career as a pediatrician in her native India and more recently the Arab Emirates. But now she wants more – she wants to run a large hospital or healthcare organization. To help her achieve that goal, she enrolled in Bellevue University’s online MBA program with a concentration in healthcare.

The University’s online MBA program offers Sachdeva the flexibility to continue her medical practice in the Arab Emirates while earning her degree.

“I am envied amongst my peers and colleagues for pursuing MBA studies from a U.S. university, and that gives me immense pleasure,” said Dr. Sachdeva.

She plans on completing her MBA in February 2010, then visiting the Omaha area to see the Bellevue University campus and attend commencement.

Bellevue University was one of the first accredited universities to offer a degree program online, in 1996. The University was the first accredited university to offer an online MBA, which remains one of the largest online MBA programs in the country.

Last summer, doctors gave Cora Christensen a 30 percent chance of survival. This Saturday, she’ll walk across the stage at Bellevue University spring commencement after earning her Master of Science in Human Services.

“I finally made it,” she said.

It wasn’t easy. Christensen has battled serious heart ailments for more than 20 years. Her condition came to a head last summer when she suffered cardiac heart failure and underwent three heart surgeries at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Doctors recommended a heart transplant and gave her a 30 percent chance of survival.

All this time, Christensen was one course away from earning her master’s degree. She started and stopped the course multiple times during the past three years, always growing too sick to finish. She credits her professor, Jon Kayne, and the director of graduate programs for the College of Arts Sciences, Carole Patrick, for being patient and helping her finish the program.

“I don’t know of any other university anywhere on the planet that would have been as helpful,” said Christensen, who earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Bellevue University in 2004. “Dr. Patrick and Dr. Kayne, their support was absolutely phenomenal.”

Christensen will celebrate commencement this Saturday with her parents and her children, including daughter Katie, a former Bellevue University employee. To say Christensen’s family is excited about her achievement would be an understatement.

“My mom and dad are telling everybody in the world,” she said.

But Christensen isn’t done with Bellevue University. This summer she’ll join the College of Arts and Sciences as an adjunct instructor, a position she also holds at Metro Community College. She hopes her story inspires her students – and anyone else who will listen – to finish school, no matter what the obstacles.

“I have my scars but I don’t care,” Christensen said. “I made it.”

Katrina Robertson. Photo courtesy Tom Fedor/The Gazette

For many people, walking across the stage at commencement is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For others, it may happen two or three times. Most people don’t experience the moment twice in two weeks, though, which is exactly what Katrina Robertson will do.

Robertson will travel from her home in Middletown, Md., to participate in Bellevue University spring commencement this Saturday, June 6. Robertson is earning her Bachelor of Science in Management. On May 21, Robertson participated in the commencement ceremony at Frederick Community College (Md.), from which she earned an associate’s degree in general studies.

Robertson earned her Bellevue University degree online, as do a majority of the school’s students. Bellevue University was one of the first accredited universities to offer degree programs online, in 1996. 

The university also allowed Robertson the flexibility to complete her associate’s degree at Frederick CC while working toward her bachelor’s degree. Bellevue University then accepted all of her associate’s degree credit hours toward completion of her bachelor’s degree, part of the university’s accelerated bachelor’s degree completion program. By completing her degree faster, Robertson can start putting her degree to use as a grant specialist at Fort Detrick Army base.

It’s not usual for students to earn required general education credits while enrolled in an accelerated program, but most do this through CLEP or DSST testing. Robertson took the more challenging route and worked toward two degrees concurrently.

Robertson will be on the Bellevue University campus June 5 to attend the graduation open house, a time when many online students visit their soon-to-be alma mater’s campus for the first time. The next day, she’ll join about 750 of her fellow graduates at spring commencement. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

More than 750 people will participate in Bellevue University’s spring commencement on Saturday, June 6. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Of those participating, 261 are earning their master’s degrees; 491 are earning their bachelor’s degrees.

This spring’s commencement speaker is Joseph H. Moglia, former CEO and current chairman of TD Ameritrade. Moglia’s vision and leadership greatly influenced TD Ameritrade’s evolution during the last decade from a small “dot-com” brokerage to one of the world’s most widely recognized names in financial services. He served seven years as CEO before becoming chairman in 2008. Moglia’s resume also includes time spent as a successful college football coach, professor and author of two books: one about investing, the other about football.

The student speaker is Tuckett Slade, a Salt Lake City native who earned his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Sports Studies. He was a member of the Bruin baseball team and the school’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Members of the media interested in covering this Saturday’s commencement should contact Jason Keese: (402) 557-7368 or (402) 515-4074 the day of the event.

Barb Rivera

A scholarship fund has been established in the name of a former Bellevue University employee and alumna who passed away suddenly last year. The Barbara Brazis Rivera Memorial Endowed Scholarship will award $1,000 annually to at least one Bellevue University student. Recipients can apply the money toward their Bellevue University tuition costs.

Dr. Richard and Rosemary Brazis of Bellevue established the scholarship fund in the name of their daughter, who passed away suddenly Feb. 24, 2008, after a brief illness. Besides her parents, Barbara – known as “Barb” – is survived by her husband, Jaime Rivera; their daughter, Rachael; and her brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Lori Brazis.

Barb earned three degrees from Bellevue University – bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Communication Arts, and a Master of Business Administration degree. Barb worked at the University for 10 years, most recently in the Strategic Initiatives Department. She is remembered as a dedicated, valued and loyal employee, as well as someone with an engaging personality and quick wit.

Scholarship recipients must have a demonstrated financial need, a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and maintained standards of progress toward a degree. The University’s Scholarship Selection Committee will choose recipients, as is the case with all University scholarships.

For more information about the scholarship, please contact the Bellevue University Student Financial Services Department, at (402) 557-7326.