Reports: Board member’s family finalizes purchase of Cubs

Bellevue University Board Member Pete Ricketts and his family have finalized a deal to buy the Chicago Cubs, according to published reports Monday.

The Omaha-based Ricketts family negotiated to buy the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet, a regional cable network. The agreement was reportedly reached during the Fourth of July weekend, then forwarded to Major League Baseball for review.

In January, current owner Tribune Co. selected the Ricketts family bid over two others, with negotations stretching into July.

The Ricketts family patriarch, Joe Ricketts, stepped down last year as chairman of the board of TD Ameritrade. The successful online brokerage grew out of a securities firm that Ricketts co-founded in 1975. Pete Ricketts, one of Joe’s sons and also a successful businessman, joined the Bellevue University Board of Directors in 2008.

Indian doctor earning MBA from Bellevue University…while practicing medicine in Arab Emirates

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.

University hosts panel discussion on Iranian election

Bellevue University and its College of Arts and Sciences today (Wednesday) will host a panel discussion about the recent Iranian election. The panel begins at noon, inside room 202 of the Hitchock Humanities Center, 1000 Galvin Road South, Bellevue.

It’s the first of an ongoing series of ”Cultures in Conflict” panel discussions. Panelists include: Dr. Majid Nabavi of Bellevue University’s College of Business; adjunct instructor Matthew Eggleton of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences; Professor Pat Artz, also from the College of Arts and Sciences; and Professor Michael Gendler from the College of Saint Mary.

Dr. Nabavi is a native of Iran and maintains close contacts in Iran. Eggleton is chief of Partner Nation Intelligence Education in Stuttgart, Germany, with a specialty in counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations.  Artz teaches an interdisciplinary course on the Middle East for the College of Arts and Sciences.

The event also will be available on the web at http://stream.bellevue.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=7320f35f-1ed2-4a95-802d-271731267b36

McDaniel named VP and Chief Academic Officer

Bellevue University has chosen Donna McDaniel as its vice president and chief academic officer, effective July 1. McDaniel has served as dean of the university’s College of Business since 2004.

As VP and CAO, McDaniel will oversee all of the University’s academic programs and initiatives. Dr. Mary Hawkins previously served as the school’s chief academic officer through her role as provost. Dr. Hawkins will assume the role of university president effective July 1.

As dean, McDaniel oversaw all College of Business programs, curriculum, faculty, budgeting and strategic planning. During her tenure, the university received approval to add its first Ph.D. program – in Human Capital Management, taught in the College of Business. Bellevue University’s MBA program is the largest in Nebraska, with one of the largest online enrollments in the country. Bellevue University was the first school in the country to offer a full MBA program online.

Prior to being named dean, McDaniel served as a faculty member in the College of Business. Like all Bellevue University faculty, she brought real-world experience to the classroom. McDaniel was the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Advance, Inc., a government contracting firm providing computer services and equipment to the U.S. Department of Defense, General Services Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

McDaniel earned her bachelor’s degree, Juris Doctorate and MBA from Creighton University.

Muñoz new dean of College of Professional Studies

Bellevue University has named Dr. Martha Muñoz the new dean of its College of Professional Studies, home of the school’s accelerated bachelor’s degree completion programs, as well as six master’s degree programs.

Dr. Muñoz has spent the majority of her career in higher education, primarily working for community colleges, including Central Arizona College and the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona. She has taught in a variety of settings, including preschool, kindergarten and at the community college and university levels. Dr. Muñoz has worked as a consultant to develop web-based training materials; served as a subject matter expert for facility design; conducted project evaluations; and developed customized training programs. She most recently served as academic dean for Kaplan University’s Omaha campus.

After earning her associate’s degree from Phoenix College, Dr. Muñoz earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education from Arizona State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin - fulfilling a dream she had since earning her G.E.D. many years before.

Muñoz said she looks forward to building on Bellevue University’s history of serving the unique needs of adult learners.

“Bellevue University understands that working adults need flexibility and accessibility when they go back to school,” she said. “As someone who has taught adult students – and was an adult student herself – I embrace that philosophy, as well.”

The College of Professional Studies specializes in developing career-relevant degree programs for working adults, including bachelor’s degrees in Business, Healthcare Management, Leadership, Management, Marketing Management, and Security Management. The College also offers master’s degree programs in Healthcare Administration,  Public Administration, Leadership, and Security Management. Students who enroll with close to 60 credit hours can complete their bachelor’s degree in as little as 12 months.

Human Capital Lab to measure effectiveness of learning programs for unemployed, underemployed

Moving unemployed and underemployed workers into true productivity can create genuine growth for Omaha’s economy and businesses. This is typically done with learning programs geared to workforce development. But most of these programs do not engage statistically-reliable or projectable research to measure their effectiveness.

When the Greater Omaha Chamber formed the Omaha Workforce Funding Collaborative with The Workforce Investment Board, United Way of the Midlands and Metropolitan Community College, it wanted to collect evidence and data to build a more effective workforce development system, one benefiting low-skilled, unemployed workers and employers with workforce needs. Data gathered will be used to influence public policy and create a more strategic workforce development system. The Chamber hired Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab and its strategic ally Capital Analytics to measure the economic impact of its workforce development learning programs.

The Omaha Workforce Funding Collaborative, led by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, will provide learning programs designed to move the unemployed and underemployed into meaningful jobs with local employer sponsors Mutual of Omaha, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and others. Metropolitan Community College will deliver the educational programs and Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab will evaluate the effectiveness and provide outcomes of the learning programs.

Human Capital Lab’s Murnane honored for research

Dr. Jennifer A. Murnane, Senior Research Associate with Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab and Associate Vice President of the University’s Strategic Initiatives division, will be honored with the Outstanding Student Award this summer during the 100th Annual American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Conference and Expo in Knoxville, Tenn.

Dr. Murnane was selected as the recipient of the Family Relations and Human Development Community’s 2009 Outstanding Student Award for her research and record of achievements. Her doctoral dissertation, “Valuing Stakeholder Knowledge: An Interpretive Study of Knowledge Cultivation and Enablement in a Nonprofit Human Services Organization,” provided research into Boys Town’s effective use of tacit knowledge, or know-how, beliefs, experiences and values. Dr. Murnane found that by collecting, utilizing and communicating individual tacit knowledge, an organization’s employees are more effective at achieving the organization’s mission.

The results of her study can be found in the Spring 2007 issue of Innovation@Work, the Human Capital Lab’s newsletter for human capital strategists.

AAFCS is is the only national non-profit organization that provides leadership and support to family and consumer sciences professionals across multiple practice settings across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Murnane served as the inaugural Assistant Director of Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab. In her role as Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Bellevue University, she cultivates and manages Bellevue University’s visionary corporate clients who recognize the integral role learning has in reaching business objectives.

She is an adjunct professor at Bellevue University, teaching management and finance, and has worked in strategic planning and research at a Fortune 1000 company. Dr. Murnane earned her Ph.D. in Family & Consumer Sciences Education from Iowa State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in finance and banking and her MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Student shows true heart to earn master’s degree

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.”

Student walks in commencement – twice in two weeks

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.

Spring commencement slated for June 6

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.