TMU 7(9) -- July 20, 2010

Alumnus remembers iconic baseball owner. UNO journalism alumnus Mike Moran recently wrote about the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Moran's public relations work with the Olympics led him to meet Steinbrenner. Moran calls him, "an iconic figure whose friendship with, and support of America’s Olympic athletes and his impact on the United States Olympic Committee will become legend, spoken of among the greatest." Moran lives in Colorado Springs. "I had met George in 1988 in Calgary when he launched his Olympic Overview Commission effort, and enjoyed a very positive relationship with him," Moran said, "he even gave me a seat in his box at Yankee Stadium during the 1996 World Series."

Moran was the Senior Communications Counselor for NYC2012, New York City’s Olympic bid group from 2003-2005. Although Steinbrenner "had stepped aside from most Olympic stuff in 2002 but kept a lot of friends within the family," Moran added that he left New York in 2005 "after the Olympic bid crashed, and from that point on, it was a sighting here and there in the papers or on TV, stories of failing health and gossip, and a gradual decline in his appearances in New York."

Moran said Steinbrenner's hand can be seen "in the medal charts for USA athletes in Barcelona, Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney, Salt Lake, Athens, Torino, Beijing and Vancouver," as "his legacy of winning medals is now the standard for the USOC and its athlete performance and support programs."

Mike Moran is Senior Media Consultant for The Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. He was the chief spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee through thirteen Games, 1980-2002. The Omaha native was the Sports Information Director at the University of Colorado for a decade before joining the USOC in 1978. Moran is a recipient of the UNO School of Communication Alumni Achievement Award.

Alumna and grad student lands NYC job. Yan He received an offer to work in the branding department of Burson Marsteller's New York City headquarters three months after a team from Maverick Solutions met with Harold Burson in New York courtesy of Paul Critchlow. "Yan had initially interviewed during that April visit and then had two more interviews in May and early July," Lecturer Karen Weber said. Yan begins her job on Aug. 2. She has completed her course work for the UNO master's degree program and will be directed by Joy Chao on the thesis. Yan volunteered her time and talent for Maverick Solutions this past academic year.

Meanwhile, two recent graduates utilized Maverick Solutions experiences to land impressive jobs. Cassie Prestia was hired as an account executive at Leslie, Kline Lukas & Associates, and Janna Brock was hired as the communication coordinator for Elkhorn Public Schools.

"I truly believe our academic program, internship opportunities and student PR firm experience have given our top students an advantage in this tough job market," Weber said.

Excellence in action. Professor Bruce Johansen, just back from research conversations in Seattle, has been busy publishing this summer: Preface, E.T. (Cy) Eberhart. Will Rogers: Discovering the Soul of America. Portland, OR Self-published, 2010; “Clean Coal More Hype Than Reality.” Omaha World-Herald, July 12, 2010, 7-B; and “Keep the Real Costs of Coal in Mind.” Lincoln Journal Star, July 12, 2010, B-4. Johansen also published Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary June 30 with ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press. The book also includes several entries by Barbara Robins, English/Native American Studies, and UNO graduate students Jason R. Gallagher, Jody Lynn Keisner, Natalie Russell, Vera Martina Saarentaus and Milica Vukovljak.

Photo gallery. Professor and Director Jeremy Lipschultz attended the June 30 meeting of the Omaha Social Media Club. He used Ustream to send out from his iPhone live video of Nathan Wright, a social media specialist. The archived clips were uploaded to YouTube.

Upcoming events.
August
3 - Kids Can Community Event, TBA, 3-7 p.m.
14 - Graduate Student Orientation, 9 a.m.-3:34 p.m., ASH 101; Part-time Faculty Meeting, 11 a.m., ASH TBA; Fall Reception, 1:30 p.m., Thompson Alumni Center
16 - CFAM Executive Committee, WFAB Conference Room, 8:30 a.m.
17 - CFAM Retreat, Thompson Alumni Center, 8-11:45 a.m.

September
10 - Mavlink Faculty Training, ASH 110, 12-1 p.m.
26 - Italian Night, All Saints at 93rd & Blondo, 5-8 p.m.

October
9 - Heartland Regional Emmy Road Show, Thompson Alumni Center, 8 a.m.- 1 p.m.
10 - Omaha 10-10-10 Kick-off Events, CPACS & OPC, 4-11 p.m.
11 - Omaha 10-10-10 Panel Discussions, CPACS, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
22 - Berkshire Event, TBA, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.